Supercharacter Theories and Semidirect Products

We describe the supercharacter theories of the semidirect product of H and K, $H\rtimes K$ in terms of the supercharacter theories of the direct product of H and K in the case when both H and K are Abelian groups. To do this we introduce the concept of a homomorphism of supercharacter theories. This provides a classification of the supercharacter theories of the dihedral groups of order 2m when m is odd using the known classification of the supercharacter theories of cyclic groups.Comment: 9 page

THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF FOREIGNER RULES IN NATIONAL SPORTS LEAGUES

Profitable and balanced domestic league sports are among the central prerequisites for attracting the right to host a mega-event like the soccer world cup as well as for the overall economic success of such events. This paper provides a contest model of a professional team sports league and analyzes the impact of a restriction on foreign players. It shows that a league with binding restrictions on foreign talent for all clubs is more balanced than a league without binding restrictions on foreign talent. Moreover, the wage level of domestic (foreign) talent is higher (lower) in a league with a binding restriction on foreign players. Finally, a tighter restriction on foreign players increases profits of all clubs.TEAM SPORTS LEAGUES, COMPETITIVE BALANCE, PLAYER SALARIES

The Economic Consequences of Foreigner Rules in National Sports Leagues

This paper provides a contest model of a professional team sports league and analyzes the impact of a restriction on foreign players. It shows that a league with binding restrictions on foreign talent for all clubs is more balanced than a league without binding restrictions on foreign talent. Moreover, the wage level of domestic (foreign) talent is higher (lower) in a league with a binding restriction on foreign players. Finally, a tighter restriction on foreign players increases profits of all clubs.Team Sports Leagues, UEFA's Homegrown Rule, FIFA's 6+5 Rule, Competitive Balance, Player Salaries

The Combined Effect of Salary Restrictions and Revenue Sharing on Club Profits, Player Salaries, and Competitive Balance

This article provides a standard "Fort and Quirk"-style model of a professional team sports league and analyzes the combined effect of salary restrictions (caps and floors) and revenue-sharing arrangements. It shows that the invariance proposition does not hold even under Walrasian conjectures if revenue sharing is combined with either a salary cap or a salary floor. In leagues with a binding salary cap for large clubs but no binding salary floor for small clubs, revenue sharing will decrease the competitive balance and increase club profits. Moreover, a salary cap produces a more balanced league and decreases the cost per unit of talent. The effect of a more restrictive salary cap on the profits of the small clubs is positive, whereas the effects on the profits of the large clubs as well as on aggregate profits are ambiguous. In leagues with a binding salary floor for the small clubs but no binding salary cap for the large clubs, revenue sharing will increase the competitive balance. Moreover, revenue sharing will decrease (increase) the profits of large (small) clubs. Implementing a more restrictive salary floor produces a less balanced league and increases the cost per unit of talent. Furthermore, a salary floor will result in lower profits for all clubs.Team sports leagues, invariance proposition, competitive balance, revenue sharing, salary cap, salary floor

A Ferro e Fuoco: La Guerra Civile Europea, 1914-1945 by Enzo Traverso (2008)

Histor

Spektroskopische Quantifizierung von Molekülen des humanen Häm-Metabolismus

The present dissertation covers the development of spectroscopic methods for quantitative detection of heme synthesis and heme metabolization molecules, in particular porphobilinogen, uroporphyrin I and III, coproporphyrin I and III, hemoglobin and bilirubin. The first three substances are highly specific biomarkers for the diagnosis of acute porphyria, the other two for the diagnosis of hemoglobinemia. New diagnostic tests were developed for both clinical pictures. In the heme biosynthesis, 5-aminolevulinic acid is metabolized via porphobilinogen and porphyrinogens to protoporphyrin IX, which then forms the heme complex with divalent iron (Fe2+). The steps of the heme synthesis are enzymatically catalyzed. If one of the enzymes is inhibited in its activity by a genetic disorder, the resulting condition is called porphyria. Precursors to heme such as porphyrinogens, porphyrins and porphobilinogen then accumulate in the body and are excreted with the urine. The detection of elevated levels of porphyrins and porphobilinogen in urine allows for the diagnosis of acute porphyria with very high specificity, but so far there is no rapid test for both substances. Since acute porphyria is a very rare disease and shows very unspecific but life-threatening symptoms, patients with acute porphyria are often unrecognized and undiagnosed. A suitable screening test could prevent this. To develop a rapid test for porphyrins and porphobilinogen, a device set-up was designed and constructed allowing for spectroscopic measurements of absorption and fluorescence on urine samples. An additional heating coil integrated into the device enables controlled and rapid heating of samples and thus the condensation of porphobilinogen to uroporphyrin I and porphobilin, which can be detected by either fluorescence or absorption spectroscopy. Using this setup, three new methods have been developed that can be combined to form an innovative rapid test for acute porphyria. It enables, first, the controlled photo-oxidation of porphyrinogens to porphyrins, second, the quantification of total porphyrins in urine in the concentration range between 0.2 and 20 μmol/L by a spectral fitting algorithm on the second derivative of spectra of patient samples and third, the indirect quantitative detection of porphobilinogen by the quantification of both or either uroporphyrin I or porphobilin. The developed test allows for the execution of all three methods including sample preparation in less than 15 minutes. The aim of the second spectroscopic method of this dissertation thesis was the quantification of free hemoglobin in blood plasma, which results from strong intravascular hemolysis. Bilirubin, a substance occurring in the metabolism of heme, is elevated in the blood plasma following severe hemolysis. Bilirubin prevents the quantification of free hemoglobin even at very low concentrations when employing the standard optical method for free hemoglobin quantification. A mathematical fit algorithm using the second derivative of plasma absorption spectra was developed and applied on 492 samples. It allows for the quantification of both free hemoglobin and bilirubin in blood plasma, and was therefore named “HEBI-Fit”. The publication also includes the algorithm as a Microsoft Excel file to enable other laboratories to easily implement the innovative method in their daily routine.In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurden spektroskopische Methoden zum quantitativen Nachweis von Molekülen der Häm-Biosynthese und der Häm- Metabolisierung entwickelt, im Speziellen Porphobilinogen, Uroporphyrin I und III, Koproporphyrin I und III, Hämoglobin und Bilirubin. Die ersten drei Stoffe stellen sehr spezifische Biomarker für die Diagnose von akuter Porphyrie dar, die Anderen für die Diagnose von Hämoglobinämie. Für beide Krankheitsbilder wurden neue diagnostische Tests entwickelt. In der Hämsynthese wird über mehrere metabolische Schritte von 5-Aminolävulinsäure ausgehend Porphobilinogen und daraus über Porphyrinogene Protoporphyrin IX erzeugt, das den Häm- Komplex mit zweiwertigem Eisen (Fe2+) bildet. Die Schritte der Hämsynthese sind enzymatisch katalysiert. Falls durch eine genetische Störung eines der Enzyme in seiner Aktivität gehemmt ist, spricht man von Porphyrie. Vorläuferstoffe zu Häm wie Porphyrinogene, Porphyrine und Porphobilinogen reichern sich dann im Körper an und werden unter anderem mit dem Urin ausgeschieden. Der Nachweis von erhöhten Konzentrationen von Porphyrinen und Porphobilinogen in Urin erlaubt mit sehr hoher Spezifität die Diagnose von akuter Porphyrie, es existiert jedoch kein Schnelltest für beide Substanzen. Da akute Porphyrie eine sehr seltene Erkrankung ist und sehr unspezifische, allerdings lebensbedrohliche Symptome zeigt, wird akute Porphyrie häufig nicht erkannt und Patienten fehldiagnostiziert. Ein geeigneter Schnelltest könnte das verhindern. Zur Entwicklung eines Schnelltests für Porphyrine und Porphobilinogen wurde ein Messaufbau konstruiert, der spektroskopische Messungen der Absorption und Fluoreszenz an Urinproben ermöglicht. Ein zusätzlich in das Gerät integriertes Thermoelement erlaubt kontrolliertes und schnelles Erhitzen von Proben und damit die Kondensation von optisch nicht nachweisbarem Porphobilinogen zu Uroporphyrin I und Porphobilin, welche über Fluoreszenzbeziehungsweise Absorptionsspektroskopie nachgewiesen werden können. Es wurden mithilfe dieses Aufbaus drei Methoden entwickelt, die zu einem neuen Schnelltest für akute Porphyrie kombiniert werden können. Dieser erlaubt erstens die kontrollierte Foto-Oxidation von Porphyrinogenen zu Porphyrinen, zweitens die Quantifizierung der Gesamtporphyrine in Urin im Konzentrationsbereich zwischen 0,2 und 20 μmol/L durch ein mathematisches Näherungs- Verfahren an der zweiten Ableitung der Spektren von Patientenproben und drittens den indirekten, quantitativen Nachweis von Porphobilinogen durch die Quantifizierung von Uroporphyrin I oder Porphobilin. Das entwickelte Messverfahren ermöglicht die Durchführung aller drei Messungen inklusive Probenvorbereitung in weniger als 15 Minuten. Ziel der anderen spektroskopischen Methode dieser Promotionsarbeit war die Quantifizierung von freiem Hämoglobin in Blutplasma, welches durch starke intravaskuläre Hämolyse entsteht. Bilirubin, ein Stoff der bei der Metabolisierung von Häm auftritt, findet sich bei schwerer Hämolyse vermehrt im Blutplasma. Bilirubin verhindert bereits in sehr geringen Konzentrationen die Quantifizierung von freiem Hämoglobin bei Messungen mit der Standardmethode. Es wurde an 492 Proben ein mathematischer Näherungs-Algorithmus („HEBI-Fit“ genannt) an der zweiten Ableitung der Plasmaabsorptionsspektren entwickelt, welcher die Quantifizierung von freiem Hämoglobin und von Bilirubin ermöglicht. Der entsprechenden Publikation wurde dieser Auswerte- Algorithmus als Microsoft Excel File angehängt, um es anderen Laboren zu ermöglichen, diese innovative Methode selbst einfach in ihre Labor-Auswertungen zu implementieren

Welfare Effects of Salary Caps in Sports Leagues with Win-Maximizing Clubs

This paper studies the welfare effect of a percentage-of-revenue salary cap in a European context with win-maximizing clubs. It shows that a percentage-of-revenue cap increases competitive balance and decreases the overall salary payments in the league, therefore contributing to financial stability. A percentage-of-revenue cap will always increase social welfare if the weight on aggregate club surplus in the welfare function is sufficiently high. Additionally, if fans’ preferences for aggregate talent are sufficiently high then the percentage-of-revenue cap will also increase social welfare; no matter how much weight the league puts on financial stability.Salary Caps, Social Welfare, Competitive Balance, Team Sports League

Organizational Differences between U.S. Major Leagues and European Leagues: Implications for Salary Caps

This paper outlines and compares the organizational structure of major sports leagues, explores the reasoning behind their formation, and derives implications for salary caps in European football. To understand why sports leagues have developed a specific organizational structure, one must take the economic peculiarities of team sports leagues into consideration. For this purpose, we analyze the production process and illuminate its major peculiarities. For example, we present the difference between economic competition and competition on the pitch and discuss the consequences of this distinction for an attractive final product. Furthermore, we show that a hold-up problem exists between the two stages of the production process and demonstrate how these problems are overcome by the organizational structure chosen by sports leagues. We also outline the differences between the U.S. major leagues and European leagues and document recent developments in that context. Finally, based on this comparative institutional analysis, we derive implications for the introduction of salary caps into European football.Sports leagues, organization, salary cap, hold-up problem

Casualty evacuation by air: with special reference to the campaign in North Western Europe

The object of this thesis is to present the principles of Casualty Air Evacuation in some of their administrative, surgical, medical, and psychological aspects. An attempt will be trade to apply the knowledge gained in war during the liberation of Europe, to the conditions of peace. The conclusions reached are based on my experience of over 20,000 casualties successfully evacuated by air