QCD analysis of neutrino charged current structure function F2 in deep inelastic scattering

An analytic expression for the neutrino charged current structure function F sub 2 (x, Q sup 2) in deep inelastic scattering, consistent with quantum chromodynamics, is proposed. The calculated results are in good agreement with experiment

Induced abortions in low socio-economic settlements of Karachi, Pakistan: rates and women\u27s perspectives

Objective: The aim of the study was to determine rates on induced abortions and to identify the perceived and actual reasons for terminating an unplanned pregnancy, health care providers sought, methods used and post-abortion complications.SETTING: Three squatter settlements of Karachi, Pakistan.SUBJECTS: Interviews were conducted on 1,214 ever-married women in the reproductive age group (15-49) with a reproductive history of at least one pregnancy, irrespective of outcome.Methods: A cross-sectional survey from June-August 1997 was conducted in three selected squatter settlements of Karachi.Results: The abortion rate for the past year was 25.5 per 1,000 women of reproductive age group. The post-abortion complication rate reported was 68.5% (61/89), of which fever and heavy vaginal bleeding was the most commonly reported complication (54.1%).CONCLUSION: The results indicate that women are aware of the high mortality and morbidity risk resulting from seeking an unsafe abortion but nevertheless opt for this approach to attain their goal of small family size rather than for a modern method of contraception. Furthermore, healthcare providers, irrespective of legality issues, provide such services due to demand. We suggest that family physicians and other relevant health care providers be trained for post-abortion care including post-abortion family planning counseling with an emphasis on emergency contraceptives

The quest for small family size among Pakistani women--is voluntary termination of pregnancy a matter of choice or necessity?

Objective: To present the socio-biologic predictors of induced abortion among married women residing in low income squatter settlements of Karachi, Pakistan.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in three squatter settlements of Karachi from June to August 1997. Interviews were conducted on 1,214 married women assessing past pregnancy history, literacy and employment status of self and spouse and specifically probing for past history of seeking an induced abortion.Results: Fifty women reported an induced abortion during last three years prior to survey. Of these, forty percent (20/50) of abortion seekers were using some method of family planning before conceiving the index pregnancy. Post abortion family planning method use was adopted by 50% (25/50) of the abortion seekers. The most parsimonious multivariate logistic regression model included grand-multigravidity (OR 2.6 CI, 1.3 - 5.2), literate status of the woman (OR 1.9 CI, 1.0 - 3.4) and the 26-35 age group (OR 3.0 CI, 1.4 - 6.6).CONCLUSIONS: Unplanned/mistimed pregnancies generally result from high unmet need and ineffective use of contraceptives and culminate through induced abortions. We propose that improvement in the quality of family planning counseling should be targeted to effective use of a method, back-up support in case of method failure and the health consequences of unsafe abortions

Reliability assessment of an isolated hybrid microgrid using Markov modeling and Monte Carlo simulation

The importance of conducting adequacy assessments of standalone systems with integrated renewable generation sources is growing. In this work, the focus is placed on the reliability assessment of an isolated microgrid operating on renewable energy generated by wind turbines (WTs) and photovoltaic (PV) panels. Batteries for storage were included in the model because of their crucial role in the system’s feasibility. Additional micro-gas turbines (MGTs) served as conventional backup. The sequential Monte Carlo simulation (SMCS) method was used to carry out simulations of the system, which was modeled using Markov matrices. Input data, such as wind speed, solar irradiance, and ambient air temperature, were used to simulate the power outputs of the generators. These historical data were fitted into appropriate distributions to extract corresponding parameters when simulating essential key factors necessary to produce the renewable power generation models. The adequacy model of the MGTs was obtained by employing the two-state reliability model, which was also superimposed with the generation models of WTs, PV panels, and batteries. The IEEE Roy Billinton test system (RBTS) was used for demand modelling. Common reliability indices were computed, and the system availability margins were evaluated

The Odyssey Approach for Optimizing Federated SPARQL Queries

Answering queries over a federation of SPARQL endpoints requires combining data from more than one data source. Optimizing queries in such scenarios is particularly challenging not only because of (i) the large variety of possible query execution plans that correctly answer the query but also because (ii) there is only limited access to statistics about schema and instance data of remote sources. To overcome these challenges, most federated query engines rely on heuristics to reduce the space of possible query execution plans or on dynamic programming strategies to produce optimal plans. Nevertheless, these plans may still exhibit a high number of intermediate results or high execution times because of heuristics and inaccurate cost estimations. In this paper, we present Odyssey, an approach that uses statistics that allow for a more accurate cost estimation for federated queries and therefore enables Odyssey to produce better query execution plans. Our experimental results show that Odyssey produces query execution plans that are better in terms of data transfer and execution time than state-of-the-art optimizers. Our experiments using the FedBench benchmark show execution time gains of at least 25 times on average.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figure

Crop Revenue and Yield Insurance Demand: A Subjective Probability Approach

A multinomial logit is utilized to model the choice of whether to purchase yield or revenue insurance using subjectively elicited survey data. Our results indicate that the demand for crop insurance is inelastic (-0.40), consistent with most earlier yield elasticity estimates, but the elasticity for choices between yield and revenue insurance is found to be relatively more elastic (-0.88).crop insurance, elasticities, multinomial logit model, revenue demand, subjective elicitation, survey, Agribusiness, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, Q18,