International Child Abductions: The Challenges Facing America

International child abductors often escape domestic law enforcement and disappear without consequence or resolution. International child abductions occur too frequently; in the United States alone, the number of children abducted abroad every year has risen to over 1,000. Currently, 11,000 American children live abroad with their abductors. These abductions occur despite international treaties and the Congressional resolutions that have significantly stiffened the penalties for those caught. Effectively combating international child abductions requires drafting resolutions that are acceptable across the diverse societies and cultures of the international community. Without such resolutions to fill the gaps of current treaties this problem will continue and the suffering endured by children being uprooted and hidden from one of their parents will continue. The rise in both international marriages and divorce rates along with increased ease of travel has correlated with the rise in child abductions. Statistics from the Missing Children’s Registry show that abductions by parents are five times greater than by strangers. The Justice Department reported that of the 358,700 children abducted in the U.S. each year 354,100 were abducted by one of their parents. Law enforcement agencies’ reluctance to get involved in international child abductions, though understandable, is regrettable as it leaves the vast resources of these agencies off limits to left-behind parents. The cost of locating an international child abductor is very high, especially for a third world nation with strapped resources struggling to adequately combat “local murders, inner city crime and ‘real’ kidnappings.” Finding ways to offset resource utilization and for participation of these crucial nations is necessary for more effectively combating international child abductions

The Lessons Stem Cells Provide Vis-à-Vis Patents: Working Towards an International/Universal Patent Regime.

Biotechnology research has much to promise human society. Beyond the obvious benefits of being able to clone rare animal species or potentially to revitalize extinct species , there are many practical applications that are beneficial to human society directly. Rare blood types might be created from specialized stem cells. The tragedies of Christopher Reeve and others like him who have suffered paralysis from spinal cord trauma may be reversible by using stem cells to replenish damaged and severed nerve cells in the spinal column. The dire shortage of organs for those needing transplants can be reduced by creating an organ designed specifically from the patient’s stem cells in a lab setting to guarantee acceptance by the patient’s body. Israeli scientists several years ago have already coaxed stem cells into pulsating like a heartbeat. The day is very near when badly needed organs will seemingly be created from wholecloth to replace dying or diseased ones. If the potential is so great with stem cell research, then what is all the opposition and controversy for? There are many factors. If one thinks about ho

Pioneer Missions To Jupiter

The Pioneer 10 mission to Jupiter is described. Included are a discussion of the scientific objectives of the mission and a summary of the scientific findings related to the Asteroid Belt and Jupiter. The spacecraft and instruments are described and the effects of the Jupiter environment on their performance is discussed. The Pioneer 10 trajectory is described as well as the post-Jupiter trajectory for Pioneer 11

THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE RED IMPORTED FIRE ANT ON THE METROPLEXES OF TEXAS

This research estimates the annual economic impact of the fire ant on key urban sectors in Texas. A study was conducted in 1998-1999 in the 5 metroplexes of Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio and Houston to estimate the costs of controlling and managing fire ants (Lard, et al). This study found that the annual expenditure for fire ant control and management by selected sectors in these metroplexes totaled more than $581 million. The total annual expense by sector amounted to$526 million for households, $29 million for golf courses,$25 million for schools, and $0.6 million for cities. These annual cost figures do not include all urban costs or costs borne by electrical utility companies, communication firms and cable companies. These results can be used to assess damages and estimate the potential costs and benefits of control and management programs, such as the community-based effort underway as part of the Texas Fire Ant Initiative.Crop Production/Industries,

An Experimental Investigation of NACA Submerged Inlets at High Subsonic Speeds I: Inlets Forward of the Wing Leading Edge

This report covers the first part of an experimental investigation of NACA submerged inlets at four locations on the fuselage of a fighter airplane model for Mach numbers from 0.30 to 0.875. Data are presented showing the characteristics of the model without inlets and with inlets 16.7 percent of the root chord forward of the wing-root leading edge and equipped with small boundary-layer deflectors. The data show that variations in the mass of air entering the inlet had a large effect on the ram-recovery ratio. Representative values of ram-recovery ratio were 0.50 with zero flow, 0.90 with 0.6 mass-flow coefficient, and 0.95 with 1.00 mass-flow coefficient. Variations in Mach number and angle of attack, in general, caused less than a 0.03 variation in the ram-recovery ratio

Ram-recovery Characteristics of NACA Submerged Inlets at High Subsonic Speeds

Results are presented of an experimental investigation of the characteristics of NACA submerged inlets on a model of a fighter airplane for Mach numbers from 0.30 to 0.875. The effects on the ram-recovery ratio at the inlets of Mach number, angle of attack, boundary-layer thickness on the fuselage, inlet location, and boundary-layer deflectors are shown. The data indicate only a slight decrease in ram-recovery ratio for the inlets ahead of or just behind the wing leading edge as Mach number increased, but showed large decreases at high Mach numbers for the inlets aft of the point of maximum thickness of the wing