Digital Commons Network^™

Two Takes On Administrative Change From The Roberts Court, Daniel Deacon, Leah Litman

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In Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the Supreme Court finally did what many long hoped (or feared) it would do: overrule Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. Chevron instructed courts to defer to an agency’s interpretation of an ambiguous statutory provision, provided the interpretation was reasonable. Chevron, according to Justice Kagan, had “served as a cornerstone of administrative law” and “the warp and woof of modern government, supporting regulatory efforts of all kinds—to name a few, keeping air and water clean, food and drugs safe, and financial markets honest.” Not surprisingly, statutes governing such matters contain quite a number of …

Building The Gateway: Why The Two Pillars Need Each Other., Reuven S. Avi-Yonah, Ajitesh Kir

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There is a reason the OECD proposed two pillars for its gateway to a better tax future. A gateway requires both pillars, and neither can stand without the other. Pillar 2 is a fait accompli, but it needs countries to implement Pillar 1 as well because in the absence of a clear sourcing rule there is no limit to countries implementing the Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (QDMTT), which would turn off the other parts of Pillar 2 and potentially result in double taxation. Pillar 1 is not going forward in the absence of a Multilateral Tax Convention (MLC), but …

Congress And Shifting Sands In Administrative Law., Christopher J. Walker

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In recent years, we have seen an anti-administrativist turn in the federal judiciary, with the Supreme Court limiting agency power in important respects. These shifting sands in administrative law seem to be motivated, at least in part, by the Court’s perception of the rise of presidential administration and decline in legislative activity. As part of the Widener Commonwealth Law Review Judging in Administrative Law Symposium, this Essay assesses how the Court has responded to concerns about over-presidentialism and then sketches out several ways Congress can respond to reassert itself in federal lawmaking.

Feedback Loops: Fortifying Feedback, Patrick Barry

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Feedback has an Important role to play in the fight against impostor syndrome and its many toxic by-products, including isolation, dread, depression, drops in motivation, and negative self-talk. In 2013, for example, one of the American Psychological Association’s oicial publications, gradPSYCH magazine, ran a cover story called “Feel like a Fraud?” that highlighted the stabilizing power that the right kind of feedback can provide. “he thing that made so much diference was supportive, encouraging supervision,” explained a graduate student interviewed for the story.

Channeling A Federal Right To Education Through State Constitutions And Courts, Nicole Sunderlin, Evan Caminker

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Professor Black attributes the ubiquitous adoption of education clauses in state constitutions in the immediate pre- and especially post-Reconstruction era to a “constitutional compromise” struck by Congress and the states. The State Citizenship commitment was designed to enhance the republican nature of both levels of governance by ensuring broader access to political participation through voting and broader access to public education to inform and support democratic deliberation. The education component of this commitment was uniquely secured, argues Black, through a state-federal compromise using two complementary mechanisms: first, by mandating states to embrace a state constitutional obligation to provide basic educational …

The Origins Of The Legal Imagination, James Boyd White

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I want to say at the outset that I feel honored beyond imagining at this celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of my book, and all the more because it is you who have set this up—so many beloved friends over the years and others who will surely become friends. I thank you deeply.

As I wondered about what I might say this morning, I thought perhaps you would be interested in where this truly odd book, with its 986 pages of readings and questions, came from.

Fifty Years Of 'Cut To Grow': How Changing Narratives Around Corporate Tax Policy Have Undermined Child And Family Well-Being, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah, Emily Divito, Niko Lusiani

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What follows in this report is an assessment, though not exhaustive, of the central worldviews and set of assumptions driving key US corporate tax reform moments in history—and their consequences for the well-being of children and families in the US. Though political narratives of all kinds are never cleanly chronological (and this remains true of those pertaining to corporate taxation and well-being policies), we aim to build on existing understanding of how dominant narratives come to be and how they, to the extent that they do, drive corporate tax policy outcomes in the US. Looking back over the past 50 …

Can The United States Curb Its Debt?, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

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After the upcoming presidential election, the United States is almost certainly going to have a president who is barred from running for reelection, regardless of the outcome in November. This situation has never happened before and it presents an important opportunity for fundamental tax reform.

The Dividend Puzzle Redux, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

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The news that Meta will for the first time pay a dividend to its shareholders has prompted discussion of whether dividends will make a comeback as a major component of investor returns for high-flying corporations. Before this latest development, the largest U.S. companies (that is, the digital giants) tended to engage in stock buybacks and did not usually pay dividends.

Is Treasury Bound By The Arm's-Length Standard?, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

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In December 2023 Abbott Laboratories petitioned the Tax Court to reverse $417 million in section 482 deficiencies. The petition addresses many issues, but as Tax Notes contributing editor Ryan Finley pointed out in his excellent recent article, the most important one relates to the issue of whether stock-based compensation should be included in the pool of costs covered by a costsharing arrangement. This is the same issue that taxpayers have litigated repeatedly, with the most recent case, Altera, resulting in an IRS victory in the Ninth Circuit. If Abbott wins, the case is appealable to the Seventh Circuit, potentially setting …

Corporate Taxpayers And Frivolous Arguments, Part 1, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

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In two recent cases, corporate taxpayers have made legal arguments that seem on their face to be frivolous.

The first example, as Robert Goulder explains in his excellent recent column, is the argument made by Liberty Global (LGI) involving the source of the gain on the sale of a foreign subsidiary. LGI sold the shares of a Japanese subsidiary for a gain of $3.25 billion, of which $438 million was dividend income under section 1248. The issue was the source of the remaining $2.8 billion gain. LGI argued that it should be foreign source despite the explicit source rule for …

Corporate Taxpayers And Frivolous Arguments, Part 2, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

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In my previous column, I discussed the Liberty Global cases and argued that the taxpayer’s positions were frivolous or lacked economic substance. I also argued that a corporate tax director who knows that a return position is frivolous or that a transaction has no economic substance should “just say no.” Until the day arrives that most tax directors take this view (I am not holding my breath), the IRS must rely on a combination of the uncertain tax position schedule and penalties under section 6662.

Why The United States Needs A Gaar, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

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The Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, has over 1 million words and more than 5,600 pages. It is by far the longest and most complicated law in the U.S. code. The regulations add over 4 million words. Why?

Try Again: The Problems Of Befit, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

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In September 2023, the European Commission proposed the directive Business in Europe: Framework for Income Taxation (BEFIT) for corporate income taxation of large groups (COM(2023) 532 final (Sept. 12, 2023)). This is the latest iteration of the EU’s effort to harmonize corporate taxation within the single market. But like its predecessor the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base, BEFIT suffers from flaws that undermine its stated goals. The EU can do better, especially given that pillar 1 of the base erosion and profit-shifting’s project 2.0 shows the way forward.

A Fractured Supreme Court: Select Criminal Law And Procedure Cases From The Supreme Court’S 2023-24 Term, Eve Brensike Primus, Jordan Schuler

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In its 2023-2024 Term, the Supreme Court outlined the contours of when a former President of the United States would be immune from criminal prosecution; issued important decisions interpreting the scope of the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause, the Double Jeopardy Clause, the Confrontation Clause, and the Second Amendment right to bear arms; decided a number of important statutory interpretation cases; and continued to avoid Fourth Amendment issues, only addressing them in the context of a malicious prosecution charge. Perhaps more striking than the Court’s decisions in these cases, though, was the Justices’ lack of consensus. Of the 16 criminal …

A Law At War With Itself: Character Evidence And The Doctrine Of Chances, Len Niehoff, Shannon Hickey

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Certain legal principles have raging within them a kind of civil war. Important but abstract policy concerns pull the doctrine in one direction; common sense and practical experience pull it in another. Casualties ensue.

Perhaps no body of legal doctrine better exemplifies this sort of internal conflict than the general ban on character evidence, as embodied in Federal Rule of Evidence 404(a)(1). That rule states: “Evidence of a person’s character or character trait is not admissible to prove that on a particular occasion the person acted in accordance with that character or trait.” The rule has deep roots in the …

Myopia Progression Following 0.01% Atropine Cessation In Australian Children: Findings From The Western Australia – Atropine For The Treatment Of Myopia (Wa-Atom) Study, Samantha Sze Yee Lee, Vinay Kumar Nilagiri, Gareth Lingham, Magdalena Blaszkowska, Paul G. Sanfilippo, Maria Franchina, Antony Clark, David A. Mackey

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Background: A rebound in myopia progression following cessation of atropine eyedrops has been reported, yet there is limited data on the effects of stopping 0.01% atropine compared to placebo control. This study tested the hypothesis that there is minimal rebound myopia progression after cessation of 0.01% atropine eyedrops, compared to a placebo. Methods: Children with myopia (n = 153) were randomised to receive 0.01% atropine eyedrops or a placebo (2:1 ratio) daily at bedtime during the 2-year treatment phase of the study. In the third year (wash-out phase), all participants ceased eyedrop instillation. Participants underwent an eye examination every 6 …

Modeling Redistribution Of Nanozeolites In Holographic Recording, Dana Mackey, Jack Lyons, Izabela Naydenova

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Zeolite doped photopolymers have been studied experimentally due to their potential application in the development of optical sensors. It has been shown that dopant redistribution can be achieved by holographic recording and has a direct influence on the sensitivity of the recorded grating. To achieve better theoretical understanding of these processes, this paper proposes an extended photopolymerization-diffusion mathematical model for describing the dynamics of nanozeolite redistribution during recording in an acrylamide-based photopolymer. Using numerical simulations of this model, we investigate how recording conditions, dopant transport parameters, and initial load affect the refractive index modulation of the resulting photonic structure.

Comparison For The Effects Of Different Components Of Temperature Variability On Mortality: A Multi-Country Time-Series Study, Multi-Country Multi-City (Mcc) Collaborative Network, Patrick Goodman

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Background: Temperature variability (TV) is associated with increased mortality risk. However, it is still unknown whether intra-day or inter-day TV has different effects. Objectives: We aimed to assess the association of intra-day TV and inter-day TV with all-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality. Methods: We collected data on total, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality and meteorology from 758 locations in 47 countries or regions from 1972 to 2020. We defined inter-day TV as the standard deviation (SD) of daily mean temperatures across the lag interval, and intra-day TV as the average SD of minimum and maximum temperatures on each day. In the …

All-Cause, Cardiovascular, And Respiratory Mortality And Wildfire-Related Ozone: A Multicountry Two-Stage Time Series Analysis, Multi-Country Multi-City (Mcc) Collaborative Network, Patrick Goodman

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Background: Wildfire activity is an important source of tropospheric ozone (O3) pollution. However, no study to date has systematically examined the associations of wildfire-related O3 exposure with mortality globally. Methods: We did a multicountry two-stage time series analysis. From the Multi-City Multi-Country (MCC) Collaborative Research Network, data on daily all-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory deaths were obtained from 749 locations in 43 countries or areas, representing overlapping periods from Jan 1, 2000, to Dec 31, 2016. We estimated the daily concentration of wildfire-related O3 in study locations using a chemical transport model, and then calibrated and downscaled O3 estimates to a …

Optically Accessible Gas Exposure Apparatus For Testing And Characterization Of Holographic Gas Sensors, Graceson Antony, Rinto Eyyalil Joseph, Saji George, Dervil Cody, Izabela Naydenova

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Holographic gas sensors are of great interest due to their widespread applicability and potential for high sensitivity, fast response, immunity to electromagnetic interference, and compact and lightweight nature. For effective design and development of holographic gas sensors, it is essential to have a reliable and safe gas exposure system allowing for optical access for testing purposes. Here, the design and operation of a custom gas exposure apparatus for the performance evaluation of holographic grating-based gas sensors within a research laboratory setting is presented. The apparatus enables the real-time measurement of analyte-induced changes in key holographic grating parameters: grating diffraction efficiency …

Comparison Of Holographic Recording Options For Reflection-Format And Transmission-Format Coupler-Type Diffractive Optical Elements: Theoretical Exploration And Experimental Validation, Dipanjan Chakraborty, Rosen Georgiev, Vincent Toal, Izabela Naydenova, Dervil Cody, Suzanne Martin

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The holographic recording of gratings that have very large diffraction angles and/or slants is challenging because recording requires beam angles that are not possible without the use of prisms. However, by using a recording wavelength that is different from (usually shorter than) the intended operating wavelength, it is possible to record with less challenging beam angles. In this paper, a recently developed model that allows systematic investigation of the potential and limits of this wavelength-shift recording technique is extended to include a reflection format. Transmission and reflection recording options are compared systematically for the first time, and it is shown …

Laser-Irradiating Infrared Attenuated Total Reflection Spectroscopy Of Articular Cartilage: Potential And Challenges For Diagnosing Osteoarthritis, P. Krebs, M. Nägele, P. Fomina, V. Virtanen, E. Nippolainen, R. Shaikh, I. O. Afara, J. Töyräs, I. Usenov, T. Sakharova, V. Artyushenko, V. Tafintseva, J. H. Solheim, B. Zimmermann, A. Kohler, O. König, S. Saarakkala, B. Mizaikoff

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Objective: A prototype infrared attenuated total reflection (IR-ATR) laser spectroscopic system designed for in vivo classification of human cartilage tissue according to its histological health status during arthroscopic surgery is presented. Prior to real-world in vivo applications, this so-called osteoarthritis (OA) scanner has been tested at in vitro conditions revealing the challenges associated with complex sample matrices and the accordingly obtained sparse spectral datasets. Methods: In vitro studies on human knee cartilage samples at different contact pressures (i.e., 0.2–0.5 ​MPa) allowed recording cartilage degeneration characteristic IR signatures comparable to in vivo conditions with high temporal resolution. Afterwards, the cartilage samples …

Temperature Frequency And Mortality: Assessing Adaptation To Local Temperature, Multi-Country Multi-City (Mcc) Collaborative Network, Patrick Goodman

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Assessing the association between temperature frequency and mortality can provide insights into human adaptation to local ambient temperatures. We collected daily time-series data on mortality and temperature from 757 locations in 47 countries/regions during 1979–2020. We used a two-stage time series design to assess the association between temperature frequency and all-cause mortality. The results were pooled at the national, regional, and global levels. We observed a consistent decrease in the risk of mortality as the normalized frequency of temperature increases across the globe. The average increase in mortality risk comparing the 10th to 100th percentile of normalized frequency was 13.03% …

The Multi-Country Multi-City Collaborative Research Network An International Research Consortium Investigating Environment, Climate, And Health, Multi-Country Multi-City (Mcc) Collaborative Network, Patrick Goodman

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Research on the health risks of environmental factors and climate change requires epidemiological evidence on associated health risks at a global scale. Multi-center studies offer an excellent framework for this purpose, but they present various methodological and logistical problems. This contribution illustrates the experience of the Multi-Country Multi-City Collaborative Research Network, an international collaboration working on a global research program on the associations between environmental stressors, climate, and health in a multi-center setting. The article illustrates the collaborative scheme based on mutual contribution and data and method sharing, describes the collection of a huge multi-location database, summarizes published research findings …

Regional Variation In The Role Of Humidity On City-Level Heat-Related Mortality, Multi-Country Multi-City (Mcc) Collaborative Network, Patrick Goodman

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The rising humid heat is regarded as a severe threat to human survivability, but the proper integration of humid heat into heat-health alerts is still being explored. Using state-of-the-art epidemiological and climatological datasets, we examined the association between multiple heat stress indicators (HSIs) and daily human mortality in 739 cities worldwide. Notable differences were observed in the long-term trends and timing of heat events detected by HSIs. Air temperature (Tair) predicts heat-related mortality well in cities with a robust negative Tair-relative humidity correlation (CT-RH). However, in cities with near-zero or weak positive CT-RH, HSIs considering humidity provide enhanced predictive power …

Impact Of Population Aging On Future Temperature-Related Mortality At Different Global Warming Levels, Multi-Country Multi-City (Mcc) Collaborative Network, Patrick Goodman

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Older adults are generally amongst the most vulnerable to heat and cold. While temperature-related health impacts are projected to increase with global warming, the influence of population aging on these trends remains unclear. Here we show that at 1.5 °C, 2 °C, and 3 °C of global warming, heat-related mortality in 800 locations across 50 countries/areas will increase by 0.5%, 1.0%, and 2.5%, respectively; among which 1 in 5 to 1 in 4 heat-related deaths can be attributed to population aging. Despite a projected decrease in cold-related mortality due to progressive warming alone, population aging will mostly counteract this trend, …

Global, Regional, And National Burden Of Mortality Associated With Cold Spells During 2000–19: A Three-Stage Modelling Study, Multi-Country Multi-City (Mcc) Collaborative Network, Patrick Goodman

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Background: Exposure to cold spells is associated with mortality. However, little is known about the global mortality burden of cold spells. Methods: A three-stage meta-analytical method was used to estimate the global mortality burden associated with cold spells by means of a time series dataset of 1960 locations across 59 countries (or regions). First, we fitted the location-specific, cold spell-related mortality associations using a quasi-Poisson regression with a distributed lag non-linear model with a lag period of up to 21 days. Second, we built a multivariate meta-regression model between location-specific associations and seven predictors. Finally, we predicted the global grid-specific …

Short-Term Effects Of Cyclopentolate And Tropicamide Eye Drops On Macular Choroidal Thickness In Myopic Children, Emmanuel Kobia-Acquah, Daniel Ian Flitcroft, Gareth Lingham, Eoin Kerin, James Loughman

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Background: To investigate the short-term effects of cyclopentolate and tropicamide eyedrops on choroidal thickness (ChT) in myopic children using placebo or low-dose atropine eyedrops. Methods: The analysis included 242 myopic individuals (7–19 years) enrolled in two randomised placebo-controlled clinical trials of low-dose atropine eyedrops. Cycloplegia was induced using either one drop of 1% cyclopentolate (n = 161), two drops of 1% cyclopentolate (n = 32) or two drops of 1% tropicamide (n = 49). ChT measurements were taken using swept-source optical coherence tomography before and 30 min after administering the cycloplegic eye drops. A subset of 51 participants underwent test–retest …

A Comparative Study On Feature Extraction Techniques For The Discrimination Of Frontotemporal Dementia And Alzheimer's Disease With Electroencephalography In Resting-State Adults, Utkarsh Lal, Arjun Vinayak Chikkankod, Luca Longo

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Early-stage Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) share similar symptoms, complicating their diagnosis and the development of specific treatment strategies. Our study evaluated multiple feature extraction techniques for identifying AD and FTD biomarkers from electroencephalographic (EEG) signals. We developed an optimised machine learning architecture that integrates sliding windowing, feature extraction, and supervised learning to distinguish between AD and FTD patients, as well as from healthy controls (HCs). Our model, with a 90% overlap for sliding windowing, SVD entropy for feature extraction, and K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) for supervised learning, achieved a mean F1-score and accuracy of 93% and 91%, 92.5% …