Development and Modeling of a Geographic Information Systemsolar Flux Inadrar, Algeria

Algeria is one of the important solar belt countries, withan enormous potential in solar energy. The exploitation andpromotion of these energy resources offers the opportunity oftackling energy-related and economic challenges, and tocontribute to a sustainable development in our countries.Theknowledge and assessment of the available solar energy resourcesis a critical part to renewable energy planning and sizing and canplay an important role in lessen the harmful impacts ofenvironmental problems associated with the recovery of fossilfuels and their use in power stations. However, the majorhandicap has always been the spatial density of radiometricstations which is inadequate. This study aimed to develop solarpotential data estimation in Adrar region located in the warmAlgerian desert region. The data delivered will be implemented inGeographic Information Systems (GIS) and used as support forTechnical analysis of solar potential in this region

Accommodating stake effects under prospect theory

One of the stylized facts underlying prospect theory is a four-fold pattern of risk preferences. People have been shown to be risk seeking for small probability gains and large probability losses, while being risk averse for large probability gains and small probability losses. Another fourfold pattern of risk preferences over outcomes, postulated by Harry Markowitz in 1952, has received much less attention and is currently not integrated into prospect theory. In two experiments, we show that risk preferences may change over outcomes. While we find people to be risk seeking for small outcomes, this turns to risk neutrality and later risk aversion as stakes increase. We then show how a one-parameter logarithmic utility function fits such stake effects significantly better under prospect theory than the power or exponential functions mostly used when fitting prospect theory models. We further investigate the extent to which the use of ill-suited functional forms to represent utility may result in violations of prospect theory, and whether such violations disappear when using logarithmic utility

Differential Effects of Bartonella henselae on Human and Feline Macro- and Micro-Vascular Endothelial Cells

Bartonella henselae, a zoonotic agent, induces tumors of endothelial cells (ECs), namely bacillary angiomatosis and peliosis in immunosuppressed humans but not in cats. In vitro studies on ECs represent to date the only way to explore the interactions between Bartonella henselae and vascular endothelium. However, no comparative study of the interactions between Bartonella henselae and human (incidental host) ECs vs feline (reservoir host) ECs has been carried out because of the absence of any available feline endothelial cell lines

Your money and your life: risk attitudes over gains and losses

Prospect theory is the most influential descriptive alternative to the orthodox model of rational choice under risk and uncertainty, in terms of empirical analyses of some of its principal parameters and as a consideration in behavioural public policy. Yet the most distinctive implication of the theory – a fourfold predicted pattern of risk attitudes called the reflection effect – has been infrequently studied and with mixed results over money outcomes, and has never been completely tested over health outcomes. This article reports tests of reflection over money and health outcomes defined by life years gained from treatment. With open valuation exercises, the results suggest qualified support for the reflection effect over money outcomes and strong support over health outcomes. However, in pairwise choice questions, reflection was substantially ameliorated over life years, remaining significant only for treatments that offered short additional durations of life