IVOA Recommendation: Universal Worker Service Pattern Version 1.0

The Universal Worker Service (UWS) pattern defines how to manage asynchronous execution of jobs on a service. Any application of the pattern defines a family of related services with a common service contract. Possible uses of the pattern are also described

Management in General Practice - 3: A slelection of articles

A selection of articles published in the medical journal Pulse in 199

A comparison of the results from intra-pleural and intra-peritoneal studies with those from inhalation and intratracheal tests for the assessment of pulmonary responses to inhalable dusts and fibres.

The aim of this paper is to compare results from inhalation studies with those from intraperitoneal and intrapleural tests, where available, for a number of fibrous and particulate test materials. The objective is to determine how well intraperitoneal/intrapleural studies predict the pathological responses observed in more standard in vivo studies of pulmonary toxicity, with a particular focus on carcinogenicity. Published toxicity data was obtained for a number of materials including asbestos, wollastonite, MMVFs (including glass fibres, stone wools and RCF), silicon carbide whiskers, potassium octatitanate, quartz, kevlar, polypropylene and titanium dioxide. For some of the fibrous material reviewed, there is conformity between the results of intraperitoneal and inhalation tests such that they are either consistently positive or consistently negative. For the remaining fibrous materials reviewed, intraperitoneal and inhalation tests give different results, with positive results in the intraperitoneal test not being reflected by positive inhalation results. It is suggested that the intraperitoneal test can be used to exonerate a dust or fibre (because if negative in the intraperitoneal test it is extremely unlikely to be positive in either inhalation or intratracheal tests) but should not be used to positively determine that a dust or fibre is carcinogenic by inhalation. We would argue against the use of intraperitoneal tests for human health risk assessment except perhaps for the purpose of exoneration of a material from classification as a carcinogen.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

How did the 2003 dividend tax cut affect stock prices?

We test the hypothesis that the 2003 dividend tax cut boosted U.S. stock prices and thus lowered the cost of equity. Using an event- study methodology, we attempt to identify an aggregate stock market effect by comparing the behavior of U.S. common stock prices to that of European stocks and real estate investment trusts. We also examine the relative cross-sectional response of prices on high-dividend versus low-dividend paying stocks. We do not find any imprint of the dividend tax cut news on the value of the aggregate U.S. stock market. On the other hand, high-dividend stocks outperformed low-dividend stocks by a few percentage points over the event windows, suggesting that the tax cut did induce asset reallocation within equity portfolios. Finally, the positive abnormal returns on non-dividend paying U.S. stocks in 2003 do not appear to be tied to tax-cut news.Taxation ; Stock - Prices

Quantum transport in semiconductor quantum dot superlattices: electron-phonon resonances and polaron effects

Electron transport in periodic quantum dot arrays in the presence of interactions with phonons was investigated using the formalism of nonequilibrium Green's functions. The self-consistent Born approximation was used to model the self-energies. Its validity was checked by comparison with the results obtained by direct diagonalization of the Hamiltonian of interacting electrons and longitudinal optical phonons. The nature of charge transport at electron -- phonon resonances was investigated in detail and contributions from scattering and coherent tunnelling to the current were identified. It was found that at larger values of the structure period the main peak in the current -- field characteristics exhibits a doublet structure which was shown to be a transport signature of polaron effects. At smaller values of the period, electron -- phonon resonances cause multiple peaks in the characteristics. A phenomenological model for treatment of nonuniformities of a realistic quantum dot ensemble was also introduced to estimate the influence of nonuniformities on current -- field characteristics

The Pratyutpanna-buddha-sammukhavasthita-samadhi-sutra : an annotated English translation of the Tibetan version with several appendices

The present work consists of a study of the Pratyutpanna-buddha-sammukhavasthita- samadhi-sutra (hereafter: PraS), a relatively early example of Mahayana Buddhist canonical literature. After a brief Introduction (pp. xxi-xli), which attempts to place the PraS in its historical context, the major portion of the work (pp. 1-186) is devoted to an annotated English translation of the Tibetan version of the sutra, with detailed reference to the three main Chinese translations. Appendix A (pp. 187-252) then attempts a resolution of some of the many problems surrounding the various Chinese versions of the PraS. These are examined both from the point of view of internal evidence and on the basis of bibliographical information furnished by the Chinese Buddhist scripture-catalogues. Some tentative conclusions are advanced concerning the textual history of the PraS in China. Appendix B (pp. 253-279) contains a study of the sole surviving fragment of the 'original’ Sanskrit text of the PraS. This fragment is edited, translated, and compared with the corresponding portions of the Chinese and Tibetan versions. Appendix C (pp. 280-327) consists of a Glossary of selected terms found in the PraS, and contains material drawn from all available translations of the work--the Tibetan, the three Chinese versions, and my own English rendering of the Tibetan--arranged according to Sanskrit equivalents and in Sanskrit alphabetical order. This Glossary is intended partly to act as an index to the text, and partly to facilitate further study of the Chinese translations