2,827 research outputs found
Tourmaline - A Prospecting Guide for Massive Base-Metal Sulfide Deposits in the Penobscot Bay Area, Maine
Tourmaline - A Prospecting Guide for Massive Base-Metal Sulfide Deposits in the Penobscot Bay Area, Maine
by John F. Slack, U.S. Geological Survey
Special Economic Studies Series No.8
Maine Geological Survey, Department of Conservation, Augusta, Maine (June, 1980).
Contents: Abstract / Introduction / Geologic Setting / Massive Sulfide Deposits / Tourmaline Occurrences / Tourmaline: A Guide to Ore / Acknowledgements / References Citedhttps://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/me_collection/1124/thumbnail.jp
Make it so! Jean-Luc Picard, Bart Simpson and the design of e-public services
In this paper, we report on a project applying participatory design methods to include people who have experience of social exclusion (in one form or another) in designing possible technologies for e-(local)-government services. The work was part of a project for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in the UK, and was concerned with ‘access
tokens’ that can provide personal identification for individuals accessing public services, based on technologies such as multi-functional smartcards, flash memory sticks, mobile phone SIMs or similar devices.
In particular we report on our experience using the ‘pastiche scenarios’ technique recently developed by Mark Blythe. Our findings indicate that the technique can be effective and engaging in helping people to create realistic scenarios of future technology use and highlight some possible pitfalls to consider when using this technique.</p
Can There Be Too Much Specialization? Specialization in Specialized Courts
While modern society has embraced specialization, the federal judiciary continues to prize the generalist jurist. This disconnect is at the core of the growing debate on the optimal level of specialization in the judiciary. To date, this discussion has largely revolved around the creation of specialized courts. Opinion specialization, however, provides an alternative, underappreciated method to infuse specialization into the judiciary. In contrast to specialized courts, opinion specialization is understudied and undertheorized.
This Article makes two contributions to the literature. First, this Article theorizes whether opinion specialization is a desirable practice. It argues that the practice’s costs and benefits are a function of whether the court itself is specialized. More specifically, this Article contends that while opinion specialization may be normatively desirable for generalist courts, it is likely not for specialized tribunals. Perhaps most concerning, this Article argues that opinion specialization in specialized courts increases the likelihood legal doctrine will reflect the idiosyncratic preferences of a few judges.
Second, given the concerns associated with opinion specialization in specialized tribunals, this Article empirically tests the extent to which specialization occurs in these specialized courts. We approach this question by examining the process of opinion assignment in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which is best known for its near-exclusive jurisdiction over patent appeals. Utilizing a novel, author-constructed database of Federal Circuit opinions issued between 2004 and 2018, we find that opinion specialization is a robust part of the Federal Circuit’s practice. This Article demonstrates that opinion specialization may have led to several highly criticized legal developments at the Federal Circuit, exploring mechanisms in which opinion specialization may be diminished, and examining the implications of our findings for the broader judiciary
The effect of corruption and culture on mandatory disclosure compliance levels: goodwill reporting in Europe
While responding to calls for research and regulatory concerns regarding the influence of country level characteristics on the completeness and quality of financial statements, we examine the simultaneous influences of corruption and culture on levels of compliance with mandatory disclosure requirements. We use a panel dataset of European companies, for 2008–2011, and measure compliance with IFRS goodwill disclosure requirements utilising a disclosure index. Corruption is measured using the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) and Schwartz (2008) bipolar cultural dimensions are used as measures of culture. We find that compliance levels vary significantly across sample firms, countries and over time. The level of corruption and two of the three cultural dimensions (Hierarchy and Mastery) are significantly related to these levels of compliance. These findings also hold for the changes in compliance levels over time. On that basis, the paper makes original contributions to our understanding of determinants of compliance levels with IFRS mandatory disclosure requirements
Regional geochemical variations in a metamorphosed black shale: a reconnaissance study of the Silurian Smalls Falls Formation, Maine, USA
A reconnaissance geochemical study of 21 samples of sulphidic black phyllite and schist from the Silurian Smalls Falls Formation in Maine was undertaken in order to evaluate compositional changes during regional metamorphism. These samples represent variably metamorphosed black shale. Analyzed samples come from the chlorite zone in northern Maine and the biotite, garnet, and staurolite-andalusite zones in west-central Maine. Strata of the Smalls Falls Formation are distinctive in containing abundant pyrite and/or pyrrhotite (total S = 1.2–9.7 wt%), but only minor organic matter or graphite (TOC = 0.43–1.85 wt%); TOC/S ratios are uniformly low (average = 0.37 ± 0.22). Median enrichment factors were calculated for each element by normalizing the concentration to Ti in each sample to the Ti-normalized median composition of global black shale. In the chlorite zone, moderate to large decreases in enrichment factors (-23.1 to -49.8%) are evident for V, Cr, Cu, Ni, Zn, Pb, Sb, and U, attributed here to various factors during sedimentation plus variable element mobility during diagenesis. With increasing metamorphic grade (biotite through staurolite-andalusite zones), systematic small to extreme decreases (-14.5 to -99.0%) were found for Ba, Sb, Au, and U, together with less-systematic moderate to large decreases (-35.4 to -61.1%) for V and As. Molybdenum shows an extreme decrease (-94.7%) from the garnet to staurolite-andalusite zones. Excluding Ba, these results are interpreted to mainly reflect mobility of trace elements during pyrite recrystallization, and during the metamorphic transformations of organic matter to graphite and of pyrite to pyrrhotite. Moderate to large increases for Rb (+28.1 to +61.5%) and Th (+39.1 to +47.3%) from the biotite to staurolite-andalusite zones likely record the introduction of alkalis and mass loss, respectively, during metamorphism. Three samples from one site in the garnet zone differ in having anomalously high Fe/Al and low La/Yb ratios, attributed here to epigenetic formation of pyrite and related leaching of light rare earth elements during syn-metamorphic, channelized fluid flow.Geologic and geochemical data indicate that strata of the Smalls Falls Formation were deposited during an interval of anoxia on the northwestern flank of the Central Maine Basin, for which detrital sources included an evolved continental arc. Onset of anoxia coincided with deposition of the Mayflower Hill Formation of the Vassalboro Group, on the basin’s southeastern flank, related to emergence of the Brunswick subduction complex. We suggest that this emergence played a role in promoting both lateral and vertical circulation changes, nutrient loading, and deoxygenation through subsequent basin closure that culminated with Acadian deformation and metamorphism. Based on the relatively high contents of total sulphur present in our Smalls Falls samples, sediments in the Black Sea represent the only known plausible candidate among those in modern suboxic to euxinic basins
A2: Smalls Falls Revisted: A Journey Through a Paleozoic Sedimentary Basin
Guidebook for field trips in Western Maine and Northern New Hampshire: New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference, p. 35-60
Lattice thermal conductivity of disordered NiPd and NiPt alloys
Numerical calculations of lattice thermal conductivity are reported for the
binary alloys NiPd and NiPt. The present work is a continuation of an earlier
paper by us [PRB, 72, 214207 (2005)]which had developed a theoretical framework
for the calculation of configuration-averaged lattice thermal conductivity and
thermal diffusivity in disordered alloys. The formulation was based on the
augmented space theorem combined with a scattering diagram technique. In this
paper we shall show dependence of the lattice thermal conductivity on a series
of variables like phonon frequency, temperature and alloy composition. The
temperature dependence of and its realtion to the measured thermal
conductivity is discussed. The concentration dependence of appears to
justify the notion of a minimum thermal conductivity as discussed by Kittel,
Slack and others. We also study the frequency and composition dependence of the
thermal diffusivity averaged over modes. A numerical estimate of this quantity
gives an idea about the location of mobility edge and the fraction of states in
the frequency spectrum which is delocalized.Comment: 23 pages, 18 figure
Cerclage outcome by the type of suture material (COTS): study protocol for a pilot and feasibility randomised controlled trial
BACKGROUND: Cervical incompetence is one of the causes of preterm birth and mid-trimester pregnancy loss. Cervical cerclage is a surgical procedure to treat cervical incompetence. Cervical cerclage reduces the incidence of preterm birth in women at risk of recurrent preterm birth, without a statistically significant reduction in perinatal mortality or neonatal morbidity. Multifilament/braided sutures such as Mersilene tape have been traditionally used for cervical cerclage. Braided sutures, particularly mesh-like non-absorbable sutures, have been associated with an increased risk of infection and, hence, some obstetricians prefer to use monofilament/non-braided sutures. However, these claims are not substantiated by any scientific or clinical evidence. We propose a pilot/feasibility study which will provide the necessary information for planning a definitive trial investigating the clinical effectiveness of monofilament non-braided suture materials in reducing pregnancy loss rate following cervical cerclage compared to the traditional multifilament braided sutures. METHODS/DESIGN: Women eligible for elective or ultrasound-indicated cerclage at 12 to 21 + 6 weeks of gestation will be randomised to having the procedure using either a monofilament non-braided suture (Ethilon) or a Multifilament braided suture (Mersilene tape) inserted using a McDonald technique. Consent for participation in the Cerclage outcome by the type of suture (COTS) study will be obtained from each eligible participant. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION: COTS is registered with the International Standard Research for Clinical Trials (ISRCTN17866773). Registered on 27 March 2013
Thermoelectric transport in strained Si and Si/Ge heterostructures
The anisotropic thermoelectric transport properties of bulk silicon strained
in [111]-direction were studied by detailed first-principles calculations
focussing on a possible enhancement of the power factor. Electron as well as
hole doping were examined in a broad doping and temperature range. At low
temperature and low doping an enhancement of the power factor was obtained for
compressive and tensile strain in the electron-doped case and for compressive
strain in the hole-doped case. For the thermoelectrically more important high
temperature and high doping regime a slight enhancement of the power factor was
only found under small compressive strain with the power factor overall being
robust against applied strain. To extend our findings the anisotropic
thermoelectric transport of an [111]-oriented Si/Ge superlattice was
investigated. Here, the cross-plane power factor under hole-doping was
drastically suppressed due to quantum-well effects, while under electron-doping
an enhanced power factor was found. With that, we state a figure of merit of
ZT and ZT at T=\unit[300]{K} and T=\unit[900]{K} for the
electron-doped [111]-oriented Si/Ge superlattice. All results are discussed in
terms of band structure features
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