Can the direct cardiac effects of the electric pulses generated by the TASER X26 cause immediate or delayed sudden cardiac arrest in normal adults?

There is only a small amount of experimental data about whether the TASER X26, a nonlethal weapon that delivers a series of brief electrical pulses to cause involuntary muscular contraction to temporarily incapacitate an individual, can initiate ventricular fibrillation to cause sudden cardiac arrest either immediately or sometime after its use. Therefore, this paper uses the fundamental law of electrostimulation and experimental data from the literature to estimate the likelihood of such events. Because of the short duration of the TASER pulses, the large duration of the cardiac cell membrane time constant, the small fraction of current from electrodes on the body surface that passes through the heart, and the resultant high pacing threshold from the body surface, the fundamental law of electrostimulation predicts that the TASER pulses will not stimulate an ectopic beat in the large majority of normal adults. Since the immediate initiation of ventricular fibrillation in a normal heart requires a very premature stimulated ectopic beat and the threshold for such premature beats is higher than less premature beats, it is unlikely that TASER pulses can immediately initiate ventricular fibrillation in such individuals through the direct effect of the electric field generated through the heart by the TASER. In the absence of preexisting heart disease, the delayed development of ventricular fibrillation requires the electrical stimuli to cause electroporation or myocardial necrosis. However, the electrical thresholds for electroporation and necrosis are many times higher than that required to stimulate an ectopic beat. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that the TASER X26 can cause ventricular fibrillation minutes to hours after its use through direct cardiac effects of the electric field generated by the TASER.     

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of sodium and potassium cyanide as a forensic signature

Sodium and potassium cyanide are highly toxic, produced in large amounts by the chemical industry, and linked to numerous high-profile crimes. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified cyanide as one of the most probable agents to be used in a chemical terrorism event. We investigated whether stable C and N isotopic content of sodium and potassium cyanide could serve as a forensic signature for sample matching, using a collection of 65 cyanide samples. Upon analysis, a few of the cyanide samples displayed nonhomogeneous isotopic content associated with degradation to a carbonate salt and loss of hydrogen cyanide. Most samples had highly reproducible isotope content. Of the 65 cyanide samples, >95% could be properly matched based on C and N isotope ratios, with a false match rate <3%. These results suggest that stable C and N isotope ratios are a useful forensic signature for matching cyanide samples.     

An Unconditional Quantile Regression Based Decomposition of Spatial Welfare Inequalities in Ghana

Ghana has witnessed tremendous economic growth since the 1990s and attained the Millennium Development Goals target of halving poverty. This notwithstanding, inequality in Ghana increased over the same period, suggesting growth benefits were not equitably distributed. This study provides evidence on the determinants of household consumption expenditure and factors that explain rural-urban welfare gaps between 1998 and 2013. The study employs an unconditional quantile regression and recently proposed decomposition technique based on re-centred influence functions. We find significant spatial differences in consumption expenditure across selected quantiles, with rural-urban inequalities driven largely by differences in returns to households’ endowments.     

Justice,Not Jailbreak: The Context and Consequence of the First Step Act

ABSTRACT

The First Step Act, a legislative endeavor half nearly a decade in the making and advocated for by President Trump, represented the most significant easing of federal criminal punishment to date. This article discusses the historical antecedents for the prison and sentencing reform legislation and discusses its path through the 115^th Congress of the United States.     

Earning its Wings: a political economy analysis of China's journey toward development of the C-919 commercial airliner

This article examines China's development of its C-919 large passenger aircraft through the lens of Porter's Determinant Model. The model serves as a blueprint for analyzing what China must do to increase its probability of developing a competitive, large passenger aircraft. Success in the industry can be achieved best by developing technologically advanced aircraft and selling a sufficient number to develop economies of scale. To explore underlying questions of what China is doing right and what areas need improvement, the author interviewed key aviation professionals and sampled the limited publications on the topic in both English and Chinese.     

Has the Clean Air Interstate Rule Fulfilled Its Mission? An Assessment of Federal Rule‐Making in Preventing Regional Spillover Pollution

The Environmental Protection Agency developed the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) to minimize sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from power plants and prevent pollution spillover into downwind states. While observers of CAIR claim success in the reduction of air pollution, our innovative multivariate statistical analysis based on spatial and facility‐level panel data finds mixed results concerning the rule's effectiveness. On the one hand, we find that CAIR facilities are associated with increases in the reduction rate of pollution compared to non‐CAIR facilities. However, the evidence suggests that sulfur dioxide levels decreased in CAIR‐mandated facilities before the actual implementation of the program. Additionally, on the one hand, CAIR facilities in the interior of states are associated with slower pollution reduction rates than those on the border. However, this difference in reduction rate does not change dramatically before or after the adoption or implementation of this rule. This suggests that the CAIR program was ineffective in targeting specific facilities most likely to contribute to interstate pollution. We conclude that while CAIR spurred the electrical utility industry to reduce air pollution, some of these reductions occurred before the actual implementation of the program. More substantially, gains in interstate spillover pollution did not occur by targeting specific facilities most likely to spillover but rather through the overall reduction of air pollution in the eastern states.     

Okinawa and the Nago heliport problem in the US-Japan relationship

The impact of the decision about when and if the United States Marine Corp Air Station will be relocated in Okinawa reverberates beyond the prefectural shores. It has the potential to upset the G-8 Summit, scheduled to be held in Nago City in July 2000, as well as to affect the strategic relationship between the US and Japan. In this article, Robert Eldridge, Post-doctoral Fellow at the Suntory Foundation, Osaka, reviews the history of this complicated problem. He argues that the US and Japan must continue to make progress addressing Okinawan requests and concerns. Ameliorating Okinawa” s burden, while at the same time more actively seeking public understanding and suppor t of the US-Japan security relationship and Japan's role in that relationship, as well as increasing Japan's ability to cooperate in times of emergency, is in the interest of both countries.