A determination of the spin-orbit alignment of the anomalously dense planet orbiting HD 149026

We report 35 radial velocity measurements of HD 149026 taken with the Keck Telescope. Of these measurements, 15 were made during the transit of the companion planet HD 149026b, which occurred on 2005 June 25. These velocities provide a high-cadence observation of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect, the shifting of photospheric line profiles that occurs when a planet occults a portion of the rotating stellar surface. We combine these radial velocities with previously published radial velocity and photometric data sets and derive a composite best-fit model for the star-planet system. This model confirms and improves previously published orbital parameters, including the remarkably small planetary radius, the planetary mass, and the orbital inclination, found to be Rp/RJup = 0.718 ± 0.065, Mp/MJup = 0.352 ± 0.025, and I = 86.1° ± 1.4°, respectively. Together the planetary mass and radius determinations imply a mean planetary density of 1.18(-0.30)(+0.38)g cm(-3). The new data also allow for the determination of the angle between the apparent stellar equator and the orbital plane, which we constrain to be λ = -12° ± 15°

Systemic: A Testbed For Characterizing the Detection of Extrasolar Planets. I. The Systemic Console Package

We present the systemic Console, a new all-in-one, general-purpose software package for the analysis and combined multiparameter fitting of Doppler radial velocity (RV) and transit timing observations. We give an overview of the computational algorithms implemented in the Console, and describe the tools offered for streamlining the characterization of planetary systems. We illustrate the capabilities of the package by analyzing an updated radial velocity data set for the HD128311 planetary system. HD128311 harbors a pair of planets that appear to be participating in a 2:1 mean motion resonance. We show that the dynamical configuration cannot be fully determined from the current data. We find that if a planetary system like HD128311 is found to undergo transits, then self-consistent Newtonian fits to combined radial velocity data and a small number of timing measurements of transit midpoints can provide an immediate and vastly improved characterization of the planet's dynamical state.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication on PASP. Additional material at http://www.ucolick.org/~smeschia/systemic.ph

Emperors, Prostitutes, and Children: Exploring Modern Japanese History Through Two Modern Japanese Plays

Theatre, asserts Japanese playwright Betsuyaku Minoru, mirrors the spirit of the times. Building on this assumption, this thesis analyzes how the pressing social issues of two periods in modern Japanese history are reflected in two modern Japanese plays: The Little Match Girl (Macchi uri no sho¿jo, 1966) by Betsuyaku Minoru (b. 1937) and The King of La Mancha\u27s Clothes (Gusha ni wa mienai La Mancha no o¿sama no hadaka, 1991) by Yokouchi Kensuke (b. 1961). Both plays provide meaningful commentary on the themes of patriarchal authority, prostitution, and inter-generational conflict through combining contemporary Japanese characters with Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales. Using this strategy, the plays closely and creatively reflect the issues of their historical periods, yet also tell their stories in an ahistorical way. By means of language, imagery, and fairy tale allusions, both plays illuminate the cyclical nature of time, and the tendency to perceive history as repeating itself. Modern Japanese theatre is a rich, diverse, and often-overlooked genre. I argue that these two modern Japanese plays are worthy of greater attention as they, through so closely reflecting the issues of their specific time periods, also have broader relevance to other time periods as well. Thus, I end with an argument for the potential these plays would have to spark profound reflection and discussion around various social issues, if they were today performed in the United States or other nations outside Japan

Constructing monotone homotopies and sweepouts

This article investigates when homotopies can be converted to monotone homotopies without increasing the lengths of curves. A monotone homotopy is one which consists of curves which are simple or constant, and in which curves are pairwise disjoint. We show that, if the boundary of a Riemannian disc can be contracted through curves of length less than $L$, then it can also be contracted monotonously through curves of length less than $L$. This proves a conjecture of Chambers and Rotman. Additionally, any sweepout of a Riemannian $2$-sphere through curves of length less than $L$ can be replaced with a monotone sweepout through curves of length less than $L$. Applications of these results are also discussed.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figure

Observations On The Current Status Of Internationalizing The Accounting Curriculum: Catalog Evidence

The last quarter century has witnessed the acceleration of the development of the global economy. This on-going development has caused profound changes in the way business is conducted and the skills needed by the executives leading this change.  Recognizing the need to better prepare future corporate executives to function in this global environment, the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), as part of a revision of its accreditation standards, included a curriculum standard requiring business schools to address the international dimension of business.  To aid business schools in addressing this standard, the AACSB joined with the Consortium for International Studies Education to produce resource guides in 1987 for the functional areas of accounting, finance, management, and marketing.  The accounting guide described two approaches that could be used to address the internationalization of the accounting curriculum. The freestanding approach would use a stand-alone international accounting course.  The infusion approach would integrate international topics within other accounting courses.  This paper assesses the extent that the accounting curriculum has been internationalized by reference to evidence obtained from the catalogs of ninety-six universities with AACSB-accredited business programs.  Thirty-seven of these programs showed no catalog disclosure of international content of their accounting courses.  The remaining fifty-nine programs revealed international content in their accounting courses to varying degrees, as discussed in the body of the paper

Immunotherapy of Head and Neck Cancer: Current and Future Considerations

Patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) are at considerable risk for death, with 5-year relative survival rates of approximately 60%. The profound multifaceted deficiencies in cell-mediated immunity that persist in most patients after treatment may be related to the high rates of treatment failure and second primary malignancies. Radiotherapy and chemoradiotherapy commonly have severe acute and long-term side effects on immune responses. The development of immunotherapies reflects growing awareness that certain immune system deficiencies specific to HNSCC and some other cancers may contribute to the poor long-term outcomes. Systemic cell-mediated immunotherapy is intended to activate the entire immune system and mount a systemic and/or locoregional antitumor response. The delivery of cytokines, either by single cytokines, for example, interleukin-2, interleukin-12, interferon-γ, interferon-α, or by a biologic mix of multiple cytokines, such as IRX-2, may result in tumor rejection and durable immune responses. Targeted immunotherapy makes use of monoclonal antibodies or vaccines. All immunotherapies for HNSCC except cetuximab remain investigational, but a number of agents whose efficacy and tolerability are promising have entered phase 2 or phase 3 development

In God We Trust

This case focuses on fraud and various elements of accounting and fraud examination practices and is appropriate for use in an upper division auditing course. The case is based on a true story only the names have been changed