Signalling, cell cycle and pluripotency in embryonic stem cells

International audienc

Risk and Real Estate Investment: An International Perspective

The literature regarding portfolio analysis for institutional real estate investors has until now largely been concerned with benefits associated with naive diversification strategies. In this paper, we discuss the prospects that institutional characteristics suggest for risk reduction in internationally diversified portfolios. The risk/return relationship of each country is affected by its own unique institutional environment and therefore there are potential benefits for investors. We argue that, given the significant differences in the institutional framework across countries, there are likely impacts on returns and that this fact deserves the attention of institutional investors.

Irrigation Water Management Potential in the Bear River Delta

The purposes of this study were to evaluate the present irrigation efficiencies of the Bear River delta area of northern Utah and to propose a set of management proposals to improve the irrigation efficiency. In order to evaluate the present use, all pertinent data on the water resources of the Bear River delta had to be assembled and analyzed. A hydrologic budget is a method used to account for all inflows, outflows, and changes in storage within a given area. In this study, all inflows and changes in storage were evaluated and the outflow was predicted. In this manner the management proposals could be tested to determine their effect on the outflow. The time base used in the budget analysis was chosen as monthly over the period 1931 - 1960. The mean annual outflow from the delta area to the Great Salt Lake was estimated to be 891,000 acre feet as surface outflow and 27,500 acre feet as groundwater outflow. Irrigation requirement can be defined as the volume of water, measured at the point of diversion, required to meet crop potential consumptive uses. Irrigation requirement is a function of the system efficiency and includes the water lost from the conveyance and storage facilities. When compared to the present mean cropland diversions, a deficit or surplus water supply exists. These parameters were evaluated for both the present and the future estimated irrigation system efficiencies. The present irrigation efficiency was estimated from potential consumptive use data and seepage loss data from surrounding areas. The present system efficiency was estimated to be 44 percent but with the implementation of the outlined general set of management proposals, the system efficiency was estimated to be increased to 62 percent. These management proposals result in an adequate water supply for all crop needs under the present cropland diversions, assuming adequate additional storage could be provided to redistribute the water to coincide with the demands. Under the present irrigation efficiency, the crop requirements are only being partially met. It was estimated from the estimated future system efficiency, irrigation requirements, and the mean cropland diversions that water is available for export. The mean annual quantity of water available for export was estimated to be 630,000 acre feet. Most of this water is available for export during the non-growth months which requires large storage facilities at the points of useage. Further investigation is needed to determine the effect of this exportation on the ecology of the Great Salt Lake and the surrounding marsh lands

The Signal Data Explorer: A high performance Grid based signal search tool for use in distributed diagnostic applications

We describe a high performance Grid based signal search tool for distributed diagnostic applications developed in conjunction with Rolls-Royce plc for civil aero engine condition monitoring applications. With the introduction of advanced monitoring technology into engineering systems, healthcare, etc., the associated diagnostic processes are increasingly required to handle and consider vast amounts of data. An exemplar of such a diagnosis process was developed during the DAME project, which built a proof of concept demonstrator to assist in the enhanced diagnosis and prognosis of aero-engine conditions. In particular it has shown the utility of an interactive viewing and high performance distributed search tool (the Signal Data Explorer) in the aero-engine diagnostic process. The viewing and search techniques are equally applicable to other domains. The Signal Data Explorer and search services have been demonstrated on the Worldwide Universities Network to search distributed databases of electrocardiograph data

Empirical treatment of bacterial keratitis: an international survey of corneal specialists.

Background/aimsNew antibiotic agents and changing susceptibility patterns may have changed the empirical treatment of bacterial keratitis. Our objective in this study was to survey cornea specialists' practice patterns in the initial treatment of bacterial ulcers.MethodsThis study consisted of a short online survey emailed to members of the Cornea Society listserv for an international sample of cornea specialists. Data collection began July 2014 and ended October 2014.ResultsA total of 1009 surveys were emailed, and we received 140 (14%) responses. The majority of US clinicians surveyed (n=83, 80%) chose fortified antibiotics empirically, with 55% (n=57) selecting fortified vancomycin and 16% (n=17) using fluoroquinolone alone. International respondents were twice as likely to use fluoroquinolone monotherapy (31%, n=11, p=0.07) and less likely to use fortified vancomycin (33%, n=12, p=0.03). Forty-five per cent (n=46) of US respondents reported that their initial antibiotic choice covered methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, compared with 22% (n=8) of international respondents (p<0.01). Overall, respondents who were concerned about availability of antibiotics and toxicity were 20.86 (p<0.001) and 7.48 (p<0.001) times more likely to choose fluoroquinolone monotherapy, respectively. If respondents' primary considerations were broad spectrum coverage or antibiotic resistance they had 7.10 (p<0.001) and 12.51 (p<0.001) times the odds of using fortified vancomycin, respectively.ConclusionPractice patterns for the initial treatment of bacterial keratitis vary with clinicians in the USA being more likely to use fortified antibiotics versus fluoroquinolone monotherapy and more concerned with resistant organisms than their international peers

Measuring the Contribution to the Economy of Investments in Renewable Energy: Estimates of Future Consumer Gains

In this paper we develop a cost index–based measure of the expected consumer welfare gains from innovation in electricity generation technologies. To illustrate our approach, we estimate how much better off consumers would be from 2000 to 2020 as renewable energy technologies continue to be improved and gradually adopted, compared with a counterfactual scenario that allows for continual improvement of conventional technology. We proceed from the position that the role and prospects of renewable energy are best assessed within a market setting that considers competing energy technologies and sources. We evaluate five renewable energy technologies used to generate electricity: solar photovoltaics, solar thermal, geothermal, wind, and biomass. For each, we assume an accelerated adoption rate due to technological advances, and we evaluate the benefits against a baseline technology, combined-cycle gas turbine, which experts cite as the conventional technology most likely to be installed as incremental capacity over the next decade. We evaluate benefits against both the conventional combined-cycle gas turbine prevalent at this time and a more advanced combined-cycle gas turbine expected to be employed during the coming decade. We estimate the model for two geographic regions of the nation for which renewable energy is, or can be expected to be, a somewhat sizable portion of the electricity market—California and the north central United States. In present-value terms we find that median consumer welfare gains over 20 years vary markedly among the renewable technologies, ranging from large negative values (welfare losses) to large positive values (welfare gains). The effect of uncertainty can lead to estimates that are 20% to 40% larger or smaller than median predicted values. Our results suggest that portfolios that give equal weight to the use of each generation technology are likely to lead to consumer losses in our regions, regardless of the role of the externalities that we consider. However, when the portfolio is more heavily weighted toward certain renewables, consumer gains can be positive.energy economics, technical change

A Binary Neural Network Framework for Attribute Selection and Prediction

In this paper, we introduce an implementation of the attribute selection algorithm, Correlation-based Feature Selection (CFS) integrated with our k-nearest neighbour (k-NN) framework. Binary neural networks underpin our k-NN and allow us to create a unified framework for attribute selection, prediction and classification. We apply the framework to a real world application of predicting bus journey times from traffic sensor data and show how attribute selection can both speed our k-NN and increase the prediction accuracy by removing noise and redundant attributes from the data

ELECTRICITY DEREGULATION: WHAT'S IN STORE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT?

We test the: degree to which electricity consumers will trade off price and environmental attributes, effectiveness of environmental certification, and effectiveness of voluntary versus mandatory environmental disclosure. The type and consistency of information, the degree of difference in environmental attributes and the individual's characteristics all impact the choice of electricity product.Environmental Economics and Policy,