1,825 research outputs found
sj-pdf-1-pul-10.1177_20458940211046831 - Supplemental material for Dyspnea after pulmonary embolism: a nation-wide population-based case–control study
No full textSupplemental material, sj-pdf-1-pul-10.1177_20458940211046831 for Dyspnea after pulmonary embolism: a nation-wide population-based case–control study by Lars T. Nilsson, Therese Andersson, Flemming Larsen, Irene M. Lang, Per Liv and Stefan Söderberg in Pulmonary Circulation</p
A note on “Multicriteria adaptive paths in stochastic, time-varying networks”
No full textIn a recent paper, Opasanon and Miller-Hooks study multicriteria adaptive paths in stochastic time-varying networks. They propose a label correcting algorithm for finding the full set of efficient strategies. In this note we show that their algorithm is not correct, since it is based on a property that does not hold in general. Opasanon and Miller-Hooks also propose an algorithm for solving a parametric problem. We give a simplified algorithm which is linear in the input size.Multiple objective programming; shortest paths; stochastic time-dependent networks; time-adaptive strategies
Evolutionary personality psychology
No full textThe field of psychology historically has been split between those who focus on human nature or species-typical characteristics and those who focus on the major ways in which individuals differ. This split is reflected within personality psychology, within evolutionary psychology, and within the broader field of psychology writ large. Evolutionary personality psychology provides a unifying framework within which both important approaches—individual differences and species-typical characteristics—can be integrated successfully. We argue that evolutionary psychology cannot ignore important individual differences because they are omnipresent, somewhat stable over time, show moderate heritability, and have known empirical links to components of functioning that recurrently contribute to reproductive fitness. At the same time, the field of personality psychology cannot afford to ignore evolutionary psychology: It provides the only cogent metatheory for the broader field of psychology and provides a powerful set of conceptual tools, such as life-history theory and evolutionary genetics, for transforming personality psychology into an explanatory rather than merely descriptive science
Scheduling participants of Assessment Centres
No full textAssessment Centres are used as a tool for psychologists and coaches to ob- serve a number of dimensions in a person's behaviour and test his/her potential within a number of chosen focus areas. This is done in an intense course, with a number of dierent exercises which expose each participant's ability level in the chosen focus areas. The participants are observed by assessors with the purpose of gathering material for reaching a conclusion on each participant's personal pro le. We consider the particular case that arises at the company Human Equity (www.humanequity.dk), where Assessment Centres usually last two days and involve 3-6 psychologists or trained coaches as assessors. An entire course is composed of a number of rounds, with each round having its individual duration. In each round, the participants are divided into a number of groups with prespeci ed pairing of group sizes and assessors. The scheduling problem amounts to determining the allocation of participants to groups in each round. We have developed a model and solution approach for this particular scheduling problem, which may be viewed as a rather extensive generalization of the Social Golfer Problem.No keywords;
FTIR spektroskopiske undersøgelser af iods kompleksdannelse med thiocyanat: FTIR spectroscopic investigation of iodine's complex formation with thiocyanate
No full textThis study investigates formation between thiocyanate (SCN–) and iodine (I2) in acetonitrile (MeCN) solution, and aims to determine the equilibrium constant (K). The equilibrium constant is relevant in relation to the development of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSC), a new type of solar cell which is cheaper to produce than the ordinary silicium solar cell. The principle of a DSC is absorption of solar energy in a dye. SCN– acts in the solar cell as a ligand to ruthenium(II) in current dyes while triiodide and iodine in the solvent MeCN acts as an electrolyte. It is possible that these components interact unintentionally with unforeseen con-sequences for the durability and lifespan of the DSC. We were able to detect a complex formation between I2 and SCN– in the solvent MeCN by FTIR spectroscopic measurements of solutions of varying concentrations of the two components. With the use of the numerical procedure described by Conrow et al. [1963] and revised by Spanget-Larsen as “systematic trial and error procedure” (STEP) we have determined K = 2200 ± 450 M-1, which is contrary to a previous study by Ashour [2000], in which K was determined to 106.6 M-1.This study investigates formation between thiocyanate (SCN–) and iodine (I2) in acetonitrile (MeCN) solution, and aims to determine the equilibrium constant (K). The equilibrium constant is relevant in relation to the development of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSC), a new type of solar cell which is cheaper to produce than the ordinary silicium solar cell. The principle of a DSC is absorption of solar energy in a dye. SCN– acts in the solar cell as a ligand to ruthenium(II) in current dyes while triiodide and iodine in the solvent MeCN acts as an electrolyte. It is possible that these components interact unintentionally with unforeseen con-sequences for the durability and lifespan of the DSC. We were able to detect a complex formation between I2 and SCN– in the solvent MeCN by FTIR spectroscopic measurements of solutions of varying concentrations of the two components. With the use of the numerical procedure described by Conrow et al. [1963] and revised by Spanget-Larsen as “systematic trial and error procedure” (STEP) we have determined K = 2200 ± 450 M-1, which is contrary to a previous study by Ashour [2000], in which K was determined to 106.6 M-1
The Pyramidal Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem
No full textThis paper introduces the Pyramidal Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (PCVRP) as a restricted version of the Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP). In the PCVRP each route is required to be pyramidal in a sense generalized from the Pyramidal Traveling Salesman Problem (PTSP). A pyramidal route is de ned as a route on which the vehicle rst visits customers in increasing order of customer index, and on the remaining part of the route visits customers in decreasing order of customer index. Provided that customers are indexed in nondecreasing order of distance from the depot, the shape of a pyramidal route is such that its traversal can be divided in two parts, where on the rst part of the route, customers are visited in nondecreasing distance from the depot, and on the remaining part of the route, customers are visited in nonincreasing distance from the depot. Such a route shape is indeed found in many optimal solutions to CVRP instances. An optimal solution to the PCVRP may therefore be useful in itself as a heuristic solution to the CVRP. Further, an attempt can be made to nd an even better CVRP solution by solving a TSP, possibly leading to a non-pyramidal route, for each of the routes in the PCVRP solution. This paper develops an exact branch-and-cut-and-price (BCP) algorithm for the PCVRP. At the pricing stage, elementary routes can be computed in pseudo-polynomial time in the PCVRP, unlike in the CVRP. We have therefore implemented pricing algorithms that generate only elementary routes. Computational results suggest that PCVRP solutions are highly useful for obtaining near-optimal solutions to the CVRP. Moreover, pricing of pyramidal routes may due to its eciency prove to be very useful in column generation for the CVRP.vehicle routing; pyramidal traveling salesman; branch-and-cut-and-price
Interpreting Wage Bargaining Norms
No full textFrom the mid-1990s onwards, Swedish wage bargaining has been characterised by informal co-ordination of the wage claims of big unions and bargaining cartels. In particular, it has been understood that the manufacturing sector should lead by first agreeing on a pay increase, whereafter the service sector and public sector unions choose a similar increase. We analyse his setup with two possible theoretical interpretations: (i) the manufacturing sector as a tackelberg leader and (ii) a normative role for the manufacturing sector’s pay increase, upported either by unmodelled social pressure or a modeled loss aversion (envy) of the heltered sector unions. The conclusion of the analysis is that the normative or leading role of one sector – in the Swedish case the manufacturing sector – can potentially bring big benefits for employment and output. Generalising an idea suggested by Lars Calmfors and Anna Larsson, our analysis also generates a rudimentary theory of why the wage increase norm sometimes binds and sometimes not. A comparison of the model predictions and the observed outcomes of the last five wage bargaining rounds in Sweden suggests that the model is generally consistent with the empirical observations: wage moderation and norm observance are stronger when the manufacturing industry’s initial relative wage is low.wage bargaining; bargaining co-ordination
Lars von Trier as Ivan Karamazov
No full textСтатья поступила в редакцию 13.11.2014 г.Статья посвящена творчеству современного датского режиссера и сценариста Ларса
фон Триера. Выдвигается и обосновывается гипотеза феномена близости его кинематографа художественному миру Ф. М. Достоевского. Многочисленные параллели трактуются как следствие того, что фон Триер в своих фильмах воспроизводит то мирочувствование, которое Достоевский воплотил в образе Ивана Карамазова.The article is devoted to the creative work of the contemporary Danish director and scriptwriter Lars von Trier. The author puts forward and substantiates a hypothesis about the kindred character of his cinematographic work to the artistic world of F. M. Dostoyevsky. The multiple parallels are interpreted as a consequence
of von Trier’s reproduction of the worldview that Dostoyevsky reflected in the image of his Ivan Karamazov
Future Waste Scenarios for Sweden based on a CGE-model
No full textOver the last decades, waste quantities have grown steadily in close relation to economic growth. To tackle the problem of continuing waste growth within the EU, waste prevention was listed among four top priorities in the EU Sixth environment Action Programme. A Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model is here used for projecting future quantities of hazardous and non-hazardous waste in Sweden to 2030. The effects of driving forces behind waste generation are illustrated by comparing the results of waste projections for a Baseline scenario and four alternative scenarios. The scenarios differ mainly in GDP growth rates and in the assumptions about future waste intensities of the economic activities of firms and households. We use a high-resolution data set on waste flows of 18 various types of non-hazardous waste and 16 various types of hazardous waste attributed to six waste-generating sources for the base year 2006. Waste generated in the scenarios, thus, relate to firms’ material input, output, employees, capital scrapping and fuel combustion as well as households’ consumption. The impact of economic growth in increasing the generation of nonhazardous and hazardous waste is apparent when comparing the growth of waste from 2006 to 2030 in the five scenarios. On the contrary, technological change resulting in less waste intensive production processes and changed behaviour among households, making their activities less waste intensive, have a strong reducing effect, especially on generation of non-hazardous waste relating to firms’ material input.general equilibrium model; waste generation; decoupling; waste intensities waste scenarios.
Does remediation save lives? On the cost of cleaning up arsenic-contaminated sites in Sweden
No full textSwedish environmental policy is based on 16 environmental quality objectives (Gov. Bill 2000/01:130 and Gov.Bill 2004/05:150).1 One of the most challenging objectives,‘A non toxic environment’, has two interim targets that concern remediation of contaminated sites. In sum, they state that the highest priority should be given to sites posing the highest risks to human health and the environment.2 By eliminating pollutants in soil, groundwater and sediment, the interim targets aim to reduce risks to human health and the environment. In Sweden, 83,000 sites are potentially contaminated due to previous industrial activities. According to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the administrator of the governmental funds for remediation, approximately 1500 of these sites contain contaminant concentrations that could seriously harm human health and the environment (Swedish EPA, 2008a). To reach the interim targets, all these sites need to be remediated by 2050. Remediation of contaminated sites has so far cost more than SEK 3,000 million.3 The approximated cost to mitigate the potential risks at the most harmful sites is estimated at SEK 60,000 million.4 The Swedish government’s funding for remediation presently comes in the form of a directed grant (sakanslag). The directed grant, administrated by the Swedish EPA, subsidises remediation of contaminated sites that were contaminated prior to modern environmental legislation (in 1969) or for which no liable party can be found. The directed grant amounts to approximately 455 millions annually, which corresponds to about 10 percent of the annual national funds for environmental protection (Gov. Bill 2007/08:1). To make it possible to prioritise among contaminated sites, the Swedish EPA has developed a method for risk assessment called the ‘MIFO’ (i.e. the Method for Inventory of Contaminated Sites). The risk assessment does not take into account the actual exposure at a contaminated site. Risk is instead assessed based on divergence from guideline values for acceptable concentrations given a standardised (i.e. worst case) exposure situation on an individual level. This means that a site can be remediated without any individuals actually being exposed. The expected risk reduction is consequently not quantified. This eliminates the possibility of valuing the risk reduction, which should be weighed against the remediation cost. The purpose of this paper is to analyse how health effects, in the form of cancer risks, from sites contaminated by arsenic are valued implicitly in remediation. By using an environmental medicine approach that takes exposure into account, and without underestimating the potential health consequences of arsenic exposure, our purpose is to place arsenic risk management in the overall picture of live-saving interventions. In the case of cancer prevention, it is necessary to recognise that focus on an environmental carcinogen like arsenic may draw public attention – and funding – away from mental health risks like ambient air pollution and indoor radon. Although environmental pollution accounts for less than ten percent of all cancer cases (Harvard Centre for Cancer Prevention, 1996; Saracci and Vineis, 2007), environmental factors are important to recognize since they may be preventable. We emphasise, however, the inefficiency in becoming overly concerned about small risks while, at the same time, losing sight of the large risks. If society’s spending on lifesaving measures with small effects (i.e. a small number of lives saved) crowds out spending on lifesaving measures with large effects, then remediation can, in fact, even be said to waste lives. By using data on 23 arsenic-contaminated sites in Sweden, we estimate the sitespecific cancer risks and calculate the cost per life saved by using the sites’ remediation costs. Our results show that the cost per life saved through remediation is much higher than that associated with other primary prevention measures, indicating that the ambition level of Swedish remediation may be too high.
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