Comment on "Large Difference in the Elastic Properties of fcc and hcp Hard-Sphere Crystals"

As is well known, hard-sphere crystals of the fcc and hcp type differ very little in their thermodynamic properties. Nonetheless, recent computer simulations by Pronk and Frenkel indicate that the elastic response to mechanical deformation of the two types of crystal should be quite different. By invoking a geometrical argument put forward by R. Martin some time ago, we suggest that this is largely due to the different symmetries of the fcc and hcp crystal structures. Indeed, we find that elastic constants obtained by means of computer simulations for the fcc hard-sphere crystal can be mapped onto the equivalent ones of the hcp crystal to very high accuracy. The same procedure applied to density functional theoretical predictions for the elastic properties of the fcc hard-sphere crystal also produces remarkably accurate predictions for those of the hcp hard-sphere crystal.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

The Role of Moral Philosophers in the Competition Between Deontological and Empirical Desert

Desert appears to be in ascendence as a distributive principle for criminal liability and punishment but there is confusion as to whether it is a deontological or an empirical conception of desert that is or should be promoted. Each offers a distinct advantage over the other. Deontological desert can transcend community, situation, and time to give a conception of justice that can be relied upon to reveal errors in popular notions of justice. On the other hand, empirical desert can be more easily operationalized than can deontological desert because, contrary to common wisdom, there is a good deal of agreement as to its meaning. But empirical desert fails to provide the transcendent foundation that deontological desert can provide; empirical desert can tell only us what people believe is just not what actually is just. What role do moral philosophers play in the competition between deontological and empirical desert? One might assume them to be on the deontological side, facing the research social psychologists who are mapping shared intuitions of justice for empirical desert. But the situation is more complex. Moral philosophy has come to rely heavily upon intuitions of justice in its analytic methods, which both helps and hurts its usefulness. The moral philosophy literature today is the richest available source of intuitions of justice, which any serious research scientist ought to use as a starting point in mapping intuitions. But moral philosophers\u27 reliance on intuitions can undermine their ability to produce a deontological conception of desert that transcends the popular view and that can be relied upon to tell us when shared intuitions of justice are wrong. Available for download at http://ssrn.com/abstract=93369

Criminal Justice in the Information Age: A Punishment Theory Paradox

This paper suggests how the information age might produce high capture and conviction rates and speculates on the effect of such developments on the criminal justice system\u27s punishment theory. The low rate at which offenders presently are punished makes a deterrent threat of official sanction of limited effect. With a high punishment rate, however, a distribution of liability and punishment based upon a deterrence principle might, for the first time, make sense. On the other hand, the greater deterrent effect might eliminate crime as a serious social concern. And, without the pressure of a serious crime problem, the theory for distributing punishment might revert to distribution based upon community notions of desert, with social science research suggests is the lay person\u27s default distributive principle. (Even a desert distribution of punishment would convey a strong deterrent in a world of high conviction rates.) In other words, the success of deterrence might paradoxically pave the way for its demise and for the domination of desert as the operating theory for the distribution of punishment. Available for download at http://ssrn.com/abstract=18328

Non cell autonomous upregulation of CDKN2 transcription linked to progression of chronic hepatitis C disease

Chronic hepatitis C virus infection (C-HC) is associated with higher mortality arising from hepatic and extrahepatic disease. This may be due to accelerated biological aging; however, studies in C-HC have thus far been based solely on telomere length as a biomarker of aging (BoA). In this study, we have evaluated CDKN2 locus transcripts as alternative BoAs in C-HC. Our results suggest that C-HC induces non-cell-autonomous senescence and accelerates biological aging. The CDKN2 locus may provide a link between C-HC and increased susceptibility to age-associated diseases and provides novel biomarkers for assessing its impact on aging processes in man

Toward a descriptive model of galactic cosmic rays in the heliosphere

Researchers review the elements that enter into phenomenological models of the composition, energy spectra, and the spatial and temporal variations of galactic cosmic rays, including the so-called anomalous cosmic ray component. Starting from an existing model, designed to describe the behavior of cosmic rays in the near-Earth environment, researchers suggest possible updates and improvements to this model, and then propose a quantitative approach for extending such a model into other regions of the heliosphere

Crustal Accretion in the Gulf of California: An Intermediaterate Spreading Axis

An important objective of Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Leg 65 was to study crustal accretion at an ocean ridge axis with an intermediate-spreading rate for comparison with previously studied sections displaying slowand fast-spreading rates. The southern Gulf of California was selected for this purpose because the basement displays high seismic velocities (comparable to those observed for Cretaceous basement in the western North Atlantic) and high ambient sedimentation rates, which facilitated penetration of zero-age basement. Four sites were drilled, forming an axial transect immediately south of the Tamayo Fracture Zone (Figs. 1 and 2) and providing a series of characteristic sections into the crust. This chapter attempts to provide a brief synthesis of the results from Leg 65, focusing particularly on the lithology, geochemistry, and paleomagnetic properties of the cored basement material. From these data, we present an interpretation of the processes of magmatic evolution and crustal accretion occurring at the Gulf of California spreading axis