Search

illus

Achieving reliable, low-loss optical coupling in the confined space of electronic packages is a key challenge for high-yield co-packaged photonics. While a common method to relax alignment tolerances involves beam expansion, conventional approaches often entail attaching large micro-optic die to the silicon PIC, significantly impacting the overall assembly thickness. Furthermore, precise alignment systems are typically necessary for positioning the micro-optic die with sub-micron tolerances. This article introduces a novel solution to address these challenges: utilizing a glass micro-optic bridge passively aligned to a silicon PIC through existing mechanical alignment features. The micro-optic bridge contains curved micromirrors which allow for vertical coupling in and out of the PIC, enabling the use of existing low loss edge couplers along with facilitating high speed optical test. The optical bridges contain mechanical alignment features that allow for passive placement onto the PIC, allowing for a simplified assembly process with relaxed tolerances. Beam expansion to approximately 30 µm was achieved, and an average excess loss of 1.32 dB was observed when coupled through a two-mirror periscope based system.

Bail and pretrial detention decisions may have important consequences for racial disparities in incarceration rates. Poor minority defendants who are unable to post bail and get released from jail before trial may be more likely to plead guilty and accept longer sentences of incarceration. Racial disparities in incarceration sentences may then reflect a combination of differences in the seriousness of a defendant's case, criminal history, and economic resources to pay bail. This study examines the extent to which bail decision-making and pretrial detention explain Black-White disparities in criminal adjudications and sentences in the Delaware courts from 2012 to 2014. Over 80% of all criminal defendants have a bond imposed on them before their adjudication. Almost a third of cases involve pretrial detention. After controlling for measured differences in a variety of case characteristics, including severity of charges and criminal histories, cash-only bail and pretrial detention increase a defendant's likelihood of conviction and pleading guilty, being incarcerated, and receiving a longer incarceration sentence. Bail and pretrial detention also contribute to 30% to 47% of the explained Black-White disparity in these court dispositions. Careful examination of cash-only bail, bail amount, and pretrial detention policies may help reduce racial disparities in incarceration., TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 777 I. RACIAL DISPARITIES IN CRIMINAL PROCESSING AND PRIOR EMPIRICAL LITERATURE 781 A. Racial Disparity in Incarceration Sentencing 781 B. Cumulative Disadvantage: An Alternative Approach to [...]

With supply chains targeting increased efficiency, leadership behaviors are critical in influencing the employee experience, and thus the success of employees in organizations. Yet, behavioral work withdrawal, e.g., lateness and absenteeism, among frontline logistics employees is an acute challenge, estimated to contribute millions annually in related costs such as overtime or temporary workers. Our work seeks to capture potential causes for these withdrawal behaviors in the logistics supply chain. Extending prior work on regulatory focus theory, we propose that behavioral work withdrawal depends on fit or misfit between leadership behavior and the follower's regulatory focus. Leadership behaviors appealing to opportunities and growth (i.e., inspirational styles) are likely effective at reducing withdrawal for employees high in promotion focus, while behaviors appealing to accuracy and avoiding errors or failure (i.e., management‐by‐exception styles) are likely effective at reducing withdrawal for employees high in prevention focus. We combine survey and archival data to test our moderation hypotheses. Support is found for the fit perspective, confirming that no single leadership behavior is consistently better at reducing withdrawal, yet attentiveness to this perspective is critical as misfit increases withdrawal. These findings can help reduce overtime, employee burnout, and service delays and allow managers to reduce associated costs.

The article presents an interview with Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students about their involvement in their chapter's or academy's/section's student special interest groups. They discuss what made them decide to get involved in their chapter or section/academy student special interest groups (SSIG), their core duties, and some of the activities their SSIG is doing to engage PT and PT assistant students that will benefit their future as professionals.

PrologueOne of the dilemmas in horn playing is getting back into shape after a lengthy pause. This could be for many reasons. An extended holiday in hot climates, an extended [...]

ABSTRACTWildlife trafficking is a global phenomenon posing many negative impacts on socio-environmental systems. Scientific exploration of wildlife trafficking trends and the impact of interventions is significantly encumbered by a suite of data reuse challenges. We describe a novel, open-access data directory on wildlife trafficking and a corresponding visualization tool that can be used to identify data for multiple purposes, such as exploring wildlife trafficking hotspots and convergence points with other crime, discovering key drivers or deterrents of wildlife trafficking, and uncovering structural patterns. Keyword searches, expert elicitation, and peer-reviewed publications were used to search for extant sources used by industry and non-profit organizations, as well as those leveraged to publish academic research articles. The open-access data directory is designed to be a living document and searchable according to multiple measures. The directory can be instrumental in the data-driven analysis of unsustainable illegal wildlife trade, supply chain structure via link prediction models, the value of demand and supply reduction initiatives via multi-item knapsack problems, or trafficking behavior and transportation choices via network interdiction problems.

This article reviews extant multidisciplinary literature to uncover existing themes and directions in the knowledge of the overlap between natural resource scarcity and illicit supply chain activity. In doing so, the authors present a novel review of this nascent, complex, and multidisciplinary research area. This review has uncovered 127 articles that have not been synthesized or organized in a meaningful way with the supply chain literature. It extracts insights and develops a comprehensive process framework encompassing the following: (a) antecedents associated with natural resource extraction, which foments the opportunity for illicit activity to thrive; (b) resulting economic, social, and environmental outcomes from illicit activity as it relates to natural resource extraction; and (c) potential moderating processes, which either enable or inhibit illicit activity to occur, including firm‐level tactics that businesses can employ to counteract illicit activity throughout the supply chain and to promote sustainable long‐term operations. An extensive agenda is presented suggesting future research paths, methodologies, theories, and potential contributions.

IMPORTANCE: Structural racism has resulted in long-standing disinvestment and dilapidated environmental conditions in Black neighborhoods. Abandoned houses signal neglect and foster stress and fear for residents, weakening social ties and potentially contributing to poor health and safety. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether abandoned house remediation reduces gun violence and substance-related outcomes and increases perceptions of safety and use of outdoor space. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cluster randomized trial was conducted from January 2017 to August 2020, with interventions occurring between August 2018 and March 2019. The study included abandoned houses across Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and surveys completed by participants living nearby preintervention and postintervention. Data analysis was performed from March 2021 to September 2022. INTERVENTIONS: The study consisted of 3 arms: (1) full remediation (installing working windows and doors, cleaning trash, weeding); (2) trash cleanup and weeding only; and (3) a no-intervention control. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Difference-in-differences mixed-effects regression models were used to estimate the effect of the interventions on multiple primary outcomes: gun violence (weapons violations, gun assaults, and shootings), illegal substance trafficking and use, public drunkenness, and perceptions of safety and time outside for nearby residents. RESULTS: A master list of 3265 abandoned houses was randomly sorted. From the top of this randomly sorted list, a total of 63 clusters containing 258 abandoned houses were formed and then randomly allocated to 3 study arms. Of the 301 participants interviewed during the preintervention period, 172 (57.1%) were interviewed during the postintervention period and were included in this analysis; participants were predominantly Black, and most were employed. Study neighborhoods were predominantly Black with high percentages of low-income households. Gun violence outcomes increased in all study arms, but increased the least in the full remediation arm. The full housing remediation arm, compared with the control condition, showed reduced weapons violations by −8.43% (95% CI, −14.68% to −1.19%), reduced gun assaults by −13.12% (95% CI, −21.32% to −3.01%), and reduced shootings by a nonsignificant −6.96% (95% CI, −15.32% to 3.03%). The trash cleanup arm was not associated with a significant differential change in any gun violence outcome. Instances of illegal substance trafficking and use and public drunkenness outcomes were not significantly affected by the housing remediation or trash cleanup treatment. Perceptions of neighborhood safety and time spent outside were unaffected by the intervention. The study arms did differ in a baseline characteristic and some preintervention trends, which raises questions regarding other potential nonmeasured differences between study arms that could have influenced estimates. No evidence of displacement of gun violence outcomes was found. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this cluster randomized controlled trial among low-income, predominantly Black neighborhoods, inexpensive, straightforward abandoned housing remediation was directly linked to significant relative reductions in weapons violations and gun assaults, and suggestive reductions in shootings. TRIAL REGISTRATION: isrctn.org Identifier: ISRCTN14973997

Editor: It has been particularly thought-provoking to keep an eye on the 'Data' column recently. Last month's piece titled 'House prices to soar in prime central London and North West' [...]

Resilience is at the heart of current supply chain management thinking. Understanding the concept, and where to invest in resilience, can lead to supply chains that quickly respond to and [...]

Over the lifetime of a wind turbine, the blades receive significant erosion to the leading edge caused by precipitation, leading to large losses in aerodynamic performance and therefore power output. It is therefore prudent to study the mechanics of the erosion process in order to predict and mitigate these losses. Whilst leading edge erosion due to raindrop impact has received much research attention in recent years, very little research has focussed the role of hailstone impact in erosion in wind turbine blades. This paper aims to use a computational simulation model to investigate and characterise the physics of the impact of a hailstone on a flat plate of composite glass fibre material typical of those used in the construction of wind turbine blades. This was achieved by modelling the ice projectile using a Single-Particle Hydrodynamic approach in the software package LS-DYNA. This simulation was used to determine how the impact response in the target plate was affected by various parameters of the impact scenario. Simulations were run using diameters of hailstone between 5 and 20 mm, impact speeds between 80 and 120 ms−1, and at angles of incidence between 90 and 0 degrees. The paper presents these observations in the form of “maps” of the material response at each angle of incidence. It was observed that whilst at low velocities, the material response varies linearly with diameter and velocity and at higher velocities, more complicated behaviour arises due to the interaction between the initial stress wave and the remainder of the impacting projectile.

A 72-year-old man presented to the emergency department with shortness of breath. He had a history of left ventricular failure, hypertension, treated esophageal carcinoma and recurrent deep vein thromboses. His [...]

On July 21, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, named after the legislation's sponsors, Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) and Representative Barney [...]

The Miller School of Medicine of the University of Miami and Project Medishare, an affiliated not-for-profit organization, provided a large-scale relief effort in Haiti after the earthquake of 12 January 2010. Their experience demonstrates that academic medical centers in proximity to natural disasters can help deliver effective medical care through a coordinated process involving mobilization of their own resources, establishment of focused management teams at home and on the ground with formal organizational oversight, and partnership with governmental and nongovernmental relief agencies. Proximity to the disaster area allows for prompt arrival of medical personnel and equipment. The recruitment and organized deployment of large numbers of local and national volunteers are indispensable parts of this effort. Multidisciplinary teams on short rotations can form the core of the medical response.

Many companies take a purely tactical approach with their suppliers. Yet in doing so, they miss out on the benefits that come from strategically managing the supply base--an activity that [...]

The article discusses various opinions and experiences shared by readers. One reader expresses skepticism about switching from Freeview to Freely due to the lack of an affordable set-top box. Another reader disagrees with the notion that only Amazon and Google benefit from online advertising, citing their own positive experience with Google ads. A reader shares a cautionary tale about their unsuccessful attempt to replace an old iPhone battery at an Apple store. Another reader questions the pricing and value of YouTube Premium compared to other streaming services. A reader suggests switching to 5G broadband as a cost-saving alternative to traditional fiber broadband. One reader highlights a flaw in BT Digital Voice regarding the difficulty of transferring calls between extensions. The article also includes reader inquiries about previous articles on topics such as securing home Wi-Fi, switching from Chrome to Opera, and recognizing fake DPD couriers. The star letter expresses concern about the potential negative consequences of Amazon's Neighbours app, drawing from the reader's experience with the Nextdoor app. [Extracted from the article]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For years the HVAC/R industry has been chasing an alternative to copper for direct substitution of helical enhanced copper tube in mechanical expanded heat exchanger units. The quest [...]

Several studies are conducted to explain the dynamics of crime regimes, which exhibit mix of different features that change over time and space. The various temporal and spatial crime patterns in different cities are determined.

Background and Purpose Therapy-related changes in limb volumes often are estimated using summated segmental volumes based on adjacent circumference measurements. The purposes of this study were: (1) to determine the effect of different segment lengths on calculated volume reductions after complete decongestive therapy and (2) to determine the effect of excluding posttherapy control limb volumes on calculated reductions in edema volume in patients with unilateral limb lymphedema. Subjects This two-part retrospective study was conducted using data from patients with bilateral leg lymphedema (n=70) and data from patients with unilateral arm lymphedema (n=75) and patients with unilateral leg lymphedema (n=45). Methods For the bilateral leg lymphedema group, pretreatment to posttreatment changes in limb volume were determined using segment lengths of 4, 8, and 12 cm. For the unilateral lymphedema group, pretreatment to posttreatment changes in edema volume were determined and compared using or not using posttreatment control limb volumes. Results Bilateral leg volume changes were similar for all segment lengths but not significantly different from each other. Unilateral edema volume changes were significantly overestimated in both arms and legs when posttherapy control limb volumes were not used. Discussion and Conclusion The results indicate that segment lengths of 4 cm generally are not needed to obtain adequate estimates of leg volume changes. Both limb volumes should be measured to properly assess therapeutic outcomes in patients with unilateral limb lymphedema., Treatment outcomes of therapy for limb edema and lymphedema with respect to changes in edema volume often are assessed in the clinic based on limb circumferences, which are used to [...]

A limited amount of research has examined the relationship between characteristics of police organizations and policing styles. In particular, few studies have examined the link between organizational structures and police officer arrest decisions. Wilson's (1968) pioneering case study of police organizations suggested that individual police behavior is a function of departmental goals that occur within the broader political climate of a community. Wilson suggested that agencies could be classified into three typologies: the watchman style, the legalistic style, and the service style. The present study examines the influence of organizational characteristics associated with these styles on individual officers' arrest rates using nationally representative data from large police agencies. Findings suggest that police officer arrest decisions are partially explained by variations in police organizational structures. The implications of these findings for contemporary organizational explanations of police behavior are discussed. Keywords: policing; police organizations; arrests

Research indicates that gender is one of the strongest correlates of juvenile delinquency. Additionally, a growing body of literature suggests that the association with delinquent peers is an important predictor of delinquent behavior. Although a few studies have examined how delinquent peers condition the gender-delinquency relationship, the authors extend this body of literature by using longitudinal data from a sample of adolescents to explore the extent to which internal and external constraints condition the relationship between gender, delinquent peers, and delinquent behavior. Findings indicate that delinquent peer association is an important predictor of delinquency generally, but the effect varies across gender. Specifically, delinquent peer associations are a better predictor of delinquency among boys compared to girls. In addition, the effect of delinquent peers on delinquency varies according to the level of internal and external constraints. Future research directions for unraveling the role of gender in youthful offending are discussed. Keywords: delinquent peers; gender; delinquency

Eckbo, Masulis, & Norli (2000) question previous examination of initial public offering (IPO) underperformance with the keen argument that the increase in the number of traded shares and the infusion of equity reduce two significant premia in the stock's return, namely, liquidity risk and financial risk. The new market for high (expected) growth stock in Germany is examined for evidence of underpricing, underperformance, and liquidity improvements during the first two complete years of operation--1998 and 1999. The initial trading period examines the offering day and also the first ten days of trading (for the investor who can not get allocation but enters the secondary market.) The postissue performance study period is taken as the 5-day period one-year after the IPO. Using regression of four underpricing measures upon issuing firm characteristics deemed important from the extant literature, we seek to explain the degree of underpricing discovered. We find that substantial underpricing occurs and performance is high one year later, even adjusted for the German market return for the period or the firm-specific sector performance for the same period. Trading dwindles for most stocks after the offering day. One year later, the trading of the stock is even lower. We do find that the more active the trading in the initial period, the greater the returns and trading one year after. JEL Classification: G12, G14, G15 Key words: Initial public offerings; short term performance, risk impact