The Concept of Equal Protection of the Laws-A Historical Inquiry

This Article examines the argument that the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment was intended to prevent discrimination against certain groups, and contends that this argument is based upon an incorrect reading of the historical evidence. The author outlines the difficulties in classification based theories of the drafter\u27s intent and identifies the historical bases on the concept of the right to protection. The author argues that the primary function of the equal protection clause was to guarantee the right to protection of the laws to all persons rather than to outlaw discrimination generally against a specific class or classes

Inventory management for stochastic lead times with order crossovers

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordWe study the impact of stochastic lead times with order crossover on inventory costs and safety stocks in the order-up-to (OUT) policy. To motivate our research we present global logistics data which violates the traditional assumption that lead time demand is normally distributed. We also observe that order crossover is a common and important phenomenon in real supply chains. We present a new method for determining the distribution of the number of open orders. Using this method we identify the distribution of inventory levels when orders and the work-in-process are correlated. This correlation is present when demand is auto-correlated, demand forecasts are generated with non-optimal methods, or when certain ordering policies are present. Our method allows us to obtain exact safety stock requirements for the so-called proportional order-up-to (POUT) policy, a popular, implementable, linear generalization of the OUT policy. We highlight that the OUT replenishment policy is not cost optimal in global supply chains, as we are able to demonstrate the POUT policy always outperforms it under order cross-over. We show that unlike the constant lead-time case, minimum safety stocks and minimal inventory variance do not always lead to minimum costs under stochastic lead-times with order crossover. We also highlight an interesting side effect of minimizing inventory costs under stochastic lead times with order crossover with the POUT policy - an often significant reduction in the order variance

Training on a Lower Body Positive Pressure Treadmill With Body Weight Support does not Improve Aerobic Capacity

International Journal of Exercise Science 14(7): 829-839, 2021. This study examined the physiological changes resulting from training on a lower body positive pressure treadmill (LBPPT) at three different levels of body weight support (BWS). Thirty-three healthy college aged students (22.3 ± 3.1 years) completed the study. Participants performed a graded exercise test (GXT) to exhaustion and were placed into one of three experimental groups corresponding to 100%, 75%, and 50% of their normal BW. Participants trained at their experimental BW levels for eight-weeks. Training speed was monitored by heart rate (HR) and speed was adjusted to elicit approximately 60% of participant’s peak oxygen uptake (V̇O2peak) at normal BW prior to including body weight support (BWS). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the change in aerobic capacity. The 100% BW group improved their relative V̇O2peak (1.42 ± 1.52 ml · min-1 · kg-1) when compared to the 50% BW group (-0.87 ± 2.20 ml · min-1 · kg-1 [p = .022]) but not the 75% BW group (-0.16 ± 1.92 ml · min-1 · kg-1, [p = .14]). Furthermore, no statistical differences in V̇O2peak were observed between the 75% and 50% BW groups (p = .66). Based on this study, training at 75% and 50% of normal BW on a LBPPT does not improve aerobic capacity compared to training with no BWS when using training speeds derived from a GXT with full BW. The outcome of this study may help to prescribe training speeds while utilizing a LBPPT to maintain or improve aerobic capacity

Actinomyces spp. gene expression in root caries lesions

Background: studies of the distribution of Actinomyces spp. on carious and non-carious root surfaces have not been able to confirm the association of these bacteria with root caries, although they were extensively implicated as a prime suspect in root caries. Objective: the aim of this study was to observe the gene expression of Actinomyces spp. in the microbiota of root surfaces with and without caries. Design: the oral biofilms from exposed sound root surface (SRS; n=10) and active root caries (RC; n=30) samples were collected. The total bacterial RNA was extracted and the mRNA was isolated. Samples with low RNA concentration were pooled, yielding a final sample size of SRS=10 and RC=9. cDNA libraries were prepared and sequenced on the Illumina Hi-Seq2500. Sequence reads were mapped to eight Actinomyces genomes. Count data were normalized using DESeq2 to analyse differential gene expression applying the Benjamini-Hochberg correction (FDR0.05), except for Actinomyces OT178 (p=0.001) and A. gerencseriae (p=0.004), which had higher read count in the SRS. Genes that code for stress proteins (clp, dnaK and groEL), enzymes of glycolysis pathways (including, enolase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase), adhesion (Type-2 fimbrial and collagen-binding protein) and cell growth (EF-Tu) were highly, but not differentially (p>0.001) expressed in both groups. Genes with the most significant up-regulation in RC were those coding for hypothetical proteins and uracil DNA glycosylase (p=2.61E-17). The gene with the most significant up-regulation in SRS was a peptide ABC transporter substrate-binding protein (log2FC= -6.00, FDR= 2.37E-05). Conclusion: there were similar levels of Actinomyces gene expression in both sound and carious root biofilms. These bacteria can be commensal in root surface sites, but may be cariogenic due to survival mechanisms allowing them to exist in acid environment and metabolize sugars saving energy

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Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 1994.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 68-71).by David A. Maltz.M.S

The metatranscriptomes of root caries and sound root surface biofilms

There is limited knowledge of bacterial metabolism in root caries lesions. The aim of this study was to describe the bacterial metatranscriptomes associated with root caries and sound root surfaces using an RNA-seq analysis approach. The biofilms from exposed root surfaces were sampled from caries-free volunteers (n=10), and from the infected dentine of volunteers with root caries (n=30). Total bacterial RNA was extracted; cDNA libraries were prepared and sequenced on the Illumina Hi-Seq2500. The function and composition of the metabolically active microbiota were investigated using: a) MG-RAST, and b) denovo assembly of the read data and mapping to contigs. Differential gene expression analysis was done using the R package DESeq2 (padj <10−3). Transcripts with the highest expression levels were those coding for membrane transport systems, ribosomal proteins, enolase and glycolytic pathways in both groups. Differential analysis indicated that genes coding for the OmpA domain protein and metalloprotease domain protein were over-expressed in the caries samples (log2FoldChange = –12.2; padj= 3.5 × 10−13), whereas genes in the samples from healthy sites over-expressed pilus biosynthesis protein, thiamine diphosphokinase and transporter protein (log2FoldChange = 16.5; padj = 2.2 × 10−21). Metatranscriptomic analyses show unique gene expression profiles in sound root surface and carious biofilms

2 Contribution Number 1328-E from the Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center

ABSTRACT We studied the balance of Na + , K + , Cl -, and water in six high yielding (&gt;39 kg/d of milk) cows between wk 2 to 1 prepartum and at 2 and 7 wk postpartum during winter in Israel. Cows were fed complete diets; Na + and Cl -contents exceeded dietary recommendations, and K + content was equal to dietary recommendations. Milk yield was related positively and significantly to retention of Cl -and K + , indicating that ions that are the main constituents of sweat can limit the ability of cows to express full genetic potential. The highest ion retention was recorded for cows that had the highest dry matter intake and, hence, the highest ion intake. Retention of Cl -was highest for cows that were most efficient in retaining Cl -in the kidney. In hot climates, increasing the concentrations of ions in the diet of early lactation cows according to the actual dry matter intake could prevent or reduce the severity of ion deficiencies. Water turnover rate of the cows was dependent on dry matter intake, milk yield, and respiratory-cutaneous water loss. The milk-free water balance (water turnover rate minus water secreted in milk) could be very efficiently predicted for lactating and nonlactating cows by the following equation: milk-free water balance (kilograms per day) = digestible energy intake (megacalories per day) × 0.58 + respiratory-cutaneous loss (kilograms per day) × 0.97 ( n = 18; R 2 = 0.97). This formula provides a tool to assess the evaporative-cutaneous water loss from feed and water intake measurements to evaluate the severity of heat stress. ( Key words: water, ions, metabolism, lactation) Abbreviation key: FWI = free water intake, MFWB = milk-free water balance, RCW = respiratorycutaneous water, WTO = water turnover

ToMRobot 2.0: real mobility mechanism in MANET testbed using mobile robot

This paper is a continuation of our previous paper under the same topic, ToMRobot 1.0. Our main goal of developing ToMRobot 2.0 is to improve the ToMRobot 1.0 that we developed earlier. ToMRobot was developed because we think mobile robot technology is more practical than other approaches as a real world mobility mechanism in MANET testbed. But to develop our own mobile robot at low cost and at the same time not complex is very challenging. The challenge is overcome through the use of easy-to-use components, self-built components using 3D printers and the use of mobile robot designs that have proven to be easily developed, cheap and effective. The use of the Robot Operating System (ROS) as the main robot software framework greatly helps to reduce the complexity of developing control system for mobile robot

Organizational Alignment and Supply Chain Governance Structure: Introduction and Construct Validation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce and validate two new constructs with the potential to sharpen our understanding of how and why firms integrate their internal supply chains and assess the governance structure of their supply chains. The first construct, organizational alignment (OA), is a reflective scale measuring the extent to which upper management attempts to foster integration between internal supply chain functions. The second, supply chain governance structure (SCGS), is a formative index, and is a first attempt at developing a measurement instrument to assess SCGS along multiple dimensions. Design/methodology/approach – Following a literature review, measures of OA and SCGS are conceptualized. These instruments are used to collect data, after which they are refined and validated through parallel scale development (OA) and index construction (SCGS) processes. Findings – OA shows acceptable content and construct validity, and SCGS shows acceptable results for content and item specification, as well as multicollinearity. Practical implications – OA and SCGS may provide some insight into how to promote better internal supply chain integration within the firm, and may allow for an assessment of the governance structure of the firm\u27s supply chain. In different industries and at different times, this knowledge may prove useful in supply chain design and supply base optimization decisions. Originality/value – These scales have considerable applicability in logistics and supply chain management research. Together, they represent initial attempts to assess upper management influence on internal supply chain alignment (OA), and to assess the governance structure of a firm\u27s supply chain