Taxpayer\u27s Paradise in the Caribbean

A new industrial tax exemption statute became law in Puerto Rico on May 12, 1947. This island possession of the United States, located eight hours away from New York\u27s LaGuardia field is already free of all federal income taxation. In the past, this favorable factor in its competition with mainland communities has been offset to a large extent by a very heavy local income tax. But industrialists who operate under the new exemption will be free of both federal and insular income taxes, as well as property and other local taxes

Ohio Land Contract Law

This Article is taken from Chapter 4, Installment Land Contracts, of the authors\u27 multi-volume treatise, Ohio Real Property Law and Practice, (Michie Co., 5th ed., to be published 1995). This Article appears in substantially the same form as it will appear in the upcoming treatise; however, the footnotes have been altered to conform with A Uniform System of Citation (15th ed. 1st printing 1991), copyright by the Columbia and University of Pennsylvania Law Reviews, the Harvard Law Review Association, and the Yale Law Journal

Water Uptake Threshold of Rabbiteye (\u3ci\u3eVaccinium ashei\u3c/i\u3e) Blueberries and Its Influence on Fruit Splitting

Split-resistant and split-susceptible rabbiteye blueberry fruit were evaluated at all stages of development to determine \u27\u27water uptake thresholds\u27\u27 by soaking in distilled water. Weight increase after soaking was measured, and percent weight gain was calculated to take into consideration the weight increase of the fruit from development. The ratio of percent increase in volume to weight increase resulting from water uptake was calculated. Ratios of percent water uptake to weight increase between splitsusceptible \u27Tifblue\u27 and split-resistant \u27Premier\u27 blueberries were found to be similar. The split-susceptible \u27Tifblue\u27 had a 1.6 g/50 fruit increase with a 1.7% water uptake and a ratio of 1.08. \u27Premier\u27 had a higher weight increase with 3.3 g/50 fruit and also a higher percentage of water uptake at 3.6% providing a ratio of 1.09. Although both absorbed water at a constant rate shown by a linear increase of weight increase over time, \u27Premier\u27 absorbed a significantly greater amount of water than did \u27Tifblue\u27 yet remained intact and did not split

Barium light source method and apparatus

Visible light emission is obtained from a plasma containing elemental barium including neutral barium atoms and barium ion species. Neutral barium provides a strong green light emission in the center of the visible spectrum with a highly efficient conversion of electrical energy into visible light. By the selective excitation of barium ionic species, emission of visible light at longer and shorter wavelengths can be obtained simultaneously with the green emission from neutral barium, effectively providing light that is visually perceived as white. A discharge vessel contains the elemental barium and a buffer gas fill therein, and a discharge inducer is utilized to induce a desired discharge temperature and barium vapor pressure therein to produce from the barium vapor a visible light emission. The discharge can be induced utilizing a glow discharge between electrodes in the discharge vessel as well as by inductively or capacitively coupling RF energy into the plasma within the discharge vessel

An older Congress tends to support more policies that benefit older Americans

While experience can be an important part of being an effective politician, the average age of a US senator is 62; for the House it is 58. In new work, Matthew R. Haydon and James M. Curry look at why it matters if Congress is older than the rest of the country. Examining over 13,000 Congressional bills, they find that older lawmakers tend to introduce more bills that benefit older Americans, but get less media coverage, such as those concerning continuing education, elder abuse, and nursing home regulation. They warn that the attention given to these policies may potentially be at the cost of addressing issues with more importance to younger Americans

Laboratory Method to Estimate Rain-Induced Splitting in Cultivated Blueberries

Preharvest rainfall that occurs when fruit are fully ripe or approaching full ripeness can result in detrimental fruit splitting in rabbiteye and southern highbush blueberries. This study was initiated to develop a laboratory method to model rain-related incidence of splitting in cultivated blueberries with the goal of predicting the incidence of splitting in blueberry cultivars and selections. Multiyear field surveys of rabbiteye and southern highbush cultivars show that the incidence of rain-related splitting is strongly cultivar-dependent. Laboratory values for forced splitting and naturally occurring rain-related field splitting data show a strong correlation indicating that the incidence of fruit splitting can be accurately estimated by this laboratory method. Soaking the berries in distilled water 14 h at room temperature gives a confident determination of splitting tendencies. Blueberry breeders and geneticists can use this method to evaluate new potential blueberry cultivars for splitting tendencies as part of routine screening. This would lead to a long-term goal of reducing splitting susceptible blueberry cultivars in commercial plantings

Oxidation Through Coating Cracks of SiC-Protected Carbon/Carbon

The oxidation of SiC-protected carbon/carbon through machined slots and naturally occurring craze cracks in the SiC was studied. The slot and crack geometries were characterized, and the subsurface oxidation of the carbon/carbon substrate at temperatures of 1000 to 1300 C in air was assessed using weight change, x-ray computed tomography, and optical microscopy of sections. Rate constants were derived from these measurements and compared with a two-step diffusion control model of carbon oxidation. Oxidation kinetic measurements on both the specimens with machined slots and with naturally occurring craze cracks showed good agreement with the model

Trajectory shifts in the Arctic and Subarctic freshwater cycle

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2006. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of American Association for the Advancement of Science for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Science 313 (2006): 1061-1066, doi:10.1126/science.1122593.Manifold changes in the freshwater cycle of high-latitude lands and oceans have been reported in the past few years. A synthesis of these changes in sources of freshwater and in ocean freshwater storage illustrates the complementary and synoptic temporal pattern and magnitude of these changes over the past 50 years. Increasing river discharge anomalies and excess net precipitation on the ocean contributed ~20,000 km3 of fresh water to the Arctic and high latitude North Atlantic oceans from lows in the 1960s to highs in the 1990s. Sea ice attrition provided another ~15,000 km3, and glacial melt added ~2000 km3. The sum of anomalous inputs from these freshwater sources matched the amount and rate at which fresh water accumulated in the North Atlantic during much of the period from 1965 through 1995. The changes in freshwater inputs and ocean storage occurred in conjunction with the amplifying North Atlantic Oscillation and rising air temperatures. Fresh water may now be accumulating in the Arctic Ocean and will likely be exported southward if and when the North Atlantic Oscillation enters into a new high phase.Funding was provided by NSF (grants OPP-0229302, OPP- 0436118, OPP-0327664, OPP-0352754, OPP-0519840, OCE- 0326778), ONR (grant N00014-02-1-0305) and NASA (grant IDS-03-0000-0145)

IgG antibody production and persistence to 6 months following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination: a Northern Ireland observational study

BACKGROUND: This study evaluates spike protein IgG antibody response following Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccination using the AbC-19™ lateral flow device. METHODS: Plasma samples were collected from n=111 individuals from Northern Ireland. The majority were >50 years old and/or clinically vulnerable. Samples were taken at five timepoints from pre-vaccination until 6-months post-first dose. RESULTS: 20.3% of participants had detectable IgG responses pre-vaccination, indicating prior COVID-19. Antibodies were detected in 86.9% of participants three weeks after the first vaccine dose, falling to 74.7% immediately prior to the second dose, and rising to 99% three weeks post-second vaccine. At 6-months post-first dose, this decreased to 90.5%. At all timepoints, previously infected participants had significantly higher antibody levels than those not previously infected. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that strong anti-spike protein antibody responses are evoked in almost all individuals that receive two doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, and largely persist beyond six months after first vaccination