New Species of Chocoan Sturnira (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae: Stenodermatinae) from western Ecuador and Colombia

Una especie de murciélago distintivo Sturnira (Sturnira) koopmanhilli, nuevas especies (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae: Stenodermatinae), es descrito a partir de 49 muestras recogidas en la cuenca del Pacífico de los Andes occidentales, a 300-2000 m en el oeste de Ecuador y Colombia

Process Model and Design for Magnetic Pulse Welding by Tube Expansion

In this paper a design methodology for magnetic pulse welding processes is presented. To examine fundamental correlations of part- and process-parameters, a model experiment is used. Different impacting conditions are tested and the effect on the joint quality is evaluated by metallographic analysis. Conclusions regarding suitable impacting parameters are drawn. Electromagnetic expansion tests are carried out in parallel with the aim of adjusting the impacting parameters via typical process parameters. Therefore, the forming velocity is measured online and the impacting angle is varied via the geometry of the joining zone. To verify that the tendencies observed in the model experiment occur also in magnetic pulse welding, the influence of the impacting parameters on the joint quality is investigated for magnetic pulse welded tubes, too. Finally, the results of both investigation paths are combined and serve as a basis for target-oriented design of magnetic pulse forming processes

Global Health Governance and the Commercial Sector: A Documentary Analysis of Tobacco Company Strategies to Influence the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Heide Weishaar and colleagues did an analysis of internal tobacco industry documents together with other data and describe the industry's strategic response to the proposed World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Onde investir nos BRICS? Uma análise sob o prisma da organização industrial

O presente estudo tem como objetivo identificar os setores mais atrativos para investimento do Brasil, Rússia, Índia e China (BRICs) conforme a relação risco-retorno e geração de valor, tendo como base de estudos a teoria de Organização Industrial (OI). Para isso, este trabalho analisou 2.770 empresas nos BRICs entre 1995 e 2008. Assim, foram investigados e comparados índices de desempenho como retorno sobre ativo (ROA), retorno sobre ações (ROE), índice preço-lucro, valor de mercado sobre valor contábil e Q de Tobin das empresas. Os resultados obtidos reforçam os de Fama e French (1992), Mohanram (2005) e Goldszmidt, Brito e Vasconcelos (2007), porém divergem do World Bank (2008) quanto à China. Constatou-se que os setores mais atrativos na perspectiva de risco-retorno sobre o patrimônio líquido seriam óleo & gás na Rússia e mineração no Brasil, Índia e China, enquanto aqueles com menor atratividade seriam os setores têxtil, motores, máquinas & ferramentas e telecomunicações no Brasil.The objective of this study is to identify the most interesting industries for investing in Brazil, Russia, India e China (BRICs), according to risk-return and value premises, based in the theory of Industrial Organization (IO) tradition. This work analyzed 2770 firms in the BRICs from 1995 until 2008. With this purpose were compared rates of performance as ROA (return on assets), ROE (return on shares), average price earnings, market value over book value and Tobin's Q of the companies. The results support studies from Fama and French (1992), Mohanram (2005) and Goldszmidt, Brito and Vasconcelos (2007), although deviates from World Bank (2008) as to risk-return enhancing in China. Results show that the most attractive sectors for investment using the risk-return approach, filtering by value indicators, would be oil & gas in Russia and mining in Brazil, India and China, while the least interesting industries would be textile, motor vehicle parts, tools & accessories and telecommunications in Brazil.El presente estudio tiene como objetivo identificar los sectores más atractivos para inversión del Brasil, Rusia, India y China (BRICs) según la relación riesgo-retorno y generación de valor, teniendo como base de estudios la teoría de Organización Industrial (OI). Para eso, ese trabajo analizó 2.770 empresas en los BRICs entre 1995 y 2008. Así, fueron averiguados y comparados índices de desempeño como retorno sobre los activos (ROA), retorno sobre las acciones (ROE), índice precio-lucro, valor de mercado sobre valor contable y Q de Tobin de las empresas. Los resultados obtenidos refuerzan los de Fama y French (1992), Mohanram (2005) y Goldszmidt, Brito y Vasconcelos (2007), pero divergen del World Bank (2008) cuanto a China. Se constató que los sectores más atractivos en la perspectiva de riesgo-retorno sobre el patrimonio líquido serían aceite & gas en la Rusia y minería en el Brasil, India y China, mientras aquellos con menor atractivo serían los sectores textil, motores, máquinas & herramientas y telecomunicaciones en el Brasil

Modelling of a Nordic BWR containment and suppression pool behavior during a LOCA with GOTHIC 8.1

Boiling water reactors use the Pressure Suppression Pool (PSP) to relieve the containment pressure in case of an accident. During the event of a Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA), drywell air and steam are injected into the PSP through blowdown pipes. This may lead to thermal stratification, which is a relevant safety issue as it leads to higher water surface temperatures than in mixed conditions and thus, to higher containment pressures. The Effective Heat (EHS) and Momentum (EMS) Source models were previously introduced to predict the effect of small-scale direct contact condensation phenomena on the large-scale pool water circulation. In this paper, the EHS/EMS models are extended by adding the effect of non-condensable gases on the chugging regime. The EHS/EMS models are implemented in the GOTHIC code to model a full-scale Nordic BWR containment under different LOCA scenarios. The results show that thermal stratification can be developed in the PSP.</p

Confronting as autonomy promotion: Speaking up against discrimination and psychological well-being in racial minorities

Few studies have considered confrontation in the context of coping with discriminatory experiences. These studies test for the first time whether confronting racial discrimination is associated with greater psychological well-being and physical health through the promotion of autonomy. In two separate samples of racial minorities who had experienced racial discrimination, confrontation was associated with greater psychological well-being, and this relationship was mediated by autonomy promotion. These findings did not extend to physical health symptoms. These studies provide preliminary evidence that confrontation may aid in the process of regaining autonomy after experiencing discrimination and therefore promote well-being. </jats:p

Reliability of fine-needle aspiration for thyroid nodules greater than or equal to 4 cm

Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is considered the diagnostic test of choice in the evaluation of thyroid nodules. Some practice recommendations, however, suggest surgical resection of larger thyroid nodules due to concerns of FNA unreliability in the diagnosis of thyroid malignancy. The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability of FNA in thyroid nodules ≥4 cm. Retrospective review of prospectively collected data of 1068 consecutive patients who underwent FNA and thyroidectomy at a single tertiary medical center from 2003 to 2010 was performed. Patients were divided into two groups: those patients with a dominant thyroid nodule ≥4 cm (n = 212) and those patients with a dominant thyroid nodule <4 cm (n = 856). Sensitivity, specificity, and negative and positive predictive values were calculated for FNA results and final histopathology after thyroidectomy. Of 212 patients with lesions ≥4 cm, 35% had thyroid malignancy on final pathology. Conversely, 54% of 856 patients with dominant thyroid nodules <4 cm had a final diagnosis of thyroid cancer after thyroidectomy. FNA demonstrated similar test characteristics among patients with lesions ≥4 cm and <4 cm, with a specificity of 99% (CI: 96%–100%) and 98% (CI: 96%–99.0%), respectively, and a sensitivity of 35% (CI: 23%–49%) and 42% (CI: 37%–46%), respectively. The positive predictive value of FNA was 82% (CI: 75%–100%) for nodules ≥4 cm and 96% (CI: 92%–98%) for nodules <4 cm. Negative predictive value was significantly different, with a value of 82% (CI: 75%–87%) for lesions ≥4 cm and only 59% (CI: 55%–63%) for lesions <4 cm. The reliability of FNA as a diagnostic test is not affected by the size of thyroid nodules. Routine surgical resection for all thyroid nodules ≥4 cm should not be used as the only independent factor in determining need for surgical resection