Crossed Wires: Outdated Perceptions of Electronic Communications in the NLRB\u27s Purple Communications Decision

The National Labor Relations Board (the NLRB or the Board) has recently emphasized the need to adjust to the rapid pace of change in modern society.1 The recognition of employees’ right to use employer-owned email systems for protected activities in its December 2014 Purple Communications decision purported to establish a central pillar of this effort.2 Purple Communications reversed the NLRB’s 2007 Register Guard holding that employees do not have the right to use employer-owned electronic resources for protected activities.3 However, the Board’s rationale in Purple Communications reflected an understanding of electronic resources that was more suited to 2007 than to the lives of workers in late 2014. Consequently, an attempt to demonstrate adaptability resulted in a failure to respond to changed circumstances. Part I of this Note describes the NLRB’s role in protecting collective action in the workplace, as well as its responsibility to adapt its standards to changing social, economic, and technological circumstances. Part II explains that the tension between employees’ collective action rights and employers’ property rights represents one of the fundamental balancing acts the Board must perform as circumstances change. Next, Part III examines how the Board has performed that balancing act in the context of email, including its 2007 Register Guard and 2014 Purple Communications decisions. Part IV demonstrates that workers’ utilizations of diverse electronic communications platforms grew significantly between 2007 and 2014. Part V argues that those changes should have factored into the Board’s analysis in Purple Communications

Hysteresis, Avalanches, and Noise: Numerical Methods

In studying the avalanches and noise in a model of hysteresis loops we have developed two relatively straightforward algorithms which have allowed us to study large systems efficiently. Our model is the random-field Ising model at zero temperature, with deterministic albeit random dynamics. The first algorithm, implemented using sorted lists, scales in computer time as O(N log N), and asymptotically uses N (sizeof(double)+ sizeof(int)) bits of memory. The second algorithm, which never generates the random fields, scales in time as O(N \log N) and asymptotically needs storage of only one bit per spin, about 96 times less memory than the first algorithm. We present results for system sizes of up to a billion spins, which can be run on a workstation with 128MB of RAM in a few hours. We also show that important physical questions were resolved only with the largest of these simulations

Characterisation of spatial network-like patterns from junctions' geometry

We propose a new method for quantitative characterization of spatial network-like patterns with loops, such as surface fracture patterns, leaf vein networks and patterns of urban streets. Such patterns are not well characterized by purely topological estimators: also patterns that both look different and result from different morphogenetic processes can have similar topology. A local geometric cue -the angles formed by the different branches at junctions- can complement topological information and allow to quantify the large scale spatial coherence of the pattern. For patterns that grow over time, such as fracture lines on the surface of ceramics, the rank assigned by our method to each individual segment of the pattern approximates the order of appearance of that segment. We apply the method to various network-like patterns and we find a continuous but sharp dichotomy between two classes of spatial networks: hierarchical and homogeneous. The first class results from a sequential growth process and presents large scale organization, the latter presents local, but not global organization.Comment: version 2, 14 page

Physical Structure and Nature of Supernova Remnants in M101

Supernova remnant (SNR) candidates in the giant spiral galaxy M101 have been previously identified from ground-based H-alpha and [SII] images. We have used archival Hubble Space Telescope (HST) H-alpha and broad-band images as well as stellar photometry of 55 SNR candidates to examine their physical structure, interstellar environment, and underlying stellar population. We have also obtained high-dispersion echelle spectra to search for shocked high-velocity gas in 18 SNR candidates, and identified X-ray counterparts to SNR candidates using data from archival observations made by the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Twenty-one of these 55 SNR candidates studied have X-ray counterparts, although one of them is a known ultra-luminous X-ray source. The multi-wavelength information has been used to assess the nature of each SNR candidate. We find that within this limited sample, ~16% are likely remnants of Type Ia SNe and ~45% are remnants of core-collapse SNe. In addition, about ~36% are large candidates which we suggest are either superbubbles or OB/HII complexes. Existing radio observations are not sensitive enough to detect the non-thermal emission from these SNR candidates. Several radio sources are coincident with X-ray sources, but they are associated with either giant HII regions in M101 or background galaxies. The archival HST H-alpha images do not cover the entire galaxy and thus prevents a complete study of M101. Furthermore, the lack of HST [SII] images precludes searches for small SNR candidates which could not be identified by ground-based observations. Such high-resolution images are needed in order to obtain a complete census of SNRs in M101 for a comprehensive investigation of the distribution, population, and rates of SNe in this galaxy.Comment: 37 pages, 4 Tables, 7 Figures, accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journa

Kinetic modeling and simulation of high-temperature by-product formation from urea decomposition

The Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technique is widely applied in exhaust gas after-treatment of diesel engines. Depending on operating conditions, injected urea-water solution (UWS) can form liquid films on mixer blades and the pipe wall. Evaporation and subsequent reactions in the wall film can lead to deposits of urea and by-products, respectively. Especially deposits that are not decomposed up to high temperatures are challenging for the SCR technique. Thermogravimetric experiments are conducted for these stable urea by-products, such as ammelide, ammeline and their by-products, such as cyanamide or melamine. An analysis of the evolving gases during thermal decomposition led to a more detailed understanding of the kinetics. The postulated mechanism is able to predict the thermogravimetric analyses results and the effects of variation of the experimental conditions such as initial sample mass and heating rates. The evaluated kinetics, together with the recently developed kinetics for the urea/biuret/triuret/cyanuric acid system Tischer et al. (2019), can now be integrated into CFD simulations of SCR systems to numerically simulate all relevant physical and chemical processes in UWS equipped aftertreatment systems for a wide range of conditions

Cost-Effectiveness of Interferon Beta-1a, Interferon Beta-1b, and Glatiramer Acetate in Newly Diagnosed Non-primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis

AbstractObjectiveTo perform a cost-effectiveness analysis of three immunomodulatory treatments for newly diagnosed nonprimary progressive MS: interferon beta-1a, interferon beta-1b, and glatiramer acetate.MethodsWe developed a state-transition model to estimate the health effects and costs associated with interferon beta-1a, interferon beta-1b, glatiramer acetate, and no treatment for hypothetical cohorts of men and women with non-primary progressive MS. We used the Expanded Disability Status Scale as the measure of disability and included both relapses and disease progression in the model. We evaluated treatment strategies assuming a 10-year treatment duration using the societal perspective. We elicited preferences for disability and treatment states using standard-gamble questions and modeled the disutility associated with treatment administration and side effects explicitly. Main outcome measures were net gains in quality-adjusted life expectancy and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios in dollars per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained.ResultsFor treatment duration of 10 years for newly diagnosed non-primary progressive MS, interferon beta-1a yielded the largest gain in quality-adjusted life expectancy with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $2,200,000/QALY for women and$1,800,000/QALY for men, compared with no treatment. For a 5-year treatment duration, a “no treatment” strategy yielded more quality-adjusted life years than any of the treatment strategies. Cost-effectiveness ratios were similar for all three immunomodulatory treatments evaluated.ConclusionsCost-effectiveness results for all three immunomodulatory treatments for MS were unfavorable in the simulated study population under a wide range of assumptions. For treatment duration less than or equal to 5 years, expected benefits of treatment may not outweigh disutility associated with side effects and treatment discomfort

Universal Pulse Shape Scaling Function and Exponents: A Critical Test for Avalanche Models applied to Barkhausen Noise

In order to test if the universal aspects of Barkhausen noise in magnetic materials can be predicted from recent variants of the non-equilibrium zero temperature Random Field Ising Model (RFIM), we perform a quantitative study of the universal scaling function derived from the Barkhausen pulse shape in simulations and experiment. Through data collapses and scaling relations we determine the critical exponents $\tau$ and $1/\sigma\nu z$ in both simulation and experiment. Although we find agreement in the critical exponents, we find differences between theoretical and experimental pulse shape scaling functions as well as between different experiments.Comment: 19 pages (in preprint format), 5 figures, 1 tabl

Interactive effects of low molecular weight carbon compounds on N2O emissions

Low molecular weight carbon (C) compounds in hotspots such as the rhizosphere can greatly affect nitrate reduction processes. Towards a better prediction of N2O emission from denitrification, we are still lacking understanding of responses to the supply of complex C compound mixtures such as rhizodeposits versus the often examined response to individually amended C compounds. In a laboratory study, we applied three C compounds, glucose, citric acid and glutamic acid, individually or as a three-compound mixture to 14NH415NO3 amended soil at 80% water-filled pore space. For the individual C compound treatments, the substrateswere enriched in 13C-C. The mixture was enriched in 13C-C either in all constituent compounds or in one of the compounds only, resulting in four different treatments. This set-up enabled quantification of the utilization of each compound for heterotrophic respiration when applied individually and in combination, and for this to be related to the dynamics of 15N-NO3- reduction to 15N-N2O. The total 15N-N2O emission from the compound mixture over 10 days was similar to the total emission predicted from the average of the individual compound treatments This could suggest potential predictability of denitrification responses to complex mixtures of C based on knowledge of its constituents. However, immediate and simultaneous peaks of 15N-N2O and 13C-CO2 fluxes from the compound mixture contrasted with observed delays in 15N-N2O and 13C-CO2 fluxes when the compounds had been applied individually. Moreover, relative contributions of the C compounds to 13C-CO2 respiration from the compound mixture were different from the predicted contributions based on their individual application. While contributions of glutamic acid-C and citric acid-C to respiration in mixture during peak 15N-N2O emission were increased, glucose utilization in the mixture treatment was significantly lower. These findings give a glimpse of the challenges we are facing when trying to predict nitrate reduction occurring in the rhizosphere where interactions between C compounds and the soil matrix, as well as within the wider heterotrophic community, determine process rates. Given that most of our understanding of the role of C in regulating nitrate reduction, is informed from single compound studies, we require more evidence on the effects and innate interactions of compound mixtures to be able to predict responses to C sources