Formation of two-dimensional weak localization in conducting Langmuir-Blodgett films

We report the magnetotransport properties up to 7 T in the organic highly conducting Langmuir-Blodgett(LB) films formed by a molecular association of the electroactive donor molecule bis(ethylendioxy)tetrathiafulvalene (BEDO-TTF) and stearic acid CH$_3$(CH$_2$)$_{16}$COOH. We show the logarithmic decrease of dc conductivity and the negative transverse magnetoresistance at low temperature. They are interpreted in the weak localization of two-dimensional (2D) electronic system based on the homogeneous conducting layer with the molecular size thickness of BEDO-TTF. The electronic length with phase memory is given at the mesoscopic scale, which provides for the first time evidence of the 2D coherent charge transport in the conducting LB films.Comment: 5 pages, 1 Table and 5 figure

The First Step in the Final Shutdown of UP1 Plant: Rinsing with Chemical Reagents

The COGEMA UP1 reprocessing plant commissioned at Marcoule, France in 1958 handled roughly 20,000 metric tons of fuel from gas-cooled and research reactors. The commercial reprocessing activities of the UP1 plant ended in December 1997. CODEM , a joint venture created by the former users of the UP1 plant, including the utility Electricite de France (EDF), the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) and COGEMA, was established to fund and supervise decommissioning of the plant. COGEMA was selected as the industrial operator of the decommissioning project, which is scheduled to span a period of about 40 years. COGEMA, with its CODEM partners, had made the decision to proceed to a ''Final Shutdown'' of the plant within a few years after the end of commercial operation. Final shutdown is intended to remove remaining fissile matter and highly radioactive materials, as well as some equipment, from the plant to ease the plant monitoring requirements compared with those applied when the plant was in operation. A two-step approach has been devised, including first the rinsing of the equipment with selected reagents in order to decrease the radiation exposure rate and contamination risk enough to allow further mechanical decontamination operations, such as high-pressure water scrubbing and equipment cutting. The reagents to be used and the methods employed to optimize their use in terms of quantities and sequence of use were selected by leveraging available experience, and by setting up a large-scale R&D program to test reagents both for general decontamination and for hot spots. This program also included treatment of the decontamination waste to demonstrate that this waste could be made compatible with solidification facilities of the UP1 plant, i. e., vitrification in the AVM facility and bituminization. The R&D results are described, as well as the initial results of plant decontamination

Patient Satisfaction with Primary Care Office-Based Buprenorphine/Naloxone Treatment

BACKGROUND: Factors associated with satisfaction among patients receiving primary care–based buprenorphine/naloxone are unknown. OBJECTIVE: To identify factors related to patient satisfaction in patients receiving primary care–based buprenorphine/naloxone that varied in counseling intensity (20 vs 45 minutes) and office visit frequency (weekly vs thrice weekly). DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: One hundred and forty-two opioid-dependent subjects. MEASUREMENTS: Demographics, drug treatment history, and substance use status at baseline and during treatment were collected. The primary outcome was patient satisfaction at 12 weeks. RESULTS: Patients’ mean overall satisfaction score was 4.4 (out of 5). Patients were most satisfied with the medication and ancillary services and indicated strong willingness to refer a substance-abusing friend for the same treatment. Patients were least satisfied with their interactions with other opioid-dependent patients, referrals to Narcotics Anonymous, and the inconvenience of the treatment location. Female gender (β = .17, P = .04) and non-White ethnicity/race (β = .17, P = .04) independently predicted patient satisfaction. Patients who received briefer counseling and buprenorphine/naloxone dispensed weekly had greater satisfaction than those whose medication was dispensed thrice weekly (mean difference 4.9, 95% confidence interval 0.08 to 9.80, P = .03). CONCLUSIONS: Patients are satisfied with primary care office-based buprenorphine/naloxone. Providers should consider the identified barriers to patient satisfaction

Extending William Baumol’s theory on entrepreneurship and institutions: lessons from post-Second World War Greece

This article examines William Baumol’s theory about the interaction between taxation and entrepreneurship and proposes an extension to it. The analysis shows that the traditional form of Baumol’s model, focusing mainly on the level of taxes, cannot be used in order to explain what happened in the Greek case. Utilising historical evidence from the mid 1950s to the late 1980s, this article confirms that problematic tax rules create difficulties for entrepreneurship and can lead to unproductive forms of it, as Baumol suggests. However, the focus here is on aspects of the system of taxation that Baumol’s model, examining solely tax rates and levels of taxation, neglected. It is shown that, as far as Greek entrepreneurship is concerned, the adverse effects of the system of taxation came not from the level of taxes, but mostly from a series of issues that increased its perceived unfairness and illegitimacy. Some of such issues were the complexity and frequent change of legislation, the insufficient organisation of the tax bureaus as well as the lack of adequate training and arbitrariness of the members of tax services. The evidence presented here suggests that Baumol’s model can be enriched by taking into consideration these aspects of taxation too

Comparative analysis of volatile organic compound concentrations at different construction stages of energy-efficient timber frame houses: temporal trends and source identification

International audienc