California Constitutional Law: Privacy

California voters passed Proposition 11 (the Privacy Initiative) in 1972, amending the state constitution to include a fundamental right to privacy. The ballot arguments for Proposition 11 expressed the voters’ intent to set a high bar for invaders to justify privacy invasions: requiring a compelling public need. For the first twenty years of the new constitutional privacy right’s existence, courts required invaders of individual privacy to meet the compelling public need standard to justify such invasions. Yet the courts reversed course in 1994, abandoned the compelling public need standard, and have since applied a standard that perverts the electorate’s intent: now, the individual must establish a compelling privacy interest against invasions. This approach to California’s constitutional privacy right has sabotaged the Privacy Initiative. This Article presents six substantive arguments for abandoning the current approach and returning this area of the law to its original intent. This Article supports its substantive analysis with an empirical case study showing that the current approach maimed California’s constitutional privacy right. It’s time to reset this area of the law. California courts should abandon the current analytical approach to the state’s constitutional privacy right and restore the original interpretation of the Privacy Initiative: the compelling public need test that the voters intended

Comparative aspects of the internal reproductive system of males in species of Melolonthinae, Dynastinae, and Rutelinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) from Mexico

The anatomy of the internal male reproductive systems of 12 species of Melolonthinae (Phyllophaga, Chlaenobia, Macrodactylus, Isonychus), six species of Dynastinae (Cyclocephala), and three species of Rutelinae (Paranomala) (Coleoptera, Scarabaeoidea) of Mexico are described. A total of 350 male specimens representing 21 species were collected. From each species, the reproductive systems were obtained by micro-dissection, placed in a liquid fixative, stained, and drawn to scale. The internal genitalia of each species was described and compared among the species examined. The reproductive system of the Melolonthinae species is comprised of two testicles, each with six follicles, two deferent ducts, two accessory glands, two glandular ducts, an ejaculatory duct, and the aedeagus (not described for any of the species examined). The number of testicular follicles per testicle is as reported in different species of other Scarabaeoidea subfamilies. The length of the accessory glands and the ejaculatory duct varies in the species studied. The ejaculatory bulb is present in all of the species of Dynastinae and Rutelinae examined but in only three species of Melolonthinae.Se describió la anatomía del sistema reproductivo interno de los machos en 12 especies de Melolonthinae (Phyllophaga, Chlaenobia, Macrodactylus, Isonychus), seis de Dynastinae (Cyclocephala) y tres de Rutelinae (Paranomala) (Coleoptera, Scarabaeoidea) de México. Se recolectaron un total de 350 ejemplares machos representantes de 21 especies. De cada especie se obtuvieron los sistemas reproductivos por microdisección y fueron colocados en un líquido fijador, después teñidos y dibujados a escala. Se describió la genitalia interna de cada especie y se comparó entre las especies examinadas. El sistema reproductivo de las especies de Melolonthinae consta de dos testículos cada uno con seis folículos, dos conductos deferentes, dos glándulas accesorias, dos conductos glandulares, un conducto eyaculador y el edeago (no descrito en ninguna especie). El número de folículos testiculares por testículo es igual al conocido en diferentes especies de otras subfamilias de Scarabaeoidea. La longitud de las glándulas accesorias y del conducto eyaculador varían dependiendo de cada especie estudiada. Un bulbo eyaculador está presente sólo en tres especies de Melolonthinae y en todas las especies de Dynastinae y Rutelinae examinadas

Leucemia linfocítica crónica / Linfoma linfocítico de células pequeñas.

Los linfomas son neoplasias malignas derivadas del tejido linfoide que clásicamente se clasifican en dos grandes grupos: Los linfomas de Hodgkin (LH) y los linfomas no Hodgkin (LNH); estos últimos pueden tener una presentación a nivel ganglionar o bien extraganglionar (piel, tubo digestivo, cerebro, etc.). Cuando existe involucro de la médula ósea se consideran como leucemias.Recientemente (2008), la OMS publicó en su cuarta edición la Clasificación de los Tumores de Tejido Hematopoyético y Linfoide basándose en los aspectos morfológicos, inmunofenotipo, hallazgos genéticos y clínicos para definir la enfermedad. Entre otras categorías, las neoplasias linfoides pueden ser derivadas de células precursoras, neoplasias de células B maduras, neoplasias de células T maduras y de células NK para los LNH. 1Se reporta un caso clínico con linfoma linfocitico de células pequeñas (SLL) (un tipo de linfoma no Hodgkin), valorado en el Hospital General Dr. Darío Fernández Fierro. ISSSTE

Response to Neutrons and γ-rays of Two Liquid Scintillators

UltimaGoldTM AB and OptiphaseTrisafe are two liquid scintillators made by Perkin Elmer and EG & G Company respectively. Both are commercially promoted as scintillation detectors for α and β particles. In this work, the responses to γ-rays and neutrons of UltimaGoldTM AB and OptiphaseTriSafe liquid scintillators, without and with reflector, have been measured aiming to use these scintillators as γ-rays and neutron detectors. Responses to γ-rays and neutrons were measured as pulse shape spectra in a multichannel analyzer. Scintillators were exposed to gamma rays produced by 137Cs, 54Mn, 22Na and 60Co sources. The response to neutrons was obtained with a 241AmBe neutron source that was measured to 25 and 50 cm from the scintillators. The pulse height spectra due to gamma rays are shifted to larger channels as the photon energy increases and these responses are different from the response due to neutrons. Thus, UltimaGoldTM AB and OptiphaseTrisafe can be used to detect γ-rays and neutrons

Caracterización de los flujos de agua subterránea a partir de su salinidad

La vinculación entre elementos del paisaje puede ser explicada mediante la teoría de los sistemas de flujo de agua subterránea, que reconoce los diferentes flujos y sus zonas de descarga y recarga, que manifiestan en forma complementaria su funcionamiento hidrológico. Es esencial la caracterización de los diferentes flujos para conocer su potencialidad, salinidad y su posibilidad de uso en diferentes prácticas de manejo agropecuario y forestal; en esta definición quedan implícitas sus características de cantidad y profundidad de circulación. En ambientes donde la superficie de agua freática es poco profunda, definir los flujos constituye un procedimiento esencial al seleccionar las prácticas de manejo agropecuario y forestal que coadyuven en una situación dada, tales como excesos o déficit hídricos. Los flujos se definen a partir de la calidad del agua e indicadores ambientales. Los costos de los análisis químicos de agua son elevados y resultan difíciles de abordar en grandes áreas. Sin embargo, puede utilizarse la conductividad eléctrica (CE) para estimar la composi ción química del agua en un área si se conocen los principios mediante los cuales adquiere su composición y se establecen las relaciones matemáticas con los iones mayoritarios. El objetivo del presente estudio es establecer la factibilidad de utilizar los modelos hidrogeoquímicos propuestos para estimar la composición química del agua a partir de su conductividad eléctrica. Se estudió el origen del agua de pozos, freatímetros y lagunas del noroeste de la provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina, conociendo el referente geológico del sitio, y aplicando modelos hidrogeoquímicos de reconocimiento de patrones (HIDROGEOQUIM, GEOQUIM, SAMA, MODELAGUA). Se obtuvieron los patrones hidrogeoquímicos y las relaciones matemáticas entre la composición iónica y CE. El mejor ajuste se obtuvo utilizando la ecuación polinomial (parábola), que pasa por el origen de coordenadas, habiendo agrupado previamente los datos mediante el modelo de reconocimiento de patrones. Se concluye que es posible definir la composición química del agua mediante estimaciones matemáticas a partir del valor de la conductividad eléctrica, la cual, junto al pH, temperatura y otros elementos del paisaje, permiten definir tipos de flujo y manejo del suelo asociado

Helicopter nonlinear aerodynamics modelling using VehicleSim

This work describes a model developed to analyze the aerodynamic loads on a helicopter model on conventional configuration implemented with VehicleSim, a multibody software specialized in modelling mechanical systems composed by rigid bodies. The rotors are articulated and the main rotor implementation takes into account flap, lag and feather degrees of freedom for each of the equispaced blades as well as their dynamic couplings. This article presents an aerodynamic model that allows to simulate hover, climb, descent and forward flight as well as trajectories under the action of several aerodynamics loads. The aerodynamic model has been built up using blade element theory. All the dynamics, aerodynamic forces and control action are embedded in a single code, being this an advantage as the compilation time is greatly reduced. The software used in this work, VehicleSim does not need external connection to other software. This new tool may be used to develop robust control methods. The nonlinear equations of the system which can be very complex, are obtained, in particular, this article presents the equations for flap and lag degrees of freedom in hover flight. The control approach used in here consists of PID controllers (proportional, integral, derivative), which allow to use VehicleSim command exclusively to simulate several helicopter flight conditions. The results obtained are shown to agree with the expected behaviour

Development and validation of enzymatic method for the determination of alcohol in immunoglobulin and albumin

Se desarrolló y validó un método enzimático para la cuantificación del contenido de alcohol en los IFAs de Inmunoglobulina y Albúmina. En ambos casos el procedimiento analítico resultó lineal, exacto, preciso y específico para el control de calidad. Se demostró que el método fue lineal en el rango de 6.0 a 19.0 mg de alcohol/g de proteína para la albúmina y de 9.2 a 27.6 mg de alcohol/g de proteína para la inmunoglobulina, respectivamente. El método sugerido se aplicó con éxito en la determinación del contenido de alcohol como impureza en lotes industriales.An enzymatic method for the quantification of alcohol content in immunoglobulin and albumin was developed and validated. In both materials, the analytical procedure was linear, accurate, precise and specific. The method was linear in the range from 6.0 to 19.0 mg of alcohol/g of protein to albumin and to immunoglobulin from 9.2 to 27.6 mg of alcohol/g of protein, respectively. The proposed method was applied successfully in industrial batches for the determination of the alcohol content as impurity

Headache, Delirium or Encephalitis?:A Case of Residual Mutism Secondary to Anti-NMDA Receptor Encephalitis

Encephalitis is a heterogeneous syndrome that is diagnosed through clinical assessment and the assistance of laboratory, neuroimaging and electroencephalographic workup. Over the past 10 years, autoimmune encephalitis has been more frequently recognized; however, most reports come from highly specialized hospital settings. Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NDMAR) encephalitis has been associated with paraneoplastic encephalitis syndromes and was first recognized in 2005. We present the case of a 34-year-old male patient who debuted clinically with a headache associated with neuropsychiatric symptoms (i.e., visual and auditory hallucinations, anxiety, aggressiveness) and memory deficits, progressing to autonomic dysfunction (i.e., tachycardia and hypertension), seizures, and stupor with catatonic features. Initially, infectious, metabolic, and toxicological etiologies were excluded; followed by the assessment of immunological and paraneoplastic etiologies, yielding positive IgG levels for anti-NMDAR antibodies. The patient was treated successfully with systemic steroid therapy and therapeutic plasmapheresis, while mutism was the only sequela. Although large case series reporting on paraneoplastic and autoimmune anti-NMDAR encephalitis have been reported in the literature in recent years, this case is of particular importance due to the stepwise differential diagnosis and treatment management procedure that was used in a regional but not highly specialized hospital setting

A step-up converter with large voltage gain and low voltage rating on capacitors

Step-up converters are widely used in many applications, such as renewable energy generation with photovoltaic panels and fuel cell stacks. In many cases, the required voltage gain is larger for those applications than a traditional boost converter can achieve. Several large-voltage gain converters have been recently studied. This paper introduces a converter topology in which the voltage gain is larger than a traditional boost converter. The main advantages of the proposed topology are: (i) it provides a large voltage gain without the use of an extreme duty cycle; (ii) its capacitors require a smaller voltage to be sustained compared with other, similar state-of-the-art converters; (iii) the voltage among the ground input and output is not pulsating; and (iv) it can be synthesized with commercial, off-the-shelf half-bridge packed transistors. The proposed converter can be employed in different applications, such as distributed generation and microgrids. This paper presents the steady-state analysis of the proposed converter in the continuous conduction mode, a short comparison with similar topologies, and their voltage on capacitors. Computer-based simulation results are provided to verify the principle of the proposed converter in different operating conditions

Empirical Modelling of Stem Cambium Heating Caused by Prescribed Burning in Mediterranean Pine Forest

This is the final version. Available on open access from MDPI via the DOI in this recordData Availability Statement: The data used in the current study can be obtained from the corresponding author on reasonable request.Little is known about the interactions between the variables involved in the post-fire response of Mediterranean pine species to prescribed burning (PB). Thus, it is essential to develop an empirical model in order to assess the influence of tree and stand attributes, burn season, and fire severity on the probability of stem cambium damage occurring. Prescribed burnings were conducted in different seasons and areas covering a wide climatic and ecological range. Potential explanatory variables were measured. A random effects hurdle model framework was used to evaluate the temperature duration above 60 °C as a proxy for stem cambium damage at tree scale. The results showed significant differences in cambium damage between the PB seasons. Pinus nigra was more resistant than other pine species. Bark thickness was critical for protecting cambium. Volume of crown scorch, percentage of stem scorch, and maximum outer bark temperature were directly related to temperature duration above 60 °C in the cambium. Prescribed burning conducted under tree canopy in Mediterranean pine species generally results in a low level of cambium damage. Empirical models could help managers to predict the effects of PB and thus select the most suitable prescriptions