2,727 research outputs found

    Conversion of hydrocarbons for fuel cell applications. Part 1: Autothermal reforming of sulfur-free and sulfur-containing hydrocarbon liquids. Part 2: Steam reforming of n-hexane on pellet and monolithic catalyst beds

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    The autothermal reforming process for conversion of various hydrocarbons to hydrogen and the use of monolithic catalyst beds in the steam reforming of n-hexane are described

    Teaching Election Law

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    In the last couple years, new editions of the two most prominent election law casebooks have been released, and one entirely new casebook has been published. This is an opportune moment, then, both to review the volumes and to assess the state of the field. Fortunately, both are strong. All of the casebooks are well organized, thorough in their coverage, and full of insightful commentary. And the field, at least as presented by the volumes, is impressively confident in its substantive and methodological choices. There is a high level of consensus as to both the subject areas that election law should include and the analytical methods that it should employ. Instructors looking to select a casebook thus are faced with an embarrassment of riches. Because all of the volumes are excellent, my suggestion is that instructors make their choice based on their own substantive and methodological inclinations. Those who are most interested in representational issues and in doctrinal context should select Issacharoff, Karlan, and Pildes. Those who wish to emphasize campaign finance and empirical political science should choose Lowenstein, Hasen, and Tokaji. And those who want to focus on democratic theory, history, and an unusually wide array of sources should pick Gardner and Charles. There is no going wrong here

    A roadmap for interpreting 13C metabolite labeling patterns from cells

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    Measuring intracellular metabolism has increasingly led to important insights in biomedical research. [superscript 13]C tracer analysis, although less information-rich than quantitative [superscript 13]C flux analysis that requires computational data integration, has been established as a time-efficient method to unravel relative pathway activities, qualitative changes in pathway contributions, and nutrientcontributions. Here, we review selected key issues in interpreting [superscript 13]C metabolite labeling patterns, with the goal of drawing accurate conclusions from steady state and dynamic stable isotopic tracer experiment

    Elections and Alignment

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    Spatial Diversity

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    Why do Supreme Court opinions denounce some districts as political gerrymanders but say nothing about other superficially similar districts? Why does the Court deem some majority-minority districts unnecessary under the Voting Rights Act, or even unconstitutional, but uphold other apparently analogous districts? This Article introduces a concept - spatial diversity - that helps explain these and many other election law oddities. Spatial diversity refers to the variation of a given factor over geographic space. For example, a district with a normal income distribution is spatially diverse, with respect to earnings, if most rich people live in one area and most poor people live in another. But the district is spatially homogeneous if both rich and poor people are evenly dispersed throughout its territory. Spatial diversity matters, at least in the electoral realm, because it is linked to a number of democratic pathologies. Both in theory and empirically, voters are less engaged in the political process, and elected officials provide inferior representation, in districts that vary geographically along dimensions such as wealth and race. Spatial diversity also seems to animate much of the Court\u27s redistricting case law. It is primarily spatially diverse districts that have been condemned (in individual opinions) as political gerrymanders. Similarly, it is the spatial heterogeneity of the relevant minority population that typically explains why certain majority-minority districts are upheld by the Court while others are struck down. After exploring the theoretical and doctrinal sides of spatial diversity, the Article aims to quantify (and to map) the concept. Using newly available American Community Survey data as well as a statistical technique known as factor analysis, the Article provides spatial diversity scores for all current congressional districts. These scores are then used: (r) to identify egregious political gerrymanders; (2) to predict which majority-minority districts might be vulnerable to statutory or constitutional attack; (3) to evaluate the Court\u27s recent claims about various districts and statewide plans; and (4) to confirm that spatial diversity in fact impairs participation and representation. That spatial diversity can be measured, mapped, and applied in this manner underscores the concept\u27s utility

    Editor's Note

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    When I first embarked upon this editing odyssey in September of 2005, I came across the words of Oscar Wilde: "Any fool can make history, but it takes a genius to write it." Now that my voyage has landed, I can attest to the validity of this "Wilde" belief. It was during this latest printing that The Fairmount Folio received more submissions for publication than in any previous year in its existence. I believe this surge in papers is, in part, due to the growing interest Wichita State University students have for the realm of history. Where else can a chemistry student sift through the treasures of King Tut' s tomb after deciphering the chemical formula for table salt? And in what other scholarly field can men and women respectably keep their mentors alive, such as Pope John Paul II or Martin Luther King Jr., while simultaneously enabling throngs of fresh, young minds to absorb their social impact and perhaps inspire them to better this world? Simply put, history is the story of our past and the material with which we mold our future, and I am honored to be a part of this eighth volume of the historical journal known as The Fairmount Folio.In this edition, we have an exceptional range of analytical documents examined: from the educational systems of ancient Greece, to the transplantation of white colonists into Indian societies, to students' political protests in the contemporary world-surely there is a text written that stirs your curiosity.As for the process of compiling, choosing, and editing these papers, I must bestow a humbled thank you to Dr. Helen Hundley for her unremitting patience with my relative inexperience as an editor and her vast knowledge of not only history, but of this process as a whole. Her exceptional talent for coordinating the production of the Folio and the meetings of those involved was instrumental in the success of the journal. Her explanation of the process were very appreciated, welcomed, and calming during those hectic days at Wichita State where midterms unfortunately seem to coincide with publishing deadlines.A second thank you must be sent to those on the Folio's editorial board-Or. George Dehner, Dr. Robert Owens, Angela Gumm and, of course, Dr. Helen Hundley. To be honest, I was ecstatic over the care and attention to minute detail each member spent on all eligible papers given the fact that there were so many submissions, no paper clip, rubber band, or extra-extralarge yellow envelope could house a member's copies to be reviewed.In addition, I express gratitude towards Wichita State's Department of History and their College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for tirelessly supporting this journal and funding its publication.Finally, I must give recognition to Chuck Crandall and Troy Lister from ADR Publishing for his expertise in printing scholarly material and, more importantly, conveying that knowledge to this year's editor of the Folio. In short: God Bless e-mail. Now please enjoy the treasures we have acquired on our nine-month journey through history...Athena StephanopoulosMay 200

    The Case for the Legislative Override

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    What is the optimal arrangement of judicial review? Most scholars who have addressed this question have assumed that there are only two important alternatives: judicial supremacy and parliamentary sovereignty. The literature has neglected the conceptual space that exists between these two poles, in particular the innovative legislative override model. This article describes and evaluates the experiences of the two countries that have adopted the override, Canada and Israel. It also introduces a refined override model that promises to protect fundamental rights while promoting democratic decision-making. Finally, the article explains which institutional and political contexts are hospitable to the override and which are not

    Our Electoral Exceptionalism

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    Election law suffers from a comparative blind spot. Scholars in the field have devoted almost no attention to how other countries organize their electoral systems, let alone to the lessons that can be drawn from foreign experiences. This Article begins to fill this gap by carrying out the first systematic analysis of redistricting practices around the world. The Article initially separates district design into its three constituent components: institutions, criteria, and minority representation. For each component, the Article then describes the approaches used in America and abroad, introduces a new conceptual framework for classifying different policies, and challenges the exceptional American model. First, redistricting institutions can be categorized based on their levels of politicization and judicialization. The United States is an outlier along both dimensions because it relies on the elected branches rather than on independent commissions and because its courts are extraordinarily active. Unfortunately, the American approach is linked to higher partisan bias, lower electoral responsiveness, and reduced public confidence in the electoral system. Second, redistricting criteria can be assessed based on whether they tend to make districts more heterogeneous or homogeneous. Most of the usual American criteria (such as equal population, compliance with the Voting Rights Act, and the pursuit of political advantage) are diversifying. In contrast, almost all foreign requirements (such as respect for political subdivisions, respect for communities of interest, and attention to geographic features) are homogenizing. Homogenizing requirements are generally preferable because they give rise to higher voter participation, more effective representation, and lower legislative polarization. Lastly, models of minority representation can be classified based on the geographic concentration of the groups they benefit and the explicitness of the means they use to allocate legislative influence. Once again, the United States is nearly unique in its reliance on implicit mechanisms that only assist concentrated groups. Implicit mechanisms that also assist diffuse groups-in particular, multimember districts with limited, cumulative, or preferential voting rules-are typically superior because they result in higher levels of minority representation at a fraction of the social and legal cost
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