Mergers among leaders and mergers among followers

We are the first to confirm that sufficient cost convexity in a Stackelberg model generates profitable mergers between two leaders and between two followers. Moreover, the degree of convexity required for leaders to merge is generally far smaller than that required for followers. Most importantly, the structure of the stage game means that the convexity required for either two followers or two leaders to merge is less than that required for two Cournot competitors.

FROM DISLOCATION TO DISENGAGEMENT: THE EXPERIENCES OF LOW-INCOME AND FIRST GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS

In this thesis, I examine the experiences of low-income and first generation college students who are enrolled members of the TRiO Student Support Program at the University of Montana. This program is designed to cater to the specific academic struggles of low-income and first generation college students. There is a wealth of scholarly literature concerning this population of students and their risk of dropping out of college. Researchers have found these students are susceptible to habitus dislocation, which causes many of these students to feel torn between acclimating to college and forfeiting their membership in the working-class. One of the main contributors to habitus dislocation is campus authority figures’ use of the hidden curriculum. This type of unconscious instruction teaches disadvantaged students how to “fit in” at college by adopting middle-class values and habits. Much of the research on the hidden curriculum is focused on the K-12 experience. In this study, I use qualitative data to assess how the TRiO program imparts the hidden curriculum to low-income and first generation college students. How does the program help low-income and first generation college students succeed in college? In what ways does the TRiO staff help TRiO students overcome habitus dislocation? Can the hidden curriculum actually benefit these students? The findings of this study indicate that some components of the TRiO program cause students to experience habitus dislocation, which in turn causes students to academically disengage from their instructors. Even though TRiO is designed to help low-income and first generation college students throughout their academic careers, the TRiO instructors’ use of the hidden curriculum exacerbates some of their students’ habitus dislocation

On the role of specific drug binding in modelling arterial eluting stents

In this paper we consider drug binding in the arterial wall following delivery by a drug-eluting stent. Whilst it is now generally accepted that a non-linear saturable reversible binding model is required to properly describe the binding process, the precise form of the binding model varies between authors. Our particular interest in this manuscript is in assessing to what extent modelling specific and non-specific binding in the arterial wall as separate phases is important. We study this issue by extending a recently developed coupled model of drug release and arterial tissue distribution, and comparing simulated profiles of drug concentration and drug mass in each phase within the arterial tissue

Pond Culture of Tilapia.

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Beyond the hybrid library : libraries in a Web 2.0 world

Considers the development of social networking and the concept of Web 2.0. Looks at the implications for libraries and how traditional competences remain relevant. Explores what libraries are doing and must do to remain relevan

Occupational Wellbeing of People Experience Homelessness: Survival, Self Identity and Socialisation

Introduction A growing area of for the occupational therapy profession is the needs of people experiencing occupational injustice within our societies. Distinct from social justice, occupational justice focuses on ‘occupational equity, occupational fairness, occupational empowerment, occupational rights and responsibilities, occupational enablement, expression and opportunity, occupational satisfaction and occupational wellbeing’ (Wilcock, 2006, p. 247). Objectives This study aimed to understand the occupations of people experiencing homelessness and to contribute to occupational perspectives of health through exploring occupations that influence subjective perspectives of well-being in for people experiencing homelessness. Method This constructivist case study explored the lived experience of people who were homeless using observation and interviews with consumers of homeless services. A strengths-based approach to data collection prioritised the voices of participants and elicited situated accounts of occupations of meaning. Results Thirty-five in-depth conversational interviews explored the strengths, resilience, agency and capacity of participants to sustain wellbeing during homelessness. People who are homeless aim to achieve and sustain subjective wellbeing through occupation of survival, self identity and socialisation. Limited opportunities for occupational engagement due to poverty and marginalisation result in situations of occupational injustice for people experiencing homelessness. Conclusion Despite limited occupational opportunity resulting in occupational injustice, acts of personal autonomy and agency guard against descending into despair and afford a sense of satisfaction with life. Contribution to the practice/evidence base of occupational therapy An occupational perspective of subjective wellbeing is supported by this study, which challenges the appropriateness of universal definitions of wellbeing for all. Interpretive findings propose an expansion of the theoretical basis of occupational justice. The multiple meanings of human occupation are intricately affected and shaped by the social and cultural context and consistent with the gendered and cultural norms. Refs Wilcock, A. (2006). An Occupational Perspective of Health (2nd Ed). Slack: Thoroughfare

3D modelling of drug-coated balloons for the treatment of calcified superficial femoral arteries

Background/Objectives Drug-coated balloon therapy for diseased superficial femoral arteries remains controversial. Despite its clinical relevance, only a few computational studies based on simplistic two-dimensional models have been proposed to investigate this endovascular therapy to date. This work addresses the aforementioned limitation by analyzing the drug transport and kinetics occurring during drug-coated balloon deployment in a three-dimensional geometry. Methods An idealized three-dimensional model of a superficial femoral artery presenting with a calcific plaque and treated with a drug-coated balloon was created to perform transient mass transport simulations. To account for the transport of drug (i.e. paclitaxel) released by the device, a diffusion-reaction equation was implemented by describing the drug bound to specific intracellular receptors through a non-linear, reversible reaction. The following features concerning procedural aspects, pathologies and modelling assumptions were investigated: (i) balloon application time (60–180 seconds); (ii) vessel wall composition (healthy vs. calcified wall); (iii) sequential balloon application; and (iv) drug wash-out by the blood stream vs. coating retention, modeled as exponential decay. Results The balloon inflation time impacted both the free and specifically-bound drug concentrations in the vessel wall. The vessel wall composition highly affected the drug concentrations. In particular, the specifically-bound drug concentration was four orders of magnitude lower in the calcific compared with healthy vessel wall portions, primarily as a result of reduced drug diffusion. The sequential application of two drug-coated balloons led to modest differences (~15%) in drug concentration immediately after inflation, which became negligible within 10 minutes. The retention of the balloon coating increased the drug concentration in the vessel wall fourfold. Conclusions The overall findings suggest that paclitaxel kinetics may be affected not only by the geometrical and compositional features of the vessel treated with the drug-coated balloon, but also by balloon design characteristics and procedural aspects that should be carefully considered