Update on the Measurement of alpha_S with a 500 GeV Linear Collider

An update on the prospects for the precise measurement of the strong coupling constant alpha_S at a high energy Linear Collider via the three-jet rate is presented. In particular, the issue of the distribution of center-of-mass energies of the identified q-qbar event sample, which can affect the determination of \alpha_S at the scale Q^2=(500 GeV)^2$, is addressed.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, LaTex, requires epsfig and aipproc macro

Unregulated Corporate Internal Investigations: Achieving Fairness for Corporate Constituents

This article focuses on the relationship between corporations and their employee constituents in the context of corporate internal investigations, an unregulated multi-million dollar business. The classic approach provided in the 1981 Supreme Court opinion, Upjohn v. United States, is contrasted with the reality of modern-day internal investigations that may exploit individuals to achieve a corporate benefit with the government. Attorney-client privilege becomes an issue as corporate constituents perceive that corporate counsel is representing their interests, when in fact these internal investigators are obtaining information for the corporation to barter with the government. Legal precedent and ethics rules provide little relief to these corporate employees. This Article suggests that courts need to move beyond the Upjohn decision and recognize this new landscape. It advocates for corporate fair dealing and provides a multi-faceted approach to achieve this aim. Ultimately this Article considers how best to level the playing field between corporations and their employees in matters related to the corporate internal investigation

Contemporary developments in teaching and learning introductory programming: Towards a research proposal

The teaching and learning of introductory programming in tertiary institutions is problematic. Failure rates are high and the inability of students to complete small programming tasks at the completion of introductory units is not unusual. The literature on teaching programming contains many examples of changes in teaching strategies and curricula that have been implemented in an effort to reduce failure rates. This paper analyses contemporary research into the area, and summarises developments in the teaching of introductory programming. It also focuses on areas for future research which will potentially lead to improvements in both the teaching and learning of introductory programming. A graphical representation of the issues from the literature that are covered in the document is provided in the introduction

Draft Whole-Genome Sequence of the Marine Bacterium Idiomarina zobellii KMM 231T

Idiomarina zobellii was isolated from the northwest Pacific Ocean at a depth of 4,000 to 5,000 m in 1985. The draft whole-genome shotgun sequence of I. zobellii KMM 231T described in this paper has a predicted length of 2,602,160 bp, containing 2,570 total genes, 52 tRNAs, and a G+C content of 47.10%

Genome Sequence of the Deep-Sea Bacterium Idiomarina abyssalis KMM 227T

diomarina abyssalis KMM 227T is an aerobic flagellar gammaproteobacterium found at a depth of 4,000 to 5,000 m below sea level in the Pacific Ocean. This paper presents a draft genome sequence for I. abyssalis KMM 227T, with a predicted composition of 2,684,812 bp (47.15% G+C content) and 2,611 genes, of which 2,508 were predicted coding sequences

Oxidation protection coatings for polymers

A polymeric substrate is coated with a metal oxide film to provide oxidation protection in low Earth orbital environments. The film contains about four volume percent polymer to provide flexibility

Effect of transmission setting and mixed species infections on clinical measures of malaria in Malawi

<p>Background: In malaria endemic regions people are commonly infected with multiple species of malaria parasites but the clinical impact of these Plasmodium co-infections is unclear. Differences in transmission seasonality and transmission intensity between endemic regions have been suggested as important factors in determining the effect of multiple species co-infections.</p> <p>Principal Findings: In order to investigate the impact of multiple-species infections on clinical measures of malaria we carried out a cross-sectional community survey in Malawi, in 2002. We collected clinical and parasitological data from 2918 participants aged >6 months, and applied a questionnaire to measure malaria morbidity. We examined the effect of transmission seasonality and intensity on fever, history of fever, haemoglobin concentration ([Hb]) and parasite density, by comparing three regions: perennial transmission (PT), high intensity seasonal transmission (HIST) and low intensity seasonal transmission (LIST). These regions were defined using multi-level modelling of PCR prevalence data and spatial and geo-climatic measures. The three Plasmodium species (P. falciparum, P. malariae and P. ovale) were randomly distributed amongst all children but not adults in the LIST and PT regions. Mean parasite density in children was lower in the HIST compared with the other two regions. Mixed species infections had lower mean parasite density compared with single species infections in the PT region. Fever rates were similar between transmission regions and were unaffected by mixed species infections. A history of fever was associated with single species infections but only in the HIST region. Reduced mean [Hb] and increased anaemia was associated with perennial transmission compared to seasonal transmission. Children with mixed species infections had higher [Hb] in the HIST region.</p> <p>Conclusions: Our study suggests that the interaction of Plasmodium co-infecting species can have protective effects against some clinical outcomes of malaria but that this is dependent on the seasonality and intensity of malaria transmission.</p&gt

Diseases of winter linseed : occurrence, effects and importance

In 1998, a survey of the incidence and severity of diseases was carried out on 30 crops of winter linseed at early flowering and again at crop maturity. Five crops each were selected in south west, east, east Midlands, west Midlands and north of England and from Scotland. Crops were predominantly cv. Oliver (90% crops), grown from certified seed (83%) and sown in September (97%). Pasmo (Mycosphaerella) was the most important disease, affecting leaves of 73% crops at early flowering and 90% crops at maturity. Powdery mildew (70% crops), Alternaria (30% crops) on leaves and Botrytis on capsules (70% crops) were also common. Regional differences were apparent for powdery mildew, which was present in all regions except the southwest, whilst Alternaria predominated in the Midlands. Half of the crops surveyed had received fungicide sprays, but this appeared to have made limited impact on disease severity. Pasmo is a new threat to UK linseed crops and this raises concerns about the threat it poses to spring linsee