From Common Core to Charter: The Economic Remedy to NC Education

Although numerous factors contribute to the decline of North Carolina’s economic prosperity, one of the most prevalent is the waste that occurs through the ineffective funding of education. In the last century, this system has become progressively centralized and bureaucratized which restricts the presence of diversity and hinders economic choice. The purest evidence of this movement is demonstrated through the state’s adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), an initiative designed to serve as a basis for federal entanglement in education. Proponents of CCSS claimed that the system would accomplish a variety of rigorous educational goals; however, none of these goals have been successfully attained. These failed initiatives waste tax dollars and subsequently hinder economic prosperity. Remedying this issue necessitates replacing CCSS with a charter school system. These schools of choice have largely proven to accomplish the very goals promised by the creators of CCSS at only a fraction of the cost. Pursuing a cost-effective charter school system in North Carolina will lead to a more effective educational system and a more prosperous economy

Elastic scattering of intermediate-energy electrons from C_(60) molecules

Experimental and calculated differential cross sections for elastic scattering of electrons by C_(60) molecules at collision energies of 100 to 500 eV are reported. The elastic differential cross sections were measured in a standard crossed-beam apparatus, while the calculations were performed employing the Schwinger multichannel technique at the static-exchange level. Diffraction effects, some due to the overall spherical-cage structure and some to scattering by individual C atoms, are observed in both the measured and calculated cross sections

Elastic electron scattering by ethyl vinyl ether

We report measured and calculated results for elastic scattering of low-energy electrons by ethyl vinyl ether (ethoxyethene), a prototype system for studying indirect dissociative attachment processes that may play a role in DNA damage. The integral cross section displays the expected π* shape resonance. The agreement between the calculated and measured cross sections is generally good

Technology issues for shuttle main engine - Stage integration

Stage integration requirements for space shuttle main engin

Measurement and Calculation of Absolute Single and Multiple Charge Exchange Cross Sections for Fe^(q+) Ions Impacting H_2O

Charge exchange (CE) plays a fundamental role in the collisions of solar- and stellar-wind ions with lunar and planetary exospheres, comets, and circumstellar clouds. Reported herein are absolute cross sections for single, double, triple, and quadruple CE of Fe^(q+) (q = 5-13) ions with H_2O at a collision energy of 7q keV. One measured value of the pentuple CE is also given for Fe^(9+) ions. An electron cyclotron resonance ion source is used to provide currents of the highly charged Fe ions. Absolute data are derived from knowledge of the target gas pressure, target path length, and incident and charge-exchanged ion currents. Experimental cross sections are compared with new results of the n-electron classical trajectory Monte Carlo approximation. The radiative and non-radiative cascades following electron transfers are approximated using scaled hydrogenic transition probabilities and scaled Auger rates. Also given are estimates of cross sections for single capture, and multiple capture followed by autoionization, as derived from the extended overbarrier model. These estimates are based on new theoretical calculations of the vertical ionization potentials of H_2O up to H_2O^(10+)

Noise-aided gradient descent bit-flipping decoders approaching maximum likelihood decoding

International audienceIn the recent literature, the study of iterative LDPC decoders implemented on faulty-hardware has led to the counter-intuitive conclusion that noisy decoders could perform better than their noiseless version. This peculiar behavior has been observed in the finite codeword length regime, where the noise perturbating the decoder dynamics help to escape the attraction of fixed points such as trapping sets. In this paper, we will study two recently introduced LDPC decoders derived from noisy versions of the gradient descent bit-flipping decoder (GDBF). Although the GDBF is known to be a simple decoder with limited error correction capability compared to more powerful soft-decision decoders, it has been shown that the introduction of a random perturbation in the decoder could greatly improve the performance results, approaching and even surpassing belief propagation or min-sum based decoders. For both decoders, we evaluate the probability of escaping from a Trapping set, and relate this probability to the parameters of the injected noise distribution, using a Markovian model of the decoder transitions in the state space of errors localized on isolated trapping sets. In a second part of the paper, we present a modified scheduling of our algorithms for the binary symmetric channel, which allows to approach maximum likelihood decoding (MLD) at the cost of a very large number of iterations

Empirical Investigation of a Model of Sexual Minority Specific and General Risk Factors for Intimate Partner Violence Among Lesbian Women

Objective: This study proposed and tested the first conceptual model of sexual minority specific (discrimination, internalized homophobia) and more general risk factors (perpetrator and partner alcohol use, anger, relationship satisfaction) for intimate partner violence among partnered lesbian women. Method: Selfidentified lesbian women (N = 1,048) were recruited from online market research panels. Participants completed an online survey that included measures of minority stress, anger, alcohol use and alcohol-related problems, relationship satisfaction, psychological aggression, and physical violence. Results: The model demonstrated good fit and significant links from sexual minority discrimination to internalized homophobia and anger, from internalized homophobia to anger and alcohol problems, and from alcohol problems to intimate partner violence. Partner alcohol use predicted partner physical violence. Relationship dissatisfaction was associated with physical violence via psychological aggression. Physical violence was bidirectional. Conclusions: Minority stress, anger, alcohol use, and alcohol-related problems play an important role in perpetration of psychological aggression and physical violence in lesbian women\u27s intimate partner relationships. The results of this study provide evidence of potentially modifiable sexual minority specific and more general risk factors for lesbian women\u27s partner violence

Diode Laser Microwave Induced Plasma Cavity Ringdown Spectrometer: Performance and Perspective

Recent studies combining an atmospheric-pressure plasma source (inductively coupled plasma or microwave induced plasma) with cavity ringdown spectroscopy (plasma-CRDS) have indicated significant promise for ultra-sensitive elemental measurements. Initial plasma-CRDS efforts employed an inductively coupled plasma as the atomization source and a pulsed laser system as the light source. In an effort to improve the portability and reduce the cost of the system for application purposes, we have modified our approach to include a compact microwave induced plasma and a continuous wave diode laser. A technique for controlling the coupling of the continuous wave laser to the ringdown cavity has been implemented using a standard power combiner. No acouto-optic modulator or cavity modulation is required. To test the system performance, diluted standard solutions of strontium (Sr) were introduced into the plasma by an in-house fabricated sampling device combined with an ultrasonic nebulizer. SrOH radicals were generated in the plasma and detected using both a pulsed laser system and a diode laser via a narrow band transition near 680 nm. The experimental results obtained using both light sources are compared and used for system characterization. The ringdown baseline noise and the detection limit for Sr are determined for the current experimental configuration. The results indicate that a plasma-CRDS instrument constructed using diode lasers and a compact microwave induced plasma can serve as a small, portable, and sensitive analytical tool. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics

Chemical and physical properties of bulk aerosols within four sectors observed during TRACE-P

Chemical and physical aerosol data collected on the DC-8 during TRACE-P were grouped into four sectors based on back trajectories. The four sectors represent long-range transport from the west (WSW), regional circulation over the western Pacific and Southeast Asia (SE Asia), polluted transport from northern Asia with substantial sea salt at low altitudes (NNW) and a substantial amount of dust (Channel). WSW has generally low mixing ratios at both middle and high altitudes, with the bulk of the aerosol mass due to non-sea-salt water-soluble inorganic species. Low altitude SE Asia also has low mean mixing ratios in general, with the majority of the aerosol mass comprised of non-sea-salts, however, soot is also relatively important in this region. NNW had the highest mean sea salt mixing ratios, with the aerosol mass at low altitudes (\u3c2 km) evenly divided between sea salts, non-sea-salts, and dust. The highest mean mixing ratios of water-soluble ions and soot were observed at the lowest altitudes (\u3c2 km) in the Channel sector. The bulk of the aerosol mass exported from Asia emanates from Channel at both low and midaltitudes, due to the prevalence of dust compared to other sectors. Number densities show enhanced fine particles for Channel and NNW, while their volume distributions are enhanced due to sea salt and dust. Low-altitude Channel exhibits the highest condensation nuclei (CN) number densities along with enhanced scattering coefficients, compared to the other sectors. At midaltitudes (2–7 km), low mean CN number densities coupled with a high proportion of nonvolatile particles (≥65%) observed in polluted sectors (Channel and NNW) are attributed to wet scavenging which removes hygroscopic CN particles. Low single scatter albedo in SE Asia reflects enhanced soot