A procedure for determining the characteristic value of a geotechnical parameter

Risk and Reliability in Geotechnical Engineerin

Asymptotic safety with Majorana fermions and new large N equivalences

Using Majorana fermions and elementary mesons we find new massless quantum field theories with weakly interacting ultraviolet fixed points. We also find new classes of large N equivalences among SU, SO, and Sp gauge theories with different types of matter fields and Yukawa interactions. Results include a triality of asymptotically safe theories and dualities between asymptotically free matter-gauge theories with identical fixed points, phase diagrams, and scaling exponents. Implications for conformal field theory and orbifold reductions are indicated

A survey of thermal expansion coefficients for organic molecular crystals in the Cambridge Structural Database.

Typical ranges of thermal expansion coefficients are established for organic molecular crystals in the Cambridge Structural Database. The CSD Python API is used to extract 6201 crystal structures determined close to room temperature and at least one lower temperature down to 90 K. The data set is dominated by structure families with only two temperature points and is subject to various sources of error, including incorrect temperature reporting and missing flags for variable-pressure studies. For structure families comprising four or more temperature points in the range 90-300 K, a linear relationship between unit-cell volume and temperature is shown to be a reasonable approximation. For a selected subset of 210 structures showing an optimal linear fit, the volumetric expansion coefficient at 298 K has mean 173 p.p.m. K-1 and standard deviation 47 p.p.m.  K-1. The full set of 6201 structures shows a similar distribution, which is fitted by a normal distribution with mean 161 p.p.m. K-1 and standard deviation 51 p.p.m. K-1, with excess population in the tails mainly comprising unreliable entries. The distribution of principal expansion coefficients, extracted under the assumption of a linear relationship between length and temperature, shows a positive skew and can be approximated by two half normal distributions centred on 33 p.p.m. K-1 with standard deviations 40 p.p.m. K-1 (lower side) and 56 p.p.m. K-1 (upper side). The distribution for the full structure set is comparable to that of the test subset, and the overall frequency of biaxial and uniaxial negative thermal expansion is estimated to be < 5% and ∼30%, respectively. A measure of the expansion anisotropy shows a positively skewed distribution, similar to the principal expansion coefficients themselves, and ranges based on suggested half normal distributions are shown to highlight literature cases of exceptional thermal expansion

Redetermination of 3-methyl­isoquinoline at 150 K

The structure of the title compound, C19H9O, has been redetermined at 150 K. The redetermination is of significantly higher precision than a previous room-temperature structure [Ribar et al. (1974 ▶). Cryst. Struct. Commun. 3, 323–325]. The C—N bond lengths for this redetermination are much closer to those observed in comparable structures, and the orientation of the methyl group with respect to the isoquinoline plane is clarified. Inter­molecular weak C—H⋯N contacts are present in the crystal

Parting the Chevron Sea: An Argument for Chevron\u27s Greater Applicability to Cabinet than Independent Agencies

This Note argues that cabinet agencies are better suited to receive Chevron deference than independent agencies because voters should desire such policy decisions to be made by those closest to electoral accountability, rather than unelected Article III judges with life-tenure. In other words, the judiciary should accept the countermajoritarian difficulty as fundamentally true and review cabinet agency decisions in light of Chevron deference. Part I examines the revolutionary decision of Chevron and its aftermath. Central to Part I is an inquiry into whether Chevron should be applied on a case-by-case or across-the-board basis, and whether Chevron has usurped the judiciary’s power to “say what the law is,” as cemented by the cornerstone constitutional law case of Marbury v. Madison. This Note contends that Chevron deference should be applied across-the-board, and that Chevron and Marbury are not at odds, but rather compatible precedents for the courts. Part II defines what constitutes “cabinet” agencies in the scope of this discussion. Defining what constitutes a cabinet agency, in practice, is a difficult distinction. Part III turns to Chevron’s greater applicability (or inapplicability, as advanced by several critics) to cabinet agencies than independent agencies. Fundamental to Part III is both a theoretical and practical justification for why cabinet agencies are better suited for Chevron deference