Marketing Metrics to the American Public: An Interview with Dr. Eugene Laczniak

One of the major problems confronting the metrication movement is the general lack of publicity and public awareness of the scope of the metric system. The work already performed as well as that still needed to be done to bring metrication to fruition needs considerable attention. The application of marketing principles and programs can have a potentially great effect on the success of the work of metric activists. During the course of this interview, conducted in late November, 1977, Dr. Eugene Laczniak suggests some of the ways in which marketing can be made to work for metrication; and he offers vital insights into the means by which metrication can become a fixed reality in American life, business, industry, government, and education

Toy model of the Nucleon - Nucleon potential

We start from a system of six interacting constituent quarks and examine how the picture of two nucleons can change when substructure of the nucleons are taken into account.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, proceedings of the international conference "Nuclear Structure and Related Topics

Correlations in self-bound systems of identical fermions

A method for the calculation of translationally invariant wave functions for systems of identical fermions with arbitrary potential of pair interaction is developed. It is based on the well-known result that the essential dynamic part of the Hamiltonian for the system of identical particles is the Reduced Hamiltonian operator describing relative movement of two particles inside the system. The eigenfunctions of this operator take into account all correlations caused by interaction. These eigenfunctions are basic for the construction of the components (i.e. the functions with a lower degree of antisymmetry) of the system wave functions. The main problem of this approach appears to be antisymmetrization of the components. The developed universal algorithm for antisymmetrization gives a possibility to perform this operation in a simple way and keep numerical approximations under control.Comment: 20 pages REVTeX, submitted to Lithuanian J. Phy

Economy and policy of pre–commercial thinnings in Lithuanian private forestry

This thesis investigates how well does pre-Commercial thinnings (PCT) match silvicultural requirements in Lithuania as well as how adequately are the policy instruments steering the application of thinnings. Analysis is carried in three steps. First, 15 selected sample stands were assessed in the central part of Lithuania. According to the regenerations projects, prevailing tree species in all stands should have been spruce that is commercially important target tree species in Lithuanian silviculture. Results revealed that in none of 15 stands pre-commercial thinnings were performed as required by legislation. Only two stands showed some marks of thinnings. As the second step, economic assessment mostly concerned with calculations for potential economic result of PCTs in four selected model stands. Calculations were made employing methodology widely used in Scandinavian countries. The study compares cash flows, net present values and internal rates of return between treated and untreated stands. The results revealed that PCT’s pays off already at the age of commercial thinnings, and significant economic gains (IRR > 4%) are achieved, when considering the period from PCTs until the end of forest rotation. Lastly, relevant regulative, economic and informational (persuasion) policy instruments were evaluated. Forest legislation was reviewed to assess the regulatory framework. Pre-Commercial thinnings have been specified as a mandatory forest management measure in Regulations for forest fellings already in 2010, but they still were ignored by private forest owners. Control of thinnings is very contradictory due to discrepancies between regulations in different acts. Analysis of economic policy instruments was mainly concentrated on European Unions’ (EU) structural funds. Subsidies from EU funds could be easily reclaimable; however some of the requirements and procedural aspects of the application process are not well appreciated by private forest owners. This inhibits the use of such support system. The main issues are: prohibition to perform thinnings by owners themselves, relatively small percent of PCT expenses covered and too long and in some cases messy administrative process before support reaches applicant. Interviews with officers from Regional Environmental Protection Departments as well as private forest owners uniting associations confirmed that courses for private forest owners could be the most important informational policy tool for promotion of best practices. Analysis also revealed that owners are not well informed about such courses and participation is still weak. Possible reasons are further discussed.Šis darbas yra skirtas jaunuolynų ugdymo kirtimų kompleksiniam vertinimui privačiuose Lietuvos miškuose, apimant tiek ūkinį, tiek ir teisinio reguliavimo įvertinimą. Siekiant tikslo – įvertinti miško ugdomuosius kirtimus privačiuose miškuose – darbo pradžioje buvo iškelti trys uždaviniai: Pirma, atlikti privačiuose miškuose esančių, 15 – 20 metų amžiaus miško sklypų, būdingose eglynams augavietėse (Myrtillo – oxalidosum) inventorizaciją (natūraliai atžėlusių ir želdintų) ir įvertinti jaunuolynų ugdymo kirtimų reikalingumą šiuose sklypuose. Inventorizavus 15 sklypų buvo nustatyta, kad nei viename iš jų nebuvo pilnai vykdomi jaunuolynų ugdymo kirtimai, kaip to reikalauja teisiniai aktai, ir tik 2 sklypai buvo įvertinti kaip turintys ugdymo kirtimų požymių (gulintys stiebai, kelmai). Antra, atlikti jaunuolynų ugdomųjų kirtimų ekonominį vertinimą. Kitaip tariant įvertinti kokią ekonominę naudą teikia, savalaikis jaunuolynų ugdomųjų kirtimų atlikimas. Skaičiavimai atlikti keturiems modeliniams, anksčiau inventorizuotiems, sklypams, pasitelkiant Skandinavijos šalyse paplitusią metodiką. Norint įvertinti miško teikiamą ekonominę naudą, nepakanka vien tik apskaičiuoti pajamų bei išlaidų skirtumą. Vertinant projekto generuojamus pinigų srautus, taikomi įvairūs vertinimo metodai. Šiame darbe vertinti du ekonominiai rodikliai: vidinė įplaukų norma, sutrumpintai IRR (internal rate of return) ir grynoji dabartinė vertė NPV (net present value). Atlikus ekonominę analizę paaiškėjo, kad pajamos, gaunamos įvairiose miško kirtimo stadijose, kuomet jaunuolynų ugdomieji kirtimai atliekami, viršija tas pajamas, kurios būtų gaunamos nevykdant ugdomųjų kirtimų. Išlaidos jaunuolynų ugdomiesiems kirtimams atsiperka jau retinimo kirtimų metu. Trečia, įvertinti teisinius, ekonominius ir informacinius politikos instrumentus, kurie paskatintų miško savininkus atlikti ugdomuosius kirtimus. Analizė atskleidė, kad teisinis miško ugdomųjų kirtimų reguliavimas privačiuose miškuose yra nepakankamai apibrėžtas, todėl jaunuolynų ugdomųjų kirtimų priežiūra ir vertinimas tai atliekančių institucijų dažnai yra ignoruojami. Ekonominių skatinimo priemonių apžvalgoje daugiausiai dėmesio buvo kreipiama į Europos Sąjungos teikiamą paramą miško jaunuolyno ugdomiesiems kirtimams atlikti. Apklausiant privačius miško savininkus išaiškėjo, kad norint paskatinti pasinaudoti paramos priemonėmis, būtina padidinti finansavimo iš Europos Sąjungos fondų intensyvumą ir leisti savininkams patiems atlikti jaunuolynų ugdomuosius kirtimus savo sklypuose. Apklaustų privačių miško savininkų asociacijos atstovų ir Regioninių aplinkos apsaugos departamentų inspektorių nuomone, Lietuvoje kol kas nėra kompleksinės privačių miškų savininkų konsultavimo sistemos, kuri padėtų savininkams suprasti ugdomųjų kirtimų reikšmę, tačiau kursai, kuriuose būtų aiškinama jaunuolynų ugdomųjų kirtimų nauda, būtų labai reikalingi ir naudingi

Differential Regulation by Calmodulin of Basal, GTP-, and Dopamine-Stimulated Adenylate Cyclase Activities in Bovine Striatum

The concentration requirements of calmodulin in altering basal, GTP-, and dopamine-stimulated adenylate cyclase activities in an EGTA-washed paniculate fraction from bovine striatum were examined. In the bovine striatal paniculate fraction, calmodulin activated basal adenylate cyclase activity 3.5-fold, with an EC 50 of 110 n M . Calmodulin also potentiated the activation of adenylate cyclase by GTP by decreasing the EC 50 for GTP from 303 ± 56 n M to 60 ± 10 n M Calmodulin did not alter the maximal response to GTP. The EC 50 for calmodulin in potentiating the GTP response was only 11 n M as compared to 110 n M for activation of basal activity. Similarly, calmodulin increased the maximal stimulation of adenylate cyclase by dopamine by 50–60%. The EC 50 for calmodulin in eliciting this response was 35 n M . These data demonstrate that calmodulin can both activate basal adenylate cyclase and potentiate adenylate cyclase activities that involve the activating GTP-binding protein, N s . Mechanisms that involve potentiation of N s -mediated effects are much more sensitive to calmodulin than is the activation of basal adenylate cyclase activity. Potentiation of GTP-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity by calmodulin was apparent at 3 and 5 m M MgCl 2 , but not at 1 or 10 m M MgCl 2 . These data further support a role for calmodulin in hormonal signalling and suggest that calmodulin can regulate cyclic AMP formation by more than one mechanism.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65615/1/j.1471-4159.1988.tb01045.x.pd