Grain Situation and Outlook; Cattle Market Fundamentals

Farm Outlook, cattle markets, grain markets

Flapping inertia for selected rotor blades

Aerodynamics of helicopter rotor systems cannot be investigated without consideration for the dynamics of the rotor. One of the principal properties of the rotor which affects the rotor dynamics is the inertia of the rotor blade about its root attachment. Previous aerodynamic investigation have been performed on rotor blades with a variety of planforms to determine the performance differences due to blade planform. The blades tested for this investigation have been tested on the U.S. Army 2 meter rotor test system (2MRTS) in the NASA Langley 14 by 22 foot subsonic tunnel for hover performance. This investigation was intended to provide fundamental information on the flapping inertia of five rotor blades with differing planforms. The inertia of the bare cuff and the cuff with a blade extension were also measured for comparison with the inertia of the blades. Inertia was determined using a swing testing technique, using the period of oscillation to determine the effective flapping inertia. The effect of damping in the swing test was measured and described. A comparison of the flapping inertials for rectangular and tapered planform blades of approximately the same mass showed the tapered blades to have a lower inertia, as expected

Federal Employees Work for Both Democrats and Republicans – Even Kellyanne Conway

Federal ethics lawyers determined earlier this month that White House adviser Kellyanne Conway violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits a variety of political activities by federal employees. During two television appearances last year, Conway, a Republican, had encouraged Alabama voters to vote against the Democratic senate candidate in a special election

The Trump Administration Wants to Dismantle the Agency Overseeing 2 Million Federal Workers – and Weaken Safeguards Against Partisanship

The U.S. government has put expertise and competence ahead of political considerations when it hires people for more than 135 years. As a result of changes made during President Chester Arthur’s administration, the vast majority of government jobs can only be awarded on the basis of merit. Prospective employees historically had to complete a competitive exam and today must complete detailed applications, undergo interviews and get their background checked. Employees also cannot be fired or demoted for political reasons. These rules apply to all but about 4,000 politically appointed employees among the 2 million people who work for the federal government, not counting postal service workers. Those only require presidential support and, for around 1,200 of these jobs, Senate confirmation. The Trump administration is taking several steps that could remove safeguards against partisanship and nepotism in the federal workforce. Among other things, it is pushing to dissolve the Office of Personnel Management, which oversees the administration of the civil service system. Democrats are objecting to this move. As a public administration researcher, I look at how political partisanship influences the relationship between government employees and elected officials. To understand why scholars like me and other experts are concerned that dismantling OPM could harm the civil service system by making it more partisan, it is helpful to understand why the U.S. moved toward a merit-based system in the first place

What is the role of informal healthcare providers in developing countries? A systematic review.

Informal health care providers (IPs) comprise a significant component of health systems in developing nations. Yet little is known about the most basic characteristics of performance, cost, quality, utilization, and size of this sector. To address this gap we conducted a comprehensive literature review on the informal health care sector in developing countries. We searched for studies published since 2000 through electronic databases PubMed, Google Scholar, and relevant grey literature from The New York Academy of Medicine, The World Bank, The Center for Global Development, USAID, SHOPS (formerly PSP-One), The World Health Organization, DFID, Human Resources for Health Global Resource Center. In total, 334 articles were retrieved, and 122 met inclusion criteria and chosen for data abstraction. Results indicate that IPs make up a significant portion of the healthcare sector globally, with almost half of studies (48%) from Sub-Saharan Africa. Utilization estimates from 24 studies in the literature of IP for healthcare services ranged from 9% to 90% of all healthcare interactions, depending on the country, the disease in question, and methods of measurement. IPs operate in a variety of health areas, although baseline information on quality is notably incomplete and poor quality of care is generally assumed. There was a wide variation in how quality of care is measured. The review found that IPs reported inadequate drug provision, poor adherence to clinical national guidelines, and that there were gaps in knowledge and provider practice; however, studies also found that the formal sector also reported poor provider practices. Reasons for using IPs included convenience, affordability, and social and cultural effects. Recommendations from the literature amount to a call for more engagement with the IP sector. IPs are a large component of nearly all developing country health systems. Research and policies of engagement are needed

Presentations of higher dimensional Thompson groups

In a previous paper, we defined a higher dimensional analog of Thompson's group V, and proved that it is simple, infinite, finitely generated, and not isomorphic to any of the known Thompson groups. There are other Thompson groups that are infinite, simple and finitely presented. Here we show that the new group is also finitely presented by calculating an explicit finite presentation.Comment: 35 pages, to appear in J. Algebr

Patent Reform, Injunctions, and Equitable Principles: A Triangle of Changes for the Future, 6 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 671 (2007)

In eBay v. MercExchange, the Supreme Court held the Federal Circuit could no longer utilize their long-standing “general rule” that an injunction should follow the finding of patent infringement. The Supreme Court held that courts should utilize a set of rules known as the four-factor test, which utilizes traditional principals of equity. Concurrently, Congress has been debating patent reform with one of the topics being the use of injunctive relief as a remedy for patent infringement. These two changes could potentially have a significant effect on the technological and economic landscape of patents in the future. It now may be more difficult for these patent holders to get injunctive relief or more importantly, to threaten an injunction against alleged patent infringers. The goal of this proposal is to protect the legitimate inventors and patent holders, large or small, from big companies’ abuse of patented technology while also protecting those same big companies against the Patent Trolls. The two-fold proposal presented meets both needs while furthering innovation, and thus, it also serves the fundamental goals of the patent system