The Impact of Public Abortion Funding Decisions on lndigent Women: A Proposal to Reform State Statutory and Constitutional Abortion Funding Provisions

This Note argues that state legislatures should relax funding restrictions on abortions for indigent women and proposes specific mechanisms to ensure the equal protection of indigent women in the abortion context. Part I briefly recounts the history of federal funding for abortions, from the liberal post-Roe funding scheme to the restrictive funding arrangements that have prevailed since the early 1980s. Part II surveys the existing literature and discusses patterns of state funding and the impact of funding restrictions on indigent women seeking abortions. This literature shows that the tightening of state funding policies subsequent to the federal Medicaid restrictions has inflicted physical and economic hardships on these women. Part III examines state funding trends by reviewing the states\u27 legislative, judicial and popular responses to the abortion funding issue. Although a few state courts have overturned restrictive state laws and mandated the funding of abortions for indigent women and a few state legislatures have provided for such funding, the majority of states have imposed and maintained severe restrictions upon the funding of Medicaid abortions. Part IV argues that it is the states\u27 responsibility to fund abortions sought by indigent women to prevent the negative economic impact and detriment to health and welfare that occurs when these women are prevented from terminating their pregnancies. This Part concludes by recommending a model state constitutional amendment and a statute that state legislatures could enact to ensure that welfare agencies exercise their responsibility to fund abortions for indigent women to protect the rights of indigent women to choose between childbirth and abortion

Calibrating TrueBeam jaws by considering collimator walk out to improve the dose uniformity at abutting �eld junctions

Jaw positions on a linear accelerator are calibrated to have accurate field size values over the range of jaw positions and to have excellent junctions when matching fields. It is sufficient to have field size accuracy on the order of a millimeter for most clinical applications but good junctions require submillimeter precision and accuracy in the jaw positioning. Presented is a method to measure collimator walkout with the MV imager and a mathematical model to determine an optimal origin for calibrating jaws on the TrueBeam accelerator. The calibration procedure uses the jaw position encoders which are sufficiently accurate and precise enough to achieve a homogeneous junction dose for abutting fields

A BIOMECHANICAL INVESTIGATION OF A SPANISH SQUAT: THE EFFECT OF TRUNK INCLINATION AND LOAD ON QUADRICEPS ACTIVITY AND PATELLAR TENDON FORCE

The Spanish squat targets the knee extensor muscles and has been suggested to be an appropriate rehabilitation exercise for patellar tendinopathy. This study provides novel empirical data on the effect of trunk inclination and load on quadricep muscle activity and patellar tendon load while performing the Spanish squat. The findings of this study informs on the progression and regression of the Spanish Squat and provides evidence to support the application of the Spanish squat in progressive tendon loading strategies in the treatment of PT

The aerobraking space transfer vehicle

With the advent of the Space Station and the proposed Geosynchronous Operation Support Center (GeoShack) in the early 21st century, the need for a cost effective, reusable orbital transport vehicle has arisen. This transport vehicle will be used in conjunction with the Space Shuttle, the Space Station, and GeoShack. The vehicle will transfer mission crew and payloads between low earth and geosynchronous orbits with minimal cost. Recent technological advances in thermal protection systems such as those employed in the Space Shuttle have made it possible to incorporate and aerobrake on the transfer vehicle to further reduce transport costs. The research and final design configuration of the aerospace senior design team from VPISU, working in conjunction with NASA, are presented. The topic of aerobraking and focuses on the evolution of an Aerobraking Space Transfer Vehicle (ASTV), is addressed

A Comparison of the Strengths and Weaknesses of Small-Format Aerial Photography Platforms

The demand for small-format aerial photography continues to grow in large part due to the rapid adoption of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Prior to the explosion of UAV use, this kind of photography was collected using older technologies such as tethered kites and blimps. Due to the increased demand for aerial imagery, this article looks at four platforms commonly used to collect small-format aerial imagery: multi-rotor UAVs, fixed-wing UAVs, kites, and blimps. Practical use considerations are explored, including characteristics of flight and operation, atmospheric and site factors, imaging sensors and costs, and regulatory limitations. Each of the four categories of lifting platform have their strengths and limitations, and they often complement one another. UAVs tends to be more maneuverable and able to cover more ground, but they have limited flight times due to battery technology limitations. They also have clearly defined regulatory requirements for use, whereas the tethered platforms have very few legal restrictions on use. In some cases, a tethered platform may be the only legal option for gathering small-format aerial imagery at a location. There is no one perfect option that will fill all needs, but rather multiple solutions that are better suited to some situations than others. The ways in which some of these strengths and limitations may change in the future in regards to technology and regulations is also discussed

Enhancing Undergraduate Engineering Education of Lean Methods using Simulation Learning Modules Within a Virtual Environment

This paper highlights the use of an integrated user-centered virtual learning environment throughextensible simulation learning modules that is currently being developed to enhance undergraduate curricula to meet the industrial needs for engineers with education in lean. The purpose of the research is to address these expectations by developing learning modules that incorporate lean simulation models into various Engineering Management, Industrial Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering courses at Missouri S&T, Texas Tech, and South Dakota State, respectively. In recent years, increasing global competition, rapidly changing technology, and a deficit of U.S. engineering graduates have intensified the need to produce graduating engineers who are effective problem solvers and analytical thinkers, yet who can also collaborate on interdisciplinary teams to address complex, real-world systems. A key area of competence for many engineering undergraduate, as well as graduate, disciplines is the application of structured problem solving methods, e.g., lean, to improve the performance of organizational processes. This virtual learning environment will enhance undergraduate engineering education by utilizing technology as a learning tool in lean, by fostering student development through active learning in the classroom, and through projects based on current real-world challenges, thus improving student learning, motivation, and retention. The paper highlights the learning modules to be developed in the virtual learning environment. The long-term goal is to evaluate the impact of the curriculum changes on student learning, outreach, and industrial collaboration

A REVIEW OF 3D GIS FOR USE IN CREATING VIRTUAL HISTORIC DUBLIN

This paper illustrates how BIM integration with GIS is approached as part of the workflow in creating Virtual Historic Dublin. A design for a WEB based interactive 3D model of historic buildings and centres in Dublin City (Virtual Historic Dublin City) paralleling smart city initiates is now under construction and led by the National Monuments at the Office of Public Works in Ireland. The aim is to facilitate the conservation and maintenance of historic infrastructure and fabric and the dissemination of knowledge for education and cultural tourism using an extensive Historic Building Information Model. Remote sensing data is now processed with greater ease to create 3D intelligent models in Historic BIM. While the use of remote sensing, HBIM and game engine platforms are the main applications used at present, 3D GIS has potential to form part of the workflow for developing the Virtual Historic City. 2D GIS is now being replaced by 3D spatial data allowing more complex analysis to be carried out, 3D GIS can define and depict buildings, urban rural centres in relation to their geometry topological, semantic and visualisation properties. The addition of semantic attributes allows complex analysis and 3D spatial queries for modelling city and urban elements. This analysis includes fabric and structural elements of buildings, relief, vegetation, transportation, water bodies, city furniture and land use

Generation of otic lineages from integration-free human-induced pluripotent stem cells reprogrammed by mRNAs

Damage to the sensory hair cells and the spiral ganglion neurons of the cochlea leads to deafness. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are a promising tool to regenerate the cells in the inner ear that have been affected by pathology or have been lost. To facilitate the clinical application of iPSCs, the reprogramming process should minimize the risk of introducing undesired genetic alterations while conferring the cells the capacity to differentiate into the desired cell type. Currently, reprogramming induced by synthetic mRNAs is considered to be one of the safest ways of inducing pluripotency, as the transgenes are transiently delivered into the cells without integrating into the genome. In this study, we explore the ability of integration-free human-induced pluripotent cell lines that were reprogrammed by mRNAs, to differentiate into otic progenitors and, subsequently, into hair cell and neuronal lineages. hiPSC lines were induced to differentiate by culturing them in the presence of fibroblast growth factors 3 and 10 (FGF3 and FGF10). Progenitors were identified by quantitative microscopy, based on the coexpression of otic markers PAX8, PAX2, FOXG1, and SOX2. Otic epithelial progenitors (OEPs) and otic neuroprogenitors (ONPs) were purified and allowed to differentiate further into hair cell-like cells and neurons. Lineages were characterised by immunocytochemistry and electrophysiology. Neuronal cells showed inward Na+ () currents and outward () and inward K+ () currents while hair cell-like cells had inward and outward delayed rectifier K+ currents, characteristic of developing hair cells. We conclude that human-induced pluripotent cell lines that have been reprogrammed using nonintegrating mRNAs are capable to differentiate into otic cell types

Determination of Arsenic, Mercury and Barium in herbarium mount paper using dynamic ultrasound-assisted extraction prior to atomic fluorescence and absorption spectrometry

A dynamic ultrasound-assisted extraction method using Atomic Absorption and Atomic Flourescence spectrometers as detectors was developed to analyse mercury, arsenic and barium from herbarium mount paper originating from the herbarium collection of the National Museum of Wales. The variables influencing extraction were optimised by a multivariate approach. The optimal conditions were found to be 1% HNO3 extractant solution used at a flow rate of 1 mL min-1. The duty cycle and amplitude of the ultrasonic probe was found to be 50% in both cases with an ultrasound power of 400 W. The optimal distance between the probe and the top face of the extraction chamber was found to be 0 cm. Under these conditions the time required for complete extraction of the three analytes was 25 min. Cold vapour and hydride generation coupled to atomic fluorescence spectrometry was utilized to determine mercury and arsenic, respectively. The chemical and instrumental conditions were optimized to provide detection limits of 0.01ng g-1 and 1.25 ng g-1 for mercury and arsenic, respectively. Barium was determined by graphite-furnace atomic absorption spectrometry, with a detection limit of 25 ng g-1. By using 0.5 g of sample, the concentrations of the target analytes varied for the different types of paper and ranged between 0.4–2.55 µg g-1 for Ba, 0.035–10.47 µg g-1 for As and 0.0046–2.37 µg g-1 for Hg

Developing Historic Building Information Modelling Guidelines and Procedures for Architectural Heritage in Ireland

Cultural heritage researchers have recently begun applying Building Information Modelling (BIM) to historic buildings. The model is comprised of intelligent objects with semantic attributes which represent the elements of a building structure and are organised within a 3D virtual environment. Case studies in Ireland are used to test and develop the suitable systems for (a) data capture/digital surveying/processing (b) developing library of architectural components and (c) mapping these architectural components onto the laser scan or digital survey to relate the intelligent virtual representation of a historic structure (HBIM). While BIM platforms have the potential to create a virtual and intelligent representation of a building, its full exploitation and use is restricted to narrow set of expert users with access to costly hardware, software and skills. The testing of open BIM approaches in particular IFCs and the use of game engine platforms is a fundamental component for developing much wider dissemination. The semantically enriched model can be transferred into a WEB based game engine platform