Improving Prison Safety: Breaking the Code of Silence

A system permeated by a code of silence reinforces negative behaviors in inmates, ultimately increasing the risk to staff. As the former Massachusetts Secretary of Public Safety, Edward A. Flynn, is keen on saying, “If nothing else, inmates must leave our custody with a belief that there is moral order in their world. If they leave our care and control believing that rules and regulations do not mean what they say they mean, that rules and regulations can be applied arbitrarily or capriciously or for personal interest, then we will fail society, we will fail them, and we will unleash people more dangerous than when they went in.” We know that many offenders go through life believing that rules and laws do not apply to them. If the system in which they are incarcerated lacks integrity and moral order their notions regarding law and order are reinforced. Corrections staff should be the very best people inmates encounter, as we may be the first individuals they are exposed to who do respect rules and laws. We should be role models of positive behavior. If staff members do not follow the rules there is no hope for intervention or for changing inmate behavior in the long term. If staff members are not held accountable we demonstrate that there is no consequence for bad behavior

Application of a picosecond soft x-ray source to time-resolved plasma dynamics

We demonstrate the application of an ultrashort x-ray source as an external probe to measure plasma dynamics. The plasma is generated by a 100-fs Ti:sapphire laser focused onto thin metallic films. Time-resolved spectroscopy of the gold x-ray probe transmission through a perturbed 1000 Å aluminum film reveals redshifts of the LL-shell photoabsorption edge. We show that the dynamic behavior of this shift is consistent with the relaxation of the aluminum following the compression generated by a shock wave traveling through the film. An analytic plasma model, with comparison to a numerical hydrodynamics model, indicates compression up to 1.4 times solid density. © 1997 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/69766/2/APPLAB-70-3-312-1.pd

Lattice Diagram Polynomials and Extended Pieri Rules

The lattice cell in the ${i+1}^{st}$ row and ${j+1}^{st}$ column of the positive quadrant of the plane is denoted $(i,j)$. If $\mu$ is a partition of $n+1$, we denote by $\mu/ij$ the diagram obtained by removing the cell $(i,j)$ from the (French) Ferrers diagram of $\mu$. We set $\Delta_{\mu/ij}=\det \| x_i^{p_j}y_i^{q_j} \|_{i,j=1}^n$, where $(p_1,q_1),... ,(p_n,q_n)$ are the cells of $\mu/ij$, and let ${\bf M}_{\mu/ij}$ be the linear span of the partial derivatives of $\Delta_{\mu/ij}$. The bihomogeneity of $\Delta_{\mu/ij}$ and its alternating nature under the diagonal action of $S_n$ gives ${\bf M}_{\mu/ij}$ the structure of a bigraded $S_n$-module. We conjecture that ${\bf M}_{\mu/ij}$ is always a direct sum of $k$ left regular representations of $S_n$, where $k$ is the number of cells that are weakly north and east of $(i,j)$ in $\mu$. We also make a number of conjectures describing the precise nature of the bivariate Frobenius characteristic of ${\bf M}_{\mu/ij}$ in terms of the theory of Macdonald polynomials. On the validity of these conjectures, we derive a number of surprising identities. In particular, we obtain a representation theoretical interpretation of the coefficients appearing in some Macdonald Pieri Rules.Comment: 77 pages, Te

Coloured peak algebras and Hopf algebras

For $G$ a finite abelian group, we study the properties of general equivalence relations on G_n=G^n\rtimes \SG_n, the wreath product of $G$ with the symmetric group \SG_n, also known as the $G$-coloured symmetric group. We show that under certain conditions, some equivalence relations give rise to subalgebras of \k G_n as well as graded connected Hopf subalgebras of \bigoplus_{n\ge o} \k G_n. In particular we construct a $G$-coloured peak subalgebra of the Mantaci-Reutenauer algebra (or $G$-coloured descent algebra). We show that the direct sum of the $G$-coloured peak algebras is a Hopf algebra. We also have similar results for a $G$-colouring of the Loday-Ronco Hopf algebras of planar binary trees. For many of the equivalence relations under study, we obtain a functor from the category of finite abelian groups to the category of graded connected Hopf algebras. We end our investigation by describing a Hopf endomorphism of the $G$-coloured descent Hopf algebra whose image is the $G$-coloured peak Hopf algebra. We outline a theory of combinatorial $G$-coloured Hopf algebra for which the $G$-coloured quasi-symmetric Hopf algebra and the graded dual to the $G$-coloured peak Hopf algebra are central objects.Comment: 26 pages latex2

Using interdisciplinary research project collaborations as a pedagogic tool to enhance learning and teaching : a showcase with low temperature fused recycled glass for a reception desk in the new academic building at the Swansea Waterfront Innovation Quarter

This paper demonstrates how a collaboration between staff from differing subject areas within the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) at its Swansea Campus performed on a live project. The project was embedded in a research active field which investigated the feasibility of low temperature fused recycled glass as an architectural material, and invited undergraduate students to take part in the research within their discipline of study. The project’s initial intentions were aligned to the amendments, which occurred in June 2015, in the Sustainability Principles for the SA1 Waterfront Development also known as Swansea Waterfront Innovation Quarter (SWIQ). These amendments developed opportunities to use the creative design and environmental skills of staff and learners within UWTSD for the development of the new academic building at the Swansea Waterfront Innovation Quarter. The delivery of project outcomes cumulated with three main aims; enhanced learner experience, formation of a research active and cross-faculty group and the development of a commercially viable product. This project was bespoke as it considered the changing environment and tells a progressive story of learner engagement, a collaboration between staff and external stake holders and demonstrates the first goal and the five ways of working from the Wellbeing of Future Generation (Wales) Act

Plasma Oscillations and Expansion of an Ultracold Neutral Plasma

We report the observation of plasma oscillations in an ultracold neutral plasma. With this collective mode we probe the electron density distribution and study the expansion of the plasma as a function of time. For classical plasma conditions, i.e. weak Coulomb coupling, the expansion is dominated by the pressure of the electron gas and is described by a hydrodynamic model. Discrepancies between the model and observations at low temperature and high density may be due to strong coupling of the electrons.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Accepted Phys. Rev. Let

Combinatorial Hopf algebras and Towers of Algebras

Bergeron and Li have introduced a set of axioms which guarantee that the Grothendieck groups of a tower of algebras $\bigoplus_{n\ge0}A_n$ can be endowed with the structure of graded dual Hopf algebras. Hivert and Nzeutzhap, and independently Lam and Shimozono constructed dual graded graphs from primitive elements in Hopf algebras. In this paper we apply the composition of these constructions to towers of algebras. We show that if a tower $\bigoplus_{n\ge0}A_n$ gives rise to graded dual Hopf algebras then we must have $\dim(A_n)=r^nn!$ where $r = \dim(A_1)$.Comment: 7 page

Effect of Cyclooxygenase(COX)-1 and COX-2 inhibition on furosemide-induced renal responses and isoform immunolocalization in the healthy cat kidney

BACKGROUND: The role of cyclooxygenase(COX)-1 and COX-2 in the saluretic and renin-angiotensin responses to loop diuretics in the cat is unknown. We propose in vivo characterisation of isoform roles in a furosemide model by administering non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) with differing selectivity profiles: robenacoxib (COX-2 selective) and ketoprofen (COX-1 selective). RESULTS: In this four period crossover study, we compared the effect of four treatments: placebo, robenacoxib once or twice daily and ketoprofen once daily concomitantly with furosemide in seven healthy cats. For each period, urine and blood samples were collected at baseline and within 48 h of treatment starting. Plasma renin activity (PRA), plasma and urinary aldosterone concentrations, glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and 24 h urinary volumes, electrolytes and eicosanoids (PGE(2), 6-keto-PGF1(α,) TxB(2)), renal injury biomarker excretions [N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) and Gamma-Glutamyltransferase] were measured. Urine volume (24 h) and urinary sodium, chloride and calcium excretions increased from baseline with all treatments. Plasma creatinine increased with all treatments except placebo, whereas GFR was significantly decreased from baseline only with ketoprofen. PRA increased significantly with placebo and once daily robenacoxib and the increase was significantly higher with placebo compared to ketoprofen (10.5 ± 4.4 vs 4.9 ± 5.0 ng ml(−1) h(−1)). Urinary aldosterone excretion increased with all treatments but this increase was inhibited by 75 % with ketoprofen and 65 % with once daily robenacoxib compared to placebo. Urinary PGE(2) excretion decreased with all treatments and excretion was significantly lower with ketoprofen compared to placebo. Urinary TxB(2) excretion was significantly increased from baseline only with placebo. NAG increased from baseline with all treatments. Immunohistochemistry on post-mortem renal specimens, obtained from a different group of cats that died naturally of non-renal causes, suggested constitutive COX-1 and COX-2 co-localization in many renal structures including the macula densa (MD). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that both COX-1 and COX-2 could generate the signal from the MD to the renin secreting cells in cats exposed to furosemide. Co-localization of COX isoenzymes in MD cells supports the functional data reported here. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12917-015-0598-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users