Study of advanced radial outflow turbine for solar steam Rankine engines

The performance characteristics of various steam Rankine engine configurations for solar electric power generation were investigated. A radial outflow steam turbine was investigated to determine: (1) a method for predicting performance from experimental data; (2) the flexibility of a single design with regard to power output and pressure ratio; and (3) the effect of varying the number of turbine stages. All turbine designs were restricted to be compatible with commercially available gearboxes and generators. A study of several operating methods and control schemes for the steam Rankine engine shows that from an efficiency and control simplicity standpoint, the best approach is to hold turbine inlet temperature constant, vary turbine inlet pressure to match load, and allow condenser temperature to float maintaining constant heat rejection load

Religion Lessons from Europe: Intolerant Secularism, Pluralistic Neutrality, and the U.S. Supreme Court

Case law from the European Court of Human Rights demonstrates to the U.S. Supreme Court how a pluralistic neutrality principle can enrich the American society and harness the value of faith in the public sphere, while at the same time retaining the vigorous protection of individual religious rights. The unfortunate alternative to a jurisprudence built around pluralistic neutrality is the inevitability of intolerant secularism—an increasingly militant separation of religious ideals from the public life, leading ultimately to a repressive society that has no room in its government for religious citizens. The results of intolerant secularism are seen in a recent series of negative cases decided by the European Court, which illustrate how highly secularized nations can trample the fundamental rights of religious citizens for the sake of secular ideals. The Supreme Court can avoid this type of intolerance in the United States by distancing itself from the principle of strict neutrality that the Court often has repeated in its Establishment Clause cases. A better path for the Supreme Court is to emulate a series of positive cases from the European Court that demonstrate pluralistic values. These cases show the value that religion can bring to public life, and the ability of progressive nations to welcome religious diversity into the public square without harming individual rights. The net result of this shift in the Supreme Court’s focus—without sacrificing the value and purpose of the Establishment Clause—would be to promote the cause of religious pluralism in the United States, and to enhance the dignity of the American people to live out their religious faith in the community insofar as they choose (or do not choose) to do

Agenesias dentarias: en busca de las alteraciones genéticas responsables de la falta de desarrollo

En conjunto, las agenesias dentarias son la malformación cráneofacial más frecuente. Su prevalencia alcanza el 20% en la dentición permanente, y su expresión puede variar desde la ausencia de una sola pieza, generalmente un tercer molar, hasta la de toda la dentición. En la pasada década, los estudios de ligamiento genético y biología molecular han permitido identificar algunas mutaciones responsables de distintos patrones de agenesias dentarias sindrómicas y no sindrómicas. Dichas mutaciones se encuentran en genes clave para el desarrollo de la dentición, como los que codifican a los factores de transcripción MSX1, PAX9 y PITX2, la proteína de señalización EDA y su receptor EDAR. Los estudios que están en curso podrían derivar en nuevas clasificaciones que relacionen los fenotipos observados con el defecto genético subyacente. De esta manera, se posibilitaría un diagnóstico previo a la aparición del defecto somático, que técnicas como la terapia génica o la ingeniería de tejidos y órganos, podrían llegar a solucionar.Tooth agenesis are the most common craniofacial malformations. Its prevalence in permanent dentition reaches 20% and its expressivity ranges from only one tooth, usually a third molar, to the whole dentition. Genetic linkage and molecular biology studies have allowed, in the last decade, the identification of mutations responsible for some patterns of syndromic and nonsyndromic tooth agenesis. The mutated genes are key genes for the development of dentition, like the ones that encode the transcription factors MSX1, PAX9 and PITX2, the signalling protein EDA and its receptor EDAR. Current research would lead to the development of new classifications of tooth agenesis that took into account both the phenotypes and the genetic background. This would allow an early diagnosis of the condition, before the development of the somatic defect, that could eventually be repaired with gene therapy or tissue and organ engineering

A Juror’s Religious Freedom Bill of Rights

The prosecution of Democrat Congresswoman Corrine Brown for campaign corruption was perhaps the most significant and dramatic political trial ever to hit Northeast Florida—and that was before the Holy Spirit showed up and spoke to Juror 13 during deliberations. The Brown case is the springboard for the article’s focus on a juror’s right to religious liberty, one of the nation’s most precious constitutional rights. The Article addresses first principles behind the process of jury selection in the United States, as well as the importance and safeguarding of religious liberty in the U.S. Constitution. It then proposes six tenets to be contained within a proposed bill of rights for jurors: (1) the right to a religious identity (or not); (2) the right to be free from religious discrimination; (3) the right to religious accommodations during jury service; (4) the right to commune with a higher power; (5) the right to religious privacy; and (6) the right and duty to follow the law and not do wrong against others, even for religious reasons. The Article provides historical context and case examples that demonstrate the need for and exercise of the proposed rights, and it recommends adopting the bill of rights at all phases of jury selection and service