Output and Productivity Comparisons of the Transport and Communication Sectors of South Korea and Australia, 1990 to 1998

This paper examines the output and productivity performance of the Transport and Communication sector in South Korea and Australia, from 1990 to 1998. The aim of the paper is two-fold. First, the paper is the first in a series which compares the performance of various industries within the service sector. Second, it introduces a method for derivation of appropriate currency converters or purchasing power parities (PPPs) to enable quantification of output and productivity at various disaggregated levels. This method is based on the industry-of-origin approach as refined by the International Comparisons of Output and Productivity (ICOP) project based at the University of Groningen.

Comparative Analysis of Transport and Communications Korea and Australia

This paper examines the output and productivity performance of the Transport and Communication sector in South Korea and Australia, from 1990 to 1999. The aim of the paper is two -fold. First, the paper is the first in a series which compares the performance of various industries within the service sector. Second, it introduces a method for derivation of appropriate currency converters or purchasing power parities (PPPs) to enable quantification of output and productivity at various disaggregated levels. This method is based on the industry -of-origin approach as refined by the International Co mparisons of Output and Productivity (ICOP) project based at the University of Groningen.purchasing power parity; output; productivity; transportation; communications

Comparative Analysis of Output and Productivity in the Transport and Communication Sector: South Korea and Australia, 1990 to 1999

This paper examines the output and productivity performance of the Transport and Communication sector in South Korea and Australia, from 1990 to 1999. The aim of the paper is two-fold. First, the paper is the first in a series which compares the performance of various industries within the service sector. Second, it introduces a method for derivation of appropriate currency converters or purchasing power parities (PPPs) to enable quantification of output and productivity at various disaggregated levels. This method is based on the industry-of-origin approach as refined by the International Comparisons of Output and Productivity (ICOP) project based at the University of Groningen.

Output and Productivity Performance of Hong Kong and Singapore’s Transport and Communications Sector, 1990 to 2005

This paper examines the output and productivity performance of the Transport and Communication sector in Hong Kong and Singapore, from 1990 to 2005. The aim of the paper is two-fold. First, the paper introduces a method for derivation of appropriate currency converters or purchasing power parities (PPPs) to enable quantification of output and productivity at various disaggregated levels of the transport and communications sector. This method is based on the industry-of-origin approach as refined by the International Comparisons of Output and Productivity (ICOP) project based at the University of Groningen. Second, the paper will attempt to address differences in output and productivity levels between these two countries with regard to their current policies in transport and communications. It will also examine the impact of events such as the Asian financial crisis, the global downturn in 2001, the events of September 11, as well as the outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003 on the transport and communication sector.

Spark Ignition Measurements in Jet A: part II

An improved system for measuring the ignition energy of liquid fuel was built to perform experiments on aviation kerosene (Jet A). Compared to a previously used system (Shepherd et al. 1998), the present vessel has a more uniform temperature which can be held constant for long periods of time. This ensures thermal equilibrium of the liquid fuel and the vapor inside the vessel. A capacitive spark discharge circuit was used to generate damped sparks and an arrangement of resistors and measurement probes recorded the voltage and current histories during the discharge. This permitted measurement of the energy dissipated in the spark, providing a more reliable, quantitative measure of the ignition spark strength. With this improved system, the ignition energy of Jet A was measured at temperatures from 35C to 50C pressures from 0.300 bar (ambient pressure at 30 kft) to 0.986 bar (ambient pressure near sea level), mass-volume ratios down to 3 kg/m^3, with sparks ranging from 10 mJ to 0.3 J. Special fuel blends with flash points (Tfp) from 29C to 73.5C were also tested. The statistical properties of the ignition threshold energy were investigated using techniques developed for high-explosive testing. Ignition energy measurements at 0.585 bar with high mass-volume ratios (also referred to as mass loadings) showed that the trend of the dependence of ignition energy on temperature was similar for tests using the stored capacitive energy and the measured spark energy. The ignition energy was generally lower with the measured spark energy than with the stored spark energy. The present ignition energy system was capable of clearly resolving the difference in ignition energy between low and high mass-volume ratios. The ignition energy vs. temperature curve for 3 kg/m^3 was shifted approximately 5C higher than the curve for high mass-volume ratios of 35 kg/m^3 or 200 kg/m^3. The ignition energy was subsequently found to depend primarily on the fuel-air mass ratio of the mixture, although systematic effects of the vapor composition are also evident. As expected, the ignition energy increased when the initial pressure was raised from 0.585 bar to 0.986 bar, and decreased when the pressure was decreased to 0.3 bar. Finally, tests on special fuels having flash points different from that of commercial Jet A showed that the minimum ignition temperature at a spark energy of about 0.3 J and a pressure of 0.986 bar depends linearly on the flash point of the fuel

Barriers to cervical screening participation in high-risk women

Aim Women aged 25–35 years, for whom cervical cancer is most problematic, are least likely to participate in the cervical screening programme. Therefore, identifying barriers to screening participation in this high-risk group is essential. Subject and methods A sample of 430 women completed an electronic survey of their cervical screening history and answered questions on sociodemographic, behavioural, attitudinal and informational barriers to cervical screening uptake. Logistic regression was used to predict cervical screening non attendance. Results Women with more than 10 sexual partners in their lifetime were more likely, but women from ethnic minorities, less likely to participate in the cervical screening programme. Women unaware of the recommended screening interval were also less likely to be screened, as were women who believed that screening is a test for cancer. Screening was also less likely among women who endorsed the belief that screening in the absence of symptoms is unnecessary. Conclusion These data highlight poor knowledge of the recommended screening interval and purpose of cervical cancer screening in this high-risk group. As such, interventions that target these informational barriers might be most effective for increasing cervical screening uptake in this high-risk group

Responding to Sexual Objectification: The Role of Emotions in Influencing Willingness to Undertake Different Types of Action

Women may respond to being sexual objectified in different ways, such as confronting the perpetrator, ignoring the action, blaming oneself or considering the action as flattering. However, there has been little research looking at what predicts each of these different responses. The present research assessed the role of emotions in promoting and deterring different anticipated responses to sexual objectification. In both Studies 1 (n = 189) and 2 (n = 187), female participants were asked to imagine themselves in a situation where they received an inappropriate sexual comment. Participants then rated the emotions they believed they would feel and how they thought they would act in the situation. I found that expecting feelings of anger resulted in women thinking they would confront the perpetrator (i.e., undertake an active response) and that expecting disgust negatively predicted the belief that they would view the action as flattering (i.e., anticipate a benign response). By contrast, expecting shame resulted in women believing they would blame themselves (i.e., undertake a self-blame response). Study 2 also found that expecting pride was positively associated with anticipating a benign response. These findings suggest that the emotions that women expect to feel influence their anticipated responses to sexual objectification. It is, therefore, important to consider the emotional reactions that women have to instances of sexual objectification

Jet A Explosion Experiments: Laboratory Testing

This report describes a series of experiments and analyses on the flammability of Jet A (aviation kerosene) in air. This is a progress report on ongoing work. The emphasis so far has been on measuring basic explosion parameters as a function of fuel amount and temperature. These parameters include vapor pressure, flammability limits, peak explosion pressure and pressure as a function of time during the explosion. These measurements were undertaken in order to clear up some fundamental issues with the existing data. The report is organized as follows: First, we give some background with data from previous studies and discuss the fuel weathering issues. Second, we describe the facility used to do combustion experiments, the combustion test procedures and the results of the combustion experiments. Third, we give estimates of peak pressure, review the standard analysis of pressure histories and discuss the application to the present data. Fourth, we review the standard approach to flammability limits and the issues in determining Jet A flammability. Fifth, we discuss the problems associated with measuring vapor pressure and describe our results for Jet A. Sixth, we present a model for Jet A which illustrates the issues in analyzing multicomponent fuels. Finally, we apply these results to TWA 800 and summarize our conclusions to date

Spark Ignition Energy Measurements in Jet A

Experiments have been carried out to measure the spark ignition energy of Jet A vapor in air. A range of ignition energies from 1 mJ to 100 J was examined in these tests. The test method was validated by first measuring ignition energies for lean mixtures of the fuels hexane (C6H6) and propane (C3H8) in air at normal temperature (295 K) and pressure (1 atm). These results agree with existing data and provide new results for compositions between the lean flame limit and stoichiometric mixtures. Jet A (from LAX, flashpoint 45–48 [degress] C) vapor mixtures with air have been tested at temperatures between 30 and 60 [degrees] C at two fuel mass loadings, 3 and 200 kg/m3, in an explosion test vessel with a volume of 1.8 liter. Tests at 40, 50, and 60 [degrees] C have been performed at a mass loading of 3 kg/m3 in an 1180-liter vessel. Experiments with Jet A have been carried out with initial conditions of 0.585 bar pressure to simulate altitude conditions appropriate to the TWA 800 explosion. Ignition energies and peak pressures vary strongly as a function of initial temperature, but are a weak function of mass loading. The minimum ignition energy varies from less than 1 mJ at 60 [degrees] C to over 100 J at 30 [degrees] C. At temperatures less than 30 [degrees] C, ignition was not possible with 100 J or even a neon sign transformer (continuous discharge). The peak pressure between 40 and 55 [degrees] C was approximately 4 bar. Peak pressures in the 1180-liter vessel were slightly lower and the ignition energy was higher than in the 1.8-liter vessel. The following conclusions were reached relative to the TWA 800 crash: (a) spark ignition sources with energies between 5 mJ and 1 J are sufficient to ignite Jet A vapor, resulting in a propagating flame; (b) the peak pressure rise was between 1.5 and 4 bar (20 and 60 psi). (c) a thermal ignition source consisting of a hot filament created by discharging electrical energy into a metal wire is also sufficient to ignite Jet A vapor, resulting in a propagating flame; (d) laminar burning speeds are between 15 and 45 cm/s; and (e) the limited amount of fuel available in the CWT (about 50 gal) did not significantly increase the flammability limit. The rapid decrease in spark ignition energy with increasing temperature demonstrates that hot fuel tanks are significantly more hazardous than cool ones with respect to spark ignition sources. A systematic effort is now needed in order to utilize these results and apply spark ignition energy measurements to future analyses of fuel tank flammability. Some key issues that need to be addressed in future testing are: (a) effect of flashpoint on the ignition energy-temperature relationship; (b) ignition energy vs. temperature as a function of altitude; (c) effect of fuel weathering on ignition energy; and (d) the effect of ignition source type on ignition limits

Cardiac and Mitochondrial Dysfunction during Diabetes Mellitus: Examination of Mitochondrial Import Mechanisms

Approximately 9% of the United States population is diagnosed with diabetes mellitus (DM), which is comprised of 2 distinct pathologies: type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). T1DM, which is caused by insufficient insulin production, affects approximately 5% of diabetic patients, while T2DM results from insulin resistance and affects 95% of all diabetic patients. Within diabetic patients, cardiac complications, such as diabetic cardiomyopathy, are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality. The mitochondrion has been implicated as an underlying factor in the etiology and progression of the cardiac contractile deficits and cardiac failure that accompany DM. The study of cardiac mitochondria is further complicated by the presence of two distinct mitochondrial subpopulations residing within the cardiomyocyte. The pool of mitochondria existing beneath the sarcolemmal membrane are termed the subsarcolemmal mitochondria (SSM), while the group that exists between the myofibrils is called the interfibrillar mitochondria (IFM). Assessment of mitochondrial subpopulations has revealed differential impact to both physiological and pathological stimuli. Specifically, during DM, the IFM are most impacted during T1DM, with the SSM being most impacted under T2DM pathological insult. During DM, proteomic analyses by our laboratory and others reveal decreased abundance of nuclear-encoded mitochondrial proteins essential for processes such as oxidative phosphorylation, fatty acid oxidation and tricarboxylic acid cycle in the subpopulation predominantly impacted by the DM type. Further, our laboratory has previously shown import efficiency to be down in the T1DM IFM, which could play a role in the proteomic dysregulation. Approximately 99% of the mitochondrial proteome is composed of nuclear-encoded proteins imported into the mitochondrion via a complicated mechanism of translocation that coordinates both the outer and inner mitochondrial membranes, thus highlighting the importance of studying the nuclear-encoded mitochondrial protein import process during pathological states. To date, evaluation of the diabetic heart using a highly sensitive echocardiographic analysis software in order to assess subtle changes in left ventricular function prior to overt contractile dysfunction during DM has not been completed. Additionally, the differential proteomic alterations in mitochondrial subpopulations resulting from distinct DM pathologies and the evaluation of inefficient nuclear-encoded mitochondrial protein import due to decrements in a key import constituent in the mitochondrial subpopulation predominantly affected, mitochondrial heat shock protein 70 (mtHsp70), have not been completed. Further, the mechanisms involved in miRNA import into the mitochondrion during DM remains limited. Therefore, the goal of the following studies was to examine subpopulation-specific mitochondrial proteome disruption stemming from inefficient nuclear-encoded mitochondrial protein import and/or increased miRNA influx into the mitochondrion, thus leading to increased contractile dysfunction during DM. T1DM was induced in 6-week-old mice with multiple low-dose (50mg/kg) streptozotocin (STZ) injections for 5 consecutive days. Hyperglycemia was confirmed and echocardiography performed at weeks 1, 3 and 6 post-diabetic onset. Conventional analyses revealed cardiac contractile deficits relative to control at 6-weeks post-T1DM onset. In contrast, short- and long-axis analyses using the speckle-tracking based strain analysis software demonstrated changes in the LV myocardium as early as 1-week post-diabetic onset. These findings show that analysis of myocardial function using speckle-tracking based strain analyses could provide a more precise method for evaluating cardiac contractile dysfunction during the progression of different pathological states. Our laboratory has previously shown that proteomic alterations specific to the T2DM SSM and T1DM IFM occur, potentially due to a decrement in nuclear-encoded mitochondrial protein import. Because mtHsp70, an essential component in the import of nuclear-encoded proteins into the mitochondrion is consistently down during DM, we generated a novel transgenic line with a cardiac-specific overexpression of mtHsp70. We subjected this line to STZ to generate a T1DM mouse model with mtHsp70 overexpression. Further, we utilized the db/db mouse model for T2DM and with a novel ovarian transplantation procedure, we were able to generate an increased abundance of mtHsp70 db/db and control animals, which were approximately 20-weeks-old before hearts were excised and mitochondrial subpopulations isolated. When assessing nuclear-encoded mitochondrial protein import efficiency in the mitochondrial subpopulations during both types of DM, we found decrements to this process in the SSM of T2DM mice and IFM of T1DM mice, which was subsequently restored with mtHsp70 overexpression. Further, alterations to the most impacted mitochondrial subpopulations proteome were noted, with mtHsp70 affording protection. Additionally, we also found mtHsp70 protein content to be down in the T1DM and T2DM human heart. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.)