Chatter, Clatter, and Blinks: Defective Car Alerts and the Role of Technological Advances in Design Defect/failure to Warn Cases

Car owners are familiar with the warning lights on the dashboard and the beeping sound reminding them to use their seatbelt. But, neither the legislature nor courts have concretely defined the legal nature of these alerts. This iBrief will analyze when a deficient alert becomes a defective product tort claim and determine the appropriate theory under which such claims should be brought

A Thompson Group for the Basilica

We describe a Thompson-like group of homeomorphisms of the Basilica Julia set. Each element of this group acts as a piecewise-linear homeomorphism of the unit circle that preserves the invariant lamination for the Basilica. We develop an analogue of tree pair diagrams for this group which we call arc pair diagrams, and we use these diagrams to prove that the group is finitely generated. We also prove that the group is virtually simple.Comment: 23 pages, 31 figure

Rearrangement Groups of Fractals

We construct rearrangement groups for edge replacement systems, an infinite class of groups that generalize Richard Thompson's groups F, T, and V . Rearrangement groups act by piecewise-defined homeomorphisms on many self-similar topological spaces, among them the Vicsek fractal and many Julia sets. We show that every rearrangement group acts properly on a locally finite CAT(0) cubical complex, and we use this action to prove that certain rearrangement groups are of type F infinity.Comment: 48 pages, 37 figure

1. The Dialkylphenylamines: Their Preparation and Oxidation. 2. The Condensation of Fluorene and Acetone

Abstract Not Provided

Single-peptide DNA-dependent RNA polymerase homologous to multi-subunit RNA polymerase

Transcription in all living organisms is accomplished by multi-subunit RNA polymerases (msRNAPs). msRNAPs are highly conserved in evolution and invariably share a B400 kDa five-subunit catalytic core. Here we characterize a hypothetical B100 kDa single-chain protein, YonO, encoded by the SPb prophage of Bacillus subtilis. YonO shares very distant homology with msRNAPs, but no homology with single-subunit polymerases. We show that despite homology to only a few amino acids of msRNAP, and the absence of most of the conserved domains, YonO is a highly processive DNA-dependent RNA polymerase. We demonstrate that YonO is a bona fide RNAP of the SPb bacteriophage that specifically transcribes its late genes, and thus represents a novel type of bacteriophage RNAPs. YonO and related proteins present in various bacteria and bacteriophages have diverged from msRNAPs before the Last Universal Common Ancestor, and, thus, may resemble the single-subunit ancestor of all msRNAPs

The preparation and kinetic studies of two sterically hindered gold (III) complexes

Previous studies indicate substitution of bromide ion for chloride ion in [Au(Et4dien~H)c.i] +occurs at a rate almost independent of the bromide ion concentration, while similar reactions with [Au(dien-H)Cl]+, [Au(Me2dien-H)c!]+ and [Au(Me4dien-H)c~+ show rates dependent on bromide ion concentration as usually encountered for square planar complexes. There is retardation of the reaction by steric and electronic effects with increased N-alkyl substitution of the triamine. It has also been postulated that substitution of [Au(Et2dien-H)cJ]+ proceeds via a ring-opening mechanism. The purpose of this research was to study further the effect of steric hindrance on rates of substitution of two additional gold(III) complexes. The complexes of Me5dien and MeEt4dien with gold(III) were prepared and investigated, As observed with other less methyl substituted gold(III) dien complexes the substitution reaction of [Au(Me5dien)C:£j 2+ with bromide ion is dependent on the bromide ion concentration. The results of the reaction rate studies on [Au(MeEt4dien)CY Z+ with bromide ion can most easily be rationalized in terms of the previously postulated ring-opening mechanism

A dual process model of detecting deception.

Thesis (M.S.

Effects of Delay and Signals on Choice between Delayed Food Alone and Immediate Food with Delayed Shock

Much of the research in the area of self-control has examined choice between small immediate reinforcers and large delayed reinforcers, but many problems result from situations in which a single choice produces consequences of conflicting valence: Those in which the immediate outcome is reinforcing and the delayed outcome is aversive. Recent research has evaluated how preference for a large reinforcer which is followed by a delayed shock changes as a function of the delay to shock and how the intensity and duration of delayed shock affects the value of a large reinforcer. The present set of experiments investigated how the value of a food reinforcer followed by delayed shock changes as a function of the delay to shock. Instead of arranging choice between small and large reinforcers, the present experiments arranged choice between two reinforcers of equal magnitude – one of which was delivered after a delay, and the other was delivered immediately and followed by delayed shock. Rats chose between the consequences by pressing one of two levers. Using an adjusting-delay procedure, adjustments were made in the delay to food based on the rats’ choices. Exclusive choice of delayed food raised the delay to food in subsequent trials; exclusive choice of immediate food with delayed shock reduced the delay to food in subsequent trials. Adjustments continued until the both consequences were chosen equally often and the delay to food stabilized. The mean delay over this stable period was taken as an estimate of the indifference point – the delay at which the delayed food alone was equal in value to the immediate food followed by delayed shock. In Experiment 1, indifference points were identified across conditions with different delays to shock. The shock devalued the immediate food to the greatest extent when the delay to shock was short, and the effects of shock weakened as the delay was raised. In Experiment 2, indifference points were identified across conditions in which either the delay to shock or the presence of a signaling procedure was manipulated. As in Experiment 1, effects of shock were greatest when the delay was short and weakened as the delay was raised. Signaling the delayed shock did not influence effects of the shock systematically. Additional analyses of the adjusting delay, latency to press each lever, and the fit of hyperbolas based on Mazur’s (1987) hyperbolic discounting equation to indifference points were conducted for both experiments. The results from the present experiments are discussed in the context of laboratory research on choice that produces both reinforcing and aversive consequences and on effects of signaling aversive events

A critical examination of the text of Isaiah based on the Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiah (DSIa) the Masoretic text of the Septuagint and the Isaiah texts of Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and Eusebius.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston UniversityThe problem of this dissertation is to compare the text of the Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiah (DSia) with the Masoretic text, the Septuagint, and the Isaiah texts of the early church fathers, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Eusebius, Justin Martyr and Ignatius, and from this comparison to determine the best possible readings for the particular variants studied, and also to determine the textual value of DSia iu reconstructing the most probable original text of the book of Isaiah. A necessary part of this comparison has been the inclusion of the conjectures of many textual scholars on the book of Isaiah and other textual witnesses. [TRUNCATED

The Aquatic Geochemistry of the Particle-Reactive Radionuclides PO-210, PB-210, and BE-7

Integrated monthly wet-only and bulk precipitation samples for Be-7 and Pb-210 analysis were collected from November 1982 through October 1983 at two sites in lower Chesapeake Bay. Atmospheric deposition fluxes for Be-7 in wet-only and bulk precipitation averaged 0.013 and 0.014 pCi/cm2/d, respectively, and for Pb-210 averaged 0.36 and 0.40 pCi/cm2/yr, respectively, suggesting that dry deposition makes only a minor contribution to the total fluxes. A seasonal trend was observed in the depositional flux of Be-7, with a pronounced maximum in the Spring. Approximately 40 percent of the annual Be-7 deposition occurred between February and April, with a maximum in March. This is consistent with the injection of Be-7 of statospheric origin into the tropopause during the vernal tropopause break. Pb-210 exhibited a slightly weaker seasonal trend, with ca. 35 percent delivered between February and April, which appears to be related to the rate at which its parent, Rn-222, emanates from the earth. The average deposition velocities for Be-7 and Pb-210 in bulk precipitation were 1.5 and 0.8 cm/s, respectively. The removal behaviors of two atmospherically-derived radionuclides, Pb-210 and Be-7, have been examined in real-time following their deposition to a shallow coastal bay by four precipitation events. In general, there was a marked elevation in the water column concentrations following a precipitation event and the concentrations decreased with time. The removal residence times of these radionuclides were on the order of several days. Po-210 exhibited similar behavior. Since the atmospheric flux of Po-210 is small, the elevated concentrations of Po-210 following a precipitation event may result from the mobilization of Po-210, in the dissolved form, from sediments. Vertical profiles of dissolved Po-210, Pb-210, and Ra-226 were obtained from the Orca Basin, an anoxic, hypersaline and yet non-sulfide bearing basin. At the seawater-brine interface at 2230 m, a sharp maximum was observed in the profiles of Po-210 and Pb-210, reaching concentrations of 56.0 and 28.3 dpm/l00 kg, respectively. These are some of the highest values reported for the open ocean. These sharp maxima may be caused by a combination of the dissolution of hydrous manganese oxides and the decomposition of biogenic particulate material. Below the interface, concentrations decreased to ca. 9 and 6 dpm/100 kg, respectively. These concentrations are much higher than those observed in sulfide-bearing anoxic basins. The residence time of Pb-210 in the brine is estimated to be ca. 1 year