An Economic Analysis of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act

As an attempt by Congress to overturn a Supreme Court ruling by statute, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), although passed by a congressional landslide, was one of the most controversial pieces of legislation passed during Bill Clinton\u27s presidency. Wheeler examines RFRA from a law and economics perspective to show that, as a method by which Congress attempted to impose its definition of a constitutional right upon the courts, the Act was inefficient

Configurational temperature control for atomic and molecular systems

A new configurational temperature thermostat suitable for molecules with holonomic constraints is derived. This thermostat has a simple set of motion equations, can generate the canonical ensemble in both position and momentum space, acts homogeneously through the spatial coordinates, and does not intrinsically violate the constraints. Our new configurational thermostat is closely related to the kinetic temperature Nosé-Hoover thermostat with feedback coupled to the position variables via a term proportional to the net molecular force. We validate the thermostat by comparing equilibrium static and dynamic quantities for a fluid of n-decane molecules under configurational and kinetic temperature control. Practical aspects concerning the implementation of the new thermostat in a molecular dynamics code and the potential applications are discussed

Products of Compartmental Models in Epidemiology.

We show that many structured epidemic models may be described using a straightforward product structure in this paper. Such products, derived from products of directed graphs, may represent useful refinements including geographic and demographic structure, age structure, gender, risk groups, or immunity status. Extension to multistrain dynamics, that is, pathogen heterogeneity, is also shown to be feasible in this framework. Systematic use of such products may aid in model development and exploration, can yield insight, and could form the basis of a systematic approach to numerical structural sensitivity analysis

Evaluation of Level of Milk Potential on Nutrient Balance in 2- and 4- Year- Old May- Calving Range Cows Grazing Sandhills Upland Range

A modeling study evaluated the effects of milk production level on nutrient balance in May- calving cows grazing Sandhills upland range during the breeding season. Forage quality of upland range peaks in June and steadily declines in July until November. With timing of forage quality decline and increasing nutrient demands due to lactation, cows were in a negative energy balance in late June and early July prior to deficiency of metabolizable protein. Supplementation to meet energy deficiencies in June and July and MP deficiencies in July with distiller grains that is high ruminally undegradable protein and high fiber energy may be needed in May- calving cowherds. Selection for milk over 23 lb at peak lactation creates deficiencies early post- calving and increases the need for additional supplementation to correct the nutrient deficiency. In an effort to match cow type to environment in the Sandhills and optimize performance, producers should consider selecting against high milk potential

Open Access Publishing in Particle Physics: A Brief Introduction for the non-Expert

Open Access to particle physics literature does not sound particularly new or exciting, since particle physicists have been reading preprints for decades, and arXiv.org for 15 years. However new movements in Europe are attempting to make the peer-reviewed literature of the field fully Open Access. This is not a new movement, nor is it restricted to this field. However, given the field's history of preprints and eprints, it is well suited to a change to a fully Open Access publishing model. Data shows that 90% of HEP published literature is freely available online, meaning that HEP libraries have little need for expensive journal subscriptions. As libraries begin to cancel journal subscriptions, the peer review process will lose its primary source of funding. Open Access publishing models can potentially address this issue. European physicists and funding agencies are proposing a consortium, SCOAP3, that might solve many of the objections to traditional Open Access publishing models in Particle Physics. These proposed changes should be viewed as a starting point for a serious look at the field's publication model, and are at least worthy of attention, if not adoption

Subtleties Concerning Conformal Tractor Bundles

The realization of tractor bundles as associated bundles in conformal geometry is studied. It is shown that different natural choices of principal bundle with normal Cartan connection corresponding to a given conformal manifold can give rise to topologically distinct associated tractor bundles for the same inducing representation. Consequences for homogeneous models and conformal holonomy are described. A careful presentation is made of background material concerning standard tractor bundles and equivalence between parabolic geometries and underlying structures.Comment: 17 page

Seasonal Emergence Patterns of Black Flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) in Northwestern Pennsylvania

A two-year emergence trap study of black flies at four sites in northwestern Pennsylvania yielded 1%3 individuals of nine species. The collections included Prosimulium mixtum, P. jU5cum, Stegapterna mutata, Simulium aureum, S. excisum (recorded for the first time from Pennsylvania), S. gauldingi, S. sp. nr. innacens, S. vittatum, and S. tuberasum. Species richness for all sites peaked during May. Emergence collections below a sewage plant effluent outfall represented fewer individuals and species than collections above the effluent outfall. Chromosomal analysis of supplementary larval collections revealed the IIIL-l and IS-7 sibling species of S. vittatum and the FG sibling of S. tuberasum

Anosmia and Ageusia as the Only Indicators of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

The patient is a 60-year-old woman with a history of vertigo and seasonal allergies who presented to the hospital with the chief complaint of headache. Radiological findings were negative for intracranial abnormalities. The headache was due to trigeminal neuralgia. She had concurrent complaints of anosmia and ageusia without fever, respiratory symptoms, or obvious risk factors. However, it was determined to test the patient for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection despite extremely low clinical suspicion. Unfortunately, she was found to be COVID-19 positive after she was discharged from the hospital while she remained asymptomatic. There is currently a lack of published case reports describing COVID-19 patients with the sole symptoms of anosmia and ageusia in the United States of America

ABC, 123: Can you text me now? The Impact of a Mobile Phone Literacy Program on Educational Outcomes.

We report the short-term results from a randomized evaluation of a mobile phone literacy and numeracy program (Project ABC) in Niger, in which adult literacy students learned how to use mobile phones as part of a literacy and numeracy class. Students in ABC villages showed substantial gains in numeracy exam scores. There is also evidence of heterogeneity in program effects across regions, suggesting the impact is context dependent. These results were stronger in one region, for women and for participants younger than 45. There was also evidence of persistent impacts: six months after the end of the first year of classes, students in ABC villages retained what they had learned better than the non-ABC students. These effects do not appear to be driven by differences in teacher quality and motivation, nor student attendance.Education; literacy; information technology; program evaluation; Nigeria