Coupling bioturbation activity to metal (Fe and Mn) profiles in situ

This work was supported by a University of Aberdeen 6th century scholarship (awarded to L. T.), CEFAS Lowestoft (DP204), NERC NFSD support (08/02) and a SAMS research bursary (awarded to L. T)Peer reviewedPublisher PD

State Bankruptcy: Surviving A Tenth Amendment Challenge

During February 2011 the prospect of creating a state-bankruptcy chapter burst into the national conversation. This debate largely centered on the necessity of state bankruptcy as a means of averting state bailouts, and leading commentators emphasized the need to tread gingerly on state prerogatives under the Tenth Amendment. The constitutionality of bankruptcy for states demands closer scrutiny, given that the Supreme Court’s recent Tenth Amendment jurisprudence has evolved toward protecting state sovereignty. The principles handed down from a pair of cases in the 1930s involving the constitutionality of municipal bankruptcy would likely support upholding a state-bankruptcy chapter that is carefully drawn to respect state sovereignty. Though highly relevant, these cases are not dispositive, however, because the legal landscape has changed a great deal since the 1930s. Even a broad state-bankruptcy chapter would be constitutional, because recent Tenth Amendment jurisprudence does not preserve traditional state functions. The Court has already upheld many similar infringements on state sovereignty, such as the interference with state contractual obligations. Assuming a state-bankruptcy chapter is constitutional, is it a good idea? The main justification expressed for the creation of a state bankruptcy chapter is that it is necessary to avoid a massive federal bailout, because states are too big to fail. This justification concludes that the grim logic of bailouts applies to the states because they are significantly interconnected with the financial markets. Cite as 42 Golden Gate Univ. L. Rev. 217 (2012)

Attainability in Repeated Games with Vector Payoffs

We introduce the concept of attainable sets of payoffs in two-player repeated games with vector payoffs. A set of payoff vectors is called {\em attainable} if player 1 can ensure that there is a finite horizon $T$ such that after time $T$ the distance between the set and the cumulative payoff is arbitrarily small, regardless of what strategy player 2 is using. This paper focuses on the case where the attainable set consists of one payoff vector. In this case the vector is called an attainable vector. We study properties of the set of attainable vectors, and characterize when a specific vector is attainable and when every vector is attainable.Comment: 28 pages, 2 figures, conference version at NetGCoop 201

An Adversarial Algorithm for Delegation

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Neutronic analysis of a proposed plutonium recycle assembly

Statement of responsibility on title-page reads: George M. Solan David D. Lanning Bruce F. Momsen, and Edward E. Pilat"August 1975."Also issued as a Nucl. E. thesis, MIT Dept. of Nuclear Engineering, 1975Includes bibliographical references (pages 271-275)A method for the neutronic analysis of plutonium recycle assemblies has been developed with emphasis on relative power distribution prediction in the boundary area of vastly different spectral regions. Such regions are those of mixed oxide (Pu0 2 in natural U02 ) fuel pins relative to enriched uranium pins, or water regions relative to fuel pin regions. The basic analytical methods for determination of spectrum averaged constants are given in the following descriptions: (1) Generalized Mixed Number Density (GMND) group constants (based on Breen's Mixed Number Density Method) are generated by a modified version of the spectrum code LASER, called LASER-M. (2) THERMOS Corrected LASER-M (TCL) group constants are based on mixed oxide- uranium oxide and water region boundary modeling in one dimensional (slab) geometry with the integral transport code THERMOS.The LASER-M model, as modified by addition of ENDF/B-II thermal cross sections for the plutonium isotopes, is used to predict the criticality of experimental lattices of U02 - 2 w/o Pu0 2, and fair agreement is shown. LASER-M unit cell depletion calculations with Yankee Core I data (3.4 w/o U-235) to 40,000 MWD/MT and Saxton Core II data (6.6 w/o Pu02 in natural U02) to 20,000 MWD/MT show good isotopic agreement. Saxton Critical Reactor Experiment (CRX) lattice cores (19 x 19 rod array) consisting of a single fuel type region (mixed oxide or uranium oxide) or multiregions of both pin types were analyzed for relative power distribution comparisons. Cores with water slot regions were included. LASER-M Normal, LASER-M GMND and TCL two group constants were used with PDQ-7 in the calculations. GMND results were in excellent agreement compared to the good agreement of TCL for these cases of isolated spectral disturbances in an asymptotic core region.The methods were applied to a proposed plutonium recycle "island design" assembly in which a large control rod water region is in close proximity to a zoned mixed oxide region. The TCL method yielded significantly greater power peaking and mixed oxide region average power owing to the spectral influence of the water region explicitly accounted for in this method. Such a result is consistent with published calculations. It is concluded that infinite lattice spectrum calculations are insufficient to deal with spectrum effects more complex than those in the Saxton CRX experiments

Repeated games over networks with vector payoffs: the notion of attainability.

We introduce the concept of strongly attainable sets of payoffs in two-player repeated games with vector payoffs in continuous time. A set of payoffs is called strongly attainable if player 1 has a strategy guaranteeing, even in the worst case, that the distance between the set and the cumulative payoff shrinks with time to zero. We characterize when any vector is strongly attainable and illustrate the motivation of our study on a multiinventory application

Perfect-information games with lower-semicontinuous payoffs

We prove that every multiplayer perfect-information game with bounded and lower-semicontinuous payoffs admits a subgame-perfect epsilon-equilibrium in pure strategies. This result complements Example 3 in Solan and Vieille [Solan, E., N. Vieille. 2003. Deterministic multi-player Dynkin games. J. Math. Econom. 39 911-929], which shows that a subgame-perfect epsilon-equilibrium in pure strategies need not exist when the payoffs are not lower-semicontinuous. In addition, if the range of payoffs is finite, we characterize in the form of a Folk Theorem the set of all plays and payoffs that are induced by subgame-perfect 0-equilibria in pure strategies

Characterizations of how species mediate ecosystem properties require more comprehensive functional effect descriptors

The importance of individual species in mediating ecosystem process and functioning is generally accepted, but categorical descriptors that summarize species-specific contributions to ecosystems tend to reference a limited number of biological traits and underestimate the importance of how organisms interact with their environment. Here, we show how three functionally contrasting sediment-dwelling marine invertebrates affect fluid and particle transport - important processes in mediating nutrient cycling - and use high-resolution reconstructions of burrow geometry to determine the extent and nature of biogenic modification. We find that individual functional effect descriptors fall short of being able to adequately characterize how species mediate the stocks and flows of important ecosystem properties and that, in contrary to common practice and understanding, they are not substitutable with one another because they emphasize different aspects of species activity and behavior. When information derived from these metrics is combined with knowledge of how species behave and modify their environment, however, detailed mechanistic information emerges that increases the likelihood that a species functional standing will be appropriately summarized. Our study provides evidence that more comprehensive functional effect descriptors are required if they are to be of value to those tasked with projecting how altered biodiversity will influence future ecosystems