WorldWideScience

Sample records for great current interest

  1. The Optimal Interest Rates and the Current Interest Rate System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ioannis N. Kallianiotis

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper discusses the current target interest rate, which is closed to zero with the new experiment of quantitative easing since 2009 and has reduced the rate of return and the income and has made the real savings rate negative. This target rate has not reduced unemployment and has not improved growth (it is not optimal, but has increased the debt of individuals and the low taxes on businesses have magnified the budget deficits and the national debt. People were borrowing the present value of their uncertain future wealth and their high debt and low income raise the risk and this high risk premium heighten the interest rate on loans, especially on credit cards. The current monetary system needs to be changed and an interest rate floor on deposits (savings and an interest rate ceiling on individuals‟ loans (borrowings is necessary to improve social welfare, fairness, and justice in our society and not to support only disintermediation (financial markets. The middle class cannot work only to pay taxes and interest on its debt (redistribution of their wealth to government and banks or worse to be in chronic unemployment. Many home owners defaulted on their loans payments and their homes are foreclosed. They will end up without property (real assets. The unconcern towards the middle class will affect negatively the entire socio-economic structure of the nation and after losing its productive power, it will start declining, as history has shown to us with so many empires that do not exist anymore. We hope the leaders (the democratic governments to improve public policies, to regulate the financial market and institutions, and to satisfy their policy ultimate objective, which is citizens‟ perfection and the nation‟s highest point of prosperity.

  2. «Great Eurasia»: interests and possibilities of Russia at interaction with China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena M. Kuzmina

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The Author analyzes the regulatory structure proposed by the President Putin’s strategy of «Great Eurasia» in Russian official and economic policy frameworks and development programmes, Examines internal and external factors affecting the Eurasian Union, as a base for building relationships within the «Great Eurasia». The emphasis the author makes the EAEU’s interest in the development of economic relations with the countries of «Great Eurasia» with the use of the Union. He also analyzes the dynamics of the negotiation process for conclusion of trade and economic agreements between the EEC and China and the challenges and opportunities of member countries in economic relations with China. Considered the level of compatibility of the Eurasian Union and the initiative «One belt and one road». A separate part of the article devoted to economic cooperation of Russia and China and their possible interaction in the construction of the Grand Eurasia.  

  3. The Current Account and the Interest Differential in Canada

    OpenAIRE

    Martin Boileau; Michel Normandin

    2004-01-01

    For post-1975 Canadian data, we document the joint behavior of output, the current account, and the interest differential at the business cycle frequency. We also interpret the joint behavior using a simple small open economy model. Our simple model assumes that agents have access to world international financial markets, but face country-specific interest rate on their holdings of world assets. The interest differential depends negatively on the country’s net foreign asset position. We find ...

  4. Current Account Surpluses and the Interest Rate Island in Switzerland

    OpenAIRE

    Paolo Mauro

    1995-01-01

    This paper describes some long-run aspects of the Swiss balance of payments, highlighting two macroeconomic phenomena that make Switzerland stand out among other countries: first, it has had a persistent current account surplus and the largest ratio of net foreign assets to GDP in the world; second, its real interest rates have been significantly lower than those of most other industrialized countries, earning it the label “interest rate island”. These two distinctive features may be related,...

  5. Interest Rate Swaps

    OpenAIRE

    Marina Pepic

    2014-01-01

    Interest rates changes have a huge impact on the business performance. Therefore, it is of great importance for the market participants to identify and adequately manage this risk. Financial derivatives are a relatively simple way of protection from adverse changes in interest rates. Interest rate swaps are particularly popular because they reduce interest rate risk to a minimum with a relatively low initial cost and without great risk, but also because of the fact that there are many modific...

  6. Farmers' current attitudes to energy forestry in Great Britain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tranter, R.B.; Carruthers, S.P.; Jones, P.J.; Miller, F.A.

    1993-01-01

    The objectives of the project were twofold: first, to assess the current level of interest in energy coppice among farmers in GB and, hence, its present potential as a farm enterprise; and, second, to gauge the effects of any changes in the agricultural situation and in the 'state-of-the-art' of energy coppice that have occurred since a similar study was carried out some five years ago. (Author)

  7. Interest Rate Swaps

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marina Pepić

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Interest rates changes have a huge impact on the business performance. Therefore, it is of great importance for the market participants to identify and adequately manage this risk. Financial derivatives are a relatively simple way of protection from adverse changes in interest rates. Interest rate swaps are particularly popular because they reduce interest rate risk to a minimum with a relatively low initial cost and without great risk, but also because of the fact that there are manymodifications of the standard swap created to better satisfy the different needs of market players.

  8. ["Great jobs"-also in psychiatry?].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spiessl, H; Hübner-Liebermann, B

    2003-09-01

    Against the background of a beginning shortage of psychiatrists, results from interviews with 112 employees of an automotive company with the topic "Great Job" are presented to discuss their relevance to psychiatry. The interviews were analysed by means of a qualitative content analysis. Most employees assigned importance to great pay, constructive collaboration with colleagues, and work appealing to personal interests. Further statements particularly relevant to psychiatry were: successful career, flexible working hours, manageable job, work-life balance, well-founded training, no bureaucracy within the company, and personal status in society. The well-known economic restrictions in health care and the still negative attitude towards psychiatry currently reduce the attraction of psychiatry as a profession. From the viewpoint of personnel management, the attractors of a great job revealed in this study are proposed as important clues for the recruitment of medical students for psychiatry and the development of psychiatric staff.

  9. China in search of 'legitimate' great power intervention

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Camilla T. N.

    2016-01-01

    Thanks to Beijing’s expanding global role and interests, it is no longer possible for China to follow its traditional ‘lay low’ [tao guang yang hui] strategy and the traditionally rather strict interpretation of the principle of non-intervention. Consequently, among Chinese International Relations...... (IR) scholars there is an intense debate on how China can protect and promote its global presence and interests while at the same time continuing to ‘stay within’ the principle of non-intervention. New concepts and approaches are developing as the debate progresses. Current Chinese foreign...... and security policy reflects a more flexible and pragmatic Chinese interpretation – and implementation – of the principle of non-intervention. This chapter examines the search for ‘legitimate’ great-power intervention that characterizes both the debate among Chinese IR scholars and current Chinese foreign...

  10. The current contribution of diagnostic radiology to the population dose in Great Britain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wall, B.F.; Rae, S.; Kendall, G.M.; Darby, S.C.; Fischer, E.S.; Harries, S.V.

    1980-01-01

    The National Radiological Protection Board of the UK has just completed a national survey to determine the genetically significant dose (GSD) to the population of Great Britain from diagnostic radiology. A statistically selected sample of about 80 hospitals spread throughout England, Scotland and Wales has supplied information on the numbers of patients examined in their X-ray departments during a week in June 1977, together with details of age, sex and examination technique. This sample is sufficient to make a reliable estimate of the total diagnostic work-load in all National Health Service Hospitals throughout Great Britain for a year. Gonadal doses from 16 examination types that are likely to be the main contributors to the GSD have been measured on nearly 5000 patients at 20 hospitals throug'out the country using specially developed thermoluminescent dosemeters. These gonadal doses are combined with the examination frequency figures and current values for child expectancy derived from data supplied by tthe registrar general, to estimate the GSD. Those changes in practice which have occurred since the late 1950's which may have influenced the new value for the GSD are discussed, as well as the progress that has been made in estimating population somatic doses from diagnostic radiology using clinical measurements that are currently underway. (H.K.)

  11. Field-aligned current signatures during the March 13-14, 1989, great magnetic storm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fujii, R.; Fukunishi, H.; Kokubun, S.; Sugiura, M.; Tohyama, F.; Hayakawa, H.; Tsuruda, K.; Okada, T.

    1992-01-01

    Characteristics of field-aligned currents (FACs) in the evening and morning regions during the March 13-14, 1989, great magnetic storm have been determined using magnetic and electric field data obtained from the EXOS D spacecraft. This storm began with an SSC at 0128 UT on March 13, and the second SSC occurred at 0747 UT on the same day. The storm continued until March 14. The equatorward boundary of the FAC region began to move equatorward right after the first SSC in both the evening and morning sectors, but the poleward boundary did not immediately respond to the SSC. The equatorward boundary of the FAC system reached as low as below 48 degree invariant latitude, which corresponds to L = 2.2, and the latitudinal width of the FAC region increased greatly, particularly in the morning sector (∼33 degree in invariant latitude). In the evening sector the conventional current system characterized by a pair of upward region 1 and downward region 2 FACs changed into complicated patterns consisting of many pairs of upward and downward FACs with the development of the storm, particularly around 22 UT on March 13 when an intense eastward electrojet was observed as low as 50 degree invariant latitude on the ground. In the morning sector an additional large-scale upward FAC was observed poleward of the conventional downward region 1 and upward region 2 FAC system throughout the storm. In addition, a pair of FACs with a narrow latitudinal width (∼1.5 degree) was observed at the poleward boundary of the extra upward FAC

  12. READING FOR YOUTH INTEREST DURING CURRENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aurelia-Camelia, MARIN

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Virtual reality and images conquer them permanently and irrevocably even children from the earliest age. For instance, I can say that as they grow departs books. So many young people arrive at teens refuse to read a book, even electronically. Children considered mandatory reading something imposed by adults and tries to escape, finding other concerns. They also have no motivation, the universe discovered through books hardly seems interesting, which is, in their opinion, obsolete. The environment in which I work led me to satisfy my curiosity namely that of finding out to what extent reading is among the priorities of young people today. This research considers the study of attitudes, behaviors, opinions and intentions of young people their interest in reading, be it physical or books in electronic format. Then I directed a questionnaire to students of the Faculty of Management Marketing in Economic Affairs Rm. Valcea. For example, we chose a target group of young people aged between 18 and 25 years.

  13. Chapter 13. Current management situation: Great gray owls

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jon Verner

    1994-01-01

    The breeding range of great gray owls (Strix nebulosa) in the United States includes portions of Alaska, mountains in the western United States including portions of the Cascades and Sierra Nevada ranges and the northern Rockies, and portions of Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, and New York (see Chapter 14 and Map 3). The species is sometimes observed...

  14. Understanding the Great Depression: Lessons for Current Policy

    OpenAIRE

    Stephen G. Cecchetti

    1997-01-01

    Over the four years beginning in the summer of 1929, financial markets, labor markets and goods markets all virtually ceased to function. Throughout this, the government policymaking apparatus seemed helpless. Since the end of the Great Depression, macroeconomists have labored diligently in an effort to understand the circumstances that led to the wholesale collapse of the economy. What lessons can we draw from our study of these events? In this essay, I argue that the Federal Reserve played ...

  15. Current development of UAV sense and avoid system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhahir, A.; Razali, A.; Mohd Ajir, M. R.

    2016-10-01

    As unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are now gaining high interests from civil and commercialised market, the automatic sense and avoid (SAA) system is currently one of the essential features in research spotlight of UAV. Several sensor types employed in current SAA research and technology of sensor fusion that offers a great opportunity in improving detection and tracking system are presented here. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of SAA system development in general, as well as the current challenges facing UAV researchers and designers.

  16. Analytic description of tokamak equilibrium sustained by high fraction bootstrap current

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shi Bingren

    2002-01-01

    Recently, to save the current drive power and to obtain more favorable confinement merit for tokamak reactor, large faction bootstrap current sustained equilibrium has attracted great interests both theoretically and experimentally. An powerful expanding technique and the tokamak ordering are used to expand the Grad-Shafranov equation to obtain a series of ordinary differential equations which allow for different sets of input parameters. The fully bootstrap current sustained tokamak equilibria are then solved analytically

  17. Famous puzzles of great mathematicians

    CERN Document Server

    Petković, Miodrag S

    2009-01-01

    This entertaining book presents a collection of 180 famous mathematical puzzles and intriguing elementary problems that great mathematicians have posed, discussed, and/or solved. The selected problems do not require advanced mathematics, making this book accessible to a variety of readers. Mathematical recreations offer a rich playground for both amateur and professional mathematicians. Believing that creative stimuli and aesthetic considerations are closely related, great mathematicians from ancient times to the present have always taken an interest in puzzles and diversions. The goal of this

  18. Making the news interesting : Understanding the relationship between familiarity and interest

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sluis, F. van der; Glassey, R.J.; Broek, E.L. van den

    2012-01-01

    News feeds are an important element of information encountering, feeding our (new) interests but also leading to a state of information overload. Current solutions often select information similar to the user's interests. However, long-term interest in one topic, and being highly familiar with that

  19. INTEGRATING GEOPHYSICS, GEOLOGY, AND HYDROLOGY TO DETERMINE BEDROCK GEOMETRY CONTROLS ON THE ORIGIN OF ISOLATED MEADOW COMPLEXES WITHIN THE CENTRAL GREAT BASIN, NEVADA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riparian meadow complexes found in mountain ranges of the Central Great Basin physiographic region (western United States) are of interest to researchers as they contain significant biodiversity relative to the surrounding basin areas. These meadow complexes are currently degradi...

  20. The current situation of the NDL Great East Japan Earthquake Archive 'HINAGIKU'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suwa, Yasuko

    2014-01-01

    On March 7, 2013, the National Diet Library (NDL) started full-scale operation of the NDL Great East Japan Earthquake Archive 'HINAGIKU'. Hinagiku is the Searching Portal that enables integrated search and utilization of sound and videos, pictures, websites, etc., about the Great East Japan Earthquake. Its aim is to hand down all records and lessons to future generations and to utilize them for the restoration and reconstruction of the affected areas and for disaster prevention measures. Since its release last year, Hinagiku has been enlarging search targets in cooperation with related institutions. In this article, I will give an overview of the NDL Great East Japan Earthquake Archive and discuss about its challenges for the future. (author)

  1. Calvin's Restrictions on Interest : Guidelines for the Credit Crisis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Graafland, J.J.

    2009-01-01

    Calvin’s view on the legitimacy of interest has had a great impact on the economic development of Western society. Although Calvin took a fundamentally positive attitude to interest, he also proposed several restrictions on the charging of interest. In this article, we investigate the relevance of

  2. Great Basin land managers provide detailed feedback about usefulness of two climate information web applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chad Zanocco

    Full Text Available Land managers in the Great Basin are working to maintain or restore sagebrush ecosystems as climate change exacerbates existing threats. Web applications delivering climate change and climate impacts information have the potential to assist their efforts. Although many web applications containing climate information currently exist, few have been co-produced with land managers or have incorporated information specifically focused on land managers’ needs. Through surveys and interviews, we gathered detailed feedback from federal, state, and tribal sagebrush land managers in the Great Basin on climate information web applications targeting land management. We found that a managers are searching for weather and climate information they can incorporate into their current management strategies and plans; b they are willing to be educated on how to find and understand climate related web applications; c both field and administrative-type managers want data for timescales ranging from seasonal to decadal; d managers want multiple levels of climate information, from simple summaries, to detailed descriptions accessible through the application; and e managers are interested in applications that evaluate uncertainty and provide projected climate impacts. Keywords: Great Basin, Sagebrush, Land management, Climate change, Web application, Co-production

  3. Individual differences in current events knowledge: contributions of ability, personality, and interests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hambrick, David Z; Meinz, Elizabeth J; Oswald, Frederick L

    2007-03-01

    What accounts for individual differences in the sort of knowledge that people may draw on in everyday cognitive tasks, such as deciding whom to vote for in a presidential election, how to invest money in the stock market, or what team to bet on in a friendly wager? In a large sample of undergraduate students, we investigated correlates of individual differences in recently acquired knowledge of current events in domains such as politics, business, and sports. Structural equation modeling revealed two predictive pathways: one involving cognitive ability factors and the other involving two major nonability factors (personality and interests). The results of this study add to what is known about the sources of individual differences in knowledge and are interpreted in the context of theoretical conceptions of adult intelligence that emphasize the centrality and importance of knowledge (e.g., Ackerman, 1996; Cattell, 1971).

  4. The Sixth Great Mass Extinction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagler, Ron

    2012-01-01

    Five past great mass extinctions have occurred during Earth's history. Humanity is currently in the midst of a sixth, human-induced great mass extinction of plant and animal life (e.g., Alroy 2008; Jackson 2008; Lewis 2006; McDaniel and Borton 2002; Rockstrom et al. 2009; Rohr et al. 2008; Steffen, Crutzen, and McNeill 2007; Thomas et al. 2004;…

  5. Afghanistan’s significance for Russia in the 21st Century: Interests, Perceptions and Perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sangar Kaneshko

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Since President Barack Obama set the end of 2014 as the deadline to complete the planned troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, numerous commentators have sought to assess Russia’s Afghan policy since September 11, 2001 and anticipate Moscow’s strategy in ‘post-2014’ Afghanistan. This paper maintains that an assessment/evaluation of Afghanistan’s significance for Russia in the current system of international relations is needed to understand Moscow’s current and future Afghan strategy. Hence, the aim of this study is to identify and analyse the major factors, which lead to a conceptualization of Russia’s interests in Afghanistan. When assessing Russia’s interests in Afghanistan, one must take into account a plethora of significant issues, including Putin’s ‘great-power’ rhetoric; geopolitical, geostrategic, and geo-economic rivalries in the wider region; security threats such as the illegal narcotics emanating from Afghanistan and global terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism; the rivalry and competition for energy resources; and control over pipeline routes and energy corridors. The analysis of these substantiating factors demonstrate why in the 21st century the Afghan problem remains a significant challenge to Russia’s ‘great power’ identity, to its international strategy abroad, to its strategically important ‘near abroad,’ and to the country’s domestic socio-economic policy

  6. Damage by the Great East Japan Earthquake and current status of the Sendai cyclotron

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wakui, Takashi; Itoh, Masatoshi; Shimada, Kenzi; Yoshida, Hidetomo; Shinozuka, Tsutomu; Sakemi, Yasuhiro

    2012-01-01

    The Great East Japan Earthquake has inflicted damages on the accelerator facility of the Cyclotron and Radioisotope Center (CYRIC), Tohoku University. The K=110 MeV cyclotron was slanted due to the damage of props supporting the cyclotron. The cyclotron building has also been slightly inclined. This situation requires the re-alignment of all the beam transport line and the cyclotron. Some of the shield doors at experimental rooms were broken and blocked the entrance. The earthquake caused also a lot of damages to some components of the cyclotron as well as the beam transport lines, such as beam ducts, magnets, vacuum pumps and power supplies. Fortunately, no one was injured at CYRIC. The restoration work was started on July 2011 and will be completed by July 2012. This report describes the situation of damages and the current status of the restoration work. (author)

  7. A Futures Orientation in the Australian Curriculum: Current Levels of Teacher Interest, Activity and Support in Western Australia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paynter, Mark; Bruce, Neville

    2014-01-01

    The soon to be implemented Australian Curriculum aims to integrate a futures orientation across subject areas. Guidelines and support for this specific initiative are being finalized. Only a little is known about the current teaching of a futures orientation or of secondary teacher interest, understanding and support for this important but…

  8. Publication analysis of the contact lens field: what are the current topics of interest?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cardona, Genís; Sanz, Joan P

    2015-01-01

    To determine the main current research interests of scientists working in the contact lens field. All articles published in the 2011 issues of all journals included in the Journal Citation Reports subject category Ophthalmology were inspected to expose those papers related to the contact lens field. Information regarding source journal was obtained and authorship details were recorded to determine the top most prolific authors, institutions and countries. A comprehensive list of key words was compiled to generate a two-dimensional term map in which the frequency of occurrence of a particular term is defined by label size and the distance between two terms is an indication of the relatedness of these terms, based on their co-occurrences within groups of key words. Clusters of related terms were also identified. Visual examination of all articles uncovered a total of 156 papers, published in 28 different journals. Contact Lens & Anterior Eye, Eye & Contact Lens and Optometry and Vision Science had 27 articles each. The most prolific authors and institutions revealed the predominance of countries with long research tradition in the contact lens field. Ten different word clusters or areas of interest were identified, including both traditional, yet unresolved issues (e.g., comfort or dry eye), and the latest research efforts (e.g., myopia control). These findings, which revealed contact lenses to be a fertile area of research, may be of relevance to new researchers as well as to those interested in exploring the latest research trends in this scientific discipline. Copyright © 2013 Spanish General Council of Optometry. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  9. Revisiting the Seeming Unanimous Verdict on the Great Debate on ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The great debate on African Philosophy refers to the debate as to whether African Philosophy does exist or not. The debate aroused great interest among Philosophy scholars who were predominantly polarized into two opposing positions - those who denied the existence of African Philosophy and those who insisted on the ...

  10. Clinical pathways for primary care: current use, interest and perceived usability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waters, Richard C; Toy, Jennifer M; Drechsler, Adam

    2018-02-26

    Translating clinical evidence to daily practice remains a challenge and may improve with clinical pathways. We assessed interest in and usability of clinical pathways by primary care professionals. An online survey was created. Interest in pathways for patient care and learning was assessed at start and finish. Participants completed baseline questions then pathway-associated question sets related to management of 2 chronic diseases. Perceived pathway usability was assessed using the system usability scale. Accuracy and confidence of answers was compared for baseline and pathway-assisted questions. Of 115 participants, 17.4% had used clinical pathways, the lowest of decision support tool types surveyed. Accuracy and confidence in answers significantly improved for all pathways. Interest in using pathways daily or weekly was above 75% for the respondents. There is low utilization of, but high interest in, clinical pathways by primary care clinicians. Pathways improve accuracy and confidence in answering written clinical questions.

  11. Volume of interest CBCT and tube current modulation for image guidance using dynamic kV collimation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Parsons, David, E-mail: david.parsons@dal.ca, E-mail: james.robar@nshealth.ca [Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, 5820 University Avenue, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 1V7 (Canada); Robar, James L., E-mail: david.parsons@dal.ca, E-mail: james.robar@nshealth.ca [Department of Radiation Oncology and Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, 5820 University Avenue, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 1V7 (Canada)

    2016-04-15

    Purpose: The focus of this work is the development of a novel blade collimation system enabling volume of interest (VOI) CBCT with tube current modulation using the kV image guidance source on a linear accelerator. Advantages of the system are assessed, particularly with regard to reduction and localization of dose and improvement of image quality. Methods: A four blade dynamic kV collimator was developed to track a VOI during a CBCT acquisition. The current prototype is capable of tracking an arbitrary volume defined by the treatment planner for subsequent CBCT guidance. During gantry rotation, the collimator tracks the VOI with adjustment of position and dimension. CBCT image quality was investigated as a function of collimator dimension, while maintaining the same dose to the VOI, for a 22.2 cm diameter cylindrical water phantom with a 9 mm diameter bone insert centered on isocenter. Dose distributions were modeled using a dynamic BEAMnrc library and DOSXYZnrc. The resulting VOI dose distributions were compared to full-field CBCT distributions to quantify dose reduction and localization to the target volume. A novel method of optimizing x-ray tube current during CBCT acquisition was developed and assessed with regard to contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and imaging dose. Results: Measurements show that the VOI CBCT method using the dynamic blade system yields an increase in contrast-to-noise ratio by a factor of approximately 2.2. Depending upon the anatomical site, dose was reduced to 15%–80% of the full-field CBCT value along the central axis plane and down to less than 1% out of plane. The use of tube current modulation allowed for specification of a desired SNR within projection data. For approximately the same dose to the VOI, CNR was further increased by a factor of 1.2 for modulated VOI CBCT, giving a combined improvement of 2.6 compared to full-field CBCT. Conclusions: The present dynamic blade system provides significant improvements in CNR for the same

  12. Implicit User Interest Profile

    CERN Document Server

    Chan, K

    2002-01-01

    User interest profile presents items that the users are interested in. Typically those items can be listed or grouped. Listing is good but it does not possess interests at different abstraction levels - the higher-level interests are more general, while the lower-level ones are more specific. Furthermore, more general interests, in some sense, correspond to longer-term interests, while more specific interests correspond to shorter-term interests. This hierarchical user interest profile has obvious advantages: specifying user's specific interests and general interests and representing their relationships. Current user interest profile structures mostly do not use implicit method, nor use an appropriate clustering algorithm especially for conceptually hierarchical structures. This research studies building a hierarchical user interest profile (HUIP) and the hierarchical divisive algorithm (HDC). Several users visit hundreds of web pages and each page is recorded in each users profile. These web pages are used t...

  13. Chapter 16. Conservation status of great gray owls in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gregory D. Hayward

    1994-01-01

    Previous chapters outlined the biology and ecology of great gray owls as well as the ecology of this species in the western United States. That technical review provides the basis to assess the current conservation status of great gray owls in the United States. Are populations of great gray owls in the United States currently threatened? Are current land management...

  14. 'Great Power Style' in China's Economic Policy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jiang, Yang

    2011-01-01

    China’s ascendance attracts concern, even though Beijing claims to be a responsible great power and tries to demonstrate its ‘great power style’ in economic diplomacy. This article therefore discusses the following questions: to what extent does the current notion and practice of Chinese ‘great...... power style’ in economic diplomacy comply with, or differ from, the criteria of benign hegemony; and what are the major constraining factors? Conceptually, China’s ‘great power style’ is rooted in ancient Chinese political philosophy and institution, but it highly resembles the Western notion of benign...

  15. A New Keynesian Perspective on the Great Recession

    OpenAIRE

    Peter N. Ireland

    2010-01-01

    With an estimated New Keynesian model, this paper compares the "Great Recession" of 2007-09 to its two immediate predecessors in 1990-91 and 2001. The model attributes all three downturns to a similar mix of aggregate demand and supply disturbances. The most recent series of adverse shocks lasted longer and became more severe, however, prolonging and deepening the Great Recession. In addition, the zero lower bound on the nominal interest rate prevented monetary policy from stabilizing the US ...

  16. [Conflict of interest and bioethics].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kemelmajer De Carlucci, Aida

    2014-06-01

    "Conflicts of interests" is a multi-meaning expression. To give a juridical concept is not easy because this concept is applied in public and private law. Maybe this is the reason of not having a law giving a valid definition in any case In health area, a conflict of interests is present many times, i.e. at the beginning of a research, when informing its results, etc. This conflict of interests may affect different aspects of the research work, economic or not; sometimes totally or partially. The economic resources is one of the most common reasons of the conflict of interests. The mass media often cause conflicts of interests informing the general public about new scientific discovery in a simple way to be understood but without been quite assertive. Other times, great enterprises hide information about new and better medicines due to the fact that they have many old medicines that should be sold before introducing in the market the new ones. From the academic point of view, conflicts may arise when the public funds are wrongly used to support unworthy researches.

  17. Glial cell biology in the Great Lakes region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feinstein, Douglas L; Skoff, Robert P

    2016-03-31

    We report on the tenth bi-annual Great Lakes Glial meeting, held in Traverse City, Michigan, USA, September 27-29 2015. The GLG meeting is a small conference that focuses on current research in glial cell biology. The array of functions that glial cells (astrocytes, microglia, oligodendrocytes, Schwann cells) play in health and disease is constantly increasing. Despite this diversity, GLG meetings bring together scientists with common interests, leading to a better understanding of these cells. This year's meeting included two keynote speakers who presented talks on the regulation of CNS myelination and the consequences of stress on Schwann cell biology. Twenty-two other talks were presented along with two poster sessions. Sessions covered recent findings in the areas of microglial and astrocyte activation; age-dependent changes to glial cells, Schwann cell development and pathology, and the role of stem cells in glioma and neural regeneration.

  18. Current interest in careers in surgery and cardiothoracic surgery from the millennial generation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghannam, Michael; Zhao, Lili; Reddy, Rishindra M

    2014-01-01

    Interest in cardiothoracic surgery (CTS) as a career has decreased over the past decade. Anecdotal evidence suggests that many surgeons develop an interest in CTS before medical school and even before college. This study evaluates the interest of high-school students at a magnet high school, with regard to careers in medicine, in surgery, and in CTS. A survey assessing career interests and values was conducted among junior and senior high-school students. Students were given a 1-hour presentation by a cardiothoracic (CT) surgeon on the postgraduate training process and then completed a postpresentation survey. A magnet math and science high school, the Kalamazoo Area Mathematics and Science Center. Of 128 students, 117 (91% response rate) completed the survey. Overall, 38% of students reported having a high interest in medicine; of this group, 58% reported a high interest in surgery and 36% reported having a high interest in CTS. Men were more likely than women were to have a high interest in surgery and CTS (p < 0.001). Students with at least 1 family member as a physician vs those without were more likely to be interested in medicine, surgery, and CTS and also have a higher level of concern for postgraduation debt (p < 0.01). Women were more likely than men were to have a high level of concern about postgraduation debt (p = 0.018). After a presentation by a CT surgeon, students showed no changes in interest in medicine careers but did report an increased level of knowledge about the process of becoming a CT surgeon, going from 31% to 72%. There exists a large interest in both surgery and CTS at the high-school level, but there may be a need for more active outreach to maintain and foster their interest in surgery and CTS through undergraduate and medical school. Copyright © 2014 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Frontiers of biomedical text mining: current progress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zweigenbaum, Pierre; Demner-Fushman, Dina; Yu, Hong; Cohen, Kevin B.

    2008-01-01

    It is now almost 15 years since the publication of the first paper on text mining in the genomics domain, and decades since the first paper on text mining in the medical domain. Enormous progress has been made in the areas of information retrieval, evaluation methodologies and resource construction. Some problems, such as abbreviation-handling, can essentially be considered solved problems, and others, such as identification of gene mentions in text, seem likely to be solved soon. However, a number of problems at the frontiers of biomedical text mining continue to present interesting challenges and opportunities for great improvements and interesting research. In this article we review the current state of the art in biomedical text mining or ‘BioNLP’ in general, focusing primarily on papers published within the past year. PMID:17977867

  20. A study of different types of current mirrors using polysilicon TFTs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pappas, I; Nalpantidis, L; Kalenteridis, V; Siskos, S; Dimitriadis, C A; Hatzopoulos, A A

    2005-01-01

    Polysilicon thin-film technology has become of great interest due to the demand for large area electronic devices. Active matrix liquid crystal displays (AMLCDs) and active matrix organic light emitting displays (AMOLEDs) are among the fields where polysilicon thin-film transistors (poly-Si TFTs) are most commonly used. Such devices, generally, require analog signal processing. This fact makes the performance of basic analog blocks, such as current mirrors implemented with poly-Si TFTs, crucial. This paper examines the performance of various current mirror designs through simulation. Finally, a novel design of a current mirror is proposed aimed to be used in low voltage applications

  1. To what extent does wind power deployment affect vested interests? A case study of the Northeast China Grid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao, Xiaoli; Zhang, Sufang; Zou, Yasheng; Yao, Jin

    2013-01-01

    China's wind power is in an embarrassing state. Along with its dramatic development since 2005, its curtailment ratio has been rising. Although this could be attributed to both physical and institutional factors, it is the institutional obstacles, mainly resulting from the adjustment difficulties of interests distribution, that have exercised a greater impact. The stakeholders relating to wind power integration are thermal power companies, grid companies and local governments. The extent to which wind power deployment affects these vested interests determines the core institutional obstacles to be addressed. Mainly based on quantitative and case analyses, we argue that currently wind deployment in China has a little impact on the interests of thermal companies, moderate impact on the interests of grid companies and great impact on local governments. We recommend that it is crucial to elevate the role of environmental protection and renewable energy increase while de-emphasize the role of economic growth in the evaluation of local governments’ performance, as well as provide incentives for grid companies to attend more to their social responsibilities rather than their scale expansion and revenue growth. - highlights: • China's wind deployment has little impact on the interests of thermal plants. • Wind deployment has limited impact on the interests of grid companies. • The taxation per year from a thermal plant is higher than from a wind farm. • Local economic growth is comparatively greatly affected by wind power. • It is crucial to induce local governments to be concerned about renewable energy increase

  2. "Most brilliant in judgment": Alexander the Great and Aristotle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lainas, Panagiotis; Panutsopulos, Dimitrios; Skandalakis, Panagiotis N; Zoras, Odysseas; Skandalakis, John E

    2005-03-01

    From historical sources, it is evident that Alexander the Great was indebted to one of his teachers, Aristotle of Stagira. It was the teaching of Aristotle that evoked all the nascent talents of young Alexander and turned him into a great man. Alexander was extremely interested in the secrets of medicine and considered it an art. The medical knowledge he acquired from Aristotle may have saved his life and the lives of his troops on many occasions. If Alexander did not possess medical knowledge and if his everyday life had not been so greatly influenced by medicine, he might never have been able to create his empire.

  3. Public interest group involvement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shelley, P.

    1986-01-01

    Including public interest groups in the siting process for nuclear waste disposal facilities is of great importance. Controversial sitings often result in litigation, but involving public interest groups early in the process will lessen the change of this. They act as surrogates for the general public and should be considered as members of the team. It is important to remember though, that all public interest groups are different. In choosing public panels such as public advisory committees, members should not be chosen on the basis of some quota. Opposition groups should not be excluded. Also, it is important to put the right person in charge of the committee. The goal of public involvement is to identify the conflicts. This must be done during the decision process, because conflicts must be known before they can be eliminated. Regarding litigation, it is important to ease through and around legal battles. If the siting process has integrity and a good faith effort has been shown, the court should uphold the effort. In addition, it is important to be negotiable and to eliminate shortcuts

  4. Great Lakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edsall, Thomas A.; Mac, Michael J.; Opler, Paul A.; Puckett Haecker, Catherine E.; Doran, Peter D.

    1998-01-01

    population.The wild plants and animals and the natural systems that support them in the Great Lakes region are valuable resources of considerable local, regional, and national interest. They are also, in part, transboundary resources that we share with our Canadian neighbors to the north. The way these resources are changing over time is inadequately known and is a cause for concern for resource users and for those charged with managing and protecting these unique and valuable resources. This chapter describes the wild plants and animals and the systems that support them in the Great Lakes region; addresses their condition; and points out the gaps in our knowledge about them that, if filled, would aid in their conservation and appropriate use.

  5. Perturbation electric fields and disturbance currents investigated during the 25 September 1998 great storm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horvath, Ildiko; Lovell, Brian C.

    2014-10-01

    This study investigates the ionosphere's response to the 25 September 1998 great storm and utilizes multi-instrument observations covering the Australian (140°E; geographic) and Indian (75°E) longitude sectors. Results show the domination of eastward (westward) electrojet at 140°E (75°E). Its causative net eastward (westward) perturbation electric (E) field drove the forward (reverse) plasma fountain, caused the presence (absence) of the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA). These strong longitudinal differences were due to a combination of various LT-dependent, E field-driven, and competing mechanisms. Perturbation E fields are identified as prompt penetration E field (PPEF) and disturbance dynamo E field (DDEF). Due to the later (earlier) local time at 140°E (75°E), the undershielding PPEF was eastward (westward) directed early in the main phase. A series of periodic substorms occurred during the recovery phase. The substorm-related eastward PPEFs became overpowered by westward DDEFs over India but remained dominant in the Australian sector. Thus, eastward PPEFs (westward DDEFs) dominated at 140°E (75°E). At 140°E these eastward PPEFs exhibited a strong positive correlation with the variations of both the cross polar cap potential drop and the asymmetric ring current, significantly increased the net equatorial upward E × B drift and thus caused EIA development with plasma bubbles scintillating GPS signals. Based on the strong and independent correlation of these asymmetric ring current events with both the EIA development and the scintillation activity, we propose that the ASY-H index could provide a natural tool for modeling EIA development and scintillation episodes during severe storms characterized by periodic substorm-related eastward PPEFs.

  6. The current state of FPGA technology in the nuclear domain

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ranta, J.

    2012-07-01

    Field programmable gate arrays are a form of programmable electronic device used in various applications including automation systems. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the use of FPGA-based systems also for safety automation of nuclear power plants. The interest is driven by the need for reliable new alternatives to replace, on one hand, the aging technology currently in use and, on the other hand, microprocessor and software-based systems, which are seen as overly complex from the safety evaluation point of view. This report presents an overview of FPGA technology, including hardware aspects, the application development process, risks and advantages of the technology, and introduces some of the current systems. FPGAs contain an interesting combination of features from software-based and fully hardware-based systems. Application development has a great deal in common with software development, but the final product is a hardware component without the operating system and other platform functions on which software would execute. Currently the number of FPGA-based applications used for safety functions of nuclear power plants is rather limited, but it is growing. So far there is little experience or common solid understanding between different parties on how FPGAs should be evaluated and handled in the licensing process. (orig.)

  7. The current state of FPGA technology in the nuclear domain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ranta, J.

    2012-01-01

    Field programmable gate arrays are a form of programmable electronic device used in various applications including automation systems. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the use of FPGA-based systems also for safety automation of nuclear power plants. The interest is driven by the need for reliable new alternatives to replace, on one hand, the aging technology currently in use and, on the other hand, microprocessor and software-based systems, which are seen as overly complex from the safety evaluation point of view. This report presents an overview of FPGA technology, including hardware aspects, the application development process, risks and advantages of the technology, and introduces some of the current systems. FPGAs contain an interesting combination of features from software-based and fully hardware-based systems. Application development has a great deal in common with software development, but the final product is a hardware component without the operating system and other platform functions on which software would execute. Currently the number of FPGA-based applications used for safety functions of nuclear power plants is rather limited, but it is growing. So far there is little experience or common solid understanding between different parties on how FPGAs should be evaluated and handled in the licensing process. (orig.)

  8. Current state of Czech astronomy popularization and its potential for enhancing science career interest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kříček, Radek

    2015-08-01

    The Czech Republic has a dense net of observatories, astronomical clubs and other activities for both adults and children. Can we use it to improve skills of our pupils and their motivation to choose their career in science? Does the situation in the Czech Republic differ from abroad? What can we improve in the future? These questions were not answered satisfactorily so far. We decided to contribute to solve this issue.We present our survey of current state based mainly on electronic sources and personal dealings. Besides of 56 observatories working with public and many interest clubs, there are other possibilities to meet astronomy. For example, Astronomical Olympiad attracts thousands of pupils across the country each year to solve both theoretical and practical tasks in astronomy. In other projects, children can visit Dark-Sky Parks, design experiments for a stratospheric balloon, observe with CCD or radio devices or build their own rockets.We outline our ongoing project to examine the link between popularization activities and pupils’ or high school students’ attitude toward science and science career. We plan to create a typology of both popularization activities and life stories of people dealing with astronomy. From the methodological point of view, the mixed method design, combining both the qualitative and quantitative approach, will be used to solve the research problems. The basic research plan will be a case study. So far the project is based on interviews with various subjects. We choose people with different life stories, all connected with astronomy or astronomy popularization in some period. We focus on important moments in their career, similarities between subjects, and various types of possible motivation to participate in astronomy-related activities or to study science at university.Future results can be used to help interested organizations such as universities, observatories or astronomical societies. They will be able to work more

  9. Treatment of Hypogonadism: Current and Future Therapies [version 1; referees: 2 approved

    OpenAIRE

    Arthi Thirumalai; Kathryn E. Berkseth; John K. Amory

    2017-01-01

    The treatment of hypogonadism in men is of great interest to both patients and providers. There are a number of testosterone formulations currently available and several additional formulations under development. In addition, there are some lesser-used alternative therapies for the management of male hypogonadism, which may have advantages for certain patient groups. The future of hypogonadism therapy may lie in the development of selective androgen receptor modulators that allow the benefits...

  10. What killed Alexander the Great?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Battersby, Cameron

    2007-01-01

    The cause of the death of the Macedonian King, Alexander the Great, at Babylon in 323 BC has excited interest and conjecture throughout the ages. The information available in the surviving ancient sources, none of which is contemporaneous, has been reviewed and compared with modern knowledge as set out in several well-known recent surgical texts. The ancient sources record epic drinking by the Macedonian nobility since at least the time of Phillip II, Alexander's father. Alexander's sudden illness and death is likely to have resulted from a surgical complication of acute alcoholic excess.

  11. Credit risk exposure with interest and currency swaps

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Coppes, R.C.; Stokking, E.J.

    1996-01-01

    The increased use of financial derivatives like interest rate and currency swap contracts has drawn much attention, as it exposes banks to non-performance by their counterparts. This credit risk exposure is of great concern to monetary authorities, e.g. the Bank for International Settlements. Ln

  12. Ecosystem services in the Great Lakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    A comprehensive inventory of ecosystem services across the entire Great Lakes basin is currently lacking and is needed to make informed management decisions. A greater appreciation and understanding of ecosystem services, including both use and non-use services, may have avoided ...

  13. Chapter 17. Information needs: Great gray owls

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gregory D. Hayward

    1994-01-01

    Current understanding of great gray owl biology and ecology is based on studies of less than five populations. In an ideal world, a strong conservation strategy would require significant new information. However, current knowledge suggests that conservation of this forest owl should involve fewer conflicts than either the boreal or flammulated owl. The mix of forest...

  14. 29 CFR 20.58 - Rate of interest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Rate of interest. 20.58 Section 20.58 Labor Office of the Secretary of Labor FEDERAL CLAIMS COLLECTION Interest, Penalties and Administrative Costs § 20.58 Rate of interest. (a) The rate of interest assessed shall be the rate of the current value of funds to the United...

  15. Professional medical associations and their relationships with industry: a proposal for controlling conflict of interest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rothman, David J; McDonald, Walter J; Berkowitz, Carol D; Chimonas, Susan C; DeAngelis, Catherine D; Hale, Ralph W; Nissen, Steven E; Osborn, June E; Scully, James H; Thomson, Gerald E; Wofsy, David

    2009-04-01

    Professional medical associations (PMAs) play an essential role in defining and advancing health care standards. Their conferences, continuing medical education courses, practice guidelines, definitions of ethical norms, and public advocacy positions carry great weight with physicians and the public. Because many PMAs receive extensive funding from pharmaceutical and device companies, it is crucial that their guidelines manage both real and perceived conflict of interests. Any threat to the integrity of PMAs must be thoroughly and effectively resolved. Current PMA policies, however, are not uniform and often lack stringency. To address this situation, the authors first identified and analyzed conflicts of interest that may affect the activities, leadership, and members of PMAs. The authors then went on to formulate guidelines, both short-term and long-term, to prevent the appearance or reality of undue industry influence. The recommendations are rigorous and would require many PMAs to transform their mode of operation and perhaps, to forgo valuable activities. To maintain integrity, sacrifice may be required. Nevertheless, these changes are in the best interest of the PMAs, the profession, their members, and the larger society.

  16. Interesting Interest Points

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aanæs, Henrik; Dahl, Anders Lindbjerg; Pedersen, Kim Steenstrup

    2012-01-01

    on spatial invariance of interest points under changing acquisition parameters by measuring the spatial recall rate. The scope of this paper is to investigate the performance of a number of existing well-established interest point detection methods. Automatic performance evaluation of interest points is hard......Not all interest points are equally interesting. The most valuable interest points lead to optimal performance of the computer vision method in which they are employed. But a measure of this kind will be dependent on the chosen vision application. We propose a more general performance measure based...... position. The LED illumination provides the option for artificially relighting the scene from a range of light directions. This data set has given us the ability to systematically evaluate the performance of a number of interest point detectors. The highlights of the conclusions are that the fixed scale...

  17. Deviation from Covered Interest Rate Parity in Korea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seungho Lee

    2003-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper tested the factors which cause deviation from covered interest rate parity (CIRP in Korea, using regression and VAR models. The empirical evidence indicates that the difference between the swap rate and interest rate differential exists and is greatly affected by variables which represent the currency liquidity situation of foreign exchange banks. In other words, the deviation from CIRP can easily occur due to the lack of foreign exchange liquidity of banks in a thin market, despite few capital constraints, small transaction costs, and trivial default risk in Korea.

  18. Did Alexander the Great die of acute pancreatitis?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sbarounis, C N

    1997-06-01

    I propose that Alexander the Great died of acute pancreatitis secondary to heavy alcohol consumption and a very rich meal. The cause of death of prominent historic or artistic figures attracts considerable interest of historians and researchers. This is especially the case for Alexander the Great. More than 20,000 publications, books, or monographs on the life and work of Alexander the Great have been published. There are several theories and hypotheses regarding the cause of his death, that are based on historic descriptions, diaries, notations, and interpretations of events. It is inevitable that history and myth intermingle in any investigative approach, no matter how scholarly. In this article, on the basis of several historic sources. I have made an effort to reconstruct the final 14 days of his life and record the course of medical events that preceded his death with the formulation of a plausible diagnosis.

  19. The Great Recession was not so Great

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Ours, J.C.

    2015-01-01

    The Great Recession is characterized by a GDP-decline that was unprecedented in the past decades. This paper discusses the implications of the Great Recession analyzing labor market data from 20 OECD countries. Comparing the Great Recession with the 1980s recession it is concluded that there is a

  20. Is News Media Related to Civic Engagement? The Effects of Interest in and Discussions about the News Media on Current and Future Civic Engagement of Adolescents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erentaite, Rasa; Zukauskiene, Rita; Beyers, Wim; Pilkauskaite-Valickiene, Rasa

    2012-01-01

    This study explored whether discussions about the media, when positively linked to interest in the news media, were related to adolescents' current and future civic engagement. A sample of 2638 adolescents (age M = 17, SD = 1.2), who participated in a school-based study on positive socialization, completed self-report measures on interest in the…

  1. Cognition in epilepsy: current clinical issues of interest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Witt, Juri-Alexander; Helmstaedter, Christoph

    2017-04-01

    This review provides an update and summary of recent neuropsychological findings in epilepsy focusing on three major clinical topics among the many developments in the field. We will critically outline the current state with regard to cognition in new-onset epilepsies, social cognition in epilepsy, and the long-term outcome of epilepsy surgery and the cognitive outcomes of superselective surgical procedures. Current studies indicate that neuropsychological impairments are prevalent already at the onset of epilepsy and even before, social cognition (i.e., emotion recognition and theory of mind) is impaired in different epilepsy populations, the long-term outcome of epilepsy surgery is mostly characterized by a stable or even improved cognitive status, and superselective epilepsy surgeries are associated with a promising neuropsychological outcome. The high prevalence of cognitive deficits around epilepsy onset challenges the assumption that epilepsy is the major cause of cognitive problems and calls for early neuropsychological diagnostics. Social cognition seems to be a relevant domain that is not yet routinely considered in epilepsy. The cognitive long-term outcome of epilepsy surgery is mostly positive. Stereotactic thermocoagulation and gamma knife surgery appear to be cognitively safe procedures.

  2. Making working in retailing interesting

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Esbjerg, Lars; Buck, Nuka; Grunert, Klaus G.

    2010-01-01

    This paper is about how five retail chains in the Danish grocery industry attempt to make low-wage, low-status store-level retail jobs as checkout operators and sales assistants interesting from the perspective of both retailers and employees. Following analysis of the social and institutional...... and make store-level retail jobs interesting to them. Although retailers mainly focus their attention on career seekers, we find that working in retailing is interesting for all employee types because the retailers are currently able to meet their respective motivations and aspirations. Nevertheless, we...

  3. Evaluation of an operational water cycle prediction system for the Laurentian Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fortin, Vincent; Durnford, Dorothy; Smith, Gregory; Dyck, Sarah; Martinez, Yosvany; Mackay, Murray; Winter, Barbara

    2017-04-01

    Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) is implementing new numerical guidance products based on fully coupled numerical models to better inform the public as well as specialized users on the current and future state of various components of the water cycle, including stream flow and water levels. Outputs from this new system, named the Water Cycle Prediction System (WCPS), have been available for the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River watershed since June 2016. WCPS links together ECCC's weather forecasting model, GEM, the 2-D ice model C-ICE, the 3-D lake and ocean model NEMO, and a 2-D hydrological model, WATROUTE. Information concerning the water cycle is passed between the models at intervals varying from a few minutes to one hour. It currently produces two forecasts per day for the next three days of the complete water cycle in the Great Lakes region, the largest freshwater lake system in the world. Products include spatially-varying precipitation, evaporation, river discharge, water level anomalies, surface water temperatures, ice coverage, and surface currents. These new products are of interest to water resources and management authority, flood forecasters, hydroelectricity producers, navigation, environmental disaster managers, search and rescue teams, agriculture, and the general public. This presentation focuses on the evaluation of various elements forecasted by the system, and weighs the advantages and disadvantages of running the system fully coupled.

  4. Volatility co-movement and the great moderation: An empirical analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Mumtaz, Haroon; Theodoridis, Konstantinos

    2016-01-01

    We propose an extended time-varying parameter Vector Autoregression that allows for an evolving relationship between the variances of the shocks. Using this model, we show that the relationship between the conditional variance of GDP growth and the long-term interest rate has become weaker over time in the US. Similarly, the co-movement between the variance of the long-term interest rate across the US and the UK declined over the 'Great Moderation' period. In contrast, the volatility of US an...

  5. Utilization of a Marketing Strategy at Naval Regional Medical Center Great Lakes, Great Lakes, Illinois

    Science.gov (United States)

    1983-06-01

    22 Analysis of the Mare.....................22 Development of the Marketing Mix .. .......... 29 A Marketing Mix --Recommendations...problem. Marketing strategy, marketing mix and ultimately the marketing orientation will allow hospitals to persevere and possibly thrive in a somewhat...market are currently being met at Naval Regional Medical Center Great Lakes. The fourth objective is to demonstrate an appropriate marketing mix for

  6. Treatment of Hypogonadism: Current and Future Therapies [version 1; referees: 2 approved

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arthi Thirumalai

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The treatment of hypogonadism in men is of great interest to both patients and providers. There are a number of testosterone formulations currently available and several additional formulations under development. In addition, there are some lesser-used alternative therapies for the management of male hypogonadism, which may have advantages for certain patient groups. The future of hypogonadism therapy may lie in the development of selective androgen receptor modulators that allow the benefits of androgens whilst minimizing unwanted side effects.

  7. Transcranial direct current stimulation in psychiatric disorders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tortella, Gabriel; Casati, Roberta; Aparicio, Luana V M; Mantovani, Antonio; Senço, Natasha; D’Urso, Giordano; Brunelin, Jerome; Guarienti, Fabiana; Selingardi, Priscila Mara Lorencini; Muszkat, Débora; Junior, Bernardo de Sampaio Pereira; Valiengo, Leandro; Moffa, Adriano H; Simis, Marcel; Borrione, Lucas; Brunoni, André R

    2015-01-01

    The interest in non-invasive brain stimulation techniques is increasing in recent years. Among these techniques, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been the subject of great interest among researchers because of its easiness to use, low cost, benign profile of side effects and encouraging results of research in the field. This interest has generated several studies and randomized clinical trials, particularly in psychiatry. In this review, we provide a summary of the development of the technique and its mechanism of action as well as a review of the methodological aspects of randomized clinical trials in psychiatry, including studies in affective disorders, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, child psychiatry and substance use disorder. Finally, we provide an overview of tDCS use in cognitive enhancement as well as a discussion regarding its clinical use and regulatory and ethical issues. Although many promising results regarding tDCS efficacy were described, the total number of studies is still low, highlighting the need of further studies aiming to replicate these findings in larger samples as to provide a definite picture regarding tDCS efficacy in psychiatry. PMID:25815258

  8. VOLUNTARY INTEREST ARBITRATION IN THE ETHIOPIAN ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    *Birhanu is currently working as the Manager of the Legal Research and Advisory Division ... forth voluntary interest arbitration to the attention of lawyers, employees, .... being selective is a poor design since the basic rules of this law are not .... courts to review interest arbitrators decision on the merit by way of appeal.

  9. Edaiila area of interest non-renewable resource assessment (phase 1) Great Bear Lake area, Northwest Territories Parts of NTS 86 K, 86 L, 86 M, 86 N and 96 I

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gebert, J.S.; Jackson, J.E.; O' Neil, C.E. [AMEC Americas Ltd., Calgary, AB (Canada). Earth and Environment Division

    2007-07-01

    The Edaiila study area of interest is located in the Deline District of the Sahtu Settlement area in the Northwest Territories. It lies in the Proterozoic Bear geologic province of the Canadian Shield. The area is currently covered by prospecting claims and is likely undergoing exploration for uranium, precious metals, base metals and diamonds. This document presented a Phase 1 non-renewable resource assessment (NRA) of the area that was completed as part of the Northwest Territories Protect Area Strategy (PAS). It presented compiled historical information, provided a preliminary resource assessment and made recommendations for further Phase 2 studies. This region is within the continuous permafrost zone and is characterized by a high subarctic climate. The study area straddles the tree line and contains vegetation typical of taiga and tundra regions. The bedrock covering the flat to gently rolling topography is covered by undulating glacial drift, raised beaches and outwash deposits. About 25 per cent of the area is covered by wetlands. The Bear province is subdivided into two major domains, the Wopmay orogen and the Coppermine homocline. In the eastern portion of the study area, basement rocks are part of the Great Bear magmatic zone and are locally exposed in the Fault River area. Although basement rocks in the western portion of the study area are not exposed, they are assumed to be composed of the Hottah terrane. 86 refs., 14 tabs., 7 figs., 4 appendices.

  10. River basin management and estuarine needs: the Great Brak case study

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Huizinga, P

    1995-01-01

    Full Text Available The study of the effect of the Wolwedans Dam on the Great Brak Estuary and the development of the management plan to maintain a healthy environment yielded many interesting results. The general conclusion is that developments in a catchment...

  11. Electricity transmission arrangements in Great Britain: Time for change?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strbac, Goran; Pollitt, Michael; Konstantinidis, Christos Vasilakos; Konstantelos, Ioannis; Moreno, Rodrigo; Newbery, David; Green, Richard

    2014-01-01

    In Great Britain (GB) and across Europe significant investment in electricity transmission is expected over the coming years as decarbonisation and market integration efforts are intensified. However, there is also significant uncertainty with the amount, location and timing of new generation connection, which in turn will drive the transmission investment needs. Given the absence of efficient market design, we identify three key areas of concern with the current transmission investment arrangements: (i) a mis-aligned incentives framework for transmission investment and operation; (ii) lack of coordination of investment and operation; and (iii) conflicts of interest. We then propose three options for future evolution of transmission regimes, which cover the full spectrum of institutional arrangements with respect to transmission planning and delivery, i.e. how and who plans, owns, builds and operates the transmission system. For each option we present: key characteristics; evolution of the current regimes; the ability of the option to address the concerns; and key strengths and weaknesses. Overall, we conclude in the case of GB (this conclusion could be extended to other European countries) that the most appropriate option would be that of an Independent System Operator (ISO) who would be responsible for planning and operating the transmission system. - Highlights: • We identify three key areas of concern with the current transmission arrangements. • We then propose three options for transmission network planning and delivery. • Key strengths and weaknesses of each above option are identified and studied. • We conclude that the most appropriate option for GB would be that of an ISO

  12. Pricing real estate index options under stochastic interest rates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Pu; Dai, Jun

    2017-08-01

    Real estate derivatives as new financial instruments are not merely risk management tools but also provide a novel way to gain exposure to real estate assets without buying or selling the physical assets. Although real estate derivatives market has exhibited a rapid development in recent years, the valuation challenge of real estate derivatives remains a great obstacle for further development in this market. In this paper, we derive a partial differential equation contingent on a real estate index in a stochastic interest rate environment and propose a modified finite difference method that adopts the non-uniform grids to solve this problem. Numerical results confirm the efficiency of the method and indicate that constant interest rate models lead to the mispricing of options and the effects of stochastic interest rates on option prices depend on whether the term structure of interest rates is rising or falling. Finally, we have investigated and compared the different effects of stochastic interest rates on European and American option prices.

  13. The detection of great crested newts year round via environmental DNA analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rees, Helen C; Baker, Claire A; Gardner, David S; Maddison, Ben C; Gough, Kevin C

    2017-07-26

    Analysis of environmental DNA (eDNA) is a method that has been used for the detection of various species within water bodies. The great crested newt (Triturus cristatus) has a short eDNA survey season (mid-April to June). Here we investigate whether this season could be extended into other months using the current methodology as stipulated by Natural England. Here we present data to show that in monthly water samples taken from two ponds (March 2014-February 2015) we were able to detect great crested newt DNA in all months in at least one of the ponds. Similar levels of great crested newt eDNA (i.e. highly positive identification) were detected through the months of March-August, suggesting it may be possible to extend the current survey window. In order to determine how applicable these observations are for ponds throughout the rest of the UK, further work in multiple other ponds over multiple seasons is suggested. Nevertheless, the current work clearly demonstrates, in two ponds, the efficacy and reproducibility of eDNA detection for determining the presence of great crested newts.

  14. Stability analysis of direct current control in current source rectifier

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lu, Dapeng; Wang, Xiongfei; Blaabjerg, Frede

    2017-01-01

    Current source rectifier with high switching frequency has a great potential for improving the power efficiency and power density in ac-dc power conversion. This paper analyzes the stability of direct current control based on the time delay effect. Small signal model including dynamic behaviors...

  15. Great Depression a Timely Class Topic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zehr, Mary Ann

    2009-01-01

    This article reports that a number of history and social studies teachers have found that because of the parallels they're able to draw between the current economic crisis and the Great Depression, their students are seeing that history is relevant. They're engaging more deeply in history lessons than they have in previous years. The teachers say…

  16. 49 CFR 1018.30 - Interest, penalties, and administrative costs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... interest, penalties, and administrative costs on debts owed to the United States Government in accordance.... (e) Interest is computed only on the principal of the debt, and the interest rate remains fixed for.... (d) The Board shall assess interest based upon the rate of the current value of funds to the United...

  17. Transcranial direct-current stimulation as treatment in epilepsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gschwind, Markus; Seeck, Margitta

    2016-12-01

    Neuromodulation (NM) is a complementary therapy for patients with drug-resistant epilepsy. Vagal nerve stimulation and deep brain stimulation of the anterior thalamus are established techniques and have shown their efficacy in lowering seizure frequency, but they are invasive and rarely render patients seizure-free. Non-invasive NM techniques are therefore increasingly investigated in a clinical context. Areas covered: Current knowledge about transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) and other non-invasive NM in patients with epilepsy, based on the available animal and clinical studies from PubMed search. Expert commentary: tDCS modulates neuronal membrane potentials, and consequently alters cortical excitability. Cathodal stimulation leads to cortical inhibition, which is of particular importance in epilepsy treatment. The antiepileptic efficacy is promising but still lacks systematic studies. The beneficial effect, seen in ~20%, outlasts the duration of stimulation, indicating neuronal plasticity and is therefore of great interest to obtain long-term effects.

  18. The balancing of interests in environmental-law in the case of public interest in the use of renewable energies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Unterpertinger, L.

    2015-01-01

    This study examines the conflict between the public interests in the use of renewable energy on the one hand and environmental protection on the other hand. Considering the current legal situation, the first part of the thesis elaborates on what theses concrete public interests are, and how they are regulated by law. Likewise, it shall be asked to what extent the legislator defines overriding public interests, and its impact on balance of interests. The second part focuses on balance of interests from an administrative law perspective. It overviews the current debates on whether balance of interests is meant to have discretion. In this context, the recent establishment of a two-level administrative jurisdiction has posed new questions. It is, therefore, necessary to conduct a profound analysis of the administrative control. With reference to the case law of the Administrative Court, it will also be shown that balance of interests is based on a proportional assessment. Moreover, with respect to the administrative procedures for hydropower projects, there is a relevant provision in the Austrian Water Act, which has specific characteristics, yet was interpreted inconsistently up to this point. Thus, this provision will be examined in detail. The relevant administrative body does not only use legal provisions, but also criteria documents which are internal administrative regulations. Those documents will be further discussed as well. (author) [de

  19. Do Emotions Spark Interest in Alternative Tobacco Products?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Popova, Lucy; So, Jiyeon; Sangalang, Angeline; Neilands, Torsten B; Ling, Pamela M

    2017-08-01

    Exposure to advertisements for tobacco products and tobacco warning labels evokes emotions. This study evaluated the association of discrete positive and negative emotions with interest in alternative tobacco products. In 2013, 1,226 U.S. adult nonsmokers and current smokers viewed advertisements for moist snuff, snus, and electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) with various warning labels and then indicated their emotional responses in terms of anger, anxiety, sadness, guilt, disgust, discouragement, hope, and contentment. Outcomes were openness to using moist snuff, snus, and e-cigarettes in the future and interest in a free sample of each product. Data were analyzed in 2016. Hope was positively associated with openness and interest across all alternative tobacco products as was contentment for moist snuff and snus. Anger was negatively associated with openness to moist snuff and e-cigarettes, disgust negatively to moist snuff and snus, and anxiety negatively to e-cigarettes. Being a current smoker, ever trying a corresponding product, being male, and younger age were associated with greater openness to and interest in moist snuff and snus. For e-cigarettes, being a current smoker, ever trying e-cigarettes, and being female were associated with greater openness, and being a current smoker was associated with greater odds of selecting a free sample. Positive emotions, particularly hope, were consistently positively associated with interest in alternative tobacco products. Hope is widely used by tobacco and e-cigarette companies to advertise their products. Antitobacco messages should aim to lower hope associated with tobacco products but increase hope for cessation or life without tobacco.

  20. Great Tits (Parus major) reduce caterpillar damage in commercial apple orchards

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mols, C.M.M.; Visser, M.E.

    2007-01-01

    Alternative ways to control caterpillar pests and reduce the use of pesticides in apple orchards are in the interest of the environment, farmers and the public. Great tits have already been shown to reduce damage under high caterpillar density when breeding in nest boxes in an experimental apple

  1. Lack of proportionality. Seven specifications of public interest that override post-approval commercial interests on limited access to clinical data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Strech Daniel

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract For the protection of commercial interests, licensing bodies such as the EMA and health technology assessment institutions such as NICE restrict full access to unpublished evidence. Their respective policies on data transparency, however, lack a systematic account of (1 what kinds of commercial interests remain relevant after market approval has been granted, (2 what the specific types of public interest are that may override these commercial interests post approval, and, most importantly, (3 what criteria guide the trade-off between public interest and legitimate measures for the protection of commercial interest. Comparing potential commercial interests with seven specifications of relevant public interest reveals the lack of proportionality inherent in the current practices of EMA and NICE.

  2. MICRO- AND NANOENCAPSULATION VIA ELECTRO-HYDRODYNAMIC PROCESSING OF INTEREST IN FOOD APPLICATIONS

    OpenAIRE

    PÉREZ MASIÁ, ROCÍO

    2016-01-01

    Micro- and nanoencapsulation have generated great interest over the last years in multiple fields. Particularly in the food industry, this technology presents potential applications for the development of smart packaging structures, as well as for the protection of sensitive ingredients and the production of novel healthy foods. Therefore, in this thesis, the development of different encapsulation structures of interest in the food area was carried out. Specifically, c...

  3. Graduate Students' Interest in Immunology as a Discipline

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwarteng, Alexander; Frimpong, Michael; Sylverken, Augustina Angelina; Arthur, Yarhands D.; Ahuno, Samuel T.; Owusu-Dabo, Ellis

    2017-01-01

    Interest and motivation significantly influence achievement; however, interest in immunology remains to be determined. Using a structured questionnaire, the current study assessed for the first time interest in immunology among biomedical graduate students in Ghana after a one-week introduction to immunology course. Our results revealed that…

  4. Sausage instabilities in electron current channels and the problem of fast ignition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Das, A.

    2002-01-01

    In the fast ignition concept of laser fusion, an intense picosecond laser pulse incident on an overdense pellet is absorbed by nonlinear mechanisms and gets converted into inward propagating fast electron currents. PIC simulations show that the return shielding currents due to cold plasma interact with the incoming currents and intense Weibel, tearing and coalescence instabilities take place, which organize the current into a few current channels. The stability of these current channels is thus a topic of great interest. We have carried out linear and nonlinear studies of 2 - dimensional sausage instabilities of a slab model of the current channels in the framework of electron magnetohydrodynamic fluid approximation. The analytic calculations and numerical simulations for some simple velocity profiles show the presence of linear instability driven by velocity shear. Nonlinear studies on the saturation of instabilities and their reaction back on the relaxation of the velocity profile have also been made. A discussion of the consequences of such EMHD turbulence induced relaxation and stopping of fast electrons, for the fast ignition concept will be presented. (author)

  5. The economics interests In Football

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raúl Fustes-Ross

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available The football is the most popular sport in the Word and the economics interests have been fundamentals in his increase and expansion; this idea is confirmed by the numerous competitions for even sexes with categories from National Championships to regional events, continentals, intercontinental, Olympic Games and World Cup from majors, the most important event where showed the most expensive and important merchandise: the players. All this sport mechanism is capitalized by the owners clubs, business trade associations and greats corporations in the host cities, the nations participating also those without participation but with many fans. Each and every one are customers, is a chance for increase the sales.

  6. “Democratic Government”, Interest Groups and American Trade Politics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhanyu Dong

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The study of American trade politics is of great significance when interpreting U.S.A. trade policies and understanding China-U.S.A. trade relations. In order to explain the mechanism of American trade politics, this paper constructs a new analytical framework of “democratic government-interest groups”, which argues that U.S.A. trade policies are not only the choices made by the democratic government between state interests and political private benefits, but also the outcomes of interaction between the U.S.A. government and interest groups. The case study of the U.S.A. trade policies toward China since the new century also demonstrates how the interaction between the government and interest groups ultimately shapes trade policies. Therefore, we need to understand the logic of American trade politics, generate more mutual benefits for our two countries, and work together to promote the bilateral free trade as well as the bilateral relations between China and the U.S.A.

  7. Covered Interest Parity, Uncovered Interest Parity, and Exchange Rate Dynamics

    OpenAIRE

    Eaton, Jonathan; Turnovsky, Stephen J.

    1981-01-01

    A number of macroeconomic models of open economies under flexible exchange rate assume a strong version of perfect capital mobility which implies that currency speculation commands no risk premium. If this assumption is dropped a number of important results no longer obtain. First, the exchange rate and interest rate cannot be in steady state unless both the government deficit and current account equal zero, not simply their sum, as would otherwise be the case. Second, even in steady state th...

  8. Optimization of the Costs and the Safety of Maritime Transport by Routing: The use of Currents Forecast in the Routing of Racing Sail Boats as a Prototype of Rout Optimization for Trading Ships

    Science.gov (United States)

    Theunynck, Denis; Peze, Thierry; Toumazou, Vincent; Zunquin, Gauthier; Cohen, Olivier; Monges, Arnaud

    2005-03-01

    It is interesting to see whether the model of routing designed for races and great Navy operations could be transferred to commercial navigation and if so, within which framework.Sail boat routing conquered its letters of nobility during great races like the « Route du Rhum » or the transatlantic race « Jacques Vabre ». It is the ultimate stage of the step begun by the Navy at the time of great operations, like D-day (Overlord )June 6, 1944, in Normandy1.Routing is, from the beginning, mainly based on statistical knowledge and weather forecast, but with the recent availability of reliable currents forecast, sail boats routers and/or skippers now have to learn how to use both winds and currents to obtain the best performance, that is to travel between two points in the shortest time possible in acceptable security conditions.Are the currents forecast only useful to racing sail boat ? Of course not, they are a great help to fisherman for whom the knowledge of currents is also the knowledge of sea temperature who indicates the probability of fish presence. They are also used in offshore work to predict the hardness of the sea during operation.A less developed field of application is the route optimization of trading ships. The idea is to optimize the use of currents to increase the relative speed of ships with no augmentation of fuel expense. This new field will require that currents forecasters learn about the specific needs of another type of clients. There is also a need of teaching because the future customers will have to learn how to use the information they will get.At this point, the introduction of the use of currents forecast in racing sail boats routing is only the first step. It is of great interest because it can rely on a high knowledge in routing.The main difference is of course that the wind direction and its force are of greater importance to a sail boat that they are for a trading ship for whom the point of interest will be the fuel consumption

  9. Stock Market Capitalisation and Interest Rate in Nigeria: A Time ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Obviously for the Nigerian capital market to enhance economic growth and development and compare favourably with those of developed market economies, investors will need to be abreast with the happenings and great benefits of the stock market. In this case a lot depends on considerable control of the interest rate, the ...

  10. China’s interest rate liberalization reform

    OpenAIRE

    Li, Cindy

    2014-01-01

    This Asia Focus report explains the importance of interest rate liberalization in China, reviews historical progress and current efforts made to date, and discusses the potential impact on the banking sector.

  11. The great battles of the energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chevalier, J.M.

    2004-10-01

    This book presents an introduction to the great world energy challenges. The first part of this book, is devoted to the energy sources history with a special interest for the petroleum. The advantages and disadvantages of the energy sources as the natural gas, the coal, the nuclear power and the renewable energies, are also discussed. Two chapters are devoted to the analysis of the energy sectors deregulation in Europe, in particular the electric power market. The last part proposes to discuss on the twenty century challenge: how to reconcile the energy demand, the environment protection and the developing countries economic development? (A.L.B.)

  12. The Components of Great Sex: Sexuality Education for People Who Desire to Scale the Heights of Optimal Sexuality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wampold, Charles H.

    2014-01-01

    Ubiquitous "sex tips" in popular media evidence an unquenchable public interest in learning how to experience "great sex," and studies confirm that a great sexual relationship correlates to general relationship satisfaction, which in turn correlates to overall happiness. However, sexologists have paid scant attention to…

  13. Pacific salmonines in the Great Lakes Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Claramunt, Randall M.; Madenjian, Charles P.; Clapp, David; Taylor, William W.; Lynch, Abigail J.; Léonard, Nancy J.

    2012-01-01

    Pacific salmon (genus Oncorhynchus) are a valuable resource, both within their native range in the North Pacific rim and in the Great Lakes basin. Understanding their value from a biological and economic perspective in the Great Lakes, however, requires an understanding of changes in the ecosystem and of management actions that have been taken to promote system stability, integrity, and sustainable fisheries. Pacific salmonine introductions to the Great Lakes are comprised mainly of Chinook salmon, coho salmon, and steelhead and have accounted for 421, 177, and 247 million fish, respectively, stocked during 1966-2007. Stocking of Pacific salmonines has been effective in substantially reducing exotic prey fish abundances in several of the Great Lakes (e.g., lakes Michigan, Huron, and Ontario). The goal of our evaluation was to highlight differences in management strategies and perspectives across the basin, and to evaluate policies for Pacific salmonine management in the Great Lakes. Currently, a potential conflict exists between Pacific salmonine management and native fish rehabilitation goals because of the desire to sustain recreational fisheries and to develop self-sustaining populations of stocked Pacific salmonines in the Great Lakes. We provide evidence that suggests Pacific salmonines have not only become naturalized to the food webs of the Great Lakes, but that their populations (specifically Chinook salmon) may be fluctuating in concert with specific prey (i.e., alewives) whose populations are changing relative to environmental conditions and ecosystem disturbances. Remaining questions, however, are whether or not “natural” fluctuations in predator and prey provide enough “stability” in the Great Lakes food webs, and even more importantly, would a choice by managers to attempt to reduce the severity of predator-prey oscillations be antagonistic to native fish restoration efforts. We argue that, on each of the Great Lakes, managers are pursuing

  14. The Cultural Heritage of the Great Prespa Region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ema Muslli

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available The Great Prespa region is situated in the Balkan Peninsula and is divided between Albania, Macedonia and Greece. It includes the Great Prespa Lake and the surrounding beach and meadow, areas designated for agricultural use and the towns of Pusteci (formerly known as Liqenas and Resen. This region is now part of the Trans-Boundary Biosphere Reserve ‘Ohrid-Prespa Watershed. Great and Small Prespa lakes plus Ohrid Lake are included in this newly-approved UNESCO world Heritage Site, but for this paper, we are looking only at the area surrounding the Great Prespa Lake. It is critical for this area to be protected immediately, because of the overuse it has undergone in recent years. While current levels of fauna are dangerously declining due to recent over-harvesting, this area has been known historically for its diverse natural and cultural features. Thus it is important to take drastic measures to reclaim the natural beauty immediately, including those areas currently covered by Prespa National Parks in Albania and Greece and Galichica and Pelisteri National Parks in Macedonia. Due to many wars over the centuries, it exists a mixture of Albanian and Macedonian culture. The historical and architectural remaining, religious structures and artifacts testify the richness and uniqueness of the communities of Pustec and Resen have. The cultural heritage is now a key element designated for the development of the region’s sustainable tourism development. This study was enhanced via the Geographic Info System (GIS digital presentation showing the opportunities for natural and cultural tourism in both countries (Albania and Macedonia.

  15. 49 CFR 1017.14 - Interest, penalties, and administrative costs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... OFFSET FROM INDEBTED GOVERNMENT AND FORMER GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES § 1017.14 Interest, penalties, and administrative costs. (a) The rate of interest assessed shall be the rate of the current value of funds to the U... of interest can be assessed if the Board can reasonably determine that a higher rate is necessary to...

  16. Congress and National Security: Interest, Influence and Speed

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-01

    but instead a quick response in a period of already great distrust of the executive branch in the aftermath of Vietnam and Watergate . Congress had...Option,” Foreign Policy 39 (1980): 143–153. 22 continue to dominate the debate through the Iran-Contra scandal .49 Loch Johnson concludes, “the...Princeton University Press, 2007), 48–49. 23 Lindsay cites the Iran-Contra scandal as another interesting oversight dilemma. Although the

  17. Dramatic Change in Jupiter's Great Red Spot

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simon, A. A.; Wong, M. H.; Rogers, J. H.; Orton, G. S.; de Pater, I.; Asay-Davis, X.; Carlson, R. W.; Marcus, P. S.

    2015-01-01

    Jupiter's Great Red Spot (GRS) is one of its most distinct and enduring features, having been continuously observed since the 1800's. It currently spans the smallest latitude and longitude size ever recorded. Here we show analyses of 2014 Hubble spectral imaging data to study the color, structure and internal dynamics of this long-live storm.

  18. Great Expectations: The Persistent Effect of Institutions on Culture

    OpenAIRE

    Litina, Anastasia

    2014-01-01

    This research exploits the event of immigration to establish that institutions have a persistent effect on culture. It is argued that immigrants coming from corrupt countries, tend to overtrust the institutions at the host country. This inflated trust of immigrants is documented as the Great Expectations effect. This result is interesting and intriguing for several reasons. First, it highlights the persistent effect of institutions (at the origin coun- try) on the cultural attitudes of immigr...

  19. Headaches of otolaryngological interest: current status while awaiting revision of classification. Practical considerations and expectations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farri, A; Enrico, A; Farri, F

    2012-04-01

    In 1988, diagnostic criteria for headaches were drawn up by the International Headache Society (IHS) and is divided into headaches, cranial neuralgias and facial pain. The 2(nd) edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD) was produced in 2004, and still provides a dynamic and useful instrument for clinical practice. We have examined the current IHC, which comprises 14 groups. The first four cover primary headaches, with "benign paroxysmal vertigo of childhood" being the forms of migraine of interest to otolaryngologists; groups 5 to 12 classify "secondary headaches"; group 11 is formed of "headache or facial pain attributed to disorder of cranium, neck, eyes, ears, nose, sinuses, teeth, mouth or other facial or cranial structures"; group 13, consisting of "cranial neuralgias and central causes of facial pain" is also of relevance to otolaryngology. Neither the current classification system nor the original one has a satisfactory collocation for migraineassociated vertigo. Another critical point of the classification concerns cranio-facial pain syndromes such as Sluder's neuralgia, previously included in the 1988 classification among cluster headaches, and now included in the section on "cranial neuralgias and central causes of facial pain", even though Sluder's neuralgia has not been adequately validated. As we have highlighted in our studies, there are considerable similarities between Sluder's syndrome and cluster headaches. The main features distinguishing the two are the trend to cluster over time, found only in cluster headaches, and the distribution of pain, with greater nasal manifestations in the case of Sluder's syndrome. We believe that it is better and clearer, particularly on the basis of our clinical experience and published studies, to include this nosological entity, which is clearly distinct from an otolaryngological point of view, as a variant of cluster headache. We agree with experts in the field of headaches, such as

  20. Developing "Emancipatory Interest": Learning to Create Social Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caspersz, Donella; Olaru, Doina

    2014-01-01

    Developing an emancipatory interest enables individuals to free themselves from the intersubjective or commonly held meanings that dominate their understanding of their current world, and subsequently change their practices. We argue that developing an emancipatory interest is critical in learning to create social change, that is, wanting to…

  1. BANKING WITHOUT INTEREST

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jana Ilieva

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, there has been increased global awareness of Islamic finance. This topic is mainly opened with respect to the great financial crisis that mostly hit the banking system and the financial markets and caused many bank bankruptcies and state interventions. This paper analyzes the basic principles of Islamic banking. The absolute prohibition of receiving and giving interest (Riba and profit-and-loss sharing (PLS paradigms are elaborated in detail; they are primarily based on mudarabah (profit-sharing and musyarakah (joint venture concepts which nowadays are becoming an accepted way of doing business in several Western multinational banks. An overall comparison of the advantages of Islamic vs. conventional banking is also given. Islamic finance technology solutions have matured and they will face various challenges in the following decades, due to conventional banks offering, increasingly, Islamic products. The need for a more comprehensive environment and regulatory framework is emphasized, so that Islamic banking development can be ensured.

  2. If Your Technology has an Application for the Natural Gas Industry, OTD is Interested in Learning About It

    Science.gov (United States)

    Droessler, M. S.

    2017-12-01

    It's as easy as clicking on the "Submit Your Idea" tab on our website and sending us a short description of your technology. Operations Technology Development (OTD) funds 30 to 40 new projects each year. We have a research budget of $10 million annually and it doesn't always get spent. So who are we and what are we interested in? OTD is a membership company made up of 24 members representing the largest natural gas distribution utilities in North America. We represent 60% of the households currently served by natural gas. With OTD, natural gas utilities work together to identify their needs, leverage their funds, and prioritize and solve common problems. Our research ranges from addressing environmental issues, pipeline and worker safety, risk reduction, pipeline inspection, and reducing the costs of daily operations. Some specific examples include locating buried nonmetallic pipe and improving ways to pinpoint and quantify the release of methane. Analyzing "big data" sets and dealing with cyber security have our IT departments up at night so these are some of the newer topics of interest. Please see if our needs match the research you are passionate about by glancing through our current Research Project Summaries at otd-co.org. So what's your great idea? We want to hear about it.

  3. Pre-college Science Experiences; Timing and Causes of Gender Influence Science Interest Levels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaplita, E.; Reed, D. E.; McKenzie, D. A.; Jones, R.; May, L. W.

    2015-12-01

    It is known that female students tend to turn away from science during their pre-college years. Experiences during this time are not limited to the classroom, as cultural influences extend beyond K-12 science education and lead to the widely studied reduction in females in STEM fields. This has a large impact on climate science because currently relatively little effort is put into K-12 climate education, yet this is when college attitudes towards science are formed. To help quantify these changes, 400 surveys were collected from 4 different colleges in Oklahoma. Student responses were compared by gender against student experiences (positive and negative), and interest in science. Results of our work show that females tend to have their first positive experience with science at a younger age with friends, family and in the classroom, and have more of an interest in science when they are younger. Males in general like experiencing science more on their own, and surpass the interest levels of females late in high school and during college. While in college, males are more comfortable with science content than females, and males enjoy math and statistics more while those aspects of science were the largest areas of dislike in females. Understanding how to keep students (particularly female) interested in science as they enter their teen years is extremely important in preventing climate misconceptions in the adult population. Potential small changes such as hosting K-12 climate outreach events and including parents, as opposed to just inviting students, could greatly improve student experiences with science and hence, their understanding of climate science. Importantly, a greater focus on female students is warranted.

  4. Great Apes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sleeman, Jonathan M.; Cerveny, Shannon

    2014-01-01

    Anesthesia of great apes is often necessary to conduct diagnostic analysis, provide therapeutics, facilitate surgical procedures, and enable transport and translocation for conservation purposes. Due to the stress of remote delivery injection of anesthetic agents, recent studies have focused on oral delivery and/or transmucosal absorption of preanesthetic and anesthetic agents. Maintenance of the airway and provision of oxygen is an important aspect of anesthesia in great ape species. The provision of analgesia is an important aspect of the anesthesia protocol for any procedure involving painful stimuli. Opioids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are often administered alone, or in combination to provide multi-modal analgesia. There is increasing conservation management of in situ great ape populations, which has resulted in the development of field anesthesia techniques for free-living great apes for the purposes of translocation, reintroduction into the wild, and clinical interventions.

  5. Current Titles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Various

    2006-06-01

    This booklet is published for those interested in current research being conducted at the National Center for Electron Microscopy. The NCEM is a DOE-designated national user facility and is available at no charge to qualified researchers. Access is controlled by an external steering committee. Interested researchers may contact Jane Cavlina, Administrator, at 510/486-6036.

  6. Globalization, values, interests

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Radojičić Mirjana S.

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available The nature of the international politics, after the Cold War directed by the U.S. as the only current super-power, are considered in the text. The author’s intention is to stress the main points of divergence between moralistic-valuable rhetoric and the foreign policy practice of the U.S. In that sense, the examples of the American stand, i.e. the active treatment of the Yugoslav crisis, on the one hand, and the crisis in the Persian Gulf, on the other hand, is considered. The author’s conclusion is that the foreign policy of the only current super-power is still directed by interests rather then by values. In the concluding part, the author presents an anthropologic argument in favor of reestablishing "balance of power" as the only guarantee for peace and stability of the world.

  7. Financial and non-financial conflicts of interests in psychiatry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maj, Mario

    2010-11-01

    A conflict of interests occurs when a doctor is unduly influenced by a secondary interest (i.e., a personal incentive) in his acts concerning one of the primary interests to which he is professionally committed (the welfare of patients, the progress of science, or the education of students or residents). One specific variety of conflicts of interests has monopolized the attention of the scientific and lay press: the financial conflicts of interests arising from the relationships between doctors and drug companies. A large literature has described the many, sometimes subtle, ways by which a psychiatrist can be influenced in his prescribing habits or research activities by his relationships with the industry. Some empirical evidence is now available in this area. On the other hand, it has been pointed out that the current debate on this issue is sometimes "affectively charged" or fails to take into account that the interests of patients, families and mental health professionals and those of the industry may be often convergent. Other types of conflicts of interests are beginning now to be discussed. There is evidence that the allegiance of a researcher to a given school of thought may influence the results of studies comparing different psychotherapeutic techniques, thus colliding with the primary interest represented by the progress of science. Political commitment is also emerging as a source of conflicts of interests. Financial and non-financial conflicts of interests are widespread in psychiatric practice and research. They cannot be eradicated, but must be managed more effectively than is currently the case.

  8. Current challenges in autonomous vehicle development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Connelly, J.; Hong, W. S.; Mahoney, R. B., Jr.; Sparrow, D. A.

    2006-05-01

    The field of autonomous vehicles is a rapidly growing one, with significant interest from both government and industry sectors. Autonomous vehicles represent the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, combining decision-making with real-time control. Autonomous vehicles are desired for use in search and rescue, urban reconnaissance, mine detonation, supply convoys, and more. The general adage is to use robots for anything dull, dirty, dangerous or dumb. While a great deal of research has been done on autonomous systems, there are only a handful of fielded examples incorporating machine autonomy beyond the level of teleoperation, especially in outdoor/complex environments. In an attempt to assess and understand the current state of the art in autonomous vehicle development, a few areas where unsolved problems remain became clear. This paper outlines those areas and provides suggestions for the focus of science and technology research. The first step in evaluating the current state of autonomous vehicle development was to develop a definition of autonomy. A number of autonomy level classification systems were reviewed. The resulting working definitions and classification schemes used by the authors are summarized in the opening sections of the paper. The remainder of the report discusses current approaches and challenges in decision-making and real-time control for autonomous vehicles. Suggested research focus areas for near-, mid-, and long-term development are also presented.

  9. Occupational Interests and Mentally Retarded People: Review and Recommendations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stodden, Robert A.; And Others

    1979-01-01

    The article reviews several studies regarding the choice of occupational interests for the mentally retarded adolescent. Several concerns about current evaluation practices are discussed. Recommendations are offered for a client centered, developmental model, making the evaluation of occupational interests a viable part of the client's…

  10. Thymic Carcinoma Management Patterns among International Thymic Malignancy Interest Group (ITMIG) Physicians with Consensus from the Thymic Carcinoma Working Group.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shepherd, Annemarie; Riely, Gregory; Detterbeck, Frank; Simone, Charles B; Ahmad, Usman; Huang, James; Korst, Robert; Rajan, Arun; Rimner, Andreas

    2017-04-01

    Thymic carcinomas are rare epithelial malignancies with limited data to guide management. To identify areas of agreement and variability in current clinical practice, a 16-question electronic survey was given to members of the International Thymic Malignancy Interest Group (ITMIG). Areas of controversy were discussed with the Thymic Carcinoma Working Group and consensus was achieved, as described. A total of 100 ITMIG members responded. There was general agreement regarding the role for multimodality therapy with definitive surgical resection in physically fit patients with advanced but resectable disease. Areas of controversy included the need for histologic confirmation before surgery, the role of adjuvant therapy, the optimal first-line chemotherapy regimen, and the recommended treatment course for marginally resectable disease with invasion into the great vessels, pericardium, and lungs. The results of the questionnaire provide a description of the management of thymic carcinoma by 100 ITMIG members with a specific interest or expertise in thymic malignancies. Although there was agreement in some areas, clinical practice appears to vary significantly. There is a great need for collaborative research to identify optimal evaluation and treatment strategies. Given the need for multimodality therapy in many cases, a multidisciplinary discussion of the management of patients with thymic carcinoma is critical. Copyright © 2016 International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Conflicts of interests in the area of healthcare products and technology. Current state of affairs and recommendations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demarez, Jean-Paul; Funck-Brentano, Christian; Molimard, Mathieu

    2012-01-01

    The handling of conflicts of interest in the area of healthcare products and technology has become a major issue for all of those involved in healthcare. Round Table N°4 at the Giens Workshops 2011 has put forward concrete proposals to clarify and optimise the handling of conflicts of interest. Conflicts of interest cannot be defined by the individuals consulted or applying for funds since each institution, whether public or private, that puts out a call for projects or that requests advice, analyses or expert testimony in the healthcare field has different degrees of what it defines as a conflict of interest, depending on the context of the proposal or specific request that it puts out. In contrast, each individual has ties of personal interest that can and must be openly disclosed. The ties are much more diverse than what is commonly found in the conflict of interest statements of large institutions operating in the healthcare field and are not limited to financial and operational ties between companies and individuals. In addition, the statements are difficult to manage because of their sheer number. The Round Table recommends that each individual should openly disclose all of his or her ties of personal interest in a Single Statement of Ties of personal Interest (SSTI). The SSTI would be updated regularly and accessible on line. Each institution could then determine whether or not the reported ties represent a conflict in the context of the mission proposed. Each institution could publish in advance the conditions that would give rise to a conflict and, in this way, an individual could refrain from applying for the mission. Other practical approaches to handling conflicts of interest were put forward. © 2012 Société Française de Pharmacologie et de Thérapeutique.

  12. Chemicals of emerging concern in the Great Lakes Basin: an analysis of environmental exposures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klecka, Gary; Persoon, Carolyn; Currie, Rebecca

    2010-01-01

    This review and statistical analysis was conducted to better understand the nature and significance of environmental exposures in the Great Lakes Basin and watershed to a variety of environmental contaminants. These contaminants of interest included current-use pesticides, pharmaceuticals, organic wastewater contaminants, alkylphenol ethoxylates, perfluorinated surfactants, flame retardants, and chlorinated paraffins. The available literature was critically reviewed and used to develop a database containing 19,611 residue values for 326 substances. In many papers, sampling locations were characterized as being downstream from municipal wastewater discharges, receiving waters for industrial facilities, areas susceptible to agricultural or urban contamination, or harbors and ports. To develop an initial assessment of their potential ecological significance, the contamination levels found were compared with currently available regulatory standards, guidelines, or criteria. This review was prepared for the IJC multi-board work group, and served as background material for an expert consultation, held in March, 2009, in which the significance of the contaminants found was discussed. Moreover, the consultation attempted to identify and assess opportunities for strengthening future actions that will protect the Great Lakes. Based on the findings and conclusions of the expert consultation, it is apparent that a wide variety of chemicals of emerging concern have been detected in environmental media (air, water, sediment, biota) from the Great Lakes Basin, although many are present at only trace levels. Although the presence of these contaminants raises concerns in the public and among the scientific community, the findings must be placed in context. Significant scientific interpretation is required to understand the extent to which these chemicals may pose a threat to the ecosystem and to human health. The ability to detect chemicals in environmental media greatly surpasses

  13. Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Great Lakes Mussel Watch(2009-2014)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Following the inception of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) to address the significant environmental issues plaguing the Great Lakes region, the...

  14. Will oil palm's homecoming spell doom for Africa's great apes?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wich, Serge A; Garcia-Ulloa, John; Kühl, Hjalmar S; Humle, Tatanya; Lee, Janice S H; Koh, Lian Pin

    2014-07-21

    Expansion of oil palm plantations has led to extensive wildlife habitat conversion in Southeast Asia [1]. This expansion is driven by a global demand for palm oil for products ranging from foods to detergents [2], and more recently for biofuels [3]. The negative impacts of oil palm development on biodiversity [1, 4, 5], and on orangutans (Pongo spp.) in particular, have been well documented [6, 7] and publicized [8, 9]. Although the oil palm is of African origin, Africa's production historically lags behind that of Southeast Asia. Recently, significant investments have been made that will likely drive the expansion of Africa's oil palm industry [10]. There is concern that this will lead to biodiversity losses similar to those in Southeast Asia. Here, we analyze the potential impact of oil palm development on Africa's great apes. Current great ape distribution in Africa substantially overlaps with current oil palm concessions (by 58.7%) and areas suitable for oil palm production (by 42.3%). More importantly, 39.9% of the distribution of great ape species on unprotected lands overlaps with suitable oil palm areas. There is an urgent need to develop guidelines for the expansion of oil palm in Africa to minimize the negative effects on apes and other wildlife. There is also a need for research to support land use decisions to reconcile economic development, great ape conservation, and avoiding carbon emissions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Early Math Interest and the Development of Math Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher, Paige H.; Dobbs-Oates, Jennifer; Doctoroff, Greta L.; Arnold, David H.

    2012-01-01

    Prior models suggest that math attitudes and ability might strengthen each other over time in a reciprocal fashion (Ma, 1997). The current study investigated the relationship between math interest and skill both concurrently and over time in a preschool sample. Analyses of concurrent relationships indicated that high levels of interest were…

  16. Policies and practices of beach monitoring in the Great Lakes, USA: a critical review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nevers, Meredith B.; Whitman, Richard L.

    2010-01-01

    Beaches throughout the Great Lakes are monitored for fecal indicator bacteria (typically Escherichia coli) in order to protect the public from potential sewage contamination. Currently, there is no universal standard for sample collection and analysis or results interpretation. Monitoring policies are developed by individual beach management jurisdictions, and applications are highly variable across and within lakes, states, and provinces. Extensive research has demonstrated that sampling decisions for time, depth, number of replicates, frequency of sampling, and laboratory analysis all influence the results outcome, as well as calculations of the mean and interpretation of the results in policy decisions. Additional shortcomings to current monitoring approaches include appropriateness and reliability of currently used indicator bacteria and the overall goal of these monitoring programs. Current research is attempting to circumvent these complex issues by developing new tools and methods for beach monitoring. In this review, we highlight the variety of sampling routines used across the Great Lakes and the extensive body of research that challenges comparisons among beaches. We also assess the future of Great Lakes monitoring and the advantages and disadvantages of establishing standards that are evenly applied across all beaches.

  17. Strategic Plan for Coordinating Rural Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Transit Development in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Truett, L.F.

    2002-12-19

    The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, located along the border between North Carolina and Tennessee, is the most visited national park in the United States. This rugged, mountainous area presents many transportation challenges. The immense popularity of the Smokies and the fact that the primary mode of transportation within the park is the personal vehicle have resulted in congestion, damage to the environment, impacts on safety, and a degraded visitor experience. Access to some of the Smokies historical, cultural, and recreational attractions via a mass transit system could alleviate many of the transportation issues. Although quite a few organizations are proponents of a mass transit system for the Smokies, there is a lack of coordination among all parties. In addition, many local residents are not completely comfortable with the idea of transit in the Smokies. This document provides a brief overview of the current transportation needs and limitations in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, identifies agencies and groups with particular interests in the Smokies, and offers insights into the benefits of using Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) technologies in the Smokies. Recommendations for the use of rural ITS transit to solve two major transportation issues are presented.

  18. U-shaped relationship between current and pitch in helicene molecules

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Yan-Dong; Yan, Xiao-Hong; Xiao, Yang; Liu, Chun-Sheng

    2015-11-01

    The helicene is constructed by twisted benzene or other aromatic rings, exhibiting a helical structure. Using first-principles calculations, we investigate the electronic transport of helicenes under stretching or compressing. Interestingly, a U-shaped curve of the current against d (the pitch of a helicene) is observed. Further analysis shows that, it is the result of the nonmonotonic change of HOMO-LUMO gap with d. The change of overlap between orbitals induced by conformational deformation is found to be the underlying mechanism. Moreover, the U-curve phenomenon is an intrinsic feature of the helicene molecules, being robust to the electrode materials or doping. This U-curve behavior is expected to be extended to helical graphene or other related structures, showing great application potential.

  19. 7 CFR 792.10 - Late payment interest, penalty and administrative charges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... State and local governments. Interest on debts owed by such entities shall be charged to the extent... debts. The late payment interest rate shall be equal to the higher of the Treasury Department's current... Prompt Payment Act was chosen as an alternative rate to ensure that the Government would recoup interest...

  20. Use of (Time-Domain) Vector Autoregressions to Test Uncovered Interest Parity

    OpenAIRE

    Takatoshi Ito

    1984-01-01

    In this paper, a vector autoregression model (VAR) is proposed in order to test uncovered interest parity (UIP) in the foreign exchange market. Consider a VAR system of the spot exchange rate (yen/dollar), the domestic (US) interest rate and the foreign (Japanese) interest rate, describing the interdependence of the domestic and international financia lmarkets. Uncovered interest parity is stated as a null hypothesis that the current difference between the two interest rates is equal to the d...

  1. THE POSITION OF INTEREST IN SPORTS AND RECREATION OF 7th GRADE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN THE FACTOR ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENT INTEREST

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vladimir Milošević

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Personal interests carry a great potential and are usually a drive to act. Therefore they usually point towards the activity of an individual in his interest area. An insight into the position of the interest in sports and recreation among other interests can be obtained by inspecting the interests of 7th grade elementary school students from Sremska Mitrovica and Jagodina. The sample consisted of 736 7th grade elementary school students of both genders. A non-experimental study of the students’ interests was done using a questionnaire that consisted of 5 interest indicators: job preference, self-estimation of affinity, use of free time, direct self-estimation of interests and reaction to key words-stimuli. Each indicator had 30 items that asses 30 interests. A t test was used to inspect the level of interest in sports and recreation. Also, factor analysis was done for each indicator separately. The reason for this approach is that there is no real confirmation that these 5 indicators are well suited for assessing the interests of young persons in the time we live in. Students’ interest in sports and recreation is about 4 on the scale of 1 to 5, on each of the indicators. The data shows that the interest of 7th grade elementary school students in sports and recreation is closely linked to interest in military, these two interests belong to the same factor regardless of the way the interests are assessed, that is, they belong to the same factor on each of the 5 indicators. The interest in adventure belongs to the same factor as the interest in sports and recreation on 4 out of 5 indicators, and interest in humor, interest in travel and hedonistic interest on 3 out of 5 indicators. These results might indicate that the motives for engaging in sports and recreation are unstable, because this composition of relatedness of the interests can be interpreted as the factor of fun. If that is so, these findings alert to the importance of building a

  2. Creating a tsunami disaster archive of the Great Northeastern Japan earthquake using images uploaded to the internet

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Endo, N; Takehara, A

    2014-01-01

    We think that the that the experiences from the disaster caused by the Great Northeastern Earthquake in Japan must be of great interest to people not only in the stricken areas but in the whole of Japan and the whole world. Accordingly, we tried to create a method to preserve the digital images of Great Northeastern Earthquake for the next generation. The Creative Commons License may be one of the most useful solutions to avoid complicated processes when a person other than authors would like to build a disaster archive using images uploaded to the Internet

  3. Estimating market probabilities of future interest rate changes

    OpenAIRE

    Hlušek, Martin

    2002-01-01

    The goal of this paper is to estimate the market consensus forecast of future monetary policy development and to quantify the priced-in probability of interest rate changes for different future time horizons. The proposed model uses the current spot money market yield curve and available money market derivative instruments (forward rate agreements, FRAs) and estimates the market probability of interest rate changes up to a 12-month horizon.

  4. RUSSIAN FOREIGN POLICY - INTERESTS VECTORS AND ECONOMIC IMPACT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ANDREEA – EMANUELA DRǍGOI

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available In recent decades, Russia's foreign policy was shaped by both a number of internal factors (government strategy, political elites, culture, economics and demography and external ones (international treaties, changes in the structure of the international power balance. In the post-soviet era Russian foreign policy was radically different from that of other major economic powers. One of the factors that influenced decisively Russia’s external strategies was the collapse of the USSR as a superpower (phenomenon described by the president Vladimir Putin as "the most powerful geo-political catastrophe of the XXst century". The shift from the former communist regime (a totalitarian one to an authoritarian oligarchy (the current regime was followed by the transition to a market economy, a phenomenon that coincided with Russia’s military and political diminished influence in the international arena. Our research aims to assess the main interest vectors that shaped Russian Foreign Policy considering the main events that constitute milestones: Russia’s emerging as a great energy power, the Crimean crisis and Western international economic sanctions that followed. Our paper will base the main assumption on a joint analysis both qualitative and quantitative, using main international economic indicators (GDP, FDI flows, trade flows, general government balance and general gross debt and the most relevant approaches in the literature in the field.

  5. Global population decline of the Great Slaty Woodpecker (Mulleripicus pulverulentus)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lammertink, M.; Prawiradilaga, D.M.; Setiorini, U.; Zaw Naing, T.; Duckworth, J.W.; Menken, S.B.J.

    2009-01-01

    The Great Slaty Woodpecker (Mulleripicus pulverulentus) of South and Southeast Asia, the third largest woodpecker species in the world, is currently in the IUCN Red List category of Least Concern. This woodpecker appears associated with old-growth forests, and the rapid reductions in forest cover

  6. Dual resonance models and their currents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, E.A.

    1978-01-01

    It is shown how dual resonance models were rederived from the concept of a string tracing out a surface in space-time. Thus, interacting strings reproduce the dual amplitudes. A scheme for tackling the unitarity problem began to develop. As a consistent theory of hadronic processes began to be built, workers at the same time were naturally led to expect that leptons could be included with hadrons in a unified dual theory. Thus, there is a search for dual amplitudes which would describe interactions between hadrons and currents (for example, electrons), as well as interactions involving only hadrons. Such amplitudes, it is believed, will be the correct ones, describing the real world. Such amplitudes will provide valuable information concerning such things as hadronic form factors. The great difficulties in building current-amplitudes with the required properties of proper factorization on a good spectrum, duality, current algebra, and proper asymptotic behavior are described. Dual models at the present time require for consistency, an intercept value of α 0 = 1 and a dimension value of d = 26 (or d = 10). There have been speculations that the unphysical dimension may be made physical by associating the ''extra dimensions'' with certain internal degrees of freedom. However, it is desired that the theory itself, force the dimension d = 4. It is quite possible that the dimension problem and the intercept problem are tied together and that resolving either problem will resolve the other. Order by order, a new dual current is constructed that is manifestly factorizable and which appears to be valid for arbitrary space-time dimension. The fact that this current is not bound at d = 26, leads to interesting speculations on the nature of dual currents

  7. The Special Interest Tourism Development and the Small Regions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Drita Kruja

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available It is easy to attract visitors when you have plenty of resources, nice accommodations, powerful selling techniques, many supporting sectors and of course reliable government support. The challenge starts when you lack most of the above and what you have is only a handful of beautiful natural resources, breathtaking sceneries, goodwill and a great desire and pride to show those visitors what your country is made of. How can we generate income using what we have? The answer is simple. You target that group of customers whom are specifically interested in what you have, beautiful views, heartfelt welcome, home like accommodations and very warm people. These customers do not look for fancy, expensive, overcrowded hotels; they are in search of real beauty and nature. They have special interests and would like to fulfill them toward a reasonable price. Hence starts the development of what is widely known as the special interest tourism whose analysis as a potential tool for the improvement of tourism in the region of Shkodra is the main purpose of this paper.

  8. Hydrocarbon assessment summary report of Buffalo Lake area of interest

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lemieux, Y. [Northwest Territories Geoscience Office, Yellowknife, NT (Canada)

    2007-07-01

    The Northwest Territories (NWT) Protected Areas Strategy (PAS) is a process to identify the known cultural, ecological and economic values of areas in the NWT. This report presented a hydrocarbon resource potential assessment of Buffalo Lake area of interest located in the Great Slave Plain region. It covers an area greater than 2100 square km. The region is almost entirely covered by a thick mantle of glacial deposits. It is underlain by a southwest-dipping, relatively undisturbed succession dominated by Paleozoic carbonate rocks and Cretaceous clastic rocks. Six exploration wells have been drilled within, or near the outer limit of Buffalo Lake area of interest. Suitable source and reservoir rocks are present within Buffalo Lake area of interest, but the potential of significant petroleum discoveries is likely very low. Most of the prospective intervals are either shallow or exposed at surface. Other exploration risks, such as discontinuous distribution and isolation from source rocks, are also anticipated for some of the plays. 17 refs., 2 tabs., 6 figs.

  9. Ultrasound assessment of great saphenous vein insufficiency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chander RK

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Rajiv K Chander,1 Thomas S Monahan1,2 1Section of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 2Department of Surgery, Baltimore Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Baltimore, MD, USA Abstract: Duplex ultrasonography is the ideal modality to assess great saphenous vein insufficiency. Duplex ultrasonography incorporates both gray scale images to delineate anatomy and color-Doppler imaging that visualizes the flow of blood in a structure. Assessment of great saphenous vein requires definition of the anatomy, augmentation of flow, evaluation for both superficial and deep vein thrombosis, and determining the presence of reflux. Currently, evolution in the treatment of reflux also relies on ultrasound for the treatment of the disease. Understanding the utilization of the ultrasound for the diagnosis and treatment of greater saphenous vein reflux is important for practitioners treating reflux disease. Keywords: duplex ultrasonography, small saphenous vein 

  10. Great Lakes Literacy Principles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fortner, Rosanne W.; Manzo, Lyndsey

    2011-03-01

    Lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan, Ontario, and Erie together form North America's Great Lakes, a region that contains 20% of the world's fresh surface water and is home to roughly one quarter of the U.S. population (Figure 1). Supporting a $4 billion sport fishing industry, plus $16 billion annually in boating, 1.5 million U.S. jobs, and $62 billion in annual wages directly, the Great Lakes form the backbone of a regional economy that is vital to the United States as a whole (see http://www.miseagrant.umich.edu/downloads/economy/11-708-Great-Lakes-Jobs.pdf). Yet the grandeur and importance of this freshwater resource are little understood, not only by people in the rest of the country but also by many in the region itself. To help address this lack of knowledge, the Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE) Great Lakes, supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, developed literacy principles for the Great Lakes to serve as a guide for education of students and the public. These “Great Lakes Literacy Principles” represent an understanding of the Great Lakes' influences on society and society's influences on the Great Lakes.

  11. Root growth during molar eruption in extant great apes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelley, Jay; Dean, Christopher; Ross, Sasha

    2009-01-01

    While there is gradually accumulating knowledge about molar crown formation and the timing of molar eruption in extant great apes, very little is known about root formation during the eruption process. We measured mandibular first and second molar root lengths in extant great ape osteological specimens that died while either the first or second molars were in the process of erupting. For most specimens, teeth were removed so that root lengths could be measured directly. When this was not possible, roots were measured radiographically. We were particularly interested in the variation in the lengths of first molar roots near the point of gingival emergence, so specimens were divided into early, middle and late phases of eruption based on the number of cusps that showed protein staining, with one or two cusps stained equated with immediate post-gingival emergence. For first molars at this stage, Gorilla has the longest roots, followed by Pongo and Pan. Variation in first molar mesial root lengths at this stage in Gorilla and Pan, which comprise the largest samples, is relatively low and represents no more than a few months of growth in both taxa. Knowledge of root length at first molar emergence permits an assessment of the contribution of root growth toward differences between great apes and humans in the age at first molar emergence. Root growth makes up a greater percentage of the time between birth and first molar emergence in humans than it does in any of the great apes. Copyright (c) 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  12. MtDNA barcode identification of fish larvae in the southern Great Barrier Reef – Australia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Graham G. Pegg

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available Planktonic larvae were captured above a shallow coral reef study site on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR around spring-summer new moon periods (October-February using light trap or net capture devices. Larvae were identified to the genus or species level by comparison with a phylogenetic tree of tropical marine fish species using mtDNA HVR1 sequence data. Further analysis showed that within-species HVR1 sequence variation was typically 1-3%, whereas between-species variation for the same genus ranged up to 50%, supporting the suitability of HVR1 for species identification. Given the current worldwide interest in DNA barcoding and species identification using an alternative mtDNA gene marker (cox1, we also explored the efficacy of different primer sets for amplification of cox1 in reef fish, and its suitability for species identification. Of those tested, the Fish-F1 and -R1 primer set recently reported by Ward et al. (2005 gave the best results.

  13. Dreissenid mussels from the Great Lakes contain elevated thiaminase activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tillitt, D.E.; Riley, S.C.; Evans, A.N.; Nichols, S.J.; Zajicek, J.L.; Rinchard, J.; Richter, C.A.; Krueger, C.C.

    2009-01-01

    We examined thiaminase activity in dreissenid mussels collected at different depths and seasons, and from various locations in Lakes Michigan, Ontario, and Huron. Here we present evidence that two dreissenid mussel species (Dreissena bugensis and D. polymorpha) contain thiaminase activity that is 5-100 fold greater than observed in Great Lakes fishes. Thiaminase activity in zebra mussels ranged from 10,600 to 47,900??pmol g- 1??min- 1 and activities in quagga mussels ranged from 19,500 to 223,800??pmol g- 1??min- 1. Activity in the mussels was greatest in spring, less in summer, and least in fall. Additionally, we observed greater thiaminase activity in dreissenid mussels collected at shallow depths compared to mussels collected at deeper depths. Dreissenids constitute a significant and previously unknown pool of thiaminase in the Great Lakes food web compared to other known sources of this thiamine (vitamin B1)-degrading enzyme. Thiaminase in forage fish of the Great Lakes has been causally linked to thiamine deficiency in salmonines. We currently do not know whether linkages exist between thiaminase activities observed in dreissenids and the thiaminase activities in higher trophic levels of the Great Lakes food web. However, the extreme thiaminase activities observed in dreissenids from the Great Lakes may represent a serious unanticipated negative effect of these exotic species on Great Lakes ecosystems.

  14. Identifying and Assessing Interesting Subgroups in a Heterogeneous Population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Woojoo; Alexeyenko, Andrey; Pernemalm, Maria; Guegan, Justine; Dessen, Philippe; Lazar, Vladimir; Lehtiö, Janne; Pawitan, Yudi

    2015-01-01

    Biological heterogeneity is common in many diseases and it is often the reason for therapeutic failures. Thus, there is great interest in classifying a disease into subtypes that have clinical significance in terms of prognosis or therapy response. One of the most popular methods to uncover unrecognized subtypes is cluster analysis. However, classical clustering methods such as k-means clustering or hierarchical clustering are not guaranteed to produce clinically interesting subtypes. This could be because the main statistical variability--the basis of cluster generation--is dominated by genes not associated with the clinical phenotype of interest. Furthermore, a strong prognostic factor might be relevant for a certain subgroup but not for the whole population; thus an analysis of the whole sample may not reveal this prognostic factor. To address these problems we investigate methods to identify and assess clinically interesting subgroups in a heterogeneous population. The identification step uses a clustering algorithm and to assess significance we use a false discovery rate- (FDR-) based measure. Under the heterogeneity condition the standard FDR estimate is shown to overestimate the true FDR value, but this is remedied by an improved FDR estimation procedure. As illustrations, two real data examples from gene expression studies of lung cancer are provided.

  15. Vocational Interests and Prospective College Majors among Youth of Color in Poverty

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diemer, Matthew A.; Wang, Qiu; Smith, Aaron V.

    2010-01-01

    A clear sense of vocational interests may facilitate high school students' capacity to connect current interests to congruent educational and occupational environments. This is particularly important for youth who experience external constraints on career development and college attendance. This study examined how well vocational interests,…

  16. Observation of transverse spin Nernst magnetoresistance induced by thermal spin current in ferromagnet/non-magnet bilayers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Dong-Jun; Jeon, Chul-Yeon; Choi, Jong-Guk; Lee, Jae Wook; Surabhi, Srivathsava; Jeong, Jong-Ryul; Lee, Kyung-Jin; Park, Byong-Guk

    2017-11-09

    Electric generation of spin current via spin Hall effect is of great interest as it allows an efficient manipulation of magnetization in spintronic devices. Theoretically, pure spin current can be also created by a temperature gradient, which is known as spin Nernst effect. Here, we report spin Nernst effect-induced transverse magnetoresistance in ferromagnet/non-magnetic heavy metal bilayers. We observe that the magnitude of transverse magnetoresistance in the bilayers is significantly modified by heavy metal and its thickness. This strong dependence of transverse magnetoresistance on heavy metal evidences the generation of thermally induced pure spin current in heavy metal. Our analysis shows that spin Nernst angles of W and Pt have the opposite sign to their spin Hall angles. Moreover, our estimate implies that the magnitude of spin Nernst angle would be comparable to that of spin Hall angle, suggesting an efficient generation of spin current by the spin Nernst effect.

  17. Prevalence and characteristics of e-cigarette users in Great Britain: Findings from a general population survey of smokers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Jamie; West, Robert; Beard, Emma; Michie, Susan; Shahab, Lion; McNeill, Ann

    2014-06-01

    E-cigarettes may be effective smoking cessation aids and their use by smokers has been growing rapidly. It is important to observe and assess natural patterns in the use of e-cigarettes whilst experimental data accumulates. This paper reports the prevalence of e-cigarette awareness, beliefs and usage, including brand choice, and characterises the socio-demographic and smoking profile associated with current use, among the general population of smokers and recent ex-smokers. Data were obtained from 3538 current and 579 recent ex-smokers in a cross-sectional online survey of a national sample of smokers in Great Britain in November and December 2012. Differences between current and recent ex-smokers in the prevalence of e-cigarette awareness, beliefs and usage were examined and the socio-demographic and smoking profile associated with current use of e-cigarettes was assessed in a series of simple and multiple logistic regressions. Ninety-three percent of current and recent ex-smokers (n=3841) were aware of e-cigarettes. Approximately a fifth (n=884) were currently using e-cigarettes, whilst just over a third (n=1507) had ever used them. Sixty-seven percent of the sample (n=2758) believed e-cigarettes to be less harmful than cigarettes; however, almost a quarter (n=994) remained unsure. Among both current and recent ex-smokers, the most popular reasons for using were health, cutting down and quitting (each >80%) and 38% used the brand 'E-lites'. Among current smokers who were aware of but had never used e-cigarettes, approximately half (n=1040) were interested in using them in the future. Among current smokers, their use was associated with higher socio-economic status (OR=1.48, 95%CI=1.25-1.75), smoking more cigarettes (OR=1.02, 95%CI=1.01-1.03) and having a past-year quit attempt (OR=2.82, 95%CI=2.38-3.34). There is a near universal awareness of e-cigarettes and their use appears to be common among smokers in Great Britain although a quarter of all smokers are

  18. Are all pharmacy staff interested in potential future roles?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braund, Rhiannon; Chesney, Kate Marie; Keast, Emilia Paulina; Ng, Lye Jinn; Qi, Sarah; Samaranayaka, Sashika; Wang, Eddie

    2012-12-01

    To determine the current perceived roles and responsibilities of pharmacy staff in community pharmacies in New Zealand, and attitudes to proposed new advanced roles for pharmacy staff. Structured interviews were conducted within five community pharmacies, including at least two pharmacists, two dispensary staff and two pharmacy assistants. The interviews were structured to determine previous experience, current roles and responsibilities and the perceived future roles of pharmacy staff within a community pharmacy setting. Thematic analysis from 27 interviews identified key findings. Current roles appeared to be fairly well defined. Pharmacy assistants listed key roles as customer interactions and sales focus, noting that the dispensary was outside their area of responsibility. Technicians identified their role as being dispensary focused while pharmacists saw their role as the 'final check' to ensure accuracy as well as providing dispensing, counselling and managerial roles. With potential future roles, the assistants were less interested than the other groups, citing contentment with current situation and training as a barrier. Some technicians indicated an interest in furthering their roles, but many were reluctant and saw that additional training was too time consuming. Whilst pharmacists appeared to be interested in further scopes of practice, they appeared more reluctant to do this at the expense of handing dispensing responsibility to a non-pharmacist. Whilst there is a push for pharmacists to provide advanced clinical services, it is important to acknowledge that many staff working within community pharmacies are satisfied with their current role. © 2012 The Authors. IJPP © 2012 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

  19. Interest Matters: The Importance of Promoting Interest in Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harackiewicz, Judith M; Smith, Jessi L; Priniski, Stacy J

    2016-10-01

    Interest is a powerful motivational process that energizes learning, guides academic and career trajectories, and is essential to academic success. Interest is both a psychological state of attention and affect toward a particular object or topic, and an enduring predisposition to reengage over time. Integrating these two definitions, the four-phase model of interest development guides interventions that promote interest and capitalize on existing interests. Four interest-enhancing interventions seem useful: attention-getting settings, contexts evoking prior individual interest, problem-based learning, and enhancing utility value. Promoting interest can contribute to a more engaged, motivated, learning experience for students.

  20. Media in a Crisis Situation Involving National Interest:

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Xigen, Li; Lindsay, Laura; Mogensen, Kirsten

    A content analysis of coverage of 9/11 incident during the first eight hours examined how five television networks framed the news coverage as events unfolded. Media performed their function in a crisis basically as they were expected and coverage and issues do not vary significantly among...... the networks. This study found that a variety of sources was used, and the influence of government officials was not as great as in the coverage of a crisis with less involvement of U.S. national interest. Media primarily serve as the sources of accurate information instead of guidance and consolation...

  1. Ecosystem Services in the Great Lakes – Results of a Summit

    Science.gov (United States)

    A comprehensive inventory of ecosystem services across the entire Great Lakes basin is currently lacking and is needed to make informed management decisions. A greater appreciation and understanding of ecosystem services, including both use and non-use services, may have avoided ...

  2. Digital Games in eLearning Environments: Current Uses and Emerging Trends

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moreno-Ger, Pablo; Burgos, Daniel; Torrente, Javier

    2009-01-01

    The notion of using games in education is as old as games themselves. In addition, the massive market opened by the digital games industry has caused great interest regarding their specific potential in education. However, this interest is sometimes thwarted by the resistance of traditional educational settings toward technology-enhanced learning…

  3. NASA-ESA Joint Mission to Explore Two Worlds of Great Astrobiological Interest - Titan and Enceladus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reh, K.; Coustenis, A.; Lunine, J.; Matson, D.; Lebreton, J.-P.; Erd, C.; Beauchamp, P.

    2009-04-01

    Rugged shorelines, laced with canyons, leading to ethane/methane seas glimpsed through an organic haze, vast fields of dunes shaped by alien sciroccos… An icy moon festooned with plumes of water-ice and organics, whose warm watery source might be glimpsed through surface cracks that glow in the infrared… The revelations by Cassini-Huygens about Saturn's crown jewels, Titan and Enceladus, have rocked the public with glimpses of new worlds unimagined a decade before. The time is at hand to capitalize on those discoveries with a broad mission of exploration that combines the widest range of planetary science disciplines—Geology, Geophysics, Atmospheres, Astrobiology,Chemistry, Magnetospheres—in a single NASA/ESA collaboration. The Titan Saturn System Mission will explore these exciting new environments, flying through Enceladus' plumes and plunging deep into Titan's atmosphere with instruments tuned to find what Cassini could only hint at. Exploring Titan with an international fleet of vehicles; from orbit, from the surface of a great polar sea, and from the air with the first hot air balloon to ride an extraterrestrial breeze, TSSM will turn our snapshot gaze of these worlds into an epic film. This paper will describe a collaborative NASA-ESA Titan Saturn System Mission that will open a new phase of planetary exploration by projecting robotic presence on the land, on the sea, and in the air of an active, organic-rich world.

  4. The 'horns' of a medical dilemma: Alexander the Great.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russell, Gül A

    2004-06-01

    Retrospective 'diagnosis' of clinical disorders of famous historical figures has been of medical interest. In the absence of a patient's 'body', the validity of 'physical symptoms' and their interpretation by contemporary diagnostic criteria are questionable. When the symptoms have been gleaned from the patients's effigy which, as in the case of Alexander the Great, is submerged in legend, the enterprise becomes inherently hazardous. In the present paper, some of the conceptual problems underlying retrospective diagnoses will be identified. Then the use of iconographic records, such as numismatics and sculpture, to provide evidence of clinical symptoms will be shown to be highly misleading.

  5. A New Great Game: US-China Competition in Guam and the CNMI

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-06-01

    media . It would appear the US in Guam and the CNMI is playing the role of the metaphorical frog being slowly boiled to death in a Chinese pot...nonimmigrant worker and tourism policy which greatly aid an aggressive Chinese intelligence collection posture. Finally, Chapter 5 will provide...island chain. This intersection of interest extends beyond physical geography. While the US has most significantly impacted the social geographies of

  6. Caffeine, HPLC, Outreach (How Can We Interest Kids in Science?)

    Science.gov (United States)

    A current challenge for the scientific community is to generate an interest in science in the general public. If we can interest our youth in science we can produce more scientists and raise awareness of science in our society. An outreach activity will be described which can be brought into the cl...

  7. Relation of Vocational Identity Statuses to Interest Structure among Swiss Adolescents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirschi, Andreas

    2011-01-01

    Vocational identity is one core component of identity construction in adolescence. The current study investigated whether vocational interest structure in terms of differentiation, coherence, elevation, and interest-aspiration congruence would differentiate among students in vocational identity achievement, foreclosure, moratorium, and diffusion.…

  8. Collisionless current sheet equilibria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neukirch, T.; Wilson, F.; Allanson, O.

    2018-01-01

    Current sheets are important for the structure and dynamics of many plasma systems. In space and astrophysical plasmas they play a crucial role in activity processes, for example by facilitating the release of magnetic energy via processes such as magnetic reconnection. In this contribution we will focus on collisionless plasma systems. A sensible first step in any investigation of physical processes involving current sheets is to find appropriate equilibrium solutions. The theory of collisionless plasma equilibria is well established, but over the past few years there has been a renewed interest in finding equilibrium distribution functions for collisionless current sheets with particular properties, for example for cases where the current density is parallel to the magnetic field (force-free current sheets). This interest is due to a combination of scientific curiosity and potential applications to space and astrophysical plasmas. In this paper we will give an overview of some of the recent developments, discuss their potential applications and address a number of open questions.

  9. Great Lakes waters: radiation dose commitments, potential health effects, and cost-benefit considerations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ainsworth, E.J.

    1977-07-01

    In 1972, a Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement was signed by the United States and Canadian Governments. It was stipulated that the operation and effectiveness of the agreement were to be reviewed comprehensively in 1977. Aspects of the agreement concern nondegradation of Great Lakes waters and maintenance of levels of radioactivity or other potential pollutants at levels considered as low as practicable. A refined radioactivity objective of one millirem is proposed in the Water Quality Agreement. The implications of adoption of this objective are not known fully. The Division of Environmental Impact Studies was commissioned by ERDA's Division of Technology Overview to summarize the information available on the current levels of radioactivity in Great Lakes waters, compute radiation-dose commitment (integrated dose over 50 years after consumption of 2.2 liters of water of one year), and to comment on the feasibility and cost-benefit considerations associated with the refined one-millirem objective. Current levels of radioactivity in the waters of Lakes Michigan, Ontario, Erie, and Huron result in dose commitments in excess of 1 mrem for whole body and 6 mrem for bone. Future projections of isotope concentrations in Great lakes water indicate similar dose commitments for drinking water in the year 2050. Reduction of the levels of radioactivity in Great Lakes waters is not feasible, but cost-benefit considerations support removal of 226 Ra and 90 Sr through interceptive technology before water consumption. Adoption of the one-millirem objective is not propitious

  10. A β-Ta system for current induced magnetic switching in the absence of external magnetic field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Wenzhe; Qian, Lijuan; Xiao, Gang

    2018-05-01

    Magnetic switching via Giant Spin Hall Effect (GSHE) has received great interest for its role in developing future spintronics logic or memory devices. In this work, a new material system (i.e. a transition metal sandwiched between two ferromagnetic layers) with interlayer exchange coupling is introduced to realize the deterministic field-free perpendicular magnetic switching. This system uses β-Ta, as the GSHE agent to generate a spin current and as the interlayer exchange coupling medium to generate an internal field. The critical switching current density at zero field is on the order of 106 A/cm2 due to the large spin Hall angle of β-Ta. The internal field, along with switching efficiency, depends strongly on the orthogonal magnetization states of two ferromagnetic coupling layers in this system.

  11. Factors influencing current interests and motivations of local governments to supply carbon offset credits from urban forestry

    Science.gov (United States)

    N. Poudyal; J. Siry; M. Bowker

    2009-01-01

    This study conducted a nationwide survey of municipal governments in the United States to assess their motivations, willingness, and technical as well as managerial capacities of cities to store carbon and sell carbon offsets. The analysis reveals that cities are fairly interested in selling carbon offsets and their interest in carbon trading is driven by the degree of...

  12. Tectonic setting of the Great Dyke, Chembadzi, Chewore and Atchiza layered complexes in Zimbabwe and Mozambique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Master, S.

    1990-01-01

    The Great Dyke of Zimbabwe is one of the largest ultramafic-mafic layered igneous complexexs in the world. Because of the economic importance of large layered intrusions like the Great Dyke, their tectonic setting is of great interest. The Chembadzi complex is a 14 km long, dyke-like layered intrusion up to 800m wide. The Chewore complex, which was thought to have the structure of an irregular lopolith, outcrops over an area of about 200 km in horst blocks in the lower Zambezi Valley in northern Zimbabwe. The Atchiza complex is situated just north of the Cahora Bassa lake and the Zambezi River valley in Mozambique. In considering the tectonic setting of the Great Dyke and its correlatives, most attention has been focussed on events in the Limpopo Mobile Belt, which were responsible for producing the fractures in the Zimbabwe craton that is occupied by the intrusives. 39 refs

  13. Progress On Neutrino-Proton Neutral-Current Scattering In MicroBooNE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pate, Stephen [New Mexico State U.

    2017-01-16

    The MicroBooNE Experiment at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, an 89-ton active mass liquid argon time projection chamber, affords a unique opportunity to observe low-$Q^2$ neutral-current neutrino-proton scattering events. Neutral-current neutrino-proton scattering at $Q^2 < 1$ GeV$^2$ is dominated by the proton's axial form factor, which can be written as a combination of contributions from the up, down, and strange quarks: $G_A(Q^2) = \\frac{1}{2}[-G_A^u(Q^2)+G_A^d(Q^2)+G_A^s(Q^2)]$. The contribution from up and down quarks has been established in past charged-current measurements. The contribution from strange quarks at low $Q^2$ remains unmeasured; this is of great interest since the strange quark contribution to the proton spin can be determined from the low-$Q^2$ behavior: $\\Delta S = G_A^s(Q^2=0)$. MicroBooNE began operating in the Booster Neutrino Beam in October 2015. I will present the status in observing isolated proton tracks in the MicroBooNE detector as a signature for neutral-current neutrino-proton events. The sensitivity of the MicroBooNE experiment for measuring the strange quark contribution to the proton spin will be discussed.

  14. 42 CFR 23.25 - How will interest rates for loans be determined?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false How will interest rates for loans be determined? 23... will interest rates for loans be determined? Interest will be charged at the Treasury Current Value of Funds (CVF) rate in effect on April 1 immediately preceding the date on which the loan is approved and...

  15. The current contribution of diagnostic radiology to the population dose in Great Britain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wall, B.F.; Rae, S.; Kendall, G.M.; Darby, S.C.; Fisher, E.S.; Harries, S.V.

    1980-01-01

    An outline account is given of a survey carried out by the NRPB in 1977 to make a reappraisal of the genetically significant dose to the population of Great Britain from diagnostic x-ray examinations. Provisional estimates for the value of the GSD to the population from all diagnostic examinations conducted within the NHS and elsewhere was 17 x 10 -5 Gy (17 mrad). This represented an increase of 20% over the value of 14.1 x 10 -5 Gy (14.1 mrad) found in 1957. This was considered insignificant, considering the errors involved in the surveys. This estimate of GSD is compared with recent estimations in the following countries: Sweden, West Germany, Italy, Romania, Netherlands, USA, Japan, Taiwan, India. The frequency of x-ray examinations per thousand head of population in the U.K. is compared with that of the following countries: West Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, Japan, USA, Sweden. (U.K.)

  16. 75 FR 26786 - Notice of Public Meeting: Sierra Front-Northwestern Great Basin Resource Advisory Council, NV

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-12

    ... 261A; 10-08807; MO 4500012081; TAS: 14X1109] Notice of Public Meeting: Sierra Front-Northwestern Great..., Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Sierra Front-Northwestern Great Basin Resource Advisory Council (RAC... discussion will include, but are not limited to: District Manager's reports on current program of work, Draft...

  17. 10 Rules for Avoiding Conflicts of Interest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franke, Anne H.; Eisenberg, Meyer

    2007-01-01

    Government investigations into alleged conflicts of interest in student-aid programs continue and now have widened to include study-abroad programs. It seems as if almost every day the news contains reports concerning possible questionable practices by colleges and universities. In this article, the authors discuss current scandals and possible…

  18. Current status of neutron capture therapy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2001-05-01

    There are about 6000 new glioblastoma multiform brain tumours diagnosed each year in the United States of America alone. This cancer is usually fatal within six months of diagnosis even with current standard treatments. Research on boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) has been considered as a method of potentially curing such cancers. There is a great interest at under-utilised research reactors institutions to identify new medical utilization, attractive to the general public. Neutron capture therapy is a true multidisciplinary topic with a large variety of individuals involved. This publication attempts to provide current information for all those thinking about being involved with NCT, based on the knowledge and experience of those who have pioneered the treatment. It covers the whole range of NCT from designing reactor conversions or new facilities, through to clinical trials and their effectiveness. However, since most work has been done with boron capture therapy for brain tumours using modified thermal research reactors, this tends to be the focus of the report. One of the factors which need to be addressed at the beginning is the timing of the further development of NCT facilities. It should be emphasised that all current work is still at the research stage. Many of those now involved believe that there is little need for many more research facilities until such time as the treatment shows more promising results. For this and other reasons discussed in the report, very serious consideration should be given by research reactor owners and operators before spending large sums of money converting their facilities for NCT.

  19. Current status of neutron capture therapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-05-01

    There are about 6000 new glioblastoma multiform brain tumours diagnosed each year in the United States of America alone. This cancer is usually fatal within six months of diagnosis even with current standard treatments. Research on boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) has been considered as a method of potentially curing such cancers. There is a great interest at under-utilised research reactors institutions to identify new medical utilization, attractive to the general public. Neutron capture therapy is a true multidisciplinary topic with a large variety of individuals involved. This publication attempts to provide current information for all those thinking about being involved with NCT, based on the knowledge and experience of those who have pioneered the treatment. It covers the whole range of NCT from designing reactor conversions or new facilities, through to clinical trials and their effectiveness. However, since most work has been done with boron capture therapy for brain tumours using modified thermal research reactors, this tends to be the focus of the report. One of the factors which need to be addressed at the beginning is the timing of the further development of NCT facilities. It should be emphasised that all current work is still at the research stage. Many of those now involved believe that there is little need for many more research facilities until such time as the treatment shows more promising results. For this and other reasons discussed in the report, very serious consideration should be given by research reactor owners and operators before spending large sums of money converting their facilities for NCT

  20. Review on the current status of molten chloride reactor and its future prospect

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Seo, Seok Bin; Shin, Yukyung; Bang, In Cheol [UNIST, Ulsan (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-10-15

    This paper has summarized and reviewed the current status of MCR as an online pyroprocessing reactor, and introduced the related works in UNIST. As the developments of the next generation nuclear energy systems require the fuel sustainability, passive operation safety, nuclear proliferation, and reduction of highly radioactive waste, only several types of nuclear reactor systems survive to the last. Among these, molten salt reactor (MSR) is one of the most promising concepts of next generation nuclear reactor system that deliver on these requirements. MSR have great advantages in the fuel cycle and reduction of nuclear waste, since MSR can serve the online reprocessing system for the reprocessing of spent fuel. Especially, MSR utilizing chloride-based fuel, called molten chloride reactor (MCR) has been recently highlighted in USA under the DOE’s Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) program. Recently, the interests in the molten chloride salt have arisen. The use of chloride-based salt gives great advantages to the reactor operating in a fast spectrum. Then MCR can serve waste management functions or fuel cycle sustainability functions, which can solve the current issues in nuclear field. Thus, research plan was established in UNIST which includes the investigation of thermal-hydraulic characteristics of chloride salt and optimization of heat transport system of MCR, using both numerical method and experimental method.

  1. Review on the current status of molten chloride reactor and its future prospect

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seo, Seok Bin; Shin, Yukyung; Bang, In Cheol

    2016-01-01

    This paper has summarized and reviewed the current status of MCR as an online pyroprocessing reactor, and introduced the related works in UNIST. As the developments of the next generation nuclear energy systems require the fuel sustainability, passive operation safety, nuclear proliferation, and reduction of highly radioactive waste, only several types of nuclear reactor systems survive to the last. Among these, molten salt reactor (MSR) is one of the most promising concepts of next generation nuclear reactor system that deliver on these requirements. MSR have great advantages in the fuel cycle and reduction of nuclear waste, since MSR can serve the online reprocessing system for the reprocessing of spent fuel. Especially, MSR utilizing chloride-based fuel, called molten chloride reactor (MCR) has been recently highlighted in USA under the DOE’s Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) program. Recently, the interests in the molten chloride salt have arisen. The use of chloride-based salt gives great advantages to the reactor operating in a fast spectrum. Then MCR can serve waste management functions or fuel cycle sustainability functions, which can solve the current issues in nuclear field. Thus, research plan was established in UNIST which includes the investigation of thermal-hydraulic characteristics of chloride salt and optimization of heat transport system of MCR, using both numerical method and experimental method

  2. Great Powers, National Interests, and Australian Grand Strategy

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-01

    merchandise from both countries.90 In response to Australia’s implementation of the Imperial Preference system—in the form of the 1936 Trade...connected cyber domain. While Australia’s physical territory may remain secure, its digital landscape remains vulnerable. The government’s roll-out of a...a key to the protect Australia from the threat to its digital networks.61 While digital attacks pose a novel threat to the international order, the

  3. Current titles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1995-07-01

    This booklet is published for those interested in current research being conducted at the National Center for Electron Microscopy. The NCEM is a DOE-designated national user facility and is available at no charge to qualified researchers. Access is controlled by an external steering committee. Interested researchers may contact Gretchen Hermes at (510) 486-5006 or address below for a User`s Guide. Copies of available papers can be ordered from: Theda Crawford National Center for Electron Microscopy, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, One Cyclotron Rd., MS72, Berkeley, California, USA 94720.

  4. Great Lakes rivermouth ecosystems: scientific synthesis and management implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larson, James H.; Trebitz, Anett S.; Steinman, Alan D.; Wiley, Michael J.; Carlson Mazur, Martha; Pebbles, Victoria; Braun, Heather A.; Seelbach, Paul W.

    2013-01-01

    At the interface of the Great Lakes and their tributary rivers lies the rivermouths, a class of aquatic ecosystem where lake and lotic processes mix and distinct features emerge. Many rivermouths are the focal point of both human interaction with the Great Lakes and human impacts to the lakes; many cities, ports, and beaches are located in rivermouth ecosystems, and these human pressures often degrade key ecological functions that rivermouths provide. Despite their ecological uniqueness and apparent economic importance, there has been relatively little research on these ecosystems as a class relative to studies on upstream rivers or the open-lake waters. Here we present a synthesis of current knowledge about ecosystem structure and function in Great Lakes rivermouths based on studies in both Laurentian rivermouths, coastal wetlands, and marine estuarine systems. A conceptual model is presented that establishes a common semantic framework for discussing the characteristic spatial features of rivermouths. This model then is used to conceptually link ecosystem structure and function to ecological services provided by rivermouths. This synthesis helps identify the critical gaps in understanding rivermouth ecology. Specifically, additional information is needed on how rivermouths collectively influence the Great Lakes ecosystem, how human alterations influence rivermouth functions, and how ecosystem services provided by rivermouths can be managed to benefit the surrounding socioeconomic networks.

  5. Restrictions on the use of e-cigarettes in public and private places-current practice and support among adults in Great Britain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brose, Leonie S; McNeill, Ann; Arnott, Deborah; Cheeseman, Hazel

    2017-08-01

    Debates around policies regulating e-cigarette use make it important to obtain an overview of current practice, people's attitudes and correlates of policy support. Aims were to assess (i) current practices for e-cigarette use in homes and workplaces; (ii) characteristics associated with allowing e-cigarette use in the home; and (iii) level of, and characteristics associated with, support for extending smoke-free legislation to include e-cigarettes. Online survey in 2016, n = 11 389 adults in Great Britain. Descriptives for all measures; multivariable logistic regressions assessed correlates of allowing e-cigarette use and support for extension of legislation. Most (79%) reporting on workplace policies reported some level of restrictions on e-cigarette use. Small majorities would not allow e-cigarette use in their home (58%) and supported an extension of smoke-free legislation (52%; 21% opposed). Allowing use was less likely and supporting an extension more likely among men, respondents from a higher socio-economic status, ex-smokers, never-smokers, non-users of e-cigarettes and respondents with increased perceived harm of e-cigarettes or nicotine (all P e-cigarette use. Over half of adults would not allow use of e-cigarettes in their home and support prohibiting the use of e-cigarettes in smoke-free places. Adjusting for socio-demographics, more restrictive attitudes are more common among never-smokers, never-users and those with increased perception of relative harms of e-cigarettes or nicotine as cause of smoking-related illness. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

  6. Great Lakes Science Center

    Data.gov (United States)

    Federal Laboratory Consortium — Since 1927, Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC) research has provided critical information for the sound management of Great Lakes fish populations and other important...

  7. Based on user interest level of modeling scenarios and browse content

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Yang

    2017-08-01

    User interest modeling is the core of personalized service, taking into account the impact of situational information on user preferences, the user behavior days of financial information. This paper proposes a method of user interest modeling based on scenario information, which is obtained by calculating the similarity of the situation. The user's current scene of the approximate scenario set; on the "user - interest items - scenarios" three-dimensional model using the situation pre-filtering method of dimension reduction processing. View the content of the user interested in the theme, the analysis of the page content to get each topic of interest keywords, based on the level of vector space model user interest. The experimental results show that the user interest model based on the scenario information is within 9% of the user's interest prediction, which is effective.

  8. Locating the Great Red Spot: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lesniak, Michael V.; Stapleton, J. C.

    2014-01-01

    The Great Red Spot, a persistent storm in Jupiter's atmosphere, is the most prominent feature of that planet's disk as viewed from Earth. Combined with the fact that Jupiter is a gas giant planet and has no visible surface with discernible landmarks, this means that following the passage of the Great Red Spot is the primary method of observing the planet's rotation. Therefore, it is paramount for any program which generates synthetic images of the planet to accurately place the feature. The U.S. Naval Observatory's "Apparent Disk of a Solar System Object" online web service (http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/diskmap.php) is such a program. The Great Red Spot's planetary latitude is locked between two of Jupiter's striated atmospheric layers at 22 °S. However, its planetary longitude is not constant; over time it migrates east and west along the atmospheric layer boundary it is trapped within. Observing and recording its longitude is made difficult because Jupiter's atmosphere is subject to differential rotation and the Great Red Spot slowly migrates with respect to the surrounding atmospheric layers. Furthermore, the Great Red Spot does not move at a uniform rate. Currently its relative motion is approximately 0°.051 per day. Since its first recorded observation in 1831, the Great Red Spot has made almost three complete laps around the planet at the 22nd parallel. "Apparent Disk of a Solar System Object" operates over any requested date between 1700 and 2100 A.D. Therefore, our treatment of the Great Red Spot needs to take into account both historical positions and future predicted motion. Based on researching past observations of the spot's position on the disk, we find that its behavior prior to 2009 is best represented by a 10-part piecewise function. Each component of the piecewise function is a 2nd order polynomial. Observations from 2009-present are better fit with a linear function; this function is used for future years by extrapolation. Using these fits

  9. On the precipice of great things: the current state of UK nurse education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Julie; Irvine, Fiona; Bradbury-Jones, Caroline; McKenna, Hugh

    2010-04-01

    The significant policy changes in UK health care over the past decade have led to a consequent shift in the delivery of nurse education to ensure the development and sustainability of a knowledgeable nursing workforce. One of the most recent, radical and important initiatives is Modernising Nursing Careers, which outlined four key priority areas for nursing, all of which have implications for nurse education. In light of this initiative, we explore the extent to which the modernisation of nursing careers is rhetoric or reality for UK nurse education - we are on the precipice of great change. To facilitate this, we move chronologically through the issues of recruitment and access; pre-registration preparation; and post-qualification education and careers. In discussing these issues, we demonstrate that more changes are needed to produce nurses who are flexible, visionary and prepared to take risks. We suggest that vision, leadership and strong realignment with health priorities are needed to bring nurse education to a point where nurses are truly prepared for the demands of a 21st century health service.

  10. Financial Strain and Mental Health Among Older Adults During the Great Recession.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilkinson, Lindsay R

    2016-07-01

    The economic recession has garnered the interest of many scholars, with much attention being drawn to how the recession has affected labor force participation, household wealth, and even retirement decisions. Certainly, the Great Recession has influenced the financial well-being of older adults, but has it had discernible effects on mental health? This study draws on 5,366 respondents from the Health and Retirement Study (2006-2010) to examine objective and subjective measures of financial well-being in the period surrounding the Great Recession. Guided by cumulative inequality theory, this research investigates whether the economic downturn contributed to worsening anxiety and depressive symptoms over a 4-year period. Results from linear fixed effects models reveal that decreases in objective financial resources were associated with increased financial strain during the Great Recession. Unlike the objective indicators, however, financial strain was a strong and robust predictor of worsening mental health between 2006 and 2010. Building on prior research, this study elucidates the factors that shape financial strain and provides evidence that the Great Recession not only affected the financial well-being of older adults but also had adverse effects on mental health. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  11. Mapping ecosystem service indicators in a Great Lakes estuarine Area of Concern

    Science.gov (United States)

    Estuaries provide multiple ecosystem services from which humans benefit. Currently, thirty-six Great Lakes estuaries in the United States and Canada are designated as Areas of Concern (AOCs) due to a legacy of chemical contamination, degraded habitat, and non-point-source polluti...

  12. Influence of partially known parameter on flaw characterization in Eddy Current Testing by using a random walk MCMC method based on metamodeling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cai, Caifang; Lambert, Marc; Rodet, Thomas

    2014-01-01

    First, we present the implementation of a random walk Metropolis-within-Gibbs (MWG) sampling method in flaw characterization based on a metamodeling method. The role of metamodeling is to reduce the computational time cost in Eddy Current Testing (ECT) forward model calculation. In such a way, the use of Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods becomes possible. Secondly, we analyze the influence of partially known parameters in Bayesian estimation. The objective is to evaluate the importance of providing more specific prior information. Simulation results show that even partially known information has great interest in providing more accurate flaw parameter estimations. The improvement ratio depends on the parameter dependence and the interest shows only when the provided information is specific enough

  13. Interest in science: a RIASEC-based analysis of students' interests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dierks, Pay O.; Höffler, Tim N.; Blankenburg, Janet S.; Peters, Heide; Parchmann, Ilka

    2016-01-01

    Considering the reported lack of interest in the STEM-domain and the consequential difficulties in recruiting talented and interested young academics, the development of effective enrichment measures is indispensable. This requires a precise picture of students' interests. The paper presents an approach to characterize interest profiles in explicitly science-related activities. Adapting Holland's RIASEC-model, an instrument was developed and tested which allows the description of interest in activities along Holland's dimensions (and a seventh dimension networking) within the confined science domain. The findings of a study with N = 247 students (age cohorts 12-19 years) uncovered interest differences for the environments school, enrichment, and (prospective) vocation. The mutual importance of the performed activity and the environment the activity is performed in is confirmed by a cross-classified model. Contrasting different subgroups revealed multiple results, e.g., girls showed more interest in artistic and social activities within the science domain. High achieving students showed more interest in science-related activities in all dimensions. In conclusion, using our adapted model, students' interest structure can be described in a differentiated manner. This could lay the foundation for further analyses of students' interest profiles and thereby contribute to future development of effective and congruent enrichment measures, thus enhancing interest in science.

  14. Great tits (Parus major reduce caterpillar damage in commercial apple orchards.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christel M M Mols

    Full Text Available Alternative ways to control caterpillar pests and reduce the use of pesticides in apple orchards are in the interest of the environment, farmers and the public. Great tits have already been shown to reduce damage under high caterpillar density when breeding in nest boxes in an experimental apple orchard. We tested whether this reduction also occurs under practical conditions of Integrated Pest Management (IPM, as well as Organic Farming (OF, by setting up an area with nest boxes while leaving a comparable area as a control within 12 commercial orchards. We showed that in IPM orchards, but not in OF orchards, in the areas with breeding great tits, apples had 50% of the caterpillar damage of the control areas. Offering nest boxes to attract insectivorous passerines in orchards can thus lead to more limited pesticide use, thereby adding to the natural biological diversity in an agricultural landscape, while also being economically profitable to the fruit growers.

  15. Great tits (Parus major) reduce caterpillar damage in commercial apple orchards.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mols, Christel M M; Visser, Marcel E

    2007-02-07

    Alternative ways to control caterpillar pests and reduce the use of pesticides in apple orchards are in the interest of the environment, farmers and the public. Great tits have already been shown to reduce damage under high caterpillar density when breeding in nest boxes in an experimental apple orchard. We tested whether this reduction also occurs under practical conditions of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), as well as Organic Farming (OF), by setting up an area with nest boxes while leaving a comparable area as a control within 12 commercial orchards. We showed that in IPM orchards, but not in OF orchards, in the areas with breeding great tits, apples had 50% of the caterpillar damage of the control areas. Offering nest boxes to attract insectivorous passerines in orchards can thus lead to more limited pesticide use, thereby adding to the natural biological diversity in an agricultural landscape, while also being economically profitable to the fruit growers.

  16. Public opinion on environmental and energy issues. Result of the census after 3 years of the Great East Japan Earthquake

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kosugi, Motoko

    2014-01-01

    The public opinion on the energy and environmental issues has changed greatly in Japan through experiences in and along the Great East Japan Earthquake. We conducted a social survey in order to grasp public opinions for environment and energy issues in March, 2014, which obtained 2313 valid responses (response rate was 64.3%). For the energy and environmental issues, while respondents show high interests in matters related to the Fukushima accident and nuclear power generation as well as electricity prices, they show relatively low interest in every other aspect. With regard to Japan's energy policy in the future, as expectations for renewable and natural sources of energy are large, about 60% of respondents have negative attitude in restart of nuclear power. For nuclear power, as compared to the previous survey conducted in August 2008, evaluation of 'control-ability of environmental impacts' and 'the power companies' risk management ability' was greatly reduced in particular. These results suggest the importance of provoke interest in the energy issues in general, as a premise to seek an understanding of the activities of the government and power companies. Furthermore, in order for the power companies to restore trust from the public, it is important to sympathize to public's anticipations of impacts on the health and environment through uses of nuclear power in the future. (author)

  17. High current density ion beam measurement techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ko, W.C.; Sawatzky, E.

    1976-01-01

    High ion beam current measurements are difficult due to the presence of the secondary particles and beam neutralization. For long Faraday cages, true current can be obtained only by negative bias on the target and by summing the cage wall and target currents; otherwise, the beam will be greatly distorted. For short Faraday cages, a combination of small magnetic field and the negative target bias results in correct beam current. Either component alone does not give true current

  18. The Persian Gulf Region as a Field of China’s Geopolitical Interests

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M F Ilminskaya

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The article analyzes the political situation in the Gulf region in the light of China’s vital interests. Particular attention is paid to Chinese energy diplomacy, mechanisms for bilateral and multilateral cooperation, the Chinese project that is expected to revive the «Great Silk Road» and the priority areas of Chinese energy security. The author considers China as the largest world energy consumer whose economy is directly dependent on oil supplies, primarily from the Persian Gulf region. The article also analyzes the reasons of acute energy shortages in China and its growing interest in the Gulf region. The author reveals strategic significance of such important water transport arteries, as Straits of Hormuz and Malacca, touches on the issue of global players’ competition over ownership and control of hydrocarbons. The article focuses on flexibility of Chinese diplomacy and foreign policy maneuvering techniques in the region, successfully applied by Beijing to maximize the benefits for the implementation of its own national interests.

  19. Dipole vortices in the Great Australian Bight

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cresswell, George R.; Lund-Hansen, Lars C.; Nielsen, Morten Holtegaard

    2015-01-01

    Shipboard measurements from late 2006 made by the Danish Galathea 3 Expedition and satellite sea surface temperature images revealed a chain of cool and warm mushroom' dipole vortices that mixed warm, salty, oxygen-poor waters on and near the continental shelf of the Great Australian Bight (GAB...... denser than the cooler offshore waters. The field of dipoles evolved and distorted, but appeared to drift westwards at 5km day-1 over two weeks, and one new mushroom carried GAB water southwards at 7km day(-1). Other features encountered between Cape Leeuwin and Tasmania included the Leeuwin Current...

  20. Object Detection: Current and Future Directions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodrigo eVerschae

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Object detection is a key ability required by most computer and robot vision systems. The latest research on this area has been making great progress in many directions. In the current manuscript we give an overview of past research on object detection, outline the current main research directions, and discuss open problems and possible future directions.

  1. Interest Rate Fluctuation Effect on Commercial Bank's Fixed Fund Deposit in Nigeria

    OpenAIRE

    Okolo Chimaobi Valentine

    2015-01-01

    Commercial banks in Nigeria adopted many strategies to attract fresh deposits including the use of high deposit rate. However, pricing of banking services moved in favor of the banks at the expense of customers, resulting in their seeking other investment alternatives rather than saving their money in the bank. Both deposit and lending rates were greatly influenced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) decision on interest rate. Therefore, commercial bank effort to attract...

  2. Final storage in Germany. Who is interested?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuehn, K.

    2002-01-01

    The final storage of radioactive waste and spent fuel in Germany - who, in Germany, has any interest in this subject, especially now that the new Atomic Energy Act has been adopted, and who is going to read this article? The author, Professor Klaus Kuehn, examines this question, analyzing in his contribution the current situation and the points of view of those who may be interested in this topic. In Prof. Kuehn's opinion, the addresses in particular are these: - the federal government, - the opposition in the federal parliament, - the federal states, - the Federal Ministry for the Environment, - the Federal Ministry for Research, - the Federal Ministry of Economics, - the Federal Office for Radiation Protection, - the operators of nuclear power plants, - the Working Group Elaborating Procedures for Selecting Repository Sites (AkEnd). Klaus Kuehn concludes that there is little interest at the present time in the subject of Final Storage in Germany, for reasons explained in detail which result both from the political constellation and from existing constraints. (orig.) [de

  3. A Method of Vector Map Multi-scale Representation Considering User Interest on Subdivision Gird

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    YU Tong

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Compared with the traditional spatial data model and method, global subdivision grid show a great advantage in the organization and expression of massive spatial data. In view of this, a method of vector map multi-scale representation considering user interest on subdivision gird is proposed. First, the spatial interest field is built using a large number POI data to describe the spatial distribution of the user interest in geographic information. Second, spatial factor is classified and graded, and its representation scale range can be determined. Finally, different levels of subdivision surfaces are divided based on GeoSOT subdivision theory, and the corresponding relation of subdivision level and scale is established. According to the user interest of subdivision surfaces, the spatial feature can be expressed in different degree of detail. It can realize multi-scale representation of spatial data based on user interest. The experimental results show that this method can not only satisfy general-to-detail and important-to-secondary space cognitive demands of users, but also achieve better multi-scale representation effect.

  4. Credit spread variability in U.S. business cycles: the Great Moderation versus the Great Recession

    OpenAIRE

    Hylton Hollander; Guangling Liu

    2014-01-01

    This paper establishes the prevailing financial factors that influence credit spread variability, and its impact on the U.S. business cycle over the Great Moderation and Great Recession periods. To do so, we develop a dynamic general equilibrium framework with a central role of financial intermediation and equity assets. Over the Great Moderation and Great Recession periods, we find an important role for bank market power (sticky rate adjustments and loan rate markups) on credit spread variab...

  5. Credit spread variability in U.S. business cycles: The Great Moderation versus the Great Recession

    OpenAIRE

    Hylton Hollander and Guangling Liu

    2014-01-01

    This paper establishes the prevailing financial factors that influence credit spread variability, and its impact on the U.S. business cycle over the Great Moderation and Great Recession periods. To do so, we develop a dynamic general equilibrium framework with a central role of financial intermediation and equity assets. Over the Great Moderation and Great Recession periods, we find an important role for bank market power (sticky rate adjustments and loan rate markups) on credit spread variab...

  6. Innovative analytical tools to characterize prebiotic carbohydrates of functional food interest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corradini, Claudio; Lantano, Claudia; Cavazza, Antonella

    2013-05-01

    Functional foods are one of the most interesting areas of research and innovation in the food industry. A functional food or functional ingredient is considered to be any food or food component that provides health benefits beyond basic nutrition. Recently, consumers have shown interest in natural bioactive compounds as functional ingredients in the diet owing to their various beneficial effects for health. Water-soluble fibers and nondigestible oligosaccharides and polysaccharides can be defined as functional food ingredients. Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) and inulin are resistant to direct metabolism by the host and reach the caecocolon, where they are used by selected groups of beneficial bacteria. Furthermore, they are able to improve physical and structural properties of food, such as hydration, oil-holding capacity, viscosity, texture, sensory characteristics, and shelf-life. This article reviews major innovative analytical developments to screen and identify FOS, inulins, and the most employed nonstarch carbohydrates added or naturally present in functional food formulations. High-performance anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed electrochemical detection (HPAEC-PED) is one of the most employed analytical techniques for the characterization of those molecules. Mass spectrometry is also of great help, in particularly matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS), which is able to provide extensive information regarding the molecular weight and length profiles of oligosaccharides and polysaccharides. Moreover, MALDI-TOF-MS in combination with HPAEC-PED has been shown to be of great value for the complementary information it can provide. Some other techniques, such as NMR spectroscopy, are also discussed, with relevant examples of recent applications. A number of articles have appeared in the literature in recent years regarding the analysis of inulin, FOS, and other carbohydrates of interest in the field and

  7. Won-Buddhism and a Great Turning in Civilization: The Role of Religion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paik Nak-chung

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Addressing the theme of a great turning in civilization, this essay focuses on the Korean religion Won-Buddhism with its founding motto, “With this Great Opening of matter, let there be a Great Opening of spirit.” Both its doctrine and practice arguably possess great potential. Unlike the traditional Buddhist view of enlightenment, Won-Buddhism’s “Great Opening of spirit” starts from a specific diagnosis of the current time as an age of “Great Opening of matter” and proposes a double project of at once adapting to and overcoming modernity. In this way, it carries on the tradition of Korea’s indigenous religious movements since the mid-nineteenth century, but by combining that strain with Buddhism as its core doctrine, it achieves a fuller global significance than its predecessors. The essay examines Roberto Unger’s The Religion of the Future for both parallels and divergences, sympathizing with Unger’s emphasis on a religious revolution, but finding his thought essentially confined within the limits of Western metaphysics. Martin Heidegger is brought in to elucidate this point, as is Karl Marx, for comparison and contrast with Won-Buddhism’s diagnosis of and response to modernity. In closing, the essay takes up two Won-Buddhist agendas that are also of global concern: gender equality and the “church and state” relation.

  8. [The transformation of Friedrich the Great. A psychoanalytic study].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewy, E

    1995-08-01

    The transformation of Frederick the Great. A psychoanalytic study.--As a child and young man, Prince Frederick Hohenzollern, later King Frederick II of Prussia, flatly rejected his father's militaristic, Teutonic code of behaviour with its emphasis on dutiful service, self-abnegation and obedience. Instead he indulged his more "effeminate" leanings, taking an interest in literature, music and the unsoldierly delights provided by the courtly life of the age, and was encouraged in this by both his mother and his sister. This refusal to espouse the manly, paternal principle drove the crown prince into an increasingly vehement conflict with his father, who observed his son's indifference to all things military with growing bitterness, and finally led to a catastrophe in the course of which Frederick's closest friend was executed and he himself only just escaped his father's deadly vengeance. After this crisis, Frederick conformed more and more closely to his father's expectations and instructions and after the latter's death in 1740 developed into a ruler who enhanced Prussia's military and political glory and established a paternalistic principle that not only equalled but indeed exceeded everything that his father had stood for. The author traces in detail Frederick's astounding transformation into the "Frederick the Great" familiar to us from history books, analysing it both psychodynamically and in terms of identity theory. His conclusion is that it was the strength of Frederick's ego--itself the very prerequisite of "greatness"--that saved him from coming to grief over this conflict of identity.

  9. Tidal current energy resource assessment in Ireland: Current status and future update

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Rourke, Fergal; Boyle, Fergal; Reynolds, Anthony

    2010-01-01

    Interest in renewable energy in Ireland has increased continually over the past decade. This interest is due primarily to security of supply issues and the effects of climate change. Ireland imports over 90% of its primary energy consumption, mostly in the form of fossil fuels. The exploitation of Ireland's vast indigenous renewable energy resources is required in order to reduce this over-dependence on fossil fuel imports to meet energy demand. Various targets have been set by the Irish government to incorporate renewable energy technologies into Ireland's energy market. As a result of these targets, the development in wind energy has increased substantially over the past decade; however this method of energy extraction is intermittent and unpredictable. Ireland has an excellent tidal current energy resource and the use of this resource will assist in the development of a sustainable energy future. Energy extraction using tidal current energy technologies offers a vast and predictable energy resource. This paper reviews the currently accepted tidal current energy resource assessment for Ireland. This assessment was compiled by Sustainable Energy Ireland in a report in 2004. The assessment employed a 2-dimensional numerical model of the tidal current velocities around Ireland, and from this numerical model the theoretical tidal current energy resource was identified. With the introduction of constraints and limitations, the technical, practical, accessible and viable tidal current energy resources were obtained. The paper discusses why the assessment needs updating including the effect on the assessment of the current stage of development of tidal current turbines and their deployment technology. (author)

  10. Great cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) can detect auditory cues while diving

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Kirstin Anderson; Maxwell, Alyssa; Siebert, Ursula

    2017-01-01

    In-air hearing in birds has been thoroughly investigated. Sound provides birds with auditory information for species and individual recognition from their complex vocalizations, as well as cues while foraging and for avoiding predators. Some 10% of existing species of birds obtain their food under...... the water surface. Whether some of these birds make use of acoustic cues while underwater is unknown. An interesting species in this respect is the great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), being one of the most effective marine predators and relying on the aquatic environment for food year round. Here, its...... underwater hearing abilities were investigated using psychophysics, where the bird learned to detect the presence or absence of a tone while submerged. The greatest sensitivity was found at 2 kHz, with an underwater hearing threshold of 71 dB re 1 μPa rms. The great cormorant is better at hearing underwater...

  11. Placing lochs in their landscapes: linking landscape ecology, ecohydrology and conservation interest in a changing climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muir, M. C.; Spray, C. J.; Rowan, J. S.

    2011-12-01

    Scotland is a country with outstanding freshwater systems providing multiple social, economic and cultural functions as well as ecological services of international importance. Scotland's lakes (locally termed lochs) occupy approximately 3% of the country's land mass and contain more than 90% of Great Britain's total freshwater resource. With over 25,000 lochs (surface area greater than 0.1 hectares) standing freshwaters are an iconic part of Scotland's landscape and they come in a myriad of forms and sizes contributing outstanding geodiversity as well as habitats of international importance for numerous species of conservation interest. There is undoubtedly a need to protect the conservation interests of designated sites in the face of changing loch and catchment pressures - which include diffuse pollutants, morphological modification, recreation and invasive species. Climate change presents a new set of challenges with potential impacts across the entire standing water resource base and predicting how these systems might respond to these changes greatly amplifies uncertainties implicit in their environmental management. Global climate change is predicted to be a major cause of change across all ecosystems and there are particular concerns about impacts on freshwater systems due to the coupling of impacts to both hydrology and ecology. Climate change is likely to affect the hydrological cycle in a number of ways, most significantly through changing temperature and precipitation patterns, intensities and extremes. These changes, coupled with reduced snow and ice cover, frequency and duration, will lead to changes in soil moisture conditions and subsequently runoff. This is turn will impact on river flow, loch water levels, epilimnic temperatures, nutrient availability and, subsequently, the ecological structure and function of the entire standing water system. For some species these habitat changes will push them to the very limits of their natural tolerances and a

  12. Google it! Using the Google Trends tool to understand the Algarve Tourist destination public interest

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Dinis

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available In a sector strongly dependent on information as is the case of tourism, the timely knowledge of consumer behaviour enables making well-considered decisions and less uncertainty. Nowadays, the act of searching on the Internet about a particular subject before decision-making is part of the individuals’ daily lives. The Google Trends tool provides real time aggregated data on the online individuals’ interest based on the carried out search queries on Google. The objective of this paper is to show that Google Trends can provide comparative information about the individuals’ interest in relation to Portugal tourism regional areas and in particular, on the tourist destination "Algarve", and also between its competing tourist destinations. The results show that the tool can contribute to the knowledge of the individuals’ interests in relation to regional tourist destinations, information considered of great interest for Destination Management Organizations.

  13. Current directions in radiopharmaceutical research

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mather, S J [Department of Nuclear Medicine, St. Bartholomew` s Hospital, London (United Kingdom)

    1998-08-01

    Much of current radiopharmaceutical research is directed towards the development of receptor-binding tracers which are targeted towards biochemical processes. These may be extra or intracellular in nature and hold promise for an imaging approach to tissue characterisation in-vivo. Many of these products are based on proteins which range in size from large monoclonal antibodies to small neuropeptides and share a radiolabelling chemistry based on the use of bifunctional chelating agents. Although developed initially for use with indium-111, considerations of cost and isotope availability have continued to direct the efforts of many researchers towards the use of technetium-99m. While polypeptide-based radiopharmaceuticals may be useful for imaging peripheral cell-surface receptors, access to sites of interest within the cell, or in the brain, requires the development of small lipophilic molecules with retained ability to interact with intracellular targets. The design and synthesis of these compounds presents a particular challenge to the radiopharmaceutical chemist which is being met through either a pendant or integrated approach to the use of technetium coordination with particular emphasis on technetium (v) cores. Progress continues to be made in the application of targeted radionuclide therapy particularly in the development of radiopharmaceuticals for the treatment of malignant bone disease. methods for labelling antibodies with a great variety of cytotoxic radionuclides have now been refined and their use for radioimmunotherapy in the treatment of haematological malignancies shows great promise. The major medical areas for application of these new radiopharmaceuticals will be in oncology, neurology and inflammation but the increasingly difficult regulatory climate in which drug development and health-care now operate will make it essential for researchers to direct their products toward specific clinical problems as well as biological targets. (author) 36 refs

  14. Current directions in radiopharmaceutical research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mather, S.J.

    1998-01-01

    Much of current radiopharmaceutical research is directed towards the development of receptor-binding tracers which are targeted towards biochemical processes. These may be extra or intracellular in nature and hold promise for an imaging approach to tissue characterisation in-vivo. Many of these products are based on proteins which range in size from large monoclonal antibodies to small neuropeptides and share a radiolabelling chemistry based on the use of bifunctional chelating agents. Although developed initially for use with indium-111, considerations of cost and isotope availability have continued to direct the efforts of many researchers towards the use of technetium-99m. While polypeptide-based radiopharmaceuticals may be useful for imaging peripheral cell-surface receptors, access to sites of interest within the cell, or in the brain, requires the development of small lipophilic molecules with retained ability to interact with intracellular targets. The design and synthesis of these compounds presents a particular challenge to the radiopharmaceutical chemist which is being met through either a pendant or integrated approach to the use of technetium coordination with particular emphasis on technetium (v) cores. Progress continues to be made in the application of targeted radionuclide therapy particularly in the development of radiopharmaceuticals for the treatment of malignant bone disease. methods for labelling antibodies with a great variety of cytotoxic radionuclides have now been refined and their use for radioimmunotherapy in the treatment of haematological malignancies shows great promise. The major medical areas for application of these new radiopharmaceuticals will be in oncology, neurology and inflammation but the increasingly difficult regulatory climate in which drug development and health-care now operate will make it essential for researchers to direct their products toward specific clinical problems as well as biological targets. (author)

  15. Climatic change in the Great Plains region of Canada

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rizzo, B.

    1991-01-01

    Implications of global warming to Canada's Great Plains region are discussed, with reference to the climate predictions of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) general circulation model under a two times atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration scenario. Two sets of climate variables for a geographic area located in the Great Plains are tabulated, for the current (1951-1980) climate normals and under the doubled carbon dioxide scenario. Simple univariate statistics were calculated for the two areas, for the variables of mean annual temperature, mean summer temperature, mean winter temperature, mean July temperature, mean growing season temperature, total annual precipitation, total summer precipitation, total winter precipitation, and total growing season precipitation. Under the GISS scenario, temperature values are on average 4 degree C higher than 1951-1980 normals, while precipitation remains about the same. Locations of ecoclimatic regions are graphed for the whole of Canada. 1 fig., 1 tab

  16. What Makes a Great Journal Great in Economics? The Singer Not the Song.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    C-L. Chang (Chia-Lin); M.J. McAleer (Michael); L. Oxley (Les)

    2010-01-01

    textabstractThe paper is concerned with analysing what makes a great journal great in economics, based on quantifiable measures. Alternative Research Assessment Measures (RAM) are discussed, with an emphasis on the Thomson Reuters ISI Web of Science database (hereafter ISI). The various ISI RAM that

  17. Do the weak neutral currents cause parity non-conserving eN and μN forces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Henley, E.M.

    1977-01-01

    It is stated that although the evidence for weak neutral currents is now well established its effects have been observed primarily in reactions initiated by muon neutrinos in which the neutrino is also present in the final state. There is, as yet, no comparable evidence for a weak force due to neutral currents, mediated by an uncharged boson, between charged leptons (electrons, muons) and nucleons. Theory predicts such a force, but its detection requires it to be parity non-conserving, since any weak parity conserving force is masked by the much larger electromagnetic interaction between the charged lepton and proton. Although high energy neutrino experiments favor a parity non-conserving interaction, the evidence is not overwhelming, and pure vector current theories cannot be ruled out. The electromagnetic current which is related directly to the weak force in modern gauge theories, behaves, as a pure vector under rotations and reflections, but the charged weak currents, responsible for ordinary β decays, are known to be of a mixed vector-axial vector nature. It is therefore of great interest to learn the spatial characteristics of the neutral weak currents. The search for parity non-conserving (PNC) effects in electron-nucleon scattering, in muonic atoms and in normal electronic atoms, has received much attention, but the experiments require very high precision and great care and ingenuity. The variety of ways for searching for PNC effects are discussed, together with the basic framework for most PNC theories, restricted to vector and axial-vector currents. One method to learn about the e-N weak force is to scatter longitudinally polarized electrons from protons, and the advantages of this are discussed - such tests are being undertaken. Experiments with muonic and normal electronic atoms are referred to, and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed. It is pointed out that a pleasant feature of the weak interaction is that perturbation theory can be used

  18. Great Basin Experimental Range: Annotated bibliography

    Science.gov (United States)

    E. Durant McArthur; Bryce A. Richardson; Stanley G. Kitchen

    2013-01-01

    This annotated bibliography documents the research that has been conducted on the Great Basin Experimental Range (GBER, also known as the Utah Experiment Station, Great Basin Station, the Great Basin Branch Experiment Station, Great Basin Experimental Center, and other similar name variants) over the 102 years of its existence. Entries were drawn from the original...

  19. The GREAT3 challenge

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miyatake, H; Mandelbaum, R; Rowe, B

    2014-01-01

    The GRavitational lEnsing Accuracy Testing 3 (GREAT3) challenge is an image analysis competition that aims to test algorithms to measure weak gravitational lensing from astronomical images. The challenge started in October 2013 and ends 30 April 2014. The challenge focuses on testing the impact on weak lensing measurements of realistically complex galaxy morphologies, realistic point spread function, and combination of multiple different exposures. It includes simulated ground- and space-based data. The details of the challenge are described in [1], and the challenge website and its leader board can be found at http://great3challenge.info and http://great3.projects.phys.ucl.ac.uk/leaderboard/, respectively

  20. 31 CFR 595.203 - Holding of certain types of blocked property in interest-bearing accounts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... property in interest-bearing accounts. 595.203 Section 595.203 Money and Finance: Treasury Regulations... interest-bearing accounts. (a)(1) Any person, including a U.S. financial institution, currently holding... effective date, is not being held in an interest-bearing account, or otherwise invested in a manner...

  1. 31 CFR 575.203 - Holding of certain types of blocked property in interest-bearing accounts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... property in interest-bearing accounts. 575.203 Section 575.203 Money and Finance: Treasury Regulations... interest-bearing accounts. (a) Any person, including a U.S. financial institution, currently holding... effective date, is not being held in an interest-bearing account, or otherwise invested in a manner...

  2. An Analysis of Disillusionment of American Dream in The Great Gatsby

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    李成烨

    2015-01-01

    American dream has always been a hot topic in the study and research of the American literature.And this topic has been researched deeply by many scholars and those who are interested in the field of literature.But the study or analysis of the disillusionment of American dream keeps updating from different angles by people from different fields,for the success of American dream isn’t easy to achieve by people.While this paper is going to illustrate the disillusionment of American dream of Gatsby and explain the reason that Gatsby failed but made him Great.

  3. Research on listed bank profit model under the interest rate liberalization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Geyao Zhu

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available With constantly deepening the interest rate liberalization, shrinking the net interest margin and the ever-rising non-performing loan ratio, the traditional commercial banks with the main profit model of credit suffers from a severe challenge. The research significance of this paper lies in helping China’s commercial bank convert management philosophy, developing a new financial business and improving the profit model. Through the empirical research of 80 samples of China’s listed commercial banks: under the condition of interest rate liberalization, the net interest margin is still the current major profit model of the commercial bank, but the intermediate business is the future development model of the commercial banks.

  4. Elastic, excitation, ionization and charge transfer cross sections of current interest in fusion energy research

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schultz, D.R.; Krstic, P.S. [Oak Ridge National Lab. TN (United States). Physics Div.

    1997-01-01

    Due to the present interest in modeling and diagnosing the edge and divertor plasma regions in magnetically confined fusion devices, we have sought to provide new calculations regarding the elastic, excitation, ionization, and charge transfer cross sections in collisions among relevant ions, neutrals, and isotopes in the low-to intermediate-energy regime. We summarize here some of our recent work. (author)

  5. The Great Moderation and the U.S. External Imbalance

    OpenAIRE

    Alessandra Fogli; Fabrizio Perri

    2006-01-01

    The early 1980s marked the onset of two striking features of the current world macroeconomy: the fall in U.S. business cycle volatility (the ggreat moderation h) and the large and persistent U.S. external imbalance. In this paper, we argue that an external imbalance is a natural consequence of the great moderation. If a country experiences a fall in volatility greater than that of its partners, its incentives to accumulate precautionary savings fall and this results in a permanent deteriorati...

  6. 75 FR 6354 - NOAA Great Lakes Habitat Restoration Program Project Grants under the Great Lakes Restoration...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-02-09

    ...-04] RIN 0648-ZC10 NOAA Great Lakes Habitat Restoration Program Project Grants under the Great Lakes... Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce. ACTION: Notice of funding availability; Date... on January 19, 2010. That notice announced the NOAA Great Lakes Habitat Restoration Program Project...

  7. 31 CFR 536.203 - Holding of certain types of blocked property in interest-bearing accounts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... property in interest-bearing accounts. 536.203 Section 536.203 Money and Finance: Treasury Regulations... property in interest-bearing accounts. (a)(1) Any person, including a U.S. financial institution, currently... to the effective date, is not being held in an interest-bearing account, or otherwise invested in a...

  8. The Next Great Generation?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brownstein, Andrew

    2000-01-01

    Discusses ideas from a new book, "Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation," (by Neil Howe and William Strauss) suggesting that youth culture is on the cusp of a radical shift with the generation beginning with this year's college freshmen who are typically team oriented, optimistic, and poised for greatness on a global scale. Includes a…

  9. Delivery of Therapeutic Proteins Using Electrospun Fibers-Recent Developments and Current Challenges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seif, Salem; Planz, Viktoria; Windbergs, Maike

    2017-10-01

    Proteins play a vital role within the human body by regulating various functions and even serving as structural constituent of many body parts. In this context, protein-based therapeutics have attracted a lot of attention in the last few decades as potential treatment of different diseases. Due to the steadily increasing interest in protein-based therapeutics, different dosage forms were investigated for delivering such complex macromolecules to the human body. Here, electrospun fibers hold a great potential for embedding proteins without structural damage and for controlled release of the protein for therapeutic applications. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of protein-based carrier systems using electrospun fibers, with special emphasis on discussing their potential and key challenges in developing such therapeutic strategies, along with a prospective view of anticipated future directions. © 2017 Deutsche Pharmazeutische Gesellschaft.

  10. [An interesting experience on the use of information and population data bases].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Expósito, J; Johnson, A P

    2012-01-01

    In order to support decisions and analyze outcomes, the Spanish Health System has shown a great interest in developing data bases and high quality information systems. Nevertheless the use of these data bases are limited, not very systematized and, some times, their accessibility may be difficult. We describe in this review the experience in using the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Science (ICES, Ontario, Canada) as an efficient model to improve the usefulness of these data bases. Under restrictive conditions of confidentiality and privacy, the ICES has the legal capacity to use several population based data bases, for research projects and reports. ICES's functional structure (with an administrative and scientific level) is an interesting framework since it guarantees its independent and economic assessment. To date, its scientific production has been high in many areas of knowledge and open to those interested, with points of view of many health care professionals (including management), for whom the quality of research is of the ultimate importance, to be able to access these resources. Copyright © 2011 SECA. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  11. Interest rate derivatives

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Svenstrup, Mikkel

    This Ph.D. thesis consists of four self-contained essays on valuation of interest rate derivatives. In particular derivatives related to management of interest rate risk care are considered.......This Ph.D. thesis consists of four self-contained essays on valuation of interest rate derivatives. In particular derivatives related to management of interest rate risk care are considered....

  12. Interest-free and Interest-bearing Money Demand: Policy Invariance and Stability

    OpenAIRE

    Amir Kia

    2001-01-01

    This paper, using quarterly Iranian data for the period of 1966-1998, extends the literature by investigating the stability of the interest-free money demand function. The study also examines the stability of economic agents' behavior in demanding interest-bearing and interest-free money. It was found, contrary to interest-bearing demand or money, both short- and long-run demand for interest-free money functions are stable and their coefficients are invariant with respect to policy and other ...

  13. Teaching Business Management from a perspective beyond self-interest

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roberto Fernández-Gago

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Profound reflection is currently being made in academic circles upon the principles which have long been the basis of economic theories in the teaching of business management. Amidst the issues discussed is the concept of human nature driven primarily by self-interest. Profit maximization and governance mechanisms in order to protect shareholders’ interests have become the essence of all good business practice. The present paper proposes a change in direction towards a wider and more realistic perspective with regards to the individual’s values within the sphere of the teaching of business management.

  14. Tidal current energy potential of Nalón river estuary assessment using a high precision flow model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Badano, Nicolás; Valdés, Rodolfo Espina; Álvarez, Eduardo Álvarez

    2018-05-01

    Obtaining energy from tide currents in onshore locations is of great interest due to the proximity to the points of consumption. This opens the door to the feasibility of new installations based on hydrokinetic microturbines even in zones of moderate speed. In this context, the accuracy of energy predictions based on hydrodynamic models is of paramount importance. This research presents a high precision methodology based on a multidimensional hydrodynamic model that is used to study the energetic potential in estuaries. Moreover, it is able to estimate the flow variations caused by microturbine installations. The paper also shows the results obtained from the application of the methodology in a study of the Nalón river mouth (Asturias, Spain).

  15. Survey of CAM interest, self-care, and satisfaction with health care for type 2 diabetes at group health cooperative

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bradley Ryan

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Very little research has explored the factors that influence interest in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM treatments. We surveyed persons with sub-optimally controlled type 2 diabetes to evaluate potential relationships between interest in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM treatments, current self-care practices, motivation to improve self-care practices and satisfaction with current health care for diabetes. Methods 321 patients from a large integrated healthcare system with type 2 diabetes, who were not using insulin and had hemoglobin A1c values between 7.5-9.5%, were telephoned between 2009-2010 and asked about their self-care behaviors, motivation to change, satisfaction with current health care and interest in trying naturopathic (ND care for their diabetes. Responses from patients most interested in trying ND care were compared with those from patients with less interest. Results 219 (68.5% patients completed the survey. Nearly half (48% stated they would be very likely to try ND care for their diabetes if covered by their insurance. Interest in trying ND care was not related to patient demographics, health history, clinical status, or self-care behaviors. Patients with greater interest in trying ND care rated their current healthcare as less effective for controlling their blood sugar (mean response 5.9 +/- 1.9 vs. 6.6 +/- 1.5, p = 0.003, and were more determined to succeed in self-care (p = 0.007. Current CAM use for diabetes was also greater in ND interested patients. Conclusions Patients with sub-optimally controlled type 2 diabetes expressed a high level of interest in trying ND care. Those patients with the greatest interest were less satisfied with their diabetes care, more motivated to engage in self-care, and more likely to use other CAM therapies for their diabetes.

  16. Comparative Analysis of the Representations of the Great Patriotic War: Generational Aspects (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Владимир Михайлович Филиппов

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian peoples` (who has been considered fraternal for a long time representations of the modern world currently due to many factors are subjected to complex processes of transformation. So the importance of the historical period of the Great Patriotic War in the life of all three peoples, the memory of which has an important means of confrontation western propaganda, is certainly true. The article presents the results of the study of Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian students’ and their parents’ representations of the Great Patriotic War. The study was being held in Peoples’ friendship University of Russia, immediately after the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory.

  17. Great Lakes Environmental Database (GLENDA)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The Great Lakes Environmental Database (GLENDA) houses environmental data on a wide variety of constituents in water, biota, sediment, and air in the Great Lakes area.

  18. A review of current knowledge on the effects of hydrogen on the pressure tubes of Ontario Hydro operating reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leger, M.

    1982-01-01

    Since the occurrence of cracking in Zr-2.5 wt% Nb pressure tubes in Pickering 'A' units 3 and 4 in 1974/75 a great deal of information on the behaviour of hydrogen in pressure tube materials has been generated through research effort by both AECL and Ontario Hydro. In order to use this information effectively and to provide direction and co-ordination for ongoing research, a review of available information and current concerns on hydrogen in pressure tubes was undertaken. The review was divided into two main areas of interest: hydrogen ingress and hydride effects. The uncertainties in the rates of hydrogen ingress into the pressure tubes have been found to be very large. On the basis of current knowledge, predictions of the future behaviour of pressure tubes due to hydride effects are extremely difficult

  19. Self-interest without selfishness: the hedonic benefit of imposed self-interest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berman, Jonathan Z; Small, Deborah A

    2012-10-01

    Despite commonsense appeal, the link between self-interest and happiness remains elusive. One reason why individuals may not feel satisfied with self-interest is that they feel uneasy about sacrificing the needs of others for their own gain. We propose that externally imposing self-interest allows individuals to enjoy self-benefiting outcomes that are untainted by self-reproach for failing to help others. Study 1 demonstrated that an imposed self-interested option (a reward) leads to greater happiness than does choosing between a self-interested option and a prosocial option (a charity donation). Study 2 demonstrated that this effect is not driven by choice in general; rather, it is the specific trade-off between benefiting the self and benefiting others that inhibits happiness gained from self-interest. We theorize that the agency inherent in choice reduces the hedonic value of self-interest. Results of Study 3 find support for this mechanism.

  20. The Forward-Bias Puzzle: A Solution Based on Covered Interest Parity

    OpenAIRE

    Pippenger, John

    2009-01-01

    The forward-bias puzzle is probably the most important puzzle in international macroeconomics. After more than 20 years, there is no accepted solution. My solution is based on covered interest parity (CIP). CIP implies: (1) Forward rates are not rational expectations of future spot rates. Those expectations depend on future spot rates and interest rate differentials. (2) The forward bias is the result of a specification error, replacing future forward exchange rates with current forward ...

  1. Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Comparison of Current Knowledge, Attitudes and Interest among German Medical Students and Doctors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karsten Münstedt

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Although it has been agreed that complementary and alternative medicine (CAM should be included in the German medical curriculum, there is no consensus on which methods and how it should be taught. This study aimed to assess needs for CAM education by evaluating current knowledge, attitudes and interests of medical students, general physicians and gynecologists. Two instruments based on established and validated questionnaires were developed. One was given to seventh semester medical students and the other to office-based doctors. Data were analyzed by bivariate correlation and cross-tabulation. Altogether 550 questionnaires were distributed—280 to doctors and 270 to medical students. Completed questionnaires were returned by 80.4% of students and 78.2% of doctors. Although 73.8% (160/219 of doctors and 40% (87/217 of students had already informed themselves about CAM, neither group felt that they knew much about CAM. Doctors believed that CAM was most useful in general medicine, supportive oncology, pediatrics, dermatology and gynecology, while students believed that dermatology, general medicine, psychiatry and rheumatology offered opportunities; both recommended that CAM should be taught in these areas. Both groups believed that CAM should be included in medical education; however, they believed that CAM needed more investigation and should be taught “critically". German doctors and students would like to be better informed about CAM. An approach which teaches fundamental competences to students, chooses specific content based on evidence, demographics and medical conditions and provides students with the skills they need for future learning should be adopted.

  2. Current UK practice of pediatric supraglottic airway devices - a survey of members of the Association of Paediatric Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bradley, Anthony E D; White, Michelle C; Engelhardt, Thomas; Bayley, Guy; Beringer, Richard M

    2013-11-01

    Over half of general anesthetics in the UK involve supraglottic airway devices (SADs). The National Audit Project 4 undertaken by the Royal College of Anaesthetists demonstrated that aspiration was the most frequent complication relating to SAD use. SADs designed to reduce this risk (second-generation devices) are increasingly recommended in both adults and children. As well as routine use, SADs are recommended for use in cases of 'difficult airway'. This survey assessed current usage of SADs in routine practice and difficult airways. Sixteen questions, approved by the Association of Paediatric Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland (APAGBI) survey committee, were distributed to all its members. Two hundred and forty-four members responded. Eighty-eight percent preferentially use first-generation rather than second-generation devices. The most important design feature was the availability of a complete range of sizes (84%). Seventy-seven percent felt that randomized controlled trials assessing SAD safety in children are needed. In cases of failed intubation, classically shaped SADs are preferred (79%). Three percent of responders intubate via an SAD routinely. Eighteen percent have employed this technique in an emergency. Thirty-six percent of responders have found an SAD to function poorly. Pediatric anesthesiologists appear slow to embrace second-generation SADs. The role of SADs in the management of difficult airways is widely accepted. Research currently has little influence over the choice of which SAD to use, which is more likely determined by personal choice and departmental preference. There is a risk that some SADs are unsafe. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. How do STEM-interested students pursue multiple interests in their higher educational choice?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vulperhorst, Jonne Pieter; Wessels, Koen Rens; Bakker, Arthur; Akkerman, Sanne Floor

    2018-05-01

    Interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) has lately received attention in research due to a gap between the number of STEM students and the needs of the labour market. As interest seems to be one of the most important factors in deciding what to study, we focus in the present study on how STEM-interested students weigh multiple interests in making educational choices. A questionnaire with both open-ended and closed-ended items was administered to 91 STEM-interested students enrolled in a STEM programme of a Dutch University for secondary school students. Results indicate that students find it important that a study programme allows them to pursue multiple interests. Some students pursued multiple interests by choosing to enrol in two programmes at the same time. Most students chose one programme that enabled them to combine multiple interests. Combinations of pursued interests were dependent on the disciplinary range of interests of students. Students who were interested in diverse domains combined interests in an educational programme across academic and non-academic domains, whilst students who were mainly interested in STEM combined only STEM-focused interests. Together these findings stress the importance of taking a multiple interest perspective on interest development and educational choice.

  4. 33 CFR 100.124 - Maggie Fischer Memorial Great South Bay Cross Bay Swim, Great South Bay, New York.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Maggie Fischer Memorial Great South Bay Cross Bay Swim, Great South Bay, New York. 100.124 Section 100.124 Navigation and Navigable... NAVIGABLE WATERS § 100.124 Maggie Fischer Memorial Great South Bay Cross Bay Swim, Great South Bay, New York...

  5. Incorporating biodiversity into rangeland health: Plant species richness and diversity in great plains grasslands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Symstad, Amy J.; Jonas, Jayne L.

    2011-01-01

    Indicators of rangeland health generally do not include a measure of biodiversity. Increasing attention to maintaining biodiversity in rangelands suggests that this omission should be reconsidered, and plant species richness and diversity are two metrics that may be useful and appropriate. Ideally, their response to a variety of anthropogenic and natural drivers in the ecosystem of interest would be clearly understood, thereby providing a means to diagnose the cause of decline in an ecosystem. Conceptual ecological models based on ecological principles and hypotheses provide a framework for this understanding, but these models must be supported by empirical evidence if they are to be used for decision making. To that end, we synthesize results from published studies regarding the responses of plant species richness and diversity to drivers that are of management concern in Great Plains grasslands, one of North America's most imperiled ecosystems. In the published literature, moderate grazing generally has a positive effect on these metrics in tallgrass prairie and a neutral to negative effect in shortgrass prairie. The largest published effects on richness and diversity were caused by moderate grazing in tallgrass prairies and nitrogen fertilization in shortgrass prairies. Although weather is often cited as the reason for considerable annual fluctuations in richness and diversity, little information about the responses of these metrics to weather is available. Responses of the two metrics often diverged, reflecting differences in their sensitivity to different types of changes in the plant community. Although sufficient information has not yet been published for these metrics to meet all the criteria of a good indicator in Great Plains Grasslands, augmenting current methods of evaluating rangeland health with a measure of plant species richness would reduce these shortcomings and provide information critical to managing for biodiversity.

  6. Opinions on Current Reading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, 1997

    1997-01-01

    Presents eight reviews of current books, covering issues of particular interest to black educators and historians. Topics considered include slavery, college admissions and affirmative action, the marginalization of black scientists, black politics, bigotry, and higher education. (SLD)

  7. Self-Interest and the Design of Rules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Manvir; Wrangham, Richard; Glowacki, Luke

    2017-12-01

    Rules regulating social behavior raise challenging questions about cultural evolution in part because they frequently confer group-level benefits. Current multilevel selection theories contend that between-group processes interact with within-group processes to produce norms and institutions, but within-group processes have remained underspecified, leading to a recent emphasis on cultural group selection as the primary driver of cultural design. Here we present the self-interested enforcement (SIE) hypothesis, which proposes that the design of rules importantly reflects the relative enforcement capacities of competing parties. We show that, in addition to explaining patterns in cultural change and stability, SIE can account for the emergence of much group-functional culture. We outline how this process can stifle or accelerate cultural group selection, depending on various social conditions. Self-interested enforcement has important bearings on the emergence, stability, and change of rules.

  8. The impact of classification of interest on predictive toxicogenomics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pierre R. Bushel

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available The era of toxicogenomics has introduced a new way of monitoring the effect of environmental stressors and toxicants on biological systems via quantification of changes in gene expression. Because the liver is one of the major organs for synthesis and secretion of substances which metabolize endogenous and exogenous materials, there has been a great deal of interest in elucidating predictive and mechanistic genomic markers of hepatotoxicity. This mini-review will bring context to a limited number of toxicogenomics studies which used genomics to evaluate the transcriptional changes in blood and liver in response to acetaminophen (APAP or other liver toxicants, but differed according to the classification of interest (COI, i.e. the partitioning of the samples a priori according to a common toxicological characteristic. The toxicogenomics studies highlighted are characterized by a classification of either no/low vs. high APAP dose exposure, none vs. observed necrosis, and severity of necrosis. The overlap or lack thereof between the gene classifiers and the modulated biological processes that are elucidated will be discussed to enhance the understanding of the effect of the particular COI model and experimental design used for prediction.

  9. The Great Recession, genetic sensitivity, and maternal harsh parenting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Dohoon; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne; McLanahan, Sara S; Notterman, Daniel; Garfinkel, Irwin

    2013-08-20

    Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, this study examined the effects of the Great Recession on maternal harsh parenting. We found that changes in macroeconomic conditions, rather than current conditions, affected harsh parenting, that declines in macroeconomic conditions had a stronger impact on harsh parenting than improvements in conditions, and that mothers' responses to adverse economic conditions were moderated by the DRD2 Taq1A genotype. We found no evidence of a moderating effect for two other, less well-studied SNPs from the DRD4 and DAT1 genes.

  10. The effects of strontium on bone mineral: A review on current knowledge and microanalytical approaches.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Querido, William; Rossi, Andre L; Farina, Marcos

    2016-01-01

    The interest in effects of strontium (Sr) on bone has greatly increased in the last decade due to the development of the promising drug strontium ranelate. This drug is used for treating osteoporosis, a major bone disease affecting hundreds of millions of people worldwide, especially postmenopausal women. The novelty of strontium ranelate compared to other treatments for osteoporosis is its unique effect on bone: it simultaneously promotes bone formation by osteoblasts and inhibits bone resorption by osteoclasts. Besides affecting bone cells, treatment with strontium ranelate also has a direct effect on the mineralized bone matrix. Due to the chemical similarities between Sr and Ca, a topic that has long been of particular interest is the incorporation of Sr into bones replacing Ca from the mineral phase, which is composed by carbonated hydroxyapatite nanocrystals. Several groups have analyzed the mineral produced during treatment; however, most analysis were done with relatively large samples containing numerous nanocrystals, resulting thus on data that represents an average of many crystalline domains. The nanoscale analysis of the bone apatite crystals containing Sr has only been described in a few studies. In this study, we review the current knowledge on the effects of Sr on bone mineral and discuss the methodological approaches that have been used in the field. In particular, we focus on the great potential that advanced microscopy and microanalytical techniques may have on the detailed analysis of the nanostructure and composition of bone apatite nanocrystals produced during treatment with strontium ranelate. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  11. Differences in the Effects of the Great Recession on Health Outcomes among Minority Working-Age Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Towne, Samuel D; Probst, Janice C; Hardin, James W; Bell, Bethany A; Glover, Saundra

    2015-03-01

    We examined the effects of the Great Recession (December 2007-June 2009) among vulnerable adults who may be at high risk of poor health and low access to health care. Our primary outcomes of interest were self-reported health status (fair/poor versus good/very good/excellent), and foregoing needed health care due to cost in the past 12 months. Racial and ethnic minorities, except Asians, experienced higher rates of poor/fair health and higher rates of forgone medical care than did White adults. Hispanic and AIAN adults experienced differential effects of the Great Recession, as compared to White adults. Understanding how vulnerable populations react in times of economic flux will enable policy makers to identify strategies/policies to lessen the burden experienced by vulnerable adults.

  12. Great Expectations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dickens, Charles

    2005-01-01

    One of Dickens's most renowned and enjoyable novels, Great Expectations tells the story of Pip, an orphan boy who wishes to transcend his humble origins and finds himself unexpectedly given the opportunity to live a life of wealth and respectability. Over the course of the tale, in which Pip

  13. Protons, Aerospace, and Electronics: A National Interest

    Science.gov (United States)

    LaBel, Kenneth A.; Turflinger, Thomas L.

    2018-01-01

    The aerospace and semiconductor industries lost approx. 2000 hours annually of research access when IUCF closed. An ad hoc team between the U.S. government and industry was formed to evaluate other facility options. In this presentation, we will discuss: 1) Why aerospace, semiconductor manufacturers, and others are interested in proton facility access, as well as, 2) Some of the basics of a typical test for electronics, and 3) We"ll conclude with the brief current status on progress.

  14. Applying inversion techniques to derive source currents and geoelectric fields for geomagnetically induced current calculations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. S. de Villiers

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available This research focuses on the inversion of geomagnetic variation field measurement to obtain source currents in the ionosphere. During a geomagnetic disturbance, the ionospheric currents create magnetic field variations that induce geoelectric fields, which drive geomagnetically induced currents (GIC in power systems. These GIC may disturb the operation of power systems and cause damage to grounded power transformers. The geoelectric fields at any location of interest can be determined from the source currents in the ionosphere through a solution of the forward problem. Line currents running east–west along given surface position are postulated to exist at a certain height above the Earth's surface. This physical arrangement results in the fields on the ground having the magnetic north and down components, and the electric east component. Ionospheric currents are modelled by inverting Fourier integrals (over the wavenumber of elementary geomagnetic fields using the Levenberg–Marquardt technique. The output parameters of the inversion model are the current strength, height and surface position of the ionospheric current system. A ground conductivity structure with five layers from Quebec, Canada, based on the Layered-Earth model is used to obtain the complex skin depth at a given angular frequency. This paper presents preliminary and inversion results based on these structures and simulated geomagnetic fields. The results show some interesting features in the frequency domain. Model parameters obtained through inversion are within 2% of simulated values. This technique has applications for modelling the currents of electrojets at the equator and auroral regions, as well as currents in the magnetosphere.

  15. Horticulture in Argentina: a productive alternative with great potential

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Maria Castagnino

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Horticulture in Argentina is an activity with great potential whose history has mainly been driven by Italian immigrants who arrived during the last two centuries. It is a valuable complement for traditional primary productions on which the country is focused with more than 30 millions of cultivated hectares and different agro-climatic conditions that characterize the different horticultural regions distributed throughout the country. The aim of this article is to give a panorama of the history, reality and perspectives in Argentina of an activity that is an opportunity for producers and entrepreneurs interested in it. Due to its characteristics, horticulture generates and dynamizes employment with great importance for regional economies. The proportion between vegetables and fruit produced and commercialized in Argentina is 63 and 34% respectively. Horticultural products for exportation largely are garlic, onion and beans. Concerning the most commercialized vegetables in Argentina, potato, tomato, onion, squash, lettuce, pepper, marrow and sweet potato stand out, whereas orange, tangerine, apple, banana, lemon, pear, grape and grapefruit may be highlighted among fruit. At present, the main challenge of the Argentinian horticultural sector is given not only by the possibilities of productive diversification and the expansion of the productive area but also of the technological level optimization, the application of quality norms and the agro-industry growth.

  16. The great intimidators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kramer, Roderick M

    2006-02-01

    After Disney's Michael Eisner, Miramax's Harvey Weinstein, and Hewlett-Packard's Carly Fiorina fell from their heights of power, the business media quickly proclaimed thatthe reign of abrasive, intimidating leaders was over. However, it's premature to proclaim their extinction. Many great intimidators have done fine for a long time and continue to thrive. Their modus operandi runs counter to a lot of preconceptions about what it takes to be a good leader. They're rough, loud, and in your face. Their tactics include invading others' personal space, staging tantrums, keeping people guessing, and possessing an indisputable command of facts. But make no mistake--great intimidators are not your typical bullies. They're driven by vision, not by sheer ego or malice. Beneath their tough exteriors and sharp edges are some genuine, deep insights into human motivation and organizational behavior. Indeed, these leaders possess political intelligence, which can make the difference between paralysis and successful--if sometimes wrenching--organizational change. Like socially intelligent leaders, politically intelligent leaders are adept at sizing up others, but they notice different things. Those with social intelligence assess people's strengths and figure out how to leverage them; those with political intelligence exploit people's weaknesses and insecurities. Despite all the obvious drawbacks of working under them, great intimidators often attract the best and brightest. And their appeal goes beyond their ability to inspire high performance. Many accomplished professionals who gravitate toward these leaders want to cultivate a little "inner intimidator" of their own. In the author's research, quite a few individuals reported having positive relationships with intimidating leaders. In fact, some described these relationships as profoundly educational and even transformational. So before we throw out all the great intimidators, the author argues, we should stop to consider what

  17. Interest rates mapping

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanevski, M.; Maignan, M.; Pozdnoukhov, A.; Timonin, V.

    2008-06-01

    The present study deals with the analysis and mapping of Swiss franc interest rates. Interest rates depend on time and maturity, defining term structure of the interest rate curves (IRC). In the present study IRC are considered in a two-dimensional feature space-time and maturity. Exploratory data analysis includes a variety of tools widely used in econophysics and geostatistics. Geostatistical models and machine learning algorithms (multilayer perceptron and Support Vector Machines) were applied to produce interest rate maps. IR maps can be used for the visualisation and pattern perception purposes, to develop and to explore economical hypotheses, to produce dynamic asset-liability simulations and for financial risk assessments. The feasibility of an application of interest rates mapping approach for the IRC forecasting is considered as well.

  18. Artificial reefs and reef restoration in the Laurentian Great Lakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLean, Matthew W.; Roseman, Edward; Pritt, Jeremy J.; Kennedy, Gregory W.; Manny, Bruce A.

    2015-01-01

    We reviewed the published literature to provide an inventory of Laurentian Great Lakes artificial reef projects and their purposes. We also sought to characterize physical and biological monitoring for artificial reef projects in the Great Lakes and determine the success of artificial reefs in meeting project objectives. We found records of 6 artificial reefs in Lake Erie, 8 in Lake Michigan, 3 in Lakes Huron and Ontario, and 2 in Lake Superior. We found 9 reefs in Great Lakes connecting channels and 6 reefs in Great Lakes tributaries. Objectives of artificial reef creation have included reducing impacts of currents and waves, providing safe harbors, improving sport-fishing opportunities, and enhancing/restoring fish spawning habitats. Most reefs in the lakes themselves were incidental (not created purposely for fish habitat) or built to improve local sport fishing, whereas reefs in tributaries and connecting channels were more frequently built to benefit fish spawning. Levels of assessment of reef performance varied; but long-term monitoring was uncommon as was assessment of physical attributes. Artificial reefs were often successful at attracting recreational species and spawning fish; however, population-level benefits of artificial reefs are unclear. Stressors such as sedimentation and bio-fouling can limit the effectiveness of artificial reefs as spawning enhancement tools. Our investigation underscores the need to develop standard protocols for monitoring the biological and physical attributes of artificial structures. Further, long-term monitoring is needed to assess the benefits of artificial reefs to fish populations and inform future artificial reef projects.

  19. The HEXACO and Five-Factor Models of Personality in Relation to RIASEC Vocational Interests

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKay, Derek A.; Tokar, David M.

    2012-01-01

    The current study extended the empirical research on the overlap of vocational interests and personality by (a) testing hypothesized relations between RIASEC interests and the personality dimensions of the HEXACO model, and (b) exploring the HEXACO personality model's predictive advantage over the five-factor model (FFM) in capturing RIASEC…

  20. Analysis of Readability and Interest of Marketing Education Textbooks: Implications for Special Needs Learners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Karen H.; And Others

    1993-01-01

    The readability, reading ease, interest level, and writing style of 20 current textbooks in secondary marketing education were evaluated. Readability formulas consistently identified lower reading levels for special needs education, human interest scores were not very reliable information sources, and writing style was also a weak variable. (JOW)

  1. Clinical Characteristics of Men Interested in Seeking Treatment for Use of Pornography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kraus, Shane W; Martino, Steve; Potenza, Marc N

    2016-06-01

    Background and aims This study examined the prevalence of, and factors associated with, men's interest in seeking treatment for use of pornography. Methods Using an Internet-based data-collection procedure, we recruited 1,298 male pornography users to complete questionnaires assessing demographic and sexual behaviors, hypersexuality, pornography-use characteristics, and current interest in seeking treatment for use of pornography. Results Approximately 14% of men reported an interest in seeking treatment for use of pornography, whereas only 6.4% of men had previously sought treatment for use of pornography. Treatment-interested men were 9.5 times more likely to report clinically significant levels of hypersexuality compared with treatment-disinterested men (OR = 9.52, 95% CI = 6.72-13.49). Bivariate analyses indicated that interest-in-seeking-treatment status was associated with being single/unmarried, viewing more pornography per week, engaging in more solitary masturbation in the past month, having had less dyadic oral sex in the past month, reporting a history of seeking treatment for use of pornography, and having had more past attempts to either "cut back" or quit using pornography completely. Results from a binary logistic regression analysis indicated that more frequent cut back/quit attempts with pornography and scores on the Hypersexual Behavior Inventory - Control subscale were significant predictors of interest-in-seeking-treatment status. Discussion and conclusions Study findings could be used to inform current screening practices aimed at identifying specific aspects of sexual self-control, impulsivity, and/or compulsivity associated with problematic use of pornography among treatment-seeking individuals.

  2. ECO-Report - Great issues, great diversions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janie Canton-Thompson; Jim Saveland; Sharon Ritter; Yvette K Ortega; Dean F. Pearson; Mick Harrington; Elaine Kennedy Sutherland; Clint Cook; Greg Jones

    2004-01-01

    ECO-Report is an annual Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) publication which contains a set of articles showcasing the Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project (BEMRP) research projects and activities. The articles are concise, user-friendly, and designed to inform a broad range of audiences interested in ecosystem management. Articles featured in...

  3. Predicting Medical Students' Current Attitudes Toward Psychiatry, Interest in Psychiatry, and Estimated Likelihood of Working in Psychiatry: A Cross-Sectional Study in Four European Countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warnke, Ingeborg; Gamma, Alex; Buadze, Maria; Schleifer, Roman; Canela, Carlos; Strebel, Bernd; Tényi, Tamás; Rössler, Wulf; Rüsch, Nicolas; Liebrenz, Michael

    2018-01-01

    Psychiatry as a medical discipline is becoming increasingly important due to the high and increasing worldwide burden associated with mental disorders. Surprisingly, however, there is a lack of young academics choosing psychiatry as a career. Previous evidence on medical students' perspectives is abundant but has methodological shortcomings. Therefore, by attempting to avoid previous shortcomings, we aimed to contribute to a better understanding of the predictors of the following three outcome variables: current medical students' attitudes toward psychiatry, interest in psychiatry, and estimated likelihood of working in psychiatry. The sample consisted of N  = 1,356 medical students at 45 medical schools in Germany and Austria as well as regions of Switzerland and Hungary with a German language curriculum. We used snowball sampling via Facebook with a link to an online questionnaire as recruitment procedure. Snowball sampling is based on referrals made among people. This questionnaire included a German version of the Attitudes Toward Psychiatry Scale (ATP-30-G) and further variables related to outcomes and potential predictors in terms of sociodemography (e.g., gender) or medical training (e.g., curriculum-related experience with psychiatry). Data were analyzed by linear mixed models and further regression models. On average, students had a positive attitude to and high general interest in, but low professional preference for, psychiatry. A neutral attitude to psychiatry was partly related to the discipline itself, psychiatrists, or psychiatric patients. Female gender and previous experience with psychiatry, particularly curriculum-related and personal experience, were important predictors of all outcomes. Students in the first years of medical training were more interested in pursuing psychiatry as a career. Furthermore, the country of the medical school was related to the outcomes. However, statistical models explained only a small proportion of variance. The

  4. Predicting Medical Students’ Current Attitudes Toward Psychiatry, Interest in Psychiatry, and Estimated Likelihood of Working in Psychiatry: A Cross-Sectional Study in Four European Countries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warnke, Ingeborg; Gamma, Alex; Buadze, Maria; Schleifer, Roman; Canela, Carlos; Strebel, Bernd; Tényi, Tamás; Rössler, Wulf; Rüsch, Nicolas; Liebrenz, Michael

    2018-01-01

    Psychiatry as a medical discipline is becoming increasingly important due to the high and increasing worldwide burden associated with mental disorders. Surprisingly, however, there is a lack of young academics choosing psychiatry as a career. Previous evidence on medical students’ perspectives is abundant but has methodological shortcomings. Therefore, by attempting to avoid previous shortcomings, we aimed to contribute to a better understanding of the predictors of the following three outcome variables: current medical students’ attitudes toward psychiatry, interest in psychiatry, and estimated likelihood of working in psychiatry. The sample consisted of N = 1,356 medical students at 45 medical schools in Germany and Austria as well as regions of Switzerland and Hungary with a German language curriculum. We used snowball sampling via Facebook with a link to an online questionnaire as recruitment procedure. Snowball sampling is based on referrals made among people. This questionnaire included a German version of the Attitudes Toward Psychiatry Scale (ATP-30-G) and further variables related to outcomes and potential predictors in terms of sociodemography (e.g., gender) or medical training (e.g., curriculum-related experience with psychiatry). Data were analyzed by linear mixed models and further regression models. On average, students had a positive attitude to and high general interest in, but low professional preference for, psychiatry. A neutral attitude to psychiatry was partly related to the discipline itself, psychiatrists, or psychiatric patients. Female gender and previous experience with psychiatry, particularly curriculum-related and personal experience, were important predictors of all outcomes. Students in the first years of medical training were more interested in pursuing psychiatry as a career. Furthermore, the country of the medical school was related to the outcomes. However, statistical models explained only a small proportion of variance

  5. Predicting Medical Students’ Current Attitudes Toward Psychiatry, Interest in Psychiatry, and Estimated Likelihood of Working in Psychiatry: A Cross-Sectional Study in Four European Countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ingeborg Warnke

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Psychiatry as a medical discipline is becoming increasingly important due to the high and increasing worldwide burden associated with mental disorders. Surprisingly, however, there is a lack of young academics choosing psychiatry as a career. Previous evidence on medical students’ perspectives is abundant but has methodological shortcomings. Therefore, by attempting to avoid previous shortcomings, we aimed to contribute to a better understanding of the predictors of the following three outcome variables: current medical students’ attitudes toward psychiatry, interest in psychiatry, and estimated likelihood of working in psychiatry. The sample consisted of N = 1,356 medical students at 45 medical schools in Germany and Austria as well as regions of Switzerland and Hungary with a German language curriculum. We used snowball sampling via Facebook with a link to an online questionnaire as recruitment procedure. Snowball sampling is based on referrals made among people. This questionnaire included a German version of the Attitudes Toward Psychiatry Scale (ATP-30-G and further variables related to outcomes and potential predictors in terms of sociodemography (e.g., gender or medical training (e.g., curriculum-related experience with psychiatry. Data were analyzed by linear mixed models and further regression models. On average, students had a positive attitude to and high general interest in, but low professional preference for, psychiatry. A neutral attitude to psychiatry was partly related to the discipline itself, psychiatrists, or psychiatric patients. Female gender and previous experience with psychiatry, particularly curriculum-related and personal experience, were important predictors of all outcomes. Students in the first years of medical training were more interested in pursuing psychiatry as a career. Furthermore, the country of the medical school was related to the outcomes. However, statistical models explained only a small

  6. Researcher views about funding sources and conflicts of interest in nanotechnology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McComas, Katherine A

    2012-12-01

    Dependence in nanotechnology on external funding and academic-industry relationships has led to questions concerning its influence on research directions, as well as the potential for conflicts of interest to arise and impact scientific integrity and public trust. This study uses a survey of 193 nanotechnology industry and academic researchers to explore whether they share similar concerns. Although these concerns are not unique to nanotechnology, its emerging nature and the prominence of industry funding lend credence to understanding its researchers' views, as these researchers are shaping the norms and direction of the field. The results of the survey show general agreement that funding sources are influencing research directions in nanotechnology; many respondents saw this influence in their own work as well as other researchers' work. Respondents also agreed that funding considerations were likely to influence whether researchers shared their results. Irrespective of their institutional affiliation or funding status, twice as many researchers as not considered financial conflicts of interest a cause for concern, and three times as many respondents as not disagreed financial conflicts of interest in nanotechnology were uncommon. Only a third was satisfied with the way that conflicts of interest are currently managed and believed current procedures would protect the integrity of nanotechnology research. The results also found differences in views depending on researchers' institutional affiliation and funding status.

  7. Scientific Data of Public Interest | Initiatives | Indian Academy of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    To examine the current policies governing access to such data in the light of the need to ensure informed public opinion and encourage value-addition to the acquired data through both public and private enterprise; To recommend such measures as may be necessary to promote the acquisition of data of public interest, the ...

  8. Online Discovery and Mapping of Great Lakes Climate Change Education and Scientific Research Activities: Building an Online Collaborative Learning Community of Scientists and Educators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tuddenham, P.; Bishop, K.; Walters, H.; Carley, S.

    2011-12-01

    The Great Lakes Climate Change Science and Education Systemic Network (GLCCSESN) project is an NSF-funded CCEP program awarded to Eastern Michigan University in 2010. The College of Exploration is one of the project partners and has conducted a series of online surveys, workshop and focus group to identify a wide range of organizations, individuals, resources and needs related to climate change education and research activities in and about the Great Lakes Region and to provide information about climate change science to the education community. One of the first steps taken to build this community was to build a web site that features a dynamic online map of individuals and organizations concerned about climate change as well as interested in resources and activities specific to the Great Lakes. Individuals and organizations have been, and are still, invited to put themselves on the map at http://greatlakesclimate.org This map of the Great Lakes region provides both a visual representation of activities and resources as well as a database of climate change activities. This map will grow over time as more people and organizations put themselves on the map. The use of online technologies has helped broaden the participation and representation in the GLCCSESN from all states/provinces in the Great Lakes region, encouraging diverse audiences and stakeholders, including scientists, educators, and journalists, etc.to engage with the project. In the fall of 2011 a combined online professional development workshop and focus group is planned. Educators and scientists working on climate change studies and issues related to the Great Lakes will be sharing their work and expertise in an online workshop and focus group. Following the professional development activity a focus group will be conducted online using a model developed as part of a NSF funded COSEE project. The focus group purpose is to review current educational resources and to identify gaps and needs for further

  9. Great cormorants ( Phalacrocorax carbo) can detect auditory cues while diving

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hansen, Kirstin Anderson; Maxwell, Alyssa; Siebert, Ursula; Larsen, Ole Næsbye; Wahlberg, Magnus

    2017-06-01

    In-air hearing in birds has been thoroughly investigated. Sound provides birds with auditory information for species and individual recognition from their complex vocalizations, as well as cues while foraging and for avoiding predators. Some 10% of existing species of birds obtain their food under the water surface. Whether some of these birds make use of acoustic cues while underwater is unknown. An interesting species in this respect is the great cormorant ( Phalacrocorax carbo), being one of the most effective marine predators and relying on the aquatic environment for food year round. Here, its underwater hearing abilities were investigated using psychophysics, where the bird learned to detect the presence or absence of a tone while submerged. The greatest sensitivity was found at 2 kHz, with an underwater hearing threshold of 71 dB re 1 μPa rms. The great cormorant is better at hearing underwater than expected, and the hearing thresholds are comparable to seals and toothed whales in the frequency band 1-4 kHz. This opens up the possibility of cormorants and other aquatic birds having special adaptations for underwater hearing and making use of underwater acoustic cues from, e.g., conspecifics, their surroundings, as well as prey and predators.

  10. Interest in Use of Technology for Healthcare Among Veterans Receiving Treatment for Mental Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Christopher J; McInnes, D Keith; Stolzmann, Kelly; Bauer, Mark S

    2016-10-01

    There is great interest in leveraging technology, including cell phones and computers, to improve healthcare. A range of e-health applications pertaining to mental health such as messaging for prescription refill or mobile device videoconferencing are becoming more available, but little is known about the mental health patient's interest in using these newer applications. We mailed a survey to 300 patients seen in the general mental health clinic of a local Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Survey questions focused on interest in use of cell phones, tablets, and other computers in patients' interactions with the healthcare system. A total of 74 patients, primarily treated for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, or anxiety disorders, returned completed surveys. Nearly all reported having a cell phone (72/74, 97%), but fewer than half reported having a smartphone (35/74, 47%). Overall, a substantial majority (64/74, 86%) had access to an Internet-capable device (smartphone or computer, including tablets). Respondents appeared to prefer computers to cell phones for some health-related communications, but did not express differential interest for other tasks (such as receiving appointment reminders). Interest in use was higher among younger veterans. Most veterans with a mental health diagnosis have access to technology (including cell phones and computers) and are interested in using that technology for some types of healthcare-related communications. While there is capacity to utilize information technology for healthcare purposes in this population, interests vary widely, and a substantial minority does not have access to relevant devices. Although interest in using computers for health-related communication was higher than interest in using cell phones, single-platform technology-based interventions may nonetheless exclude crucial segments of the population.

  11. Seeking Sustainable Public Universities: The Legacy of the Great Recession. Research & Occasional Paper Series: CSHE.10.11

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyall, Katharine

    2011-01-01

    The business models under which most public universities in the U.S. operate have become unsustainable. They were put in place when state economies were stronger and there were fewer programs making competing claims on state funds. The current Great Recession has made things worse, but the unsustainability of current business models derives from…

  12. What great managers do.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buckingham, Marcus

    2005-03-01

    Much has been written about the qualities that make a great manager, but most of the literature overlooks a fundamental question: What does a great manager actually do? While there are countless management styles, one thing underpins the behavior of all great managers. Above all, an exceptional manager comes to know and value the particular quirks and abilities of her employees. She figures out how to capitalize on her staffers' strengths and tweaks her environment to meet her larger goals. Such a specialized approach may seem like a lot of work. But in fact, capitalizing on each person's uniqueness can save time. Rather than encourage employees to conform to strict job descriptions that may include tasks they don't enjoy and aren't good at, a manager who develops positions for his staff members based on their unique abilities will be rewarded with behaviors that are far more efficient and effective than they would be otherwise. This focus on individuals also makes employees more accountable. Because staffers are evaluated on their particular strengths and weaknesses, they are challenged to take responsibility for their abilities and to hone them. Capitalizing on a person's uniqueness also builds a stronger sense of team. By taking the time to understand what makes each employee tick, a great manager shows that he sees his people for who they are. This personal investment not only motivates individuals but also galvanizes the entire team. Finally, this approach shakes up existing hierarchies, which leads to more creative thinking. To take great managing from theory to practice, the author says, you must know three things about a person: her strengths, the triggers that activate those strengths, and how she learns. By asking the right questions, squeezing the right triggers, and becoming aware of your employees' learning styles, you will discover what motivates each person to excel.

  13. Current generation by minority-species heating

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fisch, N.J.

    1981-01-01

    It is proposed that electric currents be generated from the preferential heating of ions travelling in one direction but with no net momentum injected into the system. This can be accomplished with, for example, travelling waves in a two-ion-species plasma. The current can be generated efficiently enough for the scheme to be of interest in maintaining steady-state toroidal currents in a reactor. (author)

  14. Current generation by minority species heating

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fisch, N.J.

    1980-07-01

    It is proposed that electric currents be generated from the preferential heating of ions traveling in one direction but with no net momentum injected into the system. This can be accomplished with, for example, traveling waves in a two-ion-species plasma. The current can be generated efficiently enough for the scheme to be of interest in maintaining steady-state toroidal currents in a reactor

  15. Continuous measurement of an atomic current

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laflamme, C.; Yang, D.; Zoller, P.

    2017-04-01

    We are interested in dynamics of quantum many-body systems under continuous observation, and its physical realizations involving cold atoms in lattices. In the present work we focus on continuous measurement of atomic currents in lattice models, including the Hubbard model. We describe a Cavity QED setup, where measurement of a homodyne current provides a faithful representation of the atomic current as a function of time. We employ the quantum optical description in terms of a diffusive stochastic Schrödinger equation to follow the time evolution of the atomic system conditional to observing a given homodyne current trajectory, thus accounting for the competition between the Hamiltonian evolution and measurement back action. As an illustration, we discuss minimal models of atomic dynamics and continuous current measurement on rings with synthetic gauge fields, involving both real space and synthetic dimension lattices (represented by internal atomic states). Finally, by "not reading" the current measurements the time evolution of the atomic system is governed by a master equation, where—depending on the microscopic details of our CQED setups—we effectively engineer a current coupling of our system to a quantum reservoir. This provides interesting scenarios of dissipative dynamics generating "dark" pure quantum many-body states.

  16. A Matter of Interest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, Paul

    2009-01-01

    In these days of financial turmoil, there is greater interest in depositing one's money in the bank--at least one might hope for greater interest. Banks and various trusts pay compound interest at regular intervals: this means that interest is paid not only on the original sum deposited, but also on previous interest payments. This article…

  17. Expressed Reading Interests of Young Children: An International Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, H. Alan; And Others

    A study of the current expressed reading interests of children in the first two years of school conducted in ten countries--Austria, Canada, England, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Panama, Sweden, and the United States--is reported in this paper. Over 2,000 children drew pictures about what they would best like to read or have read to…

  18. Current account imbalances in the monetary union and the great recession: Causes and policies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Uxó Jorge

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Current account imbalances within the eurozone are at the roots of its economic crisis. We argue that, though relevant, emphasis should shift from competitiveness to differential rates of growth of domestic demand as its chief explanatory factor. Euro core countries have experienced a shortage of domestic demand, with wage restraint playing a key role. This has led them to experience a current account surplus, which could not be understood independently of a buoyant domestic demand in the peripheral countries, funded with private debt. As a byproduct of that strong demand, the periphery suffered from wage inflation and a loss of competitiveness. This dual growth pattern is unsustainable as indebtedness cannot go on without any limit. Neither wage cuts nor fiscal austerity in the periphery will help to solve this mess: although trade balance would be restored, it would lead to a negative shock in aggregate demand, threatening their ability to settle debts at due dates.

  19. Current Welfare Problems Facing Horses in Great Britain as Identified by Equine Stakeholders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horseman, Susan V.; Buller, Henry

    2016-01-01

    Despite growing concerns about the welfare of horses in Great Britain (GB) there has been little surveillance of the welfare status of the horse population. Consequently we have limited knowledge of the range of welfare problems experienced by horses in GB and the situations in which poor welfare occurs. Thirty-one in-depth interviews were conducted with a cross -section of equine stakeholders, in order to explore their perceptions of the welfare problems faced by horses in GB. Welfare problems relating to health, management and riding and training were identified, including horses being under or over weight, stabling 24 hours a day and the inappropriate use of training aids. The interviewees also discussed broader contexts in which they perceived that welfare was compromised. The most commonly discussed context was where horses are kept in unsuitable environments, for example environments with poor grazing. The racing industry and travellers horses were identified as areas of the industry where horse welfare was particularly vulnerable to compromise. Lack of knowledge and financial constraints were perceived to be the root cause of poor welfare by many interviewees. The findings give insight into the range of welfare problems that may be faced by horses in GB, the contexts in which these may occur and their possible causes. Many of the problems identified by the interviewees have undergone limited scientific investigation pointing to areas where further research is likely to be necessary for welfare improvement. The large number of issues identified suggests that some form of prioritisation may be necessary to target research and resources effectively. PMID:27501387

  20. Current Welfare Problems Facing Horses in Great Britain as Identified by Equine Stakeholders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horseman, Susan V; Buller, Henry; Mullan, Siobhan; Whay, Helen R

    2016-01-01

    Despite growing concerns about the welfare of horses in Great Britain (GB) there has been little surveillance of the welfare status of the horse population. Consequently we have limited knowledge of the range of welfare problems experienced by horses in GB and the situations in which poor welfare occurs. Thirty-one in-depth interviews were conducted with a cross -section of equine stakeholders, in order to explore their perceptions of the welfare problems faced by horses in GB. Welfare problems relating to health, management and riding and training were identified, including horses being under or over weight, stabling 24 hours a day and the inappropriate use of training aids. The interviewees also discussed broader contexts in which they perceived that welfare was compromised. The most commonly discussed context was where horses are kept in unsuitable environments, for example environments with poor grazing. The racing industry and travellers horses were identified as areas of the industry where horse welfare was particularly vulnerable to compromise. Lack of knowledge and financial constraints were perceived to be the root cause of poor welfare by many interviewees. The findings give insight into the range of welfare problems that may be faced by horses in GB, the contexts in which these may occur and their possible causes. Many of the problems identified by the interviewees have undergone limited scientific investigation pointing to areas where further research is likely to be necessary for welfare improvement. The large number of issues identified suggests that some form of prioritisation may be necessary to target research and resources effectively.

  1. Religious Pluralism, yet a Homogenous Stance on Interest Rate: The Case of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmed S. Abou-Zaid

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Despite the conventional consensus that interest rates are efficient mechanism of allocating loanable funds and the most influential monetary policy instrument in modern economies, the three major monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, prohibit the use of interest and consider charging interest as an act of exploitation and extortion. Several passages and verses in the Torah, the Bible, and the Quran make their position on interest clear and definitive, from the Bible’s dictum, “Do not charge your brother interest” to the Quran’s exhortation “give up what remains of your demand for usury.” This paper reviews those passages and verses, provides different scholars’ perspectives on these verses, and relates them to the current financial system. The paper also presents several recent events that support the religious position by showing the negative impact of interest on countries, societies, and individuals. These events have, in fact, inspired many economists and financial institutions to seek alternatives to the current system.

  2. The Nature of Experiences Responsible for the Generation and Maintenance of Interest in STEM

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maltese, Adam V.; Melki, Christina S.; Wiebke, Heidi L.

    2014-01-01

    Previous research has established the importance of early interest in STEM as a key factor in persistence. Our current research builds on this foundation and extends it to add more detail to understanding the types of experiences that trigger and maintain interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Using survey data from…

  3. Great Ellipse Route Planning Based on Space Vector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    LIU Wenchao

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Aiming at the problem of navigation error caused by unified earth model in great circle route planning using sphere model and modern navigation equipment using ellipsoid mode, a method of great ellipse route planning based on space vector is studied. By using space vector algebra method, the vertex of great ellipse is solved directly, and description of great ellipse based on major-axis vector and minor-axis vector is presented. Then calculation formulas of great ellipse azimuth and distance are deduced using two basic vectors. Finally, algorithms of great ellipse route planning are studied, especially equal distance route planning algorithm based on Newton-Raphson(N-R method. Comparative examples show that the difference of route planning between great circle and great ellipse is significant, using algorithms of great ellipse route planning can eliminate the navigation error caused by the great circle route planning, and effectively improve the accuracy of navigation calculation.

  4. Nothing Great Is Easy

    OpenAIRE

    Stansbie, Lisa

    2014-01-01

    A solo exhibition of 13 pieces of art work.\\ud \\ud Nothing Great is Easy is an exhibition of sculpture, film, drawing and photography that proposes reconstructed narratives using the sport of swimming and in particular the collective interaction and identity of the channel swimmer. The work utilises the processes, rituals/rules, language and the apparatus of sport.\\ud \\ud “Nothing great is easy” are the words on the memorial to Captain Matthew Webb who was the first man to swim the English ch...

  5. Imagining the Great Lakes Region: discourses and practices of civil society regional approaches for peacebuilding in Rwanda, Burundi and DR Congo

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Leeuwen, van M.

    2008-01-01

    The idea has gained ground in recent years that, as conflicts in the countries of the Great Lakes Region are strongly interlinked, regional approaches are necessary to resolve them. This interest in regional dimensions of conflict and peacebuilding also gains currency in other parts of the world.

  6. Patient organizations in Finland: increasing numbers and great variation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toiviainen, Hanna K; Vuorenkoski, Lauri H; Hemminki, Elina K

    2010-09-01

    There is very little research on patient organizations (POs), even though their numbers and influence seem to be increasing. The purpose of this study was to describe the establishment, membership, size, organization, decision making and basic funding of national POs in Finland. National POs (n = 130) were identified from their umbrella organizations and by Internet searches. Data were collected from POs' web pages (87% of POs had one), Finland's Slot Machine Association (RAY, an important public financier of POs), a relevant survey done by a local TV-company, and interviews and written materials of POs. Some current national POs were established around the turn of the 19(th) century. The rate of establishment of new POs increased from the 1970s and particularly in the 1990s when POs were characterized by increasing specialization. POs focused on different patient groups and diseases and were founded by philanthropists, physicians, patients, parents and the drug industry. Members could be patients, patient relatives, health-care professionals and organizations. POs widely varied in memberships (20-145 000, in 2002) and in number of paid personnel (0-1395, in 2002), organizational structure and decision making. Interest groups and financiers were often represented in decision-making organs. Activities included mutual support and service production, and, increasingly, informing and lobbying. POs had wide domestic and international co-operation and networking. Drug industry marketing was visible on PO web pages. Budget sizes varied (4000-15 million euros, in 2001). The main public financier was RAY. The old national POs were large and part of national social and health care, but newer ones were often established for mutual support and lobbying. National POs are not uniform but characterized by great variation. The number of national POs is increasing suggesting tighter competition for financing and visibility in the future.

  7. Climate variability and Great Plains agriculture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosenberg, N.J.; Katz, L.A.

    1991-01-01

    The ways in which inhabitants of the Great Plains, including Indians, early settlers, and 20th century farmers, have adapted to climate changes on the Great Plains are explored. The climate of the Great Plains, because of its variability and extremes, can be very stressful to plants, animals and people. It is suggested that agriculture and society on the Great Plains have, during the last century, become less vulnerable to the stresses imposed by climate. Opinions as to the sustainability of agriculture on the Great Plains vary substantially. Lockeretz (1981) suggests that large scale, high cost technologies have stressed farmers by creating surpluses and by requiring large investments. Opie (1989) sees irrigation as a climate substitute, however he stresses that the Ogallala aquifer must inevitably become depleted. Deborah and Frank Popper (1987) believe that farming on the Plains is unsustainable, and destruction of shelterbelts, out-migration of the rural population and environmental problems will lead to total collapse. With global warming, water in the Great Plains is expected to become scarcer, and although improvements in irrigation efficiency may slow depletion of the Ogallala aquifer, ultimately the acreage under irrigation must decrease to levels that can be sustained by natural recharge and reliable surface flows. 23 refs., 2 figs

  8. Refinements on the inferred causative faults of the great 2012 Indian Ocean earthquakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Revathy, P. M.; Rajendran, K.

    2014-12-01

    As the largest known intra-plate strike-slip events, the pair of 2012 earthquakes in the Wharton Basin is a rarity. Separated in time by 2 hours these events rouse interest also because of their short inter-event duration, complex rupture mechanism, and spatial-temporal proximity to the great 2004 Sumatra plate boundary earthquake. Reactivation of fossil ridge-transform pairs is a favoured mechanism for large oceanic plate earthquakes and their inherent geometry triggers earthquakes on conjugate fault systems, as observed previously in the Wharton Basin. The current debate is whether the ruptures occurred on the WNW-ESE paleo ridges or the NNE-SSW paleo transforms. Back-projection models give a complex rupture pattern that favours the WNW-ESE fault [1]. However, the static stress changes due to the 2004 Sumatra earthquake and 2005 Nias earthquake favour the N15°E fault [2]. We use the Teleseismic Body-Wave Inversion Program [3] and waveform data from Global Seismic Network, to obtain the best fit solutions using P and S-wave synthetic modelling. The preliminary P-wave analysis of both earthquakes gives source parameters that are consistent with the Harvard CMT solutions. The obtained slip distribution complies with the NNE-SSW transforms. Both these earthquakes triggered small tsunamis which appear as two distinctive pulses on 13 Indian Ocean tide gauges and buoys. Frequency spectra of the tsunami recordings from various azimuths provide additional constraint for the choice of the causative faults. References: [1] Yue, H., T. Lay, and K. D. Koper (2012), En echelon and orthogonal fault ruptures of the 11 April 2012 great intraplate earthquakes, Nature, 490, 245-249, doi:10.1038/nature11492 [2] Delescluse, M., N. Chamot-Rooke, R. Cattin, L. Fleitout, O. Trubienko and C. Vigny April 2012 intra-oceanic seismicity off Sumatra boosted by the Banda-Aceh megathrust, Nature, 490(2012), pp. 240-244, doi:10.1038/nature11520 [3] M. Kikuchi and H. Kanamori, Note on

  9. The Great East-Japan Earthquake and devastating tsunami. An update and lessons from the past great earthquakes in Japan since 1923

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishigaki, Akemi; Higashi, Hikari; Sakamoto, Takako; Shibahara, Shigeki

    2013-01-01

    Japan has a long history of fighting against great earthquakes that cause structural damage/collapses, fires and/or tsunami. On March 11, 2011 at 14:46 (Friday), the Great East-Japan Earthquake (magnitude 9.0) attacked the Tohoku region (northeastern Japan), which includes Sendai City. The earthquake generated a devastating tsunami, leading to unprecedented disasters (∼18,500 victims) in coastal areas of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, despite the fact that people living in the Tohoku region are well trained for tsunami-evacuation procedures, with the mindset of ''Tsunami, ten-den-ko.'' This code means that each person should evacuate individually upon an earthquake. Sharing this rule, children and parents can escape separately from schools, houses or workplaces, without worrying about each other. The concept of ten-den-ko (individual evacuation) is helpful for people living in coastal areas of earthquake-prone zones around the world. It is also important to construct safe evacuation centers, because the March 11 th tsunami killed people who had evacuated to evacuation sites. We summarize the current conditions of people living in the disaster-stricken areas, including the consequences of the Fukushima nuclear accident. We also describe the disaster responses as the publisher of the Tohoku Journal of Experimental Medicine (TJEM), located in Sendai, with online support from Tokyo. In 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake (magnitude 7.9) evoked a massive fire that destroyed large areas of Tokyo (∼105,000 victims), including the print company for TJEM, but the Wistar Institute printed three TJEM issues in 1923 in Philadelphia. Mutual aid relationships should be established between distant cities to survive future disasters. (author)

  10. The Great East-Japan Earthquake and devastating tsunami: an update and lessons from the past Great Earthquakes in Japan since 1923.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ishigaki, Akemi; Higashi, Hikari; Sakamoto, Takako; Shibahara, Shigeki

    2013-04-01

    Japan has a long history of fighting against great earthquakes that cause structural damage/collapses, fires and/or tsunami. On March 11, 2011 at 14:46 (Friday), the Great East-Japan Earthquake (magnitude 9.0) attacked the Tohoku region (northeastern Japan), which includes Sendai City. The earthquake generated a devastating tsunami, leading to unprecedented disasters (~18,500 victims) in coastal areas of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, despite the fact that people living in the Tohoku region are well trained for tsunami-evacuation procedures, with the mindset of "Tsunami, ten-den-ko." This code means that each person should evacuate individually upon an earthquake. Sharing this rule, children and parents can escape separately from schools, houses or workplaces, without worrying about each other. The concept of ten-den-ko (individual evacuation) is helpful for people living in coastal areas of earthquake-prone zones around the world. It is also important to construct safe evacuation centers, because the March 11(th) tsunami killed people who had evacuated to evacuation sites. We summarize the current conditions of people living in the disaster-stricken areas, including the consequences of the Fukushima nuclear accident. We also describe the disaster responses as the publisher of the Tohoku Journal of Experimental Medicine (TJEM), located in Sendai, with online support from Tokyo. In 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake (magnitude 7.9) evoked a massive fire that destroyed large areas of Tokyo (~105,000 victims), including the print company for TJEM, but the Wistar Institute printed three TJEM issues in 1923 in Philadelphia. Mutual aid relationships should be established between distant cities to survive future disasters.

  11. Great Western Malting Company geothermal project, Pocatello, Idaho. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Christensen, N.T.; McGeen, M.A.; Corlett, D.F.; Urmston, R.

    1981-12-23

    The Great Western Malting Company recently constructed a barley malting facility in Pocatello, Idaho, designed to produce 6.0 million bushels per year of brewing malt. This facility uses natural gas to supply the energy for germination and kilning processes. The escalating cost of natural gas has prompted the company to look at alternate and more economical sources of energy. Trans Energy Systems has investigated the viabiity of using geothermal energy at the new barley processing plant. Preliminary investigations show that a geothermal resource probably exists, and payback on the installation of a system to utilize the resource will occur in under 2 years. The Great Western Malting plant site has geological characteristics which are similar to areas where productive geothermal wells have been established. Geological investigations indicate that resource water temperatures will be in the 150 to 200/sup 0/F range. Geothermal energy of this quality will supply 30 to 98% of the heating requirements currently supplied by natural gas for this malting plant. Trans Energy Systems has analyzed several systems of utilizing the geothermal resource at the Great Western barley malting facility. These systems included: direct use of geothermal water; geothermal energy heating process water through an intermediary heat exchanger; coal or gas boosted geothermal systems; and heat pump boosted geothermal system. The analysis examined the steps that are required to process the grain.

  12. Articles and Links of Interest | Women in Science | Initiatives | Indian ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Initiatives; Women in Science; Articles and Links of Interest ... Tata Group dedicates second 'Career Opportunity' to women; Women and Science: Gender difference, gender ... Women in physics - Current Science journal ... at a young age of 52, after a valiant battle with cancer, today on 29th March 2016 in Delhi.

  13. The great moderation of inflation: a structural analysis of recent U.S. monetary business cycles

    OpenAIRE

    Casares Polo, Miguel; Vázquez, Jesús

    2012-01-01

    U.S. inflation has experienced a great moderation in the last two decades. This paper examines the factors behind this and other stylized facts, such as the weaker correlation of inflation and nominal interest rate (Gibson paradox). Our findings point at lower exogenous variability of supply-side shocks and, to a lower extent, structural changes in money demand, monetary policy, and firms’ sticky pricing behavior as the main driving forces of the changes observed in recent U.S. business cycle...

  14. A Short-Current Control Method for Constant Frequency Current-Fed Wireless Power Transfer Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yanling Li

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Frequency drift is a serious problem in Current-Fed Wireless Power Transfer (WPT systems. When the operating frequency is drifting from the inherent Zero Voltage Switching (ZVS frequency of resonant network, large short currents will appear and damage the switches. In this paper, an inductance-dampening method is proposed to inhibit short currents and achieve constant-frequency operation. By adding a small auxiliary series inductance in the primary resonant network, short currents are greatly attenuated to a safe level. The operation principle and steady-state analysis of the system are provided. An overlapping time self-regulating circuit is designed to guarantee ZVS running. The range of auxiliary inductances is discussed and its critical value is calculated exactly. The design methodology is described and a design example is presented. Finally, a prototype is built and the experimental results verify the proposed method.

  15. Understanding Interest Rate Volatility

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Volker, Desi

    This thesis is the result of my Ph.D. studies at the Department of Finance of the Copenhagen Business School. It consists of three essays covering topics related to the term structure of interest rates, monetary policy and interest rate volatility. The rst essay, \\Monetary Policy Uncertainty...... and Interest Rates", examines the role of monetary policy uncertainty on the term structure of interest rates. The second essay, \\A Regime-Switching A ne Term Structure Model with Stochastic Volatility" (co-authored with Sebastian Fux), investigates the ability of the class of regime switching models...... with and without stochastic volatility to capture the main stylized features of U.S. interest rates. The third essay, \\Variance Risk Premia in the Interest Rate Swap Market", investigates the time-series and cross-sectional properties of the compensation demanded for holding interest rate variance risk. The essays...

  16. Public Interest Litigation in the Netherlands
    A Multidimensional Take on the Promotion of Environmental Interests by Private Parties through the Courts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Berthy van den Broek

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available In the Netherlands, the administrative law system is traditionally seen as best suited for dealing with public interest-related lawsuits. Especially in the field of environmental law, NGOs seeking to promote broader environmental interests regularly initiate judicial procedures before administrative courts in order to challenge land-use plans, environmental permits and other types of public orders that may have adverse impacts on local natural habitats and/or the environment more generally. However, over the past five years a number of developments have resulted in a more restricted access to administrative courts for environmental NGOs. It has been suggested that these developments may result in an increased reliance on public interest-related procedures before civil courts. This raises the question of what position public interest-related claims, like those against Shell for oil pollution in the Niger Delta and those against the Dutch government for its alleged failure to implement adequate climate change policies, currently have within the Dutch system of civil procedure. It also raises the question whether environmental NGOs in practice do have the broad access to Dutch courts that is required by international obligations, and whether room for improvement should perhaps be sought in the civil law domain.

  17. Der Einfluss von personeller Einkommensverteilung auf die „Great Depression“ und die „Great Recession“

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefan Trappl

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Der Einfluss gestiegener Einkommensungleichheit auf die „Great Depression“ und die „Great Recession“ wurde mehrfach postuliert (Galbraith 1954/2009; Eccles 1951; Rajan 2010; Stiglitz 2012; Piketty 2014. Konkrete empirische Arbeiten zum Zusammenhang zwischen Einkommensverteilung und dem Entstehen von Wirtschaftskrisen gibt es aber bislang wenige. Kumhof/Ranciere (2010 überprüften die von Rajan (2010 aufgestellte Hypothese, die einen entsprechenden Zusammenhang postuliert, mittels Modellrechnung. Bordo/Meissner (2012 und darauf aufbauend Gu/Huang (2014 verwendeten unterschiedliche Regressionsmodelle in Bezug auf einen entsprechenden Zusammenhang, ohne jedoch eindeutige Ergebnisse zu liefern. Die vorliegende Arbeit schließt an diese Arbeiten an, beschränkt die Untersuchung allerdings auf Staaten, für die Daten für die letzten hundert Jahre verfügbar sind, und untersucht zudem explizit die Zeiträume um die beiden größten Krisen der letzten hundert Jahre, die „Great Depression“ und die „Great Recession“. Die Auswertungen zeigen, dass die personelle Einkommensverteilung ein guter Prädiktor für die Kriseneintrittswahrscheinlichkeit ist.

  18. Current distribution and enhancement of the engineering critical current density in multifilament Bi-2223 tapes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, W.G.; Jensen, M.B.; Kindl, B.

    2000-01-01

    The spatial distribution of the critical current density (Jc) and engineering critical current density (Je) along the tape width direction was studied by a cutting technique on Bi-2223 multifilamentary tapes. In general, an increase of Jc towards the centre of the tape was measured. We attribute...... microstructure with a great amount of secondary phases. Local variation of Jc was measured within the centre segment of the tape. This indicates the influence of other factors on Jc, such as filament shape, connectivity of the filaments, and sausaging. Enhancement of Je has been pursued in which average Je of 12...

  19. Pesticide presence in Great Lakes tributaries and comparison to ToxCast and other water quality benchmarks to screen for potential biological effects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Product Description:Pesticides are a broad category of current use chemicals that pose potential threats to aquatic organisms in and around the Great Lakes basin. In this study, we monitored for over 200 pesticides or their break down products in 16 major tributaries to the Great...

  20. 26 CFR 1.265-3 - Nondeductibility of interest relating to exempt-interest dividends.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... interest relating to exempt-interest dividends. (a) In general. No deduction is allowed to a shareholder of... dividends distributed by the company to the shareholder during the shareholder's taxable year. (b) Interest... amount of exempt-interest dividends received by the shareholder. The denominator of the fraction is the...

  1. Regional economic integration in Great East Asia: determinants and barriers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Volodymyr Korol

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The article studies both general trends and peculiar characteristics of processes of economic integration in the Great East Asia, which plays the role of one of the major centers of contemporary global development. The basic determinants and barriers for implementation of regional strategies by China, Japan, ASEAN that will influence the geo-economic policy of Ukraine not only in East Asian, but also European and Eurasian areas. Attention is focused on the basic principles of realized and potential future integration models in the "ASEAN+" format with variable composition of member states that correspond to different extents to strategic objectives of both specified key actors in the region and extra-regional states that have global and transnational interests. Extrapolation of dominant trends in the nature and dynamics of transformation processes of East Asian economic regionalization allowed forming a forecast for the longterm conservation of importance of free trade agreements in the absence of preconditions to create customs unions. At the same time it was stressed out that proper assurance of national interests of international economic relations will be based on contractual instruments at the international level, without creating institutional and legal superstructure similar to the European Union or the Eurasian Economic Union as supranational law and supranational bodies.

  2. Great Lakes Bathymetry

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Bathymetry of Lakes Michigan, Erie, Saint Clair, Ontario and Huron has been compiled as a component of a NOAA project to rescue Great Lakes lake floor geological and...

  3. Production, detection, storage and release of spin currents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michele Cini

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: Quantum rings connected to ballistic circuits couple strongly to external magnetic fields if the connection is not symmetric. Moreover, properly connected rings can be used to pump currents in the wires giving raise to a number of interesting new phenomena. At half filling using a time-dependent magnetic field in the plane of the ring one can pump a pure spin current, excited by the the spin–orbit interaction in the ring.Results: Such a magnetic current is even under time reversal and produces an electric field instead of the usual magnetic field. Numerical simulations show that one can use magnetizable bodies as storage units to concentrate and save the magnetization in much the same way as capacitors operating with charge currents store electric charge. The polarization obtained in this way can then be used on command to produce spin currents in a wire. These currents show interesting oscillations while the storage units exchange their polarizations.Conclusion: The magnetic production of spin currents can be a useful alternative to optical excitation and electric field methods.

  4. What Caused the Great Depression?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caldwell, Jean; O'Driscoll, Timothy G.

    2007-01-01

    Economists and historians have struggled for almost 80 years to account for the American Great Depression, which began in 1929 and lasted until the early years of World War II. In this article, the authors discuss three major schools of thought on the causes of the Great Depression and the long failure of the American economy to return to full…

  5. 78 FR 64183 - Change to Existing Regulation Concerning the Interest Rate Paid on Cash Deposited To Secure...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-28

    ... Account. These funds are held ``in trust'' for the obligor and currently earn simple interest at the rate..., the Government has paid simple interest at the rate of 3 percent per year on cash deposited by bond... #0;notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in #0;the rule making prior to...

  6. Great magnetic storms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsurutani, B.T.; Yen Te Lee; Tang, F.; Gonzalez, W.D.

    1992-01-01

    The five largest magnetic storms that occurred between 1971 and 1986 are studied to determine their solar and interplanetary causes. All of the events are found to be associated with high speed solar wind streams led by collisionless shocks. The high speed streams are clearly related to identifiable solar flares. It is found that (1) it is the extreme values of the southward interplanetary magnetic fields rather than solar wind speeds that are the primary causes of great magnetic storms, (2) shocked and draped sheath fields preceding the driver gas (magnetic cloud) are at least as effective in causing the onset of great magnetic storms (3 of 5 events ) as the strong fields within the driver gas itself, and (3) precursor southward fields ahead of the high speed streams allow the shock compression mechanism (item 2) to be particularly geoeffective

  7. Current-Sheet Formation and Reconnection at a Magnetic X Line in Particle-in-Cell Simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Black, C.; Antiochos, S. K.; Hesse, M.; Karpen, J. T.; Kuznetsova, M. M.; Zenitani, S.

    2011-01-01

    The integration of kinetic effects into macroscopic numerical models is currently of great interest to the heliophysics community, particularly in the context of magnetic reconnection. Reconnection governs the large-scale energy release and topological rearrangement of magnetic fields in a wide variety of laboratory, heliophysical, and astrophysical systems. We are examining the formation and reconnection of current sheets in a simple, two-dimensional X-line configuration using high-resolution particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. The initial minimum-energy, potential magnetic field is perturbed by excess thermal pressure introduced into the particle distribution function far from the X line. Subsequently, the relaxation of this added stress leads self-consistently to the development of a current sheet that reconnects for imposed stress of sufficient strength. We compare the time-dependent evolution and final state of our PIC simulations with macroscopic magnetohydrodynamic simulations assuming both uniform and localized electrical resistivities (C. R. DeVore et al., this meeting), as well as with force-free magnetic-field equilibria in which the amount of reconnection across the X line can be constrained to be zero (ideal evolution) or optimal (minimum final magnetic energy). We will discuss implications of our results for understanding magnetic-reconnection onset and cessation at kinetic scales in dynamically formed current sheets, such as those occurring in the solar corona and terrestrial magnetotail.

  8. Enzymatic-assisted preparation of nanocrystalline cellulose from non-wood fibers

    OpenAIRE

    Beltramino Heffes, Facundo

    2016-01-01

    In the current scenario of growing environmental concerns, the search for innovative, renewable, non-polluting materials has never been as intensive as it is today. Cellulose, being the most abundant polymer on earth, offers a wide range of possibilities for fulfilling current and potential future needs for novel materials. In this direction, research in the field of nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) has attracted a great interest in recent years. However, this great interest has been shadowed ...

  9. Is holography ready for yet another life? or make holography great again

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trolinger, James D.

    2016-08-01

    Holographic metrology, unlike most other applications of holography, has always thrived and continues to thrive by continuously incorporating new supporting technologies that make it more powerful and useful. Successes, failures, lives, and deaths are examined and recognized as evolutionary steps that position the field where opportunities are as great and as many as ever. This is a story of that evolution. Comparisons and analogies with other applications of holography such as data storage, archiving, the arts, entertainment, advertising, and security and their evolution are interesting. Critical events, successes, mistakes, and coincidences represent milestones of abandonment or failure to deliver in many holography communities that followed a different evolutionary path. Events and new technical developments continue to emerge in supporting fields that can revive and expand all holography applications. New opportunities are described with encouragement to act on them and take some risks. Don't wait until all of the required technology and hardware are available, because good scientists always act before then. The paper is about "making holography great again" and your opportunity to be a part of the upcoming revolution. Although the discussion focuses on holographic metrology, the same principles should apply to other holography communities.

  10. Electrophysiological measurement of interest during walking in a simulated environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takeda, Yuji; Okuma, Takashi; Kimura, Motohiro; Kurata, Takeshi; Takenaka, Takeshi; Iwaki, Sunao

    2014-09-01

    A reliable neuroscientific technique for objectively estimating the degree of interest in a real environment is currently required in the research fields of neuroergonomics and neuroeconomics. Toward the development of such a technique, the present study explored electrophysiological measures that reflect an observer's interest in a nearly-real visual environment. Participants were asked to walk through a simulated shopping mall and the attractiveness of the shopping mall was manipulated by opening and closing the shutters of stores. During the walking task, participants were exposed to task-irrelevant auditory probes (two-stimulus oddball sequence). The results showed a smaller P2/early P3a component of task-irrelevant auditory event-related potentials and a larger lambda response of eye-fixation-related potentials in an interesting environment (i.e., open-shutter condition) than in a boring environment (i.e., closed-shutter condition); these findings can be reasonably explained by supposing that participants allocated more attentional resources to visual information in an interesting environment than in a boring environment, and thus residual attentional resources that could be allocated to task-irrelevant auditory probes were reduced. The P2/early P3a component and the lambda response may be useful measures of interest in a real visual environment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Monitoring the environment and human sentiment on the Great Barrier Reef: Assessing the potential of collective sensing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Becken, Susanne; Stantic, Bela; Chen, Jinyan; Alaei, Ali Reza; Connolly, Rod M

    2017-12-01

    With the growth of smartphone usage the number of social media posts has significantly increased and represents potentially valuable information for management, including of natural resources and the environment. Already, evidence of using 'human sensor' in crises management suggests that collective knowledge could be used to complement traditional monitoring. This research uses Twitter data posted from the Great Barrier Reef region, Australia, to assess whether the extent and type of data could be used to Great Barrier Reef organisations as part of their monitoring program. The analysis reveals that large amounts of tweets, covering the geographic area of interest, are available and that the pool of information providers is greatly enhanced by the large number of tourists to this region. A keyword and sentiment analysis demonstrates the usefulness of the Twitter data, but also highlights that the actual number of Reef-related tweets is comparatively small and lacks specificity. Suggestions for further steps towards the development of an integrative data platform that incorporates social media are provided. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. 'Best interests' in paediatric intensive care: an empirical ethics study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Birchley, Giles; Gooberman-Hill, Rachael; Deans, Zuzana; Fraser, James; Huxtable, Richard

    2017-10-01

    In English paediatric practice, English law requires that parents and clinicians agree the 'best interests' of children and, if this is not possible, that the courts decide. Court intervention is rare and the concept of best interests is ambiguous. We report qualitative research exploring how the best interests standard operates in practice, particularly with decisions related to planned non-treatment. We discuss results in the light of accounts of best interests in the medical ethics literature. We conducted 39 qualitative interviews, exploring decision making in the paediatric intensive care unit, with doctors, nurses, clinical ethics committee members and parents whose children had a range of health outcomes. Interviews were audio-recorded and analysed thematically. Parents and clinicians indicated differences in their approaches to deciding the child's best interests. These were reconciled when parents responded positively to clinicians' efforts to help parents agree with the clinicians' view of the child's best interests. Notably, protracted disagreements about a child's best interests in non-treatment decisions were resolved when parents' views were affected by witnessing their child's physical deterioration. Negotiation was the norm and clinicians believed avoiding the courts was desirable. Sensitivity to the long-term interests of parents of children with life-limiting conditions is defensible but must be exercised proportionately. Current approaches emphasise negotiation but offer few alternatives when decisions are at an impasse. In such situations, the instrumental role played by a child's deterioration and avoidance of the courts risks giving insufficient weight to the child's interests. New approaches to decision making are needed. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  13. Are Adolescents with ADHD Interested in Genetic Testing for Nicotine Addiction Susceptibility?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Linda J. Herbert

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available It has been well-established that some adolescents diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD are at increased risk for cigarette smoking. Current research on the genetic basis of this association could ultimately translate into genetic tests capable of identifying smoking-prone adolescents with ADHD. In this study we examined 81 ADHD affected adolescents’ (age 13–21 interest in genetic testing for nicotine addiction susceptibility. Fifty-seven percent of adolescents indicated a fair amount of interest or more in testing. Most adolescents indicated that the personal information revealed from testing would be either useful (29% or interesting (37%. Implications for genetically-informed smoking prevention and cessation interventions in high risk adolescents with ADHD are discussed.

  14. Antecedents and consequences of situational interest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linnenbrink-Garcia, Lisa; Patall, Erika A; Messersmith, Emily E

    2013-12-01

    There is a growing body of research on situational interest (SI). Yet, we still know relatively little about how SI is supported in the classroom and the academic benefits of SI. The current study investigated (1) contextual antecedents of SI; (2) potential benefits of SI for academic outcomes; and (3) SI as a mediator of classroom practices to academic outcomes. Participants were 126 male and female adolescents (mean age = 14.6 years) who took part in a science course during a 3-week residential summer programme for talented adolescents. Participants completed self-report measures prior to the start of the summer programme and at the end of the programme. Summer programme instructors completed ratings of students' engagement during the programme. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to investigate the three study aims. After controlling for initial individual interest, perceived choice, instructor approachability, and course connections to real life were statistically significant predictors of SI during the summer programme, with varying associations observed based on the form of SI (triggered, maintained-feeling, and maintained-value). SI was positively related to individual interest and perceived competence in science at the end of the programme as well as teacher-rated engagement; SI also mediated the associations of classroom practices with these outcomes. Results suggest that classroom practices shape SI. In turn, SI supports motivation and engagement. Moreover, differentiated antecedents and outcomes of the three sub-components of SI were identified, highlighting the utility of this three-component approach for studying SI. © 2012 The British Psychological Society.

  15. Interest, views and perceived barriers to bariatric surgery in patients with morbid obesity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wharton, S; Serodio, K J; Kuk, J L; Sivapalan, N; Craik, A; Aarts, M-A

    2016-04-01

    The objective of the study was to assess the interest, views and patient-perceived barriers to bariatric surgery among surgery-eligible patients. Surveys were completed at a weight management clinic and local hospital in Ontario, Canada. Patients were ≥18 years of age with a body mass index (BMI) >40 kg m(-2) or BMI > 35 kg m(-2) with ≥1 comorbidity. The sample included 105 participants, 73.3% female, with a mean BMI of 46.6 ± 7.1 kg m(-2) . Only 33.3% of participants were interested in surgery; 50.5% of participants were not interested and 16.2% had mixed feelings. Participants identified risks (69.5%) and side effects (57.1%) as significant surgical barriers. Interested participants were more likely to perceive themselves as obese, were unhappy with their current weight loss method and were less likely to fear surgery (P bariatric surgery, the majority of qualified patients are not interested in surgery mainly due to the perceived risk of surgery in general and satisfaction with current non-surgical weight loss efforts. The self-perception of obesity, as opposed to medical comorbidities, may be a stronger driver of the decision to have bariatric surgery. It is unclear if patients are aware of the effectiveness of bariatric surgery to help improve comorbidities or if bariatric surgery is perceived as being more cosmetic in nature. © 2016 World Obesity.

  16. BOOK REVIEW: The Current Comparator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petersons, Oskars

    1989-01-01

    that errors can be made inherently negligible with proper construction techniques. Proper functioning can be verified by spot checks on a few ratios, and by indirect means. Complete calibration is useful, however, to verify the original design. A number of circuits incorporating compensated current comparators for current-transformer calibration are presented. Such circuits cover the calibration of current transformers normally encountered in electric-power transmission and distribution, from several amperes to several thousand amperes; cascaded circuits for very large currents up to 60,000 A; and special cases involving less-than-unity ratio (step-up) current transformers. Peripheral equipment such as ratio-sets and burdens are also discussed. This entire chapter is of great practical interest since much of the world's current-transformer calibration is performed using equipment described therein. The next two chapters, 5 and 6, deal with current-comparator applications in impedance-bridge circuits. High-voltage applications (described in Chapter 5) have been of great practical importance and indeed are the techniques of choice for a number of measurements. High-voltage bridge circuits are described for capacitance, inductance, voltage transformer ratio, and low-power-factor power measurements. Without going into much detail, the book mentions the particular characteristics required of current comparators in high-voltage bridge applications. Other components making up the bridge circuits are also described, as well as the calibration technique for the bridge. Limited in application but important in basic metrology is one particular low-voltage bridge, described in Chapter 6, for realization of ac power in terms of more basic SI units. Applications to ac resistance measurements and to realization of transconductance amplifiers are also included. Chapter 7, consisting of only eight pages, is devoted to direct-current comparators, although specific topics applicable to

  17. The Paranormal is (Still) Normal: The Sociological Implications of a Survey of Paranormal Experiences in Great Britain

    OpenAIRE

    Castro, MA; Burrows, R; Wooffitt, R

    2014-01-01

    Historically, there has been limited sociological interest in the paranormal and no systematic study of reported paranormal experiences. There are also few medium-to-large-scale survey results with nationally representative populations focusing on paranormal experiences. This paper provides details of an exploratory survey conducted in 2009 with a nationally representative sample of 4,096 adults aged 16 years and over across Great Britain . Our findings show that 37 per cent of British adults...

  18. Geological evidence of recurrent great Kanto earthquakes at the Miura Peninsula, Japan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shimazaki, K.; Kim, H. Y.; Chiba, T.; Satake, K.

    2011-12-01

    The Tokyo metropolitan area's well-documented earthquake history is dominated by the 1703 and 1923 great Kanto earthquakes produced by slip on the boundary between the subducting Philippine Sea plate and the overlying plate. Both earthquakes caused ˜1.5 m of uplift at the Miura Peninsula directly above the inferred fault rupture, and both were followed by tsunamis with heights of ˜5 m. We examined cores ˜2 m long from 8 tidal flat sites at the head of a small bay on the peninsula. The cores penetrated two to four layers of shelly gravel, as much as 0.5 m thick, with abundant shell fragments and mud clasts. The presence of gravel indicates strong tractive currents. Muddy bay deposits that bound the gravel layers show vertical changes in grain size and diatom assemblages consistent with abrupt shoaling at the times of the currents. The changes may further suggest gradual deepening of the bay during the intervals between the strong currents. We infer, based on 137Cs, 14C, and 210Pb dating, that the top two shelly gravel layers represent tsunamis associated with the 1703 and 1923 great Kanto earthquakes, and that the third layer was deposited by a tsunami during an earlier earthquake. The age range of this layer, AD 1060-1400, includes the time of an earthquake that occurred in 1293 according to a historical document. If so, the recurrence interval before the 1703 earthquake was almost twice as long as the interval between the 1703 and 1923 earthquakes.

  19. New initiatives for producing high current electron accelerators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Faehl, R.J.; Keinigs, R.K.; Pogue, E.W.

    1996-01-01

    New classes of compact electron accelerators able to deliver multi-kiloamperes of pulsed 10-50 MeV electron beams are being studied. One class is based upon rf linac technology with dielectric-filled cavities. For materials with ε/ε o >>1, the greatly increased energy storage permits high current operation. The second type is a high energy injected betatron. Circulating current limits scale as Β 2 γ 3

  20. Nanocoating covalent organic frameworks on nickel nanowires for greatly enhanced-performance supercapacitors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Yang; Hu, Nantao; Liu, Shuai; Hou, Zhongyu; Liu, Jiaqiang; Hua, Xiaolin; Yang, Zhi; Wei, Liangming; Wang, Lin; Wei, Hao

    2017-08-01

    Nanocoatings of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) on nickel nanowires (NiNWs) have been designed and successfully fabricated for the first time, which showed greatly enhanced electrochemical performances for supercapacitors. The specific capacitance of electrodes based on as-fabricated COFs nanocoatings reached up to 314 F g-1 at 50 A g-1, which retained 74% of the specific capacitance under the current density of 2 A g-1. The ultrahigh current density makes the charge-discharge process extremely rapid. The outstanding electrochemical performances of COFs nanocoating on NiNWs make it an ideal candidate for supercapacitors. And the nanocoating-design can also give a guidance for application of COFs in high-performance energy storages.

  1. Access, interest, and attitudes toward electronic communication for health care among patients in the medical safety net.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schickedanz, Adam; Huang, David; Lopez, Andrea; Cheung, Edna; Lyles, C R; Bodenheimer, Tom; Sarkar, Urmimala

    2013-07-01

    Electronic and internet-based tools for patient-provider communication are becoming the standard of care, but disparities exist in their adoption among patients. The reasons for these disparities are unclear, and few studies have looked at the potential communication technologies have to benefit vulnerable patient populations. To characterize access to, interest in, and attitudes toward internet-based communication in an ethnically, economically, and linguistically diverse group of patients from a large urban safety net clinic network. Observational, cross-sectional study Adult patients (≥ 18 years) in six resource-limited community clinics in the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) MAIN MEASURES: Current email use, interest in communicating electronically with health care professionals, barriers to and facilitators of electronic health-related communication, and demographic data-all self-reported via survey. Sixty percent of patients used email, 71 % were interested in using electronic communication with health care providers, and 19 % reported currently using email informally with these providers for health care. Those already using any email were more likely to express interest in using it for health matters. Most patients agreed electronic communication would improve clinic efficiency and overall communication with clinicians. A significant majority of safety net patients currently use email, text messaging, and the internet, and they expressed an interest in using these tools for electronic communication with their medical providers. This interest is currently unmet within safety net clinics that do not offer a patient portal or secure messaging. Tools such as email encounters and electronic patient portals should be implemented and supported to a greater extent in resource-poor settings, but this will require tailoring these tools to patients' language, literacy level, and experience with communication technology.

  2. An evaluation of current EIA system in Pakistan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shah, I.A.; Romano, R.R.

    2004-01-01

    The challenge of reducing poverty and increasing economic growth has often led Pakistan to overlook environmental sustainability. Consequently, Pakistan, is suffering from severe environmental problems. This has spurred an increasing demand for and effective Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) System with environmental management tools and techniques that can help the country to adequately diagnose their risks and suggest mitigation options. In the past few years Pakistan has begun implementing EIA' s as a preventive tool. However, given the judiciary, institutional and structural predicament, the outcome of the EIA process has resulted in great disparities. Given the growing regional environmental problems it is now a priority to seek an effective EIA systems, principles, and procedures in the country. This paper seeks to distinguish the Pakistan EIA strengths and weaknesses; it also focuses on identifying common positive and negative characteristics of the Pakistan EIA system. Furthermore, differences between the interested parties of the EIA system in the country were evaluated via a survey to ensure a good understanding of the factors of a comprehensive and effective EIA system. Analytical comparisons were made among the different interested parties of the EIA system in Pakistan. Statistical methods were used to analyze the data received and recommendations were made based on the outcome of the data results. These results will assist: (i) Pakistan to improve its EIA system (ii) other South Asian countries which may have a similar EIA systems in developing policy, planning and reforms and (iii) International organizations that work or invest in the region to enhance the attainment of environ- mental protection objectives on a broader, more cost effective, and realistic scale than current practices. (author)

  3. Understanding Interest Rate Volatility

    OpenAIRE

    Volker, Desi

    2016-01-01

    This thesis is the result of my Ph.D. studies at the Department of Finance of the Copenhagen Business School. It consists of three essays covering topics related to the term structure of interest rates, monetary policy and interest rate volatility. The rst essay, \\Monetary Policy Uncertainty and Interest Rates", examines the role of monetary policy uncertainty on the term structure of interest rates. The second essay, \\A Regime-Switching A ne Term Structure Model with Stochast...

  4. Women's Awareness of, Interest in, and Experiences with Long-acting Reversible and Permanent Contraception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burns, Bridgit; Grindlay, Kate; Dennis, Amanda

    2015-01-01

    Long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) and sterilization are popular contraceptive methods. However, they have been associated with safety concerns and coercive practices. We aimed to understand women's opinions and experiences related to these methods, including whether the methods' fraught histories influence use or interest. Between May and July 2013, we conducted an online survey with a convenience sample of 520 women aged 14 to 45. We used quota sampling to ensure women of color were at least 60% of our sample. Descriptive statistics, χ(2) tests, and multivariable logistic regression were used to estimate participants' awareness of, interest in, and experiences with LARCs and sterilization. Overall, 30% of women reported current LARC use and 67% interest in future LARC use. Four percent reported sterilization use and 48% interest in future sterilization. In multivariate analyses, current LARC use was lower among Asian women versus White women (odds ratio [OR], 0.24), and interest in future use was higher among women aged 14 to 24 versus 35 to 45 (OR, 5.49). Interest in sterilization was higher among women aged 14 to 24 and 25 to 34 versus 35 to 45 (ORs, 3.29-3.66) and women with disabilities (OR, 1.64), and lower among Black compared with White women (OR, 0.41). Method misperceptions were evident, and concerns about contraceptive coercion were reported. Concerns about contraceptive coercion were not predominant reasons for noninterest in LARCs and sterilization, but were reported by some participants. Lower sterilization interest among Black women and higher sterilization interest among women with disabilities warrant further research. Efforts to address misperceptions about LARCs and sterilization, including their safety and efficacy, are needed. Copyright © 2015 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Passive cyclotron current drive for fusion plasmas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kernbichler, W.

    1995-01-01

    The creation of toroidal current using cyclotron radiation in a passive way is, together with the well known bootstrap current, an interesting method for stationary current drive in high-temperature fusion reactors. Here, instead of externally applied RF-waves, fish-scale like structures at the first wall help to create enough asymmetry in the self generated cyclotron radiation intensity to drive a current within the plasma. The problem of computing passive cyclotron current drive consists of actually two linked problems, which are the computation of the electron equilibrium under the presence of self-generated radiation, and the computation of the photon equilibrium in a bounded system with a distorted electron distribution. This system of integro-differential equations cannot be solved directly in an efficient way. Therefore a linearization procedure was developed to decouple both sets of equations, finally linked through a generalized local current drive efficiency. The problem of the exact accounting for the wall profile effects was reduced to the solution of a Fredholm-type integral equation of the 2 nd -kind. Based on all this an extensive computer code was developed to compute the passively driven current as well as radiation losses, radiation transport and overall efficiencies. The results therefrom give an interesting and very detailed insight into the problems related to passive cyclotron current drive

  6. Halomonas maura is a physiologically versatile bacterium of both ecological and biotechnological interest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Llamas, Inmaculada; del Moral, Ana; Martínez-Checa, Fernando; Arco, Yolanda; Arias, Soledad; Quesada, Emilia

    2006-01-01

    Halomonas maura is a bacterium of great metabolic versatility. We summarise in this work some of the properties that make it a very interesting microorganism both from an ecological and biotechnological point of view. It plays an active role in the nitrogen cycle, is capable of anaerobic respiration in the presence of nitrate and has recently been identified as a diazotrophic bacterium. Of equal interest is mauran, the exopolysaccharide produced by H. maura, which contributes to the formation of biofilms and thus affords the bacterium advantages in the colonisation of its saline niches. Mauran is highly viscous, shows thixotropic and pseudoplastic behaviour, has the capacity to capture heavy metals and exerts a certain immunomodulator effect in medicine. All these attributes have prompted us to make further investigations into its molecular characteristics. To date we have described 15 open reading frames (ORF's) related to exopolysaccharide production, nitrogen fixation and nitrate reductase activity among others.

  7. High current ion sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, I.G.

    1989-06-01

    The concept of high current ion source is both relative and evolutionary. Within the domain of one particular kind of ion source technology a current of microamperers might be 'high', while in another area a current of 10 Amperes could 'low'. Even within the domain of a single ion source type, what is considered high current performance today is routinely eclipsed by better performance and higher current output within a short period of time. Within their fields of application, there is a large number of kinds of ion sources that can justifiably be called high current. Thus, as a very limited example only, PIGs, Freemen sources, ECR sources, duoplasmatrons, field emission sources, and a great many more all have their high current variants. High current ion beams of gaseous and metallic species can be generated in a number of different ways. Ion sources of the kind developed at various laboratories around the world for the production of intense neutral beams for controlled fusion experiments are used to form large area proton deuteron beams of may tens of Amperes, and this technology can be used for other applications also. There has been significant progress in recent years in the use of microwave ion sources for high current ion beam generation, and this method is likely to find wide application in various different field application. Finally, high current beams of metal ions can be produced using metal vapor vacuum arc ion source technology. After a brief consideration of high current ion source design concepts, these three particular methods are reviewed in this paper

  8. The origin of 'Great Walls'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shandarin, Sergei F.

    2009-01-01

    A new semi-analytical model that explains the formation and sizes of the 'great walls' - the largest structures observed in the universe is suggested. Although the basis of the model is the Zel'dovich approximation it has been used in a new way very different from the previous studies. Instead of traditional approach that evaluates the nonlinear density field it has been utilized for identification of the regions in Lagrangian space that after the mapping to real or redshift space (depending on the kind of structure is studied) end up in the regions where shell-crossing occurs. The set of these regions in Lagrangian space form the progenitor of the structure and after the mapping it determines the pattern of the structure in real or redshift space. The particle trajectories have crossed in such regions and the mapping is no longer unique there. The progenitor after mapping makes only one stream in the multi-stream flow regions therefore it does not comprise all the mass. Nevertheless, it approximately retains the shape of the structure. The progenitor of the structure in real space is determined by the linear density field along with two non-Gaussian fields derived from the initial potential. Its shape in Eulerian space is also affected by the displacement field. The progenitor of the structure in redshift space also depends on these fields but in addition it is strongly affected by two anisotropic fields that determine the pattern of great walls as well as their huge sizes. All the fields used in the mappings are derived from the linear potential smoothed at the current scale of nonlinearity which is R nl = 2.7 h −1 Mpc for the adopted parameters of the ΛCDM universe normalized to σ 8 = 0.8. The model predicts the existence of walls with sizes significantly greater than 500 h −1 Mpc that may be found in sufficiently large redshift surveys

  9. Interest organizations across economic sectors : explaining interest group density in the European Union

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Berkhout, Joost; Carroll, Brendan J.; Braun, Caelesta; Chalmers, Adam W.; Destrooper, Tine; Lowery, David; Otjes, Simon; Rasmussen, Anne

    2015-01-01

    The number of interest organizations (density) varies across policy domains, political issues and economic sectors. This shapes the nature and outcomes of interest representation. In this contribution, we explain the density of interest organizations per economic sector in the European Union on the

  10. Interest organizations across economic sectors: explaining interest group density in the European Union

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Berkhout, Joost; Carroll, Brendan; Braun, Caelesta; Chalmers, Adam; De Strooper, Tine; Lowery, David; Otjes, Simon; Rasmussen, Anne

    2015-01-01

    The number of interest organizations (density) varies across policy domains, political issues and economic sectors. This shapes the nature and outcomes of interest representation. In this contribution, we explain the density of interest organizations per economic sector in the European Union on the

  11. Heating and current drive on NSTX

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, J. R.; Batchelor, D.; Carter, M.; Hosea, J.; Ignat, D.; LeBlanc, B.; Majeski, R.; Ono, M.; Phillips, C. K.; Rogers, J. H.; Schilling, G.

    1997-04-01

    Low aspect ratio tokamaks pose interesting new challenges for heating and current drive. The NSTX (National Spherical Tokamak Experiment) device to be built at Princeton is a low aspect ratio toroidal device that has the achievement of high toroidal beta (˜45%) and non-inductive operation as two of its main research goals. To achieve these goals significant auxiliary heating and current drive systems are required. Present plans include ECH (Electron cyclotron heating) for pre-ionization and start-up assist, HHFW (high harmonic fast wave) for heating and current drive and eventually NBI (neutral beam injection) for heating, current drive and plasma rotation.

  12. Recensie "The Great Reset" : Richard Florida

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Roy van Dalm

    2010-01-01

    Like the Great Depression and the Long Depression before it, experts have viewed prolonged economic downturns as crises. In The Great Reset , bestselling author Richard Florida argues that we should instead see the recent recession as an opportunity to create entirely new ways of working and living

  13. The Accounting Profession: Serving the Public Interest or Capital Interest?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mary A Kaidonis

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available As an integral facet of society, the accounting profession has a role in the State and thecorporate sector, and is also expected to serve the public interest. The capacity for theAustralian accounting profession to serve the public interest is considered in the context oflegislation and the accounting standard setting process. Specific reference is made to theCLERP Act 1999 and ASIC Act 2001. It is argued that the combined effect of these Acts is tolegislate bias so that accounting standards privilege the specific needs of holders of capital,that is capital interest. The assumption that capital markets are surrogate for the publicinterest is contested. Accordingly, if the accounting profession follows national objectives tosupport capital markets, it may undermine its role in serving society.

  14. Thirty years of great ape gestures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomasello, Michael; Call, Josep

    2018-02-21

    We and our colleagues have been doing studies of great ape gestural communication for more than 30 years. Here we attempt to spell out what we have learned. Some aspects of the process have been reliably established by multiple researchers, for example, its intentional structure and its sensitivity to the attentional state of the recipient. Other aspects are more controversial. We argue here that it is a mistake to assimilate great ape gestures to the species-typical displays of other mammals by claiming that they are fixed action patterns, as there are many differences, including the use of attention-getters. It is also a mistake, we argue, to assimilate great ape gestures to human gestures by claiming that they are used referentially and declaratively in a human-like manner, as apes' "pointing" gesture has many limitations and they do not gesture iconically. Great ape gestures constitute a unique form of primate communication with their own unique qualities.

  15. The Great Firewall of China: A Critical Analysis

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Whiting, Michael D

    2008-01-01

    Censorship has a great impact on society as we enter the cyber environment. The Chinese "Great Firewall", as it is commonly called, brings great attention to China as they enter into the global economy...

  16. The mechanism of influence of interest groups in the European Union: political and sociological analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. S. Kanevsky

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Interaction between interest groups and political institutions is one of the cornerstones of the European Union policy making process. Although majority of Russian and foreign works dedicated to lobbying and decision making in the EU, concentrate on a governmental stadial system and normative procedures that regulate interest groups access to policy making centers. Such institutional approach doesn’t clarify why the EU has concrete policies, why not all interest groups are able to win, who sets the agenda and in whose interests decisions are made. Current article, using contemporary theories and research, analyzes process of interaction between interest groups and governmental structures in the EU. It also proposes explanations of wins and losses in the policy making process, trying to answer how interest groups interacts with each other and what patterns can be identified in the process of interest aggregation by governmental structures.

  17. Great Lakes rivermouths: a primer for managers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pebbles, Victoria; Larson, James; Seelbach, Paul; Pebbles, Victoria; Larson, James; Seelbach, Paul

    2013-01-01

    Between the North American Great Lakes and their tributaries are the places where the confluence of river and lake waters creates a distinct ecosystem: the rivermouth ecosystem. Human development has often centered around these rivermouths, in part, because they provide a rich array of ecosystem services. Not surprisingly, centuries of intense human activity have led to substantial pressures on, and alterations to, these ecosystems, often diminishing or degrading their ecological functions and associated ecological services. Many Great Lakes rivermouths are the focus of intense restoration efforts. For example, 36 of the active Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs) are rivermouths or areas that include one or more rivermouths. Historically, research of rivermouth ecosystems has been piecemeal, focused on the Great Lakes proper or on the upper reaches of tributaries, with little direct study of the rivermouth itself. Researchers have been divided among disciplines, agencies and institutions; and they often work independently and use disparate venues to communicate their work. Management has also been fragmented with a focus on smaller, localized, sub-habitat units and socio-political or economic elements, rather than system-level consideration. This Primer presents the case for a more holistic approach to rivermouth science and management that can enable restoration of ecosystem services with multiple benefits to humans and the Great Lakes ecosystem. A conceptual model is presented with supporting text that describes the structures and processes common to all rivermouths, substantiating the case for treating these ecosystems as an identifiable class.1 Ecological services provided by rivermouths and changes in how humans value those services over time are illustrated through case studies of two Great Lakes rivermouths—the St. Louis River and the Maumee River. Specific ecosystem services are identified in italics throughout this Primer and follow definitions described

  18. Cross-Cultural Communication in Oncology: Challenges and Training Interests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weber, Orest; Sulstarova, Brikela; Singy, Pascal

    2016-01-01

    To survey oncology nurses and oncologists about difficulties in taking care of culturally and linguistically diverse patients and about interests in cross-cultural training.
. Descriptive, cross-sectional.
. Web-based survey.
. 108 oncology nurses and 44 oncologists. 
. 31-item questionnaire derived from preexisting surveys in the United States and Switzerland.
. Self-rated difficulties in taking care of culturally and linguistically diverse patients and self-rated interests in cross-cultural training.
. All respondents reported communication difficulties in encounters with culturally and linguistically diverse patients. Respondents considered the absence of written materials in other languages, absence of a shared common language with patients, and sensitive subjects (e.g., end of life, sexuality) to be particularly problematic. Respondents also expressed a high level of interest in all aspects of cross-cultural training (task-oriented skills, background knowledge, reflexivity, and attitudes). Nurses perceived several difficulties related to care of migrants as more problematic than physicians did and were more interested in all aspects of cross-cultural training. 
. The need for cross-cultural training is high among oncology clinicians, particularly among nurses.
. The results reported in the current study may help nurses in decision-making positions and educators in introducing elements of cross-cultural education into oncology curricula for nurses. Cross-cultural training should be offered to oncology nurses.

  19. Whooping crane stopover site use intensity within the Great Plains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pearse, Aaron T.; Brandt, David A.; Harrell, Wade C.; Metzger, Kristine L.; Baasch, David M.; Hefley, Trevor J.

    2015-09-23

    Whooping cranes (Grus americana) of the Aransas-Wood Buffalo population migrate twice each year through the Great Plains in North America. Recovery activities for this endangered species include providing adequate places to stop and rest during migration, which are generally referred to as stopover sites. To assist in recovery efforts, initial estimates of stopover site use intensity are presented, which provide opportunity to identify areas across the migration range used more intensively by whooping cranes. We used location data acquired from 58 unique individuals fitted with platform transmitting terminals that collected global position system locations. Radio-tagged birds provided 2,158 stopover sites over 10 migrations and 5 years (2010–14). Using a grid-based approach, we identified 1,095 20-square-kilometer grid cells that contained stopover sites. We categorized occupied grid cells based on density of stopover sites and the amount of time cranes spent in the area. This assessment resulted in four categories of stopover site use: unoccupied, low intensity, core intensity, and extended-use core intensity. Although provisional, this evaluation of stopover site use intensity offers the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and partners a tool to identify landscapes that may be of greater conservation significance to migrating whooping cranes. Initially, the tool will be used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other interested parties in evaluating the Great Plains Wind Energy Habitat Conservation Plan.

  20. Self-Representation and Representation of the Other in the Great War Propaganda. Some Passages from “La Tradotta” and “Die Tiroler Soldaten-Zeitung”

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Rita Murgia

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available The main aim of this work is to identify, analyse and propose to modern readers and scholars, in an imagological perspective, how war propaganda, through trench papers, was able to create a group identity and a war mentality during the Great War. In particular, this article concentrates on the vis-à-vis between Italy and Austria examining both an italian and an austrian trench paper (“La Tradotta” and the “Tiroler Soldaten-Zeitung”. Through the comparison between some of the most interesting pieces of the two, the author tried to make the reader understand how war propaganda worked with language and how important it was in the creation of consent. It emerges a skilful use of persuasion strategies which can be also seen in a more current perspective and can be useful for the study of modern mass media and their capacity to drive people’s way of thinking and behaviour.

  1. Connectivity and systemic resilience of the Great Barrier Reef.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karlo Hock

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Australia's iconic Great Barrier Reef (GBR continues to suffer from repeated impacts of cyclones, coral bleaching, and outbreaks of the coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS, losing much of its coral cover in the process. This raises the question of the ecosystem's systemic resilience and its ability to rebound after large-scale population loss. Here, we reveal that around 100 reefs of the GBR, or around 3%, have the ideal properties to facilitate recovery of disturbed areas, thereby imparting a level of systemic resilience and aiding its continued recovery. These reefs (1 are highly connected by ocean currents to the wider reef network, (2 have a relatively low risk of exposure to disturbances so that they are likely to provide replenishment when other reefs are depleted, and (3 have an ability to promote recovery of desirable species but are unlikely to either experience or spread COTS outbreaks. The great replenishment potential of these 'robust source reefs', which may supply 47% of the ecosystem in a single dispersal event, emerges from the interaction between oceanographic conditions and geographic location, a process that is likely to be repeated in other reef systems. Such natural resilience of reef systems will become increasingly important as the frequency of disturbances accelerates under climate change.

  2. Perceptions of vocational interest : Self- and other-reports in student-parent dyads

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Holtrop, Djurre; Born, Marise Ph.; de Vries, Reinout Everhard

    2017-01-01

    The current study investigated how self- and other-ratings of vocational interests converge among student–parent dyads. Using the Personal Globe Inventory–Short, we obtained data from a pooled sample of 271 (high school senior and university) student–parent dyads. Participants rated their own

  3. Perceptions of vocational interest: Self- and other-reports in student-parent dyads

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Holtrop, Djurre; Born, Marise Ph; de Vries, Reinout E.

    The current study investigated how self- and other-ratings of vocational interests converge among student–parent dyads. Using the Personal Globe Inventory–Short, we obtained data from a pooled sample of 271 (high school senior and university) student–parent dyads. Participants rated their own

  4. [Obesity in children. Current concerns].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casado de Frías, Enrique

    2006-01-01

    In the last years there has been a growing interest in chilhood obesity in all developed countries. There is a great concern that is prevalence has raised 2-3 fold during the last 20 years. In the spanish chilhood population the obesity prevalence is estimated around 13%. Of note also, a number of other pathologies develop concomitantly with obesity during chilhood. These include type 2 diabetes, a range of respiratory problems, a metabolic syndrome, liver steatosis and seudotumor cerebri among others. Taking for granted that chilhood obesity in its roots is an exogenous disorder, preventive interventions should focus on modifying those ethiologies, improving the ways and nature of chilhood nutrition and its social and ludic behaviours.

  5. Contaminants of emerging concern presence and adverse effects in fish: A case study in the Laurentian Great Lakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jorgenson, Zachary G.; Thomas, Linnea M.; Elliott, Sarah M.; Cavallin, Jenna E.; Randolph, Eric C.; Choy, Steven J.; Alvarez, David; Banda, Jo A.; Gefell, Daniel J.; Lee, Kathy E.; Furlong, Edward T.; Schoenfuss, Heiko L.

    2018-01-01

    The Laurentian Great Lakes are a valuable natural resource that is affected by contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), including sex steroid hormones, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, and new generation pesticides. However, little is known about the fate and biological effects of CECs in tributaries to the Great Lakes. In the current study, 16 sites on three rivers in the Great Lakes basin (Fox, Cuyahoga, and Raquette Rivers) were assessed for CEC presence using polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) and grab water samplers. Biological activity was assessed through a combination of in vitro bioassays (focused on estrogenic activity) and in vivo assays with larval fathead minnows. In addition, resident sunfish, largemouth bass, and white suckers were assessed for changes in

  6. Has Culture Fulled the Great Fertility Decline in Developing Countries since 1960?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Cong; Madsen, Jakob; Moslehi, Solmaz

    This paper suggests that secularization is one of the driving forces behind the great fertility decline that developing countries are currently undergoing. While large families are valued in gender-stratified and collectivist societies, individualistic and secular societies emphasize gender...... equality and low fertility. Standard fertility models extended with culture are estimated using data for 92 developing countries over the period 1960-2010. External instruments are used to deal with endogeneity. It is found that secularization and reduced infant mortality can explain the bulk...

  7. Influence of gender and other factors on medical student specialty interest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boyle, Veronica; Shulruf, Boaz; Poole, Phillippa

    2014-09-12

    Medical schools must select and educate to meet anticipated health needs. Factors influencing career choice include those of the student and their background as well as subsequent experience. Women have comprised over 50% of medical classes for over 20 years. This study describes gender patterns of current specialty interest among medical students at the University of Auckland, and models the predictive effect of gender compared to other career influencing factors. The study analysed career intention survey data from 711 graduating medical students (response rate, 79%) from 2006 to 2011. Interest level was highest for medicine, followed by subspecialty surgery, general practice and paediatrics. There were differences by gender for most specialties, but not for general practice. Women were more likely than men to be interested in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Paediatrics, Geriatrics, Public Health or General Medicine, and less interested in Surgery, Anaesthesia, Emergency Medicine or post graduate study. Each specialty had a different pattern of influencing factors with the most important factor being the experience on a clinical attachment. Factors in career choice are complex and vary by gender and specialty. General practice levels of interest are too low for workforce needs. Predictive models need to be validated in longer term studies but may help guide selection and curriculum design.

  8. The Great London Smog of 1952.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polivka, Barbara J

    2018-04-01

    : The Great London Smog of December 1952 lasted five days and killed up to 12,000 people. The smog developed primarily because of extensive burning of high-sulfur coal. The health effects were both immediate and long lasting, with a recent study revealing an increased likelihood of childhood asthma development in those exposed to the Great Smog while in utero or during their first year of life. Subsequent pollution legislation-including the U.S. Clean Air Act and its amendments-have demonstrably reduced air pollution and positively impacted health outcomes. With poor air quality events like the Great Smog continuing to occur today, nurses need to be aware of the impact such environmental disasters can have on human health.

  9. Delphi survey of issues after the Great East Japan Earthquake

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maeda, Yasunobu; Seo, Kami; Motoyoshi, Tadahiro; Okada, Shinya

    2011-01-01

    The Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011 has catastrophic impacts on Japan. Japan is currently on the way to recovery. However, as the damage on the country as well as society is so serious, Japanese society is urged to change some systems including hazard management, energy policy, information systems and city planning. These changes are accompanied with social group realignments, thus necessarily followed by various risks. To cope with these risk issues, SRA-Japan established the special research committee for the Great East Japan Earthquake. The aim of the committee is, from viewpoints of risk analysts, to create and relate messages about risk issues in 2-3 years, in ten years and in thirty years from the earthquake. To do this, the committee garners SRA-Japan member's opinions about possible risks in Japan by using Delphi method. In SRA-Japan, there are over 600 members in interdisciplinary fields from various backgrounds, thus the messages are expected to be helpful for Japanese society to lower its risks and to optimize the resource allocation. The research is now underway. An interim report will be presented. (author)

  10. distribution of euphausiid crustaceans from the agulhas current

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    may set up a northeasterly counter-current close to the coast and cause local upwelling (aowes. 1950; Darbyshire 1964). The Agulhas Current shows considerable seasonal variation in its rate of flow (Darbyshire. 1964) and ...... detailed study of the biology and distribution of this interesting species in eastern Cape coastal.

  11. Neutral currents, supernovae neutrinos, and nucleosynthesis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haxton, W.C.

    1988-01-01

    The inelastic interactions of neutrinos during stellar collapse and neutron star cooling are discussed. The primary mechanism for dissipative neutrino reactions is nuclear excitation by neutral current scattering, a process not included in standard descriptions of supernovae. Charge-current and neutral current ''preheating'' of iron lying outside the shock front appears to be significant in the few milliseconds near shock breakout. This could help produce a more energetic shock. During the cooling phase, the neutral current interactions of muon and taon neutrinos appear to be responsible for some interesting nucleosynthesis. I discuss two examples the production of fluorine and neutrino-induced r-process nucleosynthesis. 26 refs., 1 fig., 3 tabs

  12. Heating and current drive on NSTX

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilson, J.R.; Batchelor, D.; Carter, M.; Hosea, J.; Ignat, D.; LeBlanc, B.; Majeski, R.; Ono, M.; Phillips, C.K.; Rogers, J.H.; Schilling, G.

    1997-01-01

    Low aspect ratio tokamaks pose interesting new challenges for heating and current drive. The NSTX (National Spherical Tokamak Experiment) device to be built at Princeton is a low aspect ratio toroidal device that has the achievement of high toroidal beta (∼45%) and non-inductive operation as two of its main research goals. To achieve these goals significant auxiliary heating and current drive systems are required. Present plans include ECH (Electron cyclotron heating) for pre-ionization and start-up assist, HHFW (high harmonic fast wave) for heating and current drive and eventually NBI (neutral beam injection) for heating, current drive and plasma rotation. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

  13. Evaluation of regional climate simulations over the Great Lakes region driven by three global data sets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shiyuan Zhong; Xiuping Li; Xindi Bian; Warren E. Heilman; L. Ruby Leung; William I. Jr. Gustafson

    2012-01-01

    The performance of regional climate simulations is evaluated for the Great Lakes region. Three 10-year (1990-1999) current-climate simulations are performed using the MM5 regional climate model (RCM) with 36-km horizontal resolution. The simulations employed identical configuration and physical parameterizations, but different lateral boundary conditions and sea-...

  14. New flags, upward forces and sheltered harbours: The new ‘Great Game’ in the Pacific Islands region

    OpenAIRE

    Kowasch, Matthias; Lindenmann, Peter

    2014-01-01

    The centre of the global economy and the US-geostrategic focus seem to be shifting to the Asia-Pacific region. The present paper deals with the role of Pacific Island states in this new ‘Great Game’ between China and Western powers. Pacific Island states have a long tradition in building non-confrontational and open ties with rival powers. While only four countries in the Pacific have known mineral resources, others depend mainly on tourism, fisheries and remittances. China is interested in t...

  15. Great Expectations for Middle School Counselors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wright, Robert J.

    2012-01-01

    During the Great Recession, 2008 to 2010, school systems scrambled to balance budgets, and the ratio of counselors to students became even larger. To make matters worse, the Great Recession had a major impact on cuts in educational funding. Budget cutbacks tend to occur where the public will be least likely to notice. The loss of teachers and the…

  16. 20 CFR 725.608 - Interest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... simple annual interest, computed from the date on which the benefits were due. The interest shall be... payment of retroactive benefits, the beneficiary shall also be entitled to simple annual interest on such... entitled to simple annual interest computed from the date upon which the beneficiary's right to additional...

  17. Changes in the structure and relations of property in the Great Britain nuclear power

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rumyantsev, V.V.

    1990-01-01

    Analysis of nuclear power development in the Great Britain is given. Currently it is reoriented to a wide application of PWR reactors instead of gas cooled ones, their economic indices being incapable of providing sufficient competitiveness on the British market. Reasons and state of affairs in denationalizing nuclear power, economic and financial difficulties connected with the realization of this politico-economic procedure are reported

  18. Evaluating Interest in Acids-Bases: Development of an Acid-Base Interest Scale (ABIS) and Assessment of Pre-Service Science Teachers' Interest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Çiçek, Ö.; Ilhan, N.

    2017-01-01

    Students are more likely to be successful in topics they are interested in than others. This study aims to develop an Acid-Base Interest Scale (ABIS) and subsequently evaluate the interest of pre-service science teachers in acids-bases according to gender, years at the university, type of high school the pre-service science teachers attended, and…

  19. Oil and the geopolitics of Central Asia: A "new 'great game'"?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Sati, Saud M.

    The nineteenth century rivalry between the Russian Empire and Great Britain over Central Asia, known as the "great game," was triggered by the quest for power and dominance. This study revisits Sir Halford Mackinder's thesis, which viewed the "heartland," consisting of Russia and Central Asia, as being crucial for international politics. It also discusses the influence of Mackinder's ideas on twentieth century geopolitical thinking. The study also examines the common assumption that the new "great game" in Central Asia is evolving around the exploitation of energy resources, and analyzes the consequences of this new factor for the geopolitical significance of the region. The landlocked nature of the Central Asian countries makes it necessary for them to rely on their neighbors for the export of oil and gas to international markets. Thus, the political and economic interests of Russia, Iran, and Turkey motivate them to compete with each other for export routes through their territories. This study also shows that the estimates of Central Asian proven oil reserves are characterized by considerable ambiguity. Estimates vary from seven to twenty-two billion barrels. Despite the fact that these proven oil reserves are limited compared to those of other regions, such as the Middle East, continued exploration is compatible with the Western strategy of energy resource diversification. Another primary aim of American involvement is to prevent the reintegration of Central Asia into the Russian federation and to block Chinese influence in Central Asia. This study reveals that realities in today's Central Asia are different from those of the nineteenth century. Central Asia now consists of independent countries; the competing powers have changed, with the exception of Russia; and oil has emerged as a new factor. However, the perpetual quest for power and dominance that marked the historical "great game" is still at work in the last decade of the twentieth century. Finally, the

  20. Neutral currents in semileptonic reactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paschos, E.A.

    1975-05-01

    The evidence for weak neutral currents is analyzed in semileptonic reactions with special emphasis on their Lorentz and internal symmetry structure. It is found that present observations are consistent with the expectations of gauge theories, but other possibilities can not be ruled out. Of particular interest in this respect is the presence of a large isoscalar component. The excitation of the Δ-resonance by neutral currents is analyzed, and pion-nucleon mass distributions are presented. Charge asymmetries sensitive to isoscalar-isovector interferences are discussed. (U.S.)

  1. 12 CFR 7.4001 - Charging interest at rates permitted competing institutions; charging interest to corporate...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... institutions; charging interest to corporate borrowers. 7.4001 Section 7.4001 Banks and Banking COMPTROLLER OF... interest at rates permitted competing institutions; charging interest to corporate borrowers. (a... the law of that state. If state law permits different interest charges on specified classes of loans...

  2. Whose interests and under whose control?: Interest convergence in science-focused school-community collaborations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morrison, Deb

    2018-03-01

    In this dialogue with Monica Ridgeway and Randy Yerrick's Whose banner are we waving?: exploring STEM partnerships for marginalized urban youth, I engage the critical race theory (CRT) tenet of interest convergence. I first expand Derrick Bell's (1980) initial statement of interest convergence with subsequent scholarly work in this area. I then explore ways CRT in general and interest convergence specifically have been applied in the field of education. Using this framing, I examine how interest convergence may be shed new insights into Monica Ridgeway and Randy Yerrick's study. For example, the tenet of interest convergence is used to frame why it was beneficial for the White artist, Jacob, and the Achievement Scholars to collaborate in the service-learning mural. Then the idea of interest divergence is brought into explore the ways in which Jacob benefitted from his participation in the service learning project while the Achievement Scholars were left with an unfinished project which they had to problem solve. To conclude, I provide future directions for the application of interest convergence and divergence to issues facing science education.

  3. Great Indoors Awards 2007

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    2007-01-01

    Hollandis Maastrichtis jagati 17. XI esimest korda rahvusvahelist auhinda The Great Indoors Award. Aasta sisekujundusfirmaks valiti Masamichi Katayama asutatud Wonderwall. Auhinna said veel Zaha Hadid, Heatherwick Studio, Ryui Nakamura Architects ja Item Idem

  4. Energy and water in the Great Lakes.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tidwell, Vincent Carroll

    2011-11-01

    The nexus between thermoelectric power production and water use is not uniform across the U.S., but rather differs according to regional physiography, demography, power plant fleet composition, and the transmission network. That is, in some regions water demand for thermoelectric production is relatively small while in other regions it represents the dominate use. The later is the case for the Great Lakes region, which has important implications for the water resources and aquatic ecology of the Great Lakes watershed. This is today, but what about the future? Projected demographic trends, shifting lifestyles, and economic growth coupled with the threat of global climate change and mounting pressure for greater U.S. energy security could have profound effects on the region's energy future. Planning for such an uncertain future is further complicated by the fact that energy and environmental planning and regulatory decisionmaking is largely bifurcated in the region, with environmental and water resource concerns generally taken into account after new energy facilities and technologies have been proposed, or practices are already in place. Based on these confounding needs, the objective of this effort is to develop Great Lakes-specific methods and tools to integrate energy and water resource planning and thereby support the dual goals of smarter energy planning and development, and protection of Great Lakes water resources. Guiding policies for this planning are the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact and the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. The desired outcome of integrated energy-water-aquatic resource planning is a more sustainable regional energy mix for the Great Lakes basin ecosystem.

  5. U.S. Adult Interest in Less Harmful and Less Addictive Hypothetical Modified Risk Tobacco Products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Brien, Erin Keely; Persoskie, Alexander; Parascandola, Mark; Hoffman, Allison C

    2017-09-28

    Tobacco companies have a history of making health claims about their new products. Such claims are now regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. We examined consumer interest in hypothetical modified risk tobacco products (MRTPs) among current, former and never established smokers, and examined whether interest was associated with beliefs about tobacco and cancer. Data were analyzed from the U.S. nationally representative 2015 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS-FDA 2015; N = 3,738). Interest in hypothetical MRTPs was assessed by asking participants their likelihood of using tobacco products claiming to be less addictive and less harmful than other products. About half of current smokers and a tenth of both former and never smokers reported they were "somewhat" or "very" likely to try hypothetical MRTPs claiming to be less harmful or less addictive. Female smokers, former smokers with lower smoking harm perceptions, and never smokers who are young adults or without college education expressed more interest in these products. Interest in using these products was positively associated with believing that smoking status is a changeable individual characteristic and that it is possible for tobacco products to be made without some harmful chemicals. We identified several subgroups of current, former, and never smokers who may be particularly affected by the marketing of MRTPs and therefore important to study to inform models of the potential population health impact of authorizing the marketing of MRTPs. Findings about interest in hypothetical MRTPs can inform models of how the marketing of MRTPs could affect population health. Understanding which subgroups are particularly interested in MRTPs can help determine who might be important to study to inform these models. We identified several groups who may warrant specific attention: smokers who are female, former smokers who hold low harm perceptions of smoking, never smokers who are young adults or

  6. Current Status of Astrophysics of Cosmic Rays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moskalenko, Igor

    2016-03-01

    I will review the current instrumentation and recent results. I will discuss which measurements have to be done in the near future to significantly advance our knowledge about the phenomenon of cosmic rays, their sources, and their interactions with the interstellar medium. A support from NASA APRA Grant No. NNX13AC47G is greatly acknowledged.

  7. INTEREST AND READING MOTIVATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alhamdu Alhamdu

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between interest and reading motivation based on literature review. The concept of the interest portrayed as a psychological state that occurs during interaction between individual and specific topic, object or activity including process of willingness, increased attention, concentration and positive feeling to the topic, object or activity. Meanwhile reading motivation emphasized to mental readiness, willingness and refers to beliefs and perception of individual to engage in reading activity. Some researchers were identified factors that influenced reading motivation such as intrinsic and extrinsic factors, self-concept and value of reading, and interest. In general, the literature review described that have positive relationship between interest and reading motivation.

  8. Graduate Students' Research Interest in Business Ethics: A Study of Dissertations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piotrowski, Chris; Guyette, Roger W.

    2014-01-01

    Research on the nature of business ethics education during graduate-level training is somewhat limited. One approach in determining advanced students' research interest in the area is to examine the selection of "business ethics" topics for dissertation research. The current study addressed this issue by conducting a topical…

  9. The History of Research and Development Islands Peter the Great Bay, Sea of Japan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aleksandr B. Kosolapov

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The article discusses the history of the discovery, research and development of the islands of Russian pioneers in Peter the Great Bay, Sea of Japan from the middle of the XIX century. The paper used in scientific papers and journalistic materials researchers Islands Peter the Great Bay, unpublished sources: Russian State Historical Archive of the Far East, Primorsky Region State Archives, Archives of Primorsky regional department of the All-Russian public organization "Russian Geographical Society" Society for the Study of the Amur region. The methodological basis of the work was the principle of historicism and objectivity, allowed to consider the issue of research and development of the islands of the Gulf of Peter the Great on a broad documentary basis in the process of development in the specific historical conditions. The history of hydrographic discoveries of natural and geographical studies. It touches upon the issues concerning the construction of Vladivostok fortress. In the periodical press materials recreated pages agricultural and industrial development of the islands. Examples of business entrepreneurs first edge (A.D. Startsev, M.I. Jankowski, O.V. Lindgolm. The Toponymic notes link the island territories with the names of their discoverers, explorers, industrialists. The authors conclude that the historical conditionality of development of the islands is linked mainly with the military interests of Russia on its southeastern edge, using the resources of the sea and the unique natural conditions suitable for the development of agricultural, industrial, recreation and tourism.

  10. A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE RELATING TO CAPTIVE GREAT APE MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strong, Victoria J; Grindlay, Douglas; Redrobe, Sharon; Cobb, Malcolm; White, Kate

    2016-09-01

    Wild bonobos (Pan paniscus), chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), Western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla), and orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus, Pongo abelii) are threatened with extinction. In order to help maintain a self-sustaining zoo population, clinicians require a sound understanding of the diseases with which they might be presented. To provide an up-to-date perspective on great ape morbidity and mortality, a systematic review of the zoological and veterinary literature of great apes from 1990 to 2014 was conducted. This is the first review of the great ape literature published since 1990 and the first-ever systematic literature review of great ape morbidity and mortality. The following databases were searched for relevant articles: CAB Abstracts, Web of Science Core Collection, BIOSIS Citation Index, BIOSIS Previews, Current Contents Connect, Data Citation Index, Derwent Innovations Index, MEDLINE, SciELO Citation Index, and Zoological Record. A total of 189 articles reporting on the causes of morbidity and mortality among captive great apes were selected and divided into comparative morbidity-mortality studies and case reports-series or single-disease prevalence studies. The content and main findings of the morbidity-mortality studies were reviewed and the main limitations identified. The case reports-case series and single-disease prevalence studies were categorized and coded according to taxa, etiology, and body system. Subsequent analysis allowed the amount of literature coverage afforded to each category to be calculated and the main diseases and disorders reported within the literature to be identified. This review concludes that reports of idiopathic and infectious diseases along with disorders of the cardiovascular, respiratory, and gastrointestinal body systems were particularly prominent within the great ape literature during 1990-2014. However, recent and accurate prevalence figures are lacking and there are flaws in those reviews that do exist. There is

  11. Towards Patient-Centered Conflicts of Interest Policy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter D. Young

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Financial conflicts of interest exist between industry and physicians, and these relationships have the power to influence physicians’ medical practice. Transparency about conflicts matters for ensuring adequate informed consent, controlling healthcare expenditure, and encouraging physicians’ reflection on professionalism. The US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS launched the Open Payments Program (OPP to publicly disclose and bring transparency to the relationships between industry and physicians in the United States. We set out to explore user awareness of the database and the ease of accessibility to disclosed information, however, as we show, both awareness and actual use are very low. Two practical policies can greatly enhance its intended function and help alleviate ethical tension. The first is to provide data for individual physicians not merely in absolute terms, but in meaningful context, that is, in relation to the zip code, city, and state averages. The second increases access to the OPP dataset by adding hyperlinks from physicians’ professional websites directly to their Open Payments disclosure pages. These changes considerably improve transparency and the utility of available data, and can furthermore enhance professionalism and accountability by encouraging physicians to reflect more actively on their own practices.

  12. The alcohol industry and public interest science.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stenius, Kerstin; Babor, Thomas F

    2010-02-01

    This report argues that the growing involvement of the alcohol industry in scientific research needs to be acknowledged and addressed. It suggests a set of principles to guide ethical decision-making in the future. We review relevant issues with regard to relationships between the alcohol industry and the international academic community, especially alcohol research scientists. The guiding principles proposed are modelled after expert committee statements, and describe the responsibilities of governmental agencies, the alcohol industry, journal editors and the academic community. These are followed by recommendations designed to inform individuals and institutions about current 'best practices' that are consistent with the principles. Growing evidence from the tobacco, pharmaceutical and medical fields suggests that financial interests of researchers may compromise their professional judgement and lead to research results that are biased in favour of commercial interests. It is recommended that the integrity of alcohol science is best served if all financial relationships with the alcoholic beverage industry are avoided. In cases where research funding, consulting, writing assignments and other activities are initiated, institutions, individuals and the alcoholic beverage industry itself are urged to follow appropriate guidelines that will increase the transparency and ethicality of such relationships.

  13. Dual Aharonov-Casher effect and persistent dipole current

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yi, J.; Jeon, G.S.; Choi, M.Y.

    1995-01-01

    An electric dipole moving in a magnetic field acquires a nontrivial quantum phase in the appropriate configuration. It is shown that this phase is manifested by the persistent dipole current induced on a ring pierced by a line of magnetic monopoles. Such a current depends on the statistics of the dipoles, which may have interesting implications for experiments. It is also pointed out that the dipole current cannot be self-sustained

  14. Graduating med-peds residents' interest in part-time employment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fix, Amy L; Kaelber, David C; Melgar, Thomas A; Chamberlain, John; Cull, William; Robbins, Brett W

    2011-01-01

    As part-time work is becoming more popular among the primary care specialties, we examined the demographic descriptors of med-peds residents seeking and finding part-time employment upon completion of residency training. As part of the 2006 annual American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Graduating Med-Peds Residents Survey, we surveyed the graduating residents of all med-peds programs about their interest in and plans for part-time employment. A total of 199 (60%) of the residents responded. Of the resident respondents applying for nonfellowship jobs, 19% sought part-time positions and 10% actually accepted a part-time position. Female residents were significantly more likely than male residents to apply for part-time jobs (26% vs. 7%, P = .034). Sixty percent of female residents immediately seeking work and 58% of those going on to fellowship reported an interest in arranging a part-time or reduced-hours position at some point in the next 5 years. Part-time employment among med-peds residents applying for nonfellowship positions after graduation is similar to the current incidence of part-time employment in other fields of primary care. A much higher percentage of med-peds residents are interested in arranging part-time work within 5 years after graduation. This strong interest in part-time work has many implications for the primary care workforce. Copyright © 2011 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group Proceedings, Bowling Green, Kentucky, May 27-29, 2008

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuniansky, Eve L.

    2008-01-01

    *INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS* Karst aquifer systems are present throughout parts of the United States and some of its territories. The complex depositional environments that form carbonate rocks combined with post-depositional tectonic events and the diverse climatic regimes under which these rocks were formed result in unique hydrologic systems. The dissolution of calcium carbonate and the subsequent development of distinct and beautiful landscapes, caverns, and springs have resulted in some karst areas of the United States being designated as national or state parks and commercial caverns. Karst aquifers and landscapes that form in tropical areas, such as the north coast of Puerto Rico, differ greatly from karst areas in more arid climates, such as central Texas or western South Dakota. Many of these public and private lands contain unique flora and fauna associated with the hydrologic systems in these karst areas. As a result, multiple Federal, State, and local agencies have an interest in the study of karst terrains. Carbonate sediments and rocks (limestone and dolomite) are composed of greater than 50 percent carbonate minerals and the predominant carbonate mineral is calcium carbonate or limestone (CaCO3). Unlike terrigenous clastic sedimentation, the depositional processes that produce carbonate rocks are complex, involving both biological and physical processes. These depositional processes impact greatly the development of permeability of the sediments. Carbonate minerals readily dissolve or precipitate depending on the chemistry of the water flowing through the rock, thus the study of both marine and meteoric diagenesis of carbonate sediments is multidisciplinary. Even with a better understanding of the depositional environment and subsequent diagenesis, the dual porosity nature of karst aquifers presents challenges to scientists attempting to study ground-water flow and contaminant transport. Many of the major springs and aquifers in the United

  16. On the meaning of Ribā [interest] and its effect on the Nigerian economy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muritala K. Kareem

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The role of financial intermediation in a modern capitalist system hinges mainly on the taking and charging interest. While some Islamic scholars consider interest to be lawful for Muslims to take or charge on their transactions, many Islamic scholars consider charging or taking interest to be non-shari’ah compliant. It is against this backdrop that the paper sets out to provide a correct articulation of the meaning of ribā [interest/usury], which is the foundation stone on which the conventional financial institutions are based and examines its effects on the Nigerian economy. Using information about the forms and structure of socio-economic transactions during al-Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic period in Makkah and during the Prophet’s time in Makkah and Madinah, we found that interest of all kinds is prohibited. The practice of interest payment in a modern capitalist economy is against the dictates of the Shari’ah. The article finds that debt servicing has badly affected the economic growth development of Nigeria. The article reveals a sharp increase in the amounts used to finance the country’s debt obligation. The debt servicing as a percentage of the capital expenditure has been increasing greatly since 2011 to till date. The percentage of debt servicing to capital expenditure in Nigeria from 1981 to 2015 has been very high for the country, with an average of over 59.0% under the 35 years considered in this study. In some years, this ratio was over 100.0% reaching its peak at 150.4% in 2003. In 2015, the ratio stood at 129.57%. This could account for low level of development in the country. The negative impact of debt servicing on the economy serves as a barrier to poverty alleviation, economic growth and development.

  17. 27 CFR 70.93 - Interest rate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Interest rate. 70.93... Excise and Special (Occupational) Tax Interest § 70.93 Interest rate. (a) In general. The interest rate... annual percentage rate of interest will exceed the prescribed rate of interest. (b) Applicability of...

  18. The Great War and German Memory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Leese, Peter

    2012-01-01

    Review essay on Jason Crouthamel, The Great War and German Memory. Society, Politics and Psychological Trauma, 1914-18 (2009) and Anton Kaes, Shell Shock Cinema: Weimar Culture and the Wounds of War (2009)......Review essay on Jason Crouthamel, The Great War and German Memory. Society, Politics and Psychological Trauma, 1914-18 (2009) and Anton Kaes, Shell Shock Cinema: Weimar Culture and the Wounds of War (2009)...

  19. Gender roles and science beliefs and their relationship to science interest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paolucci, Judith Jean

    This study investigated adolescents' views about the nature of science (NOS) and conceptions of their gender identities, and revealed whether these conceptions and views are related to their science interest. Participants were 566 high school students enrolled in chemistry courses at three high schools in a New England state. A questionnaire was used to assess participants' science interest, gender role perceptions, and views about science, as well as to provide background and math and science achievement data. The study found that while student scores of NOS understanding did not differ by gender, some significant differences were noted on the student responses to statements about science. Students with higher-than-average science interest scores responded to these statements differently than students with lower science interest scores; their responses tended to more closely match statements about NOS taken from current reform documents. The study also found that math and science achievement, masculinity scores, and NOS scores accounted for a greater variance of science interest for girls than for boys, though all three also contributed significantly and positively to the regression equation for boys. These predictor variables predicted membership to the lower or higher science interest groups, but could not predict students' career aspiration groups. Thus, other mediating factors not considered in this study may translate high science interest to science career aspiration. The results of this study coed prior research, which found that science and math achievement and masculinity are positively and significantly related to science interest for boy boys and girls. Moreover, the study found that achievement in math and science courses is a greater predictor of science interest for girls than for boys. The results of this study provide a rationale for incorporating the nature of science into the science curriculum. Moreover, since the science interest of boys was

  20. Using natural range of variation to set decision thresholds: a case study for great plains grasslands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Symstad, Amy J.; Jonas, Jayne L.; Edited by Guntenspergen, Glenn R.

    2014-01-01

    Natural range of variation (NRV) may be used to establish decision thresholds or action assessment points when ecological thresholds are either unknown or do not exist for attributes of interest in a managed ecosystem. The process for estimating NRV involves identifying spatial and temporal scales that adequately capture the heterogeneity of the ecosystem; compiling data for the attributes of interest via study of historic records, analysis and interpretation of proxy records, modeling, space-for-time substitutions, or analysis of long-term monitoring data; and quantifying the NRV from those data. At least 19 National Park Service (NPS) units in North America’s Great Plains are monitoring plant species richness and evenness as indicators of vegetation integrity in native grasslands, but little information on natural, temporal variability of these indicators is available. In this case study, we use six long-term vegetation monitoring datasets to quantify the temporal variability of these attributes in reference conditions for a variety of Great Plains grassland types, and then illustrate the implications of using different NRVs based on these quantities for setting management decision thresholds. Temporal variability of richness (as measured by the coefficient of variation, CV) is fairly consistent across the wide variety of conditions occurring in Colorado shortgrass prairie to Minnesota tallgrass sand savanna (CV 0.20–0.45) and generally less than that of production at the same sites. Temporal variability of evenness spans a greater range of CV than richness, and it is greater than that of production in some sites but less in other sites. This natural temporal variability may mask undesirable changes in Great Plains grasslands vegetation. Consequently, we suggest that managers consider using a relatively narrow NRV (interquartile range of all richness or evenness values observed in reference conditions) for designating a surveillance threshold, at which

  1. Identifying and managing conflicts between forest conservation and other human interests in Europe

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Niemela, J.; Young, J.; Alard, D.; Askasibar, M.; Henle, K.; Johnson, R.; Kurttila, M.; Larsson, T.B.; Matouch, S.; Nowicki, P.L.; Paiva, R.Q.; Portoghesi, L.; Smulders, M.J.M.; Stevenson, A.; Tartes, U.; Watt, A.

    2005-01-01

    In this paper, circumstances where various human activities and interests clash with the conservation of forest biodiversity are examined, with particular focus on the drivers behind the conflicts. After identifying past and current human-related threats potentially leading to conflicts in forests,

  2. A Review of Conflict of Interest, Competing Interest, and Bias for Toxicologists

    Science.gov (United States)

    One of the issues often associated with scientific misconduct is conflict of interest (CoI). Although there is a lack of uniformity in the definition of CoI, many express concerns that competing interests may bias research methods and the interpretation of data and conclusions. ...

  3. Mental health and psychosocial support after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kato, Yutaka; Uchida, Hiroyuki; Mimura, Masaru

    2012-01-01

    Since the Great East Japan Earthquake, Keio University School of Medicine has, at the request of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, provided mental health and psychosocial support to those living in Soma City in Fukushima Prefecture. This report covers the types of support provided in Soma City and discusses previous studies that were used as the model for current support practice and the results gained from actual performance. Also included is a summary of the objectives that were or were not achieved for medical support compared with recommendations from previous studies. Furthermore, future directions for medical support are also discussed.

  4. Preliminary assessment of the risk of volcanism at a proposed nuclear-waste repository in the southern Great Basin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crowe, B.M.; Carr, W.J.

    1980-01-01

    Volcanic hazard studies of the southern Great Basin are being conducted on behalf of the Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage Investigations program. Current work is chiefly concerned with characterizing the geology, chronology, and tectonic setting of Pliocene and Quaternary volcanism in the Nevada Test Site region, and assessing volcanic risk through consequence and probability studies, particularly with respect to a potential site in the southwestern Nevada Test Site. Young ( - 6 volcanic events per year. Based on this rate, the annual probability of disruption of a 10-km 2 repository located within a 25-km radius circle centered at Yucca Mountain, southwestern Nevada Test Site, is 10 - 8 . A larger area, 50-km radius, yields a disruption probability of 10 - 9 per year. Current tectonic zonation studies of the southern Great Basin will reduce the calculated probabilities of basaltic eruption for certain areas. 21 references, 3 figures

  5. Preserving ‘Great Power Status’: The Complex Case of the British Intervention in the Falklands (1982

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grandpierron Matthieu

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available This article aims to examine the importance of an often overlooked argument when it comes to explaining why great powers go to war against a weaker actor. This argument involves great power status considerations. The article argues that states care deeply about their status, especially states which are current and former great powers, and would opt to go to war to preserve this status even if the political and military consequences of such intervention are negligible to objective observers. To illustrate this argument, I will be looking at why the British decided to reestablish their sovereignty over the Falklands in 1982. The empirical part of the analysis is based on formerly secret documents declassified by the British government. This qualitative primary analysis of British documents provides new insights about the crisis and suggests that status considerations played a large role in the British decision to re-conquer the Falklands.

  6. Points of Interest: What Determines Interest Rates?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schilling, Tim

    Interest rates can significantly influence people's behavior. When rates decline, homeowners rush to buy new homes and refinance old mortgages; automobile buyers scramble to buy new cars; the stock market soars, and people tend to feel more optimistic about the future. But even though individuals respond to changes in rates, they may not fully…

  7. Interest Rates and Inflation

    OpenAIRE

    Coopersmith, Michael; Gambardella, Pascal J.

    2016-01-01

    This article is an extension of the work of one of us (Coopersmith, 2011) in deriving the relationship between certain interest rates and the inflation rate of a two component economic system. We use the well-known Fisher relation between the difference of the nominal interest rate and its inflation adjusted value to eliminate the inflation rate and obtain a delay differential equation. We provide computer simulated solutions for this equation over regimes of interest. This paper could be of ...

  8. Arthropods and the Current Great Mass Extinction: Effective Themes to Decrease Arthropod Fear and Disgust and Increase Positive Environmental Beliefs in Children?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagler, Amy; Wagler, Ron

    2014-01-01

    Earth is experiencing a great mass extinction (GME) that has been caused by the environmentally destructive activities of humans. This GME is having and will have profound effects on Earth's biodiversity if environmental sustainability is not reached. Activities and curriculum tools have been developed to assist teachers in integrating the current…

  9. Great ape genetic diversity and population history

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Prado-Martinez, Javier; Sudmant, Peter H; Kidd, Jeffrey M

    2013-01-01

    Most great ape genetic variation remains uncharacterized; however, its study is critical for understanding population history, recombination, selection and susceptibility to disease. Here we sequence to high coverage a total of 79 wild- and captive-born individuals representing all six great ape...

  10. Measurement of the νμ Charged Current π+ to Quasi-Elastic Cross Section Ratio on Mineral Oil in a 0.8 GeV Neutrino Beam

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Linden, Steven K.

    2011-01-01

    Charged current single pion production (CCπ + ) and charged current quasi-elastic scattering (CCQE) are the most abundant interaction types for neutrinos at energies around 1 GeV, a region of great interest to oscillation experiments. The cross-sections for these processes, however, are not well understood in this energy range. This dissertation presents a measurement of the ratio of CCπ + to CCQE cross-sections for muon neutrinos on mineral oil (CH 2 ) in the MiniBooNE experiment. The measurement is presented here both with and without corrections for hadronic re-interactions in the target nucleus and is given as a function of neutrino energy in the range 0.4 GeV ν + events collected in MiniBooNE, and with a fractional uncertainty of roughly 11% in the region of highest statistics, this measurement represents a dramatic improvement in statistics and precision over previous CCπ + and CCQE measurements.

  11. The most important parameters of life quality of the Great Patriotic War veterans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuanov A.A.

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Purpose of the study was to estimate current state of quality of life of Great Patriotic War veterans. Materials and methods. The study included 368 veterans of the Great Patriotic War according to Federal State "Concerning veterans" #5, 1995. Protocol of the study included adapted fragments of WHOQOL, WHOQOL-Old, SF-36, SIP questioners as well as visually-analog scale of self-assessment of quality of life with further going quality of life index calculations. Re-sults. In the studied sample of the Great Patriotic War (GPW veterans including long-livers comparably was detected high level of quality of life (QOL by physical criteria and independence level. It was revealed that QOL by self-service criteria in the GPW veterans was low and extremely variable by other criteria groups. Both ageing and gender influenced upon physical activity, self-service and QOL self-assessment. Women were outstanding by psychological criteria and independence with no association with age group. Conclusion. QOL indication in the GPW veterans of studied sample elucidated a satisfactory level of healthcare in the region, which allows veterans in certain way preserve both physical and psychological health, as well as grounds positive self-assessment of personal position in society and values system according to their life-goals and expectations.

  12. Ponderomotive enhancement of charged particle beam limiting current

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grebogi, C.; Uhm, H.S.

    1987-01-01

    The space charge limiting current problem is investigated for a magnetized particle beam propagating in a cylindrical drift tube and in presence of a waveguide mode. It is shown that with a proper choice of a waveguide mode, the limiting current can be greatly enhanced due to ponderomotive effects. Physically, this is accomplished by using the ponderomotive energy to reduce the potential depression due to the beam's self space charge field. Formulas for the limiting current as a function of beam energy and waveguide r.f. field for solid and hollow beams are derived. It is found from these formulas that, in appropriate parameter regimes, the space charge limiting current, say, of a 250kV bem can be enhanced by 70%

  13. GREAT: a web portal for Genome Regulatory Architecture Tools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouyioukos, Costas; Bucchini, François; Elati, Mohamed; Képès, François

    2016-07-08

    GREAT (Genome REgulatory Architecture Tools) is a novel web portal for tools designed to generate user-friendly and biologically useful analysis of genome architecture and regulation. The online tools of GREAT are freely accessible and compatible with essentially any operating system which runs a modern browser. GREAT is based on the analysis of genome layout -defined as the respective positioning of co-functional genes- and its relation with chromosome architecture and gene expression. GREAT tools allow users to systematically detect regular patterns along co-functional genomic features in an automatic way consisting of three individual steps and respective interactive visualizations. In addition to the complete analysis of regularities, GREAT tools enable the use of periodicity and position information for improving the prediction of transcription factor binding sites using a multi-view machine learning approach. The outcome of this integrative approach features a multivariate analysis of the interplay between the location of a gene and its regulatory sequence. GREAT results are plotted in web interactive graphs and are available for download either as individual plots, self-contained interactive pages or as machine readable tables for downstream analysis. The GREAT portal can be reached at the following URL https://absynth.issb.genopole.fr/GREAT and each individual GREAT tool is available for downloading. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  14. Giant current fluctuations in an overheated single-electron transistor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laakso, M. A.; Heikkilä, T. T.; Nazarov, Yuli V.

    2010-11-01

    Interplay of cotunneling and single-electron tunneling in a thermally isolated single-electron transistor leads to peculiar overheating effects. In particular, there is an interesting crossover interval where the competition between cotunneling and single-electron tunneling changes to the dominance of the latter. In this interval, the current exhibits anomalous sensitivity to the effective electron temperature of the transistor island and its fluctuations. We present a detailed study of the current and temperature fluctuations at this interesting point. The methods implemented allow for a complete characterization of the distribution of the fluctuating quantities, well beyond the Gaussian approximation. We reveal and explore the parameter range where, for sufficiently small transistor islands, the current fluctuations become gigantic. In this regime, the optimal value of the current, its expectation value, and its standard deviation differ from each other by parametrically large factors. This situation is unique for transport in nanostructures and for electron transport in general. The origin of this spectacular effect is the exponential sensitivity of the current to the fluctuating effective temperature.

  15. 27 CFR 6.32 - Indirect interest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS âTIED-HOUSEâ Unlawful Inducements Interest in Retail Property § 6.32 Indirect interest. Industry member interest in retail property includes any interest acquired by corporate officials, partners, employees or other representatives of the industry member. Any interest in retail property...

  16. Religion, finding interests in life, and change in self-esteem during late life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krause, Neal; Hayward, R David

    2014-05-01

    Research indicates that greater involvement in activities is essential for successful aging. The purpose of the current study is to examine a construct that motivates involvement in activities-finding interests in life. In the process, we also show how involvement in religion may help promote interests. In order to examine these issues, a conceptual model is tested that contains the following core hypotheses: (1) older people who go to church more often will be more likely to have stronger God-mediated control beliefs (i.e., the belief that God works together with people to resolve problems and reach desired goals); (2) older adults with a stronger sense of God-mediated control will be more likely to find things in life that are interesting; and (3) older individuals with more interests experience a greater sense of self-worth over time. Findings from a nationwide survey provide support for the key relationships described above. © The Author(s) 2013.

  17. Equilibrium of current driven rotating liquid metal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Velikhov, E.P.; Ivanov, A.A.; Zakharov, S.V.; Zakharov, V.S.; Livadny, A.O.; Serebrennikov, K.S.

    2006-01-01

    In view of great importance of magneto-rotational instability (MRI) as a fundamental mechanism for angular momentum transfer in magnetized stellar accretion disks, several research centers are involved in experimental study of MRI under laboratory conditions. The idea of the experiment is to investigate the rotation dynamics of well conducting liquid (liquid metal) between two cylinders in axial magnetic field. In this Letter, an experimental scheme with immovable cylinders and fluid rotation driven by radial current is considered. The analytical solution of a stationary flow was found taking into account the external current. Results of axially symmetric numerical simulations of current driven fluid dynamics in experimental setup geometry are presented. The analytical solution and numerical simulations show that the current driven fluid rotation in axial magnetic field provides the axially homogeneous velocity profile suitable for MRI study in classical statement

  18. Concepts on border control of the immigration movements supporters in the Great Britain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariya D. Lada

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Due to the current activization of immigration movements towards Europe the problem of border control and possibility of free migration has become especially topical and critical in political and social discussion in the countries of the European Union and Great Britain in particular. The arguments of free border supporters in modern Great Britain are reviewed in terms of the research of works by Teresa Hayter. Teresa Hayter – scientist, publicist, active participant of the antiracist movement and one of the most radical supporters of «free migration» in Great Britain Her views were fully presented in the monograph «Open borders: case against immigration controls» (first edition 2000, second – 2004, third – 2015. The key arguments of the supporters of active migration movements include the very idea of such movements being objectively and historically predetermined, while their control or preventing is a form of discrimination. Teresa Hayter debunks a range of myths and stereotypes concerning this problem, in particular the effectiveness of repressive methods of control and absolutely negative consequences for the population and country caused by these movements. The researcher states that the only way to ensure that the refuges are truly protected is to eliminate immigration control. Such sphere of government policy as immigration regulation and control is a form of racism. The majority of her arguments have moral and political context. On the other hand, they can be a special source of studying social discussion of the issue of free borders and migration processes in Great Britain.

  19. 27 CFR 6.26 - Indirect interest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS âTIED-HOUSEâ Unlawful Inducements Interest in Retail License § 6.26 Indirect interest. Industry member interest in retail licenses includes any interest acquired by corporate officials, partners, employees or other representatives of the industry member. Any interest in a retail license...

  20. Exponential-Polynomial Families and the Term Structure of Interest Rates

    OpenAIRE

    Filipovic, Damir

    2000-01-01

    Exponential-polynomial families like the Nelson-Siegel or Svensson family are widely used to estimate the current forward rate curve. We investigate whether these methods go well with inter-temporal modelling. We characterize the consistent Ito processes which have the property to provide an arbitrage free interest rate model when representing the parameters of some bounded exponential-polynomial type function. This includes in particular diffusion processes. We show that there is a strong li...

  1. Stability and Polaronic Motion of Self-Trapped Holes in Silver Halides

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Loftager, Simon; Garcia-Fernandez, P.; Aramburu, J. A.

    2016-01-01

    Polarons and their associated transport properties are a field of great current interest both in chemistry and physics. To further our understanding of these quasi-particles, we have carried out first-principles calculations of self-trapped holes (STHs) in the model compounds AgCl and AgBr, for w......Polarons and their associated transport properties are a field of great current interest both in chemistry and physics. To further our understanding of these quasi-particles, we have carried out first-principles calculations of self-trapped holes (STHs) in the model compounds AgCl and Ag...

  2. Upper secondary students’ situational interest:

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dohn, Niels Bonderup

    2013-01-01

    interest was investigated by a descriptive interpretive approach, based on data from classroom and field trip observations, video recording, and interviews. The findings provided evidence that substantial situational interest can be generated during a fieldtrip to a zoo. Students’ interest was triggered...

  3. Superconducting dc fault current limiter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cointe, Y.

    2007-12-01

    Within the framework of the electric power market liberalization, DC networks have many interests compared to alternative ones, but their protections need to use new systems. Superconducting fault current limiters enable by an overstepping of the critical current to limit the fault current to a preset value, lower than the theoretical short-circuit current. For these applications, coated conductors offer excellent opportunities. We worked on the implementation of these materials and built a test bench. We carried out limiting experiments to estimate the quench homogeneity at various short-circuit parameters. An important point is the temperature measurement by deposited sensors on the ribbon, results are in good correlation with the theoretical models. Improved quench behaviours for temperatures close to the critical temperature have been confirmed. Our results enable to better understand the limitation mechanisms of coated conductors. (author)

  4. 24 CFR 206.21 - Interest rate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Interest rate. 206.21 Section 206... CONVERSION MORTGAGE INSURANCE Eligibility; Endorsement Eligible Mortgages § 206.21 Interest rate. (a) Fixed interest rate. A fixed interest rate is agreed upon by the mortgagor and mortgagee. (b) Adjustable interest...

  5. 5 CFR 550.806 - Interest computations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... agency shall compound interest by dividing the applicable interest rate (expressed as a decimal) by 365... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Interest computations. 550.806 Section... ADMINISTRATION (GENERAL) Back Pay § 550.806 Interest computations. (a)(1) Interest begins to accrue on the date...

  6. Interest Organisations and European Integration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Ove K.

    This paper examines the influence of European integration on the relationship between state administration and private interests in the four Nordic countries - Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. By private interests I mean interest organizations, private corporations and independent experts....... The paper focuses exclusively on the national policy processes that are involved with managing European Union (EU) issues. More specifically, this paper discusses two aspects of multi-level governance. First is the important role of private interests in the coordination of decision making at the national...... level preceding their government's representation of national interests in the European Council of Ministers and other EU organizations. Second is the effect of all this on national democratic systems....

  7. A Systematic Review of Surgical Randomized Controlled Trials: Part 2. Funding Source, Conflict of Interest, and Sample Size in Plastic Surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voineskos, Sophocles H; Coroneos, Christopher J; Ziolkowski, Natalia I; Kaur, Manraj N; Banfield, Laura; Meade, Maureen O; Chung, Kevin C; Thoma, Achilleas; Bhandari, Mohit

    2016-02-01

    The authors examined industry support, conflict of interest, and sample size in plastic surgery randomized controlled trials that compared surgical interventions. They hypothesized that industry-funded trials demonstrate statistically significant outcomes more often, and randomized controlled trials with small sample sizes report statistically significant results more frequently. An electronic search identified randomized controlled trials published between 2000 and 2013. Independent reviewers assessed manuscripts and performed data extraction. Funding source, conflict of interest, primary outcome direction, and sample size were examined. Chi-squared and independent-samples t tests were used in the analysis. The search identified 173 randomized controlled trials, of which 100 (58 percent) did not acknowledge funding status. A relationship between funding source and trial outcome direction was not observed. Both funding status and conflict of interest reporting improved over time. Only 24 percent (six of 25) of industry-funded randomized controlled trials reported authors to have independent control of data and manuscript contents. The mean number of patients randomized was 73 per trial (median, 43, minimum, 3, maximum, 936). Small trials were not found to be positive more often than large trials (p = 0.87). Randomized controlled trials with small sample size were common; however, this provides great opportunity for the field to engage in further collaboration and produce larger, more definitive trials. Reporting of trial funding and conflict of interest is historically poor, but it greatly improved over the study period. Underreporting at author and journal levels remains a limitation when assessing the relationship between funding source and trial outcomes. Improved reporting and manuscript control should be goals that both authors and journals can actively achieve.

  8. Moral Enhancement Should Target Self-Interest and Cognitive Capacity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahlskog, Rafael

    2017-01-01

    Current suggestions for capacities that should be targeted for moral enhancement has centered on traits like empathy, fairness or aggression. The literature, however, lacks a proper model for understanding the interplay and complexity of moral capacities, which limits the practicability of proposed interventions. In this paper, I integrate some existing knowledge on the nature of human moral behavior and present a formal model of prosocial motivation. The model provides two important results regarding the most friction-free route to moral enhancement. First, we should consider decreasing self-interested motivation rather than increasing prosociality directly. Second, this should be complemented with cognitive enhancement. These suggestions are tested against existing and emerging evidence on cognitive capacity, mindfulness meditation and the effects of psychedelic drugs and are found to have sufficient grounding for further theoretical and empirical exploration. Furthermore, moral effects of the latter two are hypothesized to result from a diminished sense of self with subsequent reductions in self-interest.

  9. Synergy in RF Current Drive

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dumont, R.J.; Giruzzi, G.

    2005-01-01

    Auxiliary methods for efficient non-inductive current drive in tokamaks generally involve the interaction of externally driven waves with superthermal electrons. Among the possible schemes, Lower Hybrid (LH) and Electron Cyclotron (EC) current drive have been so far the most successful. An interesting aspect of their combined use is the fact that since they involve possibly overlapping domains in velocity and configuration spaces, a synergy between them is expected for appropriate parameters. The signature of this effect, significant improvement of the EC current drive efficiency, results from a favorable interplay of the quasilinear diffusions induced by both waves. Recently, improvements of the EC current drive efficiency in the range of 2-4 have been measured in fully non-inductive discharges in the Tore Supra tokamak, providing the first clear evidence of this effect in steady-state conditions. We present here the experimental aspects of these discharges. The associated kinetic modeling and current state of understanding of the LH-EC synergy phenomenon are also discussed. (authors)

  10. Synergy in RF Current Drive

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dumont, R.J.; Giruzzi, G.

    2005-01-01

    Auxiliary methods for efficient non-inductive current drive in tokamaks generally involve the interaction of externally driven waves with superthermal electrons. Among the possible schemes, Lower Hybrid (LH) and Electron Cyclotron (EC) current drive have been so far the most successful. An interesting aspect of their combined use is the fact that since they involve possibly overlapping domains in velocity and configuration spaces, a synergy between them is expected for appropriate parameters. The signature of this effect, significant improvement of the EC current drive efficiency, results from a favorable interplay of the quasilinear diffusions induced by both waves. Recently, improvements of the EC current drive efficiency in the range of 2-4 have been measured in fully non-inductive discharges in the Tore Supra tokamak, providing the first clear evidence of this effect in steady-state conditions. We present here the experimental aspects of these discharges. The associated kinetic modeling and current state of understanding of the LH-EC synergy phenomenon are also discussed

  11. High-Average, High-Peak Current Injector Design

    CERN Document Server

    Biedron, S G; Virgo, M

    2005-01-01

    There is increasing interest in high-average-power (>100 kW), um-range FELs. These machines require high peak current (~1 kA), modest transverse emittance, and beam energies of ~100 MeV. High average currents (~1 A) place additional constraints on the design of the injector. We present a design for an injector intended to produce the required peak currents at the injector, eliminating the need for magnetic compression within the linac. This reduces the potential for beam quality degradation due to CSR and space charge effects within magnetic chicanes.

  12. Integration of Interests at University

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koshkin, Andrey; Yablochkina, Irina; Kornilova, Irina; Novikov, Andrey

    2017-01-01

    University students and instructors constantly correlate their personal interests with generally accepted interests and corporate norms. The process of assimilating organizational norms is not always characterized by the optimum dynamics and focus among all the students and even instructors. Students' and instructors' personal interests often do…

  13. A High-Current, Stable Nonaqueous Organic Redox Flow Battery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wei, Xiaoliang; Duan, Wentao; Huang, Jinhua; Zhang, Lu; Li, Bin; Reed, David; Xu, Wu; Sprenkle, Vincent; Wang, Wei

    2016-10-14

    Nonaqueous redox flow batteries are promising in pursuit of high-energy storage systems owing to the broad voltage window, but currently are facing key challenges such as poor cycling stability and lack of suitable membranes. Here we report a new nonaqueous all-organic flow chemistry that demonstrates an outstanding cell cycling stability primarily because of high chemical persistency of the organic radical redox species and their good compatibility with the supporting electrolyte. A feasibility study shows that Daramic® and Celgard® porous separators can lead to high cell conductivity in flow cells thus producing remarkable cell efficiency and material utilization even at high current operations. This result suggests that the thickness and pore size are the key performance-determining factors for porous separators. With the greatly improved flow cell performance, this new flow system largely addresses the above mentioned challenges and the findings may greatly expedite the development of durable nonaqueous flow batteries.

  14. “An Arctic Great Power”? Recent Developments in Danish Arctic Policy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rahbek-Clemmensen, Jon

    2016-01-01

    Denmark has been a firm advocate for Arctic cooperation in the recent decade, most importantly as the initiator of the 2008 Ilulissat meeting. Two new strategic publications – a foreign policy report (Danish Diplomacy and Defence in a Time of Change) and a defense report (The Ministry of Defence......’s Future Activities in the Arctic), which were published in May and June 2016 –highlight the Kingdom of Denmark’s status as “an Arctic great power” and the importance of pursuing Danish interests, which could indicate a shift away from a cooperation-oriented policy. This article investigates whether...... the documents represent a break in Danish Arctic policy. It argues that the two documents represent continuation, rather than change. They show that the High North continues to become steadily more important on the Danish foreign policy agenda, although the region remains just one of several regional priorities...

  15. Using best interests meetings for people in a prolonged disorder of consciousness to improve clinical and ethical management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wade, Derick T

    2018-05-01

    Current management of people with prolonged disorders of consciousness is failing patients, families and society. The causes include a general lack of concern, knowledge and expertise; a legal and professional framework which impedes timely and appropriate decision-making and/or enactment of the decision; and the exclusive focus on the patient, with no legitimate means to consider the broader consequences of healthcare decisions. This article argues that a clinical pathway based on the principles of (a) the English Mental Capacity Act 2005 and (b) using time-limited treatment trials could greatly improve patient management and reduce stress on families. There needs to be early and continuing use of formal best interests meetings, starting between 7 and 21 days after onset of unconsciousness (from any cause, including progressive disorders). The treatment options need to evolve as the clinical state and prognosis becomes more certain. A formal discussion of treatment withdrawal should occur when the upper bound of predicted recovery falls below a level the patient would have considered acceptable, and it should always be discussed when the condition is considered permanent. Any decision to stop treatment should be contingent on a formal second opinion from an independent expert who should review the clinical situation and expected prognosis, but not the best interests decision. The article also asks how, if at all, the adverse effects on the family and the resource implications of long-term care of people left in a prolonged state of unconsciousness should be incorporated in the process. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  16. Anthropogenic contaminants in Indo-Pacific humpback and Australian snubfin dolphins from the central and southern Great Barrier Reef

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cagnazzi, Daniele; Fossi, Maria Cristina; Parra, Guido J.; Harrison, Peter L.; Maltese, Silvia; Coppola, Daniele; Soccodato, Alice; Bent, Michael; Marsili, Letizia

    2013-01-01

    We present the first evidence of accumulation of organochlorine compounds (DDTs, PCBs, HCB) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Indo-Pacific humpback and Australian snubfin dolphins from the central and southern Great Barrier Reef. These dolphins are considered by the Great Barrier Marine Park Authority to be high priority species for management. Analyses of biopsy samples, collected from free ranging individuals, showed PAHs levels comparable to those reported from highly industrialized countries. DDTs and HCB were found at low levels, while in some individuals, PCBs were above thresholds over which immunosuppression and reproductive anomalies occur. These results highlight the need for ongoing monitoring of these and other contaminants, and their potential adverse effects on dolphins and other marine fauna. This is particularly important given the current strategic assessment of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area being undertaken by the Australian Government and the Queensland Government. -- Potentially hazardous levels of some coastal contaminants were found in two species of dolphins inhabiting the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park coastal region

  17. Urbanization Is Associated with Divergence in Pace-of-Life in Great Tits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anne Charmantier

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available As an extension of the classic life history theory, the recently highlighted pace-of-life syndrome hypothesis predicts the coevolution of behavioral, physiological and life-history traits. For instance, bolder and shyer individuals do not only differ in personality profiles, but also in neuro-endocrinology and breeding patterns. While theory predicts that bolder (i.e., proactive, more aggressive individuals should colonize more rapidly urbanized habitats than shyer (i.e., reactive, less aggressive individuals, it is also predicted that across generations, adaptive selection processes could favor shyer individuals that are more sensitive to novel environmental cues. Here we compared two personality traits (handling aggression, exploration score in a novel environment, one physiological trait related to stress response (breath rate and four breeding traits (lay date, clutch size, hatching success and fledging success in a rural and an urban study population of Mediterranean great tits Parus major. Mixed models revealed strong phenotypic divergence between forest and city in most traits explored, in particular in personality, whereby urban great tits were more reactive to stress and faster explorers compared to rural birds (yet not more aggressive. Urban birds also laid smaller broods earlier in spring compared to their rural conspecifics, and city broods resulted in lower hatching success yet interestingly fledging success was similar. Nest-box centered measures of anthropogenic (artificial light, pedestrians, and cars perturbation and resource abundance allowed us to go beyond the classical forest/city comparison by exploring the phenotypic variation across an urbanization gradient. This revealed that high urbanization in nest-box surroundings was associated overall with earlier breeding and smaller clutches, but also with faster breath rate, although these trends showed strong annual variation. Ongoing rapid urbanization and non-random gene flow

  18. Deep Learning Methods for Quantifying Invasive Benthic Species in the Great Lakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Billings, G.; Skinner, K.; Johnson-Roberson, M.

    2017-12-01

    In recent decades, invasive species such as the round goby and dreissenid mussels have greatly impacted the Great Lakes ecosystem. It is critical to monitor these species, model their distribution, and quantify the impacts on the native fisheries and surrounding ecosystem in order to develop an effective management response. However, data collection in underwater environments is challenging and expensive. Furthermore, the round goby is typically found in rocky habitats, which are inaccessible to standard survey techniques such as bottom trawling. In this work we propose a robotic system for visual data collection to automatically detect and quantify invasive round gobies and mussels in the Great Lakes. Robotic platforms equipped with cameras can perform efficient, cost-effective, low-bias benthic surveys. This data collection can be further optimized through automatic detection and annotation of the target species. Deep learning methods have shown success in image recognition tasks. However, these methods often rely on a labelled training dataset, with up to millions of labelled images. Hand labeling large numbers of images is expensive and often impracticable. Furthermore, data collected in the field may be sparse when only considering images that contain the objects of interest. It is easier to collect dense, clean data in controlled lab settings, but this data is not a realistic representation of real field environments. In this work, we propose a deep learning approach to generate a large set of labelled training data realistic of underwater environments in the field. To generate these images, first we draw random sample images of individual fish and mussels from a library of images captured in a controlled lab environment. Next, these randomly drawn samples will be automatically merged into natural background images. Finally, we will use a generative adversarial network (GAN) that incorporates constraints of the physical model of underwater light propagation

  19. 76 FR 77581 - Interest Rates

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-13

    ... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Interest Rates The Small Business Administration publishes an interest rate called the optional ``peg'' rate (13 CFR 120.214) on a quarterly basis. This rate is a.... This rate may be used as a base rate for guaranteed fluctuating interest rate SBA loans. This rate will...

  20. 77 FR 76586 - Interest Rates

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-12-28

    ... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Interest Rates The Small Business Administration publishes an interest rate called the optional ``peg'' rate (13 CFR 120.214) on a quarterly basis. This rate is a.... This rate may be used as a base rate for guaranteed fluctuating interest rate SBA loans. This rate will...

  1. 76 FR 18821 - Interest Rates

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-04-05

    ... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Interest Rates The Small Business Administration publishes an interest rate called the optional ``peg'' rate (13 CFR 120.214) on a quarterly basis. This rate is a.... This rate may be used as a base rate for guaranteed fluctuating interest rate SBA loans. This rate will...

  2. 78 FR 18664 - Interest Rates

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-27

    ... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Interest Rates The Small Business Administration publishes an interest rate called the optional ``peg'' rate (13 CFR 120.214) on a quarterly basis. This rate is a.... This rate may be used as a base rate for guaranteed fluctuating interest rate SBA loans. This rate will...

  3. 75 FR 81326 - Interest Rates

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-27

    ... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Interest Rates The Small Business Administration publishes an interest rate called the optional ``peg'' rate (13 CFR 120.214) on a quarterly basis. This rate is a.... This rate may be used as a base rate for guaranteed fluctuating interest rate SBA loans. This rate will...

  4. 77 FR 39560 - Interest Rates

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-07-03

    ... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Interest Rates The Small Business Administration publishes an interest rate called the optional ``peg'' rate (13 CFR 120.214) on a quarterly basis. This rate is a.... This rate may be used as a base rate for guaranteed fluctuating interest rate SBA loans. This rate will...

  5. 75 FR 37872 - Interest Rates

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-30

    ... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Interest Rates The Small Business Administration publishes an interest rate called the optional ``peg'' rate (13 CFR 120.214) on a quarterly basis. This rate is a.... This rate may be used as a base rate for guaranteed fluctuating interest rate SBA loans. This rate will...

  6. 77 FR 20476 - Interest Rates

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-04

    ... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Interest Rates The Small Business Administration publishes an interest rate called the optional ``peg'' rate (13 CFR 120.214) on a quarterly basis. This rate is a.... This rate may be used as a base rate for guaranteed fluctuating interest rate SBA loans. This rate will...

  7. 76 FR 38717 - Interest Rates

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-07-01

    ... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Interest Rates The Small Business Administration publishes an interest rate called the optional ``peg'' rate (13 CFR 120.214) on a quarterly basis. This rate is a.... This rate may be used as a base rate for guaranteed fluctuating interest rate SBA loans. This [[Page...

  8. 75 FR 60152 - Interest Rates

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-29

    ... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Interest Rates The Small Business Administration publishes an interest rate called the optional ``peg'' rate (13 CFR 120.214) on a quarterly basis. This rate is a.... This rate may be used as a base rate for guaranteed fluctuating interest rate SBA loans. This rate will...

  9. 77 FR 59447 - Interest Rates

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-09-27

    ... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Interest Rates The Small Business Administration publishes an interest rate called the optional ``peg'' rate (13 CFR 120.214) on a quarterly basis. This rate is a.... This rate may be used as a base rate for guaranteed fluctuating interest rate SBA loans. This rate will...

  10. 78 FR 62932 - Interest Rates

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-22

    ... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Interest Rates The Small Business Administration publishes an interest rate called the optional ``peg'' rate (13 CFR 120.214) on a quarterly basis. This rate is a.... This rate may be used as a base rate for guaranteed fluctuating interest rate SBA loans. This rate will...

  11. 78 FR 39434 - Interest Rates

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-07-01

    ... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Interest Rates The Small Business Administration publishes an interest rate called the optional ``peg'' rate (13 CFR 120.214) on a quarterly basis. This rate is a.... This rate may be used as a base rate for guaranteed fluctuating interest rate SBA loans. This rate will...

  12. Management of interest rate risk

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Šabović Šerif

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Interest rate risk is one of the biggest and most dangerous risks that a bank is exposed to. When a change of interest rates occurs, the incomes of a bank based on credits and securities endure significant changes. Banks resources also endure some changes. The change of interest rates changes the value of the assets and liabilities of the bank and it's net and investment worth . The change of interest rates also affects bank's balance sheet, income sheet statement and bank's share capital.

  13. Current control necessary for toroidal plasma equilibrium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nagao, S.

    1987-01-01

    It is shown that a significant amount of dipole current is necessary for the plasma equilibrium of toroidal configurations in general. Through the vector product with the poloidal field, this dipole current force has to balance with the hoop force of plasma pressure itself of the annular shape. The measurement of such a current of dipole type may be interesting for the confirmation of the plasma equilibrium in the toroidal system. Moreover it is certained that there is a new mode of a tokamak operation with such a dipole current component and with smaller vertical field than that based on the classical tokamak theory. (author) [pt

  14. Sex-typed personality traits and gender identity as predictors of young adults' career interests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dinella, Lisa M; Fulcher, Megan; Weisgram, Erica S

    2014-04-01

    Gender segregation of careers is still prominent in the U.S. workforce. The current study was designed to investigate the role of sex-typed personality traits and gender identity in predicting emerging adults' interests in sex-typed careers. Participants included 586 university students (185 males, 401 females). Participants reported their sex-typed personality traits (masculine and feminine traits), gender identities (gender typicality, contentment, felt pressure to conform, and intergroup bias), and interests in sex-typed careers. Results indicated both sex-typed personality traits and gender identity were important predictors of young adults' career interests, but in varying degrees and differentially for men and women. Men's sex-typed personality traits and gender typicality were predictive of their masculine career interests even more so when the interaction of their masculine traits and gender typicality were considered. When gender typicality and sex-typed personality traits were considered simultaneously, gender typicality was negatively related to men's feminine career interests and gender typicality was the only significant predictor of men's feminine career interests. For women, sex-typed personality traits and gender typicality were predictive of their sex-typed career interests. The level of pressure they felt to conform to their gender also positively predicted interest in feminine careers. The interaction of sex-typed personality traits and gender typicality did not predict women's career interests more than when these variables were considered as main effects. Results of the multidimensional assessment of gender identity confirmed that various dimensions of gender identity played different roles in predicting career interests and gender typicality was the strongest predictor of career interests.

  15. Conceptual ecological models to guide integrated landscape monitoring of the Great Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, D.M.; Finn, S.P.; Woodward, Andrea; Torregrosa, Alicia; Miller, M.E.; Bedford, D.R.; Brasher, A.M.

    2010-01-01

    The Great Basin Integrated Landscape Monitoring Pilot Project was developed in response to the need for a monitoring and predictive capability that addresses changes in broad landscapes and waterscapes. Human communities and needs are nested within landscapes formed by interactions among the hydrosphere, geosphere, and biosphere. Understanding the complex processes that shape landscapes and deriving ways to manage them sustainably while meeting human needs require sophisticated modeling and monitoring. This document summarizes current understanding of ecosystem structure and function for many of the ecosystems within the Great Basin using conceptual models. The conceptual ecosystem models identify key ecological components and processes, identify external drivers, develop a hierarchical set of models that address both site and landscape attributes, inform regional monitoring strategy, and identify critical gaps in our knowledge of ecosystem function. The report also illustrates an approach for temporal and spatial scaling from site-specific models to landscape models and for understanding cumulative effects. Eventually, conceptual models can provide a structure for designing monitoring programs, interpreting monitoring and other data, and assessing the accuracy of our understanding of ecosystem functions and processes.

  16. Contaminants of emerging concern in tributaries to the Laurentian Great Lakes: I. Patterns of occurrence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elliott, Sarah M.; Brigham, Mark E.; Lee, Kathy E.; Banda, Jo A.; Choy, Steven J.; Gefell, Daniel J.; Minarik, Thomas A.; Moore, Jeremy N.; Jorgenson, Zachary G.

    2017-01-01

    Human activities introduce a variety of chemicals to the Laurentian Great Lakes including pesticides, pharmaceuticals, flame retardants, plasticizers, and solvents (collectively referred to as contaminants of emerging concern or CECs) potentially threatening the vitality of these valuable ecosystems. We conducted a basin-wide study to identify the presence of CECs and other chemicals of interest in 12 U.S. tributaries to the Laurentian Great Lakes during 2013 and 2014. A total of 292 surface-water and 80 sediment samples were collected and analyzed for approximately 200 chemicals. A total of 32 and 28 chemicals were detected in at least 30% of water and sediment samples, respectively. Concentrations ranged from 0.0284 (indole) to 72.2 (cholesterol) μg/L in water and 1.75 (diphenhydramine) to 20,800 μg/kg (fluoranthene) in sediment. Cluster analyses revealed chemicals that frequently co-occurred such as pharmaceuticals and flame retardants at sites receiving similar inputs such as wastewater treatment plant effluent. Comparison of environmental concentrations to water and sediment-quality benchmarks revealed that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations often exceeded benchmarks in both water and sediment. Additionally, bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and dichlorvos concentrations exceeded water-quality benchmarks in several rivers. Results from this study can be used to understand organism exposure, prioritize river basins for future management efforts, and guide detailed assessments of factors influencing transport and fate of CECs in the Great Lakes Basin.

  17. Nursing, Pharmacy, or Medicine? Disgust Sensitivity Predicts Career Interest among Trainee Health Professionals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Consedine, Nathan S.; Yu, Tzu-Chieh; Windsor, John A.

    2013-01-01

    Given global demand on health workforces, understanding student enrollment motivations are critical. Prior studies have concentrated on variation in career and lifestyle values; the current work evaluated the importance of disgust sensitivity in the prediction of health career interests. We argue that emotional proclivities may be important and…

  18. Current-type flipped-Γ-source inverters

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Loh, Poh Chiang; Li, Ding; Blaabjerg, Frede

    2012-01-01

    are of interest since they use lesser components. Their winding turns might however become too excessive for higher demanded gains. Avoiding this usual trend, a new family of current-type flipped-Γ-source inverters are proposed, whose common gain is raised by lowering, and not increasing, the winding turns...

  19. Understanding Utah's Native Plant Market: Coordinating Public and Private Interest

    OpenAIRE

    Hooper, Virginia Harding

    2003-01-01

    Changes in Lone Peak Conservation Nursery customer profiles cause state nursery leaders to question what their products are being used for and how trends in native plant use are changing the market for Utah native plants. The Utah native plant market is changing as interest in native plants is expanding to meet new conservation objectives, oftentimes in urban settings. This newer demand for native plants appears to be motivated by current changes in urban conservation behavior, continued popu...

  20. 26 CFR 509.109 - Interest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... SWITZERLAND General Income Tax § 509.109 Interest. The rate of United States tax imposed by the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 upon interest on bonds, securities, notes, debentures, or on any other form of... 26 Internal Revenue 19 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Interest. 509.109 Section 509.109 Internal...

  1. Vocational interest evaluation of TMR adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Becker, R L; Schull, C; Cambell, K

    1981-01-01

    Fifty TMR adults participated in a three-stage job-training and placement program over a 5-year period. Vocational inventoried interest and expressed interest were correlated, as were relationships between inventoried interest and such variables as CA and IQ. The results showed that (a) TMR adults can discriminate between occupational likes and dislikes when using pictorial inventoried interest assessment techniques, (b) a positive relationship exists between expressed and inventoried interest, (c) inventoried interest is independent of CA and IQ, (d) there was a general consistency in inventoried occupational choice over a 6-month interval, and (e) the Reading-Free Vocational Interest Inventory has predictive and status validity, as evidenced by job incumbents' success and their inventory cluster profiles.

  2. Marea guvernare liberală: independenţa României şi proclamarea Regatului (The Great Liberal Government: the Romanian Independence and the Monarchy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dan CARBARĂU

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The study below is putting together, in a historical view, important events for the Romanian history. Brief, the research is related to the period between 1876 and 1888, also called by historians “The Great liberal government”, when the national ideals were made real. The study tells about the State Independence (1877, the Constitution revision (1879 and finally, the transition to monarchy (1881. By putting together, the study shares how the National Liberal Party and its past leaders were able to put above the party interests and national interests, leaving the individualism behind.

  3. The Role of Great Cities in Romania for the Metropolitan Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruxandra Irina POPESCU

    2008-02-01

    Full Text Available According to the legislation in force, in Romania there are 11 first rank cities that given their size, their importance, the level of services and the economic activity, represent attractions and are subjected to the development pressures. Still, according to the European tendencies, the urban agglomerations tend to approach this type of cooperation regardless the number of the inhabitants. Currently in Romania there are 11 great cities that have developed processes of organizing the metropolitan areas corresponding to them. Among them, two have already created metropolitan areas: Oradea (2001 and Iaşi (2004, both with the assistance of programs financed by USAID.

  4. Defining and Classifying Interest Groups

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baroni, Laura; Carroll, Brendan; Chalmers, Adam

    2014-01-01

    The interest group concept is defined in many different ways in the existing literature and a range of different classification schemes are employed. This complicates comparisons between different studies and their findings. One of the important tasks faced by interest group scholars engaged...... in large-N studies is therefore to define the concept of an interest group and to determine which classification scheme to use for different group types. After reviewing the existing literature, this article sets out to compare different approaches to defining and classifying interest groups with a sample...... in the organizational attributes of specific interest group types. As expected, our comparison of coding schemes reveals a closer link between group attributes and group type in narrower classification schemes based on group organizational characteristics than those based on a behavioral definition of lobbying....

  5. Mind Wandering and Reading Comprehension: Examining the Roles of Working Memory Capacity, Interest, Motivation, and Topic Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Unsworth, Nash; McMillan, Brittany D.

    2013-01-01

    Individual differences in mind wandering and reading comprehension were examined in the current study. In particular, individual differences in mind wandering, working memory capacity, interest in the current topic, motivation to do well on the task, and topic experience and their relations with reading comprehension were examined in the current…

  6. Aspects and interest of MRI in the diagnosis and the follow-up of infectious non-tuberculous spondylitis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Korvin, B. de; Provensol, T.; Le Dantec, P.; Gautier, C.; Rolland, Y.; Arvieux, C.; Duvauferrier, R.; Devillers, A.

    1994-01-01

    This work is about 25 patients clinically and biologically suspected of spondylodiscitis (27 levels). All of them had a MRI exam before discovertebral needle biopsy and treatment. The results are compared to those of literature. Each infectious spondylitis case (19 cases) had a new MRI exam each three months. This study concludes to the great sensibility of MRI (89%) in the diagnosis of infectious spondylitis and to the limited interest of it in the follow-up of spondylodiscitis. (authors). 23 refs., 3 tabs., 5 figs

  7. The Study of Airline Merger and Acquisition in the Great China Area

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shon, Zhengyi

    2003-01-01

    The Asian financial crisis in the late 20 th century has some long lasting effect on the air transportation industry in Asia, especially in the Great China Area. Starting from 1998, airlines in both China and Taiwan suffered some serious financial losses due to the diminishing travel demand caused by the economic recession. Airlines were forced to cut price to attract passengers and hence crashed the market discipline. A number of airline mergers and acquisitions were then driven by the markets and the governments. After China and Taiwan have both entered the World Trade Organization, some mega-merging cases were finalized in late 2002 for better fitting the world's aviation competitions. This paper reviews the nine merging and acquiring cases in the Great China Area in the past 5 years. Almost all the airlines in the area were involved. The new groups of airlines and the survival airlines are introduced. Market response to the airline mergers will also be examined. A general look over the performance of the new airlines will be discussed. And the future of the market will also be analyzed. Finally, the practices and the impacts of current inter-state mergers in the Great China Area will be examined. The study has expected a highly concentrated domestic market in both China and Taiwan. Each of the market will be dominated by three major airline groups of their own. Cross-holding equity within these 6 leading aviation groups would also be possible after further deregulations.

  8. Great Basin geologic framework and uranium favorability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Larson, L.T.; Beal, L.H.

    1978-01-01

    Work on this report has been done by a team of seven investigators assisted over the project span by twenty-three undergraduate and graduate students from May 18, 1976 to August 19, 1977. The report is presented in one volume of text, one volume or Folio of Maps, and two volumes of bibliography. The bibliography contains approximately 5300 references on geologic subjects pertinent to the search for uranium in the Great Basin. Volume I of the bibliography lists articles by author alphabetically and Volume II cross-indexes these articles by location and key word. Chapters I through IV of the Text volume and accompanying Folio Map Sets 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, discuss the relationship of uranium to rock and structural environments which dominate the Great Basin. Chapter 5 and Map Sets 6 and 7 provide a geochemical association/metallogenic grouping of mineral occurrences in the Great Basin along with information on rock types hosting uranium. Chapter VI summarizes the results of a court house claim record search for 'new' claiming areas for uranium, and Chapter VII along with Folio Map Set 8 gives all published geochronological data available through April 1, 1977 on rocks of the Great Basin. Chapter VIII provides an introduction to a computer analysis of characteristics of certain major uranium deposits in crystalline rocks (worldwide) and is offered as a suggestion of what might be done with uranium in all geologic environments. We believe such analysis will assist materially in constructing exploration models. Chapter IX summarizes criteria used and conclusions reached as to the favorability of uranium environments which we believe to exist in the Great Basin and concludes with recommendations for both exploration and future research. A general summary conclusion is that there are several geologic environments within the Great Basin which have considerable potential and that few, if any, have been sufficiently tested

  9. Great Books. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    What Works Clearinghouse, 2011

    2011-01-01

    "Great Books" is a program that aims to improve the reading, writing, and critical thinking skills of students in kindergarten through high school. The program is implemented as a core or complementary curriculum and is based on the Shared Inquiry[TM] method of learning. The purpose of "Great Books" is to engage students in…

  10. Libraries Achieving Greatness: Technology at the Helm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muir, Scott P.

    2009-01-01

    Libraries have been around for thousands of years. Many of them are considered great because of their magnificent architecture or because of the size of their collections. This paper offers ten case studies of libraries that have used technology to achieve greatness. Because almost any library can implement technology, a library does not have to…

  11. The great debate series: surgical treatment of aortic valve abnormalities in children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    d'Udekem, Yves; Tweddell, James S; Karl, Tom R

    2018-05-01

    This article is the latest in an EJCTS series entitled 'The Great Debates'. We have chosen the topic of aortic valve (AoV) surgery in children, with a focus on infants and neonates. The topic was selected due to the significant challenges that AoV problems in the young may present to the surgical team. There are many areas of active controversy, despite the vast accumulated world experience. We have tried to incorporate many of these issues in the questions posed, not claiming to be all-inclusive. The individuals invited to this debate are experts in paediatric valve surgery, with broad and successful clinical experiences on multiple continents. We hope that the facts and opinions presented in this debate will generate interest and discussion and perhaps prove useful in decision-making for future complex valve cases.

  12. The Development and Current State of Translation Process Research

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lykke Jakobsen, Arnt

    2014-01-01

    The development and current state of translation process research ch Arnt Lykke Jakobsen Copenhagen Business School lInterest in process-oriented translation studies has been intense for the past almost half a century. Translation process research (TPR) is the label we have used to refer to a spe...... itself, into regions like cognitive psychology, psycho- and neurolinguistics, and neuroscience, where the interest in what goes on in our heads is also very strong.......The development and current state of translation process research ch Arnt Lykke Jakobsen Copenhagen Business School lInterest in process-oriented translation studies has been intense for the past almost half a century. Translation process research (TPR) is the label we have used to refer...... which simultaneously tracks the translator’s eye movements across a screen displaying both a source text and the translator’s emerging translation. This research method was developed as a means of qualifying and strengthening translation process hypotheses based on verbal reports by providing additional...

  13. 78 FR 1222 - Quarterly IRS Interest Rates Used in Calculating Interest on Overdue Accounts and Refunds on...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-08

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY U.S. Customs and Border Protection Quarterly IRS Interest Rates... the public of the quarterly Internal Revenue Service interest rates used to calculate interest on... beginning January 1, 2013, the interest rates for [[Page 1223

  14. Great earthquakes along the Western United States continental margin: implications for hazards, stratigraphy and turbidite lithology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, C. H.; Gutiérrez Pastor, J.; Goldfinger, C.; Escutia, C.

    2012-11-01

    We summarize the importance of great earthquakes (Mw ≳ 8) for hazards, stratigraphy of basin floors, and turbidite lithology along the active tectonic continental margins of the Cascadia subduction zone and the northern San Andreas Transform Fault by utilizing studies of swath bathymetry visual core descriptions, grain size analysis, X-ray radiographs and physical properties. Recurrence times of Holocene turbidites as proxies for earthquakes on the Cascadia and northern California margins are analyzed using two methods: (1) radiometric dating (14C method), and (2) relative dating, using hemipelagic sediment thickness and sedimentation rates (H method). The H method provides (1) the best estimate of minimum recurrence times, which are the most important for seismic hazards risk analysis, and (2) the most complete dataset of recurrence times, which shows a normal distribution pattern for paleoseismic turbidite frequencies. We observe that, on these tectonically active continental margins, during the sea-level highstand of Holocene time, triggering of turbidity currents is controlled dominantly by earthquakes, and paleoseismic turbidites have an average recurrence time of ~550 yr in northern Cascadia Basin and ~200 yr along northern California margin. The minimum recurrence times for great earthquakes are approximately 300 yr for the Cascadia subduction zone and 130 yr for the northern San Andreas Fault, which indicates both fault systems are in (Cascadia) or very close (San Andreas) to the early window for another great earthquake. On active tectonic margins with great earthquakes, the volumes of mass transport deposits (MTDs) are limited on basin floors along the margins. The maximum run-out distances of MTD sheets across abyssal-basin floors along active margins are an order of magnitude less (~100 km) than on passive margins (~1000 km). The great earthquakes along the Cascadia and northern California margins cause seismic strengthening of the sediment, which

  15. Big interest for climate actions in Northwest Russia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borchsenius, Hans

    2006-01-01

    There is a large potential for projects in Northwest Russia aiming at reducing CO 2 and other greenhouse gas emissions. Many countries are currently showing interest in buying carbon credits from Russia in order to meet their Kyoto agreement commitments. Even though the body of rules is not yet in place there are a number of efforts at identifying possible projects that may give Norway and other countries much needed carbon credits, and simultaneously provide Russian industry and municipalities with investment aid that can make industry processes and district heating systems more effective. The Nordic countries have established an experimental scheme for joint implementation in the Baltic region (ml)

  16. Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP): watch the great toes!

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kartal-Kaess, Mutlu; Shore, Eileen M; Xu, Meiqi; Schwering, Ludwig; Uhl, Markus; Korinthenberg, Rudolf; Niemeyer, Charlotte; Kaplan, Frederick S; Lauten, Melchior

    2010-11-01

    Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) is a rare genetic disorder and the most disabling condition of heterotopic (extraskeletal) ossification in humans. Extraskeletal bone formation associated with inflammation preceding the osseous conversion usually begins in the first decade, predominantly in the head, neck, and shoulders. All patients have malformed great toes. Most patients have a spontaneous mutation of the ACVR1 gene. We report a 17-year-old girl with malformed great toes who had her first episode of heterotopic ossification and impaired mobility of the left hip at the age of 13 years. No inflammatory fibroproliferative masses preceded the onset of heterotopic ossification. Radiographic studies demonstrated myositis ossificans, but failure to associate the great toe malformation with heterotopic ossification led to a failure to diagnose FOP. She underwent repeated and unnecessary operative procedures to remove a recurrent lesion. FOP was finally suspected when the great toe malformation was correlated with the trauma-induced heterotopic ossification. Genetic analysis confirmed the presence of the classic FOP mutation (ACVR1 c.617G>A; R206H). This case highlights the importance of examining the great toes in anyone with heterotopic ossification. The association of malformations of the great toe with heterotopic ossification in all cases of classic FOP will lead to prompt clinical diagnosis and the prevention of iatrogenic harm.

  17. Rising Long-term Interest Rates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hallett, Andrew Hughes

    Rather than chronicle recent developments in European long-term interest rates as such, this paper assesses the impact of increases in those interest rates on economic performance and inflation. That puts us in a position to evaluate the economic pressures for further rises in those rates......, the first question posed in this assignment, and the scope for overshooting (the second question), and then make some illustrative predictions of future interest rates in the euro area. We find a wide range of effects from rising interest rates, mostly small and mostly negative, focused on investment...... till the emerging European recovery is on a firmer basis and capable of overcoming increases in the cost of borrowing and shrinking fiscal space. There is also an implication that worries about rising/overshooting interest rates often reflect the fact that inflation risks are unequally distributed...

  18. Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory

    Data.gov (United States)

    Federal Laboratory Consortium — NOAA-GLERL and its partners conduct innovative research on the dynamic environments and ecosystems of the Great Lakes and coastal regions to provide information for...

  19. Interests, Effort, Achievement and Vocational Preference.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sjoberg, L.

    1984-01-01

    Relationships between interest in natural sciences and technology and perceived ability, success, and invested effort were studied in Swedish secondary school students. Interests were accounted for by logical orientation and practical value. Interests and grades were strongly correlated, but correlations between interests and effort and vocational…

  20. The Great Mathematician Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldberg, Sabrina R.

    2013-01-01

    The Great Mathematician Project (GMP) introduces both mathematically sophisticated and struggling students to the history of mathematics. The rationale for the GMP is twofold: first, mathematics is a uniquely people-centered discipline that is used to make sense of the world; and second, students often express curiosity about the history of…

  1. State Government Revenue Recovery from the Great Recession

    OpenAIRE

    James Alm; David L. Sjoquist

    2014-01-01

    The "Great Recession" lasted from December 2007 to June 2009, and it wreaked havoc on the revenues of state (and local) governments. While the U.S. economy has improved since the end of the Great Recession, state government revenues have in most cases still not completely recovered. We use various indicators to measure how different states have -- or have not -- recovered in the aftermath of the Great Recession, and we also attempt to explain why these different patterns of recovery have emer...

  2. 75 FR 20373 - Quarterly IRS Interest Rates Used in Calculating Interest on Overdue Accounts and Refunds on...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-19

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Customs and Border Protection Quarterly IRS Interest Rates Used in... quarterly Internal Revenue Service interest rates used to calculate interest on overdue accounts..., the interest rates for overpayments will be 3 percent for corporations and 4 percent for non...

  3. 76 FR 64964 - Quarterly IRS Interest Rates Used in Calculating Interest on Overdue Accounts and Refunds on...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-10-19

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Customs and Border Protection Quarterly IRS Interest Rates Used in... quarterly Internal Revenue Service interest rates used to calculate interest on overdue accounts..., the interest rates for overpayments will be 2 percent for corporations and 3 percent for non...

  4. 76 FR 2404 - Quarterly IRS Interest Rates Used in Calculating Interest on Overdue Accounts and Refunds on...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-13

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Customs And Border Protection Quarterly IRS Interest Rates Used in... quarterly Internal Revenue Service interest rates used to calculate interest on overdue accounts..., the interest rates for overpayments will be 2 percent for corporations and 3 percent for non...

  5. The strategic interests of the USA, Russia and Сhina in the central Asia at the present stage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tofan A.V.

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available this article is devoted to develop and analyze the strategic concerns of key geopolitical actors in the Central Asian region. The author comes to the conclusion that the specialty of the Central Asia is a beneficial geopolitical location and great amount of nature resources that makes the region an object of world powers’ geopolitical interests. The main actors in the CA are the USA, China and Russia, which have influence on political processes inside the region, realizing their own strategies.

  6. Great Lakes CoastWatch Node

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — CoastWatch is a nationwide National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) program within which the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL)...

  7. Sleep disturbance due to noise: Current issues and future research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ken Hume

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available There is growing interest in carrying out further research to understand and reduce the impact of aircraft noise on airport neighborhood in anticipation of the projected substantial increase in global aviation. Soundscapes provide new analytical methods and a broader, more comprehensive appreciation of the aural environment, which may have a useful role in understanding noise-induced sleep disturbance and annoyance. Current noise metrics like Leq do not provide a common language to report noise environment to residents, which is a key obstacle to effective noise management and acceptance. Non-auditory effects complicate the production of consistent dose-response functions for aircraft noise affecting sleep and annoyance. There are various end-points that can be chosen to assess the degree of sleep disturbance, which has detracted from the clarity of results that has been communicated to wider audiences. The World Health Organization (WHO-Europe has produced Night Noise Guidelines for Europe, which act as a clear guide for airports and planners to work towards. Methodological inadequacies and the need for simpler techniques to record sleep will be considered with the exciting potential to greatly increase cost-effective field data acquisition, which is needed for large scale epidemiological studies

  8. REGION OF NON-INTEREST BASED DIGITAL IMAGE WATERMARKING USING NEURAL NETWORKS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bibi Isac

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Copyrights protection of digital data become inevitable in current world. Digital watermarks have been recently proposed as secured scheme for copyright protection, authentication, source tracking, and broadcast monitoring of video, audio, text data and digital images. In this paper a method to embed a watermark in region of non-interest (RONI and a method for adaptive calculation of strength factor using neural network are proposed. The embedding and extraction processes are carried out in the transform domain by using Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT. Finally, the algorithm robustness is tested against noise addition attacks and geometric distortion attacks. The results authenticate that the proposed watermarking algorithm does not degrade the quality of cover image as the watermark is inserted only in region of non-interest and is resistive to attacks.

  9. The great pipeline debate : the Minister of everything

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    2008-01-01

    This article described the challenges facing Trans-Canada Pipelines (TCPL) in the 1950s regarding the construction of a pipeline to deliver gas to central Canadian markets. Alberta had been granted gas export permits, and the proposed pipeline was financed primarily by American interests. In addition, TCPL had difficulties with several competing proposals to move gas east from Alberta. There was also opposition to TCPL's original route which was through American territory. When the pipeline was rerouted through rugged Precambrian Shield, private-sector financiers balked at the additional costs. During the Great Pipeline debate in 1956, federal Minister C.D. Howe encouraged TCPL and its competitors to merge and put a bill before Parliament to create a Crown corporation to build and own the Canadian Shield portion of the line, leasing it back to TCPL. The first president of TCPL was Eldon Tanner, member of Alberta's Legislative Assembly. He remained at the helm until the pipeline was completed. Industrialist Frank McMahon who participated in drilling activities in British Columbia and at Turner Valley, Alberta, also promoted a plan to complete the construction of the Westcoast Transmission pipeline from the Peace River, Canada's first large natural-gas pipeline. 4 figs

  10. The great downside dilemma for risky emerging technologies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baum, Seth D

    2014-01-01

    Some emerging technologies promise to significantly improve the human condition, but come with a risk of failure so catastrophic that human civilization may not survive. This article discusses the great downside dilemma posed by the decision of whether or not to use these technologies. The dilemma is: use the technology, and risk the downside of catastrophic failure, or do not use the technology, and suffer through life without it. Historical precedents include the first nuclear weapon test and messaging to extraterrestrial intelligence. Contemporary examples include stratospheric geoengineering, a technology under development in response to global warming, and artificial general intelligence, a technology that could even take over the world. How the dilemma should be resolved depends on the details of each technology’s downside risk and on what the human condition would otherwise be. Meanwhile, other technologies do not pose this dilemma, including sustainable design technologies, nuclear fusion power, and space colonization. Decisions on all of these technologies should be made with the long-term interests of human civilization in mind. This paper is part of a series of papers based on presentations at the Emerging Technologies and the Future of Humanity event held at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on 17 March 2014. (invited comment)

  11. 7 CFR 4280.124 - Interest rates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Interest rates. 4280.124 Section 4280.124 Agriculture... Improvements Program Section B. Guaranteed Loans § 4280.124 Interest rates. (a) The interest rate for the... in similar circumstances in the ordinary course of business. The interest rate charged is subject to...

  12. Interests diffusion in social networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Agostino, Gregorio; D'Antonio, Fulvio; De Nicola, Antonio; Tucci, Salvatore

    2015-10-01

    We provide a model for diffusion of interests in Social Networks (SNs). We demonstrate that the topology of the SN plays a crucial role in the dynamics of the individual interests. Understanding cultural phenomena on SNs and exploiting the implicit knowledge about their members is attracting the interest of different research communities both from the academic and the business side. The community of complexity science is devoting significant efforts to define laws, models, and theories, which, based on acquired knowledge, are able to predict future observations (e.g. success of a product). In the mean time, the semantic web community aims at engineering a new generation of advanced services by defining constructs, models and methods, adding a semantic layer to SNs. In this context, a leapfrog is expected to come from a hybrid approach merging the disciplines above. Along this line, this work focuses on the propagation of individual interests in social networks. The proposed framework consists of the following main components: a method to gather information about the members of the social networks; methods to perform some semantic analysis of the Domain of Interest; a procedure to infer members' interests; and an interests evolution theory to predict how the interests propagate in the network. As a result, one achieves an analytic tool to measure individual features, such as members' susceptibilities and authorities. Although the approach applies to any type of social network, here it is has been tested against the computer science research community. The DBLP (Digital Bibliography and Library Project) database has been elected as test-case since it provides the most comprehensive list of scientific production in this field.

  13. Molecular confirmation of hybridization between Dascyllus reticulatus × Dascyllus aruanus from the Great Barrier Reef

    KAUST Repository

    He, Song; Johansen, Jacob L.; Hoey, Andrew S.; Pappas, Melissa; Berumen, Michael L.

    2017-01-01

    To date, more than 81 species of tropical coral reef fish have been reported to hybridize in nature, spanning multiple families, including the Chaetodontidae, Pomacanthidae, and Labridae. Hybridization, however, is seemingly rare among benthic nesting species that engage in pair spawning, such as the Pomacentridae. Here, we present evidence for the first molecularly confirmed record of hybridization within the genus Dascyllus; D. aruanus and D. reticulatus. Interestingly, although many hybridization events are attributed to peripheral range effects or areas of limited overlap among otherwise allopatric species, this hybrid individual was collected from the northern Great Barrier Reef, centrally located within the distribution ranges of both species. The hybrid exhibited coloration and meristic counts intermediate between D. aruanus and D. reticulatus. Diagnostic genetic markers and subsequent microsatellites analysis confirmed that this individual was a hybrid offspring of D. aruanus and D. reticulatus, with the latter providing the maternal contribution. The occurrence of the D. aruanus × D. reticulatus hybrid on the Great Barrier Reef represents an exception to the otherwise species-specific haplotypes. The nuclear diagnostic marker which was identified during this study could serve as a hybrid indicator and benefit future hybrid investigations for hybridization between these two species.

  14. Molecular confirmation of hybridization between Dascyllus reticulatus × Dascyllus aruanus from the Great Barrier Reef

    KAUST Repository

    He, Song

    2017-11-17

    To date, more than 81 species of tropical coral reef fish have been reported to hybridize in nature, spanning multiple families, including the Chaetodontidae, Pomacanthidae, and Labridae. Hybridization, however, is seemingly rare among benthic nesting species that engage in pair spawning, such as the Pomacentridae. Here, we present evidence for the first molecularly confirmed record of hybridization within the genus Dascyllus; D. aruanus and D. reticulatus. Interestingly, although many hybridization events are attributed to peripheral range effects or areas of limited overlap among otherwise allopatric species, this hybrid individual was collected from the northern Great Barrier Reef, centrally located within the distribution ranges of both species. The hybrid exhibited coloration and meristic counts intermediate between D. aruanus and D. reticulatus. Diagnostic genetic markers and subsequent microsatellites analysis confirmed that this individual was a hybrid offspring of D. aruanus and D. reticulatus, with the latter providing the maternal contribution. The occurrence of the D. aruanus × D. reticulatus hybrid on the Great Barrier Reef represents an exception to the otherwise species-specific haplotypes. The nuclear diagnostic marker which was identified during this study could serve as a hybrid indicator and benefit future hybrid investigations for hybridization between these two species.

  15. Great aspirations: the postwar American college counseling center.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCarthy, Tom

    2014-02-01

    In the decade after World War II, psychologists, eager to bring the benefits of counseling to larger numbers, convinced hundreds of American colleges and universities to establish counseling centers. Inspired by the educational-vocational counseling center founded by psychologists at the University of Minnesota in 1932, Carl R. Rogers's "client-centered" methods of personal adjustment counseling, and the 400-plus college counseling centers created by the Veterans Administration to provide the educational-vocational counseling benefit promised to returning World War II servicemen under the 1944 GI Bill, these counseling psychologists created a new place to practice where important currents in psychology, higher education, and federal policy converged and where they attempted to integrate educational-vocational counseling with personal adjustment counseling based on techniques from psychotherapy. By the mid-1960s, half of America's colleges and universities had established counseling centers, and more than 90% offered students educational, vocational, and psychological counseling services, a great achievement of the first generation of counseling psychologists.

  16. 48 CFR 52.232-17 - Interest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... Contractor to the Government under this contract shall bear simple interest from the date due until paid... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Interest. 52.232-17... Interest. As prescribed in 32.611(a) and (b), insert the following clause: INTEREST (OCT 2010) (a) Except...

  17. 24 CFR 232.560 - Interest rate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Interest rate. 232.560 Section 232... Equipment Eligible Security Instruments § 232.560 Interest rate. (a) The loan shall bear interest at the rate agreed upon by the lender and the borrower. (b) Interest shall be payable in monthly installments...

  18. 24 CFR 200.83 - Interest rate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Interest rate. 200.83 Section 200... Eligibility Requirements for Existing Projects Mortgage Provisions § 200.83 Interest rate. (a) The mortgage shall bear interest at the rate agreed upon by the mortgagee and the mortgagor. (b) Interest shall be...

  19. 78 FR 37839 - Quarterly IRS Interest Rates Used in Calculating Interest on Overdue Accounts and Refunds on...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-24

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY U.S. Customs and Border Protection Quarterly IRS Interest Rates... the public of the quarterly Internal Revenue Service interest rates used to calculate interest on... beginning July 1, 2013, the interest rates for overpayments will be 2 percent for corporations and 3 percent...

  20. 77 FR 18256 - Quarterly IRS Interest Rates Used in Calculating Interest on Overdue Accounts and Refunds on...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-27

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY U.S. Customs and Border Protection Quarterly IRS Interest Rates... the public of the quarterly Internal Revenue Service interest rates used to calculate interest on... beginning April 1, 2012, the interest rates for overpayments will be 2 percent for corporations and 3...

  1. 76 FR 41283 - Quarterly IRS Interest Rates Used in Calculating Interest on Overdue Accounts and Refunds on...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-07-13

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY U.S. Customs and Border Protection Quarterly IRS Interest Rates... the public of the quarterly Internal Revenue Service interest rates used to calculate interest on... beginning July 1, 2011, the interest rates for overpayments will be 3 percent for corporations and 4 percent...

  2. 78 FR 63238 - Quarterly IRS Interest Rates Used in Calculating Interest on Overdue Accounts and Refunds on...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-23

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY U.S. Customs and Border Protection Quarterly IRS Interest Rates... the public of the quarterly Internal Revenue Service interest rates used to calculate interest on... beginning October 1, 2013, the interest rates for overpayments will be 2 percent for corporations and 3...

  3. 75 FR 37823 - Quarterly IRS Interest Rates Used in Calculating Interest on Overdue Accounts and Refunds on...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-30

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY U.S. Customs and Border Protection Quarterly IRS Interest Rates... the public of the quarterly Internal Revenue Service interest rates used to calculate interest on... beginning July 1, 2010, the interest rates for overpayments will be 3 percent for corporations and 4 percent...

  4. 77 FR 59411 - Quarterly IRS Interest Rates Used in Calculating Interest on Overdue Accounts and Refunds on...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-09-27

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY U.S. Customs and Border Protection Quarterly IRS Interest Rates... the public of the quarterly Internal Revenue Service interest rates used to calculate interest on... beginning October 1, 2012, the interest rates for overpayments will be 2 percent for corporations and 3...

  5. 77 FR 2308 - Quarterly IRS Interest Rates Used in Calculating Interest on Overdue Accounts and Refunds on...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-17

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY U.S. Customs and Border Protection Quarterly IRS Interest Rates... the public of the quarterly Internal Revenue Service interest rates used to calculate interest on... beginning January 1, 2012, the interest rates for overpayments will be 2 percent for corporations and 3...

  6. 78 FR 20349 - Quarterly IRS Interest Rates Used in Calculating Interest on Overdue Accounts and Refunds on...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-04

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY U.S. Customs and Border Protection Quarterly IRS Interest Rates... the public of the quarterly Internal Revenue Service interest rates used to calculate interest on... beginning April 1, 2013, the interest rates for overpayments will be 2 percent for corporations and 3...

  7. 75 FR 419 - Quarterly IRS Interest Rates Used in Calculating Interest on Overdue Accounts and Refunds on...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-05

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY U.S. Customs and Border Protection Quarterly IRS Interest Rates... the public of the quarterly Internal Revenue Service interest rates used to calculate interest on... beginning January 1, 2010, the interest rates for overpayments will be 3 percent for corporations and 4...

  8. 77 FR 38076 - Quarterly IRS Interest Rates Used in Calculating Interest on Overdue Accounts and Refunds on...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-26

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY U.S. Customs and Border Protection Quarterly IRS Interest Rates... the public of the quarterly Internal Revenue Service interest rates used to calculate interest on... beginning July 1, 2012, the interest rates for overpayments will be 2 percent for corporations and 3 percent...

  9. 76 FR 20697 - Quarterly IRS Interest Rates Used in Calculating Interest on Overdue Accounts and Refunds on...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-04-13

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY U.S. Customs and Border Protection Quarterly IRS Interest Rates... the public of the quarterly Internal Revenue Service interest rates used to calculate interest on... beginning April 1, 2011, the interest rates for overpayments will be 3 percent for corporations and 4...

  10. Great hammerhead sharks swim on their side to reduce transport costs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Payne, Nicholas L; Iosilevskii, Gil; Barnett, Adam; Fischer, Chris; Graham, Rachel T; Gleiss, Adrian C; Watanabe, Yuuki Y

    2016-07-26

    Animals exhibit various physiological and behavioural strategies for minimizing travel costs. Fins of aquatic animals play key roles in efficient travel and, for sharks, the functions of dorsal and pectoral fins are considered well divided: the former assists propulsion and generates lateral hydrodynamic forces during turns and the latter generates vertical forces that offset sharks' negative buoyancy. Here we show that great hammerhead sharks drastically reconfigure the function of these structures, using an exaggerated dorsal fin to generate lift by swimming rolled on their side. Tagged wild sharks spend up to 90% of time swimming at roll angles between 50° and 75°, and hydrodynamic modelling shows that doing so reduces drag-and in turn, the cost of transport-by around 10% compared with traditional upright swimming. Employment of such a strongly selected feature for such a unique purpose raises interesting questions about evolutionary pathways to hydrodynamic adaptations, and our perception of form and function.

  11. Money, management, and manipulation: Environmental mobilization in the Great Lakes basin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gould, K.A.

    1991-01-01

    This document examines variations in the responses of communities to local pollution problems affecting Great Lakes water quality. The study is based on research conducted at six such communities, at sites that have been designated as 'Areas of Concern' by the International Joint Commission. The roles of economic dependency or diversity, access to scientific and political resources, community size, social visibility of pollution, and consciousness- and unconsciousness-making activities are examined as they relate to grass roots political mobilization in response to local, lake-related environmental issues. Of particular interest is the participation of national and regional environmental social movement organizations, Federal, State/Provincial and local governments, and local industry. National and regional environmental social movement organizations appear to have a greater mobilizing impact on communities that are closest to the urban centers in which these organizations are based. State and Provincial environmental agencies play a centrist role in promoting minimal remediation. Local governments typically oppose the definition of local environmental disorganization as a problem

  12. Great Lakes Research Review, 1982. Appendices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1982-11-01

    7D-i53 28 GREAT LAKES RESEARCH REVIEW 1982 PPENDICES (U) / PETROLEUM REFINERY PO INT SOURCE TASK FORCE WINDSOR (ONTARIO) NOV 82UNCLASSIFIED F/G 8...C7 U. 3 X 7 45 1 2 0. ODm C of. C.’ WC.’ L. LI 7 R-Ri53 62B GREAT LKES RESEARCH REVIEW 1982 PPENDICES (U) 2/3 PETROLEUM REFINERY POINT SOURCE TASK...NUMBER ORGANIZATION* TITLE OF PROJECT 001 A** 0300 ERL-D Acute and Early Life Stage Toxicity Testing of Priority Pollutant Chemicals 002 A 0302 ERL-D

  13. 46 CFR 30.10-33 - Great Lakes-TB/L.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Great Lakes-TB/L. 30.10-33 Section 30.10-33 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY TANK VESSELS GENERAL PROVISIONS Definitions § 30.10-33 Great Lakes—TB/L. Under this designation shall be included all tank vessels navigating the Great Lakes. ...

  14. Backcasting the decline of a vulnerable Great Plains reproductive ecotype: identifying threats and conservation priorities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Worthington, Thomas A.; Brewer, Shannon K.; Grabowski, Timothy B.; Mueller, Julia

    2014-01-01

    Conservation efforts for threatened or endangered species are challenging because the multi-scale factors that relate to their decline or inhibit their recovery are often unknown. To further exacerbate matters, the perceptions associated with the mechanisms of species decline are often viewed myopically rather than across the entire species range. We used over 80 years of fish presence data collected from the Great Plains and associated ecoregions of the United States, to investigate the relative influence of changing environmental factors on the historic and current truncated distributions of the Arkansas River shiner Notropis girardi. Arkansas River shiner represent a threatened reproductive ecotype considered especially well adapted to the harsh environmental extremes of the Great Plains. Historic (n = 163 records) and current (n = 47 records) species distribution models were constructed using a vector-based approach in MaxEnt by splitting the available data at a time when Arkansas River shiner dramatically declined. Discharge and stream order were significant predictors in both models; however, the shape of the relationship between the predictors and species presence varied between time periods. Drift distance (river fragment length available for ichthyoplankton downstream drift before meeting a barrier) was a more important predictor in the current model and indicated river segments 375–780 km had the highest probability of species presence. Performance for the historic and current models was high (area under the curve; AUC > 0.95); however, forecasting and backcasting to alternative time periods suggested less predictive power. Our results identify fragments that could be considered refuges for endemic plains fish species and we highlight significant environmental factors (e.g., discharge) that could be manipulated to aid recovery.

  15. Direct-current-like Phase Space Manipulation Using Chirped Alternating Current Fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schmit, P.F.; Fisch, N.J.

    2010-01-01

    Waves in plasmas can accelerate particles that are resonant with the wave. A dc electric field also accelerates particles, but without a resonance discrimination, which makes the acceleration mechanism profoundly different. Whereas wave-particle acceleration mechanisms have been widely discussed in the literature, this work discusses the direct analogy between wave acceleration and dc field acceleration in a particular parameter regime explored in previous works. Apart from the academic interest of this correspondence, there may be practical advantages in using waves to mimic dc electric fields, for example, in driving plasma current with high efficiency.

  16. Development Of The Social Interest Index

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greever, K. B.; And Others

    1973-01-01

    A Social Interest Index was developed to measure the level of social interest an individual has attained. Social interest was viewed as the willingness to contribute and cooperate within the areas of four life tasks (works, friendship, love, and self-significance). Findings relate the level of social interest to the variables of sex, socioeconomic…

  17. 7 CFR 1980.320 - Interest rate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 14 2010-01-01 2009-01-01 true Interest rate. 1980.320 Section 1980.320 Agriculture... REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) GENERAL Rural Housing Loans § 1980.320 Interest rate. The interest rate must not... interest rate over the life of the loan. The rate shall be agreed upon by the borrower and the Lender and...

  18. Dynamics of edge currents in a linearly quenched Haldane model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mardanya, Sougata; Bhattacharya, Utso; Agarwal, Amit; Dutta, Amit

    2018-03-01

    In a finite-time quantum quench of the Haldane model, the Chern number determining the topology of the bulk remains invariant, as long as the dynamics is unitary. Nonetheless, the corresponding boundary attribute, the edge current, displays interesting dynamics. For the case of sudden and adiabatic quenches the postquench edge current is solely determined by the initial and the final Hamiltonians, respectively. However for a finite-time (τ ) linear quench in a Haldane nanoribbon, we show that the evolution of the edge current from the sudden to the adiabatic limit is not monotonic in τ and has a turning point at a characteristic time scale τ =τ0 . For small τ , the excited states lead to a huge unidirectional surge in the edge current of both edges. On the other hand, in the limit of large τ , the edge current saturates to its expected equilibrium ground-state value. This competition between the two limits lead to the observed nonmonotonic behavior. Interestingly, τ0 seems to depend only on the Semenoff mass and the Haldane flux. A similar dynamics for the edge current is also expected in other systems with topological phases.

  19. "Do Latin@ Interests Always Have to 'Converge' with White Interests?"': (Re)claiming Racial Realism and Interest-Convergence in Critical Race Theory Praxis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aleman, Enrique, Jr.; Aleman, Sonya M.

    2010-01-01

    The interest-convergence principle proposes that change benefitting people and communities of color only occurs when those interests also benefit Whites. As newly transplanted Chicano/a residents of a state facing exponential growth of its Latino immigrant population, we have attempted to counter the efforts criminalizing members of our Latino/a…

  20. [Current status and prospects of gene doping detection].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Wenjun; Zhang, Sichun; Xu, Jingjuan; Xia, Xinghua; Tian, Yaping; Zhang, Xinrong; Chen, Hong-Yuan

    2008-07-01

    The fast development of biotechnology promotes the development of doping. From recombinant protein to gene doping, there is a great challenge to their detection. The improvement of gene therapy and potential to enhance athletic performance open the door for gene doping. After a brief introduction of the concept of gene doping, the current status and prospects of gene doping detection are reviewed.

  1. Universal health care for children: why every self-interested person should support it.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Churchill, L R

    2001-04-01

    By comparison to other developed nations, both the health care and the health status of children in the U.S. are poor. Ethical arguments for covering all children for health services are numerous, but most of them require the suppression of self-interested motivations. Drawing from and developing the arguments of David Hume, this essay argues that self-interested motives need not work against an inclusive system, and can strengthen the case for covering children in particular. Anyone who hopes to benefit from the inter-generational transfers currently required by Social Security and Medicare policies should be an advocate for health care for all children.

  2. The current status of mango farming business in Ghana: A case ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The current status of mango farming business in Ghana: A case study of mango farming in the Dangme West District. ... Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is a crop which is assuming great economic importance in Ghana. ... HOW TO USE AJOL.

  3. Developing Flexible, Integrated Hydrologic Modeling Systems for Multiscale Analysis in the Midwest and Great Lakes Region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamlet, A. F.; Chiu, C. M.; Sharma, A.; Byun, K.; Hanson, Z.

    2016-12-01

    Physically based hydrologic modeling of surface and groundwater resources that can be flexibly and efficiently applied to support water resources policy/planning/management decisions at a wide range of spatial and temporal scales are greatly needed in the Midwest, where stakeholder access to such tools is currently a fundamental barrier to basic climate change assessment and adaptation efforts, and also the co-production of useful products to support detailed decision making. Based on earlier pilot studies in the Pacific Northwest Region, we are currently assembling a suite of end-to-end tools and resources to support various kinds of water resources planning and management applications across the region. One of the key aspects of these integrated tools is that the user community can access gridded products at any point along the end-to-end chain of models, looking backwards in time about 100 years (1915-2015), and forwards in time about 85 years using CMIP5 climate model projections. The integrated model is composed of historical and projected future meteorological data based on station observations and statistical and dynamically downscaled climate model output respectively. These gridded meteorological data sets serve as forcing data for the macro-scale VIC hydrologic model implemented over the Midwest at 1/16 degree resolution. High-resolution climate model (4km WRF) output provides inputs for the analyses of urban impacts, hydrologic extremes, agricultural impacts, and impacts to the Great Lakes. Groundwater recharge estimated by the surface water model provides input data for fine-scale and macro-scale groundwater models needed for specific applications. To highlight the multi-scale use of the integrated models in support of co-production of scientific information for decision making, we briefly describe three current case studies addressing different spatial scales of analysis: 1) Effects of climate change on the water balance of the Great Lakes, 2) Future

  4. 7 CFR 4279.125 - Interest rates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Interest rates. 4279.125 Section 4279.125 Agriculture... Interest rates. The interest rate for the guaranteed loan will be negotiated between the lender and the applicant and may be either fixed or variable as long as it is a legal rate. Interest rates will not be more...

  5. 7 CFR 4274.325 - Interest rates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Interest rates. 4274.325 Section 4274.325 Agriculture... (IRP) § 4274.325 Interest rates. (a) Loans made by the Agency pursuant to this subpart shall bear interest at a fixed rate of 1 percent per annum over the term of the loan. (b) Interest rates charged by...

  6. Does Sympathy Motivate Prosocial Behaviour in Great Apes?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liebal, Katja; Vaish, Amrisha; Haun, Daniel; Tomasello, Michael

    2014-01-01

    Prosocial behaviours such as helping, comforting, or sharing are central to human social life. Because they emerge early in ontogeny, it has been proposed that humans are prosocial by nature and that from early on empathy and sympathy motivate such behaviours. The emerging question is whether humans share these abilities to feel with and for someone with our closest relatives, the great apes. Although several studies demonstrated that great apes help others, little is known about their underlying motivations. This study addresses this issue and investigates whether four species of great apes (Pongo pygmaeus, Gorilla gorilla, Pan troglodytes, Pan paniscus) help a conspecific more after observing the conspecific being harmed (a human experimenter steals the conspecific’s food) compared to a condition where no harming occurred. Results showed that in regard to the occurrence of prosocial behaviours, only orangutans, but not the African great apes, help others when help is needed, contrasting prior findings on chimpanzees. However, with the exception of one population of orangutans that helped significantly more after a conspecific was harmed than when no harm occurred, prosocial behaviour in great apes was not motivated by concern for others. PMID:24416212

  7. Second-Generation Outcomes of the Great Migration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexander, J Trent; Leibbrand, Christine; Massey, Catherine; Tolnay, Stewart

    2017-12-01

    The mass migration of African Americans out of the South during the first two-thirds of the twentieth century represents one of the most significant internal migration flows in U.S. Those undertaking the Great Migration left the South in search of a better life, and their move transformed the cultural, social, and political dynamics of African American life specifically and U.S. society more generally. Recent research offers conflicting evidence regarding the migrants' success in translating their geographic mobility into economic mobility. Due in part to the lack of a large body of longitudinal data, almost all studies of the Great Migration have focused on the migrants themselves, usually over short periods of their working lives. Using longitudinally linked census data, we take a broader view, investigating the long-term economic and social effects of the Great Migration on the migrants' children. Our results reveal modest but statistically significant advantages in education, income, and poverty status for the African American children of the Great Migration relative to the children of southerners who remained in the South. In contrast, second-generation white migrants experienced few benefits from migrating relative to southern or northern stayers.

  8. Professor Witold Nowicki - a greatly spirited pathologist.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wincewicz, A; Szepietowska, A; Sulkowski, S

    2016-06-01

    This paper presents a complete overview of the scientific, professional and social activity of a great Polish pathologist, Witold Nowicki (1878-1941), from mainly Polish-written, original sources with a major impact on mostly his own publications. The biographical commemoration of this eminent professor is not only due to the fact that he provided a profound microscopic characterization of pneumatosis cystoides in 1909 and 1924. Nowicki greatly influenced the development of anatomical pathology in Poland, having authored over 82 publications, with special reference to tuberculosis, lung cancer, sarcomatous carcinomas, scleroma and others. However, the first of all his merits for the readership of Polish pathologists was his textbook titled Anatomical Pathology, which was a basic pathology manual in pre-war Poland. Witold Nowicki - as the head of the academic pathological anatomy department and former dean of the medical faculty - was shot with other professors by Nazi Germans in the Wuleckie hills in Lvov during World War Two. Professor Nowicki was described as being "small in size but great in spirit" by one of his associates, and remains an outstanding example of a meticulous pathologist, a patient tutor and a great social activist to follow.

  9. Building Evidence of Validity: The Relation between Work Values, Interests, Personality, and Personal Values

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leuty, Melanie E.; Hansen, Jo-Ida C.

    2013-01-01

    The current study used work values components (WVC) to examine the relationship between work values, vocational interests, personality, and personal values. Most intercorrelations between work values and other constructs were in the small effect range. Overall correlations between scale scores provided evidence of convergent and discriminant…

  10. Impact of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on neuronal functions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Das, S. (Suman); P.J. Holland (Peter); M.A. Frens (Maarten); O. Donchin (Opher)

    2016-01-01

    textabstractTranscranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, modulates neuronal excitability by the application of a small electrical current. The low cost and ease of the technique has driven interest in potential clinical applications. However, outcomes

  11. Montessori Elementary Philosophy Reflects Current Motivation Theories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murray, Angela

    2011-01-01

    Montessori's theories, developed more than 100 years ago, certainly resonate with current psychological research on improving education. Autonomy, interest, competence, and relatedness form the foundation for three contemporary efforts to organize the vast literature on motivation into a parsimonious theory. These four elements also comprise…

  12. The discovery of the electric current

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cotti, Piero

    1995-02-01

    The first battery, the so called voltaic pile, turns out to be the only and hidden entrance to the world of electrodynamics. It was not until 20 years after Alessandro Volta's discovery that the realisation came that the sensational novelty of the voltaic pile was not the permanent voltage source but the current source. This was not to be expected, and had, therefore, not been searched for specifically, but, rather had been found through a great deal of luck and coincidence in experimentation.

  13. Structure of Vocational Interests for Diverse Groups on the 2005 Strong Interest Inventory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kantamneni, Neeta; Fouad, Nadya

    2011-01-01

    This study was designed to examine the structure of vocational interests in a diverse sample of individuals who completed the 2005 revision of the Strong Interest Inventory. We examined the fit of three racial/ethnic groups (African American, Caucasian, and Latino/a), both genders, and three levels of professional status (GRS participant, student,…

  14. Simian virus 40, poliovirus vaccines, and human cancer: research progress versus media and public interests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butel, J. S.

    2000-01-01

    From 1955 through early 1963, millions of people were inadvertently exposed to simian virus 40 (SV40) as a contaminant of poliovirus vaccines; the virus had been present in the monkey kidney cultures used to prepare the vaccines and had escaped detection. SV40 was discovered in 1960 and subsequently eliminated from poliovirus vaccines. This article reviews current knowledge about SV40 and considers public responses to reports in the media. SV40 is a potent tumour virus with broad tissue tropism that induces tumours in rodents and transforms cultured cells from many species. It is also an important laboratory model for basic studies of molecular processes in eukaryotic cells and mechanisms of neoplastic transformation. SV40 neutralizing antibodies have been detected in individuals not exposed to contaminated poliovirus vaccines. There have been many reports of detection of SV40 DNA in human tumours, especially mesotheliomas, brain tumours and osteosarcomas; and DNA sequence analyses have ruled out the possibility that the viral DNA in tumours was due to laboratory contamination or that the virus had been misidentified. However, additional studies are necessary to prove that SV40 is the cause of certain human cancers. A recently published review article evaluated the status of the field and received much media attention. The public response emphasized that there is great interest in the possibility of health risks today from vaccinations received in the past.

  15. Low offspring survival in mountain pine beetle infesting the resistant Great Basin bristlecone pine supports the preference-performance hypothesis.

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    Erika L Eidson

    Full Text Available The preference-performance hypothesis states that ovipositing phytophagous insects will select host plants that are well-suited for their offspring and avoid host plants that do not support offspring performance (survival, development and fitness. The mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae, a native insect herbivore in western North America, can successfully attack and reproduce in most species of Pinus throughout its native range. However, mountain pine beetles avoid attacking Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva, despite recent climate-driven increases in mountain pine beetle populations at the high elevations where Great Basin bristlecone pine grows. Low preference for a potential host plant species may not persist if the plant supports favorable insect offspring performance, and Great Basin bristlecone pine suitability for mountain pine beetle offspring performance is unclear. We infested cut bolts of Great Basin bristlecone pine and two susceptible host tree species, limber (P. flexilis and lodgepole (P. contorta pines with adult mountain pine beetles and compared offspring performance. To investigate the potential for variation in offspring performance among mountain pine beetles from different areas, we tested beetles from geographically-separated populations within and outside the current range of Great Basin bristlecone pine. Although mountain pine beetles constructed galleries and laid viable eggs in all three tree species, extremely few offspring emerged from Great Basin bristlecone pine, regardless of the beetle population. Our observed low offspring performance in Great Basin bristlecone pine corresponds with previously documented low mountain pine beetle attack preference. A low preference-low performance relationship suggests that Great Basin bristlecone pine resistance to mountain pine beetle is likely to be retained through climate-driven high-elevation mountain pine beetle outbreaks.

  16. OF THE GREAT TEMPLE OF BEL

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    A. Denker

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The Great Temple of Bel in Palmyra was a unique edifice which had blended the well established lines of Greco-Roman architecture with the art and taste of the Orient. With the gilded bronze capitals of its 41 Corinthian columns it was the product of enormous effort and budget. It was the gem of a remarkable epoch of wealthy Palmyra and mighty Roma. With its splendidly decorated adyta ceilings it became a source of inspiration and imagination for Western architecture and decorative arts. While continuing to captivate the World, it was leveled and vanished as a grim result of conflict based vandalism. The aim of this work is to piece together this, the most eloquent and stupendous monument of the Roman East, from its ruins and reconstruct it as it was once extant. Its loss is irreplacable, but its photo-realistic reconstruction can offer some solace by waking the memories of the great temple as in the past. The lost reality of the Great Temple of Bel is revived here by digitally constructing its “ghost images".

  17. Vocational interests by gender and race 10 years after spinal cord injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, Jillian M R; Krause, James S

    2017-11-01

    To examine and compare vocational interests as a function of gender and race among 247 participants with spinal cord injury (SCI) approximately 10 years after SCI onset utilizing the 2004 edition of the Strong Interest Inventory (SII). For this cross-sectional analysis nested within a prospective cohort study, data were collected via mail and analyzed at a medical university in the Southeastern United States. Among the 563 adults with traumatic SCI initially enrolled during inpatient rehabilitation at a specialty hospital, 247 met current study eligibility criteria and completed the SII approximately 10 years postinjury. The SII is a 291-item measure of vocational interests. Male participants scored highest on the Realistic theme and females scored highest on the Social theme. White participants scored highest on the Realistic theme, whereas Black participants scored highest on the Conventional theme. Differences in vocational interests by gender were seen on two of the six General Occupational Themes (GOT; Realistic and Social) and 12 of the 30 Basic Interest Scales (BIS). Race differences were observed on the Enterprising and Conventional GOT and 11 of 30 BIS. For both female and Black participants, interests are more physically compatible with employment post-SCI than male and White participants. Yet, employment rates in White males with SCI are greater than those of female and Black individuals with SCI. These data suggest further research on factors influencing gender and racial disparities in employment among those with SCI is indicated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  18. 8 CFR 293.1 - Computation of interest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... simple interest table in § 293.3 shall be utilized in the computation of interest under this part. ... 8 Aliens and Nationality 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Computation of interest. 293.1 Section 293... INTEREST ON CASH RECEIVED TO SECURE IMMIGRATION BONDS § 293.1 Computation of interest. Interest shall be...

  19. Influence of negative interest rates on endowements and foundations functioning

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    Nikolić Dušan Ž.

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Negative interest rate exists in the case when on the basis of the deposit contract a deponent is obliged to pay to a depository (a bank a reimbursement for the money keeping (paying to save. The scientific literature indicates that the legal regulation on endowments and foundations in a vast number of countries is based on the presumption that interest rates cannot be negative and that we are encountering the phenomenon of which we have limited knowledge. The introduction of negative interest rates, thus, could endanger the functioning, if not the subsistence of some endowments and foundations. The vulnerable social groups could, thereby, be especially affected. The Law on Endowments and Foundations of the Republic of Serbia enshrines that the endowments' capital shall not fall under the minimum capital assets of30.000 EUR recalculated in dinars based on the middle exchange rate of the National Bank of Serbia on the day of establishment. Apart from that, a founder may in the Articles of Association determine the minimum value below which the capital assets of endowment may not be reduced, which may not be lower of the minimum assets value set by the Law. In Serbia negative interest rates could aggravate, and throughout the time, even prevent the accomplishment of aims of endowments and foundations which for the operation of their activities may use only the interest yields and not the means of capital assets above the legal minimum. Some endowments could even cease to exist due to the diminishment of their minimum capital assets which entirely consist of the money deposited in the banks. The Article indicates the need for reconsidering the legal norms currently in force and that the transformation of certain legal institutes shall timely commence, whereby their systematic and social functions shall be regarded, as well as the need for introducing a streamlined corrective mechanisms with the aim of protecting interests of the weaker party in

  20. EdD Students’ Self-Efficacy and Interest in Conducting Research

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    Monica R Kerrigan

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Today’s educational practitioners are expected to know how to gather, analyze, and report on data for accountability purposes and to use that information to improve student outcomes. However, there is little understanding of how to support practitioners’ learning of and engagement with research and few studies on the research experiences of students enrolled in Doctorate of Education (EdD programs. The success of students enrolled in Doctor of Philosophy (PhD programs in conducting research has been found to be related to students’ self-efficacy and interest, but these concepts have not been explored with EdD students who are more likely to engage in applied research in their workplace than to create a research-focused career. This study sought to understand the self-efficacy and interest that EdD students enrolled in an Educational Leadership program have in research skills and tasks in order to improve research course offerings. Our findings with EdD students are consistent with existing research on PhD students regarding research self-efficacy but we did not observe significant changes in students’ interest over time. We suggest avenues for future study in light of current accountability reporting requirements for practitioners.