Experimental assessment of exposure to gaseous pollutants from mattresses and pillows while asleep

Every human spends 30% of his or her lifetime and about 70% of the time he or she is at home in their bed. Mattresses, pillows and bedlinnen are heavily treated with flame-retardants, detergents etc, substances that are known to have, next to a useful effect, an impact on human health. While asleep, the nose and mouth are in the direct proximity of these sources for a long period of time. Although these circumstances seem worrying at the least, virtually no research has been published on the exposure to and intake emissions from bedding. This paper presents the results form climate chamber tests with a breathing thermal mannequin that assess the intake fraction for nose breathing for gaseous emissions from mattresses and pillows under steady state conditions, using a continuous SF6 source. The intake fractions for supine, lateral and prone sleep positions as well as different bedding arrangements are reported. The results demonstrate that the human metabolism is a dominant factor in the dilution of emissions in close proximity of the nose, reducing exposure by 40% compared to a case without metabolic heat output. This effect is more important than the sleep position. Additionally, covering the head with the bedding is shown to increase exposure with magnifying factor of 25 and is therefore to be avoided

Existence in an overlapping generations model with production

Ankara : Department of Economics and the Institute of Economics and Social Sciences of Bilkent University, 1995.Thesis(Master's) -- Bilkent University, 1995.Includes bibliographical references leaves 44.This thesis proves the existence of competitive equilibrium in an overlapping generations model (OLG) with production. In the proof, existence of equilibrium in the classical Arrow-Debreu Model is essential, and the work is similar in spirit to that-presented in Balasko, Cass and Shell [2], except some tricks used in the proof. The assumptions do not deviate from standard assumptions, so the model can be taken as a first step in developing more general models.Abdulkadiroğlu, AtilaM.S

The EU and sub-regional multilateralism in Europe's sea basins: neighbourhood, enlargement and multilateral cooperation (EU4SEAS)

Closed seas play very diverse roles in relations between their bordering states: they unite and separate, they are a place of transit, a shared space, an element of joint identity, a common heritage. This project focuses on four closed sea basins: those of the Mediterranean, Caspian, Baltic and Black seas. Those basins were theatres for strategic competition between the Soviet Union and the United States during the Cold War and acquired since 1989 a new centrality in co-operation amongst neighbouring states, with a wealth of sub-regional multilateral agreements and institutions flourishing in a few years. All four basins are crucial to the European Union, and the EU is at the same time a crucial actor in them. Its policies have an impact not only in each country, but also on collective efforts at sub-regional level. This is a seldom analysed phenomenon: that of the relationship between a uniquely successful international organisation with a nature of its own, the European Union, and the smaller sub-regional multilateral structures and agreements. Compared to the huge attraction that the EU exerts, which has been a catalyser for stability, change and reconciliation in a number of European countries, sub-regional multilateral institutions have proved their relative weakness. However, their role in a number of areas (from stability and conflict resolution, to environmental issues) has been and still is important. This project aims to evaluate their main achievements and failures, and the areas in which they have been most successful. At the same time, it aims to analyse how EU membership and EU policies impact on multilateral co-operation around the sea basins, and how the EU and other multilateral organisations and initiatives can co-operate in achieving their shared objectives. In the end, the project will explore what would be the benefits of a specific approach of the EU for each of the four basins, in co-operation with the existing sub-regional multilateralism.EU, Funded under :FP7-SSH-2007-

College admissions with affirmative action

This paper first shows that when colleges' preferences are substitutable there does not exist any stable matching mechanism that makes truthful revelation of preferences a dominant strategy for every student. The paper introduces student types and captures colleges' preferences for affirmative action via type-specific quotas: A college always prefers a set of students that respects its type-specific quotas to another set that violates them. Then it shows that the student-applying deferred acceptance mechanism makes truthful revelation of preferences a dominant strategy for every student if each college's preferences satisfy responsiveness over acceptable sets of students that respect its type-specific quotas. These results have direct policy implications in several entry-level labor markets (Roth 1991). Furthermore, a fairness notion and the related incentive theory developed here is applied to controlled choice in the context of public school choice by Abdulkadiroglu and Sönmez (2003)

Room Assignment-Rent Division: A Market Approach

A group of friends consider renting a house but they shall first agree on how to allocate its rooms and share the rent. We propose an auction mechanism for room assignment-rent division problems which mimics the market mechanism. Our auction mechanism is efficient, envy-free, individually-rational and it yields a non-negative price to each room whenever that is possible with envy-freeness.

Enhancing the Comparative Research Capacity of the CES(CESCER)

The project aims at enhancing the research capacity of the Center for European Studies (CES) atthe Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara, Turkey to the standards for a center ofexcellence in European studies. Having already established itself as one of the leading centers forEuropean studies in Turkey, the CES aims to promote the development of an interdisciplinaryenvironment conducive for studying and researching the processes of European integration in acomparative manner. The CES, located at METU which is reputed as one of the most prestigiousresearch universities in Turkey, benefits from the research activities of several departments of theuniversity. While promoting academic specialization in issues of European integration and governance,the CES aims to collaborate with other institutions in Europe via joint projects.Addressing the interrelated questions of security and governance in a comprehensive sense, itsresearch agenda is characterized by its founding objectives. These are to conduct in depth, originalanalyses of the processes of socio-economic and political transformation in Turkey within acomparative framework, focusing on new forms and problems of governance particularly in relation toissues of comprehensive security. To achieve this objective, the CES aims to upgrade the institutionalresearch capacity in order to contribute to enhancing and widening of the European Research Area. Itaims to do so by conducting interdisciplinary and comparative research in the areas of security andgovernance in a wider Europe as specified in Research Area 6 and Research Area 4 of the ThematicPriority 7.The CES intends to achieve this strategic objective through developing its researchenvironment, strengthening its existing links with the leading research institutions of Europe,establishing new links with others and upgrading its institutional structure.EU, Funded under FP6-INC

Clinical characteristics and novel diagnostic tests in patients with arginine vasopressin deficiency (central diabetes insipidus)

Background: Arginine vasopressin (AVP) deficiency (central diabetes insipidus) is a neuroendocrine condition characterised by polyuria and polydipsia. The diagnostic evaluation in case of suspected AVP deficiency is challenging and simplified approaches with high diagnostic accuracies are needed. Once correctly diagnosed with AVP deficiency treatment with desmopressin (AVP receptor analogue) is started to control for polyuria. However, desmopressin treatment is accompanied by a high prevalence of hyponatremia. On the other hand, restriction to desmopressin and fluid intake during hospitalisation, partly explained by confusion with ‘diabetes mellitus’, may lead to severe consequences. Data on methods to counteract the risk of hyponatremia and data on treatment errors during hospitalisations are lacking. Additionally, hypothalamic-pituitary disruptions leading to AVP deficiency could also disturb the oxytocin system with subsequent clinical consequences. However, oxytocin deficiency has never been defined as pituitary entity and no provocation test is available to test for an oxytocin deficiency. Objective: First, to investigate whether the glucagon provocation test might provide a novel diagnostic test in the differential diagnosis of AVP deficiency. Second, to assess patients' perspectives regarding their disease management, psychological comorbidities, and view for renaming ‘diabetes insipidus’ to avoid confusion with ‘diabetes mellitus’. And third, to investigate 3,4-methylene-dioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) as a novel provocation test to reveal an OXT deficiency. Methods: The first study is a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial including 22 healthy controls, ten patients with AVP deficiency, and ten patients with primary polydipsia (PP). The second study is a cross-sectional, web-based survey including 1034 patients with AVP deficiency. The third study is a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind, cross-over trial including 15 patients with AVP deficiency and 15 matched healthy controls. Results: First, in patients with AVP deficiency, copeptin showed no relevant increase in response to glucagon, whereas copeptin was strongly stimulated in patients with primary polydipsia (PP). Glucagon stimulation demonstrated a high diagnostic accuracy in differentiating between both conditions. Second, once diagnosed and treated with desmopressin, a high prevalence of hyponatremia leading to hospitalisations was observed. Patients who routinely omitted or delayed desmopressin to allow intermittent aquaresis had a significantly lower prevalence of hyponatraemia than those unaware of this approach. Of patients who had to be hospitalised for any medical reason, one in seven reported symptoms of dehydration due to desmopressin restriction or/and wrong fluid management. One in three patients reported psychological changes subjectively associated with their AVP deficiency. In total, 85% of patients supported renaming the disease. Third, in patients, there was only a minimal OXT increase in response to MDMA, while in healthy controls, there was a robust eight-fold OXT increase. Discussion: First, glucagon-stimulated copeptin has the potential for a safe, novel, and precise test in the differential diagnosis of AVP-D. Second, our data show a high prevalence of treatment-associated side-effects, mismanagement during hospitalisation, psychological comorbidities, and clear support for renaming the disease; our data are the first to indicate the value of routinely omitting or delaying desmopressin. Third, these results lay the basis for OXT deficiency as a new hypothalamic-pituitary entity

Comparative evaluation of the antioxidant potential of hericium erinaceus, hericium americanum and hericium coralloides

The aim of this work was to determine the total phenolic content (TPC) and the antioxidant activity of methanol extracts of Hericium erinaceus, Hericium americanum and Hericium coralloides, including free radical scavenging method (DPPH), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and radical cation scavenging method (ABTS). Hericium spp exhibited moderate to high antioxidant activity. The highest TPC (3.27 ±0.01 mg GAE g–1) and antioxidant activity values (17.0 ±0.68 mmol TE g–1 in FRAP; EC50 = 4.12 ±0.12 mg mL–1 in DPPH•; EC50 = 2.83 ± 0.10 mg mL–1 in ABTS•+) were found for methanol extracts of H. coralloides. The TPC and antioxidant activity of H. erinaceus isolates varied from strain to strain. H. americanum possessed considerably lower total phenolic content (2.31 ±0.01 mg GAE g–1) and antioxidant activity (10.5 ±0.59 mmol TE g–1 in FRAP; EC50 = 7.82 ±0.09 mg mL–1 in DPPH•; EC50 = 6.36 ± 0.12 mg mL–1 in ABTS•+) than H. coralloides and H. erinaceus. A high correlation was determined between TPC and ABTS•+ (r2 = 0.855), DPPH• (r2 = 0.969) and FRAP (r2 = 0.942). According to results obtained in the present study, Hericium spp., especially H. coralloides and some of H. erinaceus isolates, might be promising natural source of antioxidants for food and pharmaceutical industry. © Copyright by Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Przyrodniczego w Lublinie