The Constitutionality of Imposing Death on a Felony-Murder Accomplice

The history of the death penalty in America has been marked by a continual and controversial struggle between two opposing forces

Frequency-Dependent Streaming Potential of Porous Media—Part 2: Experimental Measurement of Unconsolidated Materials

Frequency-dependent streaming potential coefficient measurements have been made upon Ottawa sand and glass bead packs using a new apparatus that is based on an electromagnetic drive. The apparatus operates in the range 1 Hz to 1 kHz with samples of 25.4 mm diameter up to 150 mm long. The results have been analysed using theoretical models that are either (i) based upon vibrational mechanics, (ii) treat the geological material as a bundle of capillary tubes, or (iii) treat the material as a porous medium. The best fit was provided by the Pride model and its simplification, which is satisfying as this model was conceived for porous media rather than capillary tube bundles. Values for the transition frequency were derived from each of the models for each sample and were found to be in good agreement with those expected from the independently measured effective pore radius of each material. The fit to the Pride model for all four samples was also found to be consistent with the independently measured steady-state permeability, while the value of the streaming potential coefficient in the low-frequency limit was found to be in good agreement with other steady-state streaming potential coefficient data

Medicamentos falsificados: una píldora difícil de tragar y un reto sanitario global

La falsificación de los bienes de consumo es omnipresente en nuestras sociedades. La piratería afecta normalmente a los titulares de los derechos de propiedad intelectual; en el caso de los medicamentos, sin embargo, está en juego un bien superior: la salud de los consumidores. Este artículo intenta arrojar algo de luz sobre esta problemática compleja –donde la responsabilidad parece compartida entre malhechores, consumidores, y empresas farmacéuticas– ubicándola en primer lugar en el marco más general de la piratería, que se ha vuelto una actividad lucrativa para el crimen organizado transnacional. Se esboza una descripción del fenómeno; se hace también un análisis del marco normativo aplicable, a nivel de derecho internacional de lege lata como de lege ferenda. Se abordan finalmente las respuestas ideadas por la comunidad internacional en aras de contrarrestar el fenómeno delictivo estudiado

Strain and correlation of self-organized Ge_(1-x)Mn_x nanocolumns embedded in Ge (001)

We report on the structural properties of Ge_(1-x)Mn_x layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy. In these layers, nanocolumns with a high Mn content are embedded in an almost-pure Ge matrix. We have used grazing-incidence X-ray scattering, atomic force and transmission electron microscopy to study the structural properties of the columns. We demonstrate how the elastic deformation of the matrix (as calculated using atomistic simulations) around the columns, as well as the average inter-column distance can account for the shape of the diffusion around Bragg peaks.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure

Interactional Structure Applied to the Identification and Generation of Visual Interactive Behavior: Robots that (Usually) Follow the Rules

Peer reviewe

Auditory spatial deficits following hemispheric lesions: Dissociation of explicit and implicit processing.

Auditory spatial deficits occur frequently after hemispheric damage; a previous case report suggested that the explicit awareness of sound positions, as in sound localisation, can be impaired while the implicit use of auditory cues for the segregation of sound objects in noisy environments remains preserved. By assessing systematically patients with a first hemispheric lesion, we have shown that (1) explicit and/or implicit use can be disturbed; (2) impaired explicit vs. preserved implicit use dissociations occur rather frequently; and (3) different types of sound localisation deficits can be associated with preserved implicit use. Conceptually, the dissociation between the explicit and implicit use may reflect the dual-stream dichotomy of auditory processing. Our results speak in favour of systematic assessments of auditory spatial functions in clinical settings, especially when adaptation to auditory environment is at stake. Further, systematic studies are needed to link deficits of explicit vs. implicit use to disability in everyday activities, to design appropriate rehabilitation strategies, and to ascertain how far the explicit and implicit use of spatial cues can be retrained following brain damage

Laminar specificity of intrinsic connections in Broca's area.

Broca's area and its right hemisphere homologue comprise 2 cytoarchitectonic subdivisions, FDgamma and FCBm of von Economo C and Koskinas GN (1925, Die Cytoarchitektonik der Hirnrinde des erwachsenen Menschen. Vienna/Berlin [Germany]: Springer). We report here on intrinsic connections within these areas, as revealed with biotinylated dextran amine and 1,1'-dioctadecyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate tracing in postmortem human brains. Injections limited to supragranular layers revealed a complex intrinsic network of horizontal connections within layers II and III spreading over several millimeters and to a lesser extent within layers IV, V, and VI. Ninety percent of the retrogradely labeled neurons (n = 734) were in supragranular layers, 4% in layer IV, and 6% in infragranular layers; most were pyramids and tended to be grouped into clusters of approximately 500 microm in diameter. Injections involving layer IV revealed extended horizontal connections within layers I-IV (up to 3.7 mm) and to a lesser extent in layers V and VI. Injections limited to the infragranular layers revealed horizontal connections mainly limited to these layers. Thus, intrinsic connections within Broca's area display a strong laminar specificity. This pattern is very similar in areas FDgamma and FCBm and in the 2 hemispheres

Metabolic Consequences of Long-Term Rapamycin Exposure on Common Marmoset Monkeys (Callithrix Jacchus)

Rapamycin has been shown to extend lifespan in rodent models, but the effects on metabolic health and function have been widely debated in both clinical and translational trials. Prior to rapamycin being used as a treatment to extend both lifespan and healthspan in the human population, it is vital to assess the side effects of the treatment on metabolic pathways in animal model systems, including a closely related non-human primate model. In this study, we found that long-term treatment of marmoset monkeys with orally-administered encapsulated rapamycin resulted in no overall effects on body weight and only a small decrease in fat mass over the first few months of treatment. Rapamycin treated subjects showed no overall changes in daily activity counts, blood lipids, or significant changes in glucose metabolism including oral glucose tolerance. Adipose tissue displayed no differences in gene expression of metabolic markers following treatment, while liver tissue exhibited suppressed G6Pase activity with increased PCK and GPI activity. Overall, the marmosets revealed only minor metabolic consequences of chronic treatment with rapamycin and this adds to the growing body of literature that suggests that chronic and/or intermittent rapamycin treatment results in improved health span and metabolic functioning. The marmosets offer an interesting alternative animal model for future intervention testing and translational modeling

Single-block rockfall dynamics inferred from seismic signal analysis

International audienceSeismic monitoring of mass movements can significantly help to mitigate the associated hazards; however, the link between event dynamics and the seismic signals generated is not completely understood. To better understand these relationships, we conducted controlled releases of single blocks within a soft-rock (black marls) gully of the Rioux-Bourdoux torrent (French Alps). A total of 28 blocks, with masses ranging from 76 to 472 kg, were used for the experiment. An instrumentation combining video cameras and seismometers was deployed along the travelled path. The video cameras allow reconstructing the trajectories of the blocks and estimating their velocities at the time of the different impacts with the slope. These data are compared to the recorded seismic signals. As the distance between the falling block and the seismic sensors at the time of each impact is known, we were able to determine the associated seismic signal amplitude corrected for propagation and attenuation effects. We compared the velocity, the potential energy lost, the kinetic energy and the momentum of the block at each impact to the true amplitude and the radiated seismic energy. Our results suggest that the amplitude of the seismic signal is correlated to the momentum of the block at the impact. We also found relationships between the potential energy lost, the kinetic energy and the seismic energy radiated by the impacts. Thanks to these relationships, we were able to retrieve the mass and the velocity before impact of each block directly from the seismic signal. Despite high uncertainties, the values found are close to the true values of the masses and the velocities of the blocks. These relationships allow for gaining a better understanding of the physical processes that control the source of high-frequency seismic signals generated by rockfalls