Method for thermal monitoring subcutaneous tissue

A noninvasive accurate method for measuring the temperature of tissue beneath the surface of a living body is described. Ultrasonic signals are directed into beads of a material that are inserted into the tissue with a syringe. The reflected signals indicate the acoustic impedance or resonance frequency of the beads which in turn indicates the temperature of the tissue. A range of temperatures around the melting temperature of the material can be measured by this method

Nondestructive ultrasonic measurement of bolt preload using the pulsed-phase locked-loop interferometer

Achieving accurate preload in threaded fasteners is an important and often critical problem which is encountered in nearly all sectors of government and industry. Conventional tensioning methods which rely on torque carry with them the disadvantage of requiring constant friction in the fastener in order to accurately correlate torque to preload. Since most of the applied torque typically overcomes friction rather than tensioning the fastener, small variations in friction can cause large variations in preload. An instrument called a pulsed phase locked loop interferometer, which was recently developed at NASA Langley, has found widespread use for measurement of stress as well as material properties. When used to measure bolt preload, this system detects changes in the fastener length and sound velocity which are independent of friction. The system is therefore capable of accurately establishing the correct change in bolt tension. This high resolution instrument has been used for precision measurement of preload in critical fasteners for numerous applications such as the space shuttle landing gear and helicopter main rotors

Ultrasonic calibration device

Device is an instrument for producing known changes in both acoustic absorption and phase velocity. Calibration signal arises from actual change of acoustic parameters, not from electrical simulation. Instrument is able to simulate changes in sensitivity enhancement achieved by use of ultrasonic resonators, which cannot be achieved using electrical calibration techniques

The Time Has Come for the United States to Ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

Part II examines the remarkable venom that runs through much of the American narrative about CEDAW. It is odd that a United Nations convention would produce that reaction, but it is evident from the rants in the lowliest blogs to the statements made in the highest reaches of government. Part III develops the notion of American Exceptionalism more fully, as it helps to explain much of the substantive content of that narrative. This part explores the sentiment justifying why CEDAW and those who implement it have been so deeply criticized: it is an international product, overseen and implemented by those from elsewhere

Judicial Review of Discretionary Immigration Decisionmaking

The Immigration and Nationality Act vests enormous discretion in the Attorney General and subordinates, such discretion exercised frequently at all levels of the immigration system. Despite this, though, judicial review of these decisions has followed a very uneven, troubled course. This Article explores the reasons for this, focusing first on the Administrative Procedure Act and the elusive meaning of discretion itself. The author demonstrates the disintegration of administrative law and what he sees as the failure of its general precepts to accommodate immigration issues. The Article traces the development of faulty doctrine through case law, resulting in a stunted judicial review. The author recommends developing a more particularized approach to judicial review to afford aliens effective access to our legal system

Redefining Refugee: A Proposal for Relief for the Victims of Civil Strife

This Article examines the legal protections afforded by immigration law for victims of civil strife. Using the displaced victims of civil strife in El Salvador as an example, the author examines the predicament of such victims, surveys various solutions that exist under current law, and concludes that United States immigration law fails to offer relief or remedy. In light of these deficiencies, the author proposes that current asylum law be amended to redefine refugee to include victims of civil strife in order to further humanitarian goals

Asylum, Social Group Membership and the Non-State Actor: The Challenge of Domestic Violence

This Article argues that the current approaches to asylum claims based on social group membership under the U.N. convention Relation to the Status of Refugees are deeply flawed. The Refugee Convention confers asylum on persons persecuted for their membership in a particular social group. Courts have struggled with the boundaries of the social group definition, and there appears to be no coherent way to reconcile all of the court decisions on what groups qualify as social groups under the Refugee Convention. This Article suggests that courts adopt a consistent definition of what constitutes a social group. The definition proposed in this Article focuses on social perception in the home country of the asylum applicant, and would modestly expand the number of individuals who could successfully claim they were persecuted because of membership in a social group. The Article argues this response is particularly appropriate in light of a major trend in immigration law: asylum applicants increasingly seek protection from persecution not directly from the government, but from non-state actors who are able to persecute their victims because of government indifference to the plight of members of a social group. Part I of this Article introduces the general objectives and structure of asylum law, and its embodiment in the Geneva convention. Part H explains the current law concerning the social group category, and suggests that courts have failed to provide a consistent standard for social group membership, instead relying on ad hoc decisions about particular claims. Part I goes on to suggest that one major reason for this incoherence is that courts paid insufficient attention to claims of persecution by non-state actors. Part III addresses the problems the non-state actor poses for asylum law. Part IV addresses the particular issue of asylum claims arising out of domestic abuse. It reviews international cases on the subject and the Board of Immigration Appeals\u27 decision in R-A-. Part IV argues R-A- s defines social groups too narrowly, and that courts should allow some claims of asylum based on domestic abuse