PUBLIC UTILITIES - RATES - CONSTITUTIONALITY OF STATUTES PROHIBITING MINIMUM OR SERVICE CHARGES

An Oklahoma statute required that the consumer should be charged only for the gas he used as registered on a meter. The inhabitants of a certain town supplied with gas by petitioner were predominantly small consumers so that on a straight-line meter rate they did not pay for the cost of service. An increase in the rate would not solve the difficulty. The company petitioned the commission for authority to impose either a service charge or a minimum charge. The commission denied the petition. Held, that as applied to this particular case, the statute was unconstitutional and the petition should have been granted. Avant Gas Service Co. v. Corporation Commission, (Okla. 1939) 89 P. (2d) 291

CONTRACTS - ASSIGNMENT OF A DEBT ARISING UNDER A CONTRACT TO BE MADE IN THE FUTURE

The M Milk Co. was negotiating a sale of its business to the defendant, who did not want to purchase the business unless M Co. could deliver the personal property free of incumbrances. G, who held a mortgage on these properties, was present at the first negotiations between M Co. and the defendant, and at this time he released his mortgage in consideration of an assignment to him by M Co. of all the debts now due or to become due to it. Shortly thereafter a sale of the property was negotiated to the defendant, the result of which was that the defendant became indebted to M Co. for the purchase price. Part of this price being outstanding, M Co.\u27s receiver brought this action to recover the balance due. Held, M Co. had no right to recover because the debt due under the contract of sale had been effectively assigned to G. Bergson v. H. P. Hood & Sons, (Mass. 1938) 15 N. E. (2d) 196

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW - INTOXICATING LIQUORS - POWER OF A STATE TO REGULATE AND TAX THE SALE AND IMPORT OF LIQUOR IN A NATIONAL PARK

California ceded to the United States the territory within the state borders known as Yosemite Park, reserving to the state the right to tax persons and corporations, their franchises and property on the lands included in said parks. California then laid excise and license taxes on the sale and importation of intoxicating liquors. The tax act contained some regulatory measures and the license was granted only after certain regulations were satisfied. T was an operator of stores and tourists\u27 camps in the park who protested payment of these taxes. Held, the tax provisions were enforceable; but the regulatory provisions were unenforceable. The license tax, being inseparable from the regulations, was invalid. Collins v. Yosemite Park & Curry Co., 304 U.S. 518, 58 S. Ct. 1009 (1938)

CORPORATIONS - AMENDMENTS BY MAJORITY OF THE STOCKHOLDERS - PROVISION IN CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION REQUIRING MORE THAN MAJORITY

A Delaware general corporation statute provided for changing the preferences, rights, or powers of any class of stock if a majority in interest of each class voted in the affirmative thereon. Another part of the statute allowed the certificate of incorporation to require a larger proportion. The certificate of incorporation of D corporation required a vote of seventy-five per cent of the outstanding preferred stock to change the designations, preferences, and voting powers of the preferred stock. This required vote was reduced to sixty per cent by an amendment which received a favorable vote of fifty-five per cent of such preferred stock. Thereafter it was proposed to change some of the preferences of the preferred stock by a sixty per cent vote as provided by the amended certificate of incorporation. Held, the first amendment was invalid. Sellers v. Joseph Bancroft & Sons Co., (Del. Ch. 1938) 2 A. 108

BANKRUPTCY - CORPORATE REORGANIZATION - FAIRNESS OF THE PLAN

In a reorganization under 77B the unsecured creditors were to be paid by receiving non-voting preferred stock of the insolvent debtor up to the amount of their claims. The old preferred stockholders were to keep the balance of this same class of stock. One thousand shares of voting common stock were to be given to the old shareholders on the basis of one new share for each old share. The plan was approved by ninety-four per cent of the creditors, but the master proposed an amendment whereby the creditors were to have the right to vote in the selection of the management. Upon objection to this amendment it was held that the plan was unfair, and the court stated that a decree confirming the plan would be entered conditioned upon the plan being amended so that (1) the creditors receive a voting stock preferred over that of the old shareholders, and (2) the common stock be reduced to one hundred shares. In re Tharp Ice Cream Co., Inc., (D. C. Pa. 1938) 25 F. Supp. 417

Elimination of pain improves specificity of clinical diagnostic criteria for adult chronic rhinosinusitis

Objective Determine whether the elimination of pain improves accuracy of clinical diagnostic criteria for adult chronic rhinosinusitis. Study Design Retrospective cohort study. Methods History, symptoms, nasal endoscopy, and computed tomography (CT) results were analyzed for 1,186 adults referred to an academic otolaryngology clinic with presumptive diagnosis of chronic rhinosinusitis. Clinical diagnosis was rendered using the 1997 Rhinosinusitis Taskforce (RSTF) Guidelines and a modified version eliminating facial pain, ear pain, dental pain, and headache. Results Four hundred seventy-nine subjects (40%) met inclusion criteria. Among subjects positive by RSTF guidelines, 45% lacked objective evidence of sinonasal inflammation by CT, 48% by endoscopy, and 34% by either modality. Applying modified RSTF diagnostic criteria, 39% lacked sinonasal inflammation by CT, 38% by endoscopy, and 24% by either modality. Using either abnormal CT or endoscopy as the reference standard, modified diagnostic criteria yielded a statistically significant increase in specificity from 37.1% to 65.1%, with a nonsignificant decrease in sensitivity from 79.2% to 70.3%. Analysis of comorbidities revealed temporomandibular joint disorder, chronic cervical pain, depression/anxiety, and psychiatric medication use to be negatively associated with objective inflammation on CT or endoscopy. Conclusion Clinical diagnostic criteria overestimate the prevalence of chronic rhinosinusitis. Removing facial pain, ear pain, dental pain, and headache increased specificity without a concordant loss in sensitivity. Given the high prevalence of sinusitis, improved clinical diagnostic criteria may assist primary care providers in more accurately predicting the presence of inflammation, thereby reducing inappropriate antibiotic use or delayed referral for evaluation of primary headache syndromes. Level of Evidence4. Laryngoscope, 127:1011-1016, 201

Orbital maneuvering engine feed system coupled stability investigation

A digital computer model used to analyze and predict engine feed system coupled instabilities over a frequency range of 10 to 1000 Hz was developed and verified. The analytical approach to modeling the feed system hydrodynamics, combustion dynamics, chamber dynamics, and overall engineering model structure is described and the governing equations in each of the technical areas are presented. This is followed by a description of the generalized computer model, including formulation of the discrete subprograms and their integration into an overall engineering model structure. The operation and capabilities of the engineering model were verified by comparing the model's theoretical predictions with experimental data from an OMS-type engine with a known feed system/engine chugging history

Propulsion and Space Vehicle Systems Analysis Program Tensor I, volume I Technical report no. 341

Computer program for space vehicle and propulsion systems analysi