The future of e-commerce payments

On June 19, 2002, the Payment Cards Center of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and the Electronic Funds Transfer Association's Electronic Commerce Payments Council (eCPC) sponsored a joint conference. This meeting was part of the regularly scheduled quarterly council meetings that bring together stakeholders interested in developing or enhancing e-commerce payment alternatives. The session included both Federal Reserve staff and industry leaders discussing how electronic payments are becoming an alternative to paper-based payment products and the adoption of electronic payments by consumers and merchants.Electronic commerce

Exact beta function from the holographic loop equation of large-N QCD_4

We construct and study a previously defined quantum holographic effective action whose critical equation implies the holographic loop equation of large-N QCD_4 for planar self-avoiding loops in a certain regularization scheme. We extract from the effective action the exact beta function in the given scheme. For the Wilsonean coupling constant the beta function is exacly one loop and the first coefficient agrees with its value in perturbation theory. For the canonical coupling constant the exact beta function has a NSVZ form and the first two coefficients agree with their value in perturbation theory.Comment: 42 pages, latex. The exponent of the Vandermonde determinant in the quantum effective action has been changed, because it has been employed a holomorphic rather than a hermitean resolution of identity in the functional integral. Beta function unchanged. New explanations and references added, typos correcte

Signal at subleading order in lattice HQET

We discuss the correlators in lattice HQET that are needed to go beyond the static theory. Based on our implementation in the Schr\"odinger functional we focus on their signal-to-noise ratios and check that a reasonable statistical precision can be reached in quantities like $f_{B_s}$ and $M_{B^\star}-M_B$.Comment: 3 pages, Lattice2004(heavy), v2: corrected definition of X^{kin/spin

Current Renormalisation Constants with an O(a)-improved Fermion Action

Using chiral Ward identities, we determine the renormalisation constants of bilinear quark operators for the Sheikholeslami-Wohlert action lattice at beta=6.2. The results are obtained with a high degree of accuracy. For the vector current renormalisation constant we obtain Z_V=0.817(2)(8), where the first error is statistical and the second is due to mass dependence of Z_V. This is close to the perturbative value of 0.83. For the axial current renormalisation constant we obtain Z_A = 1.045(+10 -14), significantly higher than the value obtained in perturbation theory. This is shown to reduce the difference between lattice estimates and the experimental values for the pseudoscalar meson decay constants, but a significant discrepancy remains. The ratio of pseudoscalar to scalar renormalisation constants, Z_P/Z_S, is less well determined, but seems to be slightly lower than the perturbative value.Comment: 8 pages uuencoded compressed postscript file. Article to be submitted to Phys.Rev.

When REBOA grows wings: Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta to facilitate aeromedical transport

BACKGROUND: Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) is a helpful adjunct in the control of non-compressible truncal hemorrhage. Concerns regarding ischemia time limits its applicability in transfer. We describe the first reported case of civilian transfer via aeromedical transport to a higher level of care with a zone 3 REBOA catheter deployed. CASE REPORT: We present the case of a patient in hemorrhagic shock with a complex pelvic fracture exceeding the capability of a rural level-two trauma center requiring the use of REBOA catheter to permit aeromedical transport to a level-one trauma center for definitive embolization. CONCLUSION: Deployment of REBOA catheter to facilitate aeromedical transport to an appropriate level of care may be considered if travel times can be kept brief and there is a process and training in place to empower flight medics to consider transporting with a REBOA deployed

Discordant Supramolecular Fibres Reversibly Depolymerised by Temperature and Light

Synthetic stimuli responsive supramolecular polymers attract increasing interest for their ability to mimic the unique properties of natural assemblies. Here we focus on the well-studied benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxamide (BTA) motif, and substitute it with two (S)-3,7-dimethyloctyl groups and an azobenzene photoswitch. We demonstrate the UV (λ=365 nm) induced depolymerisation of the helical hydrogen-bonded polymers in methylcyclohexane (MCH) through circular dichroism and UV-vis spectroscopy in dilute solution (15 μm), and NMR and iPAINT super-resolution microscopy in concentrated solution (300 μm). The superstructure can be regenerated after thermal depolymerization, whilst repeated depolymerisation can be reversed without degradation by irradiating at λ=455 nm. Molecular dynamics simulations show that the most energetically favourable configuration for these polymers in MCH is a left-handed helical network of hydrogen-bonds between the BTA cores surrounded by two right-handed helices of azobenzenes. The responsiveness to two orthogonal triggers across a broad concentration range holds promise for use in, for example, photo-responsive gelation