Federal and State Regulation of Cable Television: An Analysis of the New FCC Rules

Denna uppsats behandlar projektering av ett småhus i form av framställande av system och konstruktionsritningar som följer Boverkets byggregler. Den innefattar även val av material för utvalda delar av småhuset där hänsyn tagits till väsentliga parametrar. För att framställa godkända ritningar har beräkningar utförts för att kunna bestämma tillräckliga dimensioner på ventilation, värme, sanitet och konstruktion. Slutligen har även en kostnadskalkyl utförts för att analysera totalkostnad och driftskostnader för småhuset. Detta är fördjupningsdelen i ett arbete som också innefattar projektering och dimensionering av ett småhus.

The private forest owners’ net income from harvesting during the period 1952-2008

During the period 1952-2008, real prices of wood before taxes and charges declined. However, the actual net income has not changed by the same percentage as the price list, because taxation, driving costs and the ability to make deductions has changed. This report considers the inflation by using the Swedish consumer price index. Net income refers to the remaining income when relevant costs, taxes and fees have been paid. The purpose of this study was to examine how the private forest owner's real net income has evolved over the period 1952-2008 for three categories of forest owners. These three categories are 1. A forest owner who only makes his living on income from his or her forest property and who personally undertakes the forest management activities such as harvesting, planting etc. 2. A forest owner who has an "average” income from other services 3. A forest owner who has a "higher than average" income from other services Wood prices have, each year, been reduced by costs of harvesting and replanting etc, income taxes and social contributions that forest owners had to pay. In addition to these taxes, forest owners were also burdened with a forest management fee, which also is included in the calculations. The results show that the net income of the forest owner in category 1 declined by about 70% from 1952 to the end of the 1970s. After that point in time, it was more or less constant. The real net incomes for categories 2 and 3 are currently about 60 % lower than in 1952. If we investigate the period after 1956, 1995 is the year that yielded the highest net income for the categories 2 and 3. The actual cost of the forest management fee was highest for the forest owner in category 1, and lowest for the forest owner in category 3. The option to tax a part of the forest revenue as capital income favored the highly paid forest owner (category 3) the most. If forest revenues are compared to salaries of industrial workers, the development of the timber price looks even worse. In 1952, the gross income of a forest owner in category 1, when harvesting 450 m3fpb, was 3,5 times higher than the gross income of an industrial worker. In 2008, the gross income of the industrial worker was approximately 3 times higher than that of a forest owner in category 1, when harvesting 450 m3fpb. Forest revenues have thus increasingly come to be regarded as a secondary source of income compared to regular work.Under perioden 1952-2008 har de reala priserna på virke före skatt och avgifter sjunkit. Dock har de faktiska nettoinkomsterna inte ändrats med samma procentsatser som prislistorna då beskattningen, drivningskostnaderna samt möjligheten att göra avdrag har förändrats. I denna rapport har hänsyn tagits till inflation med hjälp av konsumentprisindex. Med nettoinkomst avses inkomst efter det att relevanta kostnader, skatter och avgifter har betalats. Syftet med detta examensarbete har varit att undersöka hur privatskogsägarens reala nettoinkomst har utvecklats under perioden 1952-2008 för tre kategorier av skogsägare. Dessa tre kategorier är 1. En självverksam skogsägare som enbart har inkomst från sin skogsfastighet 2. En skogsägare som har en ”medelinkomst” från annan tjänst 3. En skogsägare som har en ”högre” inkomst från annan tjänst Virkespriserna har för varje år reducerats med de kostnadsposter, inkomstskatter och egenavgifter som skogsägarna har varit tvungna att betala. Förutom dessa skatter belastades skogsägarna fram t.o.m. 1992 med en skogsvårdsavgift, vilken också medtagits i beräkningarna. Resultaten visar att den självverksamme skogsägarens reala nettoinkomst sjönk med ca 70 % från år 1952 till slutet på 1970-talet, för att efter detta vara relativt konstant. Nettoinkomsten för kategorierna 2 och 3 är idag realt ca 60 % lägre än vad de var år 1952. Efter 1956 är 1995 det år som inbringat de största reala nettoinkomsterna för kategorierna 2 och 3. Den faktiska kostnaden för skogsvårdsavgiften var högst för ägarkategori 1 och lägst för ägarkategori 3. Möjligheten att beskatta en del av skogsinkomsterna som kapitalinkomst (med räntefördelning) har procentuellt sett gynnat den högavlönade skogsägarkategorin mest. Jämförs skogsintäkterna med löneutvecklingen för en industriarbetare, ser virkesprisutvecklingen sämre ut. År 1952 var bruttoinkomsten för den självverksamme skogsägaren vid en årlig avverkning av 450 m3fpb 3,5 gånger högre än bruttoinkomsten för en industriarbetare. År 2008 var istället bruttoinkomsten för industriarbetaren ca 3 gånger högre än för den självverksamme skogsägaren vid en årlig avverkning av 450 m3fpb. Skogsinkomsterna har därför i allt högre utsträckning kommit att betraktas som en biinkomst till det vanliga arbetet

High-speed structured planar laser illumination for contrast improvement of two-phase flow images

A high-speed method to remove blurring effects caused by multiple scattering in planar laser images of two-phase flows is demonstrated. The technique is based on structured illumination and is for the first time to our knowledge applied on a dynamic medium. As structured illumination requires three successive images to be recorded and to freeze the flow motion in time, a high-speed laser and imaging system is employed. We show that by using a time delay of 55 us between the images a single-shot representation of a dilute flow of water droplets can be achieved. By having an additional inner stream with known structure and composition, the efficiency of the method is quantitatively evaluated, showing an increase from 58% to 93% in image contrast. Such an improvement allows more accurate analysis and interpretation of scattering two-phase flow images. (C) 2008 Optical Society of Americ

High-frequency Electrocardiogram Analysis in the Ability to Predict Reversible Perfusion Defects during Adenosine Myocardial Perfusion Imaging

Background: A previous study has shown that analysis of high-frequency QRS components (HF-QRS) is highly sensitive and reasonably specific for detecting reversible perfusion defects on myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) scans during adenosine. The purpose of the present study was to try to reproduce those findings. Methods: 12-lead high-resolution electrocardiogram recordings were obtained from 100 patients before (baseline) and during adenosine Tc-99m-tetrofosmin MPI tests. HF-QRS were analyzed regarding morphology and changes in root mean square (RMS) voltages from before the adenosine infusion to peak infusion. Results: The best area under the curve (AUC) was found in supine patients (AUC=0.736) in a combination of morphology and RMS changes. None of the measurements, however, were statistically better than tossing a coin (AUC=0.5). Conclusion: Analysis of HF-QRS was not significantly better than tossing a coin for determining reversible perfusion defects on MPI scans

Multi-species PLIF study of the structures of turbulent premixed methane/air jet flames in the flamelet and thin-reaction zones regimes

Simultaneously planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) measurements of OH, CH, CH2O and toluene are carried out to investigate the structures of turbulent premixed methane/air jet flames in the flamelet regime and the thin-reaction zones regime. A premixed flame jet burner of an inner diameter of 1.5 mm is employed. Stoichiometric methane/air mixtures introduced as a jet are ignited and stabilized in a hot co-flow generated by a coaxial porous plug pilot flame surrounding the jet. The Reynolds number for the studied jet ranges from 960 to 11,500 with the characteristic Karlovitz number ranging from 1 to 60. The focus of this study is on the characterization of the structures and turbulent burning velocity of premixed flames in the flamelet and the thin-reaction zones regimes. The preheat zone is analyzed using the CH2O and toluene PLIF fields, whereas the reaction zone is analyzed using the CH and OH PLIF fields. Laser Doppler Anemometer (LDA) measurements are performed to characterize the turbulence field and it is noted that when the Reynolds/Karlovitz number increases a successive thickening of the preheat zone is observed, whereas the reaction zone, characterized by the CH layer maintains nearly the same thickness. The heat release zone, characterized by the combination of the OH and CH2O PLIF fields, is shown to nearly maintain the same thickness under the present experimental conditions. The flame surface wrinkle ratio is shown to be Reynolds number and Karlovitz number independent when the Reynolds number is high enough such that the smallest wrinkle scales reach to the length scales of the thin reaction layers. The global fuel consumption speed of the jet flame is analyzed using the toluene PLIF field and the OH PLIF field. A discrepancy in the two consumption velocities is found as the Karlovitz number increases. This is found to be a result of the broadening of the oxidation zone. These findings provide experimental support to the flamelet and thin-reaction zone regime hypotheses of turbulent premixed combustion

A Unified Multi-Functional Dynamic Spectrum Access Framework: Tutorial, Theory and Multi-GHz Wideband Testbed

Dynamic spectrum access is a must-have ingredient for future sensors that are ideally cognitive. The goal of this paper is a tutorial treatment of wideband cognitive radio and radar—a convergence of (1) algorithms survey, (2) hardware platforms survey, (3) challenges for multi-function (radar/communications) multi-GHz front end, (4) compressed sensing for multi-GHz waveforms—revolutionary A/D, (5) machine learning for cognitive radio/radar, (6) quickest detection, and (7) overlay/underlay cognitive radio waveforms. One focus of this paper is to address the multi-GHz front end, which is the challenge for the next-generation cognitive sensors. The unifying theme of this paper is to spell out the convergence for cognitive radio, radar, and anti-jamming. Moore’s law drives the system functions into digital parts. From a system viewpoint, this paper gives the first comprehensive treatment for the functions and the challenges of this multi-function (wideband) system. This paper brings together the inter-disciplinary knowledge

Marketing as a means to transformative social conflict resolution: lessons from transitioning war economies and the Colombian coffee marketing system

Social conflicts are ubiquitous to the human condition and occur throughout markets, marketing processes, and marketing systems.When unchecked or unmitigated, social conflict can have devastating consequences for consumers, marketers, and societies, especially when conflict escalates to war. In this article, the authors offer a systemic analysis of the Colombian war economy, with its conflicted shadow and coping markets, to show how a growing network of fair-trade coffee actors has played a key role in transitioning the country’s war economy into a peace economy. They particularly draw attention to the sources of conflict in this market and highlight four transition mechanisms — i.e., empowerment, communication, community building and regulation — through which marketers can contribute to peacemaking and thus produce mutually beneficial outcomes for consumers and society. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for marketing theory, practice, and public policy

Habitat properties are key drivers of Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l.) prevalence in Ixodes ricinus populations of deciduous forest fragments

Background: The tick Ixodes ricinus has considerable impact on the health of humans and other terrestrial animals because it transmits several tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) such as B. burgdorferi (sensu lato), which causes Lyme borreliosis (LB). Small forest patches of agricultural landscapes provide many ecosystem services and also the disservice of LB risk. Biotic interactions and environmental filtering shape tick host communities distinctively between specific regions of Europe, which makes evaluating the dilution effect hypothesis and its influence across various scales challenging. Latitude, macroclimate, landscape and habitat properties drive both hosts and ticks and are comparable metrics across Europe. Therefore, we instead assess these environmental drivers as indicators and determine their respective roles for the prevalence of B. burgdorferi in I. ricinus. Methods: We sampled I. ricinus and measured environmental properties of macroclimate, landscape and habitat quality of forest patches in agricultural landscapes along a European macroclimatic gradient. We used linear mixed models to determine significant drivers and their relative importance for nymphal and adult B. burgdorferi prevalence. We suggest a new prevalence index, which is pool-size independent. Results: During summer months, our prevalence index varied between 0 and 0.4 per forest patch, indicating a low to moderate disservice. Habitat properties exerted a fourfold larger influence on B. burgdorferi prevalence than macroclimate and landscape properties combined. Increasingly available ecotone habitat of focal forest patches diluted and edge density at landscape scale amplified B. burgdorferi prevalence. Indicators of habitat attractiveness for tick hosts (food resources and shelter) were the most important predictors within habitat patches. More diverse and abundant macro- and microhabitat had a diluting effect, as it presumably diversifies the niches for tick-hosts and decreases the probability of contact between ticks and their hosts and hence the transmission likelihood.[br/] Conclusions: Diluting effects of more diverse habitat patches would pose another reason to maintain or restore high biodiversity in forest patches of rural landscapes. We suggest classifying habitat patches by their regulating services as dilution and amplification habitat, which predominantly either decrease or increase B. burgdorferi prevalence at local and landscape scale and hence LB risk. Particular emphasis on promoting LB-diluting properties should be put on the management of those habitats that are frequently used by humans. In the light of these findings, climate change may be of little concern for LB risk at local scales, but this should be evaluated further

Genome-wide interaction study of a proxy for stress-sensitivity and its prediction of major depressive disorder

Individual response to stress is correlated with neuroticism and is an important predictor of both neuroticism and the onset of major depressive disorder (MDD). Identification of the genetics underpinning individual differences in response to negative events (stress-sensitivity) may improve our understanding of the molecular pathways involved, and its association with stress-related illnesses. We sought to generate a proxy for stress-sensitivity through modelling the interaction between SNP allele and MDD status on neuroticism score in order to identify genetic variants that contribute to the higher neuroticism seen in individuals with a lifetime diagnosis of depression compared to unaffected individuals. Meta-analysis of genome-wide interaction studies (GWIS) in UK Biobank (N = 23,092) and Generation Scotland: Scottish Family Health Study (N = 7,155) identified no genome-wide significance SNP interactions. However, gene-based tests identified a genome-wide significant gene, ZNF366, a negative regulator of glucocorticoid receptor function implicated in alcohol dependence (p = 1.48x10-7; Bonferroni-corrected significance threshold p < 2.79x10-6). Using summary statistics from the stress-sensitivity term of the GWIS, SNP heritability for stress-sensitivity was estimated at 5.0%. In models fitting polygenic risk scores of both MDD and neuroticism derived from independent GWAS, we show that polygenic risk scores derived from the UK Biobank stress-sensitivity GWIS significantly improved the prediction of MDD in Generation Scotland. This study may improve interpretation of larger genome-wide association studies of MDD and other stress-related illnesses, and the understanding of the etiological mechanisms underpinning stress-sensitivity