Investment Evaluation of a Suburban Coastal Transport System

This paper aims at determining the optimum viable solution of an investment on a suburban coastal shipping system in the area of Athens. More specifically the development of a sea transport system, alternative to the existing road one, that connects Piraeus with the southern suburban coastal area of Athens is examined. The best viable solution of such an undertaking is considered to be the one, which under the existing constraints maximises the total profit that derives from this investment. The variables used for the formation of the constraints are the number of vessels used, the routing and the price of the services. The article focuses on the financing alternatives of the project and their impact on its economic efficiency and concludes with the best viable scenarios and optimum solution

A proposed quantitative methodology for the evaluation of the effectiveness of Human Element, Leadership and Management (HELM) training in the UK

In 2006, a review of maritime accidents found that non-technical skills (NTSs) are the single largest contributing factor towards such incidents. NTSs are composed of both interpersonal and cognitive elements. These include things such as situational awareness, teamwork, decision making, leadership, management and communication skills. In a crisis situation, good NTSs allow a deck officer to quickly recognise that a problem exists and then harness the resources that are at their disposal to safely and efficiently bring the situation back under control. This paper has two aims. The first is to develop a methodology which will enable educators to quantitatively assess the impact of Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA)-approved Human Element, Leadership and Management (HELM) training on deck officer’s NTSs with a view to identifying further training requirements. The second is to determine whether the HELM training provided to develop the NTSs of trainee deck officers is fit for purpose. To achieve these aims, a three-phase approach was adopted. Initially, a taxonomy for deck officer’s NTSs is established, behavioural markers are identified and the relative importance of each attribute is calculated using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Subsequently, a set of scenarios were identified for the assessment of deck officer’s NTSs in a ship bridge simulator environment. A random selection of students that have completed the Chief Mate (CM) programme was performed, and data regarding their NTS-related performance in the scenarios was collected. Finally, the collected data was fed into the evidential reasoning (ER) algorithm, utility values were produced and, having established these values, the effectiveness of the HELM training that the students have received was then evaluated

The Three-Dimensional Distribution of αA-Crystalline in Rat Lenses and Its Possible Relation to Transparency

Lens transparency depends on the accumulation of massive quantities (600–800 mg/ml) of twelve primary crystallines and two truncated crystallines in highly elongated “fiber” cells. Despite numerous studies, major unanswered questions are how this heterogeneous group of proteins becomes organized to bestow the lens with its unique optical properties and how it changes during cataract formation. Using novel methods based on conical tomography and labeling with antibody/gold conjugates, we have profiled the 3D-distribution of the αA-crystalline in rat lenses at ∼2 nm resolutions and three-dimensions. Analysis of tomograms calculated from lenses labeled with anti-αA-crystalline and gold particles (∼3 nm and ∼7 nm diameter) revealed geometric patterns shaped as lines, isosceles triangles and polyhedrons. A Gaussian distribution centered at ∼7.5 nm fitted the distances between the ∼3 nm diameter gold conjugates. A Gaussian distribution centered at ∼14 nm fitted the Euclidian distances between the smaller and the larger gold particles and another Gaussian at 21–24 nm the distances between the larger particles. Independent of their diameters, tethers of 14–17 nm in length connected files of gold particles to thin filaments or clusters to ∼15 nm diameter “beads.” We used the information gathered from tomograms of labeled lenses to determine the distribution of the αA-crystalline in unlabeled lenses. We found that αA-crystalline monomers spaced ∼7 nm or αA-crystalline dimers spaced ∼15 nm center-to-center apart decorated thin filaments of the lens cytoskeleton. It thus seems likely that lost or gain of long-range order determines the 3D-structure of the fiber cell and possible also cataract formation

A survey of shipping finance research: setting the future research agenda

Financing shipping related investment projects has always been a focal area of debate and research within the international maritime industry since access to funding can determine the competitiveness of a capital-intensive business as well as its success or failure under adverse market conditions. This paper provides, for the first time, a comprehensive and structured survey of all published research in the area of shipping finance and investment. The review spans approximately four decades (1979-2018) of empirical evidence, including 162 studies published in 48 scholarly journals, complemented with select books and book chapters. The study provides a bibliometric analysis and comprehensive synthesis of existing research offering an invaluable source of information for both the academic community and business practice, shaping the future research agenda in shipping finance and investment

The genetic basis of endometriosis and comorbidity with other pain and inflammatory conditions

Endometriosis is a common condition associated with debilitating pelvic pain and infertility. A genome-wide association study meta-analysis, including 60,674 cases and 701,926 controls of European and East Asian descent, identified 42 genome-wide significant loci comprising 49 distinct association signals. Effect sizes were largest for stage 3/4 disease, driven by ovarian endometriosis. Identified signals explained up to 5.01% of disease variance and regulated expression or methylation of genes in endometrium and blood, many of which were associated with pain perception/maintenance (SRP14/BMF, GDAP1, MLLT10, BSN and NGF). We observed significant genetic correlations between endometriosis and 11 pain conditions, including migraine, back and multisite chronic pain (MCP), as well as inflammatory conditions, including asthma and osteoarthritis. Multitrait genetic analyses identified substantial sharing of variants associated with endometriosis and MCP/migraine. Targeted investigations of genetically regulated mechanisms shared between endometriosis and other pain conditions are needed to aid the development of new treatments and facilitate early symptomatic intervention

The genetic basis of endometriosis and comorbidity with other pain and inflammatory conditions

Endometriosis is a common condition associated with debilitating pelvic pain and infertility. A genome-wide association study meta-analysis, including 60,674 cases and 701,926 controls of European and East Asian descent, identified 42 genome-wide significant loci comprising 49 distinct association signals. Effect sizes were largest for stage 3/4 disease, driven by ovarian endometriosis. Identified signals explained up to 5.01% of disease variance and regulated expression or methylation of genes in endometrium and blood, many of which were associated with pain perception/maintenance (SRP14/BMF, GDAP1, MLLT10, BSN and NGF). We observed significant genetic correlations between endometriosis and 11 pain conditions, including migraine, back and multisite chronic pain (MCP), as well as inflammatory conditions, including asthma and osteoarthritis. Multitrait genetic analyses identified substantial sharing of variants associated with endometriosis and MCP/migraine. Targeted investigations of genetically regulated mechanisms shared between endometriosis and other pain conditions are needed to aid the development of new treatments and facilitate early symptomatic intervention

Essential role for gamma-tubulin in the acentriolar female meiotic spindle of Drosophila.

Microtubule nucleation in vivo requires gamma-tubulin, a highly conserved component of microtubule-organizing centers. In Drosophila melanogaster there are two gamma-tubulin genes, gammaTUB23C and gammaTUB37C. Here we report the cytological and molecular characterization of the 37C isoform. By Western blotting, this protein can only be detected in ovaries and embryos. Antibodies against this isoform predominantly label the centrosomes in embryos from early cleavage divisions until cycle 15, but fail to reveal any particular localization of gamma-tubulin in the developing egg chambers. The loss of function of this gene results in female sterility and has no effect on viability or male fertility. Early stages of oogenesis are unaffected by mutations in this gene, as judged both by morphological criteria and by localization of reporter genes, but the female meiotic spindle is extremely disrupted. Nuclear proliferation within the eggs laid by mutant females is also impaired. We conclude that the expression of the 37C gamma-tubulin isoform of D. melanogaster is under strict developmental regulation and that the organization of the female meiotic spindle requires gamma-tubulin