Conspicuous Wellness: How Acquired Identities Affect Conspicuous Consumption

This research provides evidence that individuals will conspicuously consume based on their acquired identities, which parallels similar conclusions drawn for conspicuous consumption based on ascribed identities. Using data from 653 respondents, I found positive marginal effects of the “that girl” wellness identity on product choices, accounting for an individual’s potential higher willingness-to-pay, demographics, and speed of making product choices. I conclude that the more an individual associates themselves with an identity, the higher the likelihood of choosing products which align and signal membership in an identity subculture

The optimum radiographic follow-up of a giant vertebrobasilar junction aneurysm which treated with endovascular coil embolization

No Abstract

Winter distribution of Calanus finmarchicus in the Northeast Atlantic

Data from plankton sampling and Optical Plankton Counter deployments during six cruises between December of 1994 and 1999 have been used to derive a composite three-dimensional distribution of the abundance of Calanus finmarchicus during winter (December-January) in the Norwegian Sea and Northeast Atlantic. There are two centres of abundance, one in the eastern Norwegian Sea and Faroe-Shetland Channel, associated with the interface between Norwegian Sea Deep Water and Intermediate Water layers, and another in the Irminger Sea southwest of Iceland in association with Labrador Sea Water. In the open Northeast Atlantic, the concentration of wintering animals is around 30% of that in the Norwegian Sea and the vertical distribution ismore diffuse and on average deeper. Modelling studies have shown that the overwinter distribution and transport are key factors determining the spatial persistence of C. finmarchicus but, apart from the data presented here, there is little knowledge of these large-scale properties

Transport coefficients from the Boson Uehling-Uhlenbeck Equation

We derive microscopic expressions for the bulk viscosity, shear viscosity and thermal conductivity of a quantum degenerate Bose gas above $T_C$, the critical temperature for Bose-Einstein condensation. The gas interacts via a contact potential and is described by the Uehling-Uhlenbeck equation. To derive the transport coefficients, we use Rayleigh-Schrodinger perturbation theory rather than the Chapman-Enskog approach. This approach illuminates the link between transport coefficients and eigenvalues of the collision operator. We find that a method of summing the second order contributions using the fact that the relaxation rates have a known limit improves the accuracy of the computations. We numerically compute the shear viscosity and thermal conductivity for any boson gas that interacts via a contact potential. We find that the bulk viscosity remains identically zero as it is for the classical case.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Molecular Technique Utilising Sputum For Detecting Wuchereria bancrofti Infections In Malindi, Kenya

Background: Lymphatic filariasis is a tropical parasitic disease which has been identified for elimination by 2020 through mass drugs administration. There is a major problem in its diagnosis and sensitive surveillance methods for monitoring the disease elimination programs need to be sought. Objectives: To establish and evaluate the usefulness of a Polymerase Chain Reaction, PCR assay employing sputum for diagnosis of Wuchereria bancrofti infections in an endemic location. Design: Community based samples collection and a molecular laboratory technologies study. Setting: Mpirani, Malindi District and Centre for Biotechnology Research and Development, Kenya Medical Research Institute. Subjects: Sputum samples were obtained from 304 willing and consenting participants, aged between 5 and 73 years resident in Mpirani, Malindi District. Results: Prevalence of W. bancrofti infection was found to be 42.8% (130/304) by PCR assay employing sputum compared with 22.0 % (67/304) and 38.8% (119/304) respectively for microfilaria counts and ICT. The sensitivity and specificity of the PCR sputum assay was 97.5 and 92.4% respectively. Predictive values were 89.2 and 98.3% for positive (PPV) and negative (NPV) respectively while accuracy was 94.4%. Conclusions: The molecular PCR assay using sputum was found to have a great potential for use in mass diagnosis and in epidemiological studies in patients with W. bancrofti infections East African Medical Journal Vol. 85 (3) 2008: pp. 118-12

Looming struggles over technology for border control

New technologies under development, capable of inflicting pain on masses of people, could be used for border control against asylum seekers. Implementation might be rationalized by the threat of mass migration due to climate change, nuclear disaster or exaggerated fears of refugees created by governments. We focus on taser anti-personnel mines, suggesting both technological countermeasures and ways of making the use of such technology politically counterproductive. We also outline several other types of ‘non-lethal’ technology that could be used for border control and raise human rights concerns: high-powered microwaves, armed robots, wireless tasers, acoustic devices/vortex rings, ionizing and pulsed energy lasers, chemical calmatives, convulsants, bioregulators and malodurants. Whether all these possible border technologies will be implemented is a matter for speculation, but their serious human rights implications warrant advance scrutiny

Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposited Materials and Organic Semiconductors in Photovoltaic Devices

Introduction. PECVD enables fabrication of wide range of advanced materials with various structure such as amorphous, polymorphous, nano-crystalline, nanostructured, microcrystalline etc. and with various electronic properties. The latter can be also changed by different dopingl. PECVD silicon materials are commercially employed in multi-layered PV structures (including ones on flexible substrates). Combining these materials with crystalline silicon active substrate resulted in significant improvement of PCE in hetero junction technology PV structures. Existence of new organic semiconductors (OS) together with understanding of physical properties resulted in fast development of OC PV devicesAim. To consider both PECVD and OS materials and to present description of fabrication, structure and electronic properties for device application.Materials and methods. Devices based on non-crystalline materials, devices based on OS, hybrid devices. PECVD and Spin coating technique was used to deposit materials with tunable properties enabling device engineering possibilities.Results. PECVD and OS materials were analyzed. These materials have different levels of characterization (data volume, interpretation of the results etc.) and of understanding of physics determining device performance. Some examples of these materials in PV including structures with crystalline silicon were considered.Conclusion. Important advantage of both PECVD and OS materials is that fabrication methods are compatible and allow fabrication of great variety of hybrid device structures on crystalline semiconductors. Advantages of such devices are difficult to predict because of lack of data in scientific literature. However a new area in material science and related devices for further exploring and exploiting has appeared.Introduction. PECVD enables fabrication of wide range of advanced materials with various structure such as amorphous, polymorphous, nano-crystalline, nanostructured, microcrystalline etc. and with various electronic properties. The latter can be also changed by different dopingl. PECVD silicon materials are commercially employed in multi-layered PV structures (including ones on flexible substrates). Combining these materials with crystalline silicon active substrate resulted in significant improvement of PCE in hetero junction technology PV structures. Existence of new organic semiconductors (OS) together with understanding of physical properties resulted in fast development of OC PV devices.Aim. To consider both PECVD and OS materials and to present description of fabrication, structure and electronic properties for device application.Materials and methods. Devices based on non-crystalline materials, devices based on OS, hybrid devices. PECVD and Spin coating technique was used to deposit materials with tunable properties enabling device engineering possibilities.Results. PECVD and OS materials were analyzed. These materials have different levels of characterization (data volume, interpretation of the results etc.) and of understanding of physics determining device performance. Some examples of these materials in PV including structures with crystalline silicon were considered.Conclusion. Important advantage of both PECVD and OS materials is that fabrication methods are compatible and allow fabrication of great variety of hybrid device structures on crystalline semiconductors. Advantages of such devices are difficult to predict because of lack of data in scientific literature. However a new area in material science and related devices for further exploring and exploiting has appeared

Interlaced particle systems and tilings of the Aztec diamond

Motivated by the problem of domino tilings of the Aztec diamond, a weighted particle system is defined on $N$ lines, with line $j$ containing $j$ particles. The particles are restricted to lattice points from 0 to $N$, and particles on successive lines are subject to an interlacing constraint. It is shown that marginal distributions for this particle system can be computed exactly. This in turn is used to give unified derivations of a number of fundamental properties of the tiling problem, for example the evaluation of the number of distinct configurations and the relation to the GUE minor process. An interlaced particle system associated with the domino tiling of a certain half Aztec diamond is similarly defined and analyzed.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figure

VUV PROPERTIES OF Eu3+- DOPED YBO3 PHOSPHOR PREPARED VIA ALDO-KETO AND SOLID-STATE PROCESS

The Eu3+ doped YBO3 was prepared by the novel aldo-keto method. The structure and VUV luminescence properties of the title compound were studied and compared to the corresponding properties of the materials prepared by a conventional solid state reaction. The use of novel aldo-keto method in preparation lowered the reaction threshold temperature by c.a. 300oC. The YBO3 phosphor from the aldo-keto method look like evenly sized spherical structures, whereas those from the solid-state process look like some agglomerates of little spheres. The Eu3+-doped YBO3 phosphors prepared by both methods showed the red emission with peak around 592, 611 and 627 nm at excitations wavelengths 147 and172 nm, which corresponds to the transitions from the excited 5D0 level to the 7FJ (J = 1, 2, 3, 4) levels of Eu3+ activators. However, the emission intensity of the Eu3+ doped YBO3 from the aldo-keto system is about 2 times as much as that from the sold-state process