Murder by Child Abuse—Who\u27s Responsible After \u3cem\u3eState v. Jackson\u3c/em\u3e?

Currently, under Washington law, a passive parent is not legally responsible for the death of his or her child from abuse. State v. Jackson is a horrific illustration of the gaps in Washington\u27s law regarding the issue of who is responsible for the death of a child by abuse. Because passive parents should be held responsible for the death of their child from abuse, and because Washington\u27s current laws are inadequate, Washington\u27s legislature should create a special statute that would hold both abusive and passive parents culpable for the death of a child resulting from abuse

Murder by Child Abuse—Who\u27s Responsible After \u3cem\u3eState v. Jackson\u3c/em\u3e?

Currently, under Washington law, a passive parent is not legally responsible for the death of his or her child from abuse. State v. Jackson is a horrific illustration of the gaps in Washington\u27s law regarding the issue of who is responsible for the death of a child by abuse. Because passive parents should be held responsible for the death of their child from abuse, and because Washington\u27s current laws are inadequate, Washington\u27s legislature should create a special statute that would hold both abusive and passive parents culpable for the death of a child resulting from abuse

Effect of magnetic field and temperature on the ferroelectric loop in MnWO4

The ferroelectric properties of MnWO4 single crystal have been investigated. Despite a relatively low remanent polarization, we show that the sample is ferroelectric. The shape of the ferroelectric loop of MnWO4 strongly depends on magnetic field and temperature. While its dependence does not directly correlate with the magnetocapacitance effect before the paraelectric transition, the effect of magnetic field on the ferroelectric polarization loop supports magnetoelectric coupling.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures, first report on ferroelectric loop in MnWO

Evolutionary Game Dynamics with Non-Uniform Interaction Rates

The classical setting of evolutionary game theory, the replicator equation, assumes uniform interaction rates. The rate at which individuals meet and interact is independent of their strategies. Here we extend this framework by allowing the interaction rates to depend on the strategies. This extension leads to non-linear fitness functions. We show that a strict Nash equilibrium remains uninvadable for non-uniform interaction rates, but the conditions for evolutionary stability need to be modified. We analyze all games between two strategies. If the two strategies coexist or exclude each other, then the evolutionary dynamics do not change qualitatively, only the location of the equilibrium point changes. If, however, one strategy dominates the other in the classical setting, then the introduction of non-uniform interaction rates can lead to a pair of interior equilibria. For the Prisoner's Dilemma, non-uniform interaction rates allow the coexistence between cooperators and defectors. For the snowdrift game, non-uniform interaction rates change the equilibrium frequency of cooperators.Human Evolutionary BiologyMathematic

Magnetization reversal in mixed ferrite-chromite perovskites with non magnetic cation on the A-site

In this work, we have performed Monte Carlo simulations in a classical model for RFe$_{1-x}$Cr$_x$O$_3$ with R=Y and Lu, comparing the numerical simulations with experiments and mean field calculations. In the analyzed compounds, the antisymmetric exchange or Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) interaction induced a weak ferromagnetism due to a canting of the antiferromagnetically ordered spins. This model is able to reproduce the magnetization reversal (MR) observed experimentally in a field cooling process for intermediate $x$ values and the dependence with $x$ of the critical temperatures. We also analyzed the conditions for the existence of MR in terms of the strength of DM interactions between Fe$^{3+}$ and Cr$^{3+}$ ions with the x values variations.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

DIRECT ESTIMATION OF ABOVEGROUND FOREST PRODUCTIVITY THROUGH HYPERSPECTRAL REMOTE SENSING OF CANOPY NITROGEN

The concentration of nitrogen in foliage has been related to rates of net photosynthesis across a wide range of plant species and functional groups and thus represents a simple and biologically meaningful link between terrestrial cycles of carbon and nitrogen. Although foliar N is used by ecosystem models to predict rates of leaf‐level photosynthesis, it has rarely been examined as a direct scalar to stand‐level carbon gain. Establishment of such relationships would greatly simplify the nature of forest C and N linkages, enhancing our ability to derive estimates of forest productivity at landscape to regional scales. Here, we report on a highly predictive relationship between whole‐canopy nitrogen concentration and aboveground forest productivity in diverse forested stands of varying age and species composition across the 360 000‐ha White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire, USA. We also demonstrate that hyperspectral remote sensing can be used to estimate foliar N concentration, and hence forest production across a large number of contiguous images. Together these data suggest that canopy‐level N concentration is an important correlate of productivity in these forested systems, and that imaging spectrometry of canopy N can provide direct estimates of forest productivity across large landscapes

A Symmetry of Fixation Times in Evoultionary Dynamics

In this paper, we show that for evolutionary dynamics between two types that can be described by a Moran process, the conditional fixation time of either type is the same irrespective of the selective scenario. With frequency dependent selection between two strategies A and B of an evolutionary game, regardless of whether A dominates B, A and B are best replies to themselves, or A and B are best replies to each other, the conditional fixation times of a single A and a single B mutant are identical. This does not hold for Wright–Fisher models, nor when the mutants start from multiple copies.Human Evolutionary BiologyMathematic

Wafer-Level Thermocompression Bonds

Thermocompression bonding of gold is a promising technique for achieving low temperature, wafer-level bonding without the application of an electric field or complicated pre-bond cleaning procedure. The presence of a ductile layer influences the fracture behavior of the bonds. The fabrication process was described. In addition, the effect of plasticity was explored by varying the gold bonding thickness between 0.23 to 1.4 µm. Wafers were bonded at 300°C and two different pressures: 1.25 and 7 MPa. The bond toughness of the specimens were characterized using a four-point bend delamination technique. Cohesive failure was found to be the dominant fracture mode in the thicker films. Bonds made with thin gold films failed adhesively and at lower strain energy release rates.Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA

Gas-Phase Lubrication of ta-C by Glycerol and Hydrogen Peroxide. Experimental and Computer Modeling

Tetrahedrally coordinated hydrogen-free amorphous diamond-like carbon coating (denoted as ta-C) presents ultralow friction under boundary lubrication conditions at 80 °C in presence of OH-containing molecules. To understand the mechanism of ultralow friction, we performed gas-phase lubrication experiments followed by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) analyses and this using two simple molecules: deuterated glycerol and hydrogen peroxide. The experiments were complemented by computer simulations using the ReaxFF reactive force field. These simulations suggest a ta-C surface rich in sp^2 carbon with some reactive sp^1 carbon atoms, in agreement with previous energy filtered transmission electron microscopy (EFTEM) results. Sliding simulations show that the carbon surface atoms react with glycerol and hydrogen peroxide to form OH-termination. Moreover, the hydroxylation is then followed by the chemical dissociation of some of the glycerol molecules leading to the formation of water. This is in agreement with the secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) analyses and mass spectrometer results obtained with gas-phase lubrication experiments with the same molecules. Both experimental and computer simulations strongly suggest that the hydroxylation of the carbon surface is at the origin of ultralow friction together with the formation of water-rich film in the sliding interface

Gold Thermocompression Wafer Bonding

Thermocompression bonding of gold is a promising technique for the fabrication and packaging microelectronic and MEMS devices. The use of a gold interlayer and moderate temperatures and pressures results in a hermetic, electrically conductive bond. This paper documents work conducted to model the effect of patterning in causing pressure non-uniformities across the wafer and its effect on the subsequent fracture response. A finite element model was created that revealed pattern-dependent local pressure variations of more than a factor of three. This variation is consistent with experimental observations of bond quality across individual wafers A cohesive zone model was used to investigate the resulting effect of non-uniform bond quality on the fracture behavior. A good, qualitative agreement was obtained with experimental observations of the load-displacement response of bonds in fracture tests.Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA