The Benefit-Cost Analysis of Security Focused Regulations

Security focused regulations have been largely exempt from the benefit-cost type of analysis required for major Federal regulations and done routinely in areas such as transportation, environment and safety. among the reasons offered for exemption are the analytical difficulties of security issues involving complex or poorly understood probabilities and consequences. This paper investigates the magnitude of security focused regulations, a framework for developing an expected costs analysis of regulations, and the current "break-even" analysis used by the Department of Homeland Security. Key assumptions implicit in the current analysis are identified and suggestions are made for the difficult evolution of security regulations toward a more explicit benefit-cost analysis.Benefit-cost, homeland security, regulation

On the number of prime order subgroups of finite groups

Let G be a finite group and let ?(G) be the number of prime order subgroups of G. We determine the groups G with the property ?(G)??G?/2?1, extending earlier work of C. T. C. Wall, and we use our classification to obtain new results on the generation of near-rings by units of prime order

Atmospheric contaminant sensor. Book 2: Appendices

Appendices containing equipment specifications and performance test data of the atmospheric contaminant sensor for submarines are presented

Promoting Component Reuse by Separating Transmission Policy from Implementation

In this paper we present a methodology and set of tools which assist the construction of applications from components, by separating the issues of transmission policy from component definition and implementation. This promotes a greater degree of software reuse than is possible using traditional middleware environments. Whilst component technologies are usually presented as a mechanism for promoting reuse, reuse is often limited due to design choices that permeate component implementation. The programmer has no direct control over inter-address-space parameter passing semantics: it is fixed by the distributed application's structure, based on the remote accessibility of the components. Using traditional middleware tools and environments, the application designer may be forced to use an unnatural encoding of application level semantics since application parameter passing semantics are tightly coupled with the component deployment topology. This paper describes how inter-address-space parameter passing semantics may be decided independently of component implementation. Transmission policy may be dynamically defined on a per-class, per-method or per-parameter basis.Comment: Submitted to ICDCS 200

Relative calorific value of some coals on Kansas markets

Citation: Fay, Scott Stuart. Relative calorific value of some coals on Kansas markets. Senior thesis, Kansas State Agricultural College, 1905.Morse Department of Special CollectionsIntroduction: The fuel value of coals, while it is a subject that hitherto has attracted but little attention, is one that the engineers of today are beginning to consider seriously; but it is not only these thoughtful engineers that are wide awake to the question, but practically all scientists as well, and even many coal dealers, and to a less extent the general public. Ordinarily coal is priced not on its real or its practical value as a producer of heat, but on an entirely different basis, namely, the cost necessary to lay it down, on the market. After calculating the expenditure, of wealth in mining, transportation, storing and a reasonable: profit for all concerned, and considering nothing more its market value is determined. Now this, while it must need be borne in mind, is not the principal item be used in ascertaining their commercial values. Since coal is used for the production of energy the all-important question in rating the article should be how much energy will it produce compared with others? It is to be hoped that further investigation will revise this, and give us a more scientific price list. Certainly it would be a valuable piece of work that would assign each its proper place in the system. It is the object of this experiment to arrive at some conclusions regarding the calorific value of a few coals on Kansas markets. Of the fourteen samples used thirteen were obtained from the dealers, while the other one the college coal coming from Lansing is not on the market at all. Sampling was done in the manner about to be described: A sample filling an ordinary coal bucket was taken from various parts of the bin. This was broken into small pieces, not larger than walnuts, and then spread out upon the sampling table, letting each shovel- full fall upon the same spot giving each particle an equal opportunity to roll in the direction and to the distance it would

Lyophilisation of lentiviral pseudotypes for the development and distribution of virus neutralisation assay kits for rabies, Marburg and influenza viruses

Purpose: Some conventional serological assays can accurately quantify neutralising antibody responses raised against epitopes on virus glycoproteins, enabling mass vaccine evaluation and serosurveillance studies to take place. However, these assays often necessitate the handling of wild-type virus in expensive high biosafety laboratories, which restricts the scope of their application, particularly in resource-deprived areas. A solution to this issue is the use of lentiviral pseudotype viruses (PVs)—chimeric, replication-deficient virions that imitate the binding and entry mechanisms of their wild-type equivalents. Pseudotype virus neutralisation assays (PVNAs) bypass high biosafety requirements and yield comparable results to established assays. This study explores the potential for using lyophilisation of pseudotypes as a cost-effective, alternative means for production, distribution and storage of a PVNAbased diagnostic kit. Methods & Materials: Rabies, Marburg and H5 subtype Influenza virus pseudotypes were each suspended in cryoprotectant solutions of various molarities and subjected to freeze-drying before incubation at a variety of temperatures, humidities and time periods. Samples were then employed in antibody neutralisation assays using specific sera. Results: High levels of PV titre were retained post-lyophilisation, with acceptable levels of virus activity maintained even after medium-term storage in tropical conditions. Also, the performance of PVs in neutralisation assays was not affected by the lyophilisation process. Conclusion: These results confirm the viability of a freeze-dried PVNA-based diagnostic kit, which could considerably facilitate in-field serology for a number of clinically important viruses