Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and infant respiratory distress syndrome (IRDS) are severe pulmonary syndromes affecting approximately 190,000 in the United States with a mortality rate of 40%. During ARDS, hypoxemia can follow, which requires mechanical ventilation. This assisted ventilation can injure the lung by inducing large mechanical stresses from an air-liquid interface propagating through occlusion, and exposing the vessel wall to large mechanical stress gradients. In this study we investigate airway reopening scenarios by creating a model of terminal pulmonary airways using flexible tubing with monolayer coverage of lung epithelial cells. Specifically, we attempt to find a relationship between the state of collapse of a channel and the stress the cells undergo during the reopening event. This study is the first demonstration of an experimental tube with a tube law approximately physiological range. Our results indicated that in collapsed channels, as the velocity of reopening increases, the amount of damage to cells increases. This indicates flexibility causes an increase in cell damage which agrees with the stimulus-response behavior from prior studies. However, in fully-inflated channels, we see transitional behavior between flexible and rigid models. This research is a good starting point to investigate recruitment-derecruitment events in flexible channels, which could give a better representation of the mechanisms that cause cell damage in cases of ARDS and VILI. / 1 / Michael C Harrison

acase@tulane.edu

The dissertation analyses a new theme which has not yet been analysed in Lithuanian research and makes an attempt to reveal the theoretical foundations of the institute of reopening a criminal case. The object of the dissertation is the nature of the institute of the reopening of criminal proceedings, the historical development of this institute, the purposes, features, the existing grounds for the reopening of a case, types, specialness of the types, procedure for the reopening of a criminal case, and the place of the reopening of a criminal case among other forms of control over court judgments. The research has been carried out along two directions.. The first has analysed the theoretical grounds of the institute of reopening a criminal case. The second has evaluated both the norms of the Code of Criminal Procedure which regulate the reopening of a criminal case and the resultant court practice, the analysis of which has determined some of the theoretical conclusions. The research has conformed the hypothesis that the appropriate conception of the reopening of a criminal case as an extraordinary form of control over court judgment and the facultative stage of criminal process enables to safeguard both the lawful expectations of the parties to the process and a fair trial. A comprehensive analysis of the institute of reopening of a criminal case has also determined a more general proposition that a balanced system of the forms of control over a court judgment is dependant... [to full text] / Daktaro disertacijoje tyrinėjamas iki šiol Lietuvoje netyrinėtas baudžiamosios bylos atnaujinimo institutas, bandoma išgryninti ir atskleisti šio instituto sampratą. Disertacinio tyrimo objektas – baudžiamosios bylos atnaujinimo instituto teisinė prigimtis, istorinė raida, tikslai, požymiai, pagrindai, dėl kurių atnaujinama byla, rūšys, rūšių ypatumai, atnaujinimo procedūra bei baudžiamosios bylos atnaujinimo vieta kitų teismų sprendimų kontrolės formų sistemoje. Mokslinis tyrimas atliktas dviem kryptimis. Pirma, analizuoti baudžiamosios bylos atnaujinimo instituto teoriniai pagrindai. Antra, vertintos baudžiamosios bylos atnaujinimą reguliuojančios Baudžiamojo proceso kodekso nuostatos ir jų pagrindu besiklostanti teismų praktika, kurios analizė vėlgi leido atskleisti ir suformuoti kai kurias teorines išvadas. Tyrimo metu pasitvirtino hipotezė, kad tinkamas baudžiamosios bylos atnaujinimo kaip išimtinės (ekstraordinarinės) teismų sprendimų kontrolės formos ir išimtinės (neprivalomos) baudžiamojo proceso stadijos suvokimas leidžia užtikrinti teisėtus proceso šalių lūkesčius bei sąžiningą baudžiamąjį procesą. Kompleksinė baudžiamosios bylos atnaujinimo instituto analizė nulėmė ir bendresnį teiginį, kad teismų sprendimų kontrolės formų sistemos harmoningas funkcionavimas priklauso nuo to, kaip yra, konstruojant teisės normas, derinamos tarpusavyje visos esamos baudžiamajame procese teismų sprendimų kontrolės formos: nei viena iš jų neturi dubliuoti ar perimti kitos formos... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) is a lung condition with a mortality rate of 40 % that affects about 225,000 individuals in the U.S. In these patients, epithelial injury can contribute to alveolar flooding and injury to type II cells by disrupting normal epithelial fluid transport, impacting the removal of edema fluid from alveolar space. Mechanical stresses associated with opening occluded airways damages the epithelial lining of the lungs. Prior studies explore the nature of the stresses and damage in straight tube models of airways. Our model presented in this work accounts for the branching in the pulmonary airways. We have developed a scalable microfluidic model of pulmonary airway bifurcations for investigation of reopening near the bifurcation as well as the macroscopic reopening pattern. We utilize a μ-PIV/Shadowgraph system to visualize the flow fields near the interface as a semi-infinite finger of air propagates through the bifurcation model. Further, we utilize μ-PIV for downstream flow-rate monitoring to examine the symmetry of reopening through bifurcating networks. In the absence of surfactant, propagation preferentially opens the low-resistance path, and leads to asymmetric reopening. However, with SDS and albumin inactivated surfactant, interfacial propagation preferentially reopens the pathway with the higher hydraulic resistance. The propagation pattern with pulmonary surfactant stabilizes the system so that the daughter branches of a nearly symmetric bifurcation open simultaneously. Our multiple generation network serves to validate the stability of the single generation. However, the second generation does not mirror the behavior of the first generation. We explore the reasons for this, and also present preliminary studies for the investigation of restoring surfactant function after deactivation by serum proteins. / acase@tulane.edu

In the reopening of fluid occluded airways, the pressure gradient due to the propagation of an air bubble causes extensive epithelial cell damage. The mechanism of cell necrosis and biotransport may be further understood by characterizing the flow fields near the tip of a semi-infinite bubble propagating through a fluid-filled bifurcation. A symmetric microfluidic pulmonary bifurcation model was fabricated for optical diagnostics with an instantaneous μ-PIV/ shadowgraphy microscopy system. Data handling and processing techniques were developed to calculate interfacial characteristics of multiphase flow from the microscopy system and accuracy was quantified through varying the apparatus set up. Differences in the interfacial geometric characteristics were quantified for changes in static and dynamic surface tension in comparisons of water, SDS, and Infasurf that may reflect changes in the mechanical stress that stimulate, and potentially damage, epithelial cells that line the airways. From these results, the asymmetrical tendencies of opening a symmetric pulmonary bifurcation model were quantified. It was found that pulmonary surfactant stabilized symmetric bifurcations that opened asymmetrically without the aid of surfactant. / acase@tulane.edu

Civilinio proceso atnaujinimas yra išimtinė procesinė priemonė, padedanti užtikrinti žmogaus teisę į teismą. Jo tikslas yra pašalinti galimai neteisėtą teismo sprendimą, taip įvykdant teisingumą ir išvengiant tokio sprendimo pasekmių. Tačiau pažvelgus į LR Civilinio proceso kodeksą, matome, jog Lietuvoje nėra įtvirtinta galimybė atnaujinti procesą, kuomet LR Konstitucinis Teismas pripažįsta teisės aktą, kuriuo teismas rėmėsi priimdamas sprendimą civilinėje byloje, prieštaraujančiu LR Konstitucijai. Suformuota LR teismų praktika draudžia proceso atnaujinimą civilinėse bylose šiuo pagrindu, kadangi būtų pažeistas teisinių santykių stabilumo bei teisinių santykių subjektų teisių ir pareigų apibrėžtumo principai. Tačiau priešingai nei civilinėse bylose, administracinėse bylose proceso atnaujinimas šiuo pagrindu yra leidžiamas. Panagrinėję užsienio valstybių teisinį reguliavimą, matome, jog apie pusė Europos valstybių leidžia proceso atnaujinimą šiuo pagrindu civilinėse bylose bylose, o baudžiamosiose bylose – beveik visos nagrinėtos valstybės. Žmogaus teisių užtikrinimo svarbą civilinėse bylose pabrėžia Europos Žmogaus Teisių Teismas. Nors EŽTT laikosi nuomonės, jog proceso atnaujinimą riboja teisinio tikrumo principas, tačiau tam tikrais atvejais proceso atnaujinimas gali būti efektyviausia priemone atstatant teisingumą, kuris buvo paneigtas pažeidus žmogaus teises. Tuo tarpu LR Konstitucinis Teismas laikosi pozicijos, jog proceso atnaujinimas nagrinėjamu pagrindu yra... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Reopening of civil proceedings is an exclusive procedural measure, which helps to ensure a right to court. It‘s aim is to remove possibly unlawful court decision, thus delivering justice and avoiding consequences of such decision. Therefore, reopening of civil proceedings seeks to protect not only interests of private parties, but also public interest. However, if we look to Code of Civil procedure of the Republic of Lithuania, we can see a lack of possibility in Lithuania to reopen proceedings, when Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania declares that law applied in a specific case is in conflict with the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania. Lithuanian case law does not allow reopening of proceedings in civil cases based on mentioned ground, because otherwise principles of stability of legal relations and certainty of rights and duties of subjects‘ legal relations would be breached. Contrary to civil cases, administrative cases may be reopened based on mantioned grounds. Moreover, administrative courts examine cases regarding damages, incurred due to unlawful actions of public administration bodies, and these cases may also be reopened based on mentioned ground, though they are civil cases. Therefore, administrative courts case law and general competence courts case law differs on the question regarding reopening of proceedings in civil cases, when Constituional Court of the Republic of Lithuania declares that law applied in a specific case is in conflict... [to full text]

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Efforts to control surface runoff and erosion from forest roads at stream crossings are critical for the protection of aquatic ecosystems in forests. In this research, annual and event-based sediment delivery rates were estimated for reopened legacy roads at forest stream crossings in the Virginia Piedmont physiographic region, USA. Sediment delivery rates were compared among stream crossing approaches with diverse intensities of best management practice (BMP) implementations for surface cover and water control. Model predictions from the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) were compared to field observations of surface runoff and sediment delivery to evaluate model performance. Annual sediment delivery rates from reopened (bare) legacy road approaches to stream crossings were 7.5 times higher than those of completely graveled approaches. Sediment delivery rates ranged from 34 to 287 Mg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ for the bare approaches and from 10 to 16 Mg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ for the graveled approaches. Event-based surface runoff and associated total suspended solids (TSS) concentrations were compared among a succession of gravel surfacing treatments that represented increasing intensities of BMP implementations on reopened approaches. The three treatments were No Gravel (10-19% cover), Low Gravel (34-60% cover), and High Gravel (50-99% cover). Median TSS concentration of surface runoff for the No Gravel treatment (2.84 g L⁻¹) was greater than Low Gravel (1.10 g L⁻¹) and High Gravel (0.82 g L⁻¹) by factors of 2.6 and 3.5, respectively. WEPP predictions of event-based sediment yield show clear differences among the different road surface treatments, but prediction intervals were wide, reflecting substantial prediction uncertainty. These findings show that reopened legacy roads and associated stream crossing approaches can deliver significant quantities of sediment if roads are not adequately closed or maintained and that corrective best management practices (BMPs), such as gravel and appropriate spacing of water control structures, can reduce sediment delivery to streams. Watershed management decisions that hinge upon WEPP predictions of sediment yield from forest roads must necessarily take into account a wide range of potential erosion rates for specific management scenarios. / Ph. D.

Ce mémoire illustre l'évolution de la stratégie du syndicat des TCA-Québec, unité locale 728 représentant les employés de l'usine Kenworth de Sainte-Thérèse, de la fermeture de l'usine en 1996 jusqu'à sa réouverture en 1999. La littérature démontre que la mondialisation des marchés économiques oblige les syndicats à revoir leur stratégie lors de négociations collectives. Parfois, leur survie en dépend. Les résultats de notre étude de cas permettent de déterminer cinq événements clés où le syndicat local revoit sa stratégie pendant ce conflit de travail médiatisé : la négociation collective, l'échec de la négociation menant à une grève générale, la fermeture de l'usine, l'annonce de la réouverture de l'usine ainsi que sa réouverture. L'ensemble des résultats présentés en corrélation avec le modèle d’analyse de David Weil (1994) présente la planification stratégique de ces cinq événements à partir d’un processus intégré qui peut être décomposé en trois principales étapes : la formulation de la stratégie, sa mise en œuvre et son évaluation. Les faits sont colligés chronologiquement en exposant les transformations de la stratégie du syndicat local par l'identification d'indicateurs conçus à partir des facteurs externes évoqués dans le modèle de Weil (1994), à savoir l'analyse de l'environnement technologique, législatif et social, les priorités dictées par les membres, l'allocation des ressources du syndicat, ainsi que l'analyse de l'évaluation avantage coûts versus bénéfices. / This thesis illustrates the evolution of the strategy used by the TCA-Québec Union, local unit 728 representing the employees of Kenworth in Sainte-Thérèse, from the plant shutdown in 1996 to its reopening in 1999. The literature shows that the economic market globalisation has forced the trade unions to reconsider their strategic approach in the collective bargaining process. In some cases, their survival depends on it. The case study presented in this work identifies five key events when strategic adjustments were made by the trade union during this highly mediatised conflict: the collective bargaining, the failure of these negotiations which led to a general strike, the plant shutdown, the announcement of the plant’s reopening as well as its actual reopening. The results presented in correlation to the David Weil Model (1994) detail the strategic planning of these five key events using an integrated process which is composed of three major steps: formulating, implementing and evaluating the strategy. The facts are assembled chronologically while exposing the modifications to the local union`s strategy using indicators developed with Weil’s model external factors (1994) such as the technological, legal and social environments, the member-led priorities, the distribution of the union’s resources as well as the cost-benefit advantages.

Une condamnation pénale définitive ne peut en principe plus être remise en cause. La chose jugée doit en effet être tenue pour vraie. L’adage non bis in idem et les principes de l’autorité et de la force de la chose jugée semblent dès lors interdire de rouvrir le procès pénal. Toutefois, le législateur français prévoit deux procédures distinctes permettant de remettre encause la condamnation prononcée : la révision et le réexamen. Les conditions de mise en oeuvre de ces procédures et leurs spécificités en font des procédures très exceptionnelles. Par la présentation d’éléments nouveaux de fait pour la révision, et de droit pour le réexamen, le requérant peut dans certains cas prétendre à nouvelle étude de son affaire. Cependant cette réouverture ne pourra être décidée que par une juridiction ad hoc et sera de type différent selon le nouveau procès envisagé. De plus, l’issue de ce nouveau procès pourra permettre de maintenir la condamnation en dépit des nouveaux faits présentés ou reconnaître l’innocence du condamné. / Final sentencing in a criminal trial cannot in principle be questioned any more. Indeed the adjudged case has to be considered as definitely settled. The non bis in idem Latin saw and the res judicata tenet thus seem to preclude the re-opening of a criminal trial. And yet, lawgivers put in place two distinct legal processes that enable French citizens to challenge their sentencing: reviewing and re-hearing. The conditions for carrying out these processes and their own specifities make these proceedings quite exceptional. Through the presentation of new evidence for reviewing, and because re-hearing can be considered as of right, convicted people may in some cases get a new trial. Nevertheless only an ad hoc jurisdiction can decide upon a new hearing and the latter will be of a different kind depending on the new trial at hand. Moreover, the upshot of this new trial will make it possible either to maintain the sentencing notwithstanding new evidence being presented to a new court or to declare the defendant not guilty.