The Contamination Problem in Utility Regulation

This paper formally examines the implications of a utility’s diversification into an unregulated industry. In our framework, the utility is the most efficient provider in the unregulated industry (up to a particular capacity) and, as such, there is no question about the desirability of allowing it to operate in that market. Nevertheless, the risk faced by a diversified utility is greater than the risk faced by a utility that operates only in a regulated market. This additional risk can potentially affect the diversified utility’s credit rating and, therefore, increase the cost of capital for the regulated business that will be recovered from ratepayers. We show that by allowing a regulated firm to diversify into an unregulated market, the regulator faces a trade-off: a lower cost in the unregulated market versus a higher cost in the regulated market. If the regulator only cares about welfare in the regulated market, then a ringfencing requirement is optimal subject to implementation costs not being substantial. Of course, the ring-fencing requirement effectively prevents the firm from achieving a lower cost in the unregulated market. Therefore, if the regulator cares about welfare in both regulated and unregulated markets, ring-fencing may no longer be optimal.

Analysis of Gene Expression Data Using BRB-Array Tools

BRB-ArrayTools is an integrated software system for the comprehensive analysis of DNA microarray experiments. It was developed by professional biostatisticians experienced in the design and analysis of DNA microarray studies and incorporates methods developed by leading statistical laboratories. The software is designed for use by biomedical scientists who wish to have access to state-of-the-art statistical methods for the analysis of gene expression data and to receive training in the statistical analysis of high dimensional data. The software provides the most extensive set of tools available for predictive classifier development and complete cross-validation. It offers extensive links to genomic websites for gene annotation and analysis tools for pathway analysis. An archive of over 100 datasets of published microarray data with associated clinical data is provided and BRB-ArrayTools automatically imports data from the Gene Expression Omnibus public archive at the National Center for Biotechnology Information

Mobilizações de junho e julho de 2013 em porto alegre : o povo acordou à esquerda ou mais conservador?

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Pastejo contínuo ou temporário e suplementação energética em pastagem cultivada de inverno no desempenho de bezerros - DOI: 10.4025/actascianimsci.v28i4.608

The objective of the experiment was to evaluate calves performance, on continuous or temporary grazing with or without energetic supplementation. Fifty -two calves, predominantly Charolais (C) or Nellore (N), were studied, with average initial age of 10 months and live weight (LW) of 197 kg. The animals were distributed into four treatments: TPC – continuous grazing; TPT – temporary grazing; TPTF – temporary grazing + 0.8% of LW of integral rice bran, and TPTC – temporary grazing + 0.8% of LW of so ybean hulls. The pasture was composed of oat and ryegrass. The average availability of forage mass during experimental period was 1.52 kg of dry matter (DM) ha -1. The average stoking rate was 1.425 kg of LW ha -1. The supplement intake was of 2.02 and 1.96 kg of DM in the TPTF and TPTC. TPC animals showed average daily weight gain (ADW) of 0.18 kg day -1 lower (P0.05) in relation to TPTF. Among animals with supplementation, the ADW difference was of 0. 10 kg day-1 (P>0.05), superior to TPTC. Animals with Charolais predominance showed higher final weight (PO experimento avaliou o desempenho de bezerros, em pastejo contínuo ou temporário com ou sem sup lementação. Utilizaram-se 52 bezerros com predominância Charolês ou Nelore, com idade e peso vivo (PV) inicial de 10 meses e 197 kg. Os animais foram divididos em 4 tratamentos: PC – Pastejo Contínuo; PT – Pastejo Temporário; PTF – Pastejo Temporário + 0,8 % do peso PV de farelo de arroz integral e PTC – Pastejo Temporário + 0,8% do PV de casca de soja. A pastagem foi composta por aveia preta e azevém. A disponibilidade média da massa forrageira foi de 1.520 kg MS ha -1; a taxa de acúmulo diária média foi de 54,37 kg de MS ha-1; a carga animal média foi de 1.425 kg de PV ha-1; o consumo médio de suplemento foi de 2,02 e 1,96 kg de MS no PTF e PTC. Os animais do PC apresentaram ganho de peso médio diário (GMD) inferior a 0,18 kg dia -1 (P0,05) ao TPTF. Entre os animais que receberam suplementação, a diferença entre GMD foi de 0,10 kg dia-1 (P>0,05), em favor do PTC. Os animais com predominância Charolês apresentaram maior peso final (

Pelvic floor muscle training increases pelvic floor muscle strength more in post-menopausal women who are not using hormone therapy than in women who are using hormone therapy: a randomised trial

Question Are there differences in the effectiveness of pelvic floor muscle training on pelvic floor muscle strength and urinary incontinence symptoms in postmenopausal women who are and are not using hormone therapy? Design Randomised, controlled trial with concealed allocation, blinded assessors, and intention-to-treat analysis. Participants Ninety-nine postmenopausal women, 38 of whom were using daily systemic oestrogen/progestogen therapy. Intervention The experimental group (n = 51) received an intensive supervised pelvic floor muscle training protocol, and the control group (n = 48) received no intervention. The randomisation was stratified by hormone therapy use. Outcome measures Change in pelvic floor muscle strength assessed with manometry at 12 weeks. Prevalence and severity of urinary incontinence symptoms were assessed using questionnaires. Results Eighty-eight women provided data that could be included in the analysis. Pelvic floor muscle training increased pelvic floor muscle strength by 8.0 cmH2O (95% CI 3.4 to 12.6) in women not using hormone therapy and by –0.9 cmH20 (95% CI –6.5 to 4.8) in women using hormone therapy (interaction p = 0.018). A sensitivity analysis showed that the greater training effect in women who were not using hormone therapy was still apparent if the analysis was conducted on percentage change in strength rather than absolute change in strength. There was also a significantly greater effect of training in women not using hormone therapy on prevalence of urinary incontinence symptoms (ratio of odds ratios = 7.4; interaction p = 0.028). The difference in effects on severity of urinary incontinence symptoms was not statistically significant (interaction p = 0.37). Conclusion Pelvic floor muscle training increases pelvic floor muscle strength more in women who are not using hormone therapy than in women using hormone therapy