Execution of the European Arrest Warrant by the Romanian Judicial Authorities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ion Rusu

2009-06-01

Full Text Available The unprecedented development of criminality at the social and economical levels, the tendency toglobalize some categories of crimes, of maximum gravity, as terrorism, armament traffic, drug traffic orhuman traffic, have determined the world states to undertake specific measures to prevent, combat and finallyreduce it. The first and most important measure taken by the Europe’s Council, regarding the intensificationof judicial cooperation in criminal matters was the adoption of the European Convention on extradition, inParis on 13 December 1957, completed by the two Additional Protocols in Strasbourg, on 15 October 1975and 17 March 1978. In this context, the release of the Council’s Framework Decision on 13 June 2002 on theEuropean arrest warrant and the procedures of delivery among the member states (2002/584/JAI representeda natural decision, with the purpose of contributing at ensuring a free, secure and just European space. TheEuropean arrest warrant is a judicial decision through which a competent judicial authority of a EuropeanUnion member state solicits the arrest and delivery by another member state, in order to proceed to theprosecution, trial or execution of a penalty or safety measure that is privative of freedom.

Right-­turn traffic volume adjustment in traffic signal warrant analysis : final report.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-05-06

This report was based on the research project, Right-Turn Traffic Volume Adjustment in Traffic Signal Warrants, sponsored by the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) and SOLARIS. Right-turn traffic does not affect intersection performance in th...

Powernext Day-Ahead. Powernext Futures. Activity report - 2004

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

Powernext SA is a Multilateral Trading Facility which organizes and warrants the transactions on the European power exchange market. This activity report presents the highlights of the market and of Powernext in 2004: market conditions (more reasonable and less volatile prices, steadier market conditions (climate conditions, power consumption, correlation between French and German prices), increasing liquidity, start-up of Powernext Futures TM for medium-term contracts and introduction of futures price curve, promising volumes to start, and liquidity of the futures market. (J.S)

From Four to Two: Transformation of the Army Ordnance Officer and Warrant Officer Corps

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Napier, Joyce

2003-01-01

.... This study will examine how senior leaders within the Army and specifically the Ordnance Corps must change the officer and warrant officer force structure education system and leader development...

A review on Black-Scholes model in pricing warrants in Bursa Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Gunawan, Nur Izzaty Ilmiah Indra; Ibrahim, Siti Nur Iqmal; Rahim, Norhuda Abdul

2017-01-01

This paper studies the accuracy of the Black-Scholes (BS) model and the dilution-adjusted Black-Scholes (DABS) model to pricing some warrants traded in the Malaysian market. Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) are used to compare the two models. Results show that the DABS model is more accurate than the BS model for the selected data.

Peculiarities of the Enforcement of the European Arrest Warrant in the Case of an Illegal Liberty Deprivation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Minodora Ioana Rusu

2010-06-01

Full Text Available The illegal deprivation of liberty is, under the current context, one of the most serious offenses, being treated differently in the European Union. The need to prevent and combat this violation, it has led the European legislator to include it under different names in the European legislative act that governs the institution of the European arrest warrant. In this context, the European arrest warrant is the most important form of judicial cooperation in penal matters between the Member States of the EU, which is based on mutualrecognition of criminal judgments. The research conducted on how it is regulated the enforcement of the European arrest warrant in the case of illegal liberty deprivation in the European legislative act (the Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA leads to the conclusion that the legislature failed to mention the violation in question in the group of the violation for which it was not necessary the inspection of the double incrimination, but, still, including the offenses as kidnapping, illegal restraint and hostage-taking. Even if theRomanian legislator included this violation in the above mentioned group, this situation is not solved, because it will cause some problems in the request by the Romanian judicial authorities of the enforcement of such warrant. Another criticized issue, observed not only in the European legislative act, but also in the internal law, is related to the lack of stipulations, which can lead to the possibility of issuing and executing a European arrest warrant and for the execution of educational measures for illegal deprivation of liberty and also others. Also, in order to increase the effectiveness of the execution of a European arrest warrant, we consider that it should be granted executive powers of all courts of Romania. The originality of the work consists of the critical observations and the lege ferenda proposal which covers both the European legislativeact and the Romanian Law. At the same time

Right-\\0xADturn traffic volume adjustment in traffic signal warrant analysis : final report.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-05-06

This report was based on the research project, Right-Turn Traffic Volume Adjustment in : Traffic Signal Warrants, sponsored by the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) : and SOLARIS. Right-turn traffic does not affect intersection performance i...

Clinical pathways for inborn errors of metabolism: warranted and feasible

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Demirdas Serwet

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Inborn errors of metabolism (IEMs are known for their low prevalence and multidisciplinary care mostly founded on expert opinion. Clinical pathways are multidisciplinary tools to organise care which provide a clear route to the best care and improve communication. In 2010 the Dutch Society for Children and Adults with an Inborn Error of Metabolism (VKS initiated development of clinical pathways for inborn errors of metabolism. In this letter to the editor we describe why it is warranted to develop clinical pathways for IEMs and shortly discuss the process of development for these pathways in the Netherlands.

A pilot investigation to optimise methods for a future satiety preload study

OpenAIRE

Hobden, Mark R.; Guérin-Deremaux, Laetitia; Commane, Daniel M.; Rowland, Ian; Gibson, Glenn R.; Kennedy, Orla B.

2017-01-01

Background Preload studies are used to investigate the satiating effects of foods and food ingredients. However, the design of preload studies is complex, with many methodological considerations influencing appetite responses. The aim of this pilot investigation was to determine acceptability, and optimise methods, for a future satiety preload study. Specifically, we investigated the effects of altering (i) energy intake at a standardised breakfast (gender-specific or non-gender specific), an...

An investigation on how to estimate future cash flows: Evidence from Tehran Stock Exchange

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roghayeh Ahmdi Panah Banad Koki

2014-03-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an empirical investigation to predict future cash flows using present cash flow and accruals using the information of 96 selected firms listed on Tehran Stock Exchange over the period 2007-2011. The proposed study uses linear regression techniques to forecast future cash flow and the results indicate that cash flow and accruals together could provide more power to forecast cash flow. In addition, accrual provides future cash flow better than cash flow. The survey also performs an investigation on discretionary accrual and finds that the firms with higher accruals maintain lower return compared with firms with lower return. This means there is a clear evidence of discretionary accruals on Tehran Stock Exchange.

Is Bringing Back Warrant Officers the Answer A Loot at How They Could Work in the Air Force Cyber Operations Career Field

Science.gov (United States)

2017-03-16

fulfill that intent. In contrast, the Army, Navy and Marine Corps utilize warrant officers in a multitude of capacities, especially in highly... education and more generalized knowledge of commissioned officers. Warrant officer duties include supervising and managing the execution of cyberspace...trace his or her roots back to the British Royal Navy in the thirteenth century.28 The Crown awarded Royal Warrants to especially experienced sailors to

Show me the goods: The warranting effect of user-generated photographs in online auctions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Johnson, B.K.; Vang, M.H.; van der Heide, B.

2015-01-01

Consumers using online auction websites face the challenge of appraising products at a distance. Sellers and buyers in online auctions navigate this challenge by displaying and evaluating various cues, a critical one being use of photographs. Warranting theory predicts that cues less subject to

Focal thyroid incidentalomas identified with whole-body FDG-PET warrant further investigation.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Prichard, R S

2012-02-01

Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) whole body positron emission computed tomography (PET-CT) detects clinically occult malignancy. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and significance of focal thyroid 18F - fluorodeoxyglucose uptake. A retrospective review of all patients who had FDG PET-CT examinations, in a single tertiary referral centre was performed. PET scan findings and the final pathological diagnosis were collated. 2105 scans were reviewed. Focal uptake was identified in 35 (1.66%) patients. Final surgical histology was available on eight patients, which confirmed papillary carcinoma in four (20%) patients and lymphoma and metastatic disease in two patients respectively. This gave an overall malignancy rate in focal thyroid uptake of at least 33%. Thyroid incidentalomas occurred with a frequency of 2.13%, with an associated malignancy rate of at least 33% in focal thyroid uptake. The high malignancy rate associated with focal thyroid uptake mandates further investigation in medically fit patients.

An investigation on how to estimate future cash flows: Evidence from Tehran Stock Exchange

OpenAIRE

Roghayeh Ahmdi Panah Banad Koki; Iman Jokar

2014-01-01

This paper presents an empirical investigation to predict future cash flows using present cash flow and accruals using the information of 96 selected firms listed on Tehran Stock Exchange over the period 2007-2011. The proposed study uses linear regression techniques to forecast future cash flow and the results indicate that cash flow and accruals together could provide more power to forecast cash flow. In addition, accrual provides future cash flow better than cash flow. The survey also perf...

Future carbon regulations and current investments in alternative coal-fired power plant technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sekar, Ram C.; Parsons, John E.; Herzog, Howard J.; Jacoby, Henry D.

2007-01-01

We analyze how uncertain future US carbon regulations shape the current choice of the type of power plant to build. Our focus is on two coal-fired technologies, pulverized coal (PC) and integrated coal gasification combined cycle technology (IGCC). The PC technology is cheapest-assuming there is no need to control carbon emissions. The IGCC technology may be cheaper if carbon must be captured. Since power plants last many years and future regulations are uncertain, a US electric utility faces a standard decision under uncertainty. A company will confront the range of possible outcomes, assigning its best estimate of the probability of each scenario, averaging the results and determining the power plant technology with the lowest possible cost inclusive of expected future carbon related costs, whether those costs be in the form of emissions charges paid or capital expenditures for retrofitting to capture carbon. If the company assigns high probability to no regulation or to less stringent regulation of carbon, then it makes sense for it to build the PC plant. But if it assigns sufficient probability to scenarios with more stringent regulation, then the IGCC technology is warranted. We provide some useful benchmarks for possible future regulation and show how these relate back to the relative costs of the two technologies and the optimal technology choice. Few of the policy proposals widely referenced in the public discussion warrant the choice of the IGCC technology. Instead, the PC technology remains the least costly. However, recent carbon prices in the European Emissions Trading System are higher than these benchmarks. If it is any guide to possible future penalties for emissions in the US, then current investment in the IGCC technology is warranted. Of course, other factors need to be factored into the decision as well

Strategy for future seabed investigations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Richards, A.F.; Murray, C.N.

1989-01-01

The status of seabed disposal studies and possible strategies for future development are reviewed. Background information for strategy development includes presentation of selected recommendations for future studies identified by the NEA/OECD Seabed Working Group, the Engineering Studies Task Group of the Seabed Working Group and the Subseabed Consortium. Inferences from these recommendations, and how sound scientifically based research, significant political perception and technological proof of concept may be related to strategies are considered as a prelude to strategy design. A proposed European strategy, complementary to the 1988 Subseabed Consortium strategy developed in the US, is to proceed to the technological proof of concept by emplacing one or more full-sized waste canisters containing non-radioactive, simulated heat-producing waste by a chosen deployment system. The latter could include the drilled, the penetrator or the pushed-in option. Emplaced canisters would be monitored for an extended period of time, and eventually retrieved for examination. International co-operation and co-ordination of all aspects is recommended. (author)

Diagnosing true virtue? Remote scenarios, warranted virtue attributions, and virtuous medical practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Oakley, Justin

2016-02-01

Immanuel Kant argues in the Foundations that remote scenarios are diagnostic of genuine virtue. When agents commonly thought to have a particular virtue fail to exhibit that virtue in an extreme situation, he argues, they do not truly have the virtue at all, and our propensities to fail in such ways indicate that true virtue might never have existed. Kant's suggestion that failure to show, say, courage in extraordinary circumstances necessarily silences one's claim to have genuine courage seems to rely on an implausibly demanding standard for warranted virtue attributions. In contrast to this approach, some philosophers-such as Robert Adams and John Doris-have argued for probabilistic accounts of warranted virtue attributions. But despite the initial plausibility of such accounts, I argue that a sole reliance on probabilistic approaches is inadequate, as they are insufficiently sensitive to considerations of credit and fault, which emerge when agents have developed various insurance strategies and protective capacities against their responding poorly to particular eventualities. I also argue that medical graduates should develop the sorts of virtuous dispositions necessary to protect patient welfare against various countervailing influences (even where such influences might be encountered only rarely), and that repeated failures to uphold the proper goals of medicine in emergency scenarios might indeed be diagnostic of whether an individual practitioner does have the relevant medical virtue. In closing, I consider the dispositions involved in friendship. I seek to develop a principled way of determining when remote scenarios can be illuminating of genuine friendship and genuine virtue.

Investigators' viewpoint of clinical trials in India: Past, present and future

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohandas K Mallath

2017-01-01

Full Text Available India's success in producing food and milk for its population (Green Revolution and White Revolution happened because of scientific research and field trials. Likewise improving the health of Indians needs clinical research and clinical trials. A Large proportion of the sick Indians are poor, illiterate with no access to good health care. They are highly vulnerable to inducement and exploitation in clinical trials. The past two decades saw the rise and fall of clinical trials in India. The rise happened when our regulators created a favorable environment, and Indian investigators were invited to participate in global clinical trials. The gap between the demand and supply resulted in inadequate protection of the trial participants. Reports of abuses of the vulnerable trial participants followed by public interest litigations led to strengthening of regulations by the regulators. The stringent new regulations made the conduct of clinical trials more laborious and increased the cost of clinical trials in India. There was a loss of interest in sponsored clinical trials resulting in the fall in global clinical trials in India. Following repeated appeals by the investigators, the Indian regulators have recently relaxed some of the stringent regulations, while continuing to ensure the adequate patient protection. Clinical trials that are relevant to our population and conducted by well-trained investigators and monitored by trained and registered Ethics Committees will increase in the future. We must remain vigilant, avoid previous mistakes, and strive hard to protect the trial participants in the future trials.

Challenges in applying the ACPO principles in cloud forensic investigations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Harjinder Singh Lallie

2012-03-01

Full Text Available The numerous advantages offered by cloud computing has fuelled its growth and has made it one of the most significant of current computing trends. The same advantages have created complex issues for those conducting digital forensic investigations. Digital forensic investigators rely on the ACPO guidelines when conducting an investigation, however the guidelines make no reference to some of the issues presented by cloud investigations.This study investigates the impact of cloud computing on ACPO’s core principles and asks whether there is a need for the principles and guidelines to be reviewed to address the issues presented by cloud computing. Empirical research is conducted and data collected from key experts in the field of digital forensics.This research presents several key findings: there is a very real concern for how cloud computing will affect digital forensic investigations; the ACPO principles cannot easily be applied in all cloud investigations but are generally sufficient for cloud computing forensic investigations. However the advent of cloud computing is a significant development in technology and may in the near future warrant a review of the guidelines in particular to incorporate the involvement of third parties in cloud investigations.

20 CFR 416.934 - Impairments which may warrant a finding of presumptive disability or presumptive blindness.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... Blindness Presumptive Disability and Blindness § 416.934 Impairments which may warrant a finding of presumptive disability or presumptive blindness. We may make findings of presumptive disability and... school, because of mental deficiency or is unable to attend any type of school (or if beyond school age...

Visionary leadership and the future of VA health system.

Science.gov (United States)

Bezold, C; Mayer, E; Dighe, A

1997-01-01

As the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) makes the change over to Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISNs) the need for new and better leadership is warranted if VA wants to not only survive, but thrive in the emerging twenty-first century healthcare system. VA can prepare for the future and meet the challenges facing them by adopting a system of visionary leadership. The use of scenarios and vision techniques are explained as they relate to VA's efforts to move toward their new system of VISNs. The four scenarios provide snapshots of possible futures for the U.S. healthcare system as well as the possible future role and mission of VA--from VA disappearing to its becoming a premier virtual organization.

Investigate Volatility Jumps in Chinese Stock Index Future and Spot Markets Based on Realized Volatility

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Zhang qiang

2014-01-01

This paper aims to investigate Chinese stock index future and spot market's volatility jumps characteristics by using recentlydeveloped jumpstest(Barndorff-Nielsenand Shephard,2004).Thedataisoneyearhigh frequencydatafromthe period19/04/2012 to 19/04/2013. The empirical results show two important points. Firstly, the logarithm of adjusted realized volatility shows a high degree of autocorrelation and folows a normal distribution nearly perfect. These characteristics show a potential high forecast ability. Secondly,thedailyrealizedvolatilityjumpsshowalowdegreeofautocorrealtionbutwithsignificantvolatilityclusters.Ingeneral,thejumps component has a low percentage in realized volatility estimation for both future and spot market. On average, there is one significant jumpswithinevery ten continue trading days.Spotmarkets showshigherdegree of jumps,anda rapidly jumpscharacterises.It implies that jumps may transmission from spot to future market, and spot market dominate future market at some degree.

Investigating price clustering in the oil futures market

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Narayan, Paresh Kumar [School of Accounting, Economics and Finance, Deakin University (Australia); Narayan, Seema [School of Economics, Finance and Marketing, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne (Australia); Popp, Stephan [Department of Economics, University of Duisburg-Essen (Germany)

2011-01-15

Price clustering can be a source of market inefficiency. It follows that searching for price clustering in markets have gone beyond share prices into real estate, interest rate, and exchange rate markets. In this paper, we extend this line of research to oil futures markets. In particular, we consider five different forms of oil futures contracts and test for evidence of price clustering. Our results reveal strong presence of price clustering in the oil futures market. This finding implies that price clustering can potentially be a source of oil market inefficiency, which can influence trading strategies. (author)

Investigating price clustering in the oil futures market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Narayan, Paresh Kumar; Narayan, Seema; Popp, Stephan

2011-01-01

Price clustering can be a source of market inefficiency. It follows that searching for price clustering in markets have gone beyond share prices into real estate, interest rate, and exchange rate markets. In this paper, we extend this line of research to oil futures markets. In particular, we consider five different forms of oil futures contracts and test for evidence of price clustering. Our results reveal strong presence of price clustering in the oil futures market. This finding implies that price clustering can potentially be a source of oil market inefficiency, which can influence trading strategies. (author)

Future Time Orientation and Student Expectations: An Empirical Investigation

Science.gov (United States)

Amyx, Douglas; Bristow, Dennis

2004-01-01

Navajo and Anglo college students' time orientation scores from the Future Time Orientation (FTO) Scale (Bristol & Amyx, 1996) were analyzed and compared. Anglo students were found to be significantly more future time oriented in two of the three dimensions: temporal distance and involvement with time. Future time orientation was used to explain…

Preparing Science Teachers for the future

Science.gov (United States)

Stein, Fredrick

2002-04-01

What will teachers need in the future to be successful? What will "successful" mean in the future? Are the teaching approaches learned 40 years ago still relevant for tomorrow's classrooms? Will technology really change the way physics is taught (K-16)? Will we close the performance gap between students of differing ethnicity? Are schools of education rising to the challenge to answer these questions? Can college and university physics departments rise to the challenge of presenting physics to all students in an engaging manner? What can the APS, in partnership with AAPT and AIP, do to find the answers and provide strategies to improve the science preparation of future teachers? PhysTEC aims to help physics and education faculty work together to provide an education for future teachers that emphasizes a student-centered, hands-on, inquiry-based approach to learning science. The compelling evidence produced from Physics Education Research warrants this approach. A National Science Foundation grant of 5.76 million and a 498 thousand grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education support PhysTEC, its partners and activities. http://www.phystec.org/

Developing a framework to investigate the personal financial management knowledge of individuals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miemie Struwig

2013-02-01

Full Text Available This article focuses on the development of a framework for investigating the personal financial management knowledge of individuals. Content analysis is used to derive the components included in the personal financial management requirements framework. The framework developed includes six components, namely basic concepts in personal finances, management of personal finances, risk management, future planning, investing in financial resources and miscellaneous factors. A qualitative validation process revealed that the framework indeed covers what the average South African citizen is required to know about personal financial planning. The real test of this framework will be to use it in developing an instrument to test individuals’ knowledge of personal financial management. This process of empirically testing the framework, using such an instrument, warrants a separate article.

Future directions of multiple behavior change research.

Science.gov (United States)

Geller, Karly; Lippke, Sonia; Nigg, Claudio R

2017-02-01

Non-communicable diseases (i.e., chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease, diabetes and obesity) result in 36 million deaths each year. Individuals' habitual participation in a single health-risk behaviors substantially contribute to morbidity and mortality (e.g., tobacco use, daily fast food intake, etc.); however, more concerning is the impact of typically co-occurring or clustering of multiple health-risk behaviors. This burden can be minimized through successful cessation of health-risk behaviors and adoption of healthy behaviors; namely healthy lifestyle adoption or multiple health behavior change (MHBC). MHBC is a developing field and future research recommendations are provided to advance MHBC research. A valid measure of MHBC (i.e., lifestyle) is warranted to provide the needed basis for MHBC investigations and evaluations. MHBC is thought to occur through shared co-variation of underlying motivating mechanisms, but how these relationships influence behavior remains unclear. A better understanding of the relationship between behaviors and the related motivating mechanisms (and potential cross-relationship of influences) is needed. Future research should also aim to improve lifestyles through understanding how to change multiple health behaviors. Finally, MHBC research should target the development of sustainable interventions which result in lasting effects (e.g., capacity, systems, policy and environmental changes), with dissemination considered during development. Focusing MHBC research in these areas will increase our understanding and maximize the impact on the health of populations.

Placing the pieces: Reconstructing the original property mosaic in a warrant and patent watershed

Science.gov (United States)

Bain, D.J.; Brush, G.S.

2005-01-01

Recent research shows that land use history is an important determinant of current ecosystem function. In the United States, characterization of land use change following European settlement requires reconstruction of the original property mosaic. However, this task is difficult in unsystematically surveyed areas east of the Appalachian Mountains. The Gwynns Falls watershed (Baltimore, MD) was originally surveyed in the 1600-1700s under a system of warrants and patents (commonly known as 'metes and bounds'). A method for the reconstruction and mapping of warrant and patent properties is presented and used to map the original property mosaic in the Gwynns Falls watershed. Using the mapped mosaic, the persistence of properties and property lines in the current Gwynns Falls landscape is considered. The results of this research indicate that as in agricultural areas, the original property lines in the Gwynns Falls watershed are persistent. At the same time, the results suggest that the property mosaic in heavily urbanized/suburbanized areas is generally 'reset.' Further, trends in surveying technique, parcel size, and settlement patterns cause property line density and property shape complexity to increase in the less urbanized upper watershed. The persistence of original patterns may be damping expression of heterogeneity gradients in this urban landscape. This spatial pattern of complexity in the original mosaic is directly opposite of hypothesized patterns of landscape heterogeneity arising from urbanization. The technique reported here and the resulting observations are important for landscape pattern studies in areas settled under unsystematic survey systems, especially the heavily urbanized areas of the eastern United States. ?? 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Dust particles investigation for future Russian lunar missions.

Science.gov (United States)

Dolnikov, Gennady; Horanyi, Mihaly; Esposito, Francesca; Zakharov, Alexander; Popel, Sergey; Afonin, Valeri; Borisov, Nikolay; Seran, Elena; Godefroy, Michel; Shashkova, Inna; Kuznetsov, Ilya; Lyash, Andrey; Vorobyova, Elena; Petrov, Oleg; Lisin, Evgeny

One of the complicating factors of the future robotic and human lunar landing missions is the influence of the dust. Meteorites bombardment has accompanied by shock-explosive phenomena, disintegration and mix of the lunar soil in depth and on area simultaneously. As a consequence, the lunar soil has undergone melting, physical and chemical transformations. Recently we have the some reemergence for interest of Moon investigation. The prospects in current century declare USA, China, India, and European Union. In Russia also prepare two missions: Luna-Glob and Luna-Resource. Not last part of investigation of Moon surface is reviewing the dust condition near the ground of landers. Studying the properties of lunar dust is important both for scientific purposes to investigation the lunar exosphere component and for the technical safety of lunar robotic and manned missions. The absence of an atmosphere on the Moon's surface is leading to greater compaction and sintering. Properties of regolith and dust particles (density, temperature, composition, etc.) as well as near-surface lunar exosphere depend on solar activity, lunar local time and position of the Moon relative to the Earth's magneto tail. Upper layers of regolith are an insulator, which is charging as a result of solar UV radiation and the constant bombardment of charged particles, creates a charge distribution on the surface of the moon: positive on the illuminated side and negative on the night side. Charge distribution depends on the local lunar time, latitude and the electrical properties of the regolith (the presence of water in the regolith can influence the local distribution of charge). On light side of Moon near surface layer there exists possibility formation dusty plasma system. Altitude of levitation is depending from size of dust particle and Moon latitude. The distribution dust particle by size and altitude has estimated with taking into account photoelectrons, electrons and ions of solar wind, solar

Future development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zavitz, J.; Hetherington, C.

1997-01-01

Issues regarding future development by oil and gas companies in Canada's Arctic and the Beaufort Sea were discussed. It was suggested in the Berger report that Northern development should be under the control of the people whose lives and economy are being changed. Aboriginal people are now much more sophisticated politically, and have a better understanding of what is involved. Most of them would like the financial benefits from development, but the development would have to be on their terms. Most people involved with Arctic oil exploration feel that there is enough oil in the Arctic to warrant production. (Reserves in the Beaufort Sea are estimated at two billion barrels of good quality oil). If development were to continue, there exist two methods of transportation to move the oil to market. Gulf, Imperial Oil and Panarctic favour the use of pipelines, whereas Dome Petroleum Ltd. favours the use of ice-breaking tankers. In each case the favored option seems to depend upon the location of the company's leases, the capital and operating costs, and the potential environmental impacts. Undoubtedly, any future development will be guided by the scientific information and technical expertise of oil industry pioneers of the 1960s and the 1970s, and the wisdom gained from the experiences of the many participants whose views and insights are recorded in this book

Matter of 381 Search Warrants Directed to Facebook, 2017 N.Y. Lexis 767, 2; 2017 NY Slip op. 02586, 2 (N.Y. April 4, 2017

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Trad. Leopoldo Villar

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The growing importance of electronic communications gives a special interest to its protection, which involves several fundamental rights and guarantees such as freedom, privacy and property. Due to the importance of the discussion and the different positions it reflects on an issue of such sensitivity and pertinence in the world today, we publish below the translation of the decision by the Supreme Court of the State of New York of April 4, 2017, on the 381 search warrants directed to Facebook user accounts, ordered by the same Court in 2013 in response to a request by the New York County District Attorney, supported in turn by an affidavit given by a prosecutor in a criminal investigation. Facebook filed a motion seeking annulment of the search warrants and disclosure of the Prosecutor’s affidavit but both motions were rejected by the Appeals Division, whereupon Facebook appealed to the New York Supreme Court, which dismissed the appeal. Although most agreed that the appeal was not appropriate, the views of the judges contain interpretations that make their reading very useful and particularly the opinión given by the dissenting judge offers enriching arguments for defending the rights of users of electronic services.

Clinical trials in orthopaedics and the future direction of clinical investigations for femoroacetabular impingement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Clohisy, John C; Kim, Young-Jo; Lurie, Jon

2013-01-01

to be further defined. To date, clinical research reports have included primarily surgical case series. Future clinical investigations are needed to establish improved clinical evidence to guide patient care. Most urgent is the need to better understand the potential role of standardized nonsurgical treatment......Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) represents a heterogeneous group of disorders that affect a diverse patient population. The natural history of the disease, the role of nonsurgical management, the indications for surgery, optimal surgical techniques, and the predictors of treatment outcomes need...... options for FAI and to define the predictors of surgical and nonsurgical outcomes. Future randomized controlled trials and large observational cohort studies targeted at these clinical research deficiencies will strengthen the evidence and improve informed decision making regarding the management...

Investigation of beam self-polarization in the future e+e− circular collider

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(CDS)2075800

2016-10-24

The use of resonant depolarization has been suggested for precise beam energy measurements (better than 100 keV) in the eþe− Future Circular Collider (FCC-eþe−) for Z and WW physics at 45 and 80 GeV beam energy respectively. Longitudinal beam polarization would benefit the Z peak physics program; however it is not essential and therefore it will be not investigated here. In this paper the possibility of selfpolarized leptons is considered. Preliminary results of simulations in presence of quadrupole misalignments and beam position monitors (BPMs) errors for a simplified FCC-eþe− ring are presented.

Investigation of beam self-polarization in the future e+e- circular collider

Science.gov (United States)

Gianfelice-Wendt, E.

2016-10-01

The use of resonant depolarization has been suggested for precise beam energy measurements (better than 100 keV) in the e+e- Future Circular Collider (FCC-e+e-) for Z and W W physics at 45 and 80 GeV beam energy respectively. Longitudinal beam polarization would benefit the Z peak physics program; however it is not essential and therefore it will be not investigated here. In this paper the possibility of self-polarized leptons is considered. Preliminary results of simulations in presence of quadrupole misalignments and beam position monitors (BPMs) errors for a simplified FCC-e+e- ring are presented.

Is a comparative clinical trial for breast cancer tumor markers to monitor disease recurrence warranted? A value of information analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Thariani, Rahber; Henry, Norah Lynn; Ramsey, Scott D; Blough, David K; Barlow, Bill; Gralow, Julie R; Veenstra, David L

2013-05-01

Breast cancer tumor markers are used by some clinicians to screen for disease recurrence risk. Since there is limited evidence of benefit, additional research may be warranted. To assess the potential value of a randomized clinical trial of breast tumor marker testing in routine follow-up of high-risk, stage II-III breast cancer survivors. We developed a decision-analytic model of tumor marker testing plus standard surveillance every 3-6 months for 5 years. The expected value of sample information was calculated using probabilistic simulations and was a function of: the probability of selecting the optimal monitoring strategy with current versus future information; the impact of choosing the nonoptimal strategy; and the size of the population affected. The value of information for a randomized clinical trial involving 9000 women was US$214 million compared with a cost of US$30-60 million to conduct such a trial. The probability of making an alternate, nonoptimal decision and choosing testing versus no testing was 32% with current versus future information from the trial. The impact of a nonoptimal decision was US$2150 and size of population impacted over 10 years was 308,000. The value of improved information on overall survival was US$105 million, quality of life US$37 million and test performance US$71 million. Conducting a randomized clinical trial of breast cancer tumor markers appears to offer a good societal return on investment. Retrospective analyses to assess test performance and evaluation of patient quality of life using tumor markers may also offer valuable areas of research. However, alternative investments may offer even better returns in investments and, as such, the trial concept deserves further study as part of an overall research-portfolio evaluation.

Vegetation-mediated Climate Impacts on Historical and Future Ozone Air Quality

Science.gov (United States)

Tai, A. P. K.; Fu, Y.; Mickley, L. J.; Heald, C. L.; Wu, S.

2014-12-01

Changes in climate, natural vegetation and human land use are expected to significantly influence air quality in the coming century. These changes and their interactions have important ramifications for the effectiveness of air pollution control strategies. In a series of studies, we use a one-way coupled modeling framework (GEOS-Chem driven by different combinations of historical and future meteorological, land cover and emission data) to investigate the effects of climate-vegetation changes on global and East Asian ozone air quality from 30 years ago to 40 years into the future. We find that future climate and climate-driven vegetation changes combine to increase summertime ozone by 2-6 ppbv in populous regions of the US, Europe, East Asia and South Asia by year 2050, but including the interaction between CO2 and biogenic isoprene emission reduces the climate impacts by more than half. Land use change such as cropland expansion has the potential to either mostly offset the climate-driven ozone increases (e.g., in the US and Europe), or greatly increase ozone (e.g., in Southeast Asia). The projected climate-vegetation effects in East Asia are particularly uncertain, reflecting a less understood ozone production regime. We thus further study how East Asian ozone air quality has evolved since the early 1980s in response to climate, vegetation and emission changes to shed light on its likely future course. We find that warming alone has led to a substantial increase in summertime ozone in populous regions by 1-4 ppbv. Despite significant cropland expansion and urbanization, increased summertime leafiness of vegetation in response to warming and CO2 fertilization has reduced ozone by 1-2 ppbv, driven by enhanced ozone deposition dominating over elevated biogenic emission and partially offsetting the warming effect. The historical role of CO2-isoprene interaction in East Asia, however, remains highly uncertain. Our findings demonstrate the important roles of land cover

Vinca Institute and the Future of Nuclear Investigations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kopecni, M. M.

1997-01-01

Ever since its foundation in 1948, Vinca Institute was a nuclear-oriented scientific institution. Achieving valuable results in different fields of nuclear sciences and technologies, Vinca became and still is the largest scientific institution in the former and today's Yugoslavia. Structure and intensity of nuclear activities varied with the time, following the pattern of domestic and international interest for this kind of knowledge. The nuclear part of Vinca had its raises and falls, it is a long history, but unquestionably there is a future. This paper presents a survey of the past and the present nuclear activities in Yugoslavia, with special attention paid to the future of nuclear sciences and technologies in the Institute. (author)

Investigation of beam self-polarization in the future e^{+}e^{-} circular collider

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Gianfelice-Wendt

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The use of resonant depolarization has been suggested for precise beam energy measurements (better than 100 keV in the e^{+}e^{-} Future Circular Collider (FCC-e^{+}e^{-} for Z and WW physics at 45 and 80 GeV beam energy respectively. Longitudinal beam polarization would benefit the Z peak physics program; however it is not essential and therefore it will be not investigated here. In this paper the possibility of self-polarized leptons is considered. Preliminary results of simulations in presence of quadrupole misalignments and beam position monitors (BPMs errors for a simplified FCC-e^{+}e^{-} ring are presented.

Fit between Future Thinking and Future Orientation on Creative Imagination

Science.gov (United States)

Chiu, Fa-Chung

2012-01-01

The purpose of the current study is to investigate the impact of future thinking, and the fit between future thinking and future orientation on creative thinking. In Study 1, 83 undergraduates were randomly assigned to three groups: 50-year future thinking, 5-year future thinking, and the present-day thinking. First, the priming tasks, in which…

Limited field investigation report for the 100-FR-1 Operable Unit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-09-01

This limited field investigation (LFI) report summarizes the data collection and analysis activities conducted during the 100-FR-1 Source Operable Unit LFI and the associated qualitative risk assessment (QRA), and makes recommendations on the continued candidacy of high-priority sites for interim remedial measures (IRM). The results and recommendations presented in this report are generally independent of future land use scenarios. An LFI is required when existing data are insufficient to formulate a conceptual model and perform a QRA. The purpose of the report is to identify those sites that are recommended to remain as candidates for IRM, provide a preliminary summary of site characterization studies, refine the conceptual model as needed, identify contaminant- and location-specific applicable or relevant and appropriate requirements (ARAR), and provide a qualitative assessment of the risks associated with the sites. This assessment includes consideration of whether contaminant concentrations pose an unacceptable risk that warrants action through IRM. The final decision to conduct an IRM will rely on many factors including risk, ARAR, future land use, point of compliance, time of compliance, a bias-for-action, and the threat to human health and the environment

A pilot investigation to optimise methods for a future satiety preload study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hobden, Mark R; Guérin-Deremaux, Laetitia; Commane, Daniel M; Rowland, Ian; Gibson, Glenn R; Kennedy, Orla B

2017-01-01

Preload studies are used to investigate the satiating effects of foods and food ingredients. However, the design of preload studies is complex, with many methodological considerations influencing appetite responses. The aim of this pilot investigation was to determine acceptability, and optimise methods, for a future satiety preload study. Specifically, we investigated the effects of altering (i) energy intake at a standardised breakfast (gender-specific or non-gender specific), and (ii) the duration between mid-morning preload and ad libitum lunch meal, on morning appetite scores and energy intake at lunch. Participants attended a single study visit. Female participants consumed a 214-kcal breakfast ( n  = 10) or 266-kcal breakfast ( n  = 10), equivalent to 10% of recommended daily energy intakes for females and males, respectively. Male participants ( n  = 20) consumed a 266-kcal breakfast. All participants received a 250-ml orange juice preload 2 h after breakfast. The impact of different study timings was evaluated in male participants, with 10 males following one protocol (protocol 1) and 10 males following another (protocol 2). The duration between preload and ad libitum lunch meal was 2 h (protocol 1) or 2.5 h (protocol 2), with the ad libitum lunch meal provided at 12.00 or 13.00, respectively. All female participants followed protocol 2. Visual analogue scale (VAS) questionnaires were used to assess appetite responses and food/drink palatability. Correlation between male and female appetite scores was higher with the provision of a gender-specific breakfast, compared to non-gender-specific breakfast (Pearson correlation of 0.747 and 0.479, respectively). No differences in subjective appetite or ad libitum energy intake were found between protocols 1 and 2. VAS mean ratings of liking, enjoyment, and palatability were all > 66 out of 100 mm for breakfast, preload, and lunch meals. The findings of this pilot study confirm the acceptability

White paper on future technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-12-15

This book describes the role of technology and challenge of future like why we focus on future technologies and future, human being and technology, methodology on development for future technologies such as global monitoring system for investigation on environmental change, investigation of research front for paper and patent and COMPAS, and domestic and foreign organization for discover on future technologies. It also introduces KISTI selection future technologies 500 : healthy society, smart society, safety society, and future technologies 500.

Carotid sinus hypersensitivity: Entity warrants a caution in the critical care unit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sugata Dasgupta

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Carotid sinus hypersensitivity (CSH syndrome is an entity caused by an overreaction of the carotid sinus baroreceptors to stimulation. Three subtypes of CSH syndrome are recognized according to the response to carotid sinus massage (CSM: Predominantly cardioinhibitory, predominantly vasodepressor and a mixed subtype. We report here the case of a middle-aged female patient admitted in our critical care unit with respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation. There were episodes of severe bradycardia whenever her head was rotated to any side, relieved on neutralizing head position and administering intravenous atropine. CSM revealed she had predominantly cardioinhibitory type of CSH syndrome. A cardioinhibitory form of hypersensitive carotid sinus reflex, which is idiopathic in causation, probably explains the severe bradycardia on head rotation seen in our patient. A heightened awareness of this syndrome is necessary for timely diagnosis and management. CSH syndrome results from an overreaction of the carotid sinus baroreceptors to stimulation, manifesting commonly as bradycardia, hypotension and syncope. It is an entity, which warrants caution during routine critical care practices.

Advanced Choice Employment (ACE) factors influencing PGY-1 workplace selection and future career intentions of a cohort of doctors in Waikato.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Helen; de Beer, Wayne; Gibbons, Veronique

2017-01-27

To assess whether or not a sample of PGY-1 doctors in the Waikato region remained satisfied with the ACE system for employment 12 years after its inception. An anonymous paper-based survey was completed by a cohort (n=60) of 2015 and 2016 PGY-1 doctors based at the Waikato DHB. Questions were based around reasons for selecting the DHB, satisfaction with the ACE process and future career intentions. Overall satisfaction with the ACE selection process was reasonable (63%). Over 60% of the 2015 and 2016 cohorts chose Waikato as their first choice DHB, and of those, over 90% intended to carry on through to at least PGY2 level at the DHB. An overwhelming majority (93-96%) intended to continue practicing in New Zealand. Consistent trends were observed across the two cohorts in regards to their reasons for selecting the DHB, satisfaction with ACE and future intentions, with some differences observed with familial background and interest in pursuing hospital-based specialties. Our findings suggest that ACE remains a satisfactory recruiting system for postgraduate junior doctors, however, motives around initial DHB selection and future vocational intentions remain unclear and warrant further investigation.

Future Tense and Economic Decisions: Controlling for Cultural Evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Seán G; Winters, James; Chen, Keith

2015-01-01

A previous study by Chen demonstrates a correlation between languages that grammatically mark future events and their speakers' propensity to save, even after controlling for numerous economic and demographic factors. The implication is that languages which grammatically distinguish the present and the future may bias their speakers to distinguish them psychologically, leading to less future-oriented decision making. However, Chen's original analysis assumed languages are independent. This neglects the fact that languages are related, causing correlations to appear stronger than is warranted (Galton's problem). In this paper, we test the robustness of Chen's correlations to corrections for the geographic and historical relatedness of languages. While the question seems simple, the answer is complex. In general, the statistical correlation between the two variables is weaker when controlling for relatedness. When applying the strictest tests for relatedness, and when data is not aggregated across individuals, the correlation is not significant. However, the correlation did remain reasonably robust under a number of tests. We argue that any claims of synchronic patterns between cultural variables should be tested for spurious correlations, with the kinds of approaches used in this paper. However, experiments or case-studies would be more fruitful avenues for future research on this specific topic, rather than further large-scale cross-cultural correlational studies.

Multifactor valuation models of energy futures and options on futures

Science.gov (United States)

Bertus, Mark J.

The intent of this dissertation is to investigate continuous time pricing models for commodity derivative contracts that consider mean reversion. The motivation for pricing commodity futures and option on futures contracts leads to improved practical risk management techniques in markets where uncertainty is increasing. In the dissertation closed-form solutions to mean reverting one-factor, two-factor, three-factor Brownian motions are developed for futures contracts. These solutions are obtained through risk neutral pricing methods that yield tractable expressions for futures prices, which are linear in the state variables, hence making them attractive for estimation. These functions, however, are expressed in terms of latent variables (i.e. spot prices, convenience yield) which complicate the estimation of the futures pricing equation. To address this complication a discussion on Dynamic factor analysis is given. This procedure documents latent variables using a Kalman filter and illustrations show how this technique may be used for the analysis. In addition, to the futures contracts closed form solutions for two option models are obtained. Solutions to the one- and two-factor models are tailored solutions of the Black-Scholes pricing model. Furthermore, since these contracts are written on the futures contracts, they too are influenced by the same underlying parameters of the state variables used to price the futures contracts. To conclude, the analysis finishes with an investigation of commodity futures options that incorporate random discrete jumps.

19 CFR 207.45 - Investigation to review outstanding determination.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... FAIR VALUE OR FROM SUBSIDIZED EXPORTS TO THE UNITED STATES Terminated, Suspended, and Continued... description of changed circumstances sufficient to warrant the institution of a review investigation by the... of the receipt of a request, the Commission shall determine whether the request shows changed...

Pedagogical Culture of Future Teachers of Musical Art: A Methodological Investigation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Inna Pashchenko

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The article deals with modern scholars’ approaches to the definition of the term “pedagogical culture of future teachers of musical art”. The authors give their own definition of future teacher’s pedagogical culture. It is defined as a subjectively conditioned system of values, culture-pedagogical knowledge, norms of behavior, which are practically implemented in the process of the development of a human being. These factors contribute to the realization of students’ abilities, development of moral and philosophical personal qualities by means of implementing certain pedagogical conditions of training in higher educational establishments of Ukraine. They also determine the choice of the correct strategy of specialists-educators’ cultural-pedagogical identity in their future professional activity. The criteria and levels as well as the stages of experimental work on the implementation of these methods have been identified and described. The experimental stages of the implementation of methods of formation of future teachers’ pedagogical culture by means of spiritual music have been identified and described. There are three stages: adaptive, cognitive-corrective, and acmeological. The results of experimental work, that demonstrate positive effects of the implementation of methods of formation of future teachers’ pedagogical culture by means of spiritual music in the educational process of pedagogical universities, have been also presented in the article.

Renewable Electricity Futures Study. Volume 1: Exploration of High-Penetration Renewable Electricity Futures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mai, T.; Wiser, R.; Sandor, D.; Brinkman, G.; Heath, G.; Denholm, P.; Hostick, D.J.; Darghouth, N.; Schlosser, A.; Strzepek, K.

2012-06-01

The Renewable Electricity Futures (RE Futures) Study investigated the challenges and impacts of achieving very high renewable electricity generation levels in the contiguous United States by 2050. The analysis focused on the sufficiency of the geographically diverse U.S. renewable resources to meet electricity demand over future decades, the hourly operational characteristics of the U.S. grid with high levels of variable wind and solar generation, and the potential implications of deploying high levels of renewables in the future. RE Futures focused on technical aspects of high penetration of renewable electricity; it did not focus on how to achieve such a future through policy or other measures. Given the inherent uncertainties involved with analyzing alternative long-term energy futures as well as the multiple pathways that might be taken to achieve higher levels of renewable electricity supply, RE Futures explored a range of scenarios to investigate and compare the impacts of renewable electricity penetration levels (30%-90%), future technology performance improvements, potential constraints to renewable electricity development, and future electricity demand growth assumptions. RE Futures was led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Renewable Electricity Futures Study. Volume 1. Exploration of High-Penetration Renewable Electricity Futures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hand, M. M. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Baldwin, S. [U.S. Dept. of Energy, Washington, DC (United States); DeMeo, E. [Renewable Energy Consulting, Chicago, IL (United States); Reilly, J. M. [Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States); Mai, T. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Arent, D. [Joint Inst. for Strategic Energy Analysis, Boulder, CO (United States); Porro, G. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Meshek, M. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Sandor, D. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2012-06-15

The Renewable Electricity Futures (RE Futures) Study investigated the challenges and impacts of achieving very high renewable electricity generation levels in the contiguous United States by 2050. The analysis focused on the sufficiency of the geographically diverse U.S. renewable resources to meet electricity demand over future decades, the hourly operational characteristics of the U.S. grid with high levels of variable wind and solar generation, and the potential implications of deploying high levels of renewables in the future. RE Futures focused on technical aspects of high penetration of renewable electricity; it did not focus on how to achieve such a future through policy or other measures. Given the inherent uncertainties involved with analyzing alternative long-term energy futures as well as the multiple pathways that might be taken to achieve higher levels of renewable electricity supply, RE Futures explored a range of scenarios to investigate and compare the impacts of renewable electricity penetration levels (30%–90%), future technology performance improvements, potential constraints to renewable electricity development, and future electricity demand growth assumptions. RE Futures was led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Learn more at the RE Futures website. http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/re_futures/

Temperature impacts on economic growth warrant stringent mitigation policy

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Frances C.; Diaz, Delavane B.

2015-02-01

Integrated assessment models compare the costs of greenhouse gas mitigation with damages from climate change to evaluate the social welfare implications of climate policy proposals and inform optimal emissions reduction trajectories. However, these models have been criticized for lacking a strong empirical basis for their damage functions, which do little to alter assumptions of sustained gross domestic product (GDP) growth, even under extreme temperature scenarios. We implement empirical estimates of temperature effects on GDP growth rates in the DICE model through two pathways, total factor productivity growth and capital depreciation. This damage specification, even under optimistic adaptation assumptions, substantially slows GDP growth in poor regions but has more modest effects in rich countries. Optimal climate policy in this model stabilizes global temperature change below 2 °C by eliminating emissions in the near future and implies a social cost of carbon several times larger than previous estimates. A sensitivity analysis shows that the magnitude of climate change impacts on economic growth, the rate of adaptation, and the dynamic interaction between damages and GDP are three critical uncertainties requiring further research. In particular, optimal mitigation rates are much lower if countries become less sensitive to climate change impacts as they develop, making this a major source of uncertainty and an important subject for future research.

Powernext Day-Ahead. Powernext Futures. Powernext Carbon. Powernext Weather. Activity assessment first-half 2006; Powernext Day-Ahead. Powernext Futures. Powernext Carbon. Powernext Weather. Bilan d'activite premier semestre 2006

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2006-07-01

Powernext SA is a Multilateral Trading Facility which organizes and warrants the transactions on the European power exchange and CO{sub 2} exchange markets. This activity report presents the highlights of the market and of Powernext in the first half of 2006: market conditions, prices and traded volumes on Powernext (Powernext Day-Ahead{sup TM} in the case of day-ahead contracts, Powernext Futures{sup TM} in the case of medium-term contracts, and Powernext Carbon in the case of CO{sub 2}), new active members, and liquidity on the power market. (J.S.)

Balancing options for shrimp farming : a landscape approach to investigate the future of shrimp farming in the Mekong Delta

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Joffre, O.M.

2015-01-01

Balancing options for shrimp farming

A landscape approach to investigate the future of shrimp farming in the Mekong Delta

Olivier Joffre

While providing an option for development in coastal areas, shrimp farming is usually associated with high environmental

SMARTPHONE-BASED DILATED FUNDUS PHOTOGRAPHY AND NEAR VISUAL ACUITY TESTING AS INEXPENSIVE SCREENING TOOLS TO DETECT REFERRAL WARRANTED DIABETIC EYE DISEASE.

Science.gov (United States)

Toy, Brian C; Myung, David J; He, Lingmin; Pan, Carolyn K; Chang, Robert T; Polkinhorne, Alison; Merrell, Douglas; Foster, Doug; Blumenkranz, Mark S

2016-05-01

To compare clinical assessment of diabetic eye disease by standard dilated examination with data gathered using a smartphone-based store-and-forward teleophthalmology platform. 100 eyes of 50 adult patients with diabetes from a health care safety-net ophthalmology clinic. All patients underwent comprehensive ophthalmic examination. Concurrently, a smartphone was used to estimate near visual acuity and capture anterior and dilated posterior segment photographs, which underwent masked, standardized review. Quantitative comparison of clinic and smartphone-based data using descriptive, kappa, Bland-Altman, and receiver operating characteristic analyses was performed. Smartphone visual acuity was successfully measured in all eyes. Anterior and posterior segment photography was of sufficient quality to grade in 96 and 98 eyes, respectively. There was good correlation between clinical Snellen and smartphone visual acuity measurements (rho = 0.91). Smartphone-acquired fundus photographs demonstrated 91% sensitivity and 99% specificity to detect moderate nonproliferative and worse diabetic retinopathy, with good agreement between clinic and photograph grades (kappa = 0.91 ± 0.1, P smartphone-based telemedicine system that demonstrated sensitivity and specificity to detect referral-warranted diabetic eye disease as a proof-of-concept. Additional studies are warranted to evaluate this approach to expanding screening for diabetic retinopathy.

Science and mathematics teachers of the future

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Michelsen, Claus; Nielsen, Jan Alexis; Petersen, Morten Rask

2008-01-01

This paper presents the project Science and Mathematics Teachers of the Future. The aim of the project is to develop and implement a graduate level equivalent degree program in mathematics and science instruction for in-service teachers of lower secondary education. This aim is achieved...... in the programme through involving the teachers in design, implementation and evaluation of innovative instructional sequences, which deals with a wide range of aspects of mathematics and science, e.g. modern science and the importance of science in society. In the program contemporary science and mathematics...... education research serves as a basis for the design and development of warranted practices with which the teachers may experiment in their classroom. We will focus on the outcomes of offering a program which is intimately tied to (i) contemporary science and mathematics education research, (ii) modern...

Powernext Day-Ahead. Powernext Futures. Powernext Carbon. Powernext Weather. Activity assessment first-half 2006

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

Powernext SA is a Multilateral Trading Facility which organizes and warrants the transactions on the European power exchange and CO 2 exchange markets. This activity report presents the highlights of the market and of Powernext in the first half of 2006: market conditions, prices and traded volumes on Powernext (Powernext Day-Ahead TM in the case of day-ahead contracts, Powernext Futures TM in the case of medium-term contracts, and Powernext Carbon in the case of CO 2 ), new active members, and liquidity on the power market. (J.S.)

Transmission access issues: Present and future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bahl, P.K.; Gray, R.G.

1992-01-01

In recent years, the electric industry has undergone dramatic changes as the federal and state governments have encouraged bulk power production by Independent Power Producers (IPPS) and Qualified Facilities (QFs). With decentralization and the consequent competition in the field of bulk power production, there has emerged the problem of non-utility generators (NUGS) and of transmission dependent utilities accessing the existing transmission systems owned by electric utilities. This paper presents current and future issues related to transmission access by IPPS, QFs and transmission dependent utilities. These issues include: (a) impact on system reliability, (b) impact of pricing strategies, (c) changes in state and federal regulations, (d) transmission proposals by various entities, (e) present access arrangements, (f) formation of the Western Systems Power Pool (WSPP), and (g) siting difficulties. The transmission access problem warrants consideration of transmission services, coordination among electric utilities, joint planning on a regional basis, and accommodation of IPPs and NUGs

The Relationships among Imagination, Future Imagination Tendency, and Future Time Perspective of Junior High School Students

Science.gov (United States)

Tsai, Min-Ying

2015-01-01

The main purpose of the study were to investigate the relationships among imagination, future imagination tendency, and future time perspective of junior high school students, then to explore the future time perspective which is predicted by background variables, imaginative qualities, and future imagination tendency. The subjects were 331 from…

Future supply of, and demand for, titanium, copper and lead

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grover, L.K.

1991-01-01

A literature survey has been conducted to assess the future world supply of, and demand for, titanium, copper and lead. These metals are candidates for the fabrication of containers for the immobilization and disposal of Canada's nuclear used-fuel in an underground disposal vault at a Used-Fuel Disposal Centre. The Centre is assumed to begin operation by the year 2020 and continue for about 40 years. The survey has shown that the world has abundant supplies of titanium minerals (mostly in the form of ilmenite), which are expected to last up to at least 2110. However, for copper and lead, the balance between supply and demand may warrant increased monitoring beyond the year 2000. A number of factors that can influence supply and demand are discussed

Eying the future: Eye movement in past and future thinking.

Science.gov (United States)

El Haj, Mohamad; Lenoble, Quentin

2017-06-07

We investigated eye movement during past and future thinking. Participants were invited to retrieve past events and to imagine future events while their scan path was recorded by an eye-tracker. Past thinking triggered more fixation (p thinking. Past and future thinking triggered a similar duration of fixations and saccades, as well as a similar amplitude of saccades. Interestingly, participants rated past thinking as more vivid than future thinking (p thinking seems to be accompanied by an increased number of fixations and saccades. Fixations and saccades in past thinking can be interpreted as an attempt by the visual system to find (through saccades) and activate (through fixations) stored memory representations. The same interpretation can be applied to future thinking as this ability requires activation of past experiences. However, future thinking triggers fewer fixations and saccades than past thinking: this may be due to its decreased demand on visual imagery, but could also be related to a potentially deleterious effect of eye movements on spatial imagery required for future thinking. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Site investigations for the disposal of spent fuel - investigation program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aeikaes, Timo

1985-11-01

The Industrial Power Company Ltd (TVO) is making preparations for the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel into the Finnish bedrock. The revised site investigation program for the years 1986-2010 is presented in this report. The objectives and activities in the near future are described in more detail. The main objectives and frame programs for the investigations in the more distant future are described. The program planning of these investigations are being developed in the preceding site investigations. The investigations for the site selection are divided into four phases: 1983-1985 selection of the investigation areas, preparations for the field investigations, drilling and investigations in a deep test borehole; 1986-1992 preliminary site investigations in 5-10 investigation areas; 1993-2000 detailed site investigations in 2-3 investigation areas. Site selection in the year 2000; 2001-2010 complementary investigations on the selected site. The first investigation phase will be carried out as planned. In this phase a 1001 m deep test borehole was drilled at Lavia in western Finland. With the investigations in the borehole and related development work, preparations were made for the future field investigations. The equipment and investigation methods are being developed during the site investigations. The equipment for taking groundwater samples and the unit for hydraulic testing have been developed. In the future the emphasis in the work will be in developing equipment for monitoring of the hydraulic head and measuring the volumetric flow. In groundwater sampling the present procedure can be improved by adding the test for the in-situ measurements. The results of the field investigations will be stored and processed in a centralized data base. The data base will transmit the results for the interpretation and then the interpreted results transmitted for model calculations and reporting. The cost estimate for the investigations in 1986-2010 is 110-125 million

Renewable Electricity Futures Study. Executive Summary

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mai, T.; Sandor, D.; Wiser, R.; Schneider, T.

2012-12-01

The Renewable Electricity Futures (RE Futures) Study investigated the challenges and impacts of achieving very high renewable electricity generation levels in the contiguous United States by 2050. The analysis focused on the sufficiency of the geographically diverse U.S. renewable resources to meet electricity demand over future decades, the hourly operational characteristics of the U.S. grid with high levels of variable wind and solar generation, and the potential implications of deploying high levels of renewables in the future. RE Futures focused on technical aspects of high penetration of renewable electricity; it did not focus on how to achieve such a future through policy or other measures. Given the inherent uncertainties involved with analyzing alternative long-term energy futures as well as the multiple pathways that might be taken to achieve higher levels of renewable electricity supply, RE Futures explored a range of scenarios to investigate and compare the impacts of renewable electricity penetration levels (30%-90%), future technology performance improvements, potential constraints to renewable electricity development, and future electricity demand growth assumptions. RE Futures was led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Investigation-Derived Waste Management Plan. Revision 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Molen, G.

1995-01-01

SRS has implemented a comprehensive environmental program to maintain compliance with environmental regulations and mitigate impacts to the environment. One element of the environmental program is the investigation of inactive waste units. Environmental Investigation-Derived Waste (IDW). IDW may include purge water , soil cuttings, drilling fluids, well pumping test and development water, decontamination solutions, contaminated equipment, and personal protection equipment (PPE). In cases where investigations confirm the presence of contamination and the IDW contains waste constituents in concentrations high enough to be of environmental or health concern, special management procedures are warranted. This IDW Management Plan describes specific SRS initiatives for IDW management. The goal is the development of a plan for prudent management of IDW from environmental investigations that is protective of human health and the environment

Present-day biogeochemical activities of anaerobic bacteria and their relevance to future exobiological investigations

Science.gov (United States)

Oremland, R.S.

1989-01-01

If the primordial atmosphere was reducing, then the first microbial ecosystem was probably composed of anaerobic bacteria. However, despite the presence of an oxygen-rich atmosphere, anaerobic habitats are important, commonplace components of the Earth's present biosphere. The geochemical activities displayed by these anaerobes impact the global cycling of certain elements (e.g., C, N, S, Fe, Mn, etc.). Methane provides an obvious example of how human-enhanced activities on a global scale can influence the content of a "radiative" (i.e., infrared absorbing) trace gas in the atmosphere. Methane can be oxidized by anaerobic bacteria, but this does not appear to support their growth. Acetylene, however, does support such growth. This may form the basis for future exobiological investigations of the atmospheres of anoxic, hydrocarbon-rich planets like Jupiter and Saturn, as well as the latter's satellite Titan. ?? 1989.

Powernext Day-Ahead. Powernext Futures. Powernext Carbon. Powernext Weather. 2006 activity assessment; Powernext Day-Ahead. Powernext Futures. Powernext Carbon. Powernext Weather. Bilan d'activite 2006

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2006-07-01

Powernext SA is a Multilateral Trading Facility which organizes and warrants the transactions on the European power exchange and CO{sub 2} exchange markets. This activity report presents the highlights of the market and of Powernext in 2006: market conditions (prices on the electricity market, prices on the CO{sub 2} emission allowances market, weather conditions, institutional aspects of the CO{sub 2} market, power generation and consumption, situation at the borders, fuel prices), traded volumes on Powernext (Powernext Day-Ahead{sup TM} in the case of day-ahead contracts, Powernext Futures{sup TM} in the case of medium-term contracts, and Powernext Carbon in the case of CO{sub 2}), new active members, and Powernext liquidity on the power market. (J.S.)

Powernext Day-Ahead. Powernext Futures. Powernext Carbon. Powernext Weather. 2006 activity assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

Powernext SA is a Multilateral Trading Facility which organizes and warrants the transactions on the European power exchange and CO 2 exchange markets. This activity report presents the highlights of the market and of Powernext in 2006: market conditions (prices on the electricity market, prices on the CO 2 emission allowances market, weather conditions, institutional aspects of the CO 2 market, power generation and consumption, situation at the borders, fuel prices), traded volumes on Powernext (Powernext Day-Ahead TM in the case of day-ahead contracts, Powernext Futures TM in the case of medium-term contracts, and Powernext Carbon in the case of CO 2 ), new active members, and Powernext liquidity on the power market. (J.S.)

Greenhouse gas reductions; not warranted, not beneficial

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, K.

2003-01-01

This report deals with climate change and greenhouse gas emissions, especially regional climate change predictions, from a sceptic's point of view. It rejects all the conventional evidence supporting claims of extreme man-made climate changes, dismissing them as alarmist and inherently uncertain. Similarly, it characterizes policy prescriptions based on this evidence as faulty and as measures which, if implemented, would do both current and future generations considerably more harm than good. Calls for energy efficiency and conservation, reliance on renewable energy sources, improved efficiency of conventional vehicles, hybrid and fuel-cell-driven cars, reducing the amount of driving, establishing greenhouse gas registries, are all dismissed as impractical, imposing higher costs on energy generally, slowing economic growth in the process, and scaring people to adopt unwise public policies by exaggerating the certainty of predictions about man-made climate change. While dismissing the arguments advanced by 'old-school' environmentalists, the report does not question the validity of the overall theory or details of the core greenhouse effect, its main targets are the anthropogenic components of the observed temperature record, and the evidence of a clear cause-and-effect link between anthropogenic forcing and changes in the Earth's surface temperature. Overall, the report dismisses the 'conventional' view of the extent of climate change, the cause of that change and the risk it poses. It emphasizes the limitations on economic freedom that proposed policies would inflict, and argues in favour of more studies to provide the foundation for a societal response based on a solid understanding of the science behind climate change, and the impact of proposed policy options. 32 refs., 2 figs

The 'Kristallin' programme: investigations, results, future procedure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gautschi, A.

1995-01-01

The synthesis of the geological investigations carried out to date as part of the 'Kristallin' programme has indicated that potentially suitable crystalline rock at an appropriate depth can be found in two regions of Northern Switzerland. The most promising siting options are in Canton Aargau, in a strip of land a few kilometers wide to the south of the Rhine river (Area West: Kaisten-Leuggern-Boettstein). A second-priority option is in Canton Schaffhausen (Area East: Siblingen). For the next phase of investigations into the possibility of locating a repository for high-level and long-lived intermediate-level waste in a crystalline formation, it is planned to carry out a 3D seismic survey in the Boettstein-Leuggern region and to drill an array of inclined boreholes at the former deep borehole site at Leuggern (or Boettstein). These two boreholes have already revealed the presence of large sections of low-permeability crystalline basement. (author) 12 figs

Focus on the future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanner, M.S.

1988-01-01

An assessment is made of what was learned from Halley and recommendations are made for future directions for infrared studies of comets and supporting lab investigations. The following issues are addressed: (1) What steps can be taken to achieve consistent interpretation of Halley infrared data; (2) How successful has the Halley Watch been for infrared studies; (3) What supporting lab research is needed; (4) What are the key infrared observations needed for future comets; and (5) How do current and future NASA programs relate to comet studies

Limited field investigation report for the 100-HR-1 Operable Unit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-08-01

This limited field investigation (LFI) report summarizes the data collection and analysis activities conducted during the 100-HR-1 Source Operable Unit LFI and the associated qualitative risk assessment (QRA) (WHC 1993a), and makes recommendations on the continued candidacy of high-priority sites for interim remedial measures (IRM). The results and recommendations presented in this report are generally independent of future land use scenarios. A LFI Report is required, in accordance with the HPPS, when waste sites are to be considered for IRMs. The LFI is an integral part of the remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS) or Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) facility investigation/corrective measures study (RFI/CMS) and process and functions as a focused RI or RFI for selection of IRMs. The purpose of the report is to identify those sites that are recommended to remain as candidates for IRMs, provide a preliminary summary of site characterization studies, refine the conceptual model as needed, identify contaminant- and location-specific applicable or relevant and appropriate requirements (ARA), and provide a qualitative assessment of the risks associated with the sites. This assessment includes consideration of whether contaminant concentrations pose an unacceptable risk that warrants action through IRMs. The 100-HR-1 unit encompasses approximately 100 acres adjacent to the Columbia River shoreline. It contains waste units associated with the original plant facilities constructed to support the H Reactor. The area also contains evaporation basins which received liquid process wastes and nonroutine deposits of chemical wastes from the 300 Area, where fuel elements for the N Reactor were produced

The future supply of and demand for candidate materials for the fabrication of nuclear fuel waste disposal containers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grover, L.K.

1990-01-01

This report summarizes the findings of a literature survey carried out to assess the future world supply of and demand for titanium, copper and lead. These metals are candidate materials for the fabrication of containers for the immobilization and disposal of Canada's nuclear used-fuel waste for a reference Used-fuel Disposal Centre. Such a facility may begin operation by approximately 2020, and continue for about 40 years. The survey shows that the world has abundant supplies of titanium minerals (mostly in the form of ilmenite), which are expected to last up to at least 2110. However, for copper and lead the balance between supply and demand may warrant increased monitoring beyond the year 2000. A number of factors that can influence future supply and demand are discussed in the report

Episodic memory and future thinking during early childhood: Linking the past and future.

Science.gov (United States)

Cuevas, Kimberly; Rajan, Vinaya; Morasch, Katherine C; Bell, Martha Ann

2015-07-01

Despite extensive examination of episodic memory and future thinking development, little is known about the concurrent emergence of these capacities during early childhood. In Experiment 1, 3-year-olds participated in an episodic memory hiding task ("what, when, where" [WWW] components) with an episodic future thinking component. In Experiment 2, a group of 4-year-olds (including children from Experiment 1) participated in the same task (different objects and locations), providing the first longitudinal investigation of episodic memory and future thinking. Although children exhibited age-related improvements in recall, recognition, and binding of the WWW episodic memory components, there were no age-related changes in episodic future thinking. At both ages, WWW episodic memory performance was higher than future thinking performance, and episodic future thinking and WWW memory components were unrelated. These findings suggest that the WWW components of episodic memory are potentially less fragile than the future components when assessed in a cognitively demanding task. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Varant Yatırımcısının Volatilite Algısına Etki Eden Faktörler: BIST’de Ampirik Bir Uygulama(Factors Affecting the Volatility Perception of Warrant Investors: An Empirical Research on BIST

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

İsrafil ZOR

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study is to determine the factors that affect the volatility perception of warrant investors. By using 3.187 daily data of 61 call warrants whose underlying asset is BIST-30 Index and traded on BIST in 2012, firstly efficient option pricing model for the related market is confirmed and then volatilities that equalizes the efficient model prices to market prices are calculated and regression analysis is applied to determine factors that affect the volatility. The results of the analysis are revealed that if the closing price of the underlying asset, the days to maturity of the warrant and Turkish Lira Interbank rate increase, the volatility perceived by investors will decrease. Also, there is positive relationship between the closing price of warrants and the perceived volatility. In addition perceived volatility is higher on Monday and first decrease in inflation after 4 months increase reduces the perceived volatility.

Clinician–Investigator Training and the Need to Pilot New Approaches to Recruiting and Retaining This Workforce

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Alison K.; Lund, P. Kay

2017-01-01

Clinician–investigators, also called physician–scientists, offer critical knowledge and perspectives that benefit research on basic science mechanisms, improved diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, population and outcomes medicine, health policy, and health services, yet few clinically trained health professionals pursue a research career. Sustaining this workforce requires attention to the unique challenges faced by investigators who must achieve clinical and research competence during training and their careers. These challenges include the duration of required clinical training, limited or discontinuous research opportunities, high levels of educational debt, balancing the dual obligations and rewards of clinical care and research, competition for research funding, and the need for leadership development after training. Women and individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups comprise a small percentage of this workforce. The authors summarize the recent literature on training for clinician–investigators, emphasizing approaches with encouraging outcomes that warrant broader implementation. Using this overview as background, they convened three workshops at the National Institutes of Health in 2016 to identify and refine key priorities for potential new pilot programs to recruit and retain the clinician–investigator workforce. From these workshops emerged three priorities for future pilot programs: (1) support for research in residency, (2) new research on-ramps for health professionals at multiple career stages, and (3) national networks to diversify and sustain clinician–investigator faculty. Implementation of any pilot program will require coordinated commitment from academic health centers, medical licensing/certification boards, professional societies, and clinician–investigators themselves, in addition to support from the National Institutes of Health. PMID:28767499

Clinician-Investigator Training and the Need to Pilot New Approaches to Recruiting and Retaining This Workforce.

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Alison K; Mills, Sherry L; Lund, P Kay

2017-10-01

Clinician-investigators, also called physician-scientists, offer critical knowledge and perspectives that benefit research on basic science mechanisms, improved diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, population and outcomes medicine, health policy, and health services, yet few clinically trained health professionals pursue a research career. Sustaining this workforce requires attention to the unique challenges faced by investigators who must achieve clinical and research competence during training and their careers. These challenges include the duration of required clinical training, limited or discontinuous research opportunities, high levels of educational debt, balancing the dual obligations and rewards of clinical care and research, competition for research funding, and the need for leadership development after training. Women and individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups comprise a small percentage of this workforce.The authors summarize the recent literature on training for clinician-investigators, emphasizing approaches with encouraging outcomes that warrant broader implementation. Using this overview as background, they convened three workshops at the National Institutes of Health in 2016 to identify and refine key priorities for potential new pilot programs to recruit and retain the clinician-investigator workforce. From these workshops emerged three priorities for future pilot programs: (1) support for research in residency, (2) new research on-ramps for health professionals at multiple career stages, and (3) national networks to diversify and sustain clinician-investigator faculty. Implementation of any pilot program will require coordinated commitment from academic health centers, medical licensing/certification boards, professional societies, and clinician-investigators themselves, in addition to support from the National Institutes of Health.

Investigation of Insulation Materials for Future Radioisotope Power Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Cornell, Peggy A.; Hurwitz, Frances I.; Ellis, David L.; Schmitz, Paul C.

2013-01-01

NASA's Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) Technology Advancement Project is developing next generation high-temperature insulation materials that directly benefit thermal management and improve performance of RPS for future science missions. Preliminary studies on the use of multilayer insulation (MLI) for Stirling convertors used on the Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG) have shown the potential benefits of MLI for space vacuum applications in reducing generator size and increasing specific power (W/kg) as compared to the baseline Microtherm HT (Microtherm, Inc.) insulation. Further studies are currently being conducted at NASA Glenn Research Center on candidate MLI foils and aerogel composite spacers. This paper presents the method of testing of foils and spacers and experimental results to date.

Component processes underlying future thinking.

Science.gov (United States)

D'Argembeau, Arnaud; Ortoleva, Claudia; Jumentier, Sabrina; Van der Linden, Martial

2010-09-01

This study sought to investigate the component processes underlying the ability to imagine future events, using an individual-differences approach. Participants completed several tasks assessing different aspects of future thinking (i.e., fluency, specificity, amount of episodic details, phenomenology) and were also assessed with tasks and questionnaires measuring various component processes that have been hypothesized to support future thinking (i.e., executive processes, visual-spatial processing, relational memory processing, self-consciousness, and time perspective). The main results showed that executive processes were correlated with various measures of future thinking, whereas visual-spatial processing abilities and time perspective were specifically related to the number of sensory descriptions reported when specific future events were imagined. Furthermore, individual differences in self-consciousness predicted the subjective feeling of experiencing the imagined future events. These results suggest that future thinking involves a collection of processes that are related to different facets of future-event representation.

West Nile Virus: High Transmission Rate in North-Western European Mosquitoes Indicates Its Epidemic Potential and Warrants Increased Surveillance.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jelke J Fros

Full Text Available West Nile virus (WNV is a highly pathogenic flavivirus transmitted by Culex spp. mosquitoes. In North America (NA, lineage 1 WNV caused the largest outbreak of neuroinvasive disease to date, while a novel pathogenic lineage 2 strain circulates in southern Europe. To estimate WNV lineage 2 epidemic potential it is paramount to know if mosquitoes from currently WNV-free areas can support further spread of this epidemic.We assessed WNV vector competence of Culex pipiens mosquitoes originating from north-western Europe (NWE in direct comparison with those from NA. We exposed mosquitoes to infectious blood meals of lineage 1 or 2 WNV and determined the infection and transmission rates. We explored reasons for vector competence differences by comparing intrathoracic injection versus blood meal infection, and we investigated the influence of temperature. We found that NWE mosquitoes are highly competent for both WNV lineages, with transmission rates up to 25%. Compared to NA mosquitoes, transmission rates for lineage 2 WNV were significantly elevated in NWE mosquitoes due to better virus dissemination from the midgut and a shorter extrinsic incubation time. WNV infection rates further increased with temperature increase.Our study provides experimental evidence to indicate markedly different risk levels between both continents for lineage 2 WNV transmission and suggests a degree of genotype-genotype specificity in the interaction between virus and vector. Our experiments with varying temperatures explain the current localized WNV activity in southern Europe, yet imply further epidemic spread throughout NWE during periods with favourable climatic conditions. This emphasizes the need for intensified surveillance of virus activity in current WNV disease-free regions and warrants increased awareness in clinics throughout Europe.

Limited field investigation report for the 100-NR-1 operable unit. Draft A

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-08-01

This limited field investigation (LFI) report summarizes the data collection and analysis activities conducted during the 100-NR-1 Source Operable Unit LFI and the associated qualitative risk assessment (QRA), and makes recommendations on the continued candidacy of high-priority sites for interim remedial measures (IRM). The results and recommendations presented in this report are generally independent of future land-use scenarios. An LFI report is required when waste sites are to be considered for IRM and existing data are insufficient to formulate a conceptual model or perform a QRA. The purpose of the report is to identify those sites that are recommended to remain as candidates for IRM, provide a preliminary summary of site characterization studies, refine the conceptual model as needed, identify potential contaminant and location-specific applicable or relevant and appropriate requirements (ARAR), and provide a qualitative assessment of the risks associated with the sites. This assessment includes consideration of whether contaminant concentrations pose a risk to human health or the environment that warrants action through IRM. Seven sites were intrusively investigated: 1322-N, 116-N-2, 119-N, 120-N-2, 120-N-1, South Settling Pond, and the 166-N Tank Farm (UN-100-N-17) unplanned release at the 166-N Tank Farm. Vadose zone sediments from these sites were sampled and analyzed. Radiological contamination is the primary concern as confirmed through this study

The Cushing OK Crude Oil Futures Price Pass - Through to New York Harbor Reformulated RBOB Regular Gasoline Futures Price

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chu V. Nguyen

2017-04-01

Full Text Available This study utilizes an Autoregressive Distributed Lag model to investigate the nature of crude oil futures price pass-through since 2006. The empirical results reveal a very high but incomplete short-run pass-through rate from the crude oil futures price to the gasoline futures price of 0.849298 with a corresponding negative long-run pass-through rate of -0.2440894. These empirical findings suggest that traders in the U.S. oil and gasoline futures markets overreact to fluctuations in the crude oil futures price as evidenced by subsequent corrections made over the sample period. The result of the bounds test for a long-term relationship between these two futures prices is inconclusive. The empirical findings further suggest that U.S. futures market traders considered futures prices of gasoline three weeks earlier in determining the current trading price while taking only one week to respond completely to the shock in the crude oil futures price.  The empirical findings of this investigation may address the core elements of the price dynamics of the crude oil and gasoline futures markets and advance inquiry into assessment tools that could manage a very complex market challenge, especially for policy makers in countries with transitional economies in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia.

78 FR 44455 - National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan; National Priorities List...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-07-24

... protects human health and the environment because the groundwater contamination has been reduced below... eligible for Fund-financed remedial actions if future conditions warrant such actions. Because EPA... for future response actions, should future conditions warrant such actions. IV. Basis for Site...

Robot Futures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christoffersen, Anja; Grindsted Nielsen, Sally; Jochum, Elizabeth Ann

Robots are increasingly used in health care settings, e.g., as homecare assistants and personal companions. One challenge for personal robots in the home is acceptance. We describe an innovative approach to influencing the acceptance of care robots using theatrical performance. Live performance...... is a useful testbed for developing and evaluating what makes robots expressive; it is also a useful platform for designing robot behaviors and dialogue that result in believable characters. Therefore theatre is a valuable testbed for studying human-robot interaction (HRI). We investigate how audiences...... perceive social robots interacting with humans in a future care scenario through a scripted performance. We discuss our methods and initial findings, and outline future work....

Investigation of Vehicle Requirements and Options for Future Space Tourism

Science.gov (United States)

Olds, John R.

2001-01-01

The research in support of this grant was performed by the PI, Dr. John Olds, and graduate students in the Space Systems Design Lab (SSDL) at Georgia Tech over the period December 1999 to December 2000. The work was sponsored by Dr. Ted Talay, branch chief of the Vehicle Analysis Branch at the NASA Langley Research Center. The objective of the project was to examine the characteristics of future space tourism markets and to identify the vehicle requirements that are necessary to enable this emerging new business segment.

Discrete-Time Pricing and Optimal Exercise of American Perpetual Warrants in the Geometric Random Walk Model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vanderbei, Robert J.; Pınar, Mustafa Ç.; Bozkaya, Efe B.

2013-01-01

An American option (or, warrant) is the right, but not the obligation, to purchase or sell an underlying equity at any time up to a predetermined expiration date for a predetermined amount. A perpetual American option differs from a plain American option in that it does not expire. In this study, we solve the optimal stopping problem of a perpetual American option (both call and put) in discrete time using linear programming duality. Under the assumption that the underlying stock price follows a discrete time and discrete state Markov process, namely a geometric random walk, we formulate the pricing problem as an infinite dimensional linear programming (LP) problem using the excessive-majorant property of the value function. This formulation allows us to solve complementary slackness conditions in closed-form, revealing an optimal stopping strategy which highlights the set of stock-prices where the option should be exercised. The analysis for the call option reveals that such a critical value exists only in some cases, depending on a combination of state-transition probabilities and the economic discount factor (i.e., the prevailing interest rate) whereas it ceases to be an issue for the put.

Discrete-Time Pricing and Optimal Exercise of American Perpetual Warrants in the Geometric Random Walk Model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vanderbei, Robert J., E-mail: rvdb@princeton.edu [Princeton University, Department of Operations Research and Financial Engineering (United States); P Latin-Small-Letter-Dotless-I nar, Mustafa C., E-mail: mustafap@bilkent.edu.tr [Bilkent University, Department of Industrial Engineering (Turkey); Bozkaya, Efe B. [Sabanc Latin-Small-Letter-Dotless-I University, Faculty of Administrative Sciences (Turkey)

2013-02-15

An American option (or, warrant) is the right, but not the obligation, to purchase or sell an underlying equity at any time up to a predetermined expiration date for a predetermined amount. A perpetual American option differs from a plain American option in that it does not expire. In this study, we solve the optimal stopping problem of a perpetual American option (both call and put) in discrete time using linear programming duality. Under the assumption that the underlying stock price follows a discrete time and discrete state Markov process, namely a geometric random walk, we formulate the pricing problem as an infinite dimensional linear programming (LP) problem using the excessive-majorant property of the value function. This formulation allows us to solve complementary slackness conditions in closed-form, revealing an optimal stopping strategy which highlights the set of stock-prices where the option should be exercised. The analysis for the call option reveals that such a critical value exists only in some cases, depending on a combination of state-transition probabilities and the economic discount factor (i.e., the prevailing interest rate) whereas it ceases to be an issue for the put.

An investigation into the future of discretionary trusts in South Africa: An income tax perspective: Part 2

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sophia M. Brink

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Background: Trusts have long been used as an estate planning mechanism, including the avoidance of estate duty and donations tax. In the 2016 National Budget the Minister of Finance indicated that Government was proposing several legislative measures during 2016/2017 to prevent individuals from using a trust to avoid estate duty (and donations tax to a certain extent. Unexpectedly, the 2016 draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill and the final Amendment Bill did not give effect to any of these proposals, but introduced other less drastic measures to control the abuse of trusts for tax purposes, albeit with the same stated purpose. Aim: The main aim of the study was to clarify the reform proposals (albeit unclear and consequently based on certain assumptions and to compare the reform proposals with the final amendments. This comparison will shed some light on the fairness and appropriateness of the final amendments and, more importantly, on the possibility that the reform proposals published by National Treasury in February 2016 not included in the final amendments will be enacted in the future. This investigation will assist tax practitioners and taxpayers in effective tax and estate planning, given that the reform proposals and final amendments have a possible impact on the future of discretionary trusts in South Africa. Setting: This article examines existing literature in a South African income tax environment. Methods: In order to meet this objective a qualitative approach based on a literature study of pure theoretical aspects was used. Results and conclusion: It was found that should the reform proposals become law, many trusts would become ineffective from a tax-planning perspective and these changes might erode other benefits trusts offer, jeopardising the future of discretionary trusts in South Africa.

Not my future? Core values and the neural representation of future events.

Science.gov (United States)

Brosch, Tobias; Stussi, Yoann; Desrichard, Olivier; Sander, David

2018-06-01

Individuals with pronounced self-transcendence values have been shown to put greater weight on the long-term consequences of their actions when making decisions. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated the neural mechanisms underlying the evaluation of events occurring several decades in the future as well as the role of core values in these processes. Thirty-six participants viewed a series of events, consisting of potential consequences of climate change, which could occur in the near future (around 2030), and thus would be experienced by the participants themselves, or in the far future (around 2080). We observed increased activation in anterior VMPFC (BA11), a region involved in encoding the personal significance of future events, when participants were envisioning far future events, demonstrating for the first time that the role of the VMPFC in future projection extends to the time scale of decades. Importantly, this activation increase was observed only in participants with pronounced self-transcendence values measured by self-report questionnaire, as shown by a statistically significant interaction of temporal distance and value structure. These findings suggest that future projection mechanisms are modulated by self-transcendence values to allow for a more extensive simulation of far future events. Consistent with this, these participants reported similar concern ratings for near and far future events, whereas participants with pronounced self-enhancement values were more concerned about near future events. Our findings provide a neural substrate for the tendency of individuals with pronounced self-transcendence values to consider the long-term consequences of their actions.

Final Work Plan: Phase I Investigation at Bladen, Nebraska

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

LaFreniere, Lorraine M. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Environmental Science Division. Applied Geosciences and Environmental Management Section; Yan, Eugene [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Environmental Science Division

2014-07-01

The village of Bladen is a town of population approximately 237 in the northwest part of Webster County, Nebraska, 30 mi southwest of Hastings and 140 mi southwest of Lincoln, Nebraska. In 2000, the fumigant-related compound carbon tetrachloride was detected in public water supply well PWS 68-1, at a trace level. Low-level contamination, below the maximum contamination level (MCL) of 5.0 μg/L, has been detected intermittently in well PWS 68-1 since 2000, including in the last sample taken in July 2013. In 2006, the village installed a new well, PWS 2006-1, that remains free of contamination. Because the carbon tetrachloride found in well PWS 68-1 might be linked to historical use of fumigants containing carbon tetrachloride at grain storage facilities, including its former facility in Bladen, the CCC/USDA is proposing an investigation to (1) delineate the source and extent of the carbon tetrachloride contamination potentially associated with its former facility, (2) characterize pathways and controlling factors for contaminant migration in the subsurface, and (3) establish a basis for estimating potential health and environmental risks. The work will be performed in accordance with the Intergovernmental Agreement established between the NDEQ and the Farm Service Agency of the USDA. The site investigation at Bladen will be implemented in phases, so that data collected and interpretations developed during each phase can be evaluated to determine if a subsequent phase of investigation is warranted and, if warranted, to provide effective guidance for the subsequent investigation activities. This Work Plan identifies the specific technical objectives and defines the scope of work proposed for the Phase I investigation by compiling and evaluating historical data. The proposed investigation activities will be performed on behalf of the CCC/USDA by the Environmental Science Division of Argonne National Laboratory. Argonne is a nonprofit, multidisciplinary research

Comprehensive management of pressure ulcers in spinal cord injury: Current concepts and future trends

Science.gov (United States)

Kruger, Erwin A.; Pires, Marilyn; Ngann, Yvette; Sterling, Michelle; Rubayi, Salah

2013-01-01

Pressure ulcers in spinal cord injury represent a challenging problem for patients, their caregivers, and their physicians. They often lead to recurrent hospitalizations, multiple surgeries, and potentially devastating complications. They present a significant cost to the healthcare system, they require a multidisciplinary team approach to manage well, and outcomes directly depend on patients' education, prevention, and compliance with conservative and surgical protocols. With so many factors involved in the successful treatment of pressure ulcers, an update on their comprehensive management in spinal cord injury is warranted. Current concepts of local wound care, surgical options, as well as future trends from the latest wound healing research are reviewed to aid medical professionals in treating patients with this difficult problem. PMID:24090179

The future role of hydro-electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lazenby, J.B.C.

1989-01-01

Hydroelectric power currently supplies 56-93% of the electricity requirements of the different geographic areas of Sub-Saharan Africa and accounted for 73% of total requirements in 1980. The continent is richly endowed with hydro resources in all areas, with central Africa possessing the most abundant reserves. Existing installed hydro capacity is 13,500 MW and of the total technical resource of 290,000 MW, some 110,000 MW are estimated to constitute the potential that warrants investigation. The demand for electricity in the region is presently low and growing at 5-10%/y. It is projected to double from 47,000 GWh in 1980 to 110,000-170,000 GWh by the year 2000, and is likely to double again by 2020. Hydro reserves warranting investigation exceed the demand projected for the year 2000 by a ratio of over 3:1 and only 13 countries out of 36 have a ratio less than one. A large proportion of these reserves are estimated to be economic to develop relative to other means of power generation. The development of hydro resources should maintain the proportion of the demand met by hydro in the range of 60-75% well into the 21st century. The existing installed capacity is likely to be increased at the rate of 3,000-5,000 MW per decade to achieve this. Constraints on such increase include the large amounts of capital needed, environmental issues, the need to displace populations affected by flooding, and fluctuations in the oil price which make long-term planning uncertain. 5 refs., 1 fig., 11 tabs

Designing the future of talking therapy: Using digital health to improve outcomes in psychosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amy Hardy

2016-01-01

A mobile app appears to be a feasible means of addressing barriers to access, uptake and adherence in talking therapies for psychosis, and may reduce costs and improve outcomes. Wellcome Trust funding has recently been obtained to investigate integrating wearable technology into the app, with the aim of increasing its sensitivity to user needs and further reducing processing demands. A Thinkthru digital platform is also being designed for use during therapy sessions and will be synchronised with the app. Further investigation of the platform and app’s potential to facilitate meaningful behaviour change is warranted, and a feasibility study and randomised controlled trial are planned.

Renewable Electricity Futures (Presentation)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mai, T.

2012-08-01

This presentation library summarizes findings of NREL's Renewable Electricity Futures study, published in June 2012. RE Futures investigated the challenges and impacts of achieving very high renewable electricity generation levels in the contiguous United States by 2050. It was presented at the 2012 RE AMP Annual Meeting. RE-AMP is an active network of 144 nonprofits and foundations across eight Midwestern states working on climate change and energy policy with the goal of reducing global warming pollution economy-wide 80% by 2050.

Reactors, Weapons, X-Rays, and Solar Panels: Using SCOT, Technological Frame, Epistemic Culture, and Actor Network Theory to Investigate Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Sovacool, Benjamin K.

2006-01-01

The article explores how four different theories have been used to investigate technology. It highlights the worth and limitations of each theory and argues that an eclectic, ever-evolving approach to the study of technology is warranted. (Contains 1 table.)

The Cushing OK Crude Oil Futures Price Pass - Through to New York Harbor Reformulated RBOB Regular Gasoline Futures Price

OpenAIRE

Chu V. Nguyen

2017-01-01

This study utilizes an Autoregressive Distributed Lag model to investigate the nature of crude oil futures price pass-through since 2006. The empirical results reveal a very high but incomplete short-run pass-through rate from the crude oil futures price to the gasoline futures price of 0.849298 with a corresponding negative long-run pass-through rate of -0.2440894. These empirical findings suggest that traders in the U.S. oil and gasoline futures markets overreact to fluctuations in the crud...

Investigation of dust particles with future Russian lunar missions: achievements of further development of PmL instrument.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuznetsov, Ilya; Zakharov, Alexander; Afonin, Valeri; Seran, Elena; Godefroy, Michel; Shashkova, Inna; Lyash, Andrey; Dolnikov, Gennady; Popel, Sergey; Lisin, Evgeny

2016-07-01

One of the complicating factors of the future robotic and human lunar landing missions is the influence of the dust. Meteorites bombardment has accompanied by shock-explosive phenomena, disintegration and mix of the lunar soil in depth and on area simultaneously. As a consequence, the lunar soil has undergone melting, physical and chemical transformations. Recently we have the some reemergence for interest of Moon investigation. The prospects in current century declare USA, China, India, and European Union. In Russia also prepare two missions: Luna-Glob and Luna-Resource. Not last part of investigation of Moon surface is reviewing the dust condition near the ground of landers. Studying the properties of lunar dust is important both for scientific purposes to investigation the lunar exosphere component and for the technical safety of lunar robotic and manned missions. The absence of an atmosphere on the Moon's surface is leading to greater compaction and sintering. Properties of regolith and dust particles (density, temperature, composition, etc.) as well as near-surface lunar exosphere depend on solar activity, lunar local time and position of the Moon relative to the Earth's magneto tail. Upper layers of regolith are an insulator, which is charging as a result of solar UV radiation and the constant bombardment of charged particles, creates a charge distribution on the surface of the moon: positive on the illuminated side and negative on the night side. Charge distribution depends on the local lunar time, latitude and the electrical properties of the regolith (the presence of water in the regolith can influence the local distribution of charge). On the day side of Moon near surface layer there exists possibility formation dusty plasma system. Altitude of levitation is depending from size of dust particle and Moon latitude. The distribution of dust particles by size and altitude has estimated with taking into account photoelectrons, electrons and ions of solar wind

Investigation of Insulation Materials for Future Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS)

Science.gov (United States)

Cornell, Peggy A.; Hurwitz, Frances I.; Ellis, David L.; Schmitz, Paul C.

2013-01-01

NASA's Radioisotope Power System (RPS) Technology Advancement Project is developing next generation high temperature insulation materials that directly benefit thermal management and improve performance of RPS for future science missions. Preliminary studies on the use of multilayer insulation (MLI) for Stirling convertors used on the Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG) have shown the potential benefits of MLI for space vacuum applications in reducing generator size and increasing specific power (W/kg) as compared to the baseline Microtherm HT (Microtherm, Inc.) insulation. Further studies are currently being conducted at NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) on candidate MLI foils and aerogel composite spacers. This paper presents the method of testing of foils and spacers and experimental results to date.

Sorghum production under future climate in the Southwestern USA: model projections of yield, greenhouse gas emissions and soil C fluxes

Science.gov (United States)

Duval, B.; Ghimire, R.; Hartman, M. D.; Marsalis, M.

2016-12-01

irrigated sorghum, and strong control of N rate on N2O emissions suggests that a dryland sorghum bioproduct system could be environmentally sustainable in the Southwestern US with effective N management, and warrants further investigation in field trials.

Amnesia and future thinking: Exploring the role of memory in the quantity and quality of episodic future thoughts.

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, Scott N; Morrison, Catriona M; Barak, Ohr; Pauly-Takacs, Katalin; Conway, Martin A

2016-06-01

To examine the impact of memory accessibility on episodic future thinking. Single-case study of neurological patient HCM and an age-matched comparison group of neurologically Healthy Controls. We administered a full battery of tests assessing general intelligence, memory, and executive functioning. To assess autobiographical memory, the Autobiographical Memory Interview (Kopelman, Wilson, & Baddeley, 1990. The Autobiographical Memory Interview. Bury St. Edmunds, UK: Thames Valley Test Company) was administered. The Past Episodic and Future Episodic sections of Dalla Barba's Confabulation Battery (Dalla Barba, 1993, Cogn. Neuropsychol., 1, 1) and a specifically tailored Mental Time Travel Questionnaire were administered to assess future thinking in HCM and age-matched controls. HCM presented with a deficit in forming new memories (anterograde amnesia) and recalling events from before the onset of neurological impairment (retrograde amnesia). HCM's autobiographical memory impairments are characterized by a paucity of memories from Recent Life. In comparison with controls, two features of his future thoughts are apparent: Reduced episodic future thinking and outdated content of his episodic future thoughts. This article suggests neuropsychologists should look beyond popular conceptualizations of the past-future relation in amnesia via focussing on reduced future thinking. Investigating both the quantity and quality of future thoughts produced by amnesic patients may lead to developments in understanding the complex nature of future thinking disorders resulting from memory impairments. We highlight the clinical importance of examining the content of future thoughts in amnesic patients, rather than only its quantitative reduction. We propose an explanation of how quantitative and qualitative aspects of future thinking could be affected by amnesia. This could provide a useful approach to understand clinical cases of impaired prospection. Systematic group investigations

Phenomenology of future-oriented mind-wandering episodes

OpenAIRE

David eStawarczyk; Helena eCassol; Arnaud eD'Argembeau

2013-01-01

Recent research suggests that prospective and non-prospective forms of mind-wandering possess distinct properties, yet little is known about what exactly differentiates between future-oriented and non-future-oriented mind-wandering episodes. In the present study, we used multilevel exploratory factor analyses to examine the factorial structure of various phenomenological dimensions of mind-wandering, and we then investigated whether future-oriented mind-wandering episodes differ from other cl...

The Anticipated Positive Psychosocial Impact of Present Web-Based E-Health Services and Future Mobile Health Applications: An Investigation among Older Swedes.

Science.gov (United States)

Wiklund Axelsson, S; Nyberg, L; Näslund, A; Melander Wikman, A

2013-01-01

This study investigates the anticipated psychosocial impact of present web-based e-health services and future mobile health applications among older Swedes. Random sample's of Swedish citizens aged 55 years old and older were given a survey containing two different e-health scenarios which respondents rated according to their anticipated psychosocial impact by means of the PIADS instrument. Results consistently demonstrated the positive anticipation of psychosocial impacts for both scenarios. The future mobile health applications scored more positively than the present web-based e-health services. An increase in age correlated positively to lower impact scores. These findings indicate that from a psychosocial perspective, web-based e-health services and mobile health applications are likely to positively impact quality of life. This knowledge can be helpful when tailoring and implementing e-health services that are directed to older people.

Climatic Change--Past, Present & Future

Science.gov (United States)

Lindholm, Roy C.

1976-01-01

Presented is a review of studies investigating factors affecting climatic changes in the Earth's atmosphere--past, present, and future. Dating methods, particularly the Oxygen 18/16 method, are discussed. (SL)

Risk perception of future cardiovascular disease in women diagnosed with a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy.

Science.gov (United States)

Traylor, Jessica; Chandrasekaran, Suchitra; Limaye, Meghana; Srinivas, Sindhu; Durnwald, Celeste P

2016-01-01

The objective of this study is to evaluate a woman's risk perception for future cardiovascular disease (CVD) after being diagnosed with a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy. A prospective cohort of women diagnosed with a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy (HDP) was studied. Each woman completed two surveys, one prior to hospital discharge and one 2 weeks later, designed to assess knowledge of and risk perception for future CVD based on their recent diagnosis of a HDP. Rates of postpartum depression were also assessed. Of the 146 subjects included, 28% were diagnosed with preeclampsia with severe features, 52.1% with preeclampsia with mild features, and 19.9% had chronic hypertension. Women with severe features and those delivering preterm were more likely to report a perception of increased risk of both recurrent HDP in a future pregnancy (p = 0.004 and 0.005, respectively) and hypertension later in life (p = 0.01 and 0.03, respectively). Women delivering preterm were more likely to report an accurate perception of increased risk of myocardial infarction and stroke compared to those delivering at term (p = 0.006 and 0.002, respectively). Disease severity and preterm delivery were associated with a higher likelihood of the perception of an increased risk for both recurrent HDP and hypertension in the future. Only preterm delivery was associated with a higher risk perception for stroke and myocardial infarction. Interventions targeted at improved health awareness in women diagnosed with HDP are warranted.

A four-year investigation of Brayton cycle systems for future french space power applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tilliette, Z.P.; Proust, E.; Carre, F.

1988-01-01

Within the framework of a joint program initiated in 1983 by the two French Government Agencies C.N.E.S. (Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales) and C.E.A. (Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique), in order to study space nuclear power systems for future ARIANE 5 applications, extensive investigations have dealt with the Brayton cycle which has been selected as the energy conversion system. Several aspects can be mentioned in this field: the matching of the power system to the available radiator dimensions up to 200 kWe, the direct or indirect waste heat transfer to the radiator, the use of a recuperator, the recent work on moderate (25 kWe) power levels, the simulation studies related to various operating conditions and the general system optimization. A limited experimental program is starting on some crucial technology areas including a first contract to the industry concerning the turbogenerator. Particular attention is being paid to the significance of the adoption of a Brayton cycle for space applications involving a nuclear heat source which can be either a liquid metal-cooled or a gas-cooled reactor. As far as a gas-cooled reactor, direct cycle system is concerned, the relevance to the reactor technology and the concept for moderator thermal conditioning, is particularly addressed

A Longitudinal Analysis of the Indirect Effect of Violence Exposure on Future Orientation Through Perceived Stress and the Buffering Effect of Family Participation.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, Carissa J; Zimmerman, Marc A; Stoddard, Sarah A

2018-06-07

Exposure to violence (ETV) during adolescence has been associated with negative effects in later life, and may negatively affect an individual's future orientation. Future orientation has important health implications and warrants being studied. Yet, few researchers have examined how ETV affects an individual's future orientation as a young adult. The purpose of this study was to examine the indirect effect of ETV during adolescence on future orientation as a young adult through perceived stress. We also tested the moderating effect of family participation on the relationship between perceived stress and future orientation. Longitudinal data from a sample of 316 African American participants (42.10% male and 57.90% female, Mage = 14.76 at Wave 1) from low socioeconomic backgrounds recruited from a Midwestern school district were used in the analysis. Multigroup structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test our hypotheses. Our findings indicated that greater ETV during adolescence is associated with higher levels of perceived stress and, in turn, a more negative outlook on one's future as a young adult. This indirect effect occurred for individuals with lower family participation, but was not evident for individuals with greater family participation. These findings provide important implications for youth development interventions. © Society for Community Research and Action 2018.

Using Scenario Visioning and Participatory System Dynamics Modeling to Investigate the Future: Lessons from Minnesota 2050

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kathryn J. Draeger

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Both scenario visioning and participatory system dynamics modeling emphasize the dynamic and uncontrollable nature of complex socio-ecological systems, and the significance of multiple feedback mechanisms. These two methodologies complement one another, but are rarely used together. We partnered with regional organizations in Minnesota to design a future visioning process that incorporated both scenarios and participatory system dynamics modeling. The three purposes of this exercise were: first, to assist regional leaders in making strategic decisions that would make their communities sustainable; second, to identify research gaps that could impede the ability of regional and state groups to plan for the future; and finally, to introduce more systems thinking into planning and policy-making around environmental issues. We found that scenarios and modeling complemented one another, and that both techniques allowed regional groups to focus on the sustainability of fundamental support systems (energy, food, and water supply. The process introduced some creative tensions between imaginative scenario visioning and quantitative system dynamics modeling, and between creating desired futures (a strong cultural norm and inhabiting the future (a premise of the Minnesota 2050 exercise. We suggest that these tensions can stimulate more agile, strategic thinking about the future.

The future of facility management in Finland

OpenAIRE

Boateng, Ernest

2011-01-01

The objective of this study was to investigate the feasible future of facility management in Finland in order to provide an overview of the future of facility management. This is intended to serve as a guideline for the educational sector, facility management service companies, and the Facility management association in Finland (FIFMA) for future development. Qualitative method, precisely semi-structured/unstructured interview was adopted to address the problems in this study. The study c...

Migration of Price Discovery With Constrained Futures Markets

OpenAIRE

Anthony D. Hall; Paul Kofman; Steve Manaster

2001-01-01

This paper investigates the information content of futures option prices when the futures price is regulated while the futures option price itself is not. The New York Board of Trade provides the empirical setting for this type of dichotomy in regulation. Most commodity derivatives markets regulate prices of all derivatives on a particular commodity simultaneously. NYBOT has taken an almost unique position by imposing daily price limits on their futures contracts while leaving the options pri...

Renewable Electricity Futures Study. Volume 3: End-Use Electricity Demand

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hostick, D.; Belzer, D.B.; Hadley, S.W.; Markel, T.; Marnay, C.; Kintner-Meyer, M.

2012-06-01

The Renewable Electricity Futures (RE Futures) Study investigated the challenges and impacts of achieving very high renewable electricity generation levels in the contiguous United States by 2050. The analysis focused on the sufficiency of the geographically diverse U.S. renewable resources to meet electricity demand over future decades, the hourly operational characteristics of the U.S. grid with high levels of variable wind and solar generation, and the potential implications of deploying high levels of renewables in the future. RE Futures focused on technical aspects of high penetration of renewable electricity; it did not focus on how to achieve such a future through policy or other measures. Given the inherent uncertainties involved with analyzing alternative long-term energy futures as well as the multiple pathways that might be taken to achieve higher levels of renewable electricity supply, RE Futures explored a range of scenarios to investigate and compare the impacts of renewable electricity penetration levels (30%-90%), future technology performance improvements, potential constraints to renewable electricity development, and future electricity demand growth assumptions. RE Futures was led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Renewable Electricity Futures Study. Volume 3. End-Use Electricity Demand

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hostick, Donna [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Belzer, David B. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Hadley, Stanton W. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Markel, Tony [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Marnay, Chris [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Kintner-Meyer, Michael [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2012-06-15

The Renewable Electricity Futures (RE Futures) Study investigated the challenges and impacts of achieving very high renewable electricity generation levels in the contiguous United States by 2050. The analysis focused on the sufficiency of the geographically diverse U.S. renewable resources to meet electricity demand over future decades, the hourly operational characteristics of the U.S. grid with high levels of variable wind and solar generation, and the potential implications of deploying high levels of renewables in the future. RE Futures focused on technical aspects of high penetration of renewable electricity; it did not focus on how to achieve such a future through policy or other measures. Given the inherent uncertainties involved with analyzing alternative long-term energy futures as well as the multiple pathways that might be taken to achieve higher levels of renewable electricity supply, RE Futures explored a range of scenarios to investigate and compare the impacts of renewable electricity penetration levels (30%–90%), future technology performance improvements, potential constraints to renewable electricity development, and future electricity demand growth assumptions. RE Futures was led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Learn more at the RE Futures website. http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/re_futures/

Delay of Gratification, Delay Discounting and their Associations with Age, Episodic Future Thinking, and Future Time Perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Göllner, Lars M; Ballhausen, Nicola; Kliegel, Matthias; Forstmeier, Simon

2017-01-01

The delay of gratification (DoG) in children is widely investigated with an experimental procedure originally called the "marshmallow test," whereas the studies on self-regulation (SR) in adolescents and adults usually use self-report questionnaires. Delay discounting (DD) measures simplify the DoG procedure and focus on monetary rewards. The aim of this study was to investigate age differences in DoG and DD from childhood to old age using a test that is suitable for both children and adults. Furthermore, investigations were conducted on the association between DoG/DD and two future orientation constructs [future time perspective (FTP) and episodic future thinking (EFT)] as well as age differences in these constructs. Participants from five age groups (9-14, 18-25, 35-55, 65-80, 80+) participated in the study ( N = 96). While we found no age difference for DoG, DD was the lowest [i.e., self-control (SC) was the highest] in young/middle adults; however, it was the highest (i.e., SC was the lowest) in children and old/oldest adults. Furthermore, we found significant age differences for DD and FTP. As predicted, there were strong correlations between DoG and FTP and between DD and FTP, but not between DoG/DD and EFT. These results indicate that age differences in SR vary across the measures used. Individuals who generally think and act in a future-oriented manner have a stronger ability to delay gratification.

Future versus present: time perspective and pupillary response in a relatedness judgment task investigating temporal event knowledge.

Science.gov (United States)

Nowack, Kati; Milfont, Taciano L; van der Meer, Elke

2013-02-01

Mental representations of events contain many components such as typical agents, instruments, objects as well as a temporal dimension that is directed towards the future. While the role of temporal orientation (chronological, reverse) in event knowledge has been demonstrated by numerous studies, little is known about the influence of time perspective (present or future) as source of individual differences affecting event knowledge. The present study combined behavioral data with task-evoked pupil dilation to examine the impact of time perspective on cognitive resource allocation. In a relatedness judgment task, everyday events like raining were paired with an object feature like wet. Chronological items were processed more easily than reverse items regardless of time perspective. When more automatic processes were applied, greater scores on future time perspective were associated with lower error rates for chronological items. This suggests that a match between a strong focus on future consequences and items with a temporal orientation directed toward the future serves to enhance responding accuracy. Indexed by pupillary data, future-oriented participants invested more cognitive resources while outperforming present-oriented participants in reaction times across all conditions. This result was supported by a principal component analysis on the pupil data, which demonstrated the same impact of time perspective on the factor associated with more general aspects of cognitive effort. These findings suggest that future time perspective may be linked to a more general cognitive performance characteristic that improves overall task performance. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Investigations of binary and ternary phase change alloys for future memory applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rausch, Pascal

2012-01-01

The understanding of phase change materials is of great importance because it enables us to predict properties and tailor alloys which might be even better suitable to tackle challenges of future memory applications. Within this thesis two topics have been approached: on the one hand the understanding of the alloy In 3 Sb 1 Te 2 and on the other hand the so called resistivity drift of amorphous Ge-Sn-Te phase change materials. The main topic covers an in depth discussion of the ternary alloy In 3 Sb 1 Te 2 . At first glance, this alloy does not fit into the established concepts of phase alloys: e.g. the existence of resonant bonding in the crystalline phase is not obvious and the number of p-electrons is very low compared to other phase change alloys. Furthermore amorphous phase change alloys with high indium content are usually not discussed in literature, an exception being the recent work by Spreafico et al. on InGeTe 2 . For the first time a complete description of In 3 Sb 1 Te 2 alloy is given in this work for the crystalline phase, amorphous phase and crystallization process. In addition comparisons are drawn to typical phase change materials like Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 /GeTe or prototype systems like AgInTe 2 and InTe. The second topic of this thesis deals with the issue of resistivity drift, i.e. the increase of resistivity of amorphous phase change alloys with aging. This drift effect greatly hampers the introduction of multilevel phase change memory devices into the market. Recently a systematic decrease of drift coefficient with stoichiometry has been observed in our group going from GeTe over Ge 3 Sn 1 Te 4 to Ge 2 Sn 2 Te 4 . These alloys are investigated with respect to constraint theory.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF EU (CRIMINAL LAW: LEGALITY, EQUALITY, NON-DISCRIMINATION, SPECIALTY AND NE BIS IN IDEM IN THE FIELD OF THE EUROPEAN ARREST WARRANT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

NOREL NEAGU

2012-05-01

Full Text Available This article deals with the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the field of the European arrest warrant, critically analysing the principles invoked in several decisions validating the European legislation in the field: legality, equality and non-discrimination, specialty, ne bis in idem. The author concludes that an area of freedom, security and justice could be built on these principles, but further harmonisation of legislation needs to be realised to avoid a ”journey to the unknown” for European citizens in respect to legislation of other member states of the EU.

Future markers of the West Greenlandic

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Trondhjem, Naja Blytmann

2010-01-01

Abstract West Greenlandic, a polysynthetic language, belongs to Inuit languages. In Inuktitut (Canada) and West Greenlandic (Inuit languages) tense is marked by optional tense suffixes and in both languages the temporal systems are based on a future/ non-future opposition. In Inuktitut the tense...... suffixes have developed a complicated remoteness system. In West Greenlandic the future tense suffixes have a distinction between vague and inevitable future, and the past time suffixes have developed different perfect meanings. In Iñupiaq (Alaska), the temporal system is based on an opposition between...... past, present and future, where tense is marked in the flectional morpheme, but only in the indicative mood. There are only a few tense suffixes. The meanings of these tense suffixes are the same as those of the West Greenlandic tense suffixes. My current work is a typological investigation about...

Futuring for Future Ready Librarians

Science.gov (United States)

Figueroa, Miguel A.

2018-01-01

Futurists and foresight professionals offer several guiding principles for thinking about the future. These principles can help people to think about the future and become more powerful players in shaping the preferred futures they want for themselves and their communities. The principles also fit in well as strategies to support the Future Ready…

Subclinical depression in Urban Indian adolescents: Prevalence, felt needs, and correlates

OpenAIRE

Singhal, Meghna; Manjula, M.; Vijay Sagar, K. John

2016-01-01

Background: Subclinical depression in adolescents constitutes a risk factor for future clinical depression and hence warrants examination. However, there is a paucity of research that documents subclinical depression among adolescents in India. Objectives: (a) To investigate the prevalence of subclinical depression in urban school-going adolescents; (b) to investigate the problems and felt needs of these adolescents; (c) to examine depression-related variables; and (d) to examine the relation...

Phase II drugs under clinical investigation for the treatment of chronic constipation.

Science.gov (United States)

Mozaffari, Shilan; Didari, Tina; Nikfar, Shekoufeh; Abdollahi, Mohammad

2014-11-01

Chronic constipation (CC) is a common gastrointestinal (GI) motility disorder that significantly impairs the quality of life in affected subjects. As almost half of the patients suffering from CC are not satisfied with currently available medicines, there is a need to develop new molecules with better effectiveness and tolerability. The authors include all experimental and clinical trials (up to Phase II) about new investigational drugs for the treatment of CC. The article identifies nine new agents: mitemcinal, TD-8954, YKP10811, itopride, RM-131, KWA-0711, elobixibat, velusetrag, and naronapride. All nine agents have shown prokinetic effects in different stages of the development. The mechanisms of new developing drugs include: the activation of 5-hydroxytryptamine type-4 (5-HT4), ghrelin and motilin receptors, antagonizing dopamine type-2 (D2) receptors, inhibition of ileal bile acid reabsorption and acetylcholine esterase, as well as water absorption from the GI tract. At this current point in time, new generations of 5-HT4 receptor agonists (velusetrag, noranopride and YKP10811) are hoped to progress, further in the future, due to better efficiency and safety. However, it is not possible to make a concise conclusion at this current time due to a lack of evidence. Further clinical trials with a longer duration and a larger sample size are warranted.

Conceptual Paradigms and Empirical Investigations for Evaluating INTELSAT's Past Performance and Future Prospects.

Science.gov (United States)

Snow, Marcellus S.

This paper summarizes the results of a recent study of the past performance and future prospects of the International Telecommunications Satellite (INTELSAT) Organization. First, an overview of INTELSAT's history is provided and major policy issues are detailed. Five alternative paradigms are then presented through which to evaluate INTELSAT's…

Experimental facilities for plate-out investigations and future work

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muenchow, K.; Dederichs, H.; Iniotakis, N.; Sackmann, B.

1981-01-01

The safety of HTR under normal operation and accident conditions, the possibility of inspection, maintenance and repair or decontamination of single primary components as well as the safety of maintenance personnel are essentially determined by the transport- and deposition behaviour of the non gaseous fission - and activation products in the primary loop of the reactor. A comprehensive program has been started in 1969 in KFA in collaboration with various industrial firms and foreign institutions to investigate these problems. The program includes in-pile and out-pile experiments, simulating reactor conditions and also different laboratory experiments and extensive theoretical investigations. The aim of these efforts is to test experimentally the models and computercodes, which are used for prediction of transport and deposition behaviour of fission products for HTR's as well under normal as under accident conditions. Further more a verified dataset is to be established. In this paper a survey is given of the experimental facilities carried out by KFA or in cooperation with KFA

Delay of Gratification, Delay Discounting and their Associations with Age, Episodic Future Thinking, and Future Time Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lars M. Göllner

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The delay of gratification (DoG in children is widely investigated with an experimental procedure originally called the “marshmallow test,” whereas the studies on self-regulation (SR in adolescents and adults usually use self-report questionnaires. Delay discounting (DD measures simplify the DoG procedure and focus on monetary rewards. The aim of this study was to investigate age differences in DoG and DD from childhood to old age using a test that is suitable for both children and adults. Furthermore, investigations were conducted on the association between DoG/DD and two future orientation constructs [future time perspective (FTP and episodic future thinking (EFT] as well as age differences in these constructs. Participants from five age groups (9–14, 18–25, 35–55, 65–80, 80+ participated in the study (N = 96. While we found no age difference for DoG, DD was the lowest [i.e., self-control (SC was the highest] in young/middle adults; however, it was the highest (i.e., SC was the lowest in children and old/oldest adults. Furthermore, we found significant age differences for DD and FTP. As predicted, there were strong correlations between DoG and FTP and between DD and FTP, but not between DoG/DD and EFT. These results indicate that age differences in SR vary across the measures used. Individuals who generally think and act in a future-oriented manner have a stronger ability to delay gratification.

Current and Future Status of Diversity in Ophthalmologist Workforce.

Science.gov (United States)

Xierali, Imam M; Nivet, Marc A; Wilson, M Roy

2016-09-01

Increasing the level of diversity among ophthalmologists may help reduce disparities in eye care. To assess the current and future status of diversity among ophthalmologists in the workforce by sex, race, and ethnicity in the context of the available number of medical students in the United States. Data from the Association of American Medical Colleges, the American Medical Association, and US Census were used to evaluate the differences and trends in diversity among ophthalmologists, all full-time faculty except ophthalmology, ophthalmology faculty, ophthalmology residents, medical school students, and the US population between 2005 and 2015. For 2014, associations of sex, race, and ethnicity with physician practice locations were assessed. Proportions of ophthalmologists stratified by sex, race, and ethnicity between 2005 and 2015. Women and minority groups traditionally underrepresented in medicine (URM)-black, Hispanic, American Indian, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander-were underrepresented as practicing ophthalmologists (22.7% and 6%, respectively), ophthalmology faculty (35.1% and 5.7%, respectively), and ophthalmology residents (44.3% and 7.7%, respectively), compared with the US population (50.8% and 30.7%, respectively). During the past decade, there had been a modest increase in the proportion of female practicing ophthalmologists who graduated from US medical schools in 1980 or later (from 23.8% to 27.1%; P workforce despite an available pool of medical students. Given the prevalent racial and ethnic disparities in eye care and an increasingly diverse society, future research and training efforts that increase the level of diversity among medical students and residents seems warranted.

The SAMGrid database server component: its upgraded infrastructure and future development path

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loebel-Carpenter, L.; White, S.; Baranovski, A.; Garzoglio, G.; Herber, R.; Illingworth, R.; Kennedy, R.; Kreymer, A.; Kumar, A.; Lueking, L.; Lyon, A.; Merritt, W.; Terekhov, I.; Trumbo, J.; Veseli, S.; Burgon-Lyon, M.; St Denis, R.; Belforte, S.; Kerzel, U.; Bartsch, V.; Leslie, M.

2004-01-01

The SAMGrid Database Server encapsulates several important services, such as accessing file metadata and replica catalog, keeping track of the processing information, as well as providing the runtime support for SAMGrid station services. Recent deployment of the SAMGrid system for CDF has resulted in unification of the database schema used by CDF and D0, and the complexity of changes required for the unified metadata catalog has warranted a complete redesign of the DB Server. We describe here the architecture and features of the new server. In particular, we discuss the new CORBA infrastructure that utilizes python wrapper classes around IDL structs and exceptions. Such infrastructure allows us to use the same code on both server and client sides, which in turn results in significantly improved code maintainability and easier development. We also discuss future integration of the new server with an SBIR II project which is directed toward allowing the DB Server to access distributed databases, implemented in different DB systems and possibly using different schema

Is cardiac surgery warranted in children with Down syndrome? A ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objectives. To compare children with Down syndrome and children without Down syndrome and investigate whether there is a significant difference in the burden that is placed on the health care system between these two groups only in respect of the repair of congenital heart disease at Red Cross War Memorial Children's ...

Physics at Future Hadron Colliders

CERN Document Server

Baur, U.; Parsons, J.; Albrow, M.; Denisov, D.; Han, T.; Kotwal, A.; Olness, F.; Qian, J.; Belyaev, S.; Bosman, M.; Brooijmans, G.; Gaines, I.; Godfrey, S.; Hansen, J.B.; Hauser, J.; Heintz, U.; Hinchliffe, I.; Kao, C.; Landsberg, G.; Maltoni, F.; Oleari, C.; Pagliarone, C.; Paige, F.; Plehn, T.; Rainwater, D.; Reina, L.; Rizzo, T.; Su, S.; Tait, T.; Wackeroth, D.; Vataga, E.; Zeppenfeld, D.

2001-01-01

We discuss the physics opportunities and detector challenges at future hadron colliders. As guidelines for energies and luminosities we use the proposed luminosity and/or energy upgrade of the LHC (SLHC), and the Fermilab design of a Very Large Hadron Collider (VLHC). We illustrate the physics capabilities of future hadron colliders for a variety of new physics scenarios (supersymmetry, strong electroweak symmetry breaking, new gauge bosons, compositeness and extra dimensions). We also investigate the prospects of doing precision Higgs physics studies at such a machine, and list selected Standard Model physics rates.

Parent Refusal of Topical Fluoride for Their Children: Clinical Strategies and Future Research Priorities to Improve Evidence-Based Pediatric Dental Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Chi, Donald L

2017-07-01

A growing number of parents are refusing topical fluoride for their children during preventive dental and medical visits. This nascent clinical and public health problem warrants attention from dental professionals and the scientific community. Clinical and community-based strategies are available to improve fluoride-related communications with parents and the public. In terms of future research priorities, there is a need to develop screening tools to identify parents who are likely to refuse topical fluoride and diagnostic instruments to uncover the reasons for topical fluoride refusal. This knowledge will lead to evidence-based strategies that can be widely disseminated into clinical practice. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Biological invasion hotspots: a trait-based perspective reveals new sub-continental patterns

Science.gov (United States)

Basil V. Iannone III; Kevin M. Potter; Qinfeng Guo; Andrew M. Liebhold; Bryan C. Pijanowski; Christopher M. Oswalt; Songlin Fei

2015-01-01

Invader traits (including plant growth form) may play an important, and perhaps overlooked, role in determining macroscale patterns of biological invasions and therefore warrant greater consideration in future investigations aimed at understanding these patterns. To assess this need, we used empirical data from a national-level survey of forest in the contiguous 48...

FutureCoast: "Listen to your futures"

Science.gov (United States)

Pfirman, S. L.; Eklund, K.; Thacher, S.; Orlove, B. S.; Diane Stovall-Soto, G.; Brunacini, J.; Hernandez, T.

2014-12-01

Two science-arts approaches are emerging as effective means to convey "futurethinking" to learners: systems gaming and experiential futures. FutureCoast exemplifies the latter: by engaging participants with voicemails supposedly leaking from the cloud of possible futures, the storymaking game frames the complexities of climate science in relatable contexts. Because participants make the voicemails themselves, FutureCoast opens up creative ways for people to think about possibly climate-changed futures and personal ways to talk about them. FutureCoast is a project of the PoLAR Partnership with a target audience of informal adult learners primarily reached via mobile devices and online platforms. Scientists increasingly use scenarios and storylines as ways to explore the implications of environmental change and societal choices. Stories help people make connections across experiences and disciplines and link large-scale events to personal consequences. By making the future seem real today, FutureCoast's framework helps people visualize and plan for future climate changes. The voicemails contributed to FutureCoast are spread through the game's intended timeframe (2020 through 2065). Based on initial content analysis of voicemail text, common themes include ecosystems and landscapes, weather, technology, societal issues, governance and policy. Other issues somewhat less frequently discussed include security, food, industry and business, health, energy, infrastructure, water, economy, and migration. Further voicemail analysis is examining: temporal dimensions (salient time frames, short vs. long term issues, intergenerational, etc.), content (adaptation vs. mitigation, challenges vs. opportunities, etc.), and emotion (hopeful, resigned, etc. and overall emotional context). FutureCoast also engaged audiences through facilitated in-person experiences, geocaching events, and social media (Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube). Analysis of the project suggests story

Measuring the Effect of Housing Quality Interventions: The Case of the New Zealand "Rental Warrant of Fitness".

Science.gov (United States)

Telfar-Barnard, Lucy; Bennett, Julie; Howden-Chapman, Philippa; Jacobs, David E; Ormandy, David; Cutler-Welsh, Matthew; Preval, Nicholas; Baker, Michael G; Keall, Michael

2017-11-07

In New Zealand, as in many other countries, housing in the private-rental sector is in worse condition than in the owner-occupier housing sector. New Zealand residential buildings have no inspection regime after original construction signoff. Laws and regulations mandating standards for existing residential housing are outdated and spread over a range of instruments. Policies to improve standards in existing housing have been notoriously difficult to implement. In this methods paper, we describe the development and implementation of a rental Warrant of Fitness (WoF) intended to address these problems. Dwellings must pass each of 29 criteria for habitability, insulation, heating, ventilation, safety, amenities, and basic structural soundness to reach the WoF minimum standard. The WoF's development was based on two decades of research on the impact of housing quality on health and wellbeing, and strongly influenced by the UK Housing Health and Safety Rating System and US federal government housing standards. Criteria were field-tested across a range of dwelling types and sizes, cities, and climate zones. The implementation stage of our WoF research consists of a non-random controlled quasi-experimental study in which we work with two city-level local government councils to implement the rental WoF, recruiting adjoining council areas as controls, and measuring changes in health, economic, and social outcomes.

Investigations of binary and ternary phase change alloys for future memory applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rausch, Pascal

2012-09-13

The understanding of phase change materials is of great importance because it enables us to predict properties and tailor alloys which might be even better suitable to tackle challenges of future memory applications. Within this thesis two topics have been approached: on the one hand the understanding of the alloy In{sub 3}Sb{sub 1}Te{sub 2} and on the other hand the so called resistivity drift of amorphous Ge-Sn-Te phase change materials. The main topic covers an in depth discussion of the ternary alloy In{sub 3}Sb{sub 1}Te{sub 2}. At first glance, this alloy does not fit into the established concepts of phase alloys: e.g. the existence of resonant bonding in the crystalline phase is not obvious and the number of p-electrons is very low compared to other phase change alloys. Furthermore amorphous phase change alloys with high indium content are usually not discussed in literature, an exception being the recent work by Spreafico et al. on InGeTe{sub 2}. For the first time a complete description of In{sub 3}Sb{sub 1}Te{sub 2} alloy is given in this work for the crystalline phase, amorphous phase and crystallization process. In addition comparisons are drawn to typical phase change materials like Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5}/GeTe or prototype systems like AgInTe{sub 2} and InTe. The second topic of this thesis deals with the issue of resistivity drift, i.e. the increase of resistivity of amorphous phase change alloys with aging. This drift effect greatly hampers the introduction of multilevel phase change memory devices into the market. Recently a systematic decrease of drift coefficient with stoichiometry has been observed in our group going from GeTe over Ge{sub 3}Sn{sub 1}Te{sub 4} to Ge{sub 2}Sn{sub 2}Te{sub 4}. These alloys are investigated with respect to constraint theory.

Phenomenological Characteristics of Future Thinking in Alzheimer's Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Moustafa, Ahmed A; El Haj, Mohamad

2018-05-11

This study investigates phenomenological reliving of future thinking in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and matched controls. All participants were asked to imagine in detail a future event, and afterward, were asked to rate phenomenological characteristics of their future thinking. As compared to controls, AD participants showed poor rating for reliving, travel in time, visual imagery, auditory imagery, language, and spatiotemporal specificity. However, no significant differences were observed between both groups in emotion and importance of future thinking. Results also showed lower rating for visual imagery relative to remaining phenomenological features in AD participants compared to controls; conversely, these participants showed higher ratings for emotion and importance of future thinking. AD seems to compromise some phenomenological characteristics of future thinking, especially, visual imagery; however, other phenomenological characteristics, such as emotion, seem to be relatively preserved in these populations. By highlighting the phenomenological experience of future thinking in AD, our paper opens a unique window into the conscious experience of the future in AD patients.

Adult-onset offenders: Is a tailored theory warranted?

Science.gov (United States)

Beckley, Amber L.; Caspi, Avshalom; Harrington, Honalee; Houts, Renate M.; Mcgee, Tara Renae; Morgan, Nick; Schroeder, Felix; Ramrakha, Sandhya; Poulton, Richie; Moffitt, Terrie E.

2016-01-01

Purpose To describe official adult-onset offenders, investigate their antisocial histories and test hypotheses about their origins. Methods We defined adult-onset offenders among 931 Dunedin Study members followed to age 38, using criminal-court conviction records. Results Official adult-onset offenders were 14% of men, and 32% of convicted men, but accounted for only 15% of convictions. As anticipated by developmental theories emphasizing early-life influences on crime, adult-onset offenders’ histories of antisocial behavior spanned back to childhood. Relative to juvenile-offenders, during adolescence they had fewer delinquent peers and were more socially inhibited, which may have protected them from conviction. As anticipated by theories emphasizing the importance of situational influences on offending, adult-onset offenders, relative to non-offenders, during adulthood more often had schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and alcohol-dependence, had weaker social bonds, anticipated fewer informal sanctions, and self-reported more offenses. Contrary to some expectations, adult-onset offenders did not have high IQ or high socioeconomic-status families protecting them from juvenile conviction. Conclusions A tailored theory for adult-onset offenders is unwarranted because few people begin crime de novo as adults. Official adult-onset offenders fall on a continuum of crime and its correlates, between official non-offenders and official juvenile-onset offenders. Existing theories can accommodate adult-onset offenders. PMID:27134318

Futures Brokerages Face uncertain Future

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

WANG PEI

2006-01-01

@@ 2005 was a quiet year for China's futures market.After four new trading products, including cotton, fuel oil and corn, were launched on the market in 2004, the development of the market seemed to stagnate. The trade value of the futures market totaled 13.4 trillion yuan (US$ 1.67 trillion) in 2005, down 8.5 percent year-on-year. Although the decrease is quite small and the trade value was still the second highest in the market's history, the majority of futures brokerage firms were running in the red. In some areas, up to 80 percent of futures companies made losses.

Treating an Established Episode of Delirium in Palliative Care: Expert Opinion and Review of the Current Evidence Base With Recommendations for Future Development

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, José L.; Davis, Daniel H.J.; Currow, David C.; Meagher, David; Rabheru, Kiran; Wright, David; Bruera, Eduardo; Hartwick, Michael; Gagnon, Pierre R.; Gagnon, Bruno; Breitbart, William; Regnier, Laura; Lawlor, Peter G.

2014-01-01

Context Delirium is a highly prevalent complication in patients in palliative care settings, especially in the end-of-life context. Objectives To review the current evidence base for treating episodes of delirium in palliative care settings and propose a framework for future development. Methods We combined multidisciplinary input from delirium researchers and other purposely selected stakeholders at an international delirium study planning meeting. This was supplemented by a literature search of multiple databases and relevant reference lists to identify studies regarding therapeutic interventions for delirium. Results The context of delirium management in palliative care is highly variable. The standard management of a delirium episode includes the investigation of precipitating and aggravating factors followed by symptomatic treatment with drug therapy. However, the intensity of this management depends on illness trajectory and goals of care in addition to the local availability of both investigative modalities and therapeutic interventions. Pharmacologically, haloperidol remains the practice standard by consensus for symptomatic control. Dosing schedules are derived from expert opinion and various clinical practice guidelines as evidence-based data from palliative care settings are limited. The commonly used pharmacologic interventions for delirium in this population warrant evaluation in clinical trials to examine dosing and titration regimens, different routes of administration, and safety and efficacy compared with placebo. Conclusion Delirium treatment is multidimensional and includes the identification of precipitating and aggravating factors. For symptomatic management, haloperidol remains the practice standard. Further high-quality collaborative research investigating the appropriate treatment of this complex syndrome is needed. PMID:24480529

Limited field investigation report for the 100-NR-1 Operable Unit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-03-01

This limited field investigation (LFI) report summarizes the data collection and analysis activities conducted during the 100-NR-1 Source Operable Unit LFI and the associated qualitative risk assessment (QRA), and makes recommendations on the continued candidacy of high-priority sites for interim remedial measures (IRM). The results and recommendations presented in this report are generally independent of future land-use scenarios. This report is unique in that it is based on Hanford-specific agreements discussed in the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (Tri-Party Agreement) (Ecology et al. 1992), the Hanford Site Risk Assessment Methodology (DOE-RL 1994a), the Remedial Investigation Feasibility Study Work Plan for the 100-NR-1 Operable Unit (DOE-RL 1992a), and the Hanford Past-Practice Strategy (HPPS) (DOE-RL 1991), and must be viewed in this context. The HPPS emphasizes initiating and completing waste site cleanup through interim actions. The strategy includes paths for interim decision-making and a final remedy-selection process for the operable unit. A LFI report is required, in accordance with the HPPS, when waste sites are to be considered for IRM and existing data are insufficient to formulate a conceptual model or perform a QRA. The purpose of the report is to identify those sites that are recommended to remain as candidates for IRM, provide a preliminary summary of site characterization studies, refine the conceptual model as needed, identify potential contaminant- and location-specific applicable or relevant and appropriate requirements (ARAR), and provide a qualitative assessment of the risks associated with the sites. This assessment includes consideration of whether contaminant concentrations pose a risk to human health or the environment that warrants action through IRM

75 FR 77496 - Endangered and Threatened Species; Proposed Threatened and Not Warranted Status for Subspecies...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-10

... concern, related by the common driver of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions, is the modification of habitat... suggested that ecological influences or sexual selection, and not a geographical feature restricting gene.... The IPCC AR4 used a range of future greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced under six ``marker...

The planning of future research program of underground laboratories in overseas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Honma, Nobuyuki; Tanai, Kenji; Hasegawa, Hiroshi

2002-02-01

The objectives of this study is to identify the research issues, which are to be conducted in the future underground research laboratory, about operation and logistics systems for the planning of future research and development program. The research programs and experiments, etc. were investigated for the geological disposal projects in overseas sedimentary rocks and coastal geological environments aiming to reflect in the future underground research facility plan in Japan. In the investigation, information on the engineered-barrier performance, design and construction of underground facilities, tunnel support, transportation and emplacement, and backfilling technology, etc. were collected. Based on these informations, the purpose, the content, and the result of each investigations and tests were arranged. The strategy and the aim in the entire underground research facility, and the flow of investigations and tests, etc. were also arranged from the purpose, the relations and the sequence of each investigation and experiment, and the usage of results, etc. (author)

Future Perfect?: Teachers' Expectations and Explanations of Their Latino Immigrant Students' Postsecondary Futures

Science.gov (United States)

Dabach, Dafney Blanca; Suárez-Orozco, Carola; Hernandez, Sera J.; Brooks, Maneka Deanna

2018-01-01

Teacher expectancy research has demonstrated the greatest effects for members of racialized groups. Most research has focused on students' near-term abilities; missing are understandings of how teachers perceive their students' future trajectories. Drawing on social mirroring and attribution theories, this study investigates how 14 elementary,…

Renewable Electricity Futures Study. Volume 2: Renewable Electricity Generation and Storage Technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Augustine, C.; Bain, R.; Chapman, J.; Denholm, P.; Drury, E.; Hall, D.G.; Lantz, E.; Margolis, R.; Thresher, R.; Sandor, D.; Bishop, N.A.; Brown, S.R.; Cada, G.F.; Felker, F.

2012-06-01

The Renewable Electricity Futures (RE Futures) Study investigated the challenges and impacts of achieving very high renewable electricity generation levels in the contiguous United States by 2050. The analysis focused on the sufficiency of the geographically diverse U.S. renewable resources to meet electricity demand over future decades, the hourly operational characteristics of the U.S. grid with high levels of variable wind and solar generation, and the potential implications of deploying high levels of renewables in the future. RE Futures focused on technical aspects of high penetration of renewable electricity; it did not focus on how to achieve such a future through policy or other measures. Given the inherent uncertainties involved with analyzing alternative long-term energy futures as well as the multiple pathways that might be taken to achieve higher levels of renewable electricity supply, RE Futures explored a range of scenarios to investigate and compare the impacts of renewable electricity penetration levels (30%-90%), future technology performance improvements, potential constraints to renewable electricity development, and future electricity demand growth assumptions. RE Futures was led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Renewable Electricity Futures Study. Volume 2. Renewable Electricity Generation and Storage Technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Augustine, Chad [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Bain, Richard [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Chapman, Jamie [Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock, TX (United States); Denholm, Paul [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Drury, Easan [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Hall, Douglas G. [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Lantz, Eric [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Margolis, Robert [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Thresher, Robert [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Sandor, Debra [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Bishop, Norman A. [Knight Piesold, Denver, CO (United States); Brown, Stephen R. [HDR/DTA, Portland, ME (Untied States); Cada, Glenn F. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Felker, Fort [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Fernandez, Steven J. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Goodrich, Alan C. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Hagerman, George [Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States); Heath, Garvin [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); O' Neil, Sean [Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition, Portland, OR (United States); Paquette, Joshua [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Tegen, Suzanne [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Young, Katherine [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2012-06-15

The Renewable Electricity Futures (RE Futures) Study investigated the challenges and impacts of achieving very high renewable electricity generation levels in the contiguous United States by 2050. The analysis focused on the sufficiency of the geographically diverse U.S. renewable resources to meet electricity demand over future decades, the hourly operational characteristics of the U.S. grid with high levels of variable wind and solar generation, and the potential implications of deploying high levels of renewables in the future. RE Futures focused on technical aspects of high penetration of renewable electricity; it did not focus on how to achieve such a future through policy or other measures. Given the inherent uncertainties involved with analyzing alternative long-term energy futures as well as the multiple pathways that might be taken to achieve higher levels of renewable electricity supply, RE Futures explored a range of scenarios to investigate and compare the impacts of renewable electricity penetration levels (30%–90%), future technology performance improvements, potential constraints to renewable electricity development, and future electricity demand growth assumptions. RE Futures was led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Learn more at the RE Futures website. http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/re_futures/

An investigation into the challenges facing the future provision of continuing professional development for allied health professionals in a changing healthcare environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gibbs, Vivien

2011-01-01

This paper outlines current challenges facing healthcare providers and education providers in trying to ensure Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) are fit for practice, in a climate driven by financial constraints and service improvement directives from the Department of Health (DH). Research was undertaken in 2009 to investigate the current provision of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in the southwest region of England. The purpose was to define exactly what problems existed with this provision, and to propose changes which could be implemented in order to ensure that the provision meets the needs of stakeholders in future years.

The Future of Mobility and its Impact on Tourism: An Investigation into Relevant Long-Term Trends

OpenAIRE

Klühspies. Johannes; Ohnmacht, Timo; Diggelmann, Thomas

2009-01-01

The study primarily aims to identify the developments in the mobility sector as well as the resulting perspectives and risks as they impact particular areas of tourism and leisure travel. The time frame extends to the year 2030. This study does not forecast how the future will be. Instead, it is a summary of “how experts think the future will be”. In total, 1,608 experts participated in the online-survey in spring 2009. Assuming that the experts’ views describe an accurate picture of the f...

Marine Radioecology. Current Research and Future Scope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1967-03-01

This report consists of answers submitted by various laboratory directors or individual investigators who responded to an International Atomic Energy Agency questionnaire concerning their present research programme, future scope of that programme, the investigators' ideas and opinions on marine radioecology research. Information on the possibility of co-operation with other laboratories is also included

High-fertility phenotypes: two outbred mouse models exhibit substantially different molecular and physiological strategies warranting improved fertility.

Science.gov (United States)

Langhammer, Martina; Michaelis, Marten; Hoeflich, Andreas; Sobczak, Alexander; Schoen, Jennifer; Weitzel, Joachim M

2014-01-01

Animal models are valuable tools in fertility research. Worldwide, there are more than 400 transgenic or knockout mouse models available showing a reproductive phenotype; almost all of them exhibit an infertile or at least subfertile phenotype. By contrast, animal models revealing an improved fertility phenotype are barely described. This article summarizes data on two outbred mouse models exhibiting a 'high-fertility' phenotype. These mouse lines were generated via selection over a time period of more than 40 years and 161 generations. During this selection period, the number of offspring per litter and the total birth weight of the entire litter nearly doubled. Concomitantly with the increased fertility phenotype, several endocrine parameters (e.g. serum testosterone concentrations in male animals), physiological parameters (e.g. body weight, accelerated puberty, and life expectancy), and behavioral parameters (e.g. behavior in an open field and endurance fitness on a treadmill) were altered. We demonstrate that the two independently bred high-fertility mouse lines warranted their improved fertility phenotype using different molecular and physiological strategies. The fertility lines display female- as well as male-specific characteristics. These genetically heterogeneous mouse models provide new insights into molecular and cellular mechanisms that enhance fertility. In view of decreasing fertility in men, these models will therefore be a precious information source for human reproductive medicine. Translated abstract A German translation of abstract is freely available at http://www.reproduction-online.org/content/147/4/427/suppl/DC1.

Development of a Linear Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer (LITMS) Investigation for Future Planetary Surface Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Brinckerhoff, W.; Danell, R.; Van Ameron, F.; Pinnick, V.; Li, X.; Arevalo, R.; Glavin, D.; Getty, S.; Mahaffy, P.; Chu, P.;

Future climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

La Croce, A.

1991-01-01

According to George Woodwell, founder of the Woods Hole Research Center, due the combustion of fossil fuels, deforestation and accelerated respiration, the net annual increase of carbon, in the form of carbon dioxide, to the 750 billion tonnes already present in the earth's atmosphere, is in the order of 3 to 5 billion tonnes. Around the world, scientists, investigating the probable effects of this increase on the earth's future climate, are now formulating coupled air and ocean current models which take account of water temperature and salinity dependent carbon dioxide exchange mechanisms acting between the atmosphere and deep layers of ocean waters

Deciding for Future Selves Reduces Loss Aversion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qiqi Cheng

2017-09-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we present an incentivized experiment to investigate the degree of loss aversion when people make decisions for their current selves and future selves under risk. We find that when participants make decisions for their future selves, they are less loss averse compared to when they make decisions for their current selves. This finding is consistent with the interpretation of loss aversion as a bias in decision-making driven by emotions, which are reduced when making decisions for future selves. Our findings endorsed the external validity of previous studies on the impact of emotion on loss aversion in a real world decision-making environment.

Deciding for Future Selves Reduces Loss Aversion.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Qiqi; He, Guibing

2017-01-01

In this paper, we present an incentivized experiment to investigate the degree of loss aversion when people make decisions for their current selves and future selves under risk. We find that when participants make decisions for their future selves, they are less loss averse compared to when they make decisions for their current selves. This finding is consistent with the interpretation of loss aversion as a bias in decision-making driven by emotions, which are reduced when making decisions for future selves. Our findings endorsed the external validity of previous studies on the impact of emotion on loss aversion in a real world decision-making environment.

The development of future-oriented control: an electrophysiological investigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Waxer, Matthew; Morton, J Bruce

2011-06-01

Cognitive control, or the ability to focus attention and select task-appropriate responses, is not static but can be dynamically adjusted in the face of changing environmental circumstances. Several models suggest a role for conflict-monitoring in triggering these adjustments, whereby instances of response uncertainty are detected by the anterior cingulate cortex and strengthen attention-guiding rules actively maintained by lateral prefrontal cortex. Given the continued development of active maintenance mechanisms into adolescence, these models predict that the capacity to dynamically modulate control should be protracted in its development. The present study tested this prediction by examining age-related differences in behavioral and electrophysiological adaptations to prior conflict. Children, adolescents, and adults were administered the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS; Zelazo, 2006) - a developmentally-appropriate task modified so that response conflict varied from trial to trial - as cortical activity was measured by means of event-related potentials (ERPs). Although all groups showed a robust conflict effect, there were pronounced age-related differences in behavioral and electrophysiological adaptations to prior conflict. First, responses to incongruent trials were faster following incongruent trials than following congruent trials, but only for adults and adolescents. Second, ERP components that indexed response conflict, and the cortical source of these components, were modulated by preceding conflict for adults and adolescents, but not children. Taken together, the findings suggest that adults and adolescents take advantage of prior conflict to prepare for the future, whereas children respond to cognitive challenges as they occur. Theoretical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Future generations, environmental ethics, and global environmental change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tonn, B.E.

1994-12-31

The elements of a methodology to be employed by the global community to investigate the consequences of global environmental change upon future generations and global ecosystems are outlined in this paper. The methodology is comprised of two major components: A possible future worlds model; and a formal, citizen-oriented process to judge whether the possible future worlds potentially inheritable by future generations meet obligational standards. A broad array of descriptors of future worlds can be encompassed within this framework, including survival of ecosystems and other species and satisfaction of human concerns. The methodology expresses fundamental psychological motivations and human myths journey, renewal, mother earth, and being-in-nature-and incorporates several viewpoints on obligations to future generations-maintaining options, fairness, humility, and the cause of humanity. The methodology overcomes several severe drawbacks of the economic-based methods most commonly used for global environmental policy analysis.

An investigation of the ingestion exposure pathways in Hong Kong

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yeung, Mankit Ray; Lui, Wai Sing

1995-01-01

An investigation of the food supply and the dietetic pattern of Hong Kong was conducted and some of the important factors affecting the ingestion exposure pathways following a severe nuclear accident were examined. It was found that the nuclide concentrations in the vegetables are very sensitive to time and substantial saving in effective dose resulted from ingesting contaminated vegetables can be achieved by appropriate imposition of restriction on the consumption of local produce. The consumption of locally grown vegetables in large quantity and the proximity of the Hong Kong vegetable farms to the Guangdong Nuclear Power Station suggests that the vegetable-human pathway is important and warrants special attention

Multifractal Detrended Cross-Correlation Analysis of agricultural futures markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He Lingyun; Chen Shupeng

2011-01-01

Highlights: → We investigated cross-correlations between China's and US agricultural futures markets. → Power-law cross-correlations are found between the geographically far but correlated markets. → Multifractal features are significant in all the markets. → Cross-correlation exponent is less than averaged GHE when q 0. - Abstract: We investigated geographically far but temporally correlated China's and US agricultural futures markets. We found that there exists a power-law cross-correlation between them, and that multifractal features are significant in all the markets. It is very interesting that the geographically far markets show strong cross-correlations and share much of their multifractal structure. Furthermore, we found that for all the agricultural futures markets in our studies, the cross-correlation exponent is less than the averaged generalized Hurst exponents (GHE) when q 0.

ANTECEDENCE DAN CONSEQUENCES DARI SATISFACTION WITH RECOVERY TERHADAP FUTURE COMPLAINT INTENTIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Franciskus Maya Praba

2008-10-01

Full Text Available The background of this research is managers need to analyze that customer service failure can arise customer complaint. It must be managed by service recovery to get customer satisfaction. Future complaint intentions has relationship with customer satisfaction. Every company need to investigate which is the compatible perceived justice to applied. The objective of this research is to investigate service recovery effects toward customer satisfaction, especially perceived justice ( interactional, procedural, distributive and how justice effects customer satisfaction and future complaint intentions. The design of this research applies to customer Bank BCA in Semarang which is has variants occupation and the questionnaires were spreaded away to 100 respondents by using purposive sampling. The result of this research are interactional justice and procedural justice has more influence on future complaint intentions. Despite, distributive justice and satisfaction with recovery decrease future complaint intentions. Keywords: Antacedence, satisfaction with recovery, future complaint intentions

Measuring the Effect of Housing Quality Interventions: The Case of the New Zealand “Rental Warrant of Fitness”

Science.gov (United States)

Telfar-Barnard, Lucy; Bennett, Julie; Howden-Chapman, Philippa; Jacobs, David E.; Ormandy, David; Cutler-Welsh, Matthew; Preval, Nicholas; Baker, Michael G.; Keall, Michael

2017-01-01

In New Zealand, as in many other countries, housing in the private-rental sector is in worse condition than in the owner-occupier housing sector. New Zealand residential buildings have no inspection regime after original construction signoff. Laws and regulations mandating standards for existing residential housing are outdated and spread over a range of instruments. Policies to improve standards in existing housing have been notoriously difficult to implement. In this methods paper, we describe the development and implementation of a rental Warrant of Fitness (WoF) intended to address these problems. Dwellings must pass each of 29 criteria for habitability, insulation, heating, ventilation, safety, amenities, and basic structural soundness to reach the WoF minimum standard. The WoF’s development was based on two decades of research on the impact of housing quality on health and wellbeing, and strongly influenced by the UK Housing Health and Safety Rating System and US federal government housing standards. Criteria were field-tested across a range of dwelling types and sizes, cities, and climate zones. The implementation stage of our WoF research consists of a non-random controlled quasi-experimental study in which we work with two city-level local government councils to implement the rental WoF, recruiting adjoining council areas as controls, and measuring changes in health, economic, and social outcomes. PMID:29112147

Measuring the Effect of Housing Quality Interventions: The Case of the New Zealand “Rental Warrant of Fitness”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lucy Telfar-Barnard

2017-11-01

Full Text Available In New Zealand, as in many other countries, housing in the private-rental sector is in worse condition than in the owner-occupier housing sector. New Zealand residential buildings have no inspection regime after original construction signoff. Laws and regulations mandating standards for existing residential housing are outdated and spread over a range of instruments. Policies to improve standards in existing housing have been notoriously difficult to implement. In this methods paper, we describe the development and implementation of a rental Warrant of Fitness (WoF intended to address these problems. Dwellings must pass each of 29 criteria for habitability, insulation, heating, ventilation, safety, amenities, and basic structural soundness to reach the WoF minimum standard. The WoF’s development was based on two decades of research on the impact of housing quality on health and wellbeing, and strongly influenced by the UK Housing Health and Safety Rating System and US federal government housing standards. Criteria were field-tested across a range of dwelling types and sizes, cities, and climate zones. The implementation stage of our WoF research consists of a non-random controlled quasi-experimental study in which we work with two city-level local government councils to implement the rental WoF, recruiting adjoining council areas as controls, and measuring changes in health, economic, and social outcomes.

Pediatric Orthopaedic Workforce in 2014: Current Workforce and Projections for the Future.

Science.gov (United States)

Sawyer, Jeffrey R; Jones, Kerwyn C; Copley, Lawson A; Chambers, Stephanie

2017-01-01

The changing nature of the United States (US) health care system has prompted debate concerning the physician supply. The basic questions are: do we have an adequate number of surgeons to meet current demands and are we training the correct number of surgeons to meet future demands? The purpose of this analysis was to characterize the current pediatric orthopaedic workforce in terms of supply and demand, both present and future. Databases were searched (POSNA, SF Match, KID, MGMA) to determine the current pediatric orthopaedic workforce and workforce distribution, as well as pediatric orthopaedic demand. The number of active Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA) members increased over the past 20 years, from 410 in 1993 to 653 in 2014 (155% increase); however, the density of POSNA members is not equally distributed, but correlates to population density. The number of estimated pediatric discharges, orthopaedic and nonorthopaedic, has remained relatively stable from 6,348,537 in 1997 to 5,850,184 in 2012. Between 2003 and 2013, the number of pediatric orthopaedic fellows graduating from Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and non-Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education programs increased from 39 to 50 (29%), with a peak of 67 fellows (71%) in 2009. Although predicting the exact need for pediatric orthopaedic surgeons (POS) is impossible because of the complex interplay among macroeconomic, governmental, insurance, and local factors, some trends were identified: the supply of POS has increased, which may offset the expected numbers of experienced surgeons who will be leaving the workforce in the next 10 to 15 years; macroeconomic factors influencing demand for physician services, driven by gross domestic product and population growth, are expected to be stable in the near future; expansion of the scope of practice for POS is expected to continue; and further similar assessments are warranted. Level II-economic and

Addressing Future Epidemics: Historical Human Rights Lessons from the AIDS Pandemic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ambar Mehta

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The Ebola epidemic in West Africa sparked many ethical and polarizing public health questions on how to adequately control transmission of the virus. These deliberations had and will continue to influence patients, healthcare workers, public perceptions of disease, and governmental responses. Such extensive and potential ramifications warranted an analysis of prior epidemics to sufficiently inform policy makers and prepare them and other authorities for future epidemics. We analyzed how the general public, medical institutions, federal government, and patients themselves responded during the early stages of the AIDS pandemic in two different countries and cultures, the United States and India. Discussion: Our analysis identified four key findings pertaining to the human rights of patients and healthcare workers and to the crucial roles of the government and medical community. The first demands that authoritative officials acknowledge the presence of high-risk behaviors and properly educate the public without stigmatizing groups of individuals. For this task, the medical community and federal government must form and display to the public a respectful and collaborative partnership towards battling the epidemic. These two synergistic endeavors will then allow appropriate officials to implement effective, yet civil, interventions for limiting transmission. Finally, the same officials must ensure that their interventions maintain the human rights of high-risk populations and of healthcare workers. Conclusions: Applying these findings to future epidemics of infectious diseases can aid policy makers in navigating complicated ethical and public health questions, and help prevent them from repeating past mistakes in handling epidemics.

Characterization of terrestrial hydrothermal alteration products with Mars analog instrumentation: Implications for current and future rover investigations

Science.gov (United States)

Black, Sarah R.; Hynek, Brian M.

2018-06-01

host a wide range of microbial life here on Earth-are of high interest and it is likely that future rovers will encounter similar mineral assemblages. Therefore, future rovers would benefit from using a combination of these methods and expanding the VSWIR sampling range to the full 300-2500 nm to conduct a comprehensive mineralogical investigation.

'Thinking ill of others without sufficient warrant?' Transcending the accuracy-inaccuracy dualism in prejudice and stereotyping research.

Science.gov (United States)

Dixon, John

2017-03-01

Research on prejudice seeks to understand and transform inaccurate beliefs about others. Indeed, historically such research has offered a cautionary tale of the biased nature of human cognition. Recently, however, this view has been challenged by work defending the essential rationality of intergroup perception, a theme captured controversially in Jussim and colleagues' (2009) research on the 'unbearable accuracy of stereotyping'. The present paper argues that in its own terms the 'rationalist turn' in socio-cognitive research on stereotyping presents an important challenge to the prejudice tradition, raising troubling questions about its conceptual and empirical foundations. However, it also argues for the necessity of transcending those terms. By focusing on the correspondence between individual beliefs and the supposedly 'objective' characteristics of others, we neglect the historical and discursive practices through which the social realities that we 'perceive' are actively constructed and institutionalized. We mask their social origins, contested and perspectival nature, relativity, and relationship to wider structures of power. By implication, moving beyond the Allportian perspective that has dominated both the prejudice tradition and the emerging stereotype accuracy paradigm, we may now need to prioritize other kinds of questions. Reversing Allport's famous definition of prejudice, it may now be time to ask: How, and with what consequences, does 'thinking ill of others' become sufficiently warranted? How does such thinking become part of institutionalized relations of power and an accepted way of perceiving, evaluating and treating others? What should social psychologists be doing to challenge this state of affairs? © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

Does the health status of intimate partner violence victims warrant pharmacies as portals for public health promotion?

Science.gov (United States)

Cerulli, Catherine; Cerulli, Jennifer; Santos, Elizabeth J; Lu, Najii; He, Hua; Kaukeinen, Kimberly; White, Anne Marie; Tu, Xin

To explore whether the health status of intimate partner violence (IPV) victims warrants pharmacies to be portals for public health promotion. Specific objectives included (1) identifying prevalence of IPV including domestic violence (DV) and sexual assault (SA) in a community sample, (2) describing characteristics and correlates of DV/SA between participants who reported and did not report DV/SA, and (3) exploring whether DV/SA status is related to mental health medication use. Cross sectional. Upstate New York during 2006. English- and Spanish-speaking respondents younger than 65 years of age answering four questions to assess DV/SA. Secondary analysis of a countywide random telephone survey, the 2006 Monroe County Adult Health Survey, which collects prevalence data on health behaviors and health status indicators. To determine whether those reporting DV/SA are at increased odds for mental health medication use, controlling for other sociodemographic- and health-related variables. The survey response rate was 30.3%, with 1,881 respondents meeting inclusion criteria. Those reporting DV/SA were almost twice as likely to use mental health medications. However, when controlling for other variables, only poor mental and physical health were significant in increasing the odds of mental health medication use. The analyses reported here suggest that DV/SA victims in a community sample use mental health medications. When controlling for other variables, survey respondents reported worse physical and mental health. If pharmacies are suitable portals for DV/SA outreach, curricula would need to provide the knowledge and skills needed to take an active role in this public health promotion.

Human error in maintenance: An investigative study for the factories of the future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dhillon, B S

2014-01-01

This paper presents a study of human error in maintenance. Many different aspects of human error in maintenance considered useful for the factories of the future are studied, including facts, figures, and examples; occurrence of maintenance error in equipment life cycle, elements of a maintenance person's time, maintenance environment and the causes for the occurrence of maintenance error, types and typical maintenance errors, common maintainability design errors and useful design guidelines to reduce equipment maintenance errors, maintenance work instructions, and maintenance error analysis methods

Opportunities with top quarks at future circular colliders

CERN Document Server

Fuks, Benjamin

2014-01-01

We describe various studies relevant for top physics at future circular collider projects currently under discussion. We show how highly-massive top-antitop systems produced in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 100 TeV could be observed and employed for constraining top dipole moments, investigate the reach of future proton-proton and electron-positron machines to top flavor-changing neutral interactions, and discuss top parton densities.

Corporate Social Responsibility: The Future of Marketing Communications

OpenAIRE

Zidarova, Margarita

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a contribution tool to the future practices of corporate marketing communications. Another aim was to discover the current practices of CSR within corporate marketing communications with a specific focus on corporate and stakeholder value creation gained through this merging of two disciplines. Finally, the possibility of creating future competitive advantages through the use of CSR in marketing communicatio...

17 CFR 8.07 - Investigation reports.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... Section 8.07 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION EXCHANGE PROCEDURES FOR DISCIPLINARY, SUMMARY, AND MEMBERSHIP DENIAL ACTIONS Disciplinary Procedure § 8.07 Investigation reports. (a) The enforcement staff shall submit a written investigation report to the disciplinary...

Resolving future fire management conflicts using multicriteria decision making.

Science.gov (United States)

Driscoll, Don A; Bode, Michael; Bradstock, Ross A; Keith, David A; Penman, Trent D; Price, Owen F

2016-02-01

Management strategies to reduce the risks to human life and property from wildfire commonly involve burning native vegetation. However, planned burning can conflict with other societal objectives such as human health and biodiversity conservation. These conflicts are likely to intensify as fire regimes change under future climates and as growing human populations encroach farther into fire-prone ecosystems. Decisions about managing fire risks are therefore complex and warrant more sophisticated approaches than are typically used. We applied a multicriteria decision making approach (MCDA) with the potential to improve fire management outcomes to the case of a highly populated, biodiverse, and flammable wildland-urban interface. We considered the effects of 22 planned burning options on 8 objectives: house protection, maximizing water quality, minimizing carbon emissions and impacts on human health, and minimizing declines of 5 distinct species types. The MCDA identified a small number of management options (burning forest adjacent to houses) that performed well for most objectives, but not for one species type (arboreal mammal) or for water quality. Although MCDA made the conflict between objectives explicit, resolution of the problem depended on the weighting assigned to each objective. Additive weighting of criteria traded off the arboreal mammal and water quality objectives for other objectives. Multiplicative weighting identified scenarios that avoided poor outcomes for any objective, which is important for avoiding potentially irreversible biodiversity losses. To distinguish reliably among management options, future work should focus on reducing uncertainty in outcomes across a range of objectives. Considering management actions that have more predictable outcomes than landscape fuel management will be important. We found that, where data were adequate, an MCDA can support decision making in the complex and often conflicted area of fire management. © 2015

Future directions of small research reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blotcky, A.J.; Rack, E.P.

1986-01-01

In prognosticating future perspectives, it is important to realize that the current number of small reactors throughout the world is not overly large and will undoubtedly decrease or at best remain constant in future generations. To survive and remain productive, small reactor facilities must concentrate on work that is unique and that cannot be performed as well by other instruments. Wherever possible, these facilities should develop some form of collaboration with universities and medical center investigators. Future development will continue and will flourish in neutron activation analysis and its applications for a diversity of fields. Fundamental research such as hot atom chemistry will continue to use neutrons from small research reactors. Finally, training of power reactor operators can be an important source of revenue for the small facility in addition to performing an important service to the nuclear power industry

Intermittent hypoxia, respiratory plasticity and sleep apnea in humans: present knowledge and future investigations.

Science.gov (United States)

Mateika, Jason H; Syed, Ziauddin

2013-09-15

This review examines the role that respiratory plasticity has in the maintenance of breathing stability during sleep in individuals with sleep apnea. The initial portion of the review considers the manner in which repetitive breathing events may be initiated in individuals with sleep apnea. Thereafter, the role that two forms of respiratory plasticity, progressive augmentation of the hypoxic ventilatory response and long-term facilitation of upper airway and respiratory muscle activity, might have in modifying breathing events in humans is examined. In this context, present knowledge regarding the initiation of respiratory plasticity in humans during wakefulness and sleep is addressed. Also, published findings which reveal that exposure to intermittent hypoxia promotes breathing instability, at least in part, because of progressive augmentation of the hypoxic ventilatory response and the absence of long-term facilitation, are considered. Next, future directions are presented and are focused on the manner in which forms of plasticity that stabilize breathing might be promoted while diminishing destabilizing forms, concurrently. These future directions will consider the potential role of circadian rhythms in the promotion of respiratory plasticity and the role of respiratory plasticity in enhancing established treatments for sleep apnea. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Intermittent hypoxia, respiratory plasticity and sleep apnea in humans; present knowledge and future investigations

Science.gov (United States)

Mateika, Jason H.; Syed, Ziauddin

2013-01-01

This review examines the role that respiratory plasticity has in the maintenance of breathing stability during sleep in individuals with sleep apnea. The initial portion of the review considers the manner in which repetitive breathing events may be initiated in individuals with sleep apnea. Thereafter, the role that two forms of respiratory plasticity, progressive augmentation of the hypoxic ventilatory response and long-term facilitation of upper airway and respiratory muscle activity, might have in modifying breathing events in humans is examined. In this context, present knowledge regarding the initiation of respiratory plasticity in humans during wakefulness and sleep is addressed. Also, published findings which reveal that exposure to intermittent hypoxia promotes breathing instability, at least in part, because of progressive augmentation of the hypoxic ventilatory response and the absence of long-term facilitation, are considered. Next, future directions are presented and are focused on the manner in which forms of plasticity that stabilize breathing might be promoted while diminishing destabilizing forms, concurrently. These future directions will consider the potential role of circadian rhythms in the promotion of respiratory plasticity and the role of respiratory plasticity in enhancing established treatments for sleep apnea. PMID:23587570

Assessment of the possible future climatic impact of carbon dioxide increases based on a coupled one-dimensional atmospheric-oceanic model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hunt, B.G.; Wells, N.C.

1979-01-01

A radiative-convective equilibrium model of the atmosphere has been coupled with a mixed layer model of the ocean to investigate the response of this one-dimensional system to increasing carbon dioxide amounts in the atmosphere. For global mean conditions a surface temperature rise of about 2 0 K was obtained for a doubling of the carbon dioxide amount, in reasonable agreement with the commonly accepted results of Manabe and Wetherald. This temperature rise was essentially invariant with season and indicates that including a shallow (300 m) ocean slab in this problem does not basically alter previous assessments. While the mixed layer depth of the ocean was only very slightly changed by the temperature increase, which extended throughout the depth of the mixed layer, the impact of this increase on the overall behavior of the ocean warrants further study. A calculation was also made of the temporal variation of the sea surface temperature for three possible carbon dioxide growth rates starting from an initial carbon dioxide content of 300 ppm. This indicated that the thermal inertia of the slab ocean provides a time lag of 8 years in the sea surface temperature response compared to a land situation. This is not considered to be of great significance as regards the likely future climatic impact of carbon dioxide increase

Early Childhood Sexuality Education: Future Educators' Attitudes and Considerations

Science.gov (United States)

Brouskeli, Vasiliki; Sapountzis, Antonis

2017-01-01

Sexuality education is one of the most disputable health education programs as far as its inclusion in Early Childhood Education is concerned. This study was conducted in order to investigate early childhood future educators' attitudes and considerations about introducing sexuality education to their future pupils. We used a qualitative research…

Future Professionals' Perceptions of Play in Early Childhood Classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Eunjoo; Jin, Bora

2014-01-01

This study investigates the perceptions of 207 college students in early childhood education and child and family studies (future professionals) regarding the role of play in early childhood classrooms. The results indicate that future professionals in their freshman and sophomore years in college held relatively positive perceptions of play in…

Future requirements. Clinical investigations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Qvist, V.

2002-01-01

Biocompatability, Cariology, Clinical trials, Dental materials, Helath services research, Human, Pedodontics......Biocompatability, Cariology, Clinical trials, Dental materials, Helath services research, Human, Pedodontics...

Investigating Future Climate Scenarios

Science.gov (United States)

Dempsey, Chris; Bodzin, Alec; Anastasio, David; Sahagian, Dork; Cirucci, Lori

2012-01-01

One of the most alarming impacts of projected climate change is a significant rise in sea level. Sea level has varied by hundreds of meters over geologic time, yet these changes have generally been slow paced, allowing ecosystems to adjust to changing land surface and marine habitats. Since the Industrial Revolution, anthropogenic emissions have…

Renewable Electricity Futures Study. Volume 4: Bulk Electric Power Systems: Operations and Transmission Planning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Milligan, M.; Ela, E.; Hein, J.; Schneider, T.; Brinkman, G.; Denholm, P.

2012-06-01

The Renewable Electricity Futures (RE Futures) Study investigated the challenges and impacts of achieving very high renewable electricity generation levels in the contiguous United States by 2050. The analysis focused on the sufficiency of the geographically diverse U.S. renewable resources to meet electricity demand over future decades, the hourly operational characteristics of the U.S. grid with high levels of variable wind and solar generation, and the potential implications of deploying high levels of renewables in the future. RE Futures focused on technical aspects of high penetration of renewable electricity; it did not focus on how to achieve such a future through policy or other measures. Given the inherent uncertainties involved with analyzing alternative long-term energy futures as well as the multiple pathways that might be taken to achieve higher levels of renewable electricity supply, RE Futures explored a range of scenarios to investigate and compare the impacts of renewable electricity penetration levels (30%-90%), future technology performance improvements, potential constraints to renewable electricity development, and future electricity demand growth assumptions. RE Futures was led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Hemolytic Disease of the Fetus and Newborn: Modern Practice and Future Investigations.

Science.gov (United States)

Hendrickson, Jeanne E; Delaney, Meghan

2016-10-01

Red blood cell (RBC) sensitization occurs in some women in response to exposure to paternally derived RBC antigens during pregnancy or to nonself antigens on transfused RBCs during their lifetime. Once sensitized, future pregnancies may be at risk for hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn. Although great strides have been made over the past few decades in terms of identifying blood group antigens and in predicting fetal anemia through the use of noninvasive monitoring, many questions remain in terms of understanding RBC alloimmunization risk factors, preventative therapies, and treatment strategies. At the present time, there is room for improvement in these areas in both developed and developing countries. Evidence-based, universal guidelines describing recommended RBC antigen matching transfusion strategies for girls or women, before pregnancy or during intrauterine transfusions, would be welcomed. A better understanding of the mechanism(s) of action of Rh immunoglobulin, first introduced more than half of a century ago and one of the most successful immunoprophylaxis therapies in existence today, would also be a large step forward. For example, answers to questions of the role(s) that fetal RBC clearance, antigen masking, antigen modulation, and immune suppression play in the effectiveness of Rh immunoglobulin may help to guide the development of novel preventative therapies during pregnancy for immunization to RhD and non-RhD antigens. Furthermore, a better understanding of the importance of anti-RhD or other alloantibody glycosylation patterns may be beneficial not only in developing such novel immunoprophylaxis therapies but also in predicting the clinical significance of existing maternal alloantibodies. One other area of need includes the development of therapies beyond intrauterine transfusions to mitigate the dangers of maternal alloantibodies to developing fetuses. We challenge physicians, scientists, and funding agencies to prioritize studies of

Macro factors in oil futures returns

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le Pen, Yannick; Sevi, Benoit

2012-01-01

We investigate the macro factors that can explain the monthly oil futures return for the NYMEX WTI futures contract for the time period 1993:11 to 2010:03. We build a new database of 187 real and nominal macro-economic variables from developed and emerging countries and resort to the large factor approximate model to extract 9 factors from this dataset. We then regress crude oil return on several combinations of these factors. Our best model explains around 38% of the variability of oil futures return. More interestingly, the factor which has the largest influence on crude oil price is related to real variables from emerging countries. This result confirms the latest finding in the literature that the recent evolution in oil price is attributable to change in supply and demand conditions and not to the large increase in trading activity from speculators. (authors)

Renewable Electricity Futures Study. Volume 4: Bulk Electric Power Systems. Operations and Transmission Planning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Milligan, Michael [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Ela, Erik [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Hein, Jeff [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Schneider, Thomas [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Brinkman, Gregory [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Denholm, Paul [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2012-06-15

The Renewable Electricity Futures (RE Futures) Study investigated the challenges and impacts of achieving very high renewable electricity generation levels in the contiguous United States by 2050. The analysis focused on the sufficiency of the geographically diverse U.S. renewable resources to meet electricity demand over future decades, the hourly operational characteristics of the U.S. grid with high levels of variable wind and solar generation, and the potential implications of deploying high levels of renewables in the future. RE Futures focused on technical aspects of high penetration of renewable electricity; it did not focus on how to achieve such a future through policy or other measures. Given the inherent uncertainties involved with analyzing alternative long-term energy futures as well as the multiple pathways that might be taken to achieve higher levels of renewable electricity supply, RE Futures explored a range of scenarios to investigate and compare the impacts of renewable electricity penetration levels (30%–90%), future technology performance improvements, potential constraints to renewable electricity development, and future electricity demand growth assumptions. RE Futures was led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Learn more at the RE Futures website. http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/re_futures/

The alternative energy future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spitzley, H.

1989-02-01

The alternative energy future can be achieved only by making energy conservation programmes successful, and by fully committing to the utilization of soft energy sources. This is the perspective drawn by the author who in this book investigates the fundamentals of an ecologically and socially sound energy policy for the future. Looking at California, USA, where completely near concepts have been put to work in the energy sector since the mid-seventies, the author shows how it can be done, by rewarding energy conserving activities, using available energy sources more efficiently, developing the means for renewable energy exploitation wherever appropriate. A turn in energy policy is feasible also in West Germany, both in technical and political terms. Starting from the experience gained in the USA, the author presents an outline of options and potentials of a new energy strategy for the Federal Republic of Germany. (orig./HP) [de

Dismantling the present and future threats of testicular cancer: a grounded theory of positive and negative adjustment trajectories.

Science.gov (United States)

Matheson, Lauren; Boulton, Mary; Lavender, Verna; Protheroe, Andrew; Brand, Sue; Wanat, Marta; Watson, Eila

2016-02-01

Testicular cancer commonly affects men in the prime of their lives. While survival rates are excellent, little previous research has examined men's experiences of adjustment to survivorship. We aimed to explore this issue in younger testicular cancer survivors. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with testicular cancer survivors over two time points approximately 6 months apart in the year following treatment completion. Interviews were analysed using a grounded theory approach. The sample included 18 testicular cancer survivors between 22 and 44 years (mean age 34). A grounded theory was developed, which explained the process of positive adjustment over the first year following the treatment completion in terms of men's ability to dismantle the present and future threats of cancer, involving the key transitions of gaining a sense of perspective and striving to get on with life and restore normality. These were facilitated by six key processes. The processes that explained a negative adjustment trajectory are also presented. These findings contribute to the understanding of the psychosocial impact of testicular cancer on younger men's lives and have implications for the provision of support to testicular cancer survivors. Further investigation into the feasibility of one-on-one peer support interventions is warranted, as well as informal support that respects men's desire for independence. Understanding the processes involved in adjustment highlights ways in which health professionals can offer support to those struggling to adjust through challenging illness beliefs, encouraging emotional disclosure and facilitating peer mentoring.

Disaster Response Regional Architectures: Assessing Future Possibilities

Science.gov (United States)

2017-09-01

and Artificial Intelligence to make sense of information quickly by training algorithms to automatically identify all relevant images and pictures...as avian influenza and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), cybersecurity , and disaster management (Jackson, 2015). Since its inception in...By February 22, GoF had received sufficient intelligence to warrant a request for interna- tional assistance. All security sectors were on standby

Swedish medical students' expectations of their future life.

OpenAIRE

Diderichsen, S.; Andersson, J.; Johansson, E.E.; Verdonk, P.; Lagro-Janssen, T.; Hamberg, K.

2011-01-01

Objectives: To investigate future life expectations among male and female medical students in their first and final year. Methods: The study was cross-sectional and conducted at a Swedish medical school. Out of 600 invited students, 507 (85%) answered an open-ended question about their future life, 298 (59%) first-year students and 209 (41%) last-year students. Women constituted 60% of the respondents. A mixed model design was applied; qualitative content analysis was utilized to create stati...

Forecasting oil price movements with crack spread futures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murat, Atilim; Tokat, Ekin

2009-01-01

In oil markets, the crack spread refers to the crude-product price relationship. Refiners are major participants in oil markets and they are primarily exposed to the crack spread. In other words, refiner activity is substantially driven by the objective of protecting the crack spread. Moreover, oil consumers are active participants in the oil hedging market and they are frequently exposed to the crack spread. From another perspective, hedge funds are heavily using crack spread to speculate in oil markets. Based on the high volume of crack spread futures trading in oil markets, the question we want to raise is whether the crack spread futures can be a good predictor of oil price movements. We investigated first whether there is a causal relationship between the crack spread futures and the spot oil markets in a vector error correction framework. We found the causal impact of crack spread futures on spot oil market both in the long- and the short-run after April 2003 where we detected a structural break in the model. To examine the forecasting performance, we use the random walk model (RWM) as a benchmark, and we also evaluate the forecasting power of crack spread futures against the crude oil futures. The results showed that (a) both the crack spread futures and the crude oil futures outperformed the RWM; and (b) the crack spread futures are almost as good as the crude oil futures in predicting the movements in spot oil markets. (author)

The role of the biomarker and the genetic polymorphism of endothelin-1 in pulmonary arterial hypertension among Egyptians

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emad Ibrahim

2012-10-01

Conclusions: In conclusion, our findings suggest a potential link between endothelin-1 level and specific genotypes in the EDN1 gene and susceptibility for PAH with a worse haemodynamic profile. Further investigations are warranted to understand the molecular basis and to confirm the potential clinical importance of these findings on larger cohorts of patients with PAH. This will impact on the management of PAH of Egyptian patients in the near future.

Warrant Officer Examinations. PR-4018

Science.gov (United States)

1944-10-10

ccouunting, Administrative - Clcorica1, Judge, Advo Ge~nc. De~ptsAdxiiniistrati~ve 1 icl Adi isrtv - Supp:ly, generaile8 ~ Administrativo ’ - Supply, Air...chronological index if action in processing special and summary records of trial. Answers teleph.’nic inquirie’s pertaining to subject matter contain- ed...reproduction by lithopraphy, black and white process printing, and gelatin duplication; moy couidinnte and supervise procurement, storage, and distribution of

Corrective action investigation plan for Central Nevada Test Area, CAU No. 417

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-04-01

This Corrective Action Investigation Plan (CAIP) is part of a US Department of Energy (DOE)-funded environmental investigation of the Central Nevada Test Area (CNTA). This CAIP addresses the surface investigation and characterization of 15 identified Corrective Action Sites (CASs). In addition, several other areas of the CNTA project area have surface expressions that may warrant investigation. These suspect areas will be characterized, if necessary, in subsequent CAIPs or addendums to this CAIP prepared to address these sites. This CAIP addresses only the 15 identified CASs as shown in Table 2-1 that are associated with the drilling and construction of a number of testing wells designed as part of an underground nuclear testing program. The purpose of the wells at the time of construction was to provide subsurface access for the emplacement, testing, and post detonation evaluations of underground nuclear devices. If contamination is found at any of the 15-surface CASs, the extent of contamination will be determined in order to develop an appropriate corrective action

Games and (Preparation for Future) Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Hammer, Jessica; Black, John

2009-01-01

What makes games effective for learning? The authors argue that games provide vicarious experiences for players, which then amplify the effects of future, formal learning. However, not every game succeeds in doing so! Understanding why some games succeed and others fail at this task means investigating both a given game's design and the…

Current and future contraceptive options for women living with HIV.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Rena C; Bukusi, Elizabeth A; Baeten, Jared M

2018-01-01

Among women living with HIV, half of the pregnancies are unintended. Effective contraception can prevent unintended pregnancies and consequently reduce maternal mortality and perinatal transmission of HIV. While contraceptive options available for all women also apply to women living with HIV, specific considerations exist to the use of contraception by women living with HIV. Areas covered: First, general principles guiding the use of contraception among women living with HIV are discussed, such as choice, method mix, relative effectiveness, and drug-drug interactions. Second, a detailed discussion of each contraceptive method and issues surrounding the use of that method, such as drug-drug interactions, follows. Third, future contraceptive options in advanced development for use by women or men are briefly discussed. Expert opinion: Contraceptive methods available to all women should also be accessible to women living with HIV. When the relative effectiveness of a contraceptive method is reduced, for example due to drug-drug interactions with antiretrovirals, the method should still be made available to women living with HIV with the appropriate information sharing and counseling. Greater research on various aspects of contraceptive use by women living with HIV and more comprehensive testing of co-administration of hormonal contraceptives and common medications used by these women are warranted.

Investigating temperature breaks in the summer fruit export cold chain: A case study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heinri W. Freiboth

2013-11-01

Full Text Available There is concern in the South African fruit industry that a large amount of fruit and money is lost every season due to breaks in the fruit export cold chain. The possibility of a large percentage of losses in a significant sector of the economy warranted further investigation. This article attempted to highlight some of the possible problem areas in the cold chain, from the cold store to the port, by analysing historic temperature data from different fruit export supply chains of apples, pears and grapes. In addition, a trial shipment of apples was used to investigate temperature variation between different pallets in the same container. This research has added value to the South African fruit industry by identifying the need to improve operational procedures in the cold chain.

Future European biogas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Meyer, A. K.P.; Ehimen, E. A.; Holm-Nielsen, J. B.

2018-01-01

Biogas is expected to play an important role in reaching the future energy policy targets of the European Union (EU). The sustainability of biogas substrates has however been recently critically discussed due to the increasing shares of agricultural land used for energy crop production.The aim...... of this study was to project and map the biomass and biogas energy potential from a selection of potentially sustainable agricultural residues, which have been documented to improve in biogas yields when co-digested in biogas production, for the EU28 in year 2030. The investigated types of residual biomasses...... were animal manure, straw by-products from cereal production, and excess grass from rotational and permanent grasslands and meadows. The biogas energy potential from the investigated biomass was projected to range from 1.2·103 to 2.3·103 PJ y-1 in year 2030 in the EU28, depending on the biomass...

Habits of cell phone usage and sperm quality - does it warrant attention?

Science.gov (United States)

Zilberlicht, Ariel; Wiener-Megnazi, Zofnat; Sheinfeld, Yulia; Grach, Bronislava; Lahav-Baratz, Shirly; Dirnfeld, Martha

2015-09-01

Male infertility constitutes 30-40% of all infertility cases. Some studies have shown a continuous decline in semen quality since the beginning of the 20th century. One postulated contributing factor is radio frequency electromagnetic radiation emitted from cell phones. This study investigates an association between characteristics of cell phone usage and semen quality. Questionnaires accessing demographic data and characteristics of cell phone usage were completed by 106 men referred for semen analysis. Results were analysed according to WHO 2010 criteria. Talking for ≥1 h/day and during device charging were associated with higher rates of abnormal semen concentration (60.9% versus 35.7%, P cell phone usage may bear adverse effects on sperm concentration. Investigation using large-scale studies is thus needed. Copyright © 2015 Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Energy futures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Treat, J.E.

1990-01-01

This book provides fifteen of the futures industry's leading authorities with broader background in both theory and practice of energy futures trading in this updated text. The authors review the history of the futures market and the fundamentals of trading, hedging, and technical analysis; then they update you with the newest trends in energy futures trading - natural gas futures, options, regulations, and new information services. The appendices outline examples of possible contracts and their construction

Portfolio Diversification with Commodity Futures: Properties of Levered Futures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Woodard, J.D.; Egelkraut, T.M.; Garcia, P.; Pennings, J.M.E.

2005-01-01

Portfolio Diversification with Commodity Futures: Properties of Levered Futures This study extends previous work on the impact of commodity futures on portfolio performance by explicitly incorporating levered futures into the portfolio optimization problem. Using data on nine individual commodity

Characteristics of Early Work Experiences and Their Association with Future Employment

Science.gov (United States)

McDonnall, Michele Capella; O'Mally, Jamie

2012-01-01

Introduction: Early work experiences are a key predictor of future employment for transition-age youths with visual impairments. We investigated how specific characteristics of early work experiences influence future employment and whether the receipt of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits is associated with early work experiences among…

Application of forensic image analysis in accident investigations.

Science.gov (United States)

Verolme, Ellen; Mieremet, Arjan

2017-09-01

Forensic investigations are primarily meant to obtain objective answers that can be used for criminal prosecution. Accident analyses are usually performed to learn from incidents and to prevent similar events from occurring in the future. Although the primary goal may be different, the steps in which information is gathered, interpreted and weighed are similar in both types of investigations, implying that forensic techniques can be of use in accident investigations as well. The use in accident investigations usually means that more information can be obtained from the available information than when used in criminal investigations, since the latter require a higher evidence level. In this paper, we demonstrate the applicability of forensic techniques for accident investigations by presenting a number of cases from one specific field of expertise: image analysis. With the rapid spread of digital devices and new media, a wealth of image material and other digital information has become available for accident investigators. We show that much information can be distilled from footage by using forensic image analysis techniques. These applications show that image analysis provides information that is crucial for obtaining the sequence of events and the two- and three-dimensional geometry of an accident. Since accident investigation focuses primarily on learning from accidents and prevention of future accidents, and less on the blame that is crucial for criminal investigations, the field of application of these forensic tools may be broader than would be the case in purely legal sense. This is an important notion for future accident investigations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A critical evaluation of the validity of episodic future thinking: A clinical neuropsychology perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Ward, Amanda M

2016-11-01

Episodic future thinking is defined as the ability to mentally simulate a future event. Although episodic future thinking has been studied extensively in neuroscience, this construct has not been explored in depth from the perspective of clinical neuropsychology. The aim of this critical narrative review is to assess the validity and clinical implications of episodic future thinking. A systematic review of episodic future thinking literature was conducted. PubMed and PsycInfo were searched through July 2015 for review and empirical articles with the following search terms: "episodic future thinking," "future mental simulation," "imagining the future," "imagining new experiences," "future mental time travel," "future autobiographical experience," and "prospection." The review discusses evidence that episodic future thinking is important for adaptive functioning, which has implications for neurological populations. To determine the validity of episodic future thinking, the construct is evaluated with respect to related constructs, such as imagination, episodic memory, autobiographical memory, prospective memory, narrative construction, and working memory. Although it has been minimally investigated, there is evidence of convergent and discriminant validity for episodic future thinking. Research has not addressed the incremental validity of episodic future thinking. Practical considerations of episodic future thinking tasks and related constructs in a clinical neuropsychological setting are considered. The utility of episodic future thinking is currently unknown due to the lack of research investigating the validity of episodic future thinking. Future work is discussed, which could determine whether episodic future thinking is an important missing piece in standard clinical neuropsychological assessment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Accuracy of a Low-Cost Novel Computer-Vision Dynamic Movement Assessment: Potential Limitations and Future Directions

Science.gov (United States)

McGroarty, M.; Giblin, S.; Meldrum, D.; Wetterling, F.

2016-04-01

The aim of the study was to perform a preliminary validation of a low cost markerless motion capture system (CAPTURE) against an industry gold standard (Vicon). Measurements of knee valgus and flexion during the performance of a countermovement jump (CMJ) between CAPTURE and Vicon were compared. After correction algorithms were applied to the raw CAPTURE data acceptable levels of accuracy and precision were achieved. The knee flexion angle measured for three trials using Capture deviated by -3.8° ± 3° (left) and 1.7° ± 2.8° (right) compared to Vicon. The findings suggest that low-cost markerless motion capture has potential to provide an objective method for assessing lower limb jump and landing mechanics in an applied sports setting. Furthermore, the outcome of the study warrants the need for future research to examine more fully the potential implications of the use of low-cost markerless motion capture in the evaluation of dynamic movement for injury prevention.

Single-Family Houses That Meet The Future Energy Demands

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rose, Jørgen; Svendsen, Svend

2002-01-01

). Before any further tightening of the regulations are introduced, however, it is necessary to illustrate the consequences of such actions with regard to finance, building technology, indoor climate and comfort. Therefore a series of investigations and experimental projects are being launched, in order...... to examine these consequences thoroughly. The department is presently contributing to this end by participating in quite a few investigative projects, where single-family houses are designed to meet the proposed future energy demands. This paper describes the results obtained from one such project where...... the department, in co-operation with a major building entrepreneur, has developed a single-family house that shows that there are no evident problems in meeting the future energy demands....

Study on the Future of Mutual Recognition in Criminal Matters in the European Union

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vestergaard, Jørn; Adamo, Silvia

2008-01-01

Practitioners in the criminal justice system are fairly content with the European Arrest Warrant and other schemes based on the principle of mutual recognition of judicial decisions. This is the result of a survey published by Professor of Criminal Law Jørn Vestergaard and research asststant Silvia...... Adamo from The Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen. In recent years, the principle  of mutual recognition has become a cornerstone in police and criminal law cooperation between Member States. In particular, the European Arrest Warrant has come to play an important role. The pivotal point...

Orographic cirrus in a future climate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Joos

2009-10-01

Full Text Available A cloud resolving model (CRM is used to investigate the formation of orographic cirrus clouds in the current and future climate. The formation of cirrus clouds depends on a variety of dynamical and thermodynamical processes, which act on different scales. First, the capability of the CRM in realistically simulating orographic cirrus clouds has been tested by comparing the simulated results to aircraft measurements of an orographic cirrus cloud. The influence of a warmer climate on the microphysical and optical properties of cirrus clouds has been investigated by initializing the CRM with vertical profiles of horizontal wind, potential temperature and equivalent potential temperature, respectively. The vertical profiles are extracted from IPCC A1B simulations for the current climate and for the period 2090–2099 for two regions representative for North and South America. The influence of additional moisture in a future climate on the propagation of gravity waves and the formation of orographic cirrus could be estimated. In a future climate, the increase in moisture dampens the vertical propagation of gravity waves and the occurring vertical velocities in the moist simulations. Together with higher temperatures fewer ice crystals nucleate homogeneously. Assuming that the relative humidity does not change in a warmer climate the specific humidity in the model is increased. This increase in specific humidity in a warmer climate results in a higher ice water content. The net effect of a reduced ice crystal number concentration and a higher ice water content is an increased optical depth. However, in some moist simulations dynamical changes contribute to changes in the ice water content, ice crystal number concentration and optical depth. For the corresponding dry simulations dynamical changes are more pronounced leading to a decreased optical depth in a future climate in some cases.

The Efficiency of the Chinese Commodity Futures Markets: Development and Empirical Evidence

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Yu Xin; Gongmeng Chen; Michael Firth

2006-01-01

This study investigates the efficiency of the Chinese metal futures (i.e. copper and aluminum) traded on China's Shanghai Futures Exchange. First, we thoroughly analyze the development of China's commodity futures markets, which provides a fundamental background. Then we examine the random walk and unbiasedness hypotheses for two metal futures during 1999-2004. Based on the empirical evidence, we argue that China's copper and aluminum futures markets are efficient, and that they aid the process of price discovery because futures prices can be considered as unbiased predictors of future spot prices. We attribute this efficiency to the regulatory changes made in 1999 and the increased financial skills and acumen of the participants in the market.

The empirical relationship between energy futures prices and exchange rates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sadorsky, P.

2000-01-01

This paper investigates the interaction between energy futures prices and exchange rates. Results are presented to show that futures prices for crude oil, heating oil and unleaded gasoline are co-integrated with a trade-weighted index of exchange rates. This is important because it means that there exists a long-run equilibrium relationship between these four variables. Granger causality results for both the long- and short-run are presented. Evidence is also presented that suggests exchange rates transmit exogenous shocks to energy futures prices. 22 refs

THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF TEHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT ON FUTURE JOBS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ŞTEFAN COSMIN-ALEXANDRU

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Technological developments in the last decades have reached unbelievable levels, what was once the domain of science fiction movies is now a reality, and this developments have left few areas of human life unchanged. In this paper we aim to explore the changes that technology brought to the way people work and, especially to the way people will work. While we acknowledge that any prediction about the future is almost always proved wrong from the get go, we think that the importance of the subject warrants the risk. The paper draws its routes from some of the most influential theories about how technology will impact the way people work and is main objective is to spark a conversation about the merits of lack thereof that they contain. It is by no means an extensive work, but rather the beginning of a research focus that will, hopefully bring new insights in the above mentioned field. For the sake of convenience we have grouped the predictions in three categories: “Business as usual”, “Lateral developments” and “All bets are off” based on how profound the change would be. Each of this levels offers different benefits, as well as different challenges, our hope is that throw a process of thorough consideration solutions can be generated to maximize the former while minimizing the latter.

Volatility transmission and patterns in Bund futures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ph.H.B.F. Franses (Philip Hans); R. van Ieperen; A.J. Menkveld (Bert); P. Kofman (Paul); M.P.E. Martens (Martin)

1997-01-01

textabstractWe analyze intraday volatility behavior for the Bund futures contract that is traded simultaneously at two competing exchanges. We investigate the transmission of volatility between the exchanges. We find that the lead/lag relations are restricted to a few minutes and do not reveal a

Multifractal spectrum analysis of nonlinear dynamical mechanisms in China’s agricultural futures markets

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Shu-Peng; He, Ling-Yun

2010-04-01

Based on Partition Function and Multifractal Spectrum Analysis, we investigated the nonlinear dynamical mechanisms in China’s agricultural futures markets, namely, Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE for short) and Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE for short), where nearly all agricultural futures contracts are traded in the two markets. Firstly, we found nontrivial multifractal spectra, which are the empirical evidence of the existence of multifractal features, in 4 representative futures markets in China, that is, Hard Winter wheat (HW for short) and Strong Gluten wheat (SG for short) futures markets from ZCE and Soy Meal (SM for short) futures and Soy Bean No.1 (SB for short) futures markets from DCE. Secondly, by shuffling the original time series, we destroyed the underlying nonlinear temporal correlation; thus, we identified that long-range correlation mechanism constitutes major contributions in the formation in the multifractals of the markets. Thirdly, by tracking the evolution of left- and right-half spectra, we found that there exist critical points, between which there are different behaviors, in the left-half spectra for large price fluctuations; but for the right-hand spectra for small price fluctuations, the width of those increases slowly as the delay t increases in the long run. Finally, the dynamics of large fluctuations is significantly different from that of the small ones, which implies that there exist different underlying mechanisms in the formation of multifractality in the markets. Our main contributions focus on that we not only provided empirical evidence of the existence of multifractal features in China agricultural commodity futures markets; but also we pioneered in investigating the sources of the multifractality in China’s agricultural futures markets in current literature; furthermore, we investigated the nonlinear dynamical mechanisms based on spectrum analysis, which offers us insights into the underlying dynamical mechanisms in

Analysis of the Economic Potential for a Mercosur Rice Futures Market

OpenAIRE

Waldemar Antonio da Rocha de Souza; João Gomes Martines-Filho; Claudio Zancan; Antonio Carlos Silva Costa; Andreza Galindo Alves de Queiróz

2015-01-01

World rice production reached 488.4 thousand tons, in 2012. Asian countries are the world’s largest rice producers, followed by Latinamerica, particularly Brazil, where rice is a basic food item. In spite of the clear economic benefits bestowed by commodity futures markets, neither Asia nor Mercosur have implemented a regional rice futures market. In sum, we propose to investigate the feasibility of a Brazilian rice futures contract to serve the Mercosur region by estimating Me...

Shared visions, future challenges: a case study of three Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program locations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emily H. Walpole

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The USDA Forest Service is encouraging the restoration of select forest ecosystems through its Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP. Collaboration is often necessary to implement landscape-scale management projects such as these, and a substantial body of research has examined the benefits and limitations of using collaboration as a tool for improving relationships, trust, and other outcomes among stakeholder groups. However, limited research has investigated the use of collaboration to achieve large-scale ecological restoration goals. Restoration poses some unique conditions for a collaborative approach, including reaching agreement on which historic conditions to use as a reference point, the degree of departure from these reference conditions that warrants management intervention, and how to balance historic conditions with expected future conditions and current human uses of the landscape. Using a mental-models approach, semistructured interviews were conducted with a total of 25 participants at three CFLRP sites. Results indicate that collaboration contributed to improved relationships and trust among participants, even among stakeholder groups with a history of disagreement over management goals. In addition, a shared focus on improving ecosystem resilience helped groups to address controversial management topics such as forest thinning in some areas. However, there was also evidence that CFLRP partnerships in our study locations have primarily focused on areas of high agreement among their stakeholders to date, and have not yet addressed other contentious topics. Previous studies suggest that first conducting management in areas with high consensus among participating stakeholders can build relationships and advance long-term goals. Nonetheless, our results indicate that achieving compromise in less obviously departed systems will require more explicit value-based discussions among stakeholders.

The dynamics of risk premiums in Nord Pool's futures market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mork, E.

2006-01-01

Premiums in futures prices are usually considered through the use of 2 models: a no-arbitrage model; and the equilibrium approach or theory of normal backwardation. The no-arbitrage approach equates futures prices with spot prices, storage costs and convenience yields, and is difficult to apply to electricity markets. This paper investigated future electricity prices in Nord Pool's futures market using an equilibrium approach, which split futures prices into an expected spot price component and a risk premium component. Three main hypotheses were used: (1) that risk premiums were present in the Nord Pool futures market during the period 1997-2004; that risk premiums in the Nord Pool futures market were smaller or absent during the period of 2000 to 2002; and, that there was a significant change in risk premiums in Nord Pool's futures market after the winter of 2002-2003 due to a change in consumer hedging behaviour. Futures prices were compared to realized spot prices in their delivery periods in order to test the hypotheses. In order to estimate the futures premiums, a 1-sample test was performed on the entire period for 1, 30, 60, and 90 days before delivery of the block or month contract. The test employed the null hypothesis that the futures premiums were 0. Premiums were positive and varied between 3.7 per cent and 9.3 per cent. The purpose of the study was to determine whether risk premiums were present. Results showed that risk premiums varied over time. Two additional hypotheses were then investigated to examine whether the presence of outside speculators reduced risk premiums, and to see if a period of high prices and volatility caused more buyers to hedge in the futures market. Results showed that in the face of volatility and higher prices, consumers do not purchase fixed-price contracts which would ultimately increase futures premiums in the market. It was concluded that premiums are an important element in the pricing of Nord Pool futures and forwards

A social work study on different factors influencing youth on hope for the future

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akram Fakhri Fakhramini

2013-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we present an empirical study to study the effects of religious duties, communicating with parents; leisure, media planning, city planning, socio-economic and education on different factors influencing the future of youth. The proposed study of this paper designs a questionnaire and distributes it among 400 people aged 18 to 29 and the results are investigated using Pearson correlation ratios. The results of our investigation indicate that there are some positive and meaningful relationship between religious duties and their hope for future (r=44%, a positive and meaningful relationship between leisure and hope for future (31%. In addition, there is a relatively positive and somewhat meaningful relationship between city planning and hope for future (15% and finally, a small but positive relationship between media planning and hope for the future (6%. However, there is no evidence belief that there is any meaningful relationship between education and hope for the future.

Introduction of the Space Shuttle Columbia Accident, Investigation Details, Findings and Crew Survival Investigation Report

Science.gov (United States)

Chandler, Michael

2010-01-01

As the Space Shuttle Program comes to an end, it is important that the lessons learned from the Columbia accident be captured and understood by those who will be developing future aerospace programs and supporting current programs. Aeromedical lessons learned from the Accident were presented at AsMA in 2005. This Panel will update that information, closeout the lessons learned, provide additional information on the accident and provide suggestions for the future. To set the stage, an overview of the accident is required. The Space Shuttle Columbia was returning to Earth with a crew of seven astronauts on 1Feb, 2003. It disintegrated along a track extending from California to Louisiana and observers along part of the track filmed the breakup of Columbia. Debris was recovered from Littlefield, Texas to Fort Polk, Louisiana, along a 567 statute mile track; the largest ever recorded debris field. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) concluded its investigation in August 2003, and released their findings in a report published in February 2004. NASA recognized the importance of capturing the lessons learned from the loss of Columbia and her crew and the Space Shuttle Program managers commissioned the Spacecraft Crew Survival Integrated Investigation Team (SCSIIT) to accomplish this. Their task was to perform a comprehensive analysis of the accident, focusing on factors and events affecting crew survival, and to develop recommendations for improving crew survival, including the design features, equipment, training and procedures intended to protect the crew. NASA released the Columbia Crew Survival Investigation Report in December 2008. Key personnel have been assembled to give you an overview of the Space Shuttle Columbia accident, the medical response, the medico-legal issues, the SCSIIT findings and recommendations and future NASA flight surgeon spacecraft accident response training. Educational Objectives: Set the stage for the Panel to address the

Investigating the Aftermath of Terror: Fundamental Outcomes, Methodological Choices, and Future Directions.

Science.gov (United States)

Gradus, Jaimie L; Marx, Brian P; Sloan, Denise M

2016-06-01

Acts of terrorism are becoming increasingly common throughout the world. These events represent a significant public health concern given the associated health consequences. Although it is clear that terrorist attacks have mental and physical health sequelae, the exact nature and prevalence of these consequences are unclear. Epidemiological research can play an important role in better understanding the mental and physical impact of terrorist attacks. In this editorial, we highlight recent epidemiological research on these terrorism-related health outcomes. We also provide suggestions for how future studies can build on the existing literature and describe ways in which epidemiological methods can be harnessed to extend the current literature. Lastly, we offer recommendations on how to best prepare communities for the aftermath of terrorist attacks, highlighting secondary intervention and prevention strategies. Overall, multilevel strategies are needed to adequately cope with the growing rise of terrorist acts, and these strategies will have to be reassessed as the nature of terrorist attacks changes.

Procrastination, consideration of future consequences, and episodic future thinking.

Science.gov (United States)

Rebetez, Marie My Lien; Barsics, Catherine; Rochat, Lucien; D'Argembeau, Arnaud; Van der Linden, Martial

2016-05-01

Despite the intrinsic temporal nature of procrastination, little research has examined the link between this form of self-regulatory failure and the consideration of future consequences, and no study has addressed the link between procrastination and episodic future thinking. The aim of the present study was to explore these relationships. Participants were asked to project themselves into possible future events and to rate the amount of sensory-perceptual details and autonoetic consciousness associated with their representations. They were also asked to complete questionnaires that assessed procrastination, the consideration of future consequences, and negative affect. Results showed that both the consideration of future consequences and episodic future thinking were associated with procrastination, and in particular with procrastination-related decision making abilities and procrastination-related motivational dispositions, respectively. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Episodic future thinking reduces delay discounting and cigarette demand: an investigation of the good-subject effect.

Science.gov (United States)

Stein, Jeffrey S; Tegge, Allison N; Turner, Jamie K; Bickel, Warren K

2018-04-01

Episodic future thinking (EFT), an intervention involving mental simulation of future events, has been shown to reduce both delay discounting and cigarette self-administration. In the present study, we extended these findings by showing that EFT in a web-based sample of smokers reduces delay discounting and intensity of demand for cigarettes (ad libitum consumption) in a hypothetical purchase task. No effect was observed on elasticity of demand (sensitivity to price) or cigarette craving. We also explored whether demand characteristics (specifically, the "good-subject" effect) might be responsible for observed effects. EFT participants were significantly better able than control participants to discern the experimental hypothesis. However, EFT participants were not better than controls at identifying whether they had been assigned to the experimental group and, likewise, showed no differences in attitudes about the experiment and experimenter. Importantly, effects of EFT on delay discounting and demand remained significant even when controlling for measures of demand characteristics, indicating that EFT's effects are independent of participants' perceptions about the experiment.

Establishment of sustainable health science for future generations: from a hundred years ago to a hundred years in the future.

Science.gov (United States)

Mori, Chisato; Todaka, Emiko

2009-01-01

Recently, we have investigated the relationship between environment and health from a scientific perspective and developed a new academic field, "Sustainable Health Science" that will contribute to creating a healthy environment for future generations. There are three key points in Sustainable Heath Science. The first key point is "focusing on future generations"-society should improve the environment and prevent possible adverse health effects on future generations (Environmental Preventive Medicine). The second key point is the "precautious principle". The third key point is "transdisciplinary science", which means that not only medical science but also other scientific fields, such as architectural and engineering science, should be involved. Here, we introduce our recent challenging project "Chemiless Town Project", in which a model town is under construction with fewer chemicals. In the project, a trial of an education program and a health-examination system of chemical exposure is going to be conducted. In the future, we are aiming to establish health examination of exposure to chemicals of women of reproductive age so that the risk of adverse health effects to future generations will decrease and they can enjoy a better quality of life. We hope that society will accept the importance of forming a sustainable society for future generations not only with regard to chemicals but also to the whole surrounding environment. As the proverb of American native people tells us, we should live considering the effects on seven generations in the future.

Future atomic physics researches at HIRFL-CSR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cai Xiaohong; Xia Jiawen; Zhan Wenlong

1999-01-01

A new storage ring system, HIRFL-CSR, is now in construction in the National Laboratory of Heavy Ion Research Facility of Lanzhou, China. The new facility consists of a main ring (CSRm) and an experimental ring (CSRe). With the flexibility of the production and the investigation of highly charged ions and radioactive ion beams the new HIRFL-CSR facility will make many frontier atomic physics researches possible in near future. The future physics researches at the HIRFL-CSR are now under consideration. In this paper an overview of the HIRFL-CSR project is given, and the main atomic physics programs to be carried at the HIRFL-CSR are presented. (orig.)

17 CFR 8.06 - Investigations.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

....06 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION EXCHANGE PROCEDURES FOR DISCIPLINARY, SUMMARY, AND MEMBERSHIP DENIAL ACTIONS Disciplinary Procedure § 8.06 Investigations. (a) Each exchange shall establish and maintain a disciplinary procedure which requires the enforcement staff of the...

Formation of the Professional and Didactic Culture of the Future Teacher

Science.gov (United States)

Mirzagitova, Alsu L.; Akhmetov, Linar G.

2016-01-01

Relevance: The relevance of the problem under investigation is caused by the fact that the problem of the formation of the professional and didactic culture of future teachers has not been sufficiently elaborated. The purpose of the article: The article aims to the solution of the problem of improving the content of future teachers' training with…

Electrodynamics with a Future Conformal Horizon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ibison, Michael

2010-01-01

We investigate the impact of singularities occurring at future times in the Friedmann equations expressed in conformal coordinates to determine the consequences of extending the time coordinate through the singularity for the physics of matter and radiation occupying just one side. Mostly this involves investigation of the relationship between the metric with line element ds 2 a 2 (t)(dt 2 -dx 2 ) and time reversal symmetry within electrodynamics. It turns out compatibility between these two is possible only if there is a singular physical event at the time of the singularity or if the topology is not trivial. In both cases the singularity takes on the appearance of a time-like mirror. We are able to demonstrate a relationship between the broken time symmetry in electrodynamics characterized by retarded radiation and radiation reaction and the absolute conformal time relative to the time of the singularity, i.e. between the Electromagnetic and Cosmological arrows of time. It is determined that the Wheeler-Feynman reasoning but with the future absorber replaced by the Cosmological mirror leads to a conflict with observation unless matter is strongly bound electromagnetically to the environment.

Psychosocial adjustment and mental health in former child soldiers--systematic review of the literature and recommendations for future research.

Science.gov (United States)

Betancourt, Theresa S; Borisova, Ivelina; Williams, Timothy P; Meyers-Ohki, Sarah E; Rubin-Smith, Julia E; Annan, Jeannie; Kohrt, Brandon A

2013-01-01

This article reviews the available quantitative research on psychosocial adjustment and mental health among children (age reintegration in CAAFAG. Abduction, age of conscription, exposure to violence, gender, and community stigma were associated with increased internalizing and externalizing mental health problems. Family acceptance, social support, and educational/economic opportunities were associated with improved psychosocial adjustment. Research on the social reintegration and psychosocial adjustment of former child soldiers is nascent. A number of gaps in the available literature warrant future study. Recommendations to bolster the evidence base on psychosocial adjustment in former child soldiers and other war-affected youth include more studies comprising longitudinal study designs, and validated cross-cultural instruments for assessing mental health, as well as more integrated community-based approaches to study design and research monitoring. © 2012 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry © 2012 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Time perspective and volunteerism: The importance of focusing on the future.

Science.gov (United States)

Maki, Alexander; Dwyer, Patrick C; Snyder, Mark

2016-01-01

Because volunteerism is a planned activity that unfolds over time, people who more frequently focus on the future might also be more likely to initiate volunteerism and sustain it over time. Using longitudinal (Study 1) and experimental (Study 2) paradigms, we investigated whether time perspective, and in particular a person's orientation toward the future, is related to volunteers' beliefs and behavior. In Study 1, a person's dispositional level of future time perspective was closely linked to volunteer beliefs and behavior. In Study 2, people who wrote about the future reported higher intentions to volunteer, and this was particularly true for infrequent volunteers and those with lower levels of dispositional future time perspective. Across two studies, we found evidence that future time perspective, whether a chronic disposition or a pattern of thought elicited by someone else, is linked to volunteer beliefs and behavior.

The modelling of future energy scenarios for Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kwon, Pil Seok

2014-01-01

within a time frame of two hours and approx. 7% of the electricity demand can be moved within a time frame of 24 hours. The system benefit at the assessed amount of flexible demand is limited however. Results from the other analysis indicate that in order to have a significant impact on the energy system...... performance, more than a quarter of the classic electricity demand would need to be flexible within a month, which is highly unlikely to happen. For the investigation of the energy system model, EnergyPLAN, which is used for two scenario analyses, two questions are asked; “what is the value of future...... for the important but uncertain areas biomass and flexible demand are performed. Thirdly, modelling-related issues are investigated with a focus on the effect of future forecasting assumption and differences between a predefined priority order and order determined by given efficiencies and constraints...

The Future Multiple

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Spaniol, Matthew Jon; Rowland, Nicholas James

2015-01-01

/value – The original contribution is in demonstrating how plural futures and the singular future co-exist in practice. Thus, an eclipse of the future by futures can only ever be partial. For “futures” to be conceptually potent, “the future” must be at least provisionally believable and occasionally useful. Otherwise......, if “the future” were so preposterous an idea, then “futures” would cease to be a critical alternative to it. Futures needs the future; they are relationally bound together in a multiplicity. This paper considers what such a logical reality implies for a field that distances itself from the future and self......). Multiplicity, as a post-ANT sensibility, helps one make sense of the empirical materials. This paper examines the possibility that rather than being alternatives to one another, plural futures and the singular future might co-exist in practice, and, thus, constitute a multiplicity. Design...

Melanoma Vaccines: Mixed Past, Promising Future

Science.gov (United States)

Ozao-Choy, Junko; Lee, Delphine J.; Faries, Mark B.

2014-01-01

Synopsis Cancer vaccines were one of the earliest forms of immunotherapy to be investigated. Past attempts to vaccinate against cancer, including melanoma, have mixed results, revealing the complexity of what was thought to be a simple concept. However, several recent successes and the combination of improved knowledge of tumor immunology and the advent of new immunomodulators make vaccination a promising strategy for the future. PMID:25245965

Research Review: Psychosocial adjustment and mental health in former child soldiers – a systematic review of the literature and recommendations for future research

Science.gov (United States)

Betancourt, Theresa S.; Borisova, Ivelina; Williams, Timothy P.; Meyers-Ohki, Sarah E.; Rubin-Smith, Julia E.; Annan, Jeannie; Kohrt, Brandon A.

2014-01-01

Aims and scope This article reviews the available quantitative research on psychosocial adjustment and mental health among children (age reintegration in CAAFAG. Abduction, age of conscription, exposure to violence, gender, and community stigma were associated with increased internalizing and externalizing mental health problems. Family acceptance, social support, and educational/economic opportunities were associated with improved psychosocial adjustment. Conclusions Research on the social reintegration and psychosocial adjustment of former child soldiers is nascent. A number of gaps in the available literature warrant future study. Recommendations to bolster the evidence base on psychosocial adjustment in former child soldiers and other war-affected youth include more studies comprising longitudinal study designs, and validated cross-cultural instruments for assessing mental health, as well as more integrated community-based approaches to study design and research monitoring. PMID:23061830

Investigating the Intraday Interdependence Between the Index Futures and Stock Index at Different Time Scales : Evidence from Bursa Malaysia

OpenAIRE

Kunle-Ogunlusi, Nene

2016-01-01

This study examines the intraday dynamic association between the Bursa Malaysia futures and its underlying spot markets. Specifically, the study focuses on the price discovery concept and volatility transmission mechanism between the FKLI futures and the FBMKLC index using three high-frequency (10 minutes, 30 minutes and 1 hour time-scales) intraday data sets over two sample periods covering June 04, 2013 to September 30, 2013 and May 12, 2015 to June 10, 2015. The cointegration tests, VECM, ...

Investigating the feasibility and acceptability of health psychology-informed obesity training for medical students.

Science.gov (United States)

Chisholm, Anna; Hart, Jo; Mann, Karen; Perry, Mark; Duthie, Harriet; Rezvani, Leila; Peters, Sarah

2016-01-01

Health psychologists have succeeded in identifying theory-congruent behaviour change techniques (BCTs) to prevent and reduce lifestyle-related illnesses, such as cardiovascular disease, cancers and diabetes. Obesity management discussions between doctors and patients can be challenging and are often avoided. Despite a clear training need, it is unknown how best to tailor BCT research findings to inform obesity-management training for future healthcare professionals. The primary objective of this descriptive study was to gather information on the feasibility and acceptability of delivering and evaluating health psychology-informed obesity training to UK medical students. Medical students (n = 41) attended an obesity management session delivered by GP tutors. Sessions were audio-recorded to enable fidelity checks. Acceptability of training was explored qualitatively. Tutors consistently delivered training according to the intervention protocol; and students and tutors found the training highly acceptable. This psychology-informed training can be delivered successfully by GP tutors and further research is warranted to explore its efficacy.

Predictors of Future Performance in Architectural Design Education

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, A. S.

2007-01-01

The link between academic performance in secondary education and the subsequent performance of students studying architecture at university level is commonly questioned by educators and admissions tutors. This paper investigates the potential for using measures of cognitive style and spatial ability as predictors of future potential in…

Customer orientation and future market focus in NSD

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hillebrand, B.; Kemp, R.; Nijssen, E.J.

2011-01-01

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to investigate the differential effect of customer orientation and future market focus on organization inertia and firm innovativeness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the business-to-business service industry. It is motivated by the observation that

Middle School Girls' Envisioned Future in Computing

Science.gov (United States)

Friend, Michelle

2015-01-01

Experience is necessary but not sufficient to cause girls to envision a future career in computing. This study investigated the experiences and attitudes of girls who had taken three years of mandatory computer science classes in an all-girls setting in middle school, measured at the end of eighth grade. The one third of participants who were open…

Biopesticides: state of the art and future opportunities.

Science.gov (United States)

Seiber, James N; Coats, Joel; Duke, Stephen O; Gross, Aaron D

2014-12-03

The use of biopesticides and related alternative management products is increasing. New tools, including semiochemicals and plant-incorporated protectants (PIPs), as well as botanical and microbially derived chemicals, are playing an increasing role in pest management, along with plant and animal genetics, biological control, cultural methods, and newer synthetics. The goal of this Perspective is to highlight promising new biopesticide research and development (R&D), based upon recently published work and that presented in the American Chemical Society (ACS) symposium "Biopesticides: State of the Art and Future Opportunities," as well as the authors' own perspectives. Although the focus is on biopesticides, included in this Perspective is progress with products exhibiting similar characteristics, namely those naturally occurring or derived from natural products. These are target specific, of low toxicity to nontarget organisms, reduced in persistence in the environment, and potentially usable in organic agriculture. Progress is being made, illustrated by the number of biopesticides and related products in the registration pipeline, yet major commercial opportunities exist for new bioherbicides and bionematicides, in part occasioned by the emergence of weeds resistant to glyphosate and the phase-out of methyl bromide. The emergence of entrepreneurial start-up companies, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fast track for biopesticides, and the availability of funding for registration-related R&D for biorational pesticides through the U.S. IR-4 program provide incentives for biopesticide development, but an expanded effort is warranted both in the United States and worldwide to support this relatively nascent industry.

Future DUNE constraints on EFT

Science.gov (United States)

Falkowski, Adam; Grilli di Cortona, Giovanni; Tabrizi, Zahra

2018-04-01

In the near future, fundamental interactions at high-energy scales may be most efficiently studied via precision measurements at low energies. A universal language to assemble and interpret precision measurements is the so-called SMEFT, which is an effective field theory (EFT) where the Standard Model (SM) Lagrangian is extended by higher-dimensional operators. In this paper we investigate the possible impact of the DUNE neutrino experiment on constraining the SMEFT. The unprecedented neutrino flux offers an opportunity to greatly improve the current limits via precision measurements of the trident production and neutrino scattering off electrons and nuclei in the DUNE near detector. We quantify the DUNE sensitivity to dimension-6 operators in the SMEFT Lagrangian, and find that in some cases operators suppressed by an O(30) TeV scale can be probed. We also compare the DUNE reach to that of future experiments involving atomic parity violation and polarization asymmetry in electron scattering, which are sensitive to an overlapping set of SMEFT parameters.

New Goals of Sustainable Future

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arkady Ursul

2017-02-01

Full Text Available This article investigates the process of transition from the Millennium Development Goals to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs. The authors have set an objective to demonstrate that SD as a future form of development of civilization from the very beginning had a “target orientation” and from the beginning and anticipated realization and staging of the whole hierarchy of objectives needed for the establishment of an effective global governance. In the future, global development in its “anthropogenic” aspect will be to implement the goals and principles of SD, which will be updated with each new stage of the implementation of this kind of socio-natural evolution. The paper argues the position that the concept of SD should be radically transformed into a “global dimension.” Attention is drawn to the fact that Russia recognized another distant, but very important in the conceptual and theoretical perspective, global goal of “sustainable transition” — formation of the noosphere.

Future Scenarios as a Research Tool: Investigating Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation Options and Outcomes for the Great Barrier Reef, Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Louisa S; Hicks, Christina C; Fidelman, Pedro; Tobin, Renae C; Perry, Allison L

2013-01-01

Climate change is a significant future driver of change in coastal social-ecological systems. Our knowledge of impacts, adaptation options, and possible outcomes for marine environments and coastal industries is expanding, but remains limited and uncertain. Alternative scenarios are a way to explore potential futures under a range of conditions. We developed four alternative future scenarios for the Great Barrier Reef and its fishing and tourism industries positing moderate and more extreme (2-3 °C above pre-industrial temperatures) warming for 2050 and contrasting 'limited' and 'ideal' ecological and social adaptation. We presented these scenarios to representatives of key stakeholder groups to assess the perceived viability of different social adaptation options to deliver desirable outcomes under varied contexts.

Gap-prepulse inhibition of the startle reflex (GPIAS for tinnitus assessment: current status and future directions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander eGalazyuk

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The progress in the field of tinnitus largely depends on the development of a reliable tinnitus animal model. Recently a new method based on the acoustic startle reflex modification was introduced for tinnitus screening in laboratory animals. This method was enthusiastically adopted and now widely used by many scientists in the field due to its seeming simplicity and a number of advantages over the other methods of tinnitus assessment. Furthermore, this method opened an opportunity for tinnitus assessment in humans as well. Unfortunately multiple modifications of data collection and interpretation implemented in different labs make comparisons across studies very difficult. In addition, recent animal and human studies have challenged the original filling-in interpretation of the paradigm. Here we review the current literature to emphasize on the commonalities and differences in data collection and interpretation across laboratories that are using this method for tinnitus assessment. We also propose future research directions that could be taken in order to establish whether or not this method is warranted as an indicator of the presence of tinnitus.

The German joint research project "concepts for future gravity satellite missions"

Science.gov (United States)

Reubelt, Tilo; Sneeuw, Nico; Fichter, Walter; Müller, Jürgen

2010-05-01

Within the German joint research project "concepts for future gravity satellite missions", funded by the Geotechnologies programme of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, options and concepts for future satellite missions for precise (time-variable) gravity field recovery are investigated. The project team is composed of members from science and industry, bringing together experts in geodesy, satellite systems, metrology, sensor technology and control systems. The majority of team members already contributed to former gravity missions. The composition of the team guarantees that not only geodetic aspects and objectives are investigated, but also technological and financial constraints are considered. Conversely, satellite, sensor and system concepts are developed and improved in a direct exchange with geodetic and scientific claims. The project aims to develop concepts for both near and mid-term future satellite missions, taking into account e.g. advanced satellite formations and constellations, improved orbit design, innovative metrology and sensor systems and advances in satellite systems.

Dynamic Jump Intensities and Risk Premiums in Crude Oil Futures and Options Markets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christoffersen, Peter; Jacobs, Kris; Li, Bingxin

2016-01-01

Options on crude oil futures are the most actively traded commodity options. We develop a class of computationally efficient discrete-time jump models that allow for closed-form option valuation, and we use crude oil futures and options data to investigate the economic importance of jumps...... and dynamic jump intensities in these markets. Allowing for jumps is crucial for modeling crude oil futures and futures options, and we find evidence in favor of time-varying jump intensities. During crisis periods, jumps occur more frequently. The properties of the jump processes implied by the option data...... differ from those implied by the futures data, which may be due to improved parameter identification....

Significance of Future Biogenic and Fire Emissions on Regional Aerosol Burden

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, A.; Tai, A. P. K.; Val Martin, M.

2017-12-01

Land-use and land cover changes have been found to substantially affect atmospheric aerosols and climate worldwide1,2, but the complex mechanisms and pathways involved in the interactions between terrestrial processes and aerosols are not well understood. Here we use a global coupled aerosol chemistry-climate-land model (CESM with CAM5 using Modal Aerosol Module 3 and CLM4.5 in Satellite Phenology mode) to investigate how aerosols respond to future climate and land-use changes, and in turn, affects cloud cover and other hydrometeorological variables in the long term. Time-sliced simulations are conducted for a base year (2000) as a base case; then three future projected scenarios for year 2050 driven by land-use and climate projections following the Representative Concentration Pathways RCP8.53 are conducted. The first scenario considers future projected biogenic emissions, allowing us to investigate the effect of increased plant activity and enhanced biogenic emissions due to future land-use and climate on aerosol burden. The second scenario considers future biomass burning emissions, allowing us to investigate the effect of increased biomass burning emissions due to future land-use and climate on aerosol burden. The third scenario combines the projected changes in the two emissions. We find that both biogenic and biomass burning emissions contribute significantly to local aerosol and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations. The contribution from biogenic emissions to local aerosol burden is smaller in magnitude (10% to 20%), but the effects are ubiquitous in many places globally. Meanwhile, the contribution from biomass burning emissions can be much higher in magnitude (63%)4, but concentrated in heavily burned regions and occurs only during burning season. Effects of both emissions are not additive since a larger flux of emissions causes greater deposition. The resulting further impacts of land-use change on regional hydrometeorology are also explored

Robotic Anterior and Midline Skull Base Surgery: Preclinical Investigations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Malley, Bert W.; Weinstein, Gregory S.

2007-01-01

Purpose: To develop a minimally invasive surgical technique to access the midline and anterior skull base using the optical and technical advantages of robotic surgical instrumentation. Methods and Materials: Ten experimental procedures focusing on approaches to the nasopharynx, clivus, sphenoid, pituitary sella, and suprasellar regions were performed on one cadaver and one live mongrel dog. Both the cadaver and canine procedures were performed in an approved training facility using the da Vinci Surgical Robot. For the canine experiments, a transoral robotic surgery (TORS) approach was used, and for the cadaver a newly developed combined cervical-transoral robotic surgery (C-TORS) approach was investigated and compared with standard TORS. The ability to access and dissect tissues within the various areas of the midline and anterior skull base were evaluated, and techniques to enhance visualization and instrumentation were developed. Results: Standard TORS approaches did not provide adequate access to the midline and anterior skull base; however, the newly developed C-TORS approach was successful in providing the surgical access to these regions of the skull base. Conclusion: Robotic surgery is an exciting minimally invasive approach to the skull base that warrants continued preclinical investigation and development

The future of dream science.

Science.gov (United States)

Bulkeley, Kelly

2017-10-01

This article describes the future prospects of scientific dream research. Three frontiers of investigation hold special promise: neuroscientific studies of the brain-mind system's activities during sleep (such as during lucid dreaming); systematic analyses of large collections of dream reports from diverse populations of people; and psychotherapeutic explorations of the multiple dimensions of personal and collective meaning woven into the dream experiences of each individual. Several helpful books on the science of sleep and dreaming are mentioned for further study. © 2017 New York Academy of Sciences.

Positron computed tomography: current state, clinical results and future trends

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schelbert, H.R.; Phelps, M.E.; Kuhl, D.E.

1980-01-01

An overview is presented of positron computed tomography: its advantages over single photon emission tomography, its use in metabolic studies of the heart and chemical investigation of the brain, and future trends

Making the future palpable: Notes from a major incident Future Laboratory

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Büscher, Monika; Kristensen, Margit; Mogensen, Preben Holst

2008-01-01

In this paper we describe experiences from a Future Laboratory. Future laboratories allow users to experiment with prototypes of future technologies in as realistic as possible conditions. We have devised this method because, to realize the potential of advanced ubiquitous computing technologies...... it is essential to anticipate and design for future practices, but for prospective users it is often difficult to imagine and articulate future practices and provide design specifications. However, they readily invent new ways of working in engagement with new technologies and, by facilitating realistic use...... of prototype technologies in Future Laboratories, designers and users can define and study both opportunities and constraints for design. We present 11 scenes from a Major Incidents Future Laboratory held in September 2005. Many raise tough questions rather than provide quick answers. In addition, many also...

Predictors of future anabolic androgenic steroid use.

Science.gov (United States)

Wichstrøm, Lars

2006-09-01

To prospectively study the stability of anabolic androgenic steroid (AAS) use and predictors of AAS use, and to investigate whether AAS use alters the risk of later emotional and behavioral problems. Survey of a national sample of Norwegian high school students (age 15-19) in 1994 followed up in 1999 (N = 2924). Measures of frequent alcohol intoxication (50+ times per 12 months), cannabis use (12 months), hard drug use (12 months), being offered cannabis, eating problems, conduct problems, sexual debut before age 15, BMI, involvement in power sports, perceived physical appearance, and satisfaction with body parts were obtained. Life-time prevalence of AAS use were 1.9 and 0.8% in the follow-up period. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that future AAS use was predicted by young age, male gender, previous AAS use, involvement in power sports, and frequent alcohol intoxication. AAS use did not predict future emotional or behavioral problems other than reducing the risk of future frequent alcohol intoxication. Frequent alcohol intoxication and involvement in power sports appear to predict future AAS use. At the population level there was little stability in individual AAS use from adolescence to early adulthood. No detrimental effects of AAS use could be detected in this study, but low statistical power limits this conclusion.

SO-QT: Collaborative Tool to Project the Future Space Object Population

Science.gov (United States)

Stupl, Jan

2017-01-01

Earth orbit gets increasingly congested, a challenge to space operators, both in governments and industry. We present a web tool that provides: 1) data on todays and the historic space object environments, by aggregating object-specific tracking data; and 2) future trends through a collaboration platform to collect information on planed launches. The collaborative platform enables experts to pool and compare their data in order to generate future launch scenarios. The tool is intended to support decision makers and mission designers while they investigate future missions and scholars as they develop strategies for space traffic management.

Positron Computed Tomography: Current State, Clinical Results and Future Trends

Science.gov (United States)

Schelbert, H. R.; Phelps, M. E.; Kuhl, D. E.

1980-09-01

An overview is presented of positron computed tomography: its advantages over single photon emission tomography, its use in metabolic studies of the heart and chemical investigation of the brain, and future trends. (ACR)

Positron computed tomography: current state, clinical results and future trends

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schelbert, H.R.; Phelps, M.E.; Kuhl, D.E.

1980-09-01

An overview is presented of positron computed tomography: its advantages over single photon emission tomography, its use in metabolic studies of the heart and chemical investigation of the brain, and future trends. (ACR)

Future planning - utopia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boernke, F.

1978-01-01

Our life develops as the anticipation of future. Everything we wish, hope, plan and carry out and think is or should be related to future and will have its effects in future. The certainty may spread that it is a necessary obligation to learn to find out our actual being more clearly to be able to develop a thinking and acting that is directed to future that has also a total of responsability as its essence. We will later atone for the failed outlooks into future or for only moderate or uncompleted starts of planning. For this reason we should consider that future does not come for its own, not without our demands, not without our acting. Only if our reflection and aspiration, thinking and acting is done with moderate and circumspect sense in the right way it will be a good fundamental for the future. (orig.) [de

[Antibiotics: present and future].

Science.gov (United States)

Bérdy, János

2013-04-14

The author discuss the up to date interpretation of the concept of antibiotics and antibiotic research, as well as the present role of various natural, semisynthetic and synthetic antibiotic compounds in various areas of the human therapy. The origin and the total number of all antibiotics and applied antibiotics in the practice, as well as the bioactive microbial metabolites (antibiotics) in other therapeutical, non-antibiotic fields (including agriculture) are also reviewed. The author discusses main problems, such as increasing (poly)resistance, virulence of pathogens and the non-scientific factors (such as a decline of research efforts and their sociological, economic, financial and regulatory reasons). A short summary of the history of Hungarian antibiotic research is also provided. The author briefly discusses the prospects in the future and the general advantages of the natural products over synthetic compounds. It is concluded that new approaches for the investigation of the unlimited possibilities of the living world are necessary. The discovery of new types or simply neglected (micro)organisms and their biosynthetic capabilities, the introduction of new biotechnological and genetic methods (genomics, metagenom, genome mining) are absolutely required in the future.

Role of nuclear fusion in future energy systems and the environment under future uncertainties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tokimatsu, Koji; Fujino, Jun'ichi; Konishi, Satoshi; Ogawa, Yuichi; Yamaji, Kenji

2003-01-01

Debates about whether or not to invest heavily in nuclear fusion as a future innovative energy option have been made within the context of energy technology development strategies. This is because the prospects for nuclear fusion are quite uncertain and the investments therefore carry the risk of quite large regrets, even though investment is needed in order to develop the technology. The timeframe by which nuclear fusion could become competitive in the energy market has not been adequately studied, nor has roles of the nuclear fusion in energy systems and the environment. The present study has two objectives. One is to reveal the conditions under which nuclear fusion could be introduced economically (hereafter, we refer to such introductory conditions as breakeven prices) in future energy systems. The other objective is to evaluate the future roles of nuclear fusion in energy systems and in the environment. Here we identify three roles that nuclear fusion will take on when breakeven prices are achieved: (i) a portion of the electricity market in 2100, (ii) reduction of annual global total energy systems cost, and (iii) mitigation of carbon tax (shadow price of carbon) under CO 2 constraints. Future uncertainties are key issues in evaluating nuclear fusion. Here we treated the following uncertainties: energy demand scenarios, introduction timeframe for nuclear fusion, capacity projections of nuclear fusion, CO 2 target in 2100, capacity utilization ratio of options in energy/environment technologies, and utility discount rates. From our investigations, we conclude that the presently designed nuclear fusion reactors may be ready for economical introduction into energy systems beginning around 2050-2060, and we can confirm that the favorable introduction of the reactors would reduce both the annual energy systems cost and the carbon tax (the shadow price of carbon) under a CO 2 concentration constraint

Future changes in large-scale transport and stratosphere-troposphere exchange

Science.gov (United States)

Abalos, M.; Randel, W. J.; Kinnison, D. E.; Garcia, R. R.

2017-12-01

Future changes in large-scale transport are investigated in long-term (1955-2099) simulations of the Community Earth System Model - Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (CESM-WACCM) under an RCP6.0 climate change scenario. We examine artificial passive tracers in order to isolate transport changes from future changes in emissions and chemical processes. The model suggests enhanced stratosphere-troposphere exchange in both directions (STE), with decreasing tropospheric and increasing stratospheric tracer concentrations in the troposphere. Changes in the different transport processes are evaluated using the Transformed Eulerian Mean continuity equation, including parameterized convective transport. Dynamical changes associated with the rise of the tropopause height are shown to play a crucial role on future transport trends.

U.S. and Israeli Young Women's Future Perceptions

Science.gov (United States)

Michael, Rinat; Kim, TaeSun; Hutchison, Ashley; Cinamon, Rachel Gali; Gerstein, Lawrence H.; Park, Juno; Choi, Yuri; Bellare, Yamini; Collins, Rachael

2017-01-01

The current study investigated the content of future perceptions among 47 U.S. women and 48 Israeli women. Thematic analysis was used to explore participants' qualitative responses. Women's responses covered a wide range of topics, and were categorized into ten key themes: (a) work, (b) family/relationships, (c) property, (d) residence, (e)…

The role of future time perspective in psychological contracts : A study among older workers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bal, P. Matthijs; Jansen, Paul G. W.; van der Velde, Mandy E. G.; de Lange, Annet H.; Rousseau, Denise M.

Using a sample of post-retirement workers (N = 176), this study investigated the role of future time perspective (FTP) in psychological contracts. The study aimed to test: (i) whether future time perspective is related to employer psychological contract fulfillment and (ii) whether it moderates

The role of future time perspective in psychological contracts: a study among older workers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bal, P.M.; Jansen, P.G.W.; van der Velde, M.E.G.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/183262107; de Lange, A.H.; Rousseau, D.M.

2010-01-01

Using a sample of post-retirement workers (N = 176), this study investigated the role of future time perspective (FTP) in psychological contracts. The study aimed to test: (i) whether future time perspective is related to employer psychological contract fulfillment and (ii) whether it moderates

The role of future time perspective in psychological contracts. A study among older workers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bal, P.M.; Jansen, P.G.W.; van der Velde, E.G.; de Lange, A.H.; Rousseau, D.M.

2010-01-01

Using a sample of post-retirement workers (N=176), this study investigated the role of future time perspective (FTP) in psychological contracts. The study aimed to test: (i) whether future time perspective is related to employer psychological contract fulfillment and (ii) whether it moderates

The role of future time perspective in psychological contracts: A study among older workers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bal, P.M.; Jansen, P.G.W.; Velde, M.E.G. van der; Lange, A.H. de; Rousseau, D.M.

2010-01-01

Using a sample of post-retirement workers (N = 176), this study investigated the role of future time perspective (FTP) in psychological contracts. The study aimed to test: (i) whether future time perspective is related to employer psychological contract fulfillment and (ii) whether it moderates

The dynamics of risk premiums in Nord Pool's futures market

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mork, E. [Consultant, Oslo (Norway)

2006-04-15

Premiums in futures prices are usually considered through the use of 2 models: a no-arbitrage model; and the equilibrium approach or theory of normal backwardation. The no-arbitrage approach equates futures prices with spot prices, storage costs and convenience yields, and is difficult to apply to electricity markets. This paper investigated future electricity prices in Nord Pool's futures market using an equilibrium approach, which split futures prices into an expected spot price component and a risk premium component. Three main hypotheses were used: (1) that risk premiums were present in the Nord Pool futures market during the period 1997-2004; that risk premiums in the Nord Pool futures market were smaller or absent during the period of 2000 to 2002; and, that there was a significant change in risk premiums in Nord Pool's futures market after the winter of 2002-2003 due to a change in consumer hedging behaviour. Futures prices were compared to realized spot prices in their delivery periods in order to test the hypotheses. In order to estimate the futures premiums, a 1-sample test was performed on the entire period for 1, 30, 60, and 90 days before delivery of the block or month contract. The test employed the null hypothesis that the futures premiums were 0. Premiums were positive and varied between 3.7 per cent and 9.3 per cent. The purpose of the study was to determine whether risk premiums were present. Results showed that risk premiums varied over time. Two additional hypotheses were then investigated to examine whether the presence of outside speculators reduced risk premiums, and to see if a period of high prices and volatility caused more buyers to hedge in the futures market. Results showed that in the face of volatility and higher prices, consumers do not purchase fixed-price contracts which would ultimately increase futures premiums in the market. It was concluded that premiums are an important element in the pricing of Nord Pool futures and

Future Customer Demand on the Supply Chain and Contribution of the Milk Run Concept at Iggesund Paperboard AB

OpenAIRE

Keller, Marielle; Kuylenstierna, Iris

2016-01-01

Abstract Since there is an increased uncertainty of future customer demand industries and firms have to be more responsive meeting this volatile demand. Making the supply chain more efficient is one way of doing this.   Iggesund Paperboard AB (IPAB) wants a greater consciousness about their future customer demand of the supply chain and therefore an investigation of the predicted future customer demand is made. This investigation included secondary data analysis and in-depth interviews with e...

The role of Solar thermal in Future Energy Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mathiesen, Brian Vad; Hansen, Kenneth

This report deals with solar thermal technologies and investigates possible roles for solar thermal in future energy systems for four national energy systems; Germany, Austria, Italy and Denmark. The project period started in January 2014 and finished by October 2017. This report is based...

Dynamic Decision Making in Agricultural Futures and Options Markets?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mattos, F.; Garcia, P.; Pennings, J.M.E.

2008-01-01

This paper investigates the dynamics of sequential decision-making in agricultural futures and options markets. Analysis of trading records of 12 traders identified considerable heterogeneity in individual dynamic trading behavior. Using risk measures derived from the deltas and vegas of traderâ¿¿s

Shanghai Futures Exchange Published Draft of Tin and Nickel Futures Contract

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2015-01-01

Shanghai Futures Exchange published draft for soliciting opinions for tin and nickel futures contract on its official website on January 19,which implies the marketing time of the long awaited tin and nickel futures is drawing near.According to the draft for soliciting opinions,the transaction unit of tin futures contract is 1tonne/lot,minimum variation unit is 10 yuan/tonne,daily maximum price fluctuation shall

Future-Oriented LCA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olsen, Stig Irving; Borup, Mads; Andersen, Per Dannemand

2018-01-01

LCA is often applied for decision-making that concerns actions reaching near or far into the future. However, traditional life cycle assessment methodology must be adjusted for the prospective and change-oriented purposes, but no standardised way of doing this has emerged yet. In this chapter some...... challenges are described and some learnings are derived. Many of the future-oriented LCAs published so far perform relatively short-term prediction of simple comparisons. But for more long-term time horizons foresight methods can be of help. Scenarios established by qualified experts about future...... technological and economic developments are indispensable in future technology assessments. The uncertainties in future-oriented LCAs are to a large extent qualitative and it is important to emphasise that LCA of future technologies will provide a set of answers and not ‘the’ answer....

Climate Change Impacts on Future Wave Climate around the UK

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

William G. Bennett

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Understanding the changes in future storm wave climate is crucial for coastal managers and planners to make informed decisions required for sustainable coastal management and for the renewable energy industry. To investigate potential future changes to storm climate around the UK, global wave model outputs of two time slice experiments were analysed with 1979–2009 representing present conditions and 2075–2100 representing the future climate. Three WaveNet buoy sites around the United Kingdom, which represent diverse site conditions and have long datasets, were chosen for this study. A storm event definition (Dissanayake et al., 2015 was used to separate meteorologically-independent storm events from wave data, which in turn allowed storm wave characteristics to be analysed. Model outputs were validated through a comparison of the modelled storm data with observed storm data for overlapping periods. Although no consistent trends across all future clusters were observed, there were no significant increases in storm wave height, storm count or storm power in the future, at least according to the global wave projection results provided by the chosen model.

NAA for applied investigations at FLNP JINR. Present and future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frontasyeva, M.V.; Pavlov, S.S.; Shvetsov, V.N.

2010-01-01

Experience in applying conventional and epithermal neutron activation analysis for some challenging areas of life sciences and material science is reviewed. For more than 30 years of its operation the radioanalytical complex REGATA at the IBR-2 reactor in Dubna has become a source of analytical data for the environmental studies, marine geology, biotechnology and medicine, technological process of diamond and boron nitride synthesis, archaeology, nanomaterials, etc. In spite of competing non-nuclear analytical techniques (AAS, ICP-ES, ICP-MS, etc.), the reactor neutron activation analysis (NAA) as a primary (ratio) method continues to be the most powerful multielement analytical technique providing quantification of trace elements at ultralow levels. Combined with modern statistical data treatment of large arrays of data, GIS (geographic information system) technologies, electron scanning microscopy, tomography, and others, NAA serves to obtain actual, practical results resumed in the review. The perspectives of using the upgraded reactor IBR-2M for analytical investigations are discussed. (author)

The ISS flight of Richard Garriott: a template for medicine and science investigation on future spaceflight participant missions.

Science.gov (United States)

Jennings, Richard T; Garriott, Owen K; Bogomolov, Valery V; Pochuev, Vladimir I; Morgun, Valery V; Garriott, Richard A

2010-02-01

A total of eight commercial spaceflight participants have launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on Soyuz vehicles. Based on an older mean age compared to career astronauts and an increased prevalence of medical conditions, spaceflight participants have provided the opportunity to learn about the effect of space travel on crewmembers with medical problems. The 12-d Soyuz TMA-13/12 ISS flight of spaceflight participant Richard Garriott included medical factors that required preflight intervention, risk mitigation strategies, and provided the opportunity for medical study on-orbit. Equally important, Mr. Garriott conducted extensive medical, scientific, and educational payload operations during the flight. These included 7 medical experiments and a total of 15 scientific projects such as protein crystal growth, Earth observations/photography, educational projects with schools, and amateur radio. The medical studies included the effect of microgravity on immune function, sleep, bone loss, corneal refractive surgery, low back pain, motion perception, and intraocular pressure. The overall mission success resulted from non-bureaucratic agility in mission planning, cooperation with investigators from NASA, ISS, International Partners, and the Korean Aerospace Research Institute, in-flight support and leadership from a team with spaceflight and Capcom experience, and overall mission support from the ISS program. This article focuses on science opportunities that suborbital and orbital spaceflight participant flights offer and suggests that the science program on Richard Garriott's flight be considered a model for future orbital and suborbital missions. The medical challenges are presented in a companion article.

Money market futures

OpenAIRE

Anatoli Kuprianov

1992-01-01

Virtually all financial innovation in the U.S. money market during the past 20 years has centered on interest rate derivatives, including futures and swaps. Furthermore, money market futures--especially futures contracts on Eurodollar time deposits--have been at the vanguard of the recent explosion of trading activity in interest rate derivatives. While futures markets traditionally have been viewed as markets for the transfer of price risk, recent research shows that they may serve other imp...

Predictive factors warrant screening for obstructive sleep apnea in COPD: a Taiwan National Survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hang LW

2016-03-01

questionnaire to assess COPD symptoms and OSA risk, comorbidities, and performance of daily activities. Data from COPD cohorts with and without risk of OSA were analyzed and compared. Results: Of 6,600 interviews completed, 404 subjects fit the epidemiological case definition of COPD – an overall prevalence of 6.1% in this national sample. Data on OSA risk were available for 292 of this COPD cohort, of whom 29.5% were at risk of OSA. Compared to those without risk of OSA, those with risk of OSA were significantly more likely to have hypertension or cardiovascular disease and diabetes, had significantly higher body mass index and COPD Assessment Test scores, and reported impaired work performance and leisure activities. Conclusion: Among adults in Taiwan who fulfill epidemiologic criteria for COPD, 29.5% have coexisting risk of OSA. Comorbid hypertension or cardiovascular disease and diabetes are common and significantly more prevalent among the COPD population at risk of OSA than those who are not. OSA screening is warranted in patients with COPD with those risk factors that are more prevalent in COPD with risk of OSA than without, to target early interventions to reduce adverse cardiovascular sequelae from overlap syndrome. Keywords: cardiovascular risk, COPD, coexistent, obstructive sleep apnea, OSA, overlap syndrome

Life cycle analysis of organic tandem solar cells: When are they warranted?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Espinosa Martinez, Nieves; Krebs, Frederik C

2014-01-01

in their making when compared with the single junction solar cell has to be justified and compensated by a higher efficiency. A central question to ask is how much energy you need to invest in a system in order for it to produce energy and return the investment at least once and preferably a number of times....... As an initial investigation into the potential viability of the tandem or multi-junction approach we have engaged in a detailed analysis based on the manufacturing energy for each step within the tandem module supply chain for full ambient processing of thin flexible polymer tandem solar cells prepared entirely...

Displaced vertex searches for sterile neutrinos at future lepton colliders

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Antusch, Stefan [Department of Physics, University of Basel, Klingelbergstr. 82, CH-4056 Basel (Switzerland); Max-Planck-Institut für Physik (Werner-Heisenberg-Institut),Föhringer Ring 6, D-80805 München (Germany); Cazzato, Eros; Fischer, Oliver [Department of Physics, University of Basel, Klingelbergstr. 82, CH-4056 Basel (Switzerland)

2016-12-02

We investigate the sensitivity of future lepton colliders to displaced vertices from the decays of long-lived heavy (almost sterile) neutrinos with electroweak scale masses and detectable time of flight. As future lepton colliders we consider the FCC-ee, the CEPC, and the ILC, searching at the Z-pole and at the center-of-mass energies of 240, 350 and 500 GeV. For a realistic discussion of the detector response to the displaced vertex signal and the Standard Model background we consider the ILC’s Silicon Detector (SiD) as benchmark for the future lepton collider detectors. We find that displaced vertices constitute a powerful search channel for sterile neutrinos, sensitive to squared active-sterile mixing angles as small as 10{sup −11}.

Nutrition and Gaelic football: review, recommendations, and future considerations.

Science.gov (United States)

Beasley, Kevin J

2015-02-01

Gaelic football is the second most popular team sport in Ireland in terms of participation. However, very little research exists on the nutritional considerations for elite male Gaelic footballers. Gaelic football is an intermittent type field game played by two teams of fifteen players. Although amateurs, elite players may train and compete 4-5 times per week and may play for several teams. Research suggests that elite footballers are similar anthropometrically and in fitness to professional soccer players. Work-rate analysis shows that footballers experience longer durations of high-intensity (HI) activity (5-7s) and shorter rest durations than soccer players. Recent data suggests that half-forward/backs perform a greater amount of HI work during games than players in other positions. Fatigue is apparent between the first and second halves and the first and fourth quarters. The limited amount of nutritional studies conducted implies that footballers may be deficient in energy intake and may be at the lower end of recommended carbohydrate intakes to support training. A wide variety of sweat rates have been measured during training, demonstrating the importance of individual hydration strategies. Ergogenic aids such as creatine and caffeine may prove beneficial to performance, although data are extrapolated from other sports. Due to the lack of research in Gaelic football, further population specific studies are required. Future areas of research on the impact of nutrition on Gaelic football performance are examined. In particular, the creation of a test protocol mimicking the activity patterns and intensity of a Gaelic football game is warranted.

Future accelerators (?)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

John Womersley

2003-08-21

I describe the future accelerator facilities that are currently foreseen for electroweak scale physics, neutrino physics, and nuclear structure. I will explore the physics justification for these machines, and suggest how the case for future accelerators can be made.

Study on spillover effect of copper futures between LME and SHFE using wavelet multiresolution analysis

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2007-01-01

Research on information spillover effects between financial markets remains active in the economic community. A Granger-type model has recently been used to investigate the spillover between London Metal Exchange (LME) and Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE), however, possible correlation between the future price and return on different time scales have been ignored. In this paper, wavelet multiresolution decomposition is used to investigate the spillover effects of copper future returns between the two markets. The daily return time series are decomposed on 2n (n=1, ..., 6) frequency bands through wavelet multiresolution analysis. The correlation between the two markets is studied with decomposed data. It is shown that high frequency detail components represent much more energy than low-frequency smooth components. The relation between copper future daily returns in LME and that in SHFE are different on different time scales. The fluctuations of the copper future daily returns in LME have large effect on that in SHFE in 32-day scale, but small effect in high frequency scales. It also has evidence that strong effects exist between LME and SHFE for monthly responses of the copper futures but not for daily responses.

Materialism, Stress and Health Behaviors among Future Educators

Science.gov (United States)

Brouskeli, Vasiliki; Loumakou, Maria

2014-01-01

In this study we investigated materialism among future educators and its relationship with stress and a number of health behaviors. Participants were 228 students (Mean = 20.64 years of age, S.D = 2.571) of the Department of Education Sciences in Early Childhood of the University of Thrace, Greece. The instrument consisted of a short form of the…

The Role of Future Time Perspective in Psychological Contracts: A Study among Older Workers

Science.gov (United States)

Bal, P. Matthijs; Jansen, Paul G. W.; van der Velde, Mandy E. G.; de Lange, Annet H.; Rousseau, Denise M.

2010-01-01

Using a sample of post-retirement workers (N = 176), this study investigated the role of future time perspective (FTP) in psychological contracts. The study aimed to test: (i) whether future time perspective is related to employer psychological contract fulfillment and (ii) whether it moderates relations between psychological contract fulfillment…

Investigating psychological and physiological responses to the Trier Social Stress Test in young adults with insomnia.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Ivy Y; Jarrin, Denise C; Ivers, Hans; Morin, Charles M

2017-12-01

Stress and hyperarousal both contribute to insomnia. Elevated stress-related sleep reactivity is associated with hyperarousal, and might constitute a vulnerability to future insomnia. The present study examined acute stress-induced arousal and its association with nocturnal sleep. Participants were 30 healthy adults (66.7% female, M age  = 26.7 years): 10 with insomnia (INS) and 20 good sleepers with high vulnerability (HV) or low vulnerability (LV) to insomnia. They underwent two consecutive nights of polysomnography. During the evening preceding the second night, the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) was administered, and psychological and physiological arousal indices were assessed. The TSST elicited an increase in psychological and physiological arousal in all three groups. The INS group showed greater acute cortisol response (p stress reactivity and bedtime hyperarousal might represent a trait-like vulnerability in certain good sleepers. More research is warranted to validate and expand these preliminary findings. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Risk of breast cancer after a diagnosis of ovarian cancer in BRCA mutation carriers: Is preventive mastectomy warranted?

Science.gov (United States)

McGee, Jacob; Giannakeas, Vasily; Karlan, Beth; Lubinski, Jan; Gronwald, Jacek; Rosen, Barry; McLaughlin, John; Risch, Harvey; Sun, Ping; Foulkes, William D; Neuhausen, Susan L; Kotsopoulos, Joanne; Narod, Steven A

2017-05-01

Preventive breast surgery and MRI screening are offered to unaffected BRCA mutation carriers. The clinical benefit of these two modalities has not been evaluated among mutation carriers with a history of ovarian cancer. Thus, we sought to determine whether or not BRCA mutation carriers with ovarian cancer would benefit from preventive mastectomy or from MRI screening. First, the annual mortality rate for ovarian cancer patients was estimated for a cohort of 178 BRCA mutation carriers from Ontario, Canada. Next, the actuarial risk of developing breast cancer was estimated using an international registry of 509 BRCA mutation carriers with ovarian cancer. A series of simulations was conducted to evaluate the reduction in the probability of death (from all causes) associated with mastectomy and with MRI-based breast surveillance. Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate the impacts of mastectomy and MRI screening on breast cancer incidence as well as on all-cause mortality. Twenty (3.9%) of the 509 patients developed breast cancer within ten years following ovarian cancer diagnosis. The actuarial risk of developing breast cancer at ten years post-diagnosis, conditional on survival from ovarian cancer and other causes of mortality was 7.8%. Based on our simulation results, among all BRCA mutation-carrying patients diagnosed with stage III/IV ovarian cancer at age 50, the chance of dying before age 80 was reduced by less than 1% with MRI and by less than 2% with mastectomy. Greater improvements in survival with MRI or mastectomy were observed for women who had already survived 10years after ovarian cancer, and for women with stage I or II ovarian cancer. Among BRCA mutation-carrying ovarian cancer patients without a personal history of breast cancer, neither preventive mastectomy nor MRI screening is warranted, except for those who have survived ovarian cancer without recurrence for ten years and for those with early stage ovarian cancer. Copyright © 2017

Beyond Capitalist Realism - Why We Need Critical Future Studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luke Goode

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This paper introduces the interdisciplinary field of Critical Future Studies (CFS. CFS investigates the scope and constraints within public culture for imagining and debating different potential futures. It interrogates imagined futures founded - often surreptitiously - upon values and assumptions from the past and present, as well as those representing a departure from current social trajectories. CFS draws on perspectives from various disciplines including sociology, political studies, intellectual history, cultural history, media and cultural studies, utopian studies, science and technology studies, and philosophy. CFS also engages with discourses and ideas from the natural sciences (including popular science, computing and economics. And, given our concern with public culture, CFS aims to contribute constructively to vigorous and imaginative public debate about the future - a futural public sphere - and to challenge a prevalent contemporary cynicism about our capacity to imagine alternative futures while trapped in a parlous present. To that extent, we propose CFS as a programme of engaged and open-ended social critique, not as a solely academic endeavour. Our paper begins by describing the relationship between CFS and mainstream Future Studies. Subsequently, we discuss the contemporary context for Critical Future Studies. Here we make the case that CFS is a timely and even urgent project at our current historical juncture, arguing also for the significance of both utopian and dystopian imaginings. We then go on to discuss methodologies within CFS scholarship. Finally, we conclude by reflecting on the values underpinning CFS. Overall, this paper not only describes CFS as a field of research but also serves as an invitation to cultural scholars to consider how their own work might intersect with and contribute to CFS.

TRAINING SYSTEM OF FUTURE SPECIALISTS: QUALITY CONTROL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladimir A. Romanov

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of the investigation is development of innovative strategy of quality control training of engineers and skilled workers (hereinafter – future specialists in educational professional organizations on the principles of social partnership.Methods. Theoretic: theoretic and methodological analysis, polytheoretic synthesis, modeling. Empirical: research and generalization of the system, process and competence – based approaches experience, experiment, observation, surveys, expert evaluation, SWOT-analysis as a method of strategic planning which is to identify the internal and external factors (socio-cultural of the organization surrounding.Results. The strategy of the development of the process of quality control training in educational professional organizations and a predictive model of the system of quality control training for future engineers and workers have been created on the analysis and synthesis of a quantitative specification of the quality, the obtained experience and success in control training of future specialists in educational professional organizations in recent economic and educational conditions.Scientific novelty. There has been built a predicative model of quality control training of future specialists to meet modern standards and the principles of social partnership; the control algorithm of the learning process, developed in accordance with the standards (international of quality ISO in the implementation of the quality control systems of the process approach (matrix-based responsibility, competence and remit of those responsible for the education process in the educational organization, the «problem» terms and diagnostic tools for assessing the quality of professional training of future specialists. The perspective directions of innovation in the control of the quality of future professionals training have been determined; the parameters of a comprehensive analysis of the state of the system to ensure the

Experimental investigation of photoreactions in Bonn

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anton, G.

1988-01-01

In this paper the investigation of nuclear photoreactions in Bonn is reviewed. At the new stretcher ring ELSA considerable experimental improvements are possible with an energy tagged photon beam in conjunction with a large acceptance hadron detector. The future program and the new experimental facilities are described

A pilot investigation in constructing crisis communications: what leads to best practice?

Science.gov (United States)

Firestone, Rachel M; Everly, George S

2013-01-01

Crisis communications can play an important role in mitigating, or exacerbating, the psychological and behavioral reactions to critical incidents and disasters. Effective crisis communications can serve to mitigate anxiogenesis and direct rapid and focused rescue, recovery, and rehabilitative operations. Ambiguous and/or deceptive communications can serve to worsen mental health reactions and delay operational response and recovery (Everly, Strouse, & Everly, 2010). It seems, therefore, that inquiry into the content of acute crisis communications would be warranted Said more simply, given limited time, cryptic messaging in social media, and the "sound bite" mentality that seems to govern news dissemination, it is important to identify the most important content to convey in the wake of critical incidents and disasters. This paper reports on a pilot investigation into "best practices" for the construction of acute crisis communications.

Cold-target recoil-ion momentum-spectroscopy: First results and future perspectives of a novel high resolution technique for the investigation of collision induced many-particle reactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ullrich, J.; Doerner, R.; Mergel, V.; Jagutzki, O.; Spielberger, L.; Schmidt-Boecking, H.

1994-09-01

In order to investigate many-particle reaction dynamics in atomic collisions a novel high-resolution technique has been developed, which determines the momentum and the charge state of the slowly recoiling target ions. Using a very cold, thin, and localized supersonic gas jet target a momentum resolution of better than 0.05 a.u. is obtained by measuring the recoil-ion time-of-flight and the recoil-ion trajectory. Because of the very high detection efficiency of nearly 100% this technique is well suited for many-particle coincidence measurements in ionizing collisions. First experimental results for fast ion and electron impact on helium targets are presented. Future applications in atomic collision physics and related areas are discussed. (orig.)

"On solid ground": family and school connectedness promotes adolescents' future orientation.

Science.gov (United States)

Crespo, Carla; Jose, Paul E; Kielpikowski, Magdalena; Pryor, Jan

2013-10-01

The present study investigated the role of connectedness to the family and school contexts on future orientation of New Zealand adolescents. Participants were 1774 young people (51.9% female) aged between 9 and 16 years at time 1 of the study, who reported their connectedness to family and school and their perceptions of future orientation at three times of measurement one year apart. Structural equation modelling was used to test the combined role of family and school connectedness on future orientation over time. Findings supported a multiple mediation model in that adolescents' connectedness to family and school predicted more positive perceptions of future orientation both directly and indirectly via the effect of the context variables on each other. Copyright © 2013 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Expected Signal Observability at Future Experiments

CERN Document Server

Bartsch, Valeria

2005-01-01

Several methods to quantify the ''significance'' of an expected signal at future experiments have been used or suggested in literature. In this note, comparisons are presented with a method based on the likelihood ratio of the ''background hypothesis'' and the ''signal-plus-background hypothesis''. A large number of Monte Carlo experiments are performed to investigate the properties of the various methods and to check whether the probability of a background fluctuation having produced the claimed significance of the discovery is properly described. In addition, the best possible separation between the two hypotheses should be provided, in other words, the discovery potential of a future experiment be maximal. Finally, a practical method to apply a likelihood-based definition of the significance is suggested in this note. Signal and background contributions are determined from a likelihoo d fit based on shapes only, and the probability density distributions of the significance thus determined are found to be o...

Geopolitical drivers of future tourist flows

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Craig Webster

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the major political and economic changes in the world and the likely impact that these changes will bring to tourism and hospitality industries. Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts a geopolitical perspective on the dynamics of tourist flows, stipulating that geopolitics has a major impact on the size, structure, and direction of these flows. Findings – The paper identifies six geopolitical drivers of tourist flows in the future, namely: the fall of the American Empire, the rise of the BRIC and the PINE countries, increased global political instability, increased importance of regional supranational organisations, greater control of the individuals on a global scale, and the greater importance and power of corporations than national governments. Originality/value – The paper critically evaluates the geopolitical drivers of tourist flows, their likely future development and the impact they have on tourism.

Towards Narrative Futuring in Psychology: Becoming Resilient by Imagining the Future

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sools, Anna Maria; Mooren, J.H.M.

2012-01-01

In this article we develop a narrative psychological approach to futuring (imagining the future). We explore how this approach addresses the question of how people can become resilient in order to anticipate (social) crisis and change. Firstly, we bring to the fore how futuring takes shape in

Making the Future Palpable

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Büscher, Monika; Kristensen, Margit; Mogensen, Preben Holst

2007-01-01

In this paper we describe experiences from a Future Laboratory. Future laboratories allow users to experiment with prototypes of future technologies in as realistic as possible conditions. We have devised this method because, to realize the potential of advanced ubiquitous computing technologies...... it is essential to anticipate and design for future practices, but for prospective users it is often difficult to imagine and articulate future practices and provide design specifications. They readily invent new ways of working in engagement with new technologies, through and, by facilitating as realistic...... as possible use of prototype future technologies in Future Laboratories designers and users can define and study both opportunities and constraints for design. We present 11 scenes from a Major Incidents Future Laboratory held in September 2005. In relation to each scene we point out key results. Many raise...

Anticipating Their Future: Adolescent Values for the Future Predict Adult Behaviors

Science.gov (United States)

Finlay, Andrea K.; Wray-Lake, Laura; Warren, Michael; Maggs, Jennifer

2015-01-01

Adolescent future values--beliefs about what will matter to them in the future--may shape their adult behavior. Utilizing a national longitudinal British sample, this study examined whether adolescent future values in six domains (i.e., family responsibility, full-time job, personal responsibility, autonomy, civic responsibility, and hedonistic…

Greening the Future

Science.gov (United States)

Williamson, Norma Velia

2011-01-01

Because educators vicariously touch the future through their students, the author believes that they sometimes have the uncanny ability to see the future. One common future forecast is the phenomenal growth of green jobs in the emerging green economy, leading to the creation of the "Reach of the Sun" Solar Energy Academy at La Mirada…

Towards a global environmental sociology? Legacies, trends and future directions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lidskog, R.; Mol, A.P.J.; Oosterveer, P.J.M.

2015-01-01

A current debate on environmental sociology involves how the subdiscipline should conceptualise and investigate the environment and whether it should be prescriptive and deliver policy recommendations. Taking this debate as a point of departure this article discusses the current and future role of

Total Cross Sections at current/Future Colliders, conventional models and QCD

CERN Document Server

Fazal-e-Aleem, M

1999-01-01

Rise in total cross sections for elastic scattering generated immense interest both for experimental measurements and theoretical investigations. How will total cross section behave at LHC and Cosmic Ray energies is therefore in the limelight of our future measurements. Theoretical studies become even more interesting when we take into consideration the ratio of real and imaginary parts of the scattering amplitudes. We will briefly undertake the current results and future prospects in the light of conventional as well as QCD-based phenomenology.

Evaluation of different biomarkers to predict individual radiosensitivity in an inter-laboratory comparison--lessons for future studies.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Burkhard Greve

Full Text Available Radiotherapy is a powerful cure for several types of solid tumours, but its application is often limited because of severe side effects in individual patients. With the aim to find biomarkers capable of predicting normal tissue side reactions we analysed the radiation responses of cells from individual head and neck tumour and breast cancer patients of different clinical radiosensitivity in a multicentric study. Multiple parameters of cellular radiosensitivity were analysed in coded samples of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs and derived lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs from 15 clinical radio-hypersensitive tumour patients and compared to age- and sex-matched non-radiosensitive patient controls and 15 lymphoblastoid cell lines from age- and sex- matched healthy controls of the KORA study. Experimental parameters included ionizing radiation (IR-induced cell death (AnnexinV, induction and repair of DNA strand breaks (Comet assay, induction of yH2AX foci (as a result of DNA double strand breaks, and whole genome expression analyses. Considerable inter-individual differences in IR-induced DNA strand breaks and their repair and/or cell death could be detected in primary and immortalised cells with the applied assays. The group of clinically radiosensitive patients was not unequivocally distinguishable from normal responding patients nor were individual overreacting patients in the test system unambiguously identified by two different laboratories. Thus, the in vitro test systems investigated here seem not to be appropriate for a general prediction of clinical reactions during or after radiotherapy due to the experimental variability compared to the small effect of radiation sensitivity. Genome-wide expression analysis however revealed a set of 67 marker genes which were differentially induced 6 h after in vitro-irradiation in lymphocytes from radio-hypersensitive and non-radiosensitive patients. These results warrant future validation in larger

Future perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1987-01-01

International involvement in particle physics is what the International Committee for Future Accelerators (ICFA) is all about. At the latest Future Perspectives meeting at Brookhaven from 5-10 October (after a keynote speech by doyen Viktor Weisskopf, who regretted the emergence of 'a nationalistic trend'), ICFA reviewed progress and examined its commitments in the light of the evolving world particle physics scene. Particular aims were to review worldwide accelerator achievements and plans, to survey the work of the four panels, and to discuss ICFA's special role in future cooperation in accelerator construction and use, and in research and development work for both accelerators and for detectors

Future Textiles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Anne-Louise Degn; Jensen, Hanne Troels Fusvad; Hansen, Martin

2011-01-01

Magasinet Future Textiles samler resultaterne fra projektet Future Textiles, der markedsfører området intelligente tekstiler. I magasinet kan man læse om trends, drivkræfter, udfordringer samt få ideer til nye produkter inden for intelligente tekstiler. Områder som bæredygtighed og kundetilpasning...

Environmental Scanning, Futures Research, Strategic Foresight and Organizational Future Orientation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rohrbeck, René; Bade, Manuel

to adjacent research disciplines. Through such integration and linkage research should produce better recommendations for managers on how to build an organizational future orientation, drive organizational adaptation, and make their firms robust towards external discontinuous change.......In this paper we explore the current understanding on how firms explore future changes and trends as well as plan their managerial responses. We review literature in four research streams: (1) environmental scanning, (2) futures research, (3) peripheral vision, and (4) corporate/strategic foresight....... Through the analysis of more than 250 articles we (a) trace the evolution over time, (b) highlight the linkages between the different research streams, and (c) give recommendations for future research. Overall we call for more cross-fertilization of the different research streams and a stronger linkage...

A big data analysis of the relationship between future thinking and decision-making.

Science.gov (United States)

Thorstad, Robert; Wolff, Phillip

2018-02-20

We use big data methods to investigate how decision-making might depend on future sightedness (that is, on how far into the future people's thoughts about the future extend). In study 1, we establish a link between future thinking and decision-making at the population level in showing that US states with citizens having relatively far future sightedness, as reflected in their tweets, take fewer risks than citizens in states having relatively near future sightedness. In study 2, we analyze people's tweets to confirm a connection between future sightedness and decision-making at the individual level in showing that people with long future sightedness are more likely to choose larger future rewards over smaller immediate rewards. In study 3, we show that risk taking decreases with increases in future sightedness as reflected in people's tweets. The ability of future sightedness to predict decisions suggests that future sightedness is a relatively stable cognitive characteristic. This implication was supported in an analysis of tweets by over 38,000 people that showed that future sightedness has both state and trait characteristics (study 4). In study 5, we provide evidence for a potential mechanism by which future sightedness can affect decisions in showing that far future sightedness can make the future seem more connected to the present, as reflected in how people refer to the present, past, and future in their tweets over the course of several minutes. Our studies show how big data methods can be applied to naturalistic data to reveal underlying psychological properties and processes.

SRP baseline hydrogeologic investigation: Aquifer characterization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Strom, R.N.; Kaback, D.S.

1992-03-31

An investigation of the mineralogy and chemistry of the principal hydrogeologic units and the geochemistry of the water in the principal aquifers at Savannah River Site (SRS) was undertaken as part of the Baseline Hydrogeologic Investigation. This investigation was conducted to provide background data for future site studies and reports and to provide a site-wide interpretation of the geology and geochemistry of the Coastal Plain Hydrostratigraphic province. Ground water samples were analyzed for major cations and anions, minor and trace elements, gross alpha and beta, tritium, stable isotopes of hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon, and carbon-14. Sediments from the well borings were analyzed for mineralogy and major and minor elements.

Hedging with stock index futures: downside risk versus the variance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brouwer, F.; Nat, van der M.

1995-01-01

In this paper we investigate hedging a stock portfolio with stock index futures.Instead of defining the hedge ratio as the minimum variance hedge ratio, we considerseveral measures of downside risk: the semivariance according to Markowitz [ 19591 andthe various lower partial moments according to

(Nuclear) energy policy in future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982-01-01

With this report the German Federal Diet submits the final results of the opinion-forming and decision-making process concerning the recommendations made by the investigation committee 'Future Nuclear Energy Policy' in June 1980. By means of this report it is intended to point out to an interested public the difficult and time-consuming process of parliamentary decision-making. This report is also to be seen as the final opinion delivered on the recommendations made by the investigation committee. The recommendations were to continue to pursue the peaceful use of nuclear energy, the necessity and technical justifiability of which had basically been approved by all parliamentary groups. In view of the import of the subject and in recognition of the work done by the investigation committee, the German Parliament has thoroughly discussed the report and has reviewed the analyses and recommendations in conjunction with other political fields to be considered. One part of the recommendations was taken up almost unanimously. As far as the safety of nuclear installations is concerned, the investigation committee could not submit any new findings which would give reasons for modifying the hitherto positive assessment of the safety of nuclear installations. The recommendations of the investigation committee mainly referred to the decision-making process in the field of energy policy which will effect the next decade. What fundamental decisions are to be made until when was pointed out as well as the findings and experience to be made until then. (orig./HP) [de

Investigation of accidents within construction zones in Louisiana.

Science.gov (United States)

1981-07-01

This investigation is to analyze construction and maintenance work zone accidents by reviewing accident data to determine if deficiencies exist and recommend possible corrective measures for future traffic control applications. To accomplish this, a ...

Testing nonlinear-QED at the future linear collider with an intense laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hartin, Anthony; Porto, Stefano; Moortgat-Pick, Gudrid; Hamburg Univ.

2014-04-01

The future linear collider will collide dense e + e - bunches at high energies up to 1 TeV, generating very intense electromagnetic fields at the interaction point (IP). These fields are strong enough to lead to nonlinear effects which affect all IP processes and which are described by strong field physics theory. In order to test this theory, we propose an experiment that will focus an intense laser on the LC electron beam post-IP. Similar experiments at SLAC E144 have investigated nonlinear Compton scattering, Breit-Wheeler pair production using an electron beam of 46.6 GeV. The higher beam energies available at the future LC would allow more precise studies of these phenomena. Mass-shift and spin-dependent effects could also be investigated.

Attributions, future time perspective and career maturity in nursing undergraduates: correlational study design.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Cheng; Yang, Liu; Chen, Yuxia; Zou, Huijing; Su, Yonggang; Fan, Xiuzhen

2016-01-25

Career maturity is an important parameter as nursing undergraduates prepare for their future careers. However, little is known regarding the relationships between attributions, future time perspective and career maturity among nursing undergraduates. The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree of career maturity and its relationship with attributions and future time perspective. A cross-sectional survey was designed. This survey was administered to 431 Chinese nursing undergraduates. Independent-sample t-tests and one-way ANOVA were performed to examine the mean differences between categories of binary and categorical demographic characteristics, respectively. Pearson correlations and multiple linear regressions were used to test the relationships between attributions, future time perspective and career maturity. The degree of career maturity was moderate among nursing undergraduates and that internal attributions of academic achievement, future efficacy and future purpose consciousness were positively associated with career maturity (all p time perspective and to facilitate their transition from school to clinical practice.

[Novel concepts in biology of diffuse endocrine system: results and future investigations].

Science.gov (United States)

Iaglov, V V; Iaglova, N V

2012-01-01

Diffuse endocrine system is a largest part of endocrine system of vertebrates. Recend findings showed that DES-cells are not neuroectodermal but have ectodermal, mesodermal, and entodermal ontogeny. The article reviews novel concept of diffuse endocrine system anatomy and physiology, functional role of DES hormones and poorly investigated aspects like DES-cell morphology, hormones secretion in normal and pathologic conditions. Further research of diffuse endocrine system has a great significance for biochemistry, morphology, and clinical medicine.

Futures hedging effectiveness under the segmentation of bear/bull energy markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, Chiao-Yi; Lai, Jing-Yi; Chuang, I-Yuan

2010-01-01

This article undertakes eight hedging models (Regression, MD-GARCH, BEKK-GARCH, CCC-GARCH, ECM-MD, ECM-BEKK, ECM-CCC, and state space models) to investigate hedging effectiveness of different price scenarios in energy futures markets. Different models have systematically evidenced that hedging effectiveness is higher in an increasing pattern (termed 'bull markets') than in a decreasing pattern (termed 'bear markets') for crude oil and gasoline futures. That is, findings show asymmetric hedging performance between upward and downward price trends consistently from the most popular hedging models in literature. Out-of-sample examination also suggests that the ranking of hedging effectiveness of different hedging models is not parallel in different price patterns across futures contracts, implying that investors should adjust their hedging strategies accordingly. (author)

Failed technology futures: Pitfalls and lessons from a historical survey

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Geels, F.W.; Smit, Willem A.

2000-01-01

Images of the future, with hindsight, turn out to be either right or wrong. In this article, past images of the impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on traffic and transportation are investigated. Informed by the field of technology studies, seven key features are formulated that

"STEMulating" success factors: An investigation of the academic talents of successful Black male college graduates from STEM programs

Science.gov (United States)

Hendricks, Jill T.

This phenomenological research study explored the contributing factors experienced by Black males that epitomized their academic success in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) area of study. During this investigative project, eleven Black male students were interviewed to determine how they were able to successfully navigate and complete a STEM degree. The data was collected through a qualitative inquiry, which involved interviewing students and collecting the data and organizing their perspectives into common themes. The principal findings in this study suggest that Black males can excel when primary influential people establish high expectations and believe and encourage Black males to succeed by providing the essential educational support models requisite to warrant success; the Black male maintains and affirms a self-assured self-worth in himself; the Black male is exposed to these fields and professions early on in their educational quest to enable them to witness first hand powerful and productive opportunities and pathways to academic success; exposure to other Black successful male role models who can mentor and show positive proof that with effort, these fields can become a reality; increase in academic motivation and recommendations from educators and counselors who direct and guide students into and away from these rigorous career fields. An analysis of the students' individual stories gave a revealing look into the pathways of their consciousness, emotional growth, and perspectives about being a successful STEM major. This kind of insight can be a constructive diagnostic tool for students, educators, counselors, and administrators who want to motivate and influence future students to major in STEM fields of study.

Relations between chronic regulatory focus and future time perspective: Results of a cross-lagged structural equation model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zacher, H.; Lange, A.H. de

2011-01-01

Future time perspective - the way individuals perceive their remaining time in life - importantly influences socio-emotional goals and motivational outcomes. Recently, researchers have called for studies that investigate relationships between personality and future time perspective. Using a

Relations between chronic regulatory focus and future time perspective : Results of a cross-lagged structural equation model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zacher, Hannes; de Lange, Annet H.

Future time perspective - the way individuals perceive their remaining time in life - importantly influences socio-emotional goals and motivational outcomes. Recently, researchers have called for studies that investigate relationships between personality and future time perspective. Using a

Driven by the future : Future time perspective across life domains and cultures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Andre, L.

2018-01-01

Contemplating about the future is inevitable for our life and goal strivings. Consequently, Future Time Perspective (FTP) – individuals’ attitudes towards the future as a motivator for attitudes and behaviors – has been researched across disciplines and life domains. However, little is known about

An Investigation for the Future Educators' Attitudes towards the Environmental Issues in the Context of Ecocentrism and Anthropocentrism

Science.gov (United States)

Yumusak, Ahmet; Özbas, Serap; Sargin, Seyit Ahmet; Baltaci, Furkan

2016-01-01

In this study, it was revealed that the factors influencing the future educators' attitudes towards the environment. The survey was conducted between 2013-2014, on the freshman and the senior students studying in two different education faculties providing training within the boundaries of Turkish Cypriot. As a result, it has been found that…

FUTURE CLIMATE ANALYSIS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

R.M. Forester

2000-01-01

This Analysis/Model Report (AMR) documents an analysis that was performed to estimate climatic variables for the next 10,000 years by forecasting the timing and nature of climate change at Yucca Mountain (YM), Nevada (Figure l), the site of a potential repository for high-level radioactive waste. The future-climate estimates are based on an analysis of past-climate data from analog meteorological stations, and this AMR provides the rationale for the selection of these analog stations. The stations selected provide an upper and a lower climate bound for each future climate, and the data from those sites will provide input to the infiltration model (USGS 2000) and for the total system performance assessment for the Site Recommendation (TSPA-SR) at YM. Forecasting long-term future climates, especially for the next 10,000 years, is highly speculative and rarely attempted. A very limited literature exists concerning the subject, largely from the British radioactive waste disposal effort. The discussion presented here is one method, among many, of establishing upper and lower bounds for future climate estimates. The method used here involves selecting a particular past climate from many past climates, as an analog for future climate. Other studies might develop a different rationale or select other past climates resulting in a different future climate analog

FUTURE CLIMATE ANALYSIS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

R.M. Forester

2000-03-14

This Analysis/Model Report (AMR) documents an analysis that was performed to estimate climatic variables for the next 10,000 years by forecasting the timing and nature of climate change at Yucca Mountain (YM), Nevada (Figure l), the site of a potential repository for high-level radioactive waste. The future-climate estimates are based on an analysis of past-climate data from analog meteorological stations, and this AMR provides the rationale for the selection of these analog stations. The stations selected provide an upper and a lower climate bound for each future climate, and the data from those sites will provide input to the infiltration model (USGS 2000) and for the total system performance assessment for the Site Recommendation (TSPA-SR) at YM. Forecasting long-term future climates, especially for the next 10,000 years, is highly speculative and rarely attempted. A very limited literature exists concerning the subject, largely from the British radioactive waste disposal effort. The discussion presented here is one method, among many, of establishing upper and lower bounds for future climate estimates. The method used here involves selecting a particular past climate from many past climates, as an analog for future climate. Other studies might develop a different rationale or select other past climates resulting in a different future climate analog.

Hydrogeologic investigations sampling plan: Revision 0

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-11-01

The goal of this sampling plan is to identify and develop specific plans for those investigative actions necessary to: (1) characterize the hydrologic regime; (2) define the extent and impact of contamination; and (3) predict future contaminant migration for the Weldon Spring Site (WSS) and vicinity. The plan is part of the Weldon Spring Site Remedial Action Project (WSSRAP) sponsored by the US Department of Energy (DOE) and has been developed in accordance with US EPA Remedial Investigation (RI) and Data Quality Objective (DQO) guidelines. The plan consists of a sequence of activities including the evaluation of data, development of a conceptual model, identification of data uses and needs, and the design and implementation of a data collection program. Data will be obtained to: (1) confirm the presence or absence of contaminants; (2) define contaminant sources and modes of transport; (3) delineate extent of contaminant migration and predict future migration; and (4) provide information to support the evaluation and selection of remedial actions. 81 refs., 62 figs., 26 tabs

A Future-Based Risk Assessment for the Survivability of Long Range Strike Systems

Science.gov (United States)

2007-03-01

Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA ) investigated alternative futures to help generate a viable science strategy to address the future aerospace...World American World View ΔTeK World Power Grid Name 1 Global Exponential Dispersed DIGITAL CACOPHONY 2 Global Exponential Concentrated STAR TREK ...The United States has become the “United Kingdom of the Twenty-first Century.” 2.2.3. NASA Study (1997) In the NASA study, the National Research

Do developmental orthopaedic disorders influence future jumping performances in Warmblood stallions?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Verwilghen, Denis; Janssens, S; Busoni, V

2013-01-01

REASONS FOR PERFORMING THE STUDY: Few reports are available on the relationship between developmental orthopaedic diseases (DOD) and future performances in Warmblood horses. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the relationship between performance and the presence of DOD lesions. METHODS: Records of Warmbl...

Relations between Self Regulation, Future Time Perspective and the Delay of Gratification in University Students

Science.gov (United States)

Avci, Suleyman

2013-01-01

The present study was conducted on 508 (331 female, 144 male) first grade university students in order to investigate the relations between self regulation, the future time perspectives, and the delay of gratification in the academic field. A future time perspective scale, an academic delay of gratification scale and a motivational strategies for…

Fusion power in a future low carbon global electricity system

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cabal, H.; Lechón, Y.; Bustreo, C.

2017-01-01

Fusion is one of the technologies that may contribute to a future, low carbon, global energy supply system. In this article we investigate the role that it may play under different scenarios. The global energy model ETM (originally EFDA TIMES Model) has been used to analyse the participation...

Local-scale projections of coral reef futures and implications of the Paris Agreement.

Science.gov (United States)

van Hooidonk, Ruben; Maynard, Jeffrey; Tamelander, Jerker; Gove, Jamison; Ahmadia, Gabby; Raymundo, Laurie; Williams, Gareth; Heron, Scott F; Planes, Serge

2016-12-21

Increasingly frequent severe coral bleaching is among the greatest threats to coral reefs posed by climate change. Global climate models (GCMs) project great spatial variation in the timing of annual severe bleaching (ASB) conditions; a point at which reefs are certain to change and recovery will be limited. However, previous model-resolution projections (~1 × 1°) are too coarse to inform conservation planning. To meet the need for higher-resolution projections, we generated statistically downscaled projections (4-km resolution) for all coral reefs; these projections reveal high local-scale variation in ASB. Timing of ASB varies >10 years in 71 of the 87 countries and territories with >500 km 2 of reef area. Emissions scenario RCP4.5 represents lower emissions mid-century than will eventuate if pledges made following the 2015 Paris Climate Change Conference (COP21) become reality. These pledges do little to provide reefs with more time to adapt and acclimate prior to severe bleaching conditions occurring annually. RCP4.5 adds 11 years to the global average ASB timing when compared to RCP8.5; however, >75% of reefs still experience ASB before 2070 under RCP4.5. Coral reef futures clearly vary greatly among and within countries, indicating the projections warrant consideration in most reef areas during conservation and management planning.

Future heat stress arising from climate change on Iran's population health

Science.gov (United States)

Modarres, Reza; Ghadami, Mohammad; Naderi, Sohrab; Naderi, Mohammad

2018-04-01

Climate change-induced extreme heat events are becoming a major issue in different parts of the world, especially in developing countries. The assessment of regional and temporal past and future change in heat waves is a crucial task for public health strategies and managements. The historical and future heat index (HI) time series are investigated for temporal change across Iran to study the impact of global warming on public health. The heat index is calculated, and the nonparametric trend assessment is carried out for historical time series (1981-2010). The future change in heat index is also projected for 2020-2049 and 2070-2099 periods. A rise in the historical heat index and extreme caution conditions for summer and spring seasons for major parts of Iran are notable for historical (1981-2010) series in this study. Using different climate change scenarios shows that heat index will exceed the critical threshold for human adaptability in the future in the country. The impact of climate change on heat index risk in Iran is significant in the future. To cope with this crucial situation, developing early warning systems and health care strategies to deal with population growth and remarkable socio-economic features in future is essential.

Post-wildfire soil erosion in the Mediterranean: Review and future research directions

Science.gov (United States)

Shakesby, R. A.

2011-04-01

-wildfire erosion) arising from future climatic change. Different future wildfire mitigation responses and likely erosional consequences are outlined. Research gaps are identified, and more research effort is suggested to: (1) improve assessment of post-wildfire erosion impact on soil fertility, through further quantification of soil nutrient depletion resulting from single and multiple fire cycles, and on soil longevity; (2) investigate prescribed fire impacts on carbon release, air pollution and nutrient losses as well as on soil loss; (3) isolate hillslope- and catchment-scale impacts of soil water repellency under Mediterranean post-wildfire conditions; (4) test and refine application of cosmogenic radionuclides to post-wildfire hillslope-scale soil redistribution at different temporal scales; (5) use better temporal resolution of sedimentary sequences to understand palaeofire-erosion-sedimentation links; (6) quantify post-wildfire wind erosion; (7) improve the integration of wildfire into an overall assessment of the processes and impacts of land degradation in the Mediterranean; and (8) raise public awareness of wildfire impact on soil degradation.

Future radioactive liquid waste streams study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rey, A.S.

1993-11-01

This study provides design planning information for the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility (RLWTF). Predictions of estimated quantities of Radioactive Liquid Waste (RLW) and radioactivity levels of RLW to be generated are provided. This information will help assure that the new treatment facility is designed with the capacity to treat generated RLW during the years of operation. The proposed startup date for the RLWTF is estimated to be between 2002 and 2005, and the life span of the facility is estimated to be 40 years. The policies and requirements driving the replacement of the current RLW treatment facility are reviewed. Historical and current status of RLW generation at Los Alamos National Laboratory are provided. Laboratory Managers were interviewed to obtain their insights into future RLW activities at Los Alamos that might affect the amount of RLW generated at the Lab. Interviews, trends, and investigation data are analyzed and used to create scenarios. These scenarios form the basis for the predictions of future RLW generation and the level of RLW treatment capacity which will be needed at LANL.

Future radioactive liquid waste streams study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rey, A.S.

1993-11-01

This study provides design planning information for the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility (RLWTF). Predictions of estimated quantities of Radioactive Liquid Waste (RLW) and radioactivity levels of RLW to be generated are provided. This information will help assure that the new treatment facility is designed with the capacity to treat generated RLW during the years of operation. The proposed startup date for the RLWTF is estimated to be between 2002 and 2005, and the life span of the facility is estimated to be 40 years. The policies and requirements driving the replacement of the current RLW treatment facility are reviewed. Historical and current status of RLW generation at Los Alamos National Laboratory are provided. Laboratory Managers were interviewed to obtain their insights into future RLW activities at Los Alamos that might affect the amount of RLW generated at the Lab. Interviews, trends, and investigation data are analyzed and used to create scenarios. These scenarios form the basis for the predictions of future RLW generation and the level of RLW treatment capacity which will be needed at LANL

The Future of Astrometry in Space

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonella Vallenari

2018-04-01

Full Text Available This contribution focuses on the importance of astrometry and on its future developments. Over the centuries astrometry has greatly contributed to the advance of the knowledge of the Universe. Nowadays a major breakthrough is on the way due to astrometric sky surveys from space. ESA space missions Hipparcos first and then Gaia point out the outstanding contribution that space astrometry can provide to our knowledge in many fields of astrophysics, going from the Milky Way formation and evolution, to stellar astrophysics, extra-galactic astrophysics, and fundamental physics. We briefly outline the properties of Gaia first and second data release, and the accuracies expected end-of-mission. The next big advance in space astrometry would be either to improve the astrometric accuracy of one order of magnitude, or to move to a different wavelength domain. While both options have the potential to bring us in a new era of discovery, they have to face enormous issues. We summarize the future directions in space astrometry that are proposed or under investigation by the scientific community, their main challenges and the expected outcome.

Future Expectations of High School Students In Southeastern Turkey: Factors behind Future Expectations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hüseyin Şimşek

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This study was conducted to identify various future expectations of high school students in southeastern Turkey and factors behind their expectations. The sample of the study, which had a descriptive and associational survey design consisted of 1106 students randomly selected from 54 different high schools located in nine cities in southeastern Turkey. Data were collected through the “Future Expectation Scale (FES” developed by the researcher. Results indicated that personal and professional future, educational future, economic future and social future expectations of high school students in southeastern Turkey were generally above the average level. According to the study, being a teacher and a doctor took the first place among several professions to be further preferred by high school students. It was also concluded that future expectations of high school students did not differ on gender, high school type, CGPA, level of mother education, father’s occupation, family income level, the number of siblings, receiving pre-school education, and language spoken at home. On the other hand, future expectations of high school students were found to differ on the city where students being taught, grade level, corporal punishment, and tendency toward being a dropout.

Medial Temporal Lobe Contributions to Episodic Future Thinking: Scene Construction or Future Projection?

Science.gov (United States)

Palombo, D J; Hayes, S M; Peterson, K M; Keane, M M; Verfaellie, M

2018-02-01

Previous research has shown that the medial temporal lobes (MTL) are more strongly engaged when individuals think about the future than about the present, leading to the suggestion that future projection drives MTL engagement. However, future thinking tasks often involve scene processing, leaving open the alternative possibility that scene-construction demands, rather than future projection, are responsible for the MTL differences observed in prior work. This study explores this alternative account. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we directly contrasted MTL activity in 1) high scene-construction and low scene-construction imagination conditions matched in future thinking demands and 2) future-oriented and present-oriented imagination conditions matched in scene-construction demands. Consistent with the alternative account, the MTL was more active for the high versus low scene-construction condition. By contrast, MTL differences were not observed when comparing the future versus present conditions. Moreover, the magnitude of MTL activation was associated with the extent to which participants imagined a scene but was not associated with the extent to which participants thought about the future. These findings help disambiguate which component processes of imagination specifically involve the MTL. Published by Oxford University Press 2016.

The European Arrest Warrant in the Italian legal system. Between mutual recognition and mutual fear within the European area of Freedom, Security and Justice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Franco Impalà

2005-12-01

Full Text Available Italy was the last Member State to transpose the Framework Decision on the European Arrest Warrant. The Italian law entered into full force on 14 May 2005, a full sixteen months later than the appointed date. Conversely, whilst the Framework Decision aimed to speed up extradition between Member States, the Italian implementation law seems to complicate things, providing for dozens of new legal obstacles to surrender. In fact, the execution of an EAW in Italy threatens to become something highly unpredictable. The responsibility for this outcome is shared by the national and the European legislator. Perhaps the latter underestimated the seriousness of the conflict between Third Pillar law and domestic constitutional systems which aim to protect their acquis in the field of fundamental rights. Considering that many Member States seem to be struggling with similar problems, the first part of this article is devoted to describing the current scenario and analysing possible solutions at the supranational level, such as the establishment of a coherent system regulating the allocation of penal competences among Member States. In the next part, the problem of the Framework Decision’s incompatibility with the Italian Constitution will be discussed, and in the final part the Italian implementation law is analysed in more detail.

Future Savvy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gordon, Adam

There's no shortage of predictions available to organizations looking to anticipate and profit from future events or trends. Apparently helpful forecasts are ubiquitous in everyday communications such as newspapers and business magazines, and in specialized sources such as government and think......-tank forecasts, consultant reports, and stock-market guides. These resources are crucial, but they are also of very mixed quality. How can decision-makers know which predictions to take seriously, which to be wary of, and which to throw out entirely? Future Savvy provides analytical filters to judging predictive...... systematic "forecast filtering" to reveal strengths and weakness in the predictions they face. Future Savvy empowers both business and policy/government decision-makers to use forecasts wisely and so improve their judgment in anticipating opportunities, avoiding threats, and managing uncertainty....

Governance of the future

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Galløe, Lotte Rannveig

a different future for both parents and children. Thus, the approach to PMTO as a technology of the future indicates its expected prevalence in the future and its attempt to reach in to the future becoming of the child. The technology’s involvement of the relatives and its orientation towards shaping......In my presentation I will explore the concept, ‘technology of the future’, in public governance. Public governance within social services aims at changing the existing conditions for the marginalized citizens including children with special needs. I pose the question: what happens if public...... governance seek to chance the possible future conditions and targets the marginalized child’s relatives? Parent Management Training (PMTO) is studied as a technology of the future that expands and transforms governance. PMTO targets parents with aggressive and asocial children and aims to “create the parent...

Will urban expansion lead to an increase in future water pollution loads?--a preliminary investigation of the Haihe River Basin in northeastern China.

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Yang; Liu, Yi; Chen, Jining

2014-01-01

Urban expansion is a major driving force changing regional hydrology and nonpoint source pollution. The Haihe River Basin, the political, economic, and cultural center of northeastern China, has undergone rapid urbanization in recent decades. To investigate the consequences of future urban sprawl on nonpoint source water pollutant emissions in the river basin, the urban sprawl in 2030 was estimated, and the annual runoff and nonpoint source pollution in the Haihe River basin were simulated. The Integrated Model of Non-Point Sources Pollution Processes (IMPULSE) was used to simulate the effects of urban sprawl on nonpoint source pollution emissions. The outcomes indicated that the urban expansion through 2030 increased the nonpoint source total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorous (TP), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) emissions by 8.08, 0.14, and 149.57 kg/km(2), respectively. Compared to 2008, the total nonpoint emissions rose by 15.33, 0.57, and 12.39 %, respectively. Twelve percent of the 25 cities in the basin would increase by more than 50 % in nonpoint source TN and COD emissions in 2030. In particular, the nonpoint source TN emissions in Xinxiang, Jiaozuo, and Puyang would rise by 73.31, 67.25, and 58.61 %, and the nonpoint source COD emissions in these cities would rise by 74.02, 51.99, and 53.27 %, respectively. The point source pollution emissions in 2008 and 2030 were also estimated to explore the effects of urban sprawl on total water pollution loads. Urban sprawl through 2030 would bring significant structural changes of total TN, TP, and COD emissions for each city in the area. The results of this study could provide insights into the effects of urbanization in the study area and the methods could help to recognize the role that future urban sprawl plays in the total water pollution loads in the water quality management process.

Treatment of Thrombotic Antiphospholipid Syndrome: The Rationale of Current Management—An Insight into Future Approaches

Science.gov (United States)

Ubiali, Tania; Meroni, Pier Luigi

2015-01-01

Vascular thrombosis and pregnancy morbidity represent the clinical manifestations of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), which is serologically characterized by the persistent positivity of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL). Antiplatelet and anticoagulant agents currently provide the mainstay of APS treatment. However, the debate is still open: controversies involve the intensity and the duration of anticoagulation and the treatment of stroke and refractory cases. Unfortunately, the literature cannot provide definite answers to these controversial issues as it is flawed by many limitations, mainly due to the recruitment of patients not fulfilling laboratory and clinical criteria for APS. The recommended therapeutic management of different aPL-related clinical manifestations is hereby presented, with a critical appraisal of the evidence supporting such approaches. Cutting edge therapeutic strategies are also discussed, presenting the pioneer reports about the efficacy of novel pharmacological agents in APS. Thanks to a better understanding of aPL pathogenic mechanisms, new therapeutic targets will soon be explored. Much work is still to be done to unravel the most controversial issues about APS management: future studies are warranted to define the optimal management according to aPL risk profile and to assess the impact of a strict control of cardiovascular risk factors on disease control. PMID:26075289

Treatment of Thrombotic Antiphospholipid Syndrome: The Rationale of Current Management-An Insight into Future Approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Chighizola, Cecilia Beatrice; Ubiali, Tania; Meroni, Pier Luigi

2015-01-01

Vascular thrombosis and pregnancy morbidity represent the clinical manifestations of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), which is serologically characterized by the persistent positivity of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL). Antiplatelet and anticoagulant agents currently provide the mainstay of APS treatment. However, the debate is still open: controversies involve the intensity and the duration of anticoagulation and the treatment of stroke and refractory cases. Unfortunately, the literature cannot provide definite answers to these controversial issues as it is flawed by many limitations, mainly due to the recruitment of patients not fulfilling laboratory and clinical criteria for APS. The recommended therapeutic management of different aPL-related clinical manifestations is hereby presented, with a critical appraisal of the evidence supporting such approaches. Cutting edge therapeutic strategies are also discussed, presenting the pioneer reports about the efficacy of novel pharmacological agents in APS. Thanks to a better understanding of aPL pathogenic mechanisms, new therapeutic targets will soon be explored. Much work is still to be done to unravel the most controversial issues about APS management: future studies are warranted to define the optimal management according to aPL risk profile and to assess the impact of a strict control of cardiovascular risk factors on disease control.

The futures and forward price differential in the Nordic electricity market

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wimschulte, Jens [University of Regensburg (Germany)

2010-08-15

This note investigates price differentials between electricity forwards and portfolios of short-term futures with identical delivery periods at the Nordic Power Exchange (Nord Pool). Since both contracts are traded at the same exchange, there is no influence of, for example, different market microstructure and default risk when examining the effect of the marking-to-market of futures on the price differential. Although the prices of the futures portfolios are, on average, below the corresponding forward prices, these price differentials are, on average, not statistically significant and not economically significant when taking transaction costs into account. Given the characteristics of the electricity contracts under observation, this is consistent with the predictions of the model and indicates efficient pricing in the Nord Pool forward market in contrast to previous results. (author)

The futures and forward price differential in the Nordic electricity market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wimschulte, Jens

2010-01-01

This note investigates price differentials between electricity forwards and portfolios of short-term futures with identical delivery periods at the Nordic Power Exchange (Nord Pool). Since both contracts are traded at the same exchange, there is no influence of, for example, different market microstructure and default risk when examining the effect of the marking-to-market of futures on the price differential. Although the prices of the futures portfolios are, on average, below the corresponding forward prices, these price differentials are, on average, not statistically significant and not economically significant when taking transaction costs into account. Given the characteristics of the electricity contracts under observation, this is consistent with the predictions of the model and indicates efficient pricing in the Nord Pool forward market in contrast to previous results. (author)

Futures hedging effectiveness under the segmentation of bear/bull energy markets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chang, Chiao-Yi [Department of Money and Banking, National Kaohsiung First University of Science and Technology, No. 2, Jhuoyue Rd., Nanzih, Kaohsiung City, 811 (China); Lai, Jing-Yi; Chuang, I-Yuan [Department of Finance, National Chung-Cheng University, No. 168, University Rd., Ming-Hsiung, Chia-Yi 62102. (China)

2010-03-15

This article undertakes eight hedging models (Regression, MD-GARCH, BEKK-GARCH, CCC-GARCH, ECM-MD, ECM-BEKK, ECM-CCC, and state space models) to investigate hedging effectiveness of different price scenarios in energy futures markets. Different models have systematically evidenced that hedging effectiveness is higher in an increasing pattern (termed 'bull markets') than in a decreasing pattern (termed 'bear markets') for crude oil and gasoline futures. That is, findings show asymmetric hedging performance between upward and downward price trends consistently from the most popular hedging models in literature. Out-of-sample examination also suggests that the ranking of hedging effectiveness of different hedging models is not parallel in different price patterns across futures contracts, implying that investors should adjust their hedging strategies accordingly. (author)

Investigation of Future Thermal Comforts in a Tropical Megacity Using Coupling of Energy Balance Model and Large Eddy Simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Sueishi, T.; Yucel, M.; Ashie, Y.; Varquez, A. C. G.; Inagaki, A.; Darmanto, N. S.; Nakayoshi, M.; Kanda, M.

2017-12-01

Recently, temperature in urban areas continue to rise as an effect of climate change and urbanization. Specifically, Asian megacities are projected to expand rapidly resulting to serious in the future atmospheric environment. Thus, detailed analysis of urban meteorology for Asian megacities is needed to prescribe optimum against these negative climate modifications. A building-resolving large eddy simulation (LES) coupled with an energy balance model is conducted for a highly urbanized district in central Jakarta on typical daytime hours. Five cases were considered; case 1 utilizes present urban scenario and four cases representing different urban configurations in 2050. The future configurations were based on representative concentration pathways (RCP) and shared socio-economic pathways (SSP). Building height maps and land use maps of simulation domains are shown in the attached figure (top). Case 1 3 focuses on the difference of future scenarios. Case 1 represents current climatic and urban conditions, case 2 and 3 was an idealized future represented by RCP2.6/SSP1 and RCP8.5/SSP3, respectively. More complex urban morphology was applied in case 4, vegetation and building area were changed in case 5. Meteorological inputs and anthropogenic heat emission (AHE) were calculated using Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model (Varquez et al [2017]). Sensible and latent heat flux from surfaces were calculated using an energy balance model (Ashie et al [2011]), with considers multi-reflection, evapotranspiration and evaporation. The results of energy balance model (shown in the middle line of figure), in addition to WRF outputs, were used as input into the PArallelized LES Model (PALM) (Raasch et al [2001]). From standard new effective temperature (SET*) which included the effects of temperature, wind speed, humidity and radiation, thermal comfort in urban area was evaluated. SET* contours at 1 m height are shown in the bottom line of the figure. Extreme climate

News, volatility and jumps: the case of Natural Gas futures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Borovkova, S.A.; Mahakena, D.

2015-01-01

We investigate the impact of news sentiment on the price dynamics of natural gas futures. We propose a Local News Sentiment Level model, based on the Local Level model of Durbin and Koopman [Time Series Analysis by State Space Methods, 2001], to construct a running series of news sentiment from

The future of the independent Egyptian music in the digital era

OpenAIRE

Maraghah, Mohammad

2013-01-01

Master's thesis in music management - University of Agder 2013 This thesis is investigating the impact of the digital era with its technological advanced components and revolutionized information platforms on shaping the future of the independent Egyptian music. The author investigated this impact through conducting fifteen semi structured qualitative interviews between the 15th of December 2012 to 25th of January 2013 with the relevant Independent Egyptian Music stakeholders who gave the ...

Planning study and economic feasibility for extended life operation of light water reactor plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Negin, C.A.; Goudarzi, L.A.; Kenworthy, L.U.; Lapides, M.E.

1980-01-01

The purpose of this planning study was to perform an assessment of the engineering and economic feasibility of extended life operation of present nuclear power plant units and to recommend future programs that may be warranted by the feasibility assessments. This effort concludes, essentially, that there is sufficient economic motivation for refurbishment to warrant more extensive examination for present plants and to identify possible design modifications that would facilitate extended service life in future plants. The costs of replacing the deterioration-prone equipment in a nuclear power plant appear to represent a small portion of the total plant costs, provided downtime is not excessive. A refurbishment and economic analysis is presented

Internet Technology for Future Space Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Hennessy, Joseph F. (Technical Monitor); Rash, James; Casasanta, Ralph; Hogie, Keith

2002-01-01

Ongoing work at National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA/GSFC), seeks to apply standard Internet applications and protocols to meet the technology challenge of future satellite missions. Internet protocols and technologies are under study as a future means to provide seamless dynamic communication among heterogeneous instruments, spacecraft, ground stations, constellations of spacecraft, and science investigators. The primary objective is to design and demonstrate in the laboratory the automated end-to-end transport of files in a simulated dynamic space environment using off-the-shelf, low-cost, commodity-level standard applications and protocols. The demonstrated functions and capabilities will become increasingly significant in the years to come as both earth and space science missions fly more sensors and the present labor-intensive, mission-specific techniques for processing and routing data become prohibitively. This paper describes how an IP-based communication architecture can support all existing operations concepts and how it will enable some new and complex communication and science concepts. The authors identify specific end-to-end data flows from the instruments to the control centers and scientists, and then describe how each data flow can be supported using standard Internet protocols and applications. The scenarios include normal data downlink and command uplink as well as recovery scenarios for both onboard and ground failures. The scenarios are based on an Earth orbiting spacecraft with downlink data rates from 300 Kbps to 4 Mbps. Included examples are based on designs currently being investigated for potential use by the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission.

Investigation of a plant and fish kill downstream from BNL sewage treatment outfall

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hull, A.P.

1975-01-01

During the period May 13 to May 17, 1974, a plant and fish kill occurred in a headwater of the Peconic River, which originates on the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) site. Although the stream itself, and hence the magnitude of the mortality, was small, the fish kill was near total in the impacted reach, and therefore received more attention than the numbers alone would warrant. The Laboratory has utilized the stream for the past 25 years for the discharge of treated sanitary wastes containing low levels of radioactivity, without perceptible effect up to the time of this incident. Although an investigation during the following several months has not disclosed a completely satisfactory explanation, it has pointed out weaknesses in the Laboratory's knowledge of the on site amounts and locations of environmentally toxic agents, as well as of the accountability for their use. The investigation also suggested the need for additional monitoring to detect unusual agents in the sanitary treatment plant influent for prompt analyses of suspect samples, and for a means of holding up the effluent until such analyses can be accomplished. Additionally, the investigation led to the identification of supporting analytical capabilities of other government agencies, without which a competent investigation would have been difficult. It also revealed the desirability for the prompt submission of relevant samples to them, in the event of a recurrence

Detecting and developing youth athlete potential: different strokes for different folks are warranted.

Science.gov (United States)

Suppiah, Haresh T; Low, Chee Yong; Chia, Michael

2015-07-01

Sport talent identification and development (TI and TD) in youth continues to attract strong interest among coaches, sport scientists and sport administrators. TI for sport in youth with the anticipation of future elite level sport achievement is both an art and a science, and is strongly influenced by within athlete and extraneous-to-athlete factors (ecosystem of support or the lack of). The returns from investment on current TI and TD models of sport in youth are subpar in that few continue in the sport to achieve podium positions at the elite sport level in adulthood. Why, where and how one succeeds in sport, and what that success means to the athlete and stakeholders are dependent on the culture and context of the country. We advocate harnessing the power of sport to help in youth development, to be holistic in its nurturance, to allow for individual idiosyncratic expressions of the athletes, to provide for talent transfer across sport, and to facilitate key stakeholders to 'join' hands to work for the common interest and understanding for as many youth and adults so as to provide them with opportunities through support and coaching to compete at the different levels of competition in sport. Governments, policy makers and administrators of sport must decide, within their specific circumstances, if TI and TD in sport in youth is serving a meaningful purpose and is a viable return on investment; in short, is it mission possible or is it… a quest for the Holy Grail for a podium finish in elite level sport competition? Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Future elderly care in China, how should it be?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cai, Hao; Cai, Yanguang; Tao, Yingshan

2016-01-01

The Chinese healthcare system is at a crossroads of the history. Multiple challenges are encountered due to the demographic changes. The aim of this study was to investigate the aspects of the Chinese youngsters on the future elderly care system. A significant social-cultural consciousness...... difference of youngsters on elderly care was found between China and other parts of the world....

A phase II trial of R115777, an oral farnesyl transferase inhibitor, in      patients with advanced urothelial tract transitional cell carcinoma

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rosenberg, Jonathan E.; Maase, Hans von der; Seigne, John D.

2005-01-01

BACKGROUND: R115777 is a potent farnesyl transferase inhibitor and has       significant antitumor effects in vitro and in vivo. METHODS: The objective       of the current study was to determine the objective response proportion in       patients with metastatic transitional cell carcinoma (TCC......) of the       urothelial tract who received treatment with R115777 at a dose of 300 mg       orally given twice daily for 21 days followed by 7 days of rest for every       4-week cycle. Thirty-four patients with TCC were enrolled in this Phase II       study. Patients were allowed to have received a maximum of one prior......       observed. CONCLUSIONS: The objective response rate of R115777 was not       sufficient to warrant future investigation in TCC as a single agent.       Preliminary evidence of the activity of R115777 in 2 chemotherapy-naive       patients may warrant further investigation in combination with first...

Future Contingents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Øhrstrøm, Peter; Hasle., Per F. V.

2015-01-01

contingent statements. The problem of future contingents is interwoven with a number of issues in theology, philosophy, logic, semantics of natural language, computer science, and applied mathematics. The theological issue of how to reconcile the assumption of God's foreknowledge with the freedom and moral...... accountability of human beings has been a main impetus to the discussion and a major inspiration to the development of various logical models of time and future contingents. This theological issue is connected with the general philosophical question of determinism versus indeterminism. Within logic, the relation...... about the future. Finally, it should be mentioned that temporal logic has found a remarkable application in computer science and applied mathematics. In the late 1970s the first computer scientists realised the relevance of temporal logic for the purposes of computer science (see Hasle and Øhrstrøm 2004)....

Future Contingents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Øhrstrøm, Peter; Hasle., Per F. V.

2011-01-01

contingent statements. The problem of future contingents is interwoven with a number of issues in theology, philosophy, logic, semantics of natural language, computer science, and applied mathematics. The theological issue of how to reconcile the assumption of God's foreknowledge with the freedom and moral...... accountability of human beings has been a main impetus to the discussion and a major inspiration to the development of various logical models of time and future contingents. This theological issue is connected with the general philosophical question of determinism versus indeterminism. Within logic, the relation...... about the future. Finally, it should be mentioned that temporal logic has found a remarkable application in computer science and applied mathematics. In the late 1970s the first computer scientists realised the relevance of temporal logic for the purposes of computer science (see Hasle and Øhrstrøm 2004)....

A critical review of "Internet addiction" criteria with suggestions for the future.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Rooij, Antonius J; Prause, Nicole

2014-12-01

In the last 5 years a deluge of articles on the topic of Internet addiction (IA) has proposed many candidate symptoms as evidence of this proposed disease. We critically reviewed the current approach to the measurement and identification of this new excessive behavior syndrome. Three popular models of IA were discussed: Griffith’s components model; Young’s Internet Addiction Test (IAT); and the criteria by Tao et al. (2010). We selected these models because they are widely cited and propose specific criteria for IA disorder. Our approach is not meant to provide an exhaustive review, but to discuss and critique the most salient trends in the field. The models of Internet addiction share some criteria, including feeling a loss of control over Internet use; ensuing psychological, social, or professional conflict or problems; and preoccupation when not using the Internet. Other criteria inconsistently mentioned include: mood management, tolerance, withdrawal, and craving/anticipation. The models studied here share the assumption that the Internet can produce a qualitative shift to a diseased state in humans. We critically discussed the above criteria and concluded that the evidence base is currently not strong enough to provide support for an Internet addiction disorder. Future research areas are suggested: (1) Focusing on common impaired dimensions, (2) exploring neuroimaging as a model building tool, and (3) identifying shifts in the rewarding aspects of Internet use. Given the lack of consensus on the subject of Internet addiction, a focus on problem behaviors appears warranted.

European oil refining: strategies for a competitive future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MacDonald, James.

1997-07-01

European Oil Refining investigates how the industry came to be in crisis and what the future holds. As well as an extensive analysis of past and present market shifts, the report predicts likely future developments and their consequences for investors. The report reviews the European oil sector in a global context, calculates the cost to refiners of key environmental legislation, assesses the problems caused by changing product demand and crude supply, examines possible solutions to the problems of low margins and overcapacity, evaluates the key players' main strategies to increase their competitiveness, analyses the western European oil refining industry by country, details the refinery operations of the major countries of central and eastern Europe, profiles 15 of the major oil companies and estimates the increase in investment required as a result of legislative and demand changes. (author)

SPECULATIVE EFFICIENCY OF STOCK INDEX FUTURES MARKETS:AN ANALYSIS ON THE ASEAN MARKETS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Normas Awang

2012-07-01

Full Text Available The capital markets in emerging economies are undergoing rapid transformationdue to the advancement of technologicalinnovations and globalization of themarketplace. Thus, the risk managementmeasures are extremely importantthroughout the financial system. However,the scarcity of derivative instrumentssuch as futures and options in emergingmarkets, in addition to the failure togenerate liquidity, have made the emerging economies to be left behind in therecent development of the world capital markets. Whilethere are a great numberof earlier studies that analyse the efficiency of futures markets in differentcountries, there is a lack ofresearch that take intoaccount of the speculativeefficiency of futures markets which argues that futures prices are an unbiased forecast of the spot pricesas well as a crucial part offorecasting techniques. Thispaper aims to investigate the speculativeefficiency of stock index futures marketsin the ASEAN markets which comprises ofSingapore, Malaysia and Thailand byemploying an econometric time series dataanalysis ranging from January 2000 toDecember 2010.

Downtrend Algorithm and Hedging Strategy in Futures Market

OpenAIRE

S. Masteika; A.V. Rutkauskas; A. Tamosaitis

2012-01-01

The paper investigates downtrend algorithm and trading strategy based on chart pattern recognition and technical analysis in futures market. The proposed chart formation is a pattern with the lowest low in the middle and one higher low on each side. The contribution of this paper lies in the reinforcement of statements about the profitability of momentum trend trading strategies. Practical benefit of the research is a trading algorithm in falling markets and back-test ana...

Credibility of management earnings forecasts and future returns

OpenAIRE

Norio Kitagawa; Akinobu Shuto

2015-01-01

This study investigates the effect of managerial discretion over their initial earnings forecasts on future performance. First, by estimating the discretionary portion of initial management earnings forecasts (defined as discretionary forecasts) based on the findings of fundamental analysis research, we find that firms with higher discretionary forecasts are more likely to miss their earnings forecast at the end of the fiscal year and revise their forecasts downward to meet their earnings for...

Exposing Dark Sector with Future Z-Factories arXiv

CERN Document Server

Liu, Jia; Wang, Xiao-Ping; Xue, Wei

We investigate the prospects of searching dark sector models via exotic Z-boson decay at future $e^+ e^-$ colliders with Giga Z and Tera Z options. Four general categories of dark sector models: Higgs portal dark matter, vector portal dark matter, inelastic dark matter and axion-like particles, are considered. Focusing on channels motivated by the dark sector models, we carry out a model independent study of the sensitivities of Z-factories in probing exotic decays. The limits on branching ratios of the exotic Z decay are typically $\\mathcal{O} (10^{-6} - 10^{-8.5}) $ for the Giga Z and $\\mathcal{O} (10^{-7.5} - 10^{-11})$ for the Tera Z, and they are compared with the projection for the high luminosity LHC. We demonstrate that future Z-factories can provide its unique and leading sensitivity, and highlight the complementarity with other experiments, including the indirect and direct dark matter search limits, and the existing collider limits. Future Z factories will play a leading role to uncover the hidden ...

Impacts of climate change on the future of biodiversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Bellard, Céline; Bertelsmeier, Cleo; Leadley, Paul; Thuiller, Wilfried; Courchamp, Franck

2012-04-01

Many studies in recent years have investigated the effects of climate change on the future of biodiversity. In this review, we first examine the different possible effects of climate change that can operate at individual, population, species, community, ecosystem and biome scales, notably showing that species can respond to climate change challenges by shifting their climatic niche along three non-exclusive axes: time (e.g. phenology), space (e.g. range) and self (e.g. physiology). Then, we present the principal specificities and caveats of the most common approaches used to estimate future biodiversity at global and sub-continental scales and we synthesise their results. Finally, we highlight several challenges for future research both in theoretical and applied realms. Overall, our review shows that current estimates are very variable, depending on the method, taxonomic group, biodiversity loss metrics, spatial scales and time periods considered. Yet, the majority of models indicate alarming consequences for biodiversity, with the worst-case scenarios leading to extinction rates that would qualify as the sixth mass extinction in the history of the earth. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/CNRS.

Can the dynamics of the term structure of petroleum futures be forecasted? Evidence from major markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skiadopoulos, George; Chantziara, Thalia

2008-01-01

We investigate whether the daily evolution of the term structure of petroleum futures can be forecasted. To this end, the principal components analysis is employed. The retained principal components describe the dynamics of the term structure of futures prices parsimoniously and are used to forecast the subsequent daily changes of futures prices. Data on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) crude oil, heating oil, gasoline, and the International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) crude oil futures are used. We find that the retained principal components have small forecasting power both in-sample and out-of-sample. Similar results are obtained from standard univariate and vector autoregression models. Spillover effects between the four petroleum futures markets are also detected. (author)

Serotonergic mechanisms in the migraine brain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Marie Deen; Christensen, Casper Emil; Hougaard, Anders

2017-01-01

role of brain serotonergic mechanisms remains a matter of controversy. Methods We systematically searched PubMed for studies investigating the serotonergic system in the migraine brain by either molecular neuroimaging or electrophysiological methods. Results The literature search resulted in 59 papers......, of which 13 were eligible for review. The reviewed papers collectively support the notion that migraine patients have alterations in serotonergic neurotransmission. Most likely, migraine patients have a low cerebral serotonin level between attacks, which elevates during a migraine attack. Conclusion...... This review suggests that novel methods of investigating the serotonergic system in the migraine brain are warranted. Uncovering the serotonergic mechanisms in migraine pathophysiology could prove useful for the development of future migraine drugs....

Future supply and demand of certain strategic metal imports in South Africa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dudas, J.S.J.

1984-01-01

While South Africa is richly endowed with minerals it is unfortunately almost wholly dependent on external markets for certain metals. Some of the most strategic metals are molybdenum, tungsten, cobalt and aluminium - essential in the steel, petrochemical and defense industries. The objective of this study is to investigate the probable future dependence of South Africa on its four most strategic metal imports. The project covers the uses of the metals locally, historical trends of supply and demand and a forecast of consumption for the next decade. Alternatives and substitutes for the metals as well as the possibility of reclamation after use are also considered. Existing local deposits and their potential economic viability were investigated to establish the possibility of extraction and processing in future years to enable South Africa to decrease it import dependence on these strategic metals

Intrapersonal positive future thinking predicts repeat suicide attempts in hospital-treated suicide attempters.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Connor, Rory C; Smyth, Roger; Williams, J Mark G

2015-02-01

Although there is clear evidence that low levels of positive future thinking (anticipation of positive experiences in the future) and hopelessness are associated with suicide risk, the relationship between the content of positive future thinking and suicidal behavior has yet to be investigated. This is the first study to determine whether the positive future thinking-suicide attempt relationship varies as a function of the content of the thoughts and whether positive future thinking predicts suicide attempts over time. A total of 388 patients hospitalized following a suicide attempt completed a range of clinical and psychological measures (depression, hopelessness, suicidal ideation, suicidal intent and positive future thinking). Fifteen months later, a nationally linked database was used to determine who had been hospitalized again after a suicide attempt. During follow-up, 25.6% of linked participants were readmitted to hospital following a suicide attempt. In univariate logistic regression analyses, previous suicide attempts, suicidal ideation, hopelessness, and depression-as well as low levels of achievement, low levels of financial positive future thoughts, and high levels of intrapersonal (thoughts about the individual and no one else) positive future thoughts predicted repeat suicide attempts. However, only previous suicide attempts, suicidal ideation, and high levels of intrapersonal positive future thinking were significant predictors in multivariate analyses. Positive future thinking has predictive utility over time; however, the content of the thinking affects the direction and strength of the positive future thinking-suicidal behavior relationship. Future research is required to understand the mechanisms that link high levels of intrapersonal positive future thinking to suicide risk and how intrapersonal thinking should be targeted in treatment interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Queering Aging Futures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Linn J. Sandberg

2017-08-01

Full Text Available This paper explores the potential for cultural gerontology to extend its ideas of diversity in aging experiences by opening space to rethink conceptions of successful aging futures. We propose a ‘queering’ of aging futures that disrupts the ways that expectations of a good later life and happy aging are seen to adhere to some bodies and subjectivities over others. Drawing on feminist, queer, and crip theories, we build on existing critiques of ‘successful aging’ to interrogate the assumptions of heteronormativity, able-bodiedness and able-mindedness that shape the dividing lines between success and failure in aging, and which inform attempts to ‘repair’ damaged futures. Conclusions suggest that recognizing diversity in successful aging futures is important in shaping responses to the challenges of aging societies, and presents an opportunity for critical cultural gerontology to join with its theoretical allies in imagining more inclusive alternatives.

LTE delay assessment for real-time management of future smart grids

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jorguseski, L.; Zhang, H.; Chrysalos, M.; Golinski, M.; Toh, Y.

2017-01-01

This study investigates the feasibility of using Long Term Evolution (LTE), for the real-time state estimation of the smart grids. This enables monitoring and control of future smart grids. The smart grid state estimation requires measurement reports from different nodes in the smart grid and

Imagining the future self: how age influences our future self images

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Salgado, Sinue; Berntsen, Dorthe; Rathbone, Clare

This study examines the impact of age on the quantitative features of future selves. A representative sample of the Danish population from different age-groups generated images of up to eight future selves which were dated and rated for vividness, positivity and emotional intensity. There were...... significant differences across age-groups on all ratings of the future selves. Positive correlations with age were found for vividness and emotional intensity, whereas positivity and distance from present correlated negatively. There was no correlation between age and number of selves generated. The findings...

Phytoremediation: realistic estimation of modern efficiency and future possibility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kravets, A.; Pavlenko, Y.; Kusmenko, L.; Ermak, M.

1996-01-01

Kinetic peculiarities of the radionuclides migration in the system 'soil-plant' of the Chernobyl region have been investigated by means of numerical modelling. Quantitative estimation of half-time of natural cleaning of soil has been realised. Potential possibility and efficiency of the modem phytoremediation technology has been estimated. Outlines of the general demands and future possibility of biotechnology of the phytoremediation creation have been formulated. (author)

Phytoremediation: realistic estimation of modern efficiency and future possibility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kravets, A; Pavlenko, Y [Institute of Cell Biology and Genetic Engineering NAS, Kiev (Ukraine); Kusmenko, L; Ermak, M [Institute of Plant Physiology and Genetic NAS, Vasilkovsky, Kiev (Ukraine)

1996-11-01

Kinetic peculiarities of the radionuclides migration in the system 'soil-plant' of the Chernobyl region have been investigated by means of numerical modelling. Quantitative estimation of half-time of natural cleaning of soil has been realised. Potential possibility and efficiency of the modem phytoremediation technologyhas been estimated. Outlines of the general demands and future possibility of biotechnology of the phytoremediation creation have been formulated. (author)

The art of creating futures. Practical theology and a strategic research sensitivity for the future

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van den Berg, J.A.; Ganzevoort, R.R.

2014-01-01

This paper explores a futures perspective for practical theology. Although there are some examples of a future orientation, a systematic futures perspective has not been developed. Building on futures studies (including predictive studies on foresight and design and architecture studies), the

Parenting and Adolescents' Depressive Symptoms: The Mediating Role of Future Time Perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Diaconu-Gherasim, Loredana R; Bucci, Colleen M; Giuseppone, Kathryn R; Brumariu, Laura E

2017-10-03

This study investigated the relations between maternal and paternal rearing practices and adolescents' depressive symptoms, and whether time perspective in adolescence explains these links. The sample included 306 students (158 girls), aged between 10.83 and 14.42 years. Adolescents completed questionnaires assessing their perceptions of maternal and paternal acceptance and psychological control, and of their future time perspective and depressive symptoms. Adolescents who rated their mothers as more accepting and those who rated their fathers as less psychologically controlling also reported lower levels of depressive symptoms and greater future time perspective. Further, adolescents who had greater future time perspective reported lower levels of depressive symptoms. Finally, time perspective partially mediated the relations of maternal and paternal acceptance, and paternal control with depressive symptoms in adolescence. The findings highlight the unique relations of maternal acceptance and paternal psychological control with adolescents' depressive symptoms, and that future time perspective is one mechanism that might explain why parenting strategies are linked with depressive symptoms in adolescence.

A time-series analysis of the crude oil spot and futures markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quan Jing.

1990-01-01

First, the existence of the relationship is tested. Second, after the relationship is established, it is tested to determine the direction of causality. Most of previous research on this issue ignored the first step, and the existence of the relationship was taken for granted. Unfortunately, however, this assumption is not justified since it does not necessarily hold. The first relationship investigated in this study is between the crude oil spot and futures prices. It is found that spot price leads futures prices instead of the futures price providing information on the spot price. Two additional relationships studied are those between the OPEC oil supply and the futures prices and that between the same supply and spot prices. In the case of OPEC supply and spot prices, a self-adaptive model with supply interruption dummy variables is introduced to study the price behavior. It is found that prices follow an adaptive process, that is, the previous price information offers powerful influence on the current price

77 FR 53893 - Privacy Act of 1974; Department of Homeland Security U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-005...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-09-04

... to identify statistically anomalous transactions that may warrant investigation for money laundering... identify anomalies in patterns of trade. Such anomalies can indicate trade-based money laundering or other... transactions that may warrant investigation for money laundering or other import-export crimes. DARTTS is...

INVESTIGATIONS IN PANAMA DURING THE SUMMER OF 1930.

Science.gov (United States)

Faust, E C

1931-01-09

The material obtained from these investigations has indicated to the writer that the area studied offers extremely valuable opportunities for helminthological and protozoological work. The data obtained will serve as the basis for several important papers which will be published in the near future.

Large-scale academic achievement testing of deaf and hard-of-hearing students: past, present, and future.

Science.gov (United States)

Qi, Sen; Mitchell, Ross E

2012-01-01

The first large-scale, nationwide academic achievement testing program using Stanford Achievement Test (Stanford) for deaf and hard-of-hearing children in the United States started in 1969. Over the past three decades, the Stanford has served as a benchmark in the field of deaf education for assessing student academic achievement. However, the validity and reliability of using the Stanford for this special student population still require extensive scrutiny. Recent shifts in educational policy environment, which require that schools enable all children to achieve proficiency through accountability testing, warrants a close examination of the adequacy and relevance of the current large-scale testing of deaf and hard-of-hearing students. This study has three objectives: (a) it will summarize the historical data over the last three decades to indicate trends in academic achievement for this special population, (b) it will analyze the current federal laws and regulations related to educational testing and special education, thereby identifying gaps between policy and practice in the field, especially identifying the limitations of current testing programs in assessing what deaf and hard-of-hearing students know, and (c) it will offer some insights and suggestions for future testing programs for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

Future Climate Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

James Houseworth

2001-01-01

This Analysis/Model Report (AMR) documents an analysis that was performed to estimate climatic variables for the next 10,000 years by forecasting the timing and nature of climate change at Yucca Mountain (YM), Nevada (Figure 1), the site of a potential repository for high-level radioactive waste. The future-climate estimates are based on an analysis of past-climate data from analog meteorological stations, and this AMR provides the rationale for the selection of these analog stations. The stations selected provide an upper and a lower climate bound for each future climate, and the data from those sites will provide input to the infiltration model (USGS 2000) and for the total system performance assessment for the Site Recommendation (TSPA-SR) at YM. Forecasting long-term future climates, especially for the next 10,000 years, is highly speculative and rarely attempted. A very limited literature exists concerning the subject, largely from the British radioactive waste disposal effort. The discussion presented here is one method, among many, of establishing upper and lower bounds for future climate estimates. The method used here involves selecting a particular past climate from many past climates, as an analog for future climate. Other studies might develop a different rationale or select other past climates resulting in a different future climate analog. Revision 00 of this AMR was prepared in accordance with the ''Work Direction and Planning Document for Future Climate Analysis'' (Peterman 1999) under Interagency Agreement DE-AI08-97NV12033 with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The planning document for the technical scope, content, and management of ICN 01 of this AMR is the ''Technical Work Plan for Unsaturated Zone (UZ) Flow and Transport Process Model Report'' (BSC 2001a). The scope for the TBV resolution actions in this ICN is described in the ''Technical Work Plan for: Integrated Management of Technical Product Input Department''. (BSC 2001b, Addendum B

Future Climate Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

James Houseworth

2001-10-12

This Analysis/Model Report (AMR) documents an analysis that was performed to estimate climatic variables for the next 10,000 years by forecasting the timing and nature of climate change at Yucca Mountain (YM), Nevada (Figure 1), the site of a potential repository for high-level radioactive waste. The future-climate estimates are based on an analysis of past-climate data from analog meteorological stations, and this AMR provides the rationale for the selection of these analog stations. The stations selected provide an upper and a lower climate bound for each future climate, and the data from those sites will provide input to the infiltration model (USGS 2000) and for the total system performance assessment for the Site Recommendation (TSPA-SR) at YM. Forecasting long-term future climates, especially for the next 10,000 years, is highly speculative and rarely attempted. A very limited literature exists concerning the subject, largely from the British radioactive waste disposal effort. The discussion presented here is one method, among many, of establishing upper and lower bounds for future climate estimates. The method used here involves selecting a particular past climate from many past climates, as an analog for future climate. Other studies might develop a different rationale or select other past climates resulting in a different future climate analog. Revision 00 of this AMR was prepared in accordance with the ''Work Direction and Planning Document for Future Climate Analysis'' (Peterman 1999) under Interagency Agreement DE-AI08-97NV12033 with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The planning document for the technical scope, content, and management of ICN 01 of this AMR is the ''Technical Work Plan for Unsaturated Zone (UZ) Flow and Transport Process Model Report'' (BSC 2001a). The scope for the TBV resolution actions in this ICN is described in the ''Technical Work Plan for: Integrated Management of Technical

Future Orientation, Impulsivity, and Problem Behaviors: A Longitudinal Moderation Model

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Pan; Vazsonyi, Alexander T.

2011-01-01

In the current study, based on a sample of 1,873 adolescents between 11.4 and 20.9 years of age from the first 3 waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we investigated the longitudinal effects of future orientation on levels of and developmental changes in problem behaviors, while controlling for the effects by impulsivity;…

DNA fingerprinting in forensics: past, present, future.

Science.gov (United States)

Roewer, Lutz

2013-11-18

DNA fingerprinting, one of the great discoveries of the late 20th century, has revolutionized forensic investigations. This review briefly recapitulates 30 years of progress in forensic DNA analysis which helps to convict criminals, exonerate the wrongly accused, and identify victims of crime, disasters, and war. Current standard methods based on short tandem repeats (STRs) as well as lineage markers (Y chromosome, mitochondrial DNA) are covered and applications are illustrated by casework examples. Benefits and risks of expanding forensic DNA databases are discussed and we ask what the future holds for forensic DNA fingerprinting.

Future European Expendable Launcher Options and Technology Preparation

OpenAIRE

Sippel, Martin; van Foreest, Arnold; Klevanski, Josef; Gerstmann, Jens; Dutheil, Jean-Philippe; Jäger, Markus; Philip, Peter

2008-01-01

The paper describes latest results of the most recent activities in Germany in the technical assessment of future European launcher architecture. In a joint effort of DLR-SART with German launcher industry a next generation upper-medium class expendable TSTO and options for new liquid fuel upper stages for the small VEGA-launcher are addressed. The WOTAN study has investigated fully cryogenic launchers as well as those with a combination of solid and cryogenic stages, fulfilling a requirement...

Technical Assessments of Future European Space Transportation Options

OpenAIRE

Sippel, Martin; van Foreest, Arnold; Dutheil, Jean-Philippe; Philip, Peter

2007-01-01

The paper describes some of the most recent activities in Germany in the technical assessment of future European launcher architecture. In focus is a joint effort of DLR-SART with German launcher industry in the definition of a next generation upper-medium class expendable TSTO with an initial operational capability after 2020. Involved companies are EADS astrium and MT Aerospace. This DLR-agency funded study WOTAN investigates fully cryogenic launchers as well as those with a com...

Study Trade-Offs on Future European Expendable Launchers

OpenAIRE

Sippel, Martin; van Foreest, Arnold; Philip, Peter; Jäger, Markus

2009-01-01

The paper describes latest results of recent activities in Germany in the technical assessment of future European launcher architecture. In a joint effort of DLR-SART with German launcher indus-try a next generation upper-medium class expendable TSTO and options for new liquid fuel upper stages for the small VEGA-launcher are addressed. The WOTAN study has investigated fully cryogenic launchers as well as those with a combination of solid and cryogenic stages, fulfilling a requirement of a...

Secondary organic aerosol importance in the future atmosphere

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsigaridis, K.; Kanakidou, M.

2007-01-01

In order to investigate the secondary organic aerosol (SOA) response to changes in biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions in the future atmosphere and how important will SOA be relative to the major anthropogenic aerosol component (sulfate), the global three-dimensional chemistry/transport model TM3 has been used. Emission estimates of biogenic VOC (BVOC) and anthropogenic gases and particles from the literature for the year 2100 have been adopted. According to our present-day model simulations, isoprene oxidation produces 4.6 Tg SOA yr -1 , that is less than half of the 12.2 Tg SOA yr -1 formed by the oxidation of other BVOC. In the future, nitrate radicals and ozone become more important than nowadays, but remain minor oxidants for both isoprene and aromatics. SOA produced by isoprene is estimated to almost triple, whereas the production from other BVOC more than triples. The calculated future SOA burden change, from 0.8 Tg at present to 2.0 Tg in the future, is driven by changes in emissions, oxidant levels and pre-existing particles. The non-linearity in SOA formation and the involved chemical and physical feedbacks prohibit the quantitative attribution of the computed changes to the above-mentioned individual factors. In 2100, SOA burden is calculated to exceed that of sulfate, indicating that SOA might become more important than nowadays. These results critically depend on the biogenic emissions and thus are subject to the high uncertainty associated with these emissions estimated due to the insufficient knowledge on plant response to carbon dioxide changes. Nevertheless, they clearly indicate that the change in oxidants and primary aerosol caused by human activities can contribute as much as the change in BVOC emissions to the increase of the biogenic SOA production in the future atmosphere. (authors)

Can Future Uncertainty Keep Children Out of School?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lilleør, Helene Bie

that uncertainty about future returns results in a need for risk diversification, that children function as old-age security providers when there are no available pension systems, that the human capital investment decision of one child is likely to be influenced by that of his/her siblings, and that rural parents...... face a choice of investing in either specific or general human capital of their children. In this paper, I investigate the effects of future income uncertainty on the joint human capital investment decision of children in a household. I develop and calibrate a simple illustrative human capital...... portfolio model and show that existing levels of uncertainty can indeed result in less than full school enrolment within a household, even in a world of perfect credit markets. The paper thus offers an alternative explanation for why it might be optimal for rural parents not to send all of their children...

Bioactive endophytes warrant intensified exploration and conservation.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Stephen A; Tank, David C; Boulanger, Lori-Ann; Bascom-Slack, Carol A; Eisenman, Kaury; Kingery, David; Babbs, Beatrice; Fenn, Kathleen; Greene, Joshua S; Hann, Bradley D; Keehner, Jocelyn; Kelley-Swift, Elizabeth G; Kembaiyan, Vivek; Lee, Sun Jin; Li, Puyao; Light, David Y; Lin, Emily H; Ma, Cong; Moore, Emily; Schorn, Michelle A; Vekhter, Daniel; Nunez, Percy V; Strobel, Gary A; Donoghue, Michael J; Strobel, Scott A

2008-08-25

A key argument in favor of conserving biodiversity is that as yet undiscovered biodiversity will yield products of great use to humans. However, the link between undiscovered biodiversity and useful products is largely conjectural. Here we provide direct evidence from bioassays of endophytes isolated from tropical plants and bioinformatic analyses that novel biology will indeed yield novel chemistry of potential value. We isolated and cultured 135 endophytic fungi and bacteria from plants collected in Peru. nrDNAs were compared to samples deposited in GenBank to ascertain the genetic novelty of cultured specimens. Ten endophytes were found to be as much as 15-30% different than any sequence in GenBank. Phylogenetic trees, using the most similar sequences in GenBank, were constructed for each endophyte to measure phylogenetic distance. Assays were also conducted on each cultured endophyte to record bioactivity, of which 65 were found to be bioactive. The novelty of our contribution is that we have combined bioinformatic analyses that document the diversity found in environmental samples with culturing and bioassays. These results highlight the hidden hyperdiversity of endophytic fungi and the urgent need to explore and conserve hidden microbial diversity. This study also showcases how undergraduate students can obtain data of great scientific significance.

Bioactive endophytes warrant intensified exploration and conservation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephen A Smith

2008-08-01

Full Text Available A key argument in favor of conserving biodiversity is that as yet undiscovered biodiversity will yield products of great use to humans. However, the link between undiscovered biodiversity and useful products is largely conjectural. Here we provide direct evidence from bioassays of endophytes isolated from tropical plants and bioinformatic analyses that novel biology will indeed yield novel chemistry of potential value.We isolated and cultured 135 endophytic fungi and bacteria from plants collected in Peru. nrDNAs were compared to samples deposited in GenBank to ascertain the genetic novelty of cultured specimens. Ten endophytes were found to be as much as 15-30% different than any sequence in GenBank. Phylogenetic trees, using the most similar sequences in GenBank, were constructed for each endophyte to measure phylogenetic distance. Assays were also conducted on each cultured endophyte to record bioactivity, of which 65 were found to be bioactive.The novelty of our contribution is that we have combined bioinformatic analyses that document the diversity found in environmental samples with culturing and bioassays. These results highlight the hidden hyperdiversity of endophytic fungi and the urgent need to explore and conserve hidden microbial diversity. This study also showcases how undergraduate students can obtain data of great scientific significance.

The nuclear pacemaker: Is renewed interest warranted

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parsonnet, V.; Berstein, A.D.; Perry, G.Y.

1990-01-01

From 1973 through 1987, 155 radioisotope-powered nuclear pacemakers were implanted in 132 patients at the Newark Beth Israel Medical Center. The longevity of the first 15 devices, all of which were fixed-rate (VOO) pacemakers, was significantly better than that of 15 lithium-chemistry demand (VVI) pacemakers used as control devices (p = 0.0002). Of the entire cohort of 155 nuclear pacemakers, 136 were VVI devices and 19 were VOO units. The patients with VOO pacemakers needed reoperations more often than did those with VVI pacemakers, chiefly for mode change (p less than 0.001). Power-source failure was observed in only 1 case, but 47 nuclear pacemakers were removed for other reasons, including component malfunction (15 units), mode change (12 units), high pacing thresholds (8 units) and lead or connector problems (5 units). The actuarial survival at 15 years was 99% for power sources and 82% for the entire pacing systems (pulse generators plus leads). The frequency of malignancy was similar to that of the population at large and primary tumor sites were randomly distributed. Deaths most commonly were due to cardiac causes (68%). Thus, nuclear pacemakers are safe and reliable and their greater initial cost appears to be offset by their longevity and the resulting decrease in the frequency of reoperations. It is reasonable to suggest that further use be made of long-lasting nuclear power sources for modern pacemakers and other implantable rhythm-management devices

When does atopic dermatitis warrant systemic therapy?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Simpson, Eric L; Bruin-Weller, Marjolein; Flohr, Carsten

2017-01-01

therapy in AD and provide a framework for evaluation before making this therapeutic decision with the patient. METHODS: A subgroup of the International Eczema Council determined aspects to consider before prescribing systemic therapy. Topics were assigned to expert reviewers who performed a topic...... systemic therapy include considering alternate or concomitant diagnoses, avoiding trigger factors, optimizing topical therapy, ensuring adequate patient/caregiver education, treating coexistent infection, assessing the impact on quality of life, and considering phototherapy. LIMITATIONS: Our work...

Measuring Distribution Performance? Benchmarking Warrants Your Attention

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ericson, Sean J [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Alvarez, Paul [The Wired Group

2018-04-13

Identifying, designing, and measuring performance metrics is critical to securing customer value, but can be a difficult task. This article examines the use of benchmarks based on publicly available performance data to set challenging, yet fair, metrics and targets.

When does atopic dermatitis warrant systemic therapy?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Simpson, Eric L; Bruin-Weller, Marjolein; Flohr, Carsten

2017-01-01

-specific literature review, referred to guidelines when available, and provided interpretation and expert opinion. RESULTS: We recommend a systematic and holistic approach to assess patients with severe signs and symptoms of AD and impact on quality of life before systemic therapy. Steps taken before commencing......BACKGROUND: Although most patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) are effectively managed with topical medication, a significant minority require systemic therapy. Guidelines for decision making about advancement to systemic therapy are lacking. OBJECTIVE: To guide those considering use of systemic...... therapy in AD and provide a framework for evaluation before making this therapeutic decision with the patient. METHODS: A subgroup of the International Eczema Council determined aspects to consider before prescribing systemic therapy. Topics were assigned to expert reviewers who performed a topic...

Maturity effects in energy futures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Serletis, Apostolos (Calgary Univ., AB (CA). Dept. of Economics)

1992-04-01

This paper examines the effects of maturity on future price volatility and trading volume for 129 energy futures contracts recently traded in the NYMEX. The results provide support for the maturity effect hypothesis, that is, energy futures prices to become more volatile and trading volume increases as futures contracts approach maturity. (author).

The curriculum for the doctor of the future: messages from the clinician's perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Lee, Nadine; Westerman, Michiel; Fokkema, Joanne P I; Van Der Vleuten, Cees P M; Scherpbier, Albert J J A; Scheele, Fedde

2011-01-01

Medical curricula should focus on the future of health care. Contemporary competency frameworks for curriculum design such as Canadian Medical Education Directions for Specialists (CanMEDS), ACGME and Tomorrow's Doctors share this vision by stressing generic competencies. The objective of this study was to investigate how well a contemporary competency framework fits in with clinicians' perspectives on future health care. Using a strategic planning approach, a semi-structured open-ended questionnaire on the future of their profession was sent to 102 Dutch gynecologists. Through inductive analysis, a future perspective and its needed competencies were identified and compared to the CanMEDS framework. The 62 responses showed content validity for the CanMEDS roles. Additionally, two roles were identified: advanced technology user and entrepreneur. Within the role Communicator, the focus will change through more active patient participation. The roles Collaborator and Manager are predicted to change in focus because of an increase of complex interdisciplinary teamwork and leadership roles. By studying the Dutch gynecologists' perspective of the future in a strategic planning approach, two additional roles and focus areas within a contemporary competency framework were identified. The perspective of clinicians on future health care provides valuable messages on how to design future-proof curricula.

Time orientation, planning horizons and responsibility into the future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Svenson, O.; Nilsson, G.

1988-01-01

Subjects of four categories (social science students, engineering students, retired people and nuclear waste experts) were asked about past events, planning, risks and future time with emphasis on energy related issues and in particular questions concerning spent nuclear waste. Among, the results reported it was found that events in the past were located more or less correctly and that events further back systematically too close to the present. Today's responsibility into the future was judged to cover 3 to 6 generations ahead and an adequate planning horizon for a local community to be on the average 11 to 14 years. Adequate planning horizons for the handling of spent nuclear fuel were judged to be from 100 to 500 years. The responsibility for effects of today's decisions was judged to be from about 100 to 300 years into the future for environmental pollution and from about 50 to 600 years for nuclear waste. However, non-negliqable proportions of the subjects choose a more moral standpoint and gave answers indicating that responsibility had to be unlimited. Some sex differences were found and an interaction with age offered as a hypothesis to be investigated in the future. Interrelations between clusters of questions revealed some links from past time and planning to judgements of environmental and nuclear power related risks. (orig.)

The state of the scientific criminal investigation using SPring-8 and the future prospects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ninomiya, Toshio

2007-01-01

For the judgements in the scientific criminal investigations, non-destructive and high-sensitivity analysis methods are often necessary to get information from tiny samples. The synchrotron radiation from the SPring-8 storage ring is a powerful tool for these purposes. Some examples of the utilization of the synchrotron radiation as criminal investigation methods are presented: (1) The organic microanalysis of drugs by the high-energy micro-beam fluorescence X-ray analysis method, (2) The analysis of car paint pigments by the high-energy micro-beam fluorescence X-ray analysis method, (3) The X-ray diffraction analysis of medicines, (4) The spectral analysis of the fragment of standard glass materials by the high-energy micro-beam fluorescence X-ray analysis method, and (5) The element distribution measurement on hairs by the fluorescence X-ray analysis method. (K.Y.)

The investigation of urinary tract infections in children

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carty, H.; Rangr, P.

2002-01-01

This article outlines the role and methods used in the investigation of urinary tract infections in children. Each modality, whether it has been used in the past or begin used currently or in the future, has been discussed, together with its advantages and pitfalls. There are no hard and fast rules in the investigation of urinary tract infections. It really depends on the clinical scenario and the child. This article will hopefully provide a basis of understanding the reasons behind each investigation and their appropriate use in the child depending on their age and clinical history. (author)

The Future Is Bright and Predictable: The Development of Prospective Life Stories across Childhood and Adolescence

Science.gov (United States)

Bohn, Annette; Berntsen, Dorthe

2013-01-01

When do children develop the ability to imagine their future lives in terms of a coherent prospective life story? We investigated whether this ability develops in parallel with the ability to construct a life story for the past and narratives about single autobiographical events in the past and future. Four groups of school children aged 9 to 15…

Future Climate Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cambell, C. G.

2004-01-01

This report documents an analysis that was performed to estimate climatic variables for the next 10,000 years by forecasting the timing and nature of climate change at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, the site of a repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. The future-climate estimates are based on an analysis of past-climate data from analog meteorological stations, and this report provides the rationale for the selection of these analog stations. The stations selected provide an upper and a lower climate bound for each future climate, and the data from those sites will provide input to the following reports: ''Simulation of Net Infiltration for Present-Day and Potential Future Climates'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 170007]), ''Total System Performance Assessment (TSPA) Model/Analysis for the License Application'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 168504]), ''Features, Events, and Processes in UZ Flow and Transport'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 170012]), and ''Features, Events, and Processes in SZ Flow and Transport'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 170013]). Forecasting long-term future climates, especially for the next 10,000 years, is highly speculative and rarely attempted. A very limited literature exists concerning the subject, largely from the British radioactive waste disposal effort. The discussion presented here is one available forecasting method for establishing upper and lower bounds for future climate estimates. The selection of different methods is directly dependent on the available evidence used to build a forecasting argument. The method used here involves selecting a particular past climate from many past climates, as an analog for future climate. While alternative analyses are possible for the case presented for Yucca Mountain, the evidence (data) used would be the same and the conclusions would not be expected to drastically change. Other studies might develop a different rationale or select other past climates resulting in a different future climate analog. Other alternative

Adaptive false memory: Imagining future scenarios increases false memories in the DRM paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Dewhurst, Stephen A; Anderson, Rachel J; Grace, Lydia; van Esch, Lotte

2016-10-01

Previous research has shown that rating words for their relevance to a future scenario enhances memory for those words. The current study investigated the effect of future thinking on false memory using the Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) procedure. In Experiment 1, participants rated words from 6 DRM lists for relevance to a past or future event (with or without planning) or in terms of pleasantness. In a surprise recall test, levels of correct recall did not vary between the rating tasks, but the future rating conditions led to significantly higher levels of false recall than the past and pleasantness conditions did. Experiment 2 found that future rating led to higher levels of false recognition than did past and pleasantness ratings but did not affect correct recognition. The effect in false recognition was, however, eliminated when DRM items were presented in random order. Participants in Experiment 3 were presented with both DRM lists and lists of unrelated words. Future rating increased levels of false recognition for DRM lures but did not affect correct recognition for DRM or unrelated lists. The findings are discussed in terms of the view that false memories can be associated with adaptive memory functions.

Winning the Future: An Investigation into the Creativity Capacity across the Levels of Education in Ireland

Science.gov (United States)

Leahy, Keelin

2016-01-01

This research investigated the creativity capacity across the levels of education in Ireland, involving 702 participants. Creative capacity was investigated through a comparative analysis of creativity quotient (CQ). A divergent thinking task comprising the "how many uses" activity was assessed using the criteria for determining CQ;…

Investigating the potential of Aucoumea klaineana Pierre sapwood ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

vainqueuer

2016-11-16

Nov 16, 2016 ... African Journal of Biotechnology. Full Length Research Paper. Investigating the potential ... them to release neutral sugars for the production of cellulosic ethanol. Aucoumea klaineana Pierre. (Okoumé) wood ... feedstocks for ethanol production in the future. Evans. (2005) has explained that, being 50% of ...

Experiencing Past and Future Personal Events: Functional Neuroimaging Evidence on the Neural Bases of Mental Time Travel

Science.gov (United States)

Botzung, Anne; Denkova, Ekaterina; Manning, Lilianne

2008-01-01

Functional MRI was used in healthy subjects to investigate the existence of common neural structures supporting re-experiencing the past and pre-experiencing the future. Past and future events evocation appears to involve highly similar patterns of brain activation including, in particular, the medial prefrontal cortex, posterior regions and the…

Research on the margin of futures markets and the policy spillover effect

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Difang Wan; Yang Yang; Dong Fang; Guang Yang

2011-01-01

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the change of margin in Chinese futures markets has policy spillover effects.Design/methodology/approach-The paper constructs a model based on Harzmark and on Chng,taking Chinese futures markets status quo as a single species and restrictions on foreign investment into consideration,introduces the assumptions of spillover effect of speculators,then obtains investor's demand function.Subsequently,the effects of Shanghai Futures Exchange's 11 instances of margin changing are analyzed.Findings-The paper finds that in the Chinese futures market,margin changing has impact on the open interest (OI) and the speculator spillover effect is validated.Research limitations/implications-The irrational behavior of investors in markets is not taken into account in the model and data about spillover speculators were not directly available.Originality/value-The paper usefully analyzes the effects of the Shanghai Futures Exchange's 11 instances of margin changing from 2000 to 2007 and examines the actual effects of margin-changing policy,in the views of OI,trading volume and the externality,the results showing that margin changing has impact on investor structure and validates the existence of the assumed speculator spillover effect.

Future changes in water requirements of Boro rice in the face of climate change in North-West Bangladesh

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Acharjee, Tapos Kumar; Ludwig, Fulco; Halsema, van Gerardo; Hellegers, Petra; Supit, Iwan

2017-01-01

Understanding future changes in crop water requirements and irrigation demand in the context of climate change is essential for long-term water resources management and agricultural planning. This study investigates the impacts of climate change on future water requirements of dry season Boro

[Nephrology as seen by nephrologists. An introspective investigation into the history and future of the professional community].

Science.gov (United States)

Susi, Alessandra

2010-01-01

The professional community of nephrologists is going through a phase of ''rethinking'' the discipline that sees the role of nephrologists in an uncertain position between inpatient and outpatient care. A comparison of opinions within the community is necessary to understand what could be the future position of nephrology in the Italian healthcare system. In June 2009 a questionnaire was distributed among the members of the Italian Nephrology Society (SIN) to collect (i) their professional biographies and (ii) their opinion on the state of the art of nephrology, (iii) the working context in which they operate, (iv) the likely sources of change, and (v) the prospects for the development of the field. In October 2009 the respondents were 506, a sufficiently representative sample of the national population of nephrologists. One of the main findings was a lack of consensus about the clinical practice for the treatment of CKD. In particular, there was no general agreement about the stage of CKD at which the patient should enter the exclusive care of the nephrologist. Opinions were less divergent on (i) departmentalization phenomena, (ii) the outsourcing of dialysis services, and (iii) the future prospects of the specialty. In order to pursue common goals for the development of the discipline, the internal relations of the professional community should be strengthened both in terms of sharing clinical experience and defining the roles of clinicians within the community. The involvement of young nephrologists in the definition of strategies for the positioning of nephrology in the Italian healthcare system might also be considered a priority.

Supply-demand controls the futures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, D.

1991-01-01

This paper briefly discusses the futures market of petroleum and explains how futures operate. The purpose of the paper is to demonstrate that oil futures markets does no determine energy prices - it merely reflects the prices recorded through trades made in an open marketplace. A futures contract is an agreement between a buyer and a seller at a price that seems fair to both. High demand from buyers can push prices up; low demand or a willingness to sell pushes prices down. As a result, supply and demand control the futures exchange and not vice-versa. The paper goes on to explain some basic principals of the futures market including the differences between hedging and speculating on prices and marketing strategy

Well-being and Anticipation for Future Positive Events: Evidences from an fMRI Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Yangmei; Chen, Xuhai; Qi, Senqing; You, Xuqun; Huang, Xiting

2017-01-01

Anticipation for future confers great benefits to human well-being and mental health. However, previous work focus on how people's well-being correlate with brain activities during perception of emotional stimuli, rather than anticipation for the future events. Here, the current study investigated how well-being relates to neural circuitry underlying the anticipating process of future desired events. Using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging, 40 participants were scanned while they were performing an emotion anticipation task, in which they were instructed to anticipate the positive or neutral events. The results showed that bilateral medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) were activated during anticipation for positive events relative to neutral events, and the enhanced brain activation in MPFC was associated with higher level of well-being. The findings suggest a neural mechanism by which the anticipation process to future desired events correlates to human well-being, which provide a future-oriented view on the neural sources of well-being.

The Past, Present, and Future of the Air Force's Future Total Force

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Duffy, Dennis P

2004-01-01

This project examines the history of the Total Force policy since its inception in 1970 through its implementation today in an effort to determine a future direction for the Air Force's Future Total Force initiative...

Self-defining future projections: exploring the identity function of thinking about the future.

Science.gov (United States)

D'Argembeau, Arnaud; Lardi, Claudia; Van der Linden, Martial

2012-01-01

The act of projecting oneself into meaningful future events may significantly contribute to a person's sense of self and identity. Yet if the role of memories, in particular self-defining memories (SDMs), in grounding the self is now well established, the identity function of anticipated future events has received comparatively little attention. This article introduces the construct of self-defining future projection (SDFP) to address this issue. Two studies show that people can readily identify significant future events that they frequently think about and that convey core information about who they are as individuals. Furthermore, a person's particular style of constructing SDMs is similarly manifested in SDFPs, suggesting that both types of events can be used to ground the self. Notably, people who display a stronger tendency to extract meaning from their past experiences also reflect more about the potential implications of imagined future events. The results further demonstrate that SDMs and SDFPs both give rise to a strong sense of personal continuity over time and are meaningfully related to self-esteem. Together these findings lend support to the idea that a person's sense of self and identity is in part nourished by the anticipation of significant future events.

Problems associated with modelling future biomass use in developing countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turkson, J.; Fenhann, J.

1997-01-01

One of the main objectives of modelling biomass consumption is to obtain accurate assessment of current and future biomass supply and demand patterns. Some problems associated with biomass modelling in the developing countries are discussed, the focus is put on Africa. The wood fuel and charcoal consumption in households are investigated. Differences between rural and urban areas are pointed out. (K.A.)

Investigation of SNP rs2060546 immediately upstream to NTN4 in a Danish Gilles de la Tourette syndrome cohort

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shanmukha Sampath Padmanabhuni

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by multiple motor and vocal tics. GTS is a complex disorder, with environmental factors and several genes involved. Although variations within a few genes such as AADAC, NRXN1, SLITRK1, HDC, and IMMP2L have been tentatively associated with GTS (in a small number of patients, the causative genes underlying GTS pathophysiology remain unknown. In a previous genome-wide association study (GWAS a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP, rs2060546 near the Netrin-4 (NTN4 - MIM 610401 gene was shown to be associated with GTS [odds ratio (OR = 1.7; p-value = 5.8x10-7] thus warranting further investigations. As NTN4 is one of the axon guidance molecules expressed in the central nervous system and it interacts with encoded protein of SLIT and WNT genes guiding the growth cone towards its target, it is an attractive candidate susceptibility gene for GTS. In this study we attempted to replicate the association of rs2060546 with GTS by genotyping a cohort of 240 Danish GTS patients and 1007 healthy controls. Our results did not reveal an association (OR= 1.363; p-value = 0.3329 in the Danish cohort alone, which may be due to the small sample size. However, a meta-analysis including the present cohort and a total of 1316 GTS patients and 5023 controls from GTS GWAS Replication Initiative (GGRI and the first GTS-GWAS yielded a significant signal (OR = 3.74; p-value = 0.00018 and same direction of effect in the three cohorts. Thus, our study strengthens the evidence of the possible involvement of NTN4 in GTS etiology, suggesting that further studies in even larger samples and functional studies are warranted to investigate the role of this region in GTS pathogenesis.

An investigation into the multifaceted relationship between gratitude, empathy, and compassion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grace Y. Kim

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The virtues of gratitude, empathy, and compassion are associated with various psychological and relational benefits. Past research suggests that gratitude and empathy are correlated and that compassion is in fact derived from empathy. However, limited research exists concerning the direct relationship between gratitude and compassionate love (i.e., a more enduring form of compassion. This study examined the relationship between the two constructs, with empathy as a potential mediator in this relationship. Two hundred undergraduate students from a religiously affiliated university were recruited and completed an online, multi-section questionnaire that includes measures of gratitude, empathy, and compassionate love. Statistical analyses revealed a significant partial mediation effect, with gratitude being both directly and indirectly (via empathy associated with compassionate love. In other words, higher levels of gratitude produced greater compassionate love through increased feelings of empathy. Further analyses indicated that among the three types of empathy explored (cognitive empathy, emotional contagion, and emotional disconnection, cognitive empathy best mediated the relationship between gratitude and compassionate love. These findings have important implications in both a clinical and research context, including the utilization of gratitude and empathy interventions to increase protection against clinician burnout and improve client health and well-being. Future research is warranted in further exploring the relationship among these variables utilizing more objective forms of measurement.

Dynamics of values held by future sports teachers: a longitudinal study

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The dynamics of personal values and values pertaining to the meaning of life held by future sport teachers was investigated. The two surveys used were the Rokeach Value Survey for identification of the most important personal values and the Leontiev Life Meaning Orientations Test for the evaluation of values pertaining to ...

Future land use plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-01-01

The US Department of Energy's (DOE) changing mission, coupled with the need to apply appropriate cleanup standards for current and future environmental restoration, prompted the need for a process to determine preferred Future Land Uses for DOE-owned sites. DOE began the ''Future Land Use'' initiative in 1994 to ensure that its cleanup efforts reflect the surrounding communities' interests in future land use. This plan presents the results of a study of stakeholder-preferred future land uses for the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), located in central Long Island, New York. The plan gives the Laboratory's view of its future development over the next 20 years, as well as land uses preferred by the community were BNL ever to cease operations as a national laboratory (the post-BNL scenario). The plan provides an overview of the physical features of the site including its history, topography, geology/hydrogeology, biological inventory, floodplains, wetlands, climate, and atmosphere. Utility systems and current environmental operations are described including waste management, waste water treatment, hazardous waste management, refuse disposal and ground water management. To complement the physical descriptions of the site, demographics are discussed, including overviews of the surrounding areas, laboratory population, and economic and non-economic impacts

Future land use plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-08-31

The US Department of Energy`s (DOE) changing mission, coupled with the need to apply appropriate cleanup standards for current and future environmental restoration, prompted the need for a process to determine preferred Future Land Uses for DOE-owned sites. DOE began the ``Future Land Use`` initiative in 1994 to ensure that its cleanup efforts reflect the surrounding communities` interests in future land use. This plan presents the results of a study of stakeholder-preferred future land uses for the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), located in central Long Island, New York. The plan gives the Laboratory`s view of its future development over the next 20 years, as well as land uses preferred by the community were BNL ever to cease operations as a national laboratory (the post-BNL scenario). The plan provides an overview of the physical features of the site including its history, topography, geology/hydrogeology, biological inventory, floodplains, wetlands, climate, and atmosphere. Utility systems and current environmental operations are described including waste management, waste water treatment, hazardous waste management, refuse disposal and ground water management. To complement the physical descriptions of the site, demographics are discussed, including overviews of the surrounding areas, laboratory population, and economic and non-economic impacts.

Association between intrusive negative autobiographical memories and depression: A meta-analytic investigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Mihailova, Stella; Jobson, Laura

2018-02-23

The study investigated several associations between depression and intrusive negative autobiographical memories. A systematic literature search identified 23 eligible studies (N = 2,582), which provided 59 effect sizes. Separate meta-analyses indicated that depression was moderately, positively associated with intrusive memory frequency, memory distress, maladaptive memory appraisals, memory avoidance, and memory rumination. Intrusive memory vividness was not significantly associated with depression. There were insufficient data to examine the relationship between depression and memory vantage perspective. Between-study heterogeneity was high for intrusive memory frequency and memory avoidance, and the percentage of females in studies significantly moderated the relationship between these variables and depression. An additional exploratory meta-analysis (3 studies; N = 257) indicated that intrusive memories were experienced more frequently by those with posttraumatic stress disorder than those with depression. Overall, the findings suggest that intrusive memories warrant clinical attention as they may contribute to the maintenance of depressive symptomatology. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Probing gluon number fluctuation effects in future electron–hadron colliders

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Amaral, J.T.; Gonçalves, V.P. [Instituto de Física e Matemática, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Caixa Postal 354, CEP 96010-900, Pelotas, RS (Brazil); Kugeratski, M.S. [Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Campus Joinville, Rua Presidente Prudente de Moraes, 406, CEP 89218-000, Joinville, SC (Brazil)

2014-10-15

The description of the QCD dynamics in the kinematical range which will be probed in the future electron–hadron colliders is still an open question. Although phenomenological studies indicate that the gluon number fluctuations, which are related to discreteness in the QCD evolution, are negligible at HERA, the magnitude of these effects for the next generation of colliders still should be estimated. In this paper we investigate inclusive and diffractive ep observables considering a model for the physical scattering amplitude which describes the HERA data. Moreover, we estimate, for the first time, the contribution of the fluctuation effects for the nuclear structure functions. Our results indicate that the study of these observables in the future colliders can be useful to constrain the presence of gluon number fluctuations.

Neural correlates of self-appraisals in the near and distant future: an event-related potential study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yangmei Luo

Full Text Available To investigate perceptual and neural correlates of future self-appraisals as a function of temporal distance, event-related potentials (ERPs were recorded while participants (11 women, eight men made judgments about the applicability of trait adjectives to their near future selves (i.e., one month from now and their distant future selves (i.e., three years from now. Behavioral results indicated people used fewer positive adjectives, more negative adjectives, recalled more specific events coming to mind and felt more psychologically connected to the near future self than the distant future self. Electrophysiological results demonstrated that negative trait adjectives elicited more positive ERP deflections than did positive trait adjectives in the interval between 550 and 800 ms (late positive component within the near future self condition. However, within the same interval, there were no significant differences between negative and positive traits adjectives in the distant future self condition. The results suggest that negative emotional processing in future self-appraisals is modulated by temporal distance, consistent with predictions of construal level theory.

Capnography during cardiopulmonary resuscitation: Current evidence and future directions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bhavani Shankar Kodali

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Capnography continues to be an important tool in measuring expired carbon dioxide (CO 2 . Most recent Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS guidelines now recommend using capnography to ascertain the effectiveness of chest compressions and duration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR. Based on an extensive review of available published literature, we selected all available peer-reviewed research investigations and case reports. Available evidence suggests that there is significant correlation between partial pressure of end-tidal CO 2 (PETCO 2 and cardiac output that can indicate the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC. Additional evidence favoring the use of capnography during CPR includes definitive proof of correct placement of the endotracheal tube and possible prediction of patient survival following cardiac arrest, although the latter will require further investigations. There is emerging evidence that PETCO 2 values can guide the initiation of extracorporeal life support (ECLS in refractory cardiac arrest (RCA. There is also increasing recognition of the value of capnography in intensive care settings in intubated patients. Future directions include determining the outcomes based on capnography waveforms PETCO 2 values and determining a reasonable duration of CPR. In the future, given increasing use of capnography during CPR large databases can be analyzed to predict outcomes.

Future Climate Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

C. G. Cambell

2004-09-03

This report documents an analysis that was performed to estimate climatic variables for the next 10,000 years by forecasting the timing and nature of climate change at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, the site of a repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. The future-climate estimates are based on an analysis of past-climate data from analog meteorological stations, and this report provides the rationale for the selection of these analog stations. The stations selected provide an upper and a lower climate bound for each future climate, and the data from those sites will provide input to the following reports: ''Simulation of Net Infiltration for Present-Day and Potential Future Climates'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 170007]), ''Total System Performance Assessment (TSPA) Model/Analysis for the License Application'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 168504]), ''Features, Events, and Processes in UZ Flow and Transport'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 170012]), and ''Features, Events, and Processes in SZ Flow and Transport'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 170013]). Forecasting long-term future climates, especially for the next 10,000 years, is highly speculative and rarely attempted. A very limited literature exists concerning the subject, largely from the British radioactive waste disposal effort. The discussion presented here is one available forecasting method for establishing upper and lower bounds for future climate estimates. The selection of different methods is directly dependent on the available evidence used to build a forecasting argument. The method used here involves selecting a particular past climate from many past climates, as an analog for future climate. While alternative analyses are possible for the case presented for Yucca Mountain, the evidence (data) used would be the same and the conclusions would not be expected to drastically change. Other studies might develop a different rationale or select other past

Future Orientation in Times of Threat and Challenge: How Resilient Adolescents Construct Their Future

Science.gov (United States)

Seginer, Rachel

2008-01-01

Drawing on the importance of future orientation for adolescent development this analysis presents a model describing how future orientation is affected by high challenge (or resilience) in the face of political violence. The analysis consists of three parts. The first two present future orientation conceptualization and the psychological processes…

Adiabatic logic future trend and system level perspective

CERN Document Server

Teichmann, Philip

2012-01-01

Adiabatic logic is a potential successor for static CMOS circuit design when it comes to ultra-low-power energy consumption. Future development like the evolutionary shrinking of the minimum feature size as well as revolutionary novel transistor concepts will change the gate level savings gained by adiabatic logic. In addition, the impact of worsening degradation effects has to be considered in the design of adiabatic circuits. The impact of the technology trends on the figures of merit of adiabatic logic, energy saving potential and optimum operating frequency, are investigated, as well as degradation related issues. Adiabatic logic benefits from future devices, is not susceptible to Hot Carrier Injection, and shows less impact of Bias Temperature Instability than static CMOS circuits. Major interest also lies on the efficient generation of the applied power-clock signal. This oscillating power supply can be used to save energy in short idle times by disconnecting circuits. An efficient way to generate the p...

Narrow-Minded Nerd or Indispensable Source of a Future-Proof Society? Engineering Students on their Profession

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Haase, Sanne Schioldann

The unflattering notion “nerd” is often associated with the engineering profession. In this paper engineering descriptions made by future engineers are examined and a far more nuanced and positive understanding of the role of the engineer in a complex, future-oriented society is uncovered...... that the professional engineering identity is disappearing or defragmenting. This paper investigates engineering identity as future engineers describe it. In a nation-wide, webbased survey to a year group of engineering students at the end of their first year the students were asked to describe an engineer...

我国期货市场期货价格收益及条件波动方差的周日历效应研究%The Analysis of Weekly Calendar Effects of Fluctuation Variance of Future Price Earnings and the Condition of China Future Market

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

华仁海

2004-01-01

This paper investigates the day of the week effect on China futures markets returns and conditionalvariance(volatility)using the GARCH model. Results obtained indicate that both futures price returns andvolatility of copper, aluminum, rubber in Shanghai Futures Exchange and soybean in ZhengzhouCommodity Exchange have no day of the week effect, but futures price returns and volatility of wheat inDalian Commodity Exchange have no day of the week effect.

Investigation of tritium in groundwater at Pickering NGS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DeWilde, J.; Yu, L.; Belanger, D.; Wootton, R.; Hansen, K.; McGurk, E.; Teare, A.

2001-01-01

Ontario Power Generation Inc. (OPG) investigated tritium in groundwater at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station (PNGS). The objectives of the study were to evaluate and define the extent of radio-nuclides, primarily tritium, in groundwater, investigate the causes or sources of contamination, determine impacts on the natural environment, and provide recommendations to prevent future discharges. This paper provides an overview of the investigations conducted in 1999 and 2000 to identify the extent of the tritium beneath the site and the potential sources of tritium released to the groundwater. The investigation and findings are summarized with a focus on unique aspects of the investigation, on lessons learned and benefits. Some of the investigative techniques discussed include process assessments, video inspections, hydrostatic and tracer tests, Helium 3 analysis for tritium age dating, deuterium and tritium in soil analysis. The investigative techniques have widespread applications to other nuclear generating stations. (author)

Future Discounting in Congo Basin Hunter-Gatherers Declines with Socio-Economic Transitions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gul Deniz Salali

Full Text Available Humans have a tendency to discount the future; that is we value small, short-term rewards over larger, long-term rewards. The degree of future discounting, however, changes in response to socio-ecological factors. Here, we study Mbendjele BaYaka hunter-gatherers of northern Congo and their farmer neighbours to investigate adaptations in inter-temporal preferences in humans. We argue that in immediate-return systems, where food storage is absent and egalitarianism is enforced through levelling mechanisms, future discounting is an adaptive strategy to prevent wealth accumulation and the emergence of hierarchies. This ensures food sharing and allows for survival in unpredictable environments where there is risk of an energy shortfall. On the other hand, when food storage is made possible by the emergence of agriculture or as seen in some delayed-return hunter-gatherer populations, wealth accumulation, hierarchies and lower discount rates become the adaptive strategy. Therefore, individuals in immediate-return, egalitarian societies will discount the future more than those in non-egalitarian, delayed-return societies. Consistent with the predictions we found that market integration and socio-economic transitions decrease the future discounting in Mbendjele hunter-gatherers. Our measures of socio-economic differences marked this transition in hunter-gatherers living in a logging town. The degree of future-discounting was the same between more market-integrated hunter-gatherers and their farmer neighbours.

Analysis of the Economic Potential for a Mercosur Rice Futures Market

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Waldemar Antonio da Rocha de Souza

2015-08-01

Full Text Available World rice production reached 488.4 thousand tons, in 2012. Asian countries are the world’s largest rice producers, followed by Latinamerica, particularly Brazil, where rice is a basic food item. In spite of the clear economic benefits bestowed by commodity futures markets, neither Asia nor Mercosur have implemented a regional rice futures market. In sum, we propose to investigate the feasibility of a Brazilian rice futures contract to serve the Mercosur region by estimating Mercosur rice price dynamics and analyze basis risk and hedging effectiveness for rice market agents in the region, in a simulation framework using a hypothetical regional contract price. Sample data and period was non-probabilistic, for accessibility and convenience. Mercosur rice price dynamics expressed Argentina and Uruguay rice prices moving in synchrony. Brazil rice prices were on lower levels. Also, all three pairs of rice price series are cointegrated, with one cointegrating equation. Again, results can be largely attributed to the different price data used, in Brazil was rough rice, while in Uruguay and Argentina milled white rice with 5%. Despite that, there are preliminary evidences that a Mercosur rice futures market could be feasible.

Small Vessel Cerebrovascular Disease: The Past, Present, and Future

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Réza Behrouz

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Brain infarction due to small vessel cerebrovascular disease (SVCD—also known as small vessel infarct (SVI or “lacunar” stroke—accounts for 20% to 25% of all ischemic strokes. Historically, SVIs have been associated with a favorable short-term prognosis. However, studies over the years have demonstrated that SVCD/SVI is perhaps a more complex and less benign phenomenon than generally presumed. The currently employed diagnostic and therapeutic strategies are based upon historical and contemporary perceptions of SVCD/SVI. What is discovered in the future will unmask the true countenance of SVCD/SVI and help furnish more accurate prognostication schemes and effective treatments for this condition. This paper is an overview of SVCD/SVI with respect to the discoveries of the past, what is known now, and what will the ongoing investigations evince in the future.

Characterization of future drought conditions in the Lower Mekong River Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Madusanka Thilakarathne

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This study evaluates future changes to drought characteristics in the Lower Mekong River Basin using climate model projections. The Lower Mekong Basin (LMB, covering Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, is vulnerable to increasing droughts. Univariate analysis was employed in this study to compare drought characteristics associated with different return periods for the historical period 1964–2005 and future scenarios (RCP 4.5 2016–2057, RCP 4.5 2058–2099, RCP 8.5 2016–2057 and RCP 8.5 2058–2099. Because a single drought event is defined by several correlated characteristics, drought risk assessment by a multivariate analysis was deemed appropriate, and a multivariate analysis of droughts was conducted using copula functions to investigate the differences in the trivariate joint occurrence probabilities of the historical period and future scenarios. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI was selected as the drought index because of its ability to detect and compare metrological droughts across time and space scales. Historical precipitation data from 1964 to 2005 and future precipitation projections from 2016 to 2099 for 15 global circulation models (GCMs obtained from the NASA Earth Exchange Global Daily Downscaled Projections (NEX-GDDP dataset were employed. In all future scenarios, the Lower LMB and 3S subbasins were expected to experience more severe and intense droughts. The multivariate drought risk assessment revealed an increase in drought risks in the LMB. However, the Chi-Mun subbasin may experience an alleviation of future drought characteristics. Because the basin was expected to experience an increase in average monthly precipitation in most months, the variability in magnitude suggested that the LMB region requires adaptation strategies to address future drought occurrences.

Clinical Trials in Cardiac Arrest and Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: Lessons from the Past and Ideas for the Future

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer A. Frontera

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Elevated intracranial pressure that occurs at the time of cerebral aneurysm rupture can lead to inadequate cerebral blood flow, which may mimic the brain injury cascade that occurs after cardiac arrest. Insights from clinical trials in cardiac arrest may provide direction for future early brain injury research after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH. Methods. A search of PubMed from 1980 to 2012 and clinicaltrials.gov was conducted to identify published and ongoing randomized clinical trials in aneurysmal SAH and cardiac arrest patients. Only English, adult, human studies with primary or secondary mortality or neurological outcomes were included. Results. A total of 142 trials (82 SAH, 60 cardiac arrest met the review criteria (103 published, 39 ongoing. The majority of both published and ongoing SAH trials focus on delayed secondary insults after SAH (70%, while 100% of cardiac arrest trials tested interventions within the first few hours of ictus. No SAH trials addressing treatment of early brain injury were identified. Twenty-nine percent of SAH and 13% of cardiac arrest trials showed outcome benefit, though there is no overlap mechanistically. Conclusions. Clinical trials in SAH assessing acute brain injury are warranted and successful interventions identified by the cardiac arrest literature may be reasonable targets of the study.

Time Perspectives and Gambling in Adolescent Boys: Differential Effects of Present- and Future-Orientation.

Science.gov (United States)

Donati, Maria Anna; Sottili, Elena; Morsanyi, Kinga; Primi, Caterina

2018-06-04

Adolescent boys are characterised by increased risk-taking behavior, including a relatively high propensity to develop problem gambling habits. The association between gambling and sensitivity to immediately available rewards is well-established, suggesting that gamblers are less influenced by potential future consequences than non-gamblers. Nevertheless, existing studies have considered present- and future-orientation as two ends of the same continuum, and have not investigated the possibility that present and future perspectives might make independent contributions to gambling behavior. In the current study, we adopted Zimbardo's multidimensional approach, which discriminates between not only present and future perspectives, but also between a hedonistic and fatalistic present-orientation (in addition to positive and negative orientations towards the past). The participants were 223 male adolescents (mean age = 16.7 years). We investigated the effects of time perspectives on gambling frequency and gambling problem severity, after taking into account the effects of age, sensation seeking, and gambling-related cognitive distortions. Gambling frequency was significantly predicted by the present fatalistic perspective, and problem gambling was significantly (negatively) related to the future perspective. The present hedonistic and past negative perspectives were also significantly related to both gambling frequency and gambling problems, although they did not explain additional variance in gambling behavior when the effects of the other factors were controlled. Overall, these results offer a fresh perspective on the role of time perspectives in gambling behavior, with potential implications for understanding the origins of gambling problems and the development of novel interventions.

Energy Futures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Davies, Sarah Rachael; Selin, Cynthia

2012-01-01

foresight and public and stakeholder engagement are used to reflect on?and direct?the impacts of new technology. In this essay we draw on our experience of anticipatory governance, in the shape of the ?NanoFutures? project on energy futures, to present a reflexive analysis of engagement and deliberation. We...... draw out five tensions of the practice of deliberation on energy technologies. Through tracing the lineages of these dilemmas, we discuss some of the implications of these tensions for the practice of civic engagement and deliberation in a set of questions for this community of practitioner-scholars....

Positive thinking about the future in newspaper reports and presidential addresses predicts economic downturn.

Science.gov (United States)

Sevincer, A Timur; Wagner, Greta; Kalvelage, Johanna; Oettingen, Gabriele

2014-04-01

Previous research has shown that positive thinking, in the form of fantasies about an idealized future, predicts low effort and poor performance. In the studies reported here, we used computerized content analysis of historical documents to investigate the relation between positive thinking about the future and economic development. During the financial crisis from 2007 to 2009, the more weekly newspaper articles in the economy page of USA Today contained positive thinking about the future, the more the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined in the subsequent week and 1 month later. In addition, between the New Deal era and the present time, the more presidential inaugural addresses contained positive thinking about the future, the more the gross domestic product and the employment rate declined in the presidents' subsequent tenures. These counterintuitive findings may help reveal the psychological processes that contribute to an economic crisis.

Oil futures and spot markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Samii, M.V.

1992-01-01

In the last decade, the oil futures market has risen to prominence and has become a major factor in influencing oil market psychology and the crude oil market. On a normal day, over 92 thousand contracts, the equivalent of 92 million barrels per day, change hands on the New York Mercantile Exchange, NYMEX. This market has provided a vehicle for hedging against risk. At the same time, it has also created opportunities for speculation. Those who previously were unable to participate in oil market transactions can now become involved through the futures market. The large number of participants in the future market and the availability of information has made this market more efficient and transparent, relative to the crude oil market. While there has been considerable in-depth analysis of other future markets, relatively little theoretical attention has focused on that of oil. This paper looks at the following issues. First, what is the relationship between futures and spot oil prices? And secondly, are futures prices a good predictor of spot crude prices in the future? (author)

Future planning in preschool children.

Science.gov (United States)

Moffett, Lillie; Moll, Henrike; FitzGibbon, Lily

2018-05-01

The capacity to plan ahead and provide the means for future ends is an important part of human practical reasoning. When this capacity develops in ontogeny is the matter of an ongoing debate. In this study, 4- and 5-year-olds performed a future planning task in which they had to create the means (a picture of a particular object, e.g., a banana) that was necessary to address a future end (of completing a game in which such a picture was missing). Children of both ages drew more targets than children in a control condition in which there was no future end to be pursued. Along with prior findings, the results suggest a major progression in children's future thinking between 3 and 5 years. Our findings expand on prior knowledge by showing that young children cannot only identify the probate means to future ends but determine such ends and create the means to achieve them, thus offering compelling evidence for future planning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Use of prescription drugs and future delinquency among adolescent offenders.

Science.gov (United States)

Drazdowski, Tess K; Jäggi, Lena; Borre, Alicia; Kliewer, Wendy L

2015-01-01

Non-medical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD) by adolescents is a significant public health concern. The present study investigated the profile of NMUPD in 1349 adolescent offenders from the Pathways to Desistance project, and whether NMUPD predicted future delinquency using longitudinal data. Results indicated that increased frequency and recency of NMUPD in adolescent offenders are related to some demographic factors, as well as increased risk for violence exposure, mental health diagnoses, other drug use, and previous delinquency, suggesting that severity of NMUPD is important to consider. However, ANCOVA analyses found that NMUPD was not a significant predictor of drug-related, non-aggressive, or aggressive delinquency 12 months later beyond other known correlates of delinquency. Age, sex, exposure to violence, lower socioeconomic status, more alcohol use, and having delinquency histories were more important than NMUPD in predicting future delinquency. These findings suggest that although NMUPD is an important risk factor relating to many correlates of delinquency, it does not predict future delinquency beyond other known risk factors. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The satisfaction, motivation, and future of community preceptors: the North Carolina experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Latessa, Robyn; Beaty, Norma; Landis, Suzanne; Colvin, Gaye; Janes, Cynthia

2007-07-01

To measure satisfaction and motivation of community-based preceptors, and to examine differences between degree groups of physicians, pharmacists, advanced-practice nurses (nurse practitioners and certified nurse midwives), and physician assistants. In spring 2005, the authors mailed a four-page, 24-item survey to all 2,061 community-based primary care preceptors served by the North Carolina Area Health Education Centers system. The survey measured preceptor satisfaction, likelihood of continuing as a preceptor, influence of having students, motivation for teaching, satisfaction in professional practice, satisfaction with incentives, and value of incentives. Response rate was 69.3%, or 1,428 preceptors. Most preceptors (93.0%) reported high satisfaction with their precepting experience, and 90.9% indicated high likelihood of continuing to precept for the next five years. Almost all preceptors (93.7%) reported they were satisfied with their professional life. Many community preceptors (57.2%) were satisfied with incentives. They placed greater value on the intrinsic reasons for precepting (i.e., enjoyment of teaching) rather than extrinsic rewards (such as no-cost online library resources). Degree groups placed differing values on intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. Physicians reported more negativity about the influence of students and regarding aspects of their professional lives. Tailoring support to better meet individual degree groups' preferences can maximize resources and may encourage preceptor retention. Special attention to physicians' needs may be warranted to avoid decreased preceptor numbers in this at-risk group. Future studies are needed to determine whether these findings are unique to North Carolina, which has a strong infrastructure to support preceptors.

Theoretical development of atomic structure: Past, present and future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tiwary, S.N.

1994-11-01

Theoretical development of atomic structure is briefly discussed. The role of correlation, relativity, quantum electrodynamic (QED), finite nuclear size (FNS) and parity nonconservation (PNC) in high precision theoretical investigation of properties of atomic and ionic systems is demonstrated. At present, we do not have a comprehensive and practical atomic structure theory which accounts all these physical effects on an equal footing. Suggestions are made for future directions. (author). 108 refs, 5 figs, 9 tabs

Limit structure of future null infinity tangent-topology of the event horizon and gravitational wave tail

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tomizawa, Shinya; Siino, Masaru

2006-01-01

We investigated the relation between the behaviour of gravitational waves at late time and the limit structure of future null infinity tangent which will determine the topology of the event horizon far in the future. In the present paper, we mainly consider a spacetime with two black holes. Although in most cases, the black holes coalesce and the event horizon is topologically a single sphere far in the future, there are several possibilities that the black holes never coalesce and such exact solutions as examples. In our formulation, the tangent vector of future null infinity is, under conformal embedding, related to the number of black holes far in the future through the Poincare-Hopf theorem. Under the conformal embedding, the topology of the event horizon far in the future will be affected by the geometrical structure of the future null infinity. In this paper, we relate the behaviour of Weyl curvature to this limit behaviour of the generator vector of the future null infinity. We show if Weyl curvature decays sufficiently slowly at late time in the neighbourhood of future null infinity, two black holes never coalesce

Future Climate Data from RCP 4.5 and Occurrence of Malaria in Korea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaewon Kwak

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Since its reappearance at the Military Demarcation Line in 1993, malaria has been occurring annually in Korea. Malaria is regarded as a third grade nationally notifiable disease susceptible to climate change. The objective of this study is to quantify the effect of climatic factors on the occurrence of malaria in Korea and construct a malaria occurrence model for predicting the future trend of malaria under the influence of climate change. Using data from 2001–2011, the effect of time lag between malaria occurrence and mean temperature, relative humidity and total precipitation was investigated using spectral analysis. Also, a principal component regression model was constructed, considering multicollinearity. Future climate data, generated from RCP 4.5 climate change scenario and CNCM3 climate model, was applied to the constructed regression model to simulate future malaria occurrence and analyze the trend of occurrence. Results show an increase in the occurrence of malaria and the shortening of annual time of occurrence in the future.

Future climate data from RCP 4.5 and occurrence of malaria in Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwak, Jaewon; Noh, Huiseong; Kim, Soojun; Singh, Vijay P; Hong, Seung Jin; Kim, Duckgil; Lee, Keonhaeng; Kang, Narae; Kim, Hung Soo

2014-10-15

Since its reappearance at the Military Demarcation Line in 1993, malaria has been occurring annually in Korea. Malaria is regarded as a third grade nationally notifiable disease susceptible to climate change. The objective of this study is to quantify the effect of climatic factors on the occurrence of malaria in Korea and construct a malaria occurrence model for predicting the future trend of malaria under the influence of climate change. Using data from 2001-2011, the effect of time lag between malaria occurrence and mean temperature, relative humidity and total precipitation was investigated using spectral analysis. Also, a principal component regression model was constructed, considering multicollinearity. Future climate data, generated from RCP 4.5 climate change scenario and CNCM3 climate model, was applied to the constructed regression model to simulate future malaria occurrence and analyze the trend of occurrence. Results show an increase in the occurrence of malaria and the shortening of annual time of occurrence in the future.

Oil prices, speculation, and fundamentals. Interpreting causal relations among spot and futures prices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaufmann, Robert K.; Ullman, Ben

2009-01-01

A consensus that the world oil market is unified begs the question, where do innovations in oil prices enter the market? Here we investigate where changes in the price of crude oil originate and how they spread by examining causal relationships among prices for crude oils from North America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East on both spot and futures markets. Results indicate that innovations first appear in spot prices for Dubai-Fateh and spread to other spot and futures prices while other innovations first appear in the far month contract for West Texas Intermediate and spread to other exchanges and contracts. Links between spot and futures markets are relatively weak and this may have allowed the long-run relationship between spot and future prices to change after September 2004. Together, these results suggest that market fundamentals initiated a long-term increase in oil prices that was exacerbated by speculators, who recognized an increase in the probability that oil prices would rise over time. (author)

Future trends in reprocessing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rouyer, H.

1994-01-01

This paper about future trends in reprocessing essentially reflects French experience and points of view as an example of countries which, like England and Japan, consider that reprocessing is the best solution for the back end of the fuel cycle. In order to know what the future will be, it is necessary to look back at the past and try to find what have been the main reasons for evolution in that period. For reprocessing, it appears that these motivations have been 'safety and economics'. They will remain the motivations for the future. In addition, new motivations for development are starting to appear which are still imprecise but can be expressed as follows: 'which guarantees will public opinion require in order to be convinced that solutions for waste management, proposed by specialists shall ensure that a healthy environment is preserved for the use of future generations'. Consequently the paper examines successively the evolution of reprocessing in the recent past, what the immediate future could be and finally what should be necessary in the long term. (Author)

Energy Saving Potential of PCMs in Buildings under Future Climate Conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdo Abdullah Ahmed Gassar

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Energy consumption reduction under changing climate conditions is a major challenge in buildings design, where excessive energy consumption creates an economic and environmental burden. Improving thermal performance of the buildings through support applying phase change material (PCM is a promising strategy for reducing building energy consumption under future climate change. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the energy saving potentials in buildings under future climate conditions in the humid and snowy regions in the hot continental and humid subtropical climates of the east Asia (Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong when various PCMs with different phase change temperatures are applied to a lightweight building envelope. Methodology in this work is implemented in two phases: firstly, investigation of energy saving potentials in buildings through inclusion of three types of PCMs with different phase temperatures into the building envelop separately and use weather file in the present (2017; and, secondly, evaluation of the effect of future climate change on the performance of PCMs by analyzing energy saving potentials of PCMs with 2020, 2050 and 2080 weather data. The results show that the inclusion of PCM into the building envelope is a promising strategy to increase the energy performance in buildings during both heating and cooling seasons in Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong under future climate conditions. The energy savings achieved by using PCMs in those regions are electricity savings of 4.48–8.21%, 3.81–9.69%, and 1.94–5.15%, and gas savings of 1.65–16.59%, 7.60–61.76%, and 62.07–93.33% in Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong, respectively, for the years 2017, 2020, 2050 and 2080. In addition, BioPCM and RUBITHERMPCM are the most efficient for improving thermal performance and saving energy in buildings in the tested regions and years.

Male contraception: past, present and future.

Science.gov (United States)

Payne, Christopher; Goldberg, Erwin

2014-01-01

Current contraceptive options available to men include withdrawal, condoms, and vasectomy, each of which has its own drawbacks. In this chapter we will describe the pros and cons for each, as well as methodological and product updates. Statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control on acceptance and satisfaction will be included. Advances in vasectomy and reversal will be presented. Methods to develop new contraceptive technologies fall into two categories: hormonal and non-hormonal. Many targets and strategies have been proposed for non-hormonal male contraception within the testis. Targets include structural components in the testis, as well as enzymes, ion channels and other proteins specific to spermatozoa. Here we provide an overview of the spermatogenic mechanisms and proteins that have received research interest to date. We also discuss potential novel targets, such as ubiquitin specific proteases, that warrant greater research emphasis.

Investigating physics learning with layered student interaction networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bruun, Jesper; Traxler, Adrienne

Centrality in student interaction networks (SINs) can be linked to variables like grades [1], persistence [2], and participation [3]. Recent efforts in the field of network science have been done to investigate layered - or multiplex - networks as mathematical objects [4]. These networks can be e......, this study investigates how target entropy [5,1] and pagerank [6,7] are affected when we take time and modes of interaction into account. We present our preliminary models and results and outline our future work in this area....

CANDU fuel cycles - present and future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mooradian, A.J.

1976-05-01

The present commercially proven Canadian nuclear power system is based on a once-through natural uranium fuel cycle characterized by high uranium utilization and a high conversion efficiency. The cycle closes with secure retrievable storage of spent fuel. This cycle is based on a CANDU reactor concept which is now well understood. Both active and passive fuel storage options have been investigated and will be described in this paper. Future development of the CANDU system is focussed on conservation of uranium by plutonium and thorium recycle. The full exploitation of these options requires continued emphasis on neutron conservation, efficiency of extraction and fuel refabrication processes. The results of recent studies are discussed in this paper. (author)

Back to the futures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahrens, F.

1991-01-01

A futures contract simply is this: an agreement to buy or sell a certain amount of a certain item for an agreed-upon price at some time in the future - for instance, an agreement to buy 10,000 million British thermal units (MMBtu) of natural gas six months from now at $2.00 per MMBtu. Futures contracts are used for commodities that experience a great deal of price volatility. The gas industry, like the wheat farmer, also has concerns about price volatility

Interactive Technologies of Foreign Language Teaching in Future Marine Specialists’ Training: from Experience of the Danube River Basin Universities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olga Demchenko

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The article deals with the investigation of the interactive technologies of foreign language teaching in future marine specialists’ training in the Danube river basin universities. The author gives definitions of the most popular interactive technologies aimed to form communicative competence as a significant component of future mariners’ key competencies. Typology and analysis of some interactive technologies of foreign language teaching in future marine specialists’ training are provided.

Civil Engineering Optimisation Tool for the Study of CERN's Future Circular Colliders

OpenAIRE

Cook, Charlie; Goddard, Brennan; Lebrun, Philippe; Osborne, John; Robert, Youri; Sturzaker, C; Sykes, M; Loo, Y; Brasser, J; Trunk, R

2015-01-01

The feasibility of Future Circular Colliders (FCC), possible successors to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), is currently under investigation at CERN. This paper describes how CERN’s civil engineering team are utilising an interactive tool containing a 3D geological model of the Geneva basin. This tool will be used to investigate the optimal position of the proposed 80km-100km tunnel. The benefits of using digital modelling during the feasibility stage are discussed and some early results of t...

A study on relationship between abnormal accruals and future profitability: Evidence from Tehran Stock Exchange

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Khodaei Valahzaghard

2013-11-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an empirical investigation to study the relationship between future profitability and abnormal accruals on selected firms from Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE. The study selects 223 firms from TSE market over the period 2007-2011. Using the regression analysis, the study shows there was no meaningful relationship between abnormal earnings and future profitability when the level of significance is five percent. There are also seven sub-hypotheses associated with the proposed study of this paper. The results indicate that while there were no meaningful relationship between firm size, ratio of book value to equity, capital expenditure, earnings quality, earning forecasted error and book value leverage on one side and future earnings, the study confirms a significance relationship between market leverage and future earnings.

The Personality of Past, Present and Future Speech-Language Pathology Students

Science.gov (United States)

Byrne, Nicole

2018-01-01

Background: As allied health professions change over time to keep up with and reflect a rapidly changing society, it is quite possible that the people attracted to the profession may also change. If this is the case, then knowing this could be critical for future workforce marketing, training and planning. Aims: The aim was to investigate whether…

Status of White Sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus Richardson, 1863) throughout the species range, threats to survival, and prognosis for the future

Science.gov (United States)

Hildebrand, L. R.; Drauch Schreier, Andrea; Lepla, K.; McAdam, S. O.; McLellan, J; Parsley, Michael J.; Paragamian, V L; Young, S P

2016-01-01

White Sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus (WS), are distributed throughout three major river basins on the West Coast of North America: the Sacramento-San Joaquin, Columbia, and Fraser River drainages. Considered the largest North American freshwater fish, some WS use estuarine habitat and make limited marine movements between river basins. Some populations are listed by the United States or Canada as threatened or endangered (upper Columbia River above Grand Coulee Dam; Kootenai River; lower, middle and, upper Fraser River and Nechako River), while others do not warrant federal listing at this time (Sacramento-San Joaquin Rivers; Columbia River below Grand Coulee Dam; Snake River). Threats that impact WS throughout the species’ range include fishing effects and habitat alteration and degradation. Several populations suffer from recruitment limitations or collapse due to high early life mortality associated with these threats. Efforts to preserve WS populations include annual monitoring, harvest restrictions, habitat restoration, and conservation aquaculture. This paper provides a review of current knowledge on WS life history, ecology, physiology, behavior, and genetics and presents the status of WS in each drainage. Ongoing management and conservation efforts and additional research needs are identified to address present and future risks to the species.

Management of menopause-associated vasomotor symptoms: Current treatment options, challenges and future directions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deirdre R Pachman

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Deirdre R Pachman1, Jason M Jones1, Charles L Loprinzi21Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA; 2Medical Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USAAbstract: Hot flashes are one of the most common and distressing symptoms associated with menopause, occurring in more than 75% of postmenopausal women. They are especially problematic in breast cancer patients since some breast cancer therapies can induce hot flashes. For mild hot flashes, it is proposed that behavioral modifications are the first step in management. Hormonal therapies, including estrogens and progestogens, are the most well known effective agents in relieving hot flashes; however, the safety of these agents is controversial. There is an increasing amount of literature on nonhormonal agents for the treatment of hot flashes. The most promising data regard newer antidepressant agents such as venlafaxine, which reduces hot flashes by about 60%. Gabapentin is another nonhormonal agent that is effective in reducing hot flashes. While many complimentary therapies, including phytoestrogens, black cohosh, and dehydroepiandrosterone, have been explored for the treatment of hot flashes; none can be recommended at this time. Furthermore, there is a lack of strong evidence to support exercise, yoga, or relaxation for the treatment of hot flashes. Paced respirations and hypnosis appear to be promising enough to warrant further investigation. Another promising nonpharmacological therapy, currently under investigation, involves a stellate ganglion block.Keywords: vasomotor symptoms, hot flashes, menopause, therapy

Swedish medical students' expectations of their future life

Science.gov (United States)

Andersson, Jenny; Johansson, Eva E.; Verdonk, Petra; Lagro-Janssen, Antoine; Hamberg, Katarina

2011-01-01

Objectives: To investigate future life expectations among male and female medical students in their first and final year. Methods The study was cross-sectional and conducted at a Swedish medical school. Out of 600 invited students, 507 (85%) answered an open-ended question about their future life, 298 (59%) first-year students and 209 (41%) last-year students. Women constituted 60% of the respondents. A mixed model design was applied; qualitative content analysis was utilized to create statistically comparable themes and categories. Results Students’ written answers were coded, categorized and clustered into four themes: “Work”, “Family”, “Leisure” and “Quality of personal life”. Almost all students included aspects of work in their answers. Female students were more detailed than male ones in their family concerns. Almost a third of all students reflected on a future work-life balance, but considerations regarding quality of personal life and leisure were more common among last-year students. Conclusions Today’s medical students expect more of life than work, especially those standing on the doorstep of working life. They intend to balance work not only with a family but also with leisure activities. Our results reflect work attitudes that challenge the health care system for more adaptive working conditions. We suggest that discussions about work-life balance should be included in medical curricula.

PAH Spectroscopy: Past, Present and Future

Science.gov (United States)

Mattioda, Andrew

2016-01-01

Since their discovery in the 1970's, astronomers, astrophysicists and astrochemists have been intrigued by the nearly ubiquitous unidentified infrared emission (UIR) bands. In the 1980's, investigators determined the most probably source of these emissions was a family of molecules known as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons or simply PAHs. In order to better understand these interstellar IR features and utilize them as chemical probes of the cosmos, laboratory spectroscopists have spent the last three decades investigating the spectroscopy of PAHs under astrophysically relevant conditions. This presentation will discuss the similarities and differences in the spectroscopic properties of PAHs as one goes from the Far to Mid to Near infrared wavelength regions and probe the changes observed in PAH spectra as they go from neutral to ionized molecules suspended in an inert gas matrix, to PAHs in a water ice matrix and as a thin film. In selected instances, the experimental results will be compared to theoretical values. The presentation will conclude with a discussion on the future directions of PAH spectroscopy.

Future of medical physics: Real-time MRI-guided proton therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Oborn, Bradley M; Dowdell, Stephen; Metcalfe, Peter E; Crozier, Stuart; Mohan, Radhe; Keall, Paul J

2017-08-01

With the recent clinical implementation of real-time MRI-guided x-ray beam therapy (MRXT), attention is turning to the concept of combining real-time MRI guidance with proton beam therapy; MRI-guided proton beam therapy (MRPT). MRI guidance for proton beam therapy is expected to offer a compelling improvement to the current treatment workflow which is warranted arguably more than for x-ray beam therapy. This argument is born out of the fact that proton therapy toxicity outcomes are similar to that of the most advanced IMRT treatments, despite being a fundamentally superior particle for cancer treatment. In this Future of Medical Physics article, we describe the various software and hardware aspects of potential MRPT systems and the corresponding treatment workflow. Significant software developments, particularly focused around adaptive MRI-based planning will be required. The magnetic interaction between the MRI and the proton beamline components will be a key area of focus. For example, the modeling and potential redesign of a magnetically compatible gantry to allow for beam delivery from multiple angles towards a patient located within the bore of an MRI scanner. Further to this, the accuracy of pencil beam scanning and beam monitoring in the presence of an MRI fringe field will require modeling, testing, and potential further development to ensure that the highly targeted radiotherapy is maintained. Looking forward we envisage a clear and accelerated path for hardware development, leveraging from lessons learnt from MRXT development. Within few years, simple prototype systems will likely exist, and in a decade, we could envisage coupled systems with integrated gantries. Such milestones will be key in the development of a more efficient, more accurate, and more successful form of proton beam therapy for many common cancer sites. © 2017 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Salmon Site Remedial Investigation Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-01-01

This Salmon Site Remedial Investigation Report provides the results of activities initiated by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to determine if contamination at the Salmon Site poses a current or future risk to human health and the environment. These results were used to develop and evaluate a range of risk-based remedial alternatives. Located in Lamar County, Mississippi, the Salmon Site was used by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (predecessor to the DOE) between 1964 and 1970 for two nuclear and two gas explosions conducted deep underground in a salt dome. The testing resulted in the release of radionuclides into the salt dome. During reentry drilling and other site activities, liquid and solid wastes containing radioactivity were generated resulting in surface soil and groundwater contamination. Most of the waste and contaminated soil and water were disposed of in 1993 during site restoration either in the cavities left by the tests or in an injection well. Other radioactive wastes were transported to the Nevada Test Site for disposal. Nonradioactive wastes were disposed of in pits at the site and capped with clean soil and graded. The preliminary investigation showed residual contamination in the Surface Ground Zero mud pits below the water table. Remedial investigations results concluded the contaminant concentrations detected present no significant risk to existing and/or future land users, if surface institutional controls and subsurface restrictions are maintained. Recent sampling results determined no significant contamination in the surface or shallow subsurface. The test cavity resulting from the experiments is contaminated and cannot be economically remediated with existing technologies. The ecological sampling did not detect biological uptake of contaminants in the plants or animals sampled. Based on the current use of the Salmon Site, the following remedial actions were identified to protect both human health and the environment: (1) the

Pairs Trading to the Commodities Futures Market Using Cointegration Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cüneyt Ungever

2015-10-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates pairs trading strategy by using the cointegration method among the 10 most popular agricultural future markets. It is found that only in 2 pairs shows trading signal. The pairs trading strategy is performed in two stages that are the formation period and the trading period with daily futures data from 2004 to 2015. After the formation period was constructed, it is assumed that the cointegration error continues to hold the trading period same as it does for the formation period. The pairs trading strategy is created by the long position cotton and the short position coffee and also long position cotton and short position the livecattle. It is found that the profitability of this strategy worked well in both formation period and trading period.

Moderating effect of age on the association between future time perspective and preventive coping.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Tao; Liu, Lu-Lu; Cui, Ji-Fang; Chen, Xing-Jie; Shi, Hai-Song; Neumann, David L; Shum, David H K; Wang, Ya; Chan, Raymond C K

2017-09-01

The present study aimed to investigate the moderating effect of age on the relationship between future time perspective (FTP) and future-oriented coping. A total of 1,915 participants aged 9-84 years completed measures of FTP and future-oriented coping. Moderation analyses were conducted to examine whether age played a role in the association between FTP and future-oriented coping (proactive and preventive). Results showed that proactive and preventive coping were negatively correlated with age, and age moderated the association between FTP and preventive coping but not proactive coping. Furthermore, the strength of the positive association between FTP and preventive coping was strongest among the older participants, moderate among the middle-aged participants, and weakest among the younger participants. These results suggest that the association between FTP and preventive coping varies across the lifespan. © 2017 The Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Progress Toward Future Runway Management

Science.gov (United States)

Lohr, Gary W.; Brown, Sherilyn A.; Atkins, Stephen; Eisenhawer, Stephen W.; Bott, Terrance F.; Long, Dou; Hasan, Shahab

2011-01-01

The runway is universally acknowledged as a constraining factor to capacity in the National Airspace System (NAS). It follows that investigation of the effective use of runways, both in terms of selection and assignment, is paramount to the efficiency of future NAS operations. The need to address runway management is not a new idea; however, as the complexities of factors affecting runway selection and usage increase, the need for effective research in this area correspondingly increases. Under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration s Airspace Systems Program, runway management is a key research area. To address a future NAS which promises to be a complex landscape of factors and competing interests among users and operators, effective runway management strategies and capabilities are required. This effort has evolved from an assessment of current practices, an understanding of research activities addressing surface and airspace operations, traffic flow management enhancements, among others. This work has yielded significant progress. Systems analysis work indicates that the value of System Oriented Runway Management tools is significantly increased in the metroplex environment over that of the single airport case. Algorithms have been developed to provide runway configuration recommendations for a single airport with multiple runways. A benefits analysis has been conducted that indicates the SORM benefits include supporting traffic growth, cost reduction as a result of system efficiency, NAS optimization from metroplex operations, fairness in aircraft operations, and rational decision making.

An investigation into ciguatoxin bioaccumulation in sharks.

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Lauren; Capper, Angela; Carter, Steve; Simpfendorfer, Colin

2016-09-01

Ciguatoxins (CTXs) produced by benthic Gambierdiscus dinoflagellates, readily biotransform and bioaccumulate in food chains ultimately bioconcentrating in high-order, carnivorous marine species. Certain shark species, often feeding at, or near the top of the food-chain have the ability to bioaccumulate a suite of toxins, from both anthropogenic and algal sources. As such, these apex predators are likely sinks for CTXs. This assumption, in conjunction with anecdotal knowledge of poisoning incidents, several non-specific feeding trials whereby various terrestrial animals were fed suspect fish flesh, and a single incident in Madagascar in 1994, have resulted in the widespread acceptance that sharks may accumulate CTXs. This prompted a study to investigate original claims within the literature, as well as investigate CTX bioaccumulation in the muscle and liver of 22 individual sharks from nine species, across four locations along the east coast of Australia. Utilizing an updated ciguatoxin extraction method with HPLC-MS/MS, we were unable to detect P-CTX-1, P-CTX-2 or P-CTX-3, the three primary CTX congeners, in muscle or liver samples. We propose four theories to address this finding: (1) to date, methods have been optimized for teleost species and may not be appropriate for elasmobranchs, or the CTXs may be below the limit of detection; (2) CTX may be biotransformed into elasmobranch-specific congeners as a result of unique metabolic properties; (3) 22 individuals may be an inadequate sample size given the rare occurrence of high-order ciguatoxic organisms and potential for CTX depuration; and (4) the ephemeral nature and inconsistent toxin profiles of Gambierdiscus blooms may have undermined our classifications of certain areas as CTX hotspots. These results, in combination with the lack of clarity within the literature, suggest that ciguatoxin bioaccumulation in sharks remains elusive, and warrants further investigation to determine the dynamics of toxin production

World Future Mapping and Scenarios for the 21st Century

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vareikis Egidijus

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this text is to describe the methods of future studies, its possibilities and limitations, as well as to make some predictions about the real picture of the development of the 21st century. However, the planning is still not very reliable, and far from a “road map” framework. Thus, future studies are still balancing between science and scientific/artistic fiction. The set of methods of future investigation permits one to compose a few or even up to dozens of medium term or long term scenarios of the world’s future. There are a few well-proven laws of social and economic development as well as some partially predictable phenomena in the area of environment, biology, human ethic, etc. No future planning is secure from unpredictable phenomena – “black swans” – and their impact, nor secure from “political decisions” that destroy natural developments in society. So no one scenario can pretend to be absolutely right. The most frequent future scenarios are based on the wish to implement a copy of an existing “happy nation”, to fight undesirable trends, and create some kind of “dream society” while stimulating positives and inhibiting negative trends. The final version of a scenario depends also upon the “human factors”, e.g. knowledge, stereotypes of thinking, as well as the wishes of those who are financing the project. Generally they are “happy end” projects. This makes scenarios rather useless. Only the independent experts that present more realistic and reliable scenarios can help in the planning of medium term and long term futures. Currently many scenarios foresee the so-called American or European way of development, which is in fact the continuation of the existing world order. There is a growing number of publications about the emergence of China (and Russia as a great power as well as possibilities of a New Caliphate, New Messiah or new Orwellian style regimes.

The application of future workshops in a healthcare setting

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Natasha Lee; Johansen, Simon Kristoffer; Hansen, Louise

to promote the working process, and creativity tools are applied to promote a creative thinking process. No in-depth descriptions of the use of FW in a Danish healthcare setting have been found. Objective: Investigation of the applicability and value of using FW to create visions in a problem-solving process......Introduction: The future workshop (FW) is a method designed in the seventies by the Austrian Robert Jungk, and developed to create visions for the future in a problem-solving process. Initially, FW was applied as a tool in a political context to create social fantasies, and recently, FW has been...... with a critical approach. In the fantasy phase, the participants are instructed to describe a utopia to solve the problem. Lastly, the implementation phase evaluates ideas attained in the fantasy phase concerning potential implementation in everyday practice. Throughout all three phases, facilitation is necessary...

How Adolescents Construct Their Future: The Effect of Loneliness on Future Orientation

Science.gov (United States)

Seginer, Rachel; Lilach, Efrat

2004-01-01

This study examined the effect of loneliness, gender, and two dimensions of prospective life domains on adolescent future orientation. Future orientation was studied in four prospective domains: social relations, marriage and family, higher education and work and career. These domains are described in terms of two dimensions: theme (relational vs.…

Future accelerators: physics issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bjorken, J.D.

1977-11-01

High energy physics of the future using future accelerators is discussed. The proposed machines and instruments, physics issues and opportunities including brief sketches of outstanding recent results, and the way the proposed machines address these issues are considered. 42 references

Future indoor light and associated energy consumption based on professionals' visions: A practice- and network-oriented analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Franceschini, Simone; Borup, Mads; Rosales-Carreón, Jesús

2018-01-01

Through the insight and visions of Danish lighting experts, this manuscript investigates relationships between future lighting technologies and practices and the expected impacts on energy and lighting consumption. The light-emitting diode (LED) will be the dominant technology of the future smart...... light systems. Though, energy efficiency is expected to improve, new market players will appear and new lighting opportunites will be exploited that, in turn, will increase the demand for light. A rebound effect is expected. The overall impact on the future consumption of energy is uncertain, so we...

Asian Americans and Campus Climate: Investigating Group Differences around a Racial Incident

Science.gov (United States)

Johnston, Marc P.; Yeung, Fanny P. F

2014-01-01

Racially biased incidents pervade college campuses warranting further attention to their influence on campus climate. This study examines one such incident that targeted Asian American students, who are the largest racial group at the compositionally diverse institution. Using the Diverse Learning Environments survey and the "naturally…

Behavior Analysis and Ecological Psychology: Past, Present, and Future. A Review of Harry Heft's Ecological Psychology in Context

Science.gov (United States)

Morris, Edward K

2009-01-01

Relations between behavior analysis and ecological psychology have been strained for years, notwithstanding the occasional comment on their affinities. Harry Heft's (2001) Ecological Psychology in Context provides an occasion for reviewing anew those relations and affinities. It describes the genesis of ecological psychology in James's radical empiricism; addresses Holt's neorealism and Gestalt psychology; and synthesizes Gibson's ecological psychology and Barker's ecobehavioral science as a means for understanding everyday human behavior. Although behavior analysis is excluded from this account, Heft's book warrants a review nonetheless: It describes ecological psychology in ways that are congruent and complementary with behavior analysis (e.g., nonmediational theorizing; the provinces of natural history and natural science). After introducing modern ecological psychology, I comment on (a) Heft's admirable, albeit selective, historiography; (b) his ecological psychology—past and present—as it relates to Skinner's science and system (e.g., affordances, molar behavior); (c) his misunderstandings of Skinner's behaviorism (e.g., reductionistic, mechanistic, molecular); and (d) the theoretical status of Heft's cognitive terms and talk (i.e., in ontology, epistemology, syntax). I conclude by considering the alliance and integration of ecological psychology and behavior analysis, and their implications for unifying and transforming psychology as a life science, albeit more for the future than at present. PMID:20354604

Demystifying Managed Futures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hurst,, Brian; Hua Ooi, Yao; Heje Pedersen, Lasse

2013-01-01

We show that the returns of Managed Futures funds and CTAs can be explained by time series momentum strategies and we discuss the economic intuition behind these strategies. Time series momentum strategies produce large correlations and high R-squares with Managed Futures indices and individual m...... of implementation issues relevant to time series momentum strategies, including risk management, risk allocation across asset classes and trend horizons, portfolio rebalancing frequency, transaction costs, and fees....

The development of future thinking: young children's ability to construct event sequences to achieve future goals.

Science.gov (United States)

Prabhakar, Janani; Hudson, Judith A

2014-11-01

Previous studies suggest that the ability to think about and act on the future emerges between 3 and 5 years of age. However, it is unclear what underlying processes change during the development of early future-oriented behavior. We report three experiments that tested the emergence of future thinking ability through children's ability to explicitly maintain future goals and construct future scenarios. Our main objectives were to examine the effects of goal structure and the effects of working memory demands on children's ability to construct future scenarios and make choices to satisfy future goals. The results indicate that 4-year-olds were able to successfully accomplish two temporally ordered goals even with high working memory demands and a complex goal structure, whereas 3-year-olds were able to accomplish two goals only when the working memory demands were low and the goal structure did not involve additional demands from inferential reasoning and contingencies between the temporally ordered goals. Results are discussed in terms of the development of future thinking in conjunction with working memory, inferential reasoning ability, and goal maintenance abilities. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc.

The Future of Design: Unframed Problem Solving in Design Education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Friis, Silje Alberthe Kamille; Gelting, Anne Katrine Gøtzsche

2016-01-01

The present paper sets out to investigate the impact and significance of a 3rd semester course in design methods, complex problem solving, and cross-disciplinary collaboration to the students within six design disciplines as experienced by the students three years later. The course reflects a shi......, society, and technology influencing the future disciplines and practices of design and thus the professional roles that they themselves might take....

Positive futures? The impact of HIV infection on achieving health, wealth and future planning.

Science.gov (United States)

Harding, Richard; Molloy, Tim

2008-05-01

Although HIV is now cast as a chronic condition with favourable clinical outcomes under new treatments, it is unclear how living with HIV affects expectations and planning for the future. This mixed-methods study aimed to investigate UK gay men's expectations of their own future when living with HIV, and to identify the heath and social interventions required to enhance roles, participation and personal fulfilment. A preliminary focus group identified relevant domains of enquiry for a subsequent online cross-sectional survey. A total of 347 gay men living in the UK with HIV participated in the survey, and 56.6% were currently on treatment. However, high 7-day prevalence of psychological and physical symptoms was identified (42.6% in pain, 80.2% worrying); 57.8% perceived reduced career options due to their infection and 71.8% reduced life expectancy. Being on treatment was not significantly associated with perceived life expectancy. Coded open-ended survey data identified eight principle themes related to goal planning and attainment. The integrated open and closed data items offer an understanding of barriers and challenges that focus on poor mental health due to clinical inattention, discrimination and stigma, poor career and job opportunities due to benefit and workplace inflexibility and lack of understanding, a lack of personal goals and associated skills deficit related to confidence and self esteem. Gay men living with HIV require an integrated holistic approach to wellbeing that incorporates clinical, social and individual intervention in order to lead productive lives with maximum benefit from treatment gains.

Do strategic processes contribute to the specificity of future simulation in depression?

Science.gov (United States)

Addis, Donna Rose; Hach, Sylvia; Tippett, Lynette J

2016-06-01

The tendency to generate overgeneral past or future events is characteristic of individuals with a history of depression. Although much research has investigated the contribution of rumination and avoidance to the reduced specificity of past events, comparatively little research has examined (1) whether the specificity of future events is differentially reduced in depression and (2) the role of executive functions in this phenomenon. Our study aimed to redress this imbalance. Participants with either current or past experience of depressive symptoms ('depressive group'; N = 24) and matched controls ('control group'; N = 24) completed tests of avoidance, rumination, and executive functions. A modified Autobiographical Memory Test was administered to assess the specificity of past and future events. The depressive group were more ruminative and avoidant than controls, but did not exhibit deficits in executive function. Although overall the depressive group generated significantly fewer specific events than controls, this reduction was driven by a significant group difference in future event specificity. Strategic retrieval processes were correlated with both past and future specificity, and predictive of the future specificity, whereas avoidance and rumination were not. Our findings demonstrate that future simulation appears to be particularly vulnerable to disruption in individuals with current or past experience of depressive symptoms, consistent with the notion that future simulation is more cognitively demanding than autobiographical memory retrieval. Moreover, our findings suggest that even subtle changes in executive functions such as strategic processes may impact the ability to imagine specific future events. Future simulation may be particularly vulnerable to executive dysfunction in individuals with current/previous depressive symptoms, with evidence of a differential reduction in the specificity of future events. Strategic retrieval abilities were

Effect of interval training programme on pulse pressure in the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

EB

2013-09-03

Systolic Blood Pressure ... are consistent with the pathophysiological processes ... Hospitals Management Board and the faculty of ... et al13 using an automated digital electronic BP ..... however, warrants attention in future studies.

Future physics program at COSY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grzonka, D.; Kilian, K.

2001-01-01

At the COSY cooler synchrotron several experimental facilities are in operation at internal and external target stations. The combination of a high quality low emittance proton beam with high acceptance detector systems allows precise and kinematically complete experiments. The momentum range of the COSY beam from 300 MeV/c up to about 3.5 GeV/c opens a large field of experimental studies. Data have been taken in various reaction channels from elementary p-p interactions up to reactions on complex target nuclei resulting in a data base of high precision. These studies will be continued and extended to more detailed investigations in the future. Differential cross section distributions also for more than two body reactions will be extracted. By controlling the isospin and spin degrees of freedom the complexity will be reduced. Of specific interest are channels with strangeness. (orig.)

Powering the Future Data Centre

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Zhe

2010-01-01

of the characteristics of these two power sources: long warm-up stage and low dynamics for fuel cell, and variable terminal voltage for supercapacitors. The motivation for this project was to find ways which can overcome those limitations to integrate fuel cells and supercapcitors to the system with high efficiency......The extended run Uninterruptible Power Supply system (UPSs) which powered by fuel cells and supercapcitors, is a promising solution for future data centre to obtain environmentfriendly energy efficient and cost effective. There are many challenges in power electronic interface circuits, because......: • Optimized design method for dual active bridge (DAB) converter and its derived circuits; • A novel hybrid dc-dc converter and its corresponding optimal design method are proposed; • An improved dual input current-fed DC-DC converter with bidirectional power conversion ability is investigated; • Extend...

Future developments in biliary stenting

Science.gov (United States)

Hair, Clark D; Sejpal, Divyesh V

2013-01-01

Biliary stenting has evolved dramatically over the past 30 years. Advancements in stent design have led to prolonged patency and improved efficacy. However, biliary stenting is still affected by occlusion, migration, anatomical difficulties, and the need for repeat procedures. Multiple novel plastic biliary stent designs have recently been introduced with the primary goals of reduced migration and improved ease of placement. Self-expandable bioabsorbable stents are currently being investigated in animal models. Although not US Food and Drug Administration approved for benign disease, fully covered self-expandable metal stents are increasingly being used in a variety of benign biliary conditions. In malignant disease, developments are being made to improve ease of placement and stent patency for both hilar and distal biliary strictures. The purpose of this review is to describe recent developments and future directions of biliary stenting. PMID:23837001

The fractal feature and price trend in the gold future market at the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SFE)

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Binghui; Duan, Tingting

2017-05-01

The price of gold future is affected by many factors, which include the fluctuation of gold price and the change of trading environment. Fractal analysis can help investors gain better understandings of the price fluctuation and make reasonable investment decisions in the gold future market. After analyzing gold future price from January 2th, 2014 to April 12th, 2016 at the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SFE) in China, the conclusion is drawn that the gold future market has sustainability in each trading day, with all Hurst indexes greater than 0.5. The changing features of Hurst index indicate the sustainability of gold future market is strengthened first and weakened then. As a complicatedly nonlinear system, the gold future market can be well reflected by Elman neural network, which is capable of memorizing previous prices and particularly suited for forecasting time series in comparison with other types of neural networks. After analyzing the price trend in the gold future market, the results show that the relative error between the actual value of gold future and the predictive value of Elman neural network is smaller. This model that has a better performance in data fitting and predication, can help investors analyze and foresee the price tendency in the gold future market.

Radionuclide imaging of infection: what the future holds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Palestro, Christopher J. [Yeshiva University, NY (United States). Albert Einstein College of Medicine]. E-mail: palestro@lij.edu

2008-12-15

Nuclear Medicine plays an important role in the evaluation of patients suspected of harboring infection. Gallium imaging is especially useful for opportunistic infections and spinal osteomyelitis. In vitro labeled leukocyte imaging is the current radionuclide gold standard for imaging most infections, in immunocompetent patients, including cardiovascular, postoperative, and musculoskeletal infections (except spinal osteomyelitis). Several in-vivo leukocyte labeling methods have been investigated, but none are widely used. Results obtained with radiolabeled antibiotics have been disappointing. Data on FDG are still emerging, but this agent appears to be especially valuable in fever of unknown origin, spinal osteomyelitis, vasculitis and sarcoidosis. It is conceivable that in the near future, FDG-PET and PET/CT will replace gallium for many indications. Investigators also are studying ways to label leukocytes with positron emitters in order to combine the advantages of PET with those of labeled leukocytes. (author)

Containment structure tendon investigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fulton, J.F.; Murray, K.H.

1983-01-01

The paper describes an investigation into the possible causes of lower-than-predicted tendon forces which were measured during past tendon surveillances for a concrete containment. The containment is post tensioned by vertical tendons which are anchored into a rock foundation. The tendons were originally stressed in 1969, and lift-off tests were performed on six occasions subsequent to this date over a period of 11 years. The tendon forces measured in these tests were generally lower than predicted, and by 1979 the prestress level in the containment was only marginally above the design requirement. The tendons were retensioned in 1980, and by this time an investigation into the possible causes was underway. Potential causes investigated include the rock anchors and surrounding rock, elastomeric pad creep, wire stresses, thermal effects, stressing equipment and lift-off procedures, and wire stress relaxation. The investigation activities included stress relaxation testing of wires pulled from actual tendons. The stress relaxation test program included wire specimens at several different temperature and initial stress levels and the effect of a varying temperature history on the stress relaxation property of the wires. For purpose of future force predictions of the retensioned tendons, the test program included tests to determine the effect on stress relaxation due to restressing the wires after they had relaxed for 1000 hours and 10,000 hours. (orig./GL)

Beliefs and Perceptions about the Future: A Measurement of Future Time Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Husman, Jenefer; Shell, Duane F.

2008-01-01

Human's ability to consider the future, willingness to make sacrifices in the present to obtain something better in the future has been a significant part of our success as a species (Suddendorf, T., & Corballis, M. C. (1997). "Mental time travel and the evolution of the human mind." "Genetic, social, and general psychology monographs" 123,…

An investigation into the food and feeding ecology of a potential ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

An investigation into the food and feeding ecology of a potential aquaculture ... The juveniles of Sarotherodon galilaeus multifasciatus feed mainly on insect and ... recruitment are recommended to enhance future production of the species ...

Resources and future supply of oil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kjaerstad, Jan; Johnsson, Filip

2009-01-01

This paper examines global oil resources and the future global oil supply/demand balance. The paper builds upon several comprehensive databases designed during the work and considerable efforts have been made to review what must be considered the most reliable data. Global oil resources have been investigated on three levels; country, company and field levels. Although no decisive conclusions or quantitative assessments can be made with respect to the global oil resource base, remaining resources appear to be sufficient to meet demand up to 2030 as projected in the 2006 (and 2007) world energy outlook by the IEA. Significant resources have already been discovered beyond proven reserves, many prospective regions remain to be fully explored and there are vast volumes of recoverable unconventional oil. However, it is also concluded that global supply of oil probably will continue to be tight, both in the medium term as well as in the long term mainly as a consequence of above-ground factors such as investment constraints, geopolitical tensions, limited access to reserves and mature super-giant fields. Production of unconventional oil and synthetic fuels is not believed to significantly alter this situation. Although an increasing number of recent reports have indicated an imminent or 'soon to come' peak in global oil supply, it has not been found that any of these reports have contributed with any new information on oil resources or oil supply ability. Nevertheless, there is a distinct possibility that global oil production may peak or plateau in a relatively near future, not caused by limited resources but because too many factors over long time constrain investments into exploration and production. The lack of transparency within the oil industry obviously prevents any accurate analysis of future production and supply ability. Moreover, our ability to analyse the sector will become more difficult in the future as oil increasingly will have to be sourced from

True or spurious long memory in volatility: Further evidence on the energy futures markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Charfeddine, Lanouar

2014-01-01

The main goal of this paper is to investigate whether the long memory behavior observed in many volatility energy futures markets series is a spurious behavior or not. For this purpose, we employ a wide variety of advanced volatility models that allow for long memory and/or structural changes: the GARCH(1,1), the FIGARCH(1,d,1), the Adaptative-GARCH(1,1,k), and the Adaptative-FIGARCH(1,d,1,k) models. To compare forecasting ability of these models, we use out-of-sample forecasting performance. Using the crude oil, heating oil, gasoline and propane volatility futures energy time series with 1-month and 3-month maturities, we found that five out of the eight time series are characterized by both long memory and structural breaks. For these series, dates of breaks coincide with some major economics and financial events. For the three other time series, we found strong evidence of long memory in volatility. - Highlights: • This paper investigates the long memory properties of the futures energy volatility. • We estimate a variety of GARCH-class of models. • The Adaptative-FIGARCH(1,d,1,k) model has been used to account for both long memory and breaks. • 5 out of the 8 futures energy series are characterized by both long memory and structural breaks. • The 3 other series are characterized by only long range dependence in volatility

A Discussion of Future Time Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

McInerney, Dennis M.

2004-01-01

A growing area of research in educational psychology is future time perspective and its relationship to desired educational outcomes. This article discusses and critiques five reviews of current research on future time perspective. Key questions addressed are when do individuals begin to articulate a future, how far into the future does this…

Immunotherapy for pancreatic cancer: present and future.

Science.gov (United States)

Aroldi, Francesca; Zaniboni, Alberto

2017-06-01

Despite the identification of some efficient drugs for the treatment of metastatic pancreatic cancer, this tumor remains one of the most lethal cancers and is characterized by a strong resistance to therapies. Pancreatic cancer has some unique features including the presence of a microenvironment filled with immunosuppressive mediators and a dense stroma, which is both a physical barrier to drug penetration and a dynamic entity involved in immune system control. Therefore, the immune system has been hypothesized to play an important role in pancreatic cancer. Thus, therapies acting on innate or adaptive immunity are being investigated. Here, we review the literature, report the most interesting results and hypothesize future treatment directions.

FutureGen Project Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cabe, Jim; Elliott, Mike

2010-09-30

This report summarizes the comprehensive siting, permitting, engineering, design, and costing activities completed by the FutureGen Industrial Alliance, the Department of Energy, and associated supporting subcontractors to develop a first of a kind near zero emissions integrated gasification combined cycle power plant and carbon capture and storage project (IGCC-CCS). With the goal to design, build, and reliably operate the first IGCC-CCS facility, FutureGen would have been the lowest emitting pulverized coal power plant in the world, while providing a timely and relevant basis for coal combustion power plants deploying carbon capture in the future. The content of this report summarizes key findings and results of applicable project evaluations; modeling, design, and engineering assessments; cost estimate reports; and schedule and risk mitigation from initiation of the FutureGen project through final flow sheet analyses including capital and operating reports completed under DOE award DE-FE0000587. This project report necessarily builds upon previously completed siting, design, and development work executed under DOE award DE-FC26- 06NT4207 which included the siting process; environmental permitting, compliance, and mitigation under the National Environmental Policy Act; and development of conceptual and design basis documentation for the FutureGen plant. For completeness, the report includes as attachments the siting and design basis documents, as well as the source documentation for the following: • Site evaluation and selection process and environmental characterization • Underground Injection Control (UIC) Permit Application including well design and subsurface modeling • FutureGen IGCC-CCS Design Basis Document • Process evaluations and technology selection via Illinois Clean Coal Review Board Technical Report • Process flow diagrams and heat/material balance for slurry-fed gasifier configuration • Process flow diagrams and heat/material balance