Basalt models for the Mars penetrator mission: Geology of the Amboy Lava Field, California

Amboy lava field (San Bernardino County, California) is a Holocene basalt flow selected as a test site for potential Mars Penetrators. A discussion is presented of (1) the general relations of basalt flow features and textures to styles of eruptions on earth, (2) the types of basalt flows likely to be encountered on Mars and the rationale for selection of the Amboy lava field as a test site, (3) the general geology of the Amboy lava field, and (4) detailed descriptions of the target sites at Amboy lava field

To Be Announced: Silence from the United States Supreme Court and Disagreement among Lower Courts Suggest an Uncertain Future for Class-Wide Arbitration - Green Tree Fin. Corp. v. Bazzle

With growth in the area of arbitration agreements relating to employment, credit cards, loans, and other form agreements, the issue of class-wide arbitration has become an area of significant judicial activity. However, increased judicial activity has not resulted in increased clarity; to the dismay of those parties seeking to pursue or avoid class-wide arbitration, the law on this issue has become unpredictable from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The United States Supreme Court has expressed the importance of the class-action as a valuable device for vindicating plaintiffs\u27 rights. Additionally, the Supreme Court has recognized arbitration as a valuable form of dispute resolution. In contrast, when the class-action and arbitration are found in the form of class-wide arbitration, the Supreme Court has been less than swift in establishing binding precedent for the lower courts to follow. Although the Bazzle decision was concerned primarily with whether silent agreements preclude class-wide arbitration, this casenote will address class-wide arbitration in general, and the manner in which the Supreme Court treated the issue in Bazzle

Predictive Value of Steroidal Hormones to Type 2 Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are highly prevalent in the US population and major health burdens. Consensus criterion for diagnosis of MetS was proposed by the International Diabetes Federation. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) has issued diagnosis criteria for T2DM that are internationally implemented. Steroid hormones especially aldosterone, testosterone, and cortisol have been found to be correlated with these disease states. A logistic regression model is used to determine the predictive value of the measured steroid hormones. In Chapter 1, we develop the background on steroids specifically cortisol which is directly related to the subsequent chapters. Steroid pathways and the hypothalamus pituitary adrenal axis are discussed. In the remaining chapters, solutions are proposed for measurement of various steroid panels, which involve liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Chapter 2 discusses LC-MS/MS technique, development, and validation of clinical assays. Chapter 3 introduces a LC-MS/MS steroid panel for the measurement of plasma testosterone, aldosterone, cortisol, and cortisone and the predictive value of these compounds for MetS and T2DM. Cortisone had a strong predictive value for T2DM based on a logistic regression model of the data. Chapter 4 introduces a new LC-MS/MS method for the measurement of salivary cortisol, which is useful for identifying Cushing’s disease. This method is simple and fast and has been used for clinical studies. A reference interval collection was performed and the salivary cortisol reference interval was verified. Chapter 5 introduces a third LC-MS/MS method that measures a panel of steroids for the detection of congenital adrenal hyperplasia that is able to identify all the possible enzymatic blockages for this disease

Arbitration Clauses Should Be Enforced According to Their Terms - Except When They Shouldn\u27t Be: The Ninth Circuit Limits Parties\u27 Ability to Contract for Standards of Review of Arbitration Awards - Kyocera Corporation v. Prudential-Bache Trade Services

Arbitration is the process whereby parties submit disputes to a third, neutral party who will issue a decision that is both final and binding upon the parties. The Supreme Court has recognized arbitration as a valuable form of dispute resolution, with its primary advantages being speed, affordability, and the lower degree of hostility created by a less adversarial environment. In contrast to litigation, the standards of review for arbitral awards are defined in the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) and are extremely narrow. In somewhat of a collision-course with the terms of the FAA is the fact that some courts have interpreted the holding of Volt Information Sciences, Inc. v. Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University, wherein the Supreme Court held that parties agreements should be enforced according to their terms, as supportive of the conclusion that parties should be free to contract for non-statutory standards of review. With more and more parties submitting disputes to arbitration, the issue of whether parties can contractually expand the standard of review has become extremely unclear, with complex divisions even among individual circuits. This Note addresses the effects of allowing parties to contract for standards of review beyond those established in the FAA, and the Ninth Circuit\u27s self-reversing decision in Kyocera prohibiting such agreements

Ultra-Short Optical Pulse Generation with Single-Layer Graphene

Pulses as short as 260 fs have been generated in a diode-pumped low-gain Er:Yb:glass laser by exploiting the nonlinear optical response of single-layer graphene. The application of this novel material to solid-state bulk lasers opens up a way to compact and robust lasers with ultrahigh repetition rates.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Journal of Nonlinear Optical Physics & Material

An Investigation of Multitiered Behavioral Interventions on Disruptive Behavior and Academic Engagement of Elementary Students

This study examined the effects of a multitiered system of support using Check-In Check-Out (CICO) as a secondary intervention and function-based self-monitoring (FBSM) as a tertiary intervention on the disruptive behavior and academic engagement of four elementary students identified as being in need of additional behavioral supports. A multiple baseline across participants\u27 design was conducted to evaluate the effects of CICO and a reversal design was used to evaluate the additive effects of FBSM with one participant whose behavior was determined nonresponsive to CICO due to variability and minimal change in disruptive behavior. Results indicate a reduction in disruptive behavior and increased academic engagement for three participants upon introduction of CICO. Evaluations of the FBSM intervention were rendered inconclusive; however, preliminary data revealed a decrease in trend and level of disruptive behavior for the participant receiving tertiary support

Finite-temperature scalar fields and the cosmological constant in an Einstein universe

We study the back reaction effect of massless minimally coupled scalar field at finite temperatures in the background of Einstein universe. Substituting for the vacuum expectation value of the components of the energy-momentum tensor on the RHS of the Einstein equation, we deduce a relationship between the radius of the universe and its temperature. This relationship exhibit a maximum temperature, below the Planck scale, at which the system changes its behaviour drastically. The results are compared with the case of a conformally coupled field. An investigation into the values of the cosmological constant exhibit a remarkable difference between the conformally coupled case and the minimally coupled one.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure

Inflaton Decay in an Alpha Vacuum

We study the alpha vacua of de Sitter space by considering the decay rate of the inflaton field coupled to a scalar field placed in an alpha vacuum. We find an {\em alpha dependent} Bose enhancement relative to the Bunch-Davies vacuum and, surprisingly, no non-renormalizable divergences. We also consider a modified alpha dependent time ordering prescription for the Feynman propagator and show that it leads to an alpha independent result. This result suggests that it may be possible to calculate in any alpha vacuum if we employ the appropriate causality preserving prescription.Comment: 16 pages, 1 figure, Revtex 4 preprin

Fiscal year 1976 progress report on a feasibility study evaluating the use of surface penetrators for planetary exploration

The feasibility of employing penetrators for exploring Mars was examined. Eight areas of interest for key scientific experiments were identified. These include: seismic activity, imaging, geochemistry, water measurement, heatflow, meteorology, magnetometry, and biochemistry. In seven of the eight potential experiment categories this year's progress included: conceptual design, instrument fabrication, instrument performance evaluation, and shock loading of important components. Most of the components survived deceleration testing with negligible performance changes. Components intended to be placed inside the penetrator forebody were tested up to 3,500 g and components intended to be placed on the afterbody were tested up to 21,000 g. A field test program was conducted using tentative Mars penetrator mission constraints. Drop tests were performed at two selected terrestrial analog sites to determine the range of penetration depths for anticipated common Martian materials. Minimum penetration occurred in basalt at Amboy, California. Three full-scale penetrators penetrated 0.4 to 0.9 m into the basalt after passing through 0.3 to 0.5 m of alluvial overburden. Maximum penetration occurred in unconsolidated sediments at McCook, Nebraska. Two full-scale penetrators penetrated 2.5 to 8.5 m of sediment. Impact occurred in two kinds of sediment: loess and layered clay. Deceleration g loads of nominally 2,000 for the forebody and 20,000 for the afterbody did not present serious design problems for potential experiments. Penetrators have successfully impacted into terrestrial analogs of the probable extremes of potential Martian sites