A unified model of settlement and trial expenditures: The Priest–Klein model extended

Settlement and trial expenditures are crucially interrelated. The literature on settlement, however, takes no account of models of trial. In this paper, we develop a unified model of settlement and trial expenditures. We do this by discarding the usual assumption of settlement models that trial costs are constant across cases. Instead, we follow the literature on trial by permitting trial costs to vary with the legal merit of the plaintiff's case. Our approach can be used to extend standard models of settlement such as the well-known Priest–Klein model as well as models based on asymmetric information. As a demonstration, we extend the Priest–Klein model and generally overturn that model's canonical results. In particular, we show that even in a fully symmetric model, predicted win rates at trial can deviate substantially from 50 percent. Furthermore, win rates will vary in response to legal reforms that shift the decision standard.     

Analysis of Ecstasy Tablets Using Capillary Electrophoresis with Capacitively Coupled Contactless Conductivity Detection

A method for the identification of 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and meta‐chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP) was developed employing capillary electrophoresis (CE) with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (C⁴D). Sample extraction, separation, and detection of “Ecstasy” tablets were performed in <10 min without sample derivatization. The separation electrolyte was 20 mm TAPS/Lithium, pH 8.7. Average minimal detectable amounts for MDMA and mCPP were 0.04 mg/tablet, several orders of magnitude lower than the minimum amount encountered in a tablet. Seven different Ecstasy tablets seized in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, were analyzed by CE‐C⁴D and compared against routine gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC‐MS). The CE method demonstrated sufficient selectivity to discriminate the two target drugs, MDMA and mCPP, from the other drugs present in seizures, namely amphepramone, fenproporex, caffeine, lidocaine, and cocaine. Separation was performed in <90 sec. The advantages of using C⁴D instead of traditional CE‐UV methods for in‐field analysis are also discussed.     

Comparison of bulk and compound-specific δ13C isotope ratio analyses for the discrimination between cannabis samples

Five marijuana samples were compared using bulk isotope analysis compound-specific isotope ratio analysis of the extracted cannabinoids. Owing to the age of our cannabis samples, four of the five samples were compared using the isotope ratios of cannabinol (CBN), a stable degradation product of Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Bulk δ(13)C isotope analysis discriminated between all five samples at the 95% confidence level. Compound-specific δ(13)C isotope analysis could not distinguish between one pair of the five samples at the 95% confidence level. All the measured cannabinoids showed significant depletion in (13)C relative to bulk isotope values; the isotope ratios for THC, CBN, and cannabidiol were on average 1.6‰, 1.7‰, and 2.2‰ more negative than the bulk values, respectively. A more detailed investigation needs to be conducted to assess the degree fractionation between the different cannabinoids, especially after aging.     

C2C环境下的中国税收法律问题探究

中国现行的税收征管法律制度随着新中国的成立和改革开放的发展逐步形成,但是面对C2C这种新兴的网络购物模式,中国现行税法便显得无所适从,本文将层层剥开C2C环境下中国税收法律制度中存在的诸多问题并加以解决以完善C2C环境下的中国税收法律制度。     

L／C程序中的拒付行为——从沃斯特-阿尔卑斯公司诉中国银行案切入

沃斯特-阿尔卑斯贸易公司诉中国银行信用证不当拒付案在国外曾引起银行业和法律界的广泛关注.基于跟单信用证交易的国际特点,各银行在处理信用证时会不可避免地考虑对方银行的审单标准;单据中不符点的认定和拒付的合理期限.建议国内银行加强内部管理,正确适用国际惯例以避免损失.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ayam aham asmīti</Emphasis>: Self-consciousness and Identity in the Eighth Chapter of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chāndogya Upanişad</Emphasis> vs. Śankara’s <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bhāşya</Emphasis>

The article offers a close reading of the famous upanişadic story of Indra, Virocana and Prajāpati from the eighth chapter of the Chāndogya-Upanişad versus Śankara’s bhāşya, with special reference to the notions of suşupti and turīya. That Śankara is not always loyal to the Upanişadic texts is a well-known fact. That the Upanişads are (too) often read through Śan-kara’s Advaitic eyes is also known. The following lines will not merely illustrate the gap between text and commentary but will also reveal an unexpected Upanişadic depiction of ‘dreamless sleep’ and ‘transcendental consciousness’. Suşupti is described here as ‘one step too far’, as a ‘break’ or discontinuity in one’s consciousness; whereas turīya is depicted positively, and surprisingly even in wordly terms. Unlike the third state of consciousness in which there is no ‘world’ nor ‘me’, and which is described through Indra’s character as ‘total destruction’ (vināśa); in turīya, the world ‘comes back’, or rather the ‘renouncer’ returns to the world. Sankara’s position, as far as the story under discussion is concerned, is radically different. For him, the Upanişadic story illustrates the continuity of consciousness in all its states. For him, the identification with merely one of the consciousness-states is an error (adhyāsa) which causes suffering. Consciousness prevails even in suşupti, and turīya has nothing to do with ‘coming back to the world’, since there is nowhere to come back from or to. Turīya, as seen by the Advaitin, consists of all the other states of consciousness together, or as K. C. Bhattacharyya puts it, ‘It is not only a stage among stages; it is the truth of the other stages’. The article is dedicated to Prof. Daya Krishna (1924-2007).     

Internal Validation of the AmpFlSTR Yfiler™ Amplification Kit for Use in Forensic Casework

Abstract:  Y-chromosomal short-tandem repeat (Y-STR) amplification has been used in forensic casework at the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) Forensic Science Laboratory since 2003. At that time, two separate amplifications were required to type the SWGDAM recommended loci (DYS19, DYS385a/b, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS438, and DYS439). The Yfiler™ kit coamplifies these loci as well as DYS437, DYS448, DYS456, DYS458, DYS635, and Y GATA H4. The Yfiler™ kit was validated following the internal validations outlined in the SWGDAM revised validation guidelines. Our studies show that 0.125 ng of male DNA will generate a complete 17 locus profile and that as little as 0.06 ng of male DNA yields an average of nine loci. In the male–male mixtures, a complete profile from the minor component was detected up to 1:5 ratio; most of the alleles of the minor component were detected at a 1:10 ratio and more than half the alleles of the minor component were detected at a 1:20 ratio. Complete YSTR profiles were obtained when 500 pg male DNA was mixed with female DNA at ratios up to 1:1000. At ratios of 1:5000 and 1:10,000 (male DNA to female DNA) inhibition of the YSTR amplification was evident. The YSTR results obtained for the adjudicated case samples gave significantly more probative information than the autosomal results. Our studies demonstrate that the Yfiler™ kit is extremely sensitive, does not exhibit cross-reactivity with female DNA, successfully types male DNA in the presence of overwhelming amounts of female DNA and is successful in typing actual forensic samples from adjudicated cases.     

信用证非单据条款研究

从分析信用证上面的条款着手,在不损害信用证独特性质的前提下,利用合同法的理论,通过将体现开证行和受益人合意的、单据性要求的条款称为信用证“单据条款”来界定其反面——信用证非单据性条款;分析了相关的法律对于信用证非单据性条款的规定,以厘清法律对于这种条款的意见;通过比较分析两个相似的信用证非单据条款判决来分析司法实务界的看法,指出法院在处理非单据条款的时候会突破UCP500第13条(C)的规定而适用合同法。最后对如何处理这种条款提出了建议。     

The “process” of patenting: Why should we care about a potential U.S. Supreme Court decision in Bilski v. Doll?

In Bilski v. Doll, the U.S. Supreme Court is called to define one of the categories of patent-eligible subject matter, “process” patents. In 2008, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that the category has a narrow meaning, and that to be eligible for a process patent under 35 U.S.C. § 101, the invention must involve a machine or apparatus or involve a transformation to a different state or thing, ultimately rejecting the patent application as unpatentable subject matter. The patent applicants have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to determine two issues: first, the meaning of “process” in 35 U.S.C. § 101 and whether the lower court properly relied on a “machine-or-transformation” test, and second, the test's potential conflict with 35 U.S.C. § 273, which provides protection for “method[s] of doing or conducting business.” The Court's decision could change the way that research and business are done, and patent protection for such investments. Parts 1 and 2 of this article address Bilski directly and what is and is not in dispute. Part 3 addresses the “machine-or-transformation” test, while Parts 4 and 5 address reasons not to adopt such a test.     

兔悬挂双前肢致死组织中PKC、AchE、HSP70的活性变化

目的观察兔悬挂双前肢致死不同组织中PKC、AchE、HSP70的活性变化,探讨其在死亡机制中的作用。方法家兔双前肢悬挂致死亡,取膈肌、肋间肌、心肌、腓肠肌、大脑、脑干、肝、肾、肺等组织,以勒颈、颅脑损伤和疾病死亡相应组织为对照。采用SP法对上述组织中蛋白激酶C(PKC)、乙酰胆碱酯酶(AchE)和热休克蛋白70(HSP70)进行免疫组化染色,观察其活性,并采用多组独立样本的Kruskal-Wallis秩和检验方法,对结果进行统计学分析。结果膈肌、肋间肌和大脑组织细胞质中PKC免疫组化阳性染色,悬挂组较其它组增强(P0.05);膈肌、肋间肌、心肌、大脑和肝细胞质及肌组织神经束中AchE免疫组化阳性染色,悬挂组较其它组增强(P0.05);大脑、心、肺中HSP70免疫组化阳性染色,悬挂组较其它组增强(P0.05)。结论PKC、AChE、HSP70通过不同机制,在悬挂双上肢体位性窒息死亡中起到一定作用,本文结果可为相关研究及鉴定提供实验依据。