Replacement of the Legacy High-Cost Universal Support Fund with a Connect America Fund. Key Economic and Legal Considerations

On April 21, 2010, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) and a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that seek the public’s input on the FCC’s effort to replace the legacy high-cost universal service fund (USF) with a broadband “Connect America” fund (CAF). In effect, the FCC seeks to implement cost-cutting measures for existing voice support (USF) and create a new fund (CAF) to support the provision of broadband communications in areas that would be unserved without such support or that depend on USF support for the maintenance of existing broadband service. An initial review of the NOI/NPRM raises a number of key economic and legal considerations. In the following, we identify some of the considerations, questions, and challenges raised by the FCC’s USF reform attempt, which is likely to have far-reaching consequences not only for operators that currently rely on USF subsidies or broadband providers in high-cost regions but for the entire communications industry.The purpose of this note is not to provide an all-inclusive list of, or responses to, the critical questions raised by the NOI/NPRM, but rather to illustrate the complexities of this proceeding and the impact the proposed reforms may have on industry performance. As the CAF is necessary for the success of the FCC’s National Broadband Plan (NBP), the policy directions taken by the FCC in establishing it are critically important. USF reform is also essential to the performance and competitiveness of the U.S. communications industry and policy missteps could have serious economic and legal consequences.Federal Communications Commission, America Fund

Hydrodynamics of inelastic Maxwell models

An overview of recent results pertaining to the hydrodynamic description (both Newtonian and non-Newtonian) of granular gases described by the Boltzmann equation for inelastic Maxwell models is presented. The use of this mathematical model allows us to get exact results for different problems. First, the Navier--Stokes constitutive equations with explicit expressions for the corresponding transport coefficients are derived by applying the Chapman--Enskog method to inelastic gases. Second, the non-Newtonian rheological properties in the uniform shear flow (USF) are obtained in the steady state as well as in the transient unsteady regime. Next, an exact solution for a special class of Couette flows characterized by a uniform heat flux is worked out. This solution shares the same rheological properties as the USF and, additionally, two generalized transport coefficients associated with the heat flux vector can be identified. Finally, the problem of small spatial perturbations of the USF is analyzed with a Chapman--Enskog-like method and generalized (tensorial) transport coefficients are obtained.Comment: 40 pages, 10 figures; v2: final version published in a special issue devoted to "Granular hydrodynamics

Finite temperature molecular dynamics study of unstable stacking fault free energies in silicon

We calculate the free energies of unstable stacking fault (USF) configurations on the glide and shuffle slip planes in silicon as a function of temperature, using the recently developed Environment Dependent Interatomic Potential (EDIP). We employ the molecular dynamics (MD) adiabatic switching method with appropriate periodic boundary conditions and restrictions to atomic motion that guarantee stability and include volume relaxation of the USF configurations perpendicular to the slip plane. Our MD results using the EDIP model agree fairly well with earlier first-principles estimates for the transition from shuffle to glide plane dominance as a function of temperature. We use these results to make contact to brittle-ductile transition models.Comment: 6 pages revtex, 4 figs, 16 refs, to appear in Phys. Rev.

The Investigation of Sucrose and Fructose in Spot Versus 24-hour Urine As Biomarkers of Sugars Intake

abstract: Background: Twenty-four hour urinary sucrose and fructose (24uSF) has been developed as a dietary biomarker for total sugars intake. Collection of 24-h urine is associated with high costs and heavy participant burden, while collection of spot urine samples can be easily implemented in research protocols. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the utility of uSF biomarker measured in spot urine. Methods: 15 participants age 22 to 49 years completed a 15-day feeding study in which they consumed their usual diet under controlled conditions, and recorded the time each meal was consumed. Two nonconsecutive 24-hour urines, where each urine void was collected in a separate container, were collected. Four timed voids (morning, afternoon, evening, and next day) were identified based on time of void and meal time. Urine samples were measured for sucrose, fructose and creatinine. Variability of uSF excretion was assessed by coefficient of variation (%CV) and variance ratios. Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression were used to investigate the association between uSF in each timed void and corresponding 24uSF excretion. Results: The two-day mean uSF was 50.6 mg (SD=29.5) for the 24-h urine, and ranged from 4.5 to 7.5 mg/void for the timed voids. The afternoon void uSF had the lowest within-subject variability (49.1%), and lowest within- to between-subject variance ratio (0.2). The morning and afternoon void uSF had the strongest correlation with 24-h uSF for both mg/void (r=0.80 and r=0.72) and mg/creatinine (r=0.72 and r=0.67), respectively. Finally, the afternoon void uSF along with other covariates had the strongest predictive ability of 24-h uSF excretion (mg/void) (Adjusted R2= 0.69; p=0.002), whereas the morning void had the strongest predictive ability of 24-h uSF excretion (mg/g creatinine) (adjusted R2= 0.58; p=0.008). Conclusions: The afternoon void uSF had the most favorable reproducibility estimates, strong correlation with 24uSF excretion, and explained greatest proportion of the variability in 24uSF. USF in mg/void may be better to use than uSF in mg/g creatinine as a biomarker in spot urine. These findings need to be confirmed in a larger study, and in a study population with a wide range of sugars intake.Dissertation/ThesisMasters Thesis Nutrition 201

Central Florida Future, Vol. 38 No. 10, September 19, 2005

rivalry with USF holds plenty of benefits for both; SGA gets mixed reactions over USF football ticket giveaway; Hurricane victims look to Web sites for help; worrySGA confrontation leads to police patrol: Pressure desire for power can push students to erratic behavior observers say; Running of the Bulls: Despite bad game for UCF rivalry with USF holds plenty of benefits for both; SGA gets mixed reactions over USF football ticket giveaway; Hurricane victims look to Web sites for help; worry helplessness affect Florida residents after Katrina.https://stars.library.ucf.edu/centralfloridafuture/2849/thumbnail.jp