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David Calhoun V. Lawrence Murray

2012 Decisions

USDC for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Oath Of Office Vs. The Pledge, Larry Witner, Ron Washburn

Accounting Department Faculty Working Papers

All members of Congress take an oath of office to support the Constitution. Some of them make a pledge to Americans for Tax Reform (Grover Norquist, president) to oppose tax increases. For reasons stated in the article, we contend that the pledge has no force and effect and is not binding on members of Congress.

The article identifies and numbers 8 topics. This outline-type format helps a) to organize the subject matter, b) to highlight issues, and c) to reduce the word count as we don’t have to worry about smooth transitions.

Piro V. State Appellant's Reply Brief Dckt. 39358

Not Reported

No abstract provided.

State V. Weathers Respondent's Brief Dckt. 39645

Not Reported

No abstract provided.

Mcculloch V. State Respondent's Brief Dckt. 38815

Not Reported

No abstract provided.

Stress And Strain Adaptation In Load-Dependent Remodeling Of The Embryonic Left Ventricle, Christine Buffinton

Faculty Journal Articles

Altered pressure in the developing left ventricle (LV) results in altered morphology and tissue material properties. Mechanical stress and strain may play a role in the regulating process. This study showed that confocal microscopy, three-dimensional reconstruction, and finite element analysis can provide a detailed model of stress and strain in the trabeculated embryonic heart. The method was used to test the hypothesis that end-diastolic strains are normalized after altered loading of the LV during the stages of trabecular compaction and chamber formation. Stage-29 chick LVs subjected to pressure overload and underload at stage 21 were reconstructed with full trabecular morphology …

Evaluation Of Mixture Viscosity Models In The Prediction Of Two-Phase Flow Pressure Drops, Aung N.Z, Yuwono T

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

Nine existing mixture viscosity models were tested for predicting a two-phase pressure drop for oil-water flow and refrigerant (R.134a) flow. The predicted data calculated by using these mixture viscosity models were compared with experimental data. Predicted data from using one group of mixture viscosity models had a good agreement with the experimental data for oil-water two-phase flow. Another group of viscosity models was preferable for gas-liquid flow, but these models gave underestimated values with an error of about 50%. A new and more reliable mixture viscosity model was proposed for use in the prediction of pressure drop in gas-liquid two-phase …

Performance Of Jatropha Oil-Based Biodiesel Fuel In A Single-Cylinder Four-Stroke Diesel Engine, Win H.H

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

Studies on alternative fuels have been active in Myanmar because the rapid mechanization of the agricultural sector demands higher diesel consumption. Jatropha oil-based biodiesel is one of the potential alternatives because of the relative ease of growing and producing this plant. In this study, both the experimental and theoretical analyses of Jatropha oil-based B20 biodiesel wereperformed and compared with conventional diesel. First, B20 was prepared by the base-catalyzed transesterification of the oil and its properties were measured. Second, separate performance tests were conducted on diesel and the biodiesel fuel using a LEYER-16 diesel engine. The speed range of interest was …

Utilization Of Agricultural Wastes In The Manufacture Of Composite Boards, Macatangay P.M, Mangundayao E.C, Rosales C.A.M

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

Development of useful composite materials out of agricultural waste has become a desirable option in recycling. This led to the production of composite boards being used in the construction industry. In this paper, three types of available agricultural wastes in the province of Batangas — peanut shells, corn husks and banana sheath — were independently utilized in the production of composite boards. The raw materials were either air or sun dried, then crushed (for peanut shells) and extracted (for banana sheath and corn husks) before mixing with the binder. Urea formaldehyde (UF) was used as binder for peanut shells and …

Ethanol Production In Yeasts Isolated From Fermented Kitchen Waste, Wong S, Wong S.K, Bujang J.S

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

Microbial ethanol is a potential substitute for the non-renewable fossil fuel which is depleting. Yeasts have been long and extensively studied for ethanol production. The objectives of this study were to isolate yeasts from fermented kitchen waste and to determine their ethanol production performances. A number of fifteen yeasts were isolated from fermented kitchen waste. The yeastswere then grouped based on their ability to ferment different types of sugars. Three yeast isolates were selected for the analysis of ethanol production. Fermentation was carried out for 72 h in yeast extract peptone dextrose broth containing 18% glucose. Fourier transform infrared attenuated …

Chemical Composition Of Leaf And Seed Oils Of Dryobalanops Aromatica Gaertn. (Dipterocarpaceae), Kamariyah A.S, Ozek T, Demirci B, Baser K.H.C.

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

The essential oils of the leaves and seed of Dryobalanops aromatica Gaertn. obtained by hydrodistillation resulted in 0.07% and 1.89% yield, respectively. These oils were then examined by GC-MS. Eighty-three components (plus an unknown) were identified from the leaf oil, representing 92% of the oil. Oxygenated monocyclic monoterpenes (terpinen-4-ol 15%, α-terpineol 16%), bicyclic monoterpene (α-pinene 7%) and oxygenated bicyclic sesquiterpene (globulol 8%) were the major constituents. In the case of the seed oil, 31 components were identified, representing 100% of the oil, while acyclic monoterpene (myrcene 5%), monocyclic monoterpene (limonene 6%), bicyclic monoterpenes (α-pinene 41%, α-thujene and b-pinene 13% each, …

A Comparison Of Boltzmann And Gibbs Definitions Of Microcanonical Entropy For Small Systems, Randall B. Shirts

Faculty Publications

Two different definitions of entropy, S= klnW, in the microcanonical ensemble have been competing for over 100 years. The Boltzmann/Planck definition is that W is the number of states accessible to the system at its energy E (also called the surface entropy). The Gibbs/Hertz definition is that W is the number of states of the system up to the energy E (also called the volume entropy). These two definitions agree for large systems but differ by terms of order N^-1 for small systems, where N is the number of particles in the system. For three analytical …

Sigma Terms And Strangeness Content Of The Nucleon With Nf=2+1+1 Twisted Mass Fermions, V Drach, C Alexandrou, M Constantinou, S Dinter, K Hadjiyiannakou, K Jansen, G Koutsou, A Vaquero, A Strelchenko

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

Properties Of Pseudoscalar Flavor- Singlet Mesons From 2+1+1 Twisted Mass Lattice Qcd, K Ottnad, C Michael, C Urbach, F Zimmermann, K Cichy, V Drach, E Garcia-Ramos, K Jansen

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

Use Of The County Health Rankings By Local Health Departments In Florida, 2010 - 2011, Nancy L. Winterbauer, Bonita Sorensen, James B. Tidwell

Frontiers in Public Health Services and Systems Research

This paper describes how local health departments (LHDs) in Florida used the County Health Rankings over the first two years of their release (2010 – 2011). We surveyed LHD leadership to describe if, how and to what extent the Rankings were used by Florida’s 67 LHDs to improve the health of their communities and describe changes in use from the 2010 to the 2011 release. Our results indicate substantial use of the Rankings by Florida’s LHDs, particularly as applied to community health assessments, staff education, as a starting point for examining other indicators and databases, and in grant applications. From …

Effectiveness And Challenges For Implementing Quality Improvement Activities In Nebraska’S Local Health Departments, Li-Wu Chen, Anh Nguyen, Janelle J. Jacobson, Diptee Ojha, David Palm

Frontiers in Public Health Services and Systems Research

What is already known on this topic? Although the implementation strategies and effectiveness of quality improvement (QI) activities have been examined extensively for many industries, including the health care sector, very few studies have focused on QI activities in the public health context.

What is added by this report? The study results indicated that Nebraska’s LHDs still face significant barriers for QI implementation, including low capacity, knowledge gaps, inadequate resources, and low institutional QI maturity.

What are the implications for public health practice/policy/research? Policy makers and LHDs should provide QI training and external QI expertise to LHD staff and better …

Building Capacity To Support And Study Qi In Local Georgia Public Health Systems, William C. Livingood, Nandi Marshall, Angela Peden, Ketty Gonzales, Gulzar H. Shah, Russ Toal, Kellie Penix, Dayna Alexander, Kay Davis, Sylvester Nixon, Purity Cummings, William Riley, Lynn Woodhouse

Frontiers in Public Health Services and Systems Research

The study of quality improvement within Georgia’s local public health systems provides important insight into the use of regional bodies as quality improvement (QI) collaboratives and multijurisdictional entities. This report describes QI initiatives following a RWJF funded quick strike research grant to assess health district capacity to conduct QI in Georgia’s local public health systems. These QI initiatives use QI to improve public health outcomes including: Adolescent pregnancy and Sexually Transmitted Infection prevention, HIV prevention and control, and HIV Management.

Tax Levy Financing For Local Public Health: Relationships Between Fiscal Allocation, Fiscal Effort And Fiscal Capacity, William Riley, Kim J. Gearin, Carmen D. Parrotta, Jill Briggs, M. Elizabeth Gyllstrom

Frontiers in Public Health Services and Systems Research

This study examines property tax levy (local tax levy) as a source of local health department (LHD) funding during a five year period (2006-2010) in all Minnesota counties by assessing fiscal effort, fiscal allocation and fiscal capacity. Local health departments rely on pluralistic funding from local, state, federal and private sources. However, local tax levy funding is unexplored and little is known regarding the extent of fiscal allocation (tax levy used for LHD), fiscal effort (potential amount of tax levy available for LHD), and fiscal capacity (wealth of community). More important it is not known to what extent variation between …

Mandated Activities And Limited Decision-Making Authority Among Local Public Health Officials, Betty Bekemeier, Anthony L-T Chen, Nami Kawakyu

Frontiers in Public Health Services and Systems Research

Local public health department leaders face difficult decisions regarding the allocation of increasingly scarce resources, yet existing evidence for public health decision making, while still limited, is underutilized by public health officials. Participants in this study described processes regarding resource allocation in response to local budget cuts as based largely on legally mandated activities and categorical funding and perceived these factors as limiting much of their agency-level decision making to a relatively small portion of flexible funding. In the limited areas in which they perceived themselves to have flexibility, they generally considered their agencies to have very little capacity for …

Evidence-Based Decision Making In Local Health Departments, Linda Weiss, Collette Sosnowy, Christopher M. Maylahn, Nancy J. Katagiri, Sylvia Pirani

Frontiers in Public Health Services and Systems Research

Evidence-based decision making (EBDM) represents an important strategy to increase efficacy and efficiency of public health programs and practice. There is insufficient information on the application of EBDM among local health departments (LHDs). This qualitative study examined use of EBDM in New York State (NYS) LHDs and factors facilitating and impeding its adoption through interviews and focus groups with 47 LHD commissioners, health directors, and other upper-level staff. Findings suggest variability in application of EBDM in NYS LHDs. A number of internal factors (e.g., staff capacity, organizational culture) and external factors (e.g., policy environment, appropriate and …

From The Frontier: Translating Research To Practice, Paul C. Erwin

Frontiers in Public Health Services and Systems Research

The purpose of this invited article is to describe the process of translating research into public health practice. An example is provided, showing how questions arose in the practice setting, a researcher was identified to help answer the questions, and findings from the research were applied in the practice setting. In this example, Dr. Lea LaFave (Community Health Institute/JSI in New Hampshire) worked with Dr. Danielle Varda (Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado/ Denver, School of Public Affairs) to use social network analysis to better understand a network of coalitions focused on underage substance abuse. The social network analysis …

Stimulating Public Health Improvement In Complex And Constrained Delivery Systems: Findings From The Public Health Pbrns, Glen P. Mays

Frontiers in Public Health Services and Systems Research

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Public Health Practice-Based Research Networks Program sponsored a series of studies to examine how public health decision-makers are responding to accreditation, quality improvement, and public reporting initiatives amid the ongoing fiscal pressures. Overall, the evidence to date indicates that these initiatives represent promising strategies for strengthening evidence-based decision-making and expanding the delivery of evidence-tested programs and policies in local public health settings. Continued, comparative research and evaluation activities are needed to provide more definitive evidence about which combination of strategies work best, for which population groups, in which community and organizational settings, and why.

A Bit Of History: Nevada Gambling Legalized

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

We are referring to the original legislation not the current status of the law.

Research Note: Forecasting Macau's Gaming Revenue And Its Seasonality, Ipkin Anthony Wong

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

The gaming literature has identified a number of factors that have driven the growth of Macau's casino industry. At the same time, however, questions remain as to future prospects for the growth of the enclave's gaming revenue- and specifically, whether this type of growth can be sustained. A forecast of Macau gaming revenue and an examination of its seasonality can assist scholars and practitioners alike in developing a better understanding of seasonal variation (a significant consideration in the volatile world of gaming) and the future outlook of the world gambling capital. The objective of this article is to investigate these …

Prohibitions And Policy In The Global Gaming Industry: A Genealogy And Media Content Analysis Of Gaming Restrictions In Contemporary Russia, Pavel V. Vasiliev, Bo Bernhard

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

In an era of widespread gaming expansion, Russia's recent decision to contract its gaming industry stands out as a global anomaly. This article explores factors informing the 2009 restriction of gambling venues in Russia to four remote zones. After a brief discussion of gambling prohibition history across cultures, a genealogical analysis of the origins and development of gaming laws in Russia follows. The authors then use a qualitative content analysis technique to examine the rationales for this contraction that were expressed in Russian news outlets between 2003 and 2010 - the period when the new restrictions were debated, voted on, …

Increasing Chinese Tourist Gamblers In Macao: Crucial Player Characteristics To Identify And Exploit, Penny Yim King Wan

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

Casinos are today considered major tourist attractions and are a strategic component in the development of a tourism destination. Tourist gamblers are an important market segment providing a reliable source of revenue for casinos. It is necessary to understand the characteristics of these gamblers and to design services and products that cater for their needs. In this study a survey of 402 Chinese tourist gamblers indicated that they have distinctive characteristics, gambling motivations, behaviors and preferences that must be considered and catered to for depth of understanding and devising ways to attract, keep and increase these important customers. Management and …

Analyzing The Trends In Gaming-Based Tourism For The State Of Nevada: Implications For Public Policy And Economic Development, William R. Eadington

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

Gaming revenue trends for Nevada's three major gaming markets- Las Vegas Strip, Reno-Sparks, and South Lake Tahoe-are examined over the past two decades. The Las Vegas Strip had been characterized by cyclical growth from 1990 until 2007, but the Great Recession had dramatic adverse impacts on revenues and employment. Apparent recovery in 2010 was driven largely by baccarat revenues, but they are not likely to be sustainable in the long term. For South Lake Tahoe, deterioration of its core tourism business has been taking place since 1990, but has accelerated since the beginning of the Great Recession and the opening …

Estimating The Ability Of Gamblers To Detect Differences In The Payback Percentages Of Reel Slot Machines: A Closer Look At The Slot Player Experience, Anthony F. Lucas, Ashok K. Singh

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

The results of play on 60 different computer simulated reel slots challenge the widely held theory that frequent slot players are able to detect changes in a slot machine's house advantage as slight as 1 to 2%. These findings affect the formulation of critical and capital-intensive customer retention strategies and brand positioning campaigns within the gaming industry. An overwhelming majority of 10,000 virtual players were not able to reject the hypothesis of equal payback percentages after playing both a 3% game and a 12% game (i.e., a 400% increase in the house advantage). This result held across three levels of …

A Mathematical Approach For Optimizing The Casino Slot Floor: A Linear Programming Application, Kasra C. Ghaharian, Ashok K. Singh

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

The gaming literature has identified a number of factors that have driven the growth of Macau's casino industry. At the same time, however, questions remain as to future prospects for the growth of the enclave's gaming revenue- and specifically, whether this type of growth can be sustained. A forecast of Macau gaming revenue and an examination of its seasonality can assist scholars and practitioners alike in developing a better understanding of seasonal variation (a significant consideration in the volatile world of gaming) and the future outlook of the world gambling capital. The objective of this article is to investigate these …

Pricing Lower Or Buying Cheaper? How Grocery Consumers Pay Less During Seasonal Demand Peaks, Colin Watson

Undergraduate Economic Review

The average price paid for a seasonal grocery category is (surprisingly) lower during the category's seasonal demand peak. For several product categories at one supermarket chain, demand peaks are shown to be associated with 1) consumer substitution to lower-quality products, 2) product price reductions, especially on products that increase their market shares, and as a result 3) a decline in the average price paid for the product category. In one very seasonal category, price reductions are driven by intertemporal substitution associated with large weekly discounts. Findings are consistent with any of several loss leader models.