Public knowledge about polar regions increases while concerns remain unchanged

The authors of this brief conduct the first comparative analysis of the polar questions that were part of the National Opinion Research Center\u27s 2006 and 2010 General Social Survey. Developed by scientists at the National Science Foundation\u27s Office of Polar Programs, these questions covered topics such as climate change, melting ice and rising sea levels, and species extinction. The authors report that the public\u27s knowledge about the north and south polar regions significantly improved between 2006 and 2010--before and after the International Polar Year. In addition, respondents who know more about science in general, and polar facts specifically, tend to be more concerned about polar changes. More knowledgeable respondents also tend to favor reserving the Antarctic for science, rather than opening it for commercial development

Determination of absorption length of CO2 and high power diode laser radiation for ordinary Portland cement and its influence on the depth of melting

The laser beam absorption lengths of CO2 and a high power diode laser (HPDL) radiation for concrete have been determined. By employing Beer-Lambert’s law the absorption lengths for concrete of CO2 and a HPDL radiation were 47022 m and 17715 m respectively. Indeed, this was borne out somewhat from a cross-sectional analysis of the melt region produced by both lasers which showed melting occurred to a greater depth when the CO2 laser was used

Determination of the absorption length of CO2, Nd:YAG and high power diode laser radiation for a selected grouting material

The laser beam absorption lengths of CO2, Nd:YAG and a high power diode laser (HPDL) radiation for a newly developed SiO2/Al2O3-based tile grout have been determined through the application of Beer-Lambert’s law. The findings revealed marked differences in the absorption lengths despite the material having similar beam absorption coefficients for the lasers. The absorption lengths for the SiO2/Al2O3-based tile grout for CO2, Nd:YAG and HPDL radiation were calculated as being 23211 m, 1934 m and 1838 m respectively. Moreover, this method of laser beam absorption length determination, which has hitherto been used predominantly with lasers operated in the pulsed mode, is shown to be valid for use with lasers operated in the continuous wave (CW) mode, depending upon the material being treated

Why Do Leaders Matter? The Role of Expert Knowledge

Why do some leaders succeed while others fail? This question is important, but its complexity makes it hard to study systematically. We draw on a setting where there are well-defined objectives, small teams of workers, and exact measures of leaders’ characteristics and organizational performance. We show that a strong predictor of a leader’s success in year T is that person’s own level of attainment, in the underlying activity, in approximately year T-20. Our data come from 15,000 professional basketball games and reveal that former star players make the best coaches. This ‘expert knowledge’ effect is large

Trends in sun exposure awareness and protection practices in Malta : 1999-2004

Rising skin cancer incidence rates have led to sun awareness campaigns in Malta since the early 1990s. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of these campaigns by analysing trends in sun exposure-related knowledge and behaviour amongst the Maltese people. A total of 559 Maltese pedestrians aged 16-50 years were interviewed in 1999. The same questionnaire was used to interview 304 pedestrians in 2004. More people admitted spending leisure time outdoors during peak sunshine hours in 2004 than in 1999 (85.9% vs 62.4%, p<0.001). There was a drop in people regularly wearing a hat during outdoor leisure activities from 32.4% to 18.4% (p<0.001), and from 37.5% to 9.3% (p<0.001) during outdoor work activities. Rates of regular sunscreen use remained constant at about 50% using it for outdoor leisure activities, but dropped from 25.0% to 9.3% for outdoor work (p=0.02). In 2004, 96.1% of participants having children aged less than 12 years stated that they regularly used sunscreen on their children (87.0% in 1999, p=0.01), while 66.2% said that their children regularly wore a hat (78.4% in 1999, p=0.05). More people were regarding a suntan as unhealthy in 2004 than in 1999 (62.8% versus 37.0%, p<0.001). The mass media remained the most important source of health information.peer-reviewe

Characterisation and use of radiotracers in studies of inflammatory tissue and opioid binding sites

The thesis is presented in two parts, part one concerns the synthesis and biodistribution of technetium–porphyrin complexes. A series of compounds with the general formula TcO(Porhyrin)OAc and TcO(Phthalocyanine)OPh have been synthesised via a novel route. The starting material comprised NH4TcO4 with acetic acid for the porphyrin and phenol for the phthalocyanine. The compounds have been characterised both qualitatively and quantitatively by infra-red, ultra-violet and mass spectrometry. Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) and electrophoresis have also been employed to further analyse the complexes. Preliminary biodistribution studies have been performed in a model of inflamed tissue. The results suggest that the labelled porphyrins are capable of imaging such tissue. One of the complexes was tested for an ability to accumulate in, and image tumours, however this proved unsuccessful. [Continues.

Why Do Leaders Matter? The Role of Expert Knowledge

Why do some leaders succeed while others fail? This question is important, but its complexity makes it hard to study systematically. We examine an industry in which there are well-defined objectives, small teams, and exact measures of leaders’ characteristics. We show that a strong predictor of a leader’s success in year T is that person’s own level of attainment, in the underlying activity, in approximately year T-20. Our data come from 15,000 professional basketball games. The effect on team performance of the coach’s ‘expert knowledge’ is large and is discernible in the data within 12 months of his being hired.organizational performance, firms, leadership, fixed-effects, productivity