13,932 research outputs found
Patients Under Pressure: Profiles of How Families Affected by Cancer Are Faring in the Recession
Describes how the loss of jobs and health insurance affected six cancer patients and their families. Examines barriers to maintaining health coverage, purchasing non-group coverage, and limitations on public coverage
Small-body deflection techniques using spacecraft: techniques in simulating the fate of ejecta
We define a set of procedures to numerically study the fate of ejecta
produced by the impact of an artificial projectile with the aim of deflecting
an asteroid. Here we develop a simplified, idealized model of impact conditions
that can be adapted to fit the details of specific deflection-test scenarios,
such as what is being proposed for the AIDA project. Ongoing studies based upon
the methodology described here can be used to inform observational strategies
and safety conditions for an observing spacecraft. To account for ejecta
evolution, the numerical strategies we are employing are varied and include a
large N-Body component, a smoothed-particle hydrodynamics (SPH) component, and
an application of impactor scaling laws. Simulations that use SPH-derived
initial conditions show high-speed ejecta escaping at low angles of
inclination, and very slowly moving ejecta lofting off the surface at higher
inclination angles, some of which re-impacts the small-body surface. We are
currently investigating the realism of this and other models' behaviors. Next
steps will include the addition of solar perturbations to the model and
applying the protocol developed here directly to specific potential mission
concepts such as the proposed AIDA scenario.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in Advances in Space
Research, Special Issue: Asteroids & Space Debri
Supreme Court Fortifies Qualified Immunity for Law Enforcement Officers in Warrant Cases
This article analyzes the significance of the United States Supreme Court decision in Messerschmidt v. Millender, 132 S.Ct. 1652 (2012), upon §1983 Fourth Amendment claims asserted against state and local law enforcement officers who apply for and enforce warrants. Millender held that police officers who sought and executed a very broad warrant authorizing them to search a residence for guns and gang related material were protected by qualified immunity. The author asserts that §1983 plaintiffs, who seek to recover damages based upon either the application or execution of an allegedly unconstitutional warrant, will now have to overcome various layers of immunity protection
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