Fractional Sturm-Liouville eigenvalue problems, II

We continue the study of a non self-adjoint fractional three-term Sturm-Liouville boundary value problem (with a potential term) formed by the composition of a left Caputo and left-Riemann-Liouville fractional integral under {\it Dirichlet type} boundary conditions. We study the existence and asymptotic behavior of the real eigenvalues and show that for certain values of the fractional differentiation parameter $\alpha$, $0<\alpha<1$, there is a finite set of real eigenvalues and that, for $\alpha$ near $1/2$, there may be none at all. As $\alpha \to 1^-$ we show that their number becomes infinite and that the problem then approaches a standard Dirichlet Sturm-Liouville problem with the composition of the operators becoming the operator of second order differentiation

The concept of Pulaaku mirrored in fulfulde proverbs of the Gombe dialect

The paper gives a brief history of the Fulçe people who are found all over West and Central Africa. Since no study of a people is complete without mentioning their language, the paper also gives a very brief account of Fulfulde, the language of the Fulçe people. However, the central focus of the paper is the concept of pulaaku, that unique attribute of the Fulçe that serves as an unwritten code of conduct for all ‘true’ Fulçe. Pulaaku is Fulçe’s guiding principle in their dealings with their fellow Fulçe as well as with all other people. Rather than talk about pulaaku in isolation, however, the paper tries to mirror it through Fulfulde proverbs. Coded or loaded messages called wise-sayings or proverbs are widely used in all languages. Fulfulde is particularly rich in this, which is why the paper explores this reservoir of knowledge in trying to portray the rich culture of the Fulçe people. The corpus of proverbs from which the selected proverbs come, was compiled in and around Gombe with the help of Mallam Bappayo Bappa Yerima Djibril. Since the Fulçe are easily the most dispersed people in Africa, no single study can do real justice to all of them. This is why this study narrows its scope to cover just the Fulçe of Gombe area of the northeastern of Nigeria

MEMS On/off and x2 Optical Switch with Integrated Fiber Alignment Capability

An on/off free space optical switch is described in this paper. The device consists of intersecting cantilevers and is electrostatically actuated. A fiber is put onto the cantilevers and by controlling the position of the flber through actuation, switching operation can be achieved. The device is also suitable for inpackage fiber alignment application, where the cantilevers can be used as passive or active fiber alignment microstructure

Equity of health care financing in Iran

This study presents the rst analyses of the equity of health care financing in Iran. Kakwani Progressivity Indices (KPIs) and concentration indices (CIs) are estimated using ten national household expenditure surveys, which were conducted in Iran from 1995/96 to 2004/05. The indices are used to analyze the progressivity of two sources of health care financing: health insurance premium payments and consumer co-payments (and the sum of these), for Iran as a whole, and for rural and urban areas of Iran, separately. The results suggest that health insurance premium payments became more progressive over the study period; however the KPIs for consumer co-payments suggest that these are still mildly regressive or slightly progressive, depending upon whether household income or expenditure data are used to generate the indices. Interestingly, the Urban Inpatient Insurance Scheme (UIIS), which was introduced by the Iranian government in 2000 to extend insurance to uninsured urban dwellers, appears to have had a regressive impact on health care nancing, which is contrary to expectations. This result sounds a cautionary note about the potential for public programs to crowd out private sector, charitable activity, which was prevalent in Iran prior to the introduction of the UIIS.Equity, Health care nancing, Kakwani progressivity index, Iran