Principal Bundles and the Dixmier Douady Class

A systematic consideration of the problem of the reduction and extension of the structure group of a principal bundle is made and a variety of techniques in each case are explored and related to one another. We apply these to the study of the Dixmier-Douady class in various contexts including string structures, U-res bundles and other examples motivated by considerations from quantum field theory.Comment: 28 pages, latex, no figures, uses amsmath, amsthm, amsfonts. Revised version - only change a lot of irritating typos remove

Curbing the HIV Epidemic by Supporting Effective Engagement in HIV Care: Recommendations for Health Plans and Health Care Purchasers

The United States is poised to dramatically reduce the scope of its HIV epidemic, but this demands increased leadership and attention from health plans and health care purchasers (including Medicaid, Medicare, marketplaces, and other private purchasers). This new amfAR report identifies changes in policy and practice in clinics, communities, and health care programs to reduce unnecessary health spending, increase the effectiveness of services, and increase the integration of services. Done right, the same steps that lead to appropriate management of care by health plans and purchasers also will help to achieve national public health goals

A poisoned apple? The use of secret evidence and secret hearings to combat terrorism in Australia

The use of secrecy in the form of secret evidence and secret hearings had a limited role in modern democracies where the focus is on open justice. This changed after the events of 11 September 2001. Secrecy may be a necessary adjunct to maintaining military options, for combating organised crime and countering terrorism but like a double-edged sword it can also cut into the fabric of the democratic state via abuses of power, and the maintenance and expansion of organisations beyond their usefulness. This paper considers the use of secrecy in Australia with particular reference to its impact on the administration of justice in terrorism matters. It reveals an increased use of secret evidence covered by new legislation that directly impacts on the trial process. It raises issues of fairness to accused persons and others who may be required to obtain security clearances to do their job. For the present, the system seems to work fairly, if only because of the skill, ability and commitment to fair justice of parties who work in the criminal justice system; but, there is a clear potential for abuse by those who say they require secrecy to protect Australians from terrorists

Physicochemical and mechanical characterization of hot-melt extruded dosage forms

textThe physicochemical and mechanical properties and the mechanisms of drug release from drug delivery systems prepared by hotmelt extrusion were investigated. The influence of processing conditions and the thermal properties of the polymeric retardants was also studied. The stability of polyethylene oxide (PEO) in sustained release tablets prepared by hot-melt extrusion was investigated. The chemical stability of PEO was found to be dependent on the storage and processing temperature, the screw speed and the molecular weight of the polymer. Lower molecular weight PEO MW = 100,000 (PEO 100K) was demonstrated to be a suitable processing aid for PEO 1M. Vitamin E, Vitamin E Succinate and Vitamin E TPGS were found to be suitable stabilizers for PEO; however, ascorbic acid was shown to degrade the polymer in solution. Drug release rates from hot-melt extruded tablets stabilized with antioxidants were found to be dependent on the hydrophilic nature of the antioxidant. The physicochemical properties and mechanism of drug release from ethyl cellulose matrix tablets containing a water soluble drug (guaifenesin) were investigated. Tablets were prepared by direct compression and hot-melt extrusion techniques. The drug dissolution and release kinetics were determined and the tablet pore characteristics, tortuosity, thermal properties and surface morphologies were studied. The tortuosity was measured directly by a novel technique that allows for the calculation of diffusion coefficients in 3 experiments. The Higuchi diffusion model, percolation theory and polymer free volume theory were applied to the dissolution data to explain the release properties of drug from the matrix systems. Films containing PEO and two model drugs (guaifenesin and ketoprofen) were prepared by hot-melt extrusion. Both guaifenesin and ketoprofen were stable during the extrusion process. Wide angle X-ray diffraction suggested that guaifenesin crystallized from the melt upon cooling, but ketoprofen formed a solid solution. Crystallization of guaifenesin on the surface of the film could be observed using scanning electron microscopy at all concentrations studies, but did not reveal ketoprofen crystallization until reaching the 15% level. Guaifenesin and ketoprofen were found to decrease the drive load, increase the stability of polyethylene oxide and plasticize the polymer during extrusion. The percent elongation decreased with increasing guaifenesin concentrations, but increased with increasing ketoprofen concentrations. Both guaifenesin and ketoprofen decreased the tensile strength of the film.Pharmac

Countering Home-Grown Terrorists in Australia: An Overview of Legislation, Policy and Actors Since 2001

This article explores the impact of counter-terrorism legislation and policy in Australia. In particular it explores how legislation facilitated prosecution and conviction of persons involved in home-grown terrorism, including analysis of investigation and prosecution policy surrounding the ul-Haque and Haneef cases. Particular attention is given to the terrorism trials involving Benbrika & Ors and Elomar & Ors. What makes these trials intriguing is the fact that most of those convicted could be more easily described as more vulnerable than menacing. Sentencing of those convicted was cognate with no policies for rehabilitation. The small number of convictions under the legislation when considered against the increased funding of counter-terrorism, loss of traditional rights and privileges and Australia’s involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq raises issues about adequate policy setting in this area

Investigation and development of implicit numerical methods for building energy simulation

A variety of building energy analysis and simulation tools are increasingly used to determine peak heating and cooling loads, size thermal plant, anticipate annual energy consumption and analyse thermal comfort. Numerical solution techniques are considered the most flexible for building energy simulation. When applied to the differential equations modelling energy flows in buildings, they give rise to a system of non-linear algebraic (difference) equations. In order to evaluate numerical methods for building energy simulation, the problem has been characterized mathematically and comprehensive test problems (equation sets) with these characteristics have been prepared. The principal attribute of the problem was found to be a stifiess ratio of the order of lo4. Candidate methods have been programmed and their outputs compared, in numerical experiments, with highly accurate (converged) solutions for the test problems. The accepted validation methods, empirical validation, analytical verification and inter-modal comparison were considered inappropriate. The first estimates total and not just numerical error, the second is too confined and the third lacks an absolute standard. The main evaluation parameter used was computational efficiency which is defined as accuracy attained per unit (computational) effort expended. An improved difference equation solver has been proposed and compared with the one used in the European reference model (ESP) and elsewhere. It was found to produce 27% less error than the currently used method. A fundamental method for estimating the pre-conditioning period of a building has been put forward in this part of the work. The trapezoidal rule (TR) is currently used in a number of building energy simulation packages including ESP. A known instability associated with the method is described and an implicit member of the Runge-Kutta family, possessing the necessary strong stability, has been shown, using the test problems, to be more efficient than TR by a factor of 4.27

Raise The Yellow Submarine! Subafilms and Extraterritorial Application of the Copyright Act

Protecting United States industry from the costs of overseas pirating is complex without an enforceable bilateral copyright agreement. In fact, the U.S. loses billions of dollars to acts of piracy abroad every year. Yet, the Ninth Circuit destroyed a potential check against overseas piracy in Subafilms, Ltd. v. MGM-Pathe Communs. Co. when it ruled that the U.S. Copyright Act does not prohibit piracy abroad. After a discussion of relevant case law surrounding extraterritorial application of the Copyright Act, the Author of this Note criticizes the Subafilms decision and proposes changes to the current language contained in the Copyright Act