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External Conditions (external + condition)
Selected AbstractsIssues in pension system designINTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SECURITY REVIEW, Issue 1 2002Maria Augusztinovics External conditions for pension system design and demographic and labour market trends are briefly considered and the latter found decisive. Basic concepts, e.g. social assistance and insurance, redistribution and actuarial fairness, are then introduced. Then it is argued that the "public PAYG versus private funded" dichotomy has attracted an unduly large share of attention in recent pension reform debates, as such institutional changes do not really address the basic problems, while quantitative aspects, the relationship between contribution and replacement rates, have been improperly neglected or shielded by the paradigmatic controversy. The next, crucial point is that traditional, employment-based, earnings-related forms of pension insurance are endangered by new trends on the labour market; hence, new solutions will have to be sought to ensure pension coverage for the entire population. A brief plea for more, relevant and comparative information on pension issues follows. The paper concludes with a concise summary and by contemplating what could and should be expected from the Second World Assembly on Ageing. [source] Sorption Isotherm and Calorimetric Behavior of Amorphous/Crystalline Raffinose-Water SystemsJOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE, Issue 4 2000H.A. Iglesias ABSTRACT: The water adsorption and desorption isotherms at 27 °C of initially amorphous raffinose over a range of relative humidity of 11% to 97% have been determined. Upon adsorption, the isotherm exhibited a "quasi" plateau, and the moisture content at this plateau was found to be very close to the amount required to form the crystalline raffinose pentahydrate (R.5 H2O). Crystallization of raffinose (R.5 H2O) during water adsorption at 52% and 58% RH was indicated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC); both thermograms showed an endothermal peak of melting corresponding to R.5H2O. The results of the crystallization kinetics at 52% and 58% RH indicated that the time to assess the stable physical state in a sugar system for a given external condition has to be properly defined and depends on the (T-Tg) value. [source] Animal Magnetism and Curriculum HistoryCURRICULUM INQUIRY, Issue 2 2007BERNADETTE BAKER ABSTRACT This article elaborates the impact that crises of authority provoked by animal magnetism, mesmerism, and hypnosis in the 19th century had for field formation in American education. Four layers of analysis elucidate how curriculum history's repetitive focus on public school policy and classroom practice became possible. First, the article surveys external conditions of possibility for the enactment of compulsory public schooling. Second, "internal" conditions of possibility for the formation of educational objects (e.g., types of children) are documented via the processes of différance that were generated from within the experiences of confinement. Third, the article maps how these were interpenetrated by animal magnetic debates that were lustered and planished in education's emerging field, including impact upon behavior management practices, the contouring of expertise and authority, the role of Will in intelligence testing and child development theories, and the redefinition of public and private. Last, the article examines implications for curriculum history, whether policy- or practice-oriented, especially around the question of influence, the theorization of child mind, and philosophies of Being. [source] Oxidative stress in cyanobacteriaFEMS MICROBIOLOGY REVIEWS, Issue 2 2009Amel Latifi Abstract Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are byproducts of aerobic metabolism and potent agents that cause oxidative damage. In oxygenic photosynthetic organisms such as cyanobacteria, ROS are inevitably generated by photosynthetic electron transport, especially when the intensity of light-driven electron transport outpaces the rate of electron consumption during CO2 fixation. Because cyanobacteria in their natural habitat are often exposed to changing external conditions, such as drastic fluctuations of light intensities, their ability to perceive ROS and to rapidly initiate antioxidant defences is crucial for their survival. This review summarizes recent findings and outlines important perspectives in this field. [source] Dynamics of cell wall structure in Saccharomyces cerevisiaeFEMS MICROBIOLOGY REVIEWS, Issue 3 2002Frans M Klis Abstract The cell wall of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an elastic structure that provides osmotic and physical protection and determines the shape of the cell. The inner layer of the wall is largely responsible for the mechanical strength of the wall and also provides the attachment sites for the proteins that form the outer layer of the wall. Here we find among others the sexual agglutinins and the flocculins. The outer protein layer also limits the permeability of the cell wall, thus shielding the plasma membrane from attack by foreign enzymes and membrane-perturbing compounds. The main features of the molecular organization of the yeast cell wall are now known. Importantly, the molecular composition and organization of the cell wall may vary considerably. For example, the incorporation of many cell wall proteins is temporally and spatially controlled and depends strongly on environmental conditions. Similarly, the formation of specific cell wall protein,polysaccharide complexes is strongly affected by external conditions. This points to a tight regulation of cell wall construction. Indeed, all five mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways in bakers' yeast affect the cell wall, and additional cell wall-related signaling routes have been identified. Finally, some potential targets for new antifungal compounds related to cell wall construction are discussed. [source] Discrepancy in glucose and fructose utilisation during fermentation by Saccharomyces cerevisiae wine yeast strainsFEMS YEAST RESEARCH, Issue 7 2004N.J. Berthels Abstract While unfermented grape must contains approximately equal amounts of the two hexoses glucose and fructose, wine producers worldwide often have to contend with high residual fructose levels (>2 g l,1) that may account for undesirable sweetness in finished dry wine. Here, we investigate the fermentation kinetics of glucose and fructose and the influence of certain environmental parameters on hexose utilisation by wine yeast. Seventeen Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains, including commercial wine yeast strains, were evaluated in laboratory-scale wine fermentations using natural Colombard grape must that contained similar amounts of glucose and fructose (approximately 110 g l,1 each). All strains showed preference for glucose, but to varying degrees. The discrepancy between glucose and fructose utilisation increased during the course of fermentation in a strain-dependent manner. We ranked the S. cerevisiae strains according to their rate of increase in GF discrepancy and we showed that this rate of increase is not correlated with the fermentation capacity of the strains. We also investigated the effect of ethanol and nitrogen addition on hexose utilisation during wine fermentation in both natural and synthetic grape must. Addition of ethanol had a stronger inhibitory effect on fructose than on glucose utilisation. Supplementation of must with assimilable nitrogen stimulated fructose utilisation more than glucose utilisation. These results show that the discrepancy between glucose and fructose utilisation during fermentation is not a fixed parameter but is dependent on the inherent properties of the yeast strain and on the external conditions. [source] Statistical theory of weak field thermoremanent magnetization in multidomain particle ensemblesGEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL, Issue 2 2003Karl Fabian SUMMARY A non-equilibrium statistical theory of multidomain thermoremanent magnetization (TRM) is developed, which describes thermal magnetization changes as continuous inhomogeneous Markov processes. The proposed theory relies on three very general physical properties of TRM: (a) The probability that a magnetization state Sj is transformed during an infinitesimal temperature change into state Si depends only on external conditions and on Sj, but not on previously assumed states. (b) Due to time inversion symmetry of the Maxwell equations, the magnetic energies are invariant with respect to inversion of all spins in zero field. (c) The probability that an energy barrier between two magnetization states is overcome during a thermal process is governed by Boltzmann statistics. From these properties, the linearity of TRM with field is derived for generic multidomain particle ensembles. The general validity of Thellier's law of additivity of partial TRM's in weak fields is established and a method for proving a large class of similar additivity laws is developed. The theory allows consistent treatment of blocking and unblocking of remanence in multidomain particle ensembles and naturally explains apparent differences between blocking and unblocking temperatures. [source] Adaptive transfer function-based control of nonlinear process.INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADAPTIVE CONTROL AND SIGNAL PROCESSING, Issue 10 2007Case study: Control of temperature in industrial methane tank Abstract The state model-based transfer function models are applied for adaptation of linear controller and disturbance compensator in a feedback/feed-forward control system of nonlinear process. An advantage of the presented adaptation method is the avoidance of artificial disturbances or iterative identification procedures for on-line estimation of process dynamic parameters. The adaptation is based on linearization of the process model at each sampling time about the current state point, independent of the process being at steady-state or transient conditions. The linear time-varying dynamics model is updated on-line using measured values of process variables and reduced to the first-order plus time delay transfer function models in order to directly apply well-developed controller tuning rules. Computational aspects of the adaptation method are discussed and computation algorithms are presented. The adaptive feedback/feed-forward control system was applied for controlling temperature in industrial methane tank, dynamic parameters of which vary in a wide range due to variations of methane-tank process load and external conditions. The heat balance-based process state model is developed and validated using observation data of real plant. Computer simulation of the proposed control system performance under extreme operating conditions demonstrates fast adaptation of controller parameters, robust behaviour and significant improvement in the controllers' performance compared to that of fixed-gain controllers. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Financial costs and environmental impact optimization of the energy supply systemsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH, Issue 1 2002L. I. González-Monroy Abstract We have designed and implemented a tool to evaluate and optimize energy supply systems, so that the financial costs, the consumption of primary energy or the amount of harmful emission to the environment are minimized. We have set-up a general description of these systems and have applied a heuristic optimization method, Simulated Annealing, that allows us, in an efficient way, to determine the best way to fulfil different types of energy demand using a set of facilities of energy transformation and storage. We have also considered the time correlation introduced by the storage devices or transport processes and the possible behaviour of the system when the external conditions (fuel prices, demand profiles, etc.) change. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Insecurity related to working life by age groups in Finland and Estonia in the 1990sINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE, Issue 3 2000Raija Väisänen This article compares the reasons for insecurity related to working life in different age groups in Finland and Estonia, and the coping strategies evident in the two countries. Insecurity related to working life is more common in Finland than in Estonia. The differences between the two countries are more distinct with respect to experienced work-related insecurity than to an experienced lack of well-being linked to work. This shows that feelings of insecurity are affected not only by external factors, but also by internal factors linked to a person's earlier development. The most common causes of insecurity for people of working age are unemployment, mental strain and difficulties in interpersonal relationships at the work place. The individual's willingness to find means of coping at work is more clearly evident in Estonia than in Finland. People of working age in Finland are more likely to attempt to change the external conditions of work than are their Estonian counterparts. [source] Novel highly elastic magnetic materials for dampers and seals: Part I. Preparation and characterization of the elastic materialsPOLYMERS FOR ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES, Issue 11 2007S. Abramchuk Abstract The new generation of magnetic elastomers represents a new type of composites, consisting of small (mainly nano and micron-sized) magnetic particles dispersed in a highly elastic polymeric matrix. The combination of polymers with magnetic materials displays novel and often enhanced properties. Highly elastic magnetic composites are quite new and understanding of the behavior of these materials depending on the composition, external conditions, and the synthesis processes is still missing. Thus, the aim of this work is the study of fundamental principles governing the preparation of these materials as well as their structure and elastic properties. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Numerical Analysis of a Cyclical Loaded Construction under Corrosion DegradationPROCEEDINGS IN APPLIED MATHEMATICS & MECHANICS, Issue 1 2005W. Dudda A contribution for analytical and numerical tools that permits of a deterministic evaluation of structure behavior in external conditions, under multiparameter and/or cyclic mechanical, thermal and chemical loads, is the aim of this paper. Particular structure elements undergo the plastic and corrosion degradation and they dissipate energy, which consists of irreversible contributions, like a work on the inelastic strains. The construction and its unit lifetime are estimated according to a dissipated energy criterion. The paper emphasizes the modeling and numerical implementation of degradation effects, such as cyclic plasticity, generated by mechanical and thermal loads, stress corrosion, electrochemical corrosion and low-cyclic corrosion. (© 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Substantive unconscious and adjective unconscious: the contribution of Wilfred BionTHE JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 1 2000Ana Maria Andrade de Azevedo The author first provides her readers with a brief summary of some of Freud's ideas, as found throughout his work, on the notion of ,unconscious'. The notion of unconscious as noun is contrasted to the idea of unconscious as adjective, this latter being proposed as a quality, or a state, ever temporary, dynamic, and subject to the constant changes going on in the individual's internal psychic world, as well as to external conditions. After presenting some considerations, the author then contrasts the Kleinian model of the mind to the Freudian, and Wilfred Bion's contribution is discussed at some length. Within Bion's conception of psychic functioning, the model of ,dream' is highlighted and, in this regard, clarifications are sought regarding Bion's view of the unconscious. To conclude, a brief and superficial approximation to the work of Carl Jung is touched upon, although the author admits to knowing little of Jung's positions. [source] Protein flexibility: coordinate uncertainties and interpretation of structural differencesACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D, Issue 11 2009Alexander A. Rashin Valid interpretations of conformational movements in protein structures determined by X-ray crystallography require that the movement magnitudes exceed their uncertainty threshold. Here, it is shown that such thresholds can be obtained from the distance difference matrices (DDMs) of 1014 pairs of independently determined structures of bovine ribonuclease A and sperm whale myoglobin, with no explanations provided for reportedly minor coordinate differences. The smallest magnitudes of reportedly functional motions are just above these thresholds. Uncertainty thresholds can provide objective criteria that distinguish between true conformational changes and apparent `noise', showing that some previous interpretations of protein coordinate changes attributed to external conditions or mutations may be doubtful or erroneous. The use of uncertainty thresholds, DDMs, the newly introduced CDDMs (contact distance difference matrices) and a novel simple rotation algorithm allows a more meaningful classification and description of protein motions, distinguishing between various rigid-fragment motions and nonrigid conformational deformations. It is also shown that half of 75 pairs of identical molecules, each from the same asymmetric crystallographic cell, exhibit coordinate differences that range from just outside the coordinate uncertainty threshold to the full magnitude of large functional movements. Thus, crystallization might often induce protein conformational changes that are comparable to those related to or induced by the protein function. [source] Climate, size and flowering history determine flowering pattern of an orchidBOTANICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY, Issue 4 2006MARION PFEIFER The flowering pattern of plant species, including orchid species, may fluctuate irregularly. Several explanations are given in the literature to explain that pattern, including: costs associated with reproduction, herbivory effects, intrinsically triggered unpredictable variation of the system, and external conditions (i.e. weather). The influence of age is discussed, but is difficult to determine because relevant long-term field observations are generally absent in the literature. The influence of age, size, reproductive effort and climatic conditions on flowering variability of Himantoglossum hircinum are examined using data collected in a long-term project (1976,2001) in Germany. PCA and multiple regression analysis were used to analyse variability in flowering pattern over the years as a function of size and weather variability. We studied future size after flowering to quantify costs of reproduction. Flowering probability was strongly determined by plant size, while there was no significant influence of age class on flowering probability of the population. Costs associated with reproduction resulted in a decrease in plant size, causing reduced flowering probability of the plants in the following year. The weather explained about 50% of the yearly variation in the proportion of large plants and thus had an indirect, strong influence on the flowering percentage. We conclude that variability in flowering is caused mainly by the variability of weather conditions in the previous and current year, whereby reproductive effort causes further variability in flowering at the individual and, consequently, the population levels. © 2006 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2006, 151, 511,526. [source] A Singularity Model for Chemical ReactivityCHEMISTRY - A EUROPEAN JOURNAL, Issue 5 2010Fredric Abstract This article proposes a model for chemical reactivity that involves singularities ("catastrophes") in the timing of bond-making and bond-breaking events. The common stapler is a good mechanical analogy: As hand-pressure is increased on the machine, the staple hardly changes its configuration until the staple suddenly bends. This is viewed as a singularity or catastrophe, defined classically as an abrupt change resulting from a smooth increase or decrease in external conditions (pressure in the case of a stapler, distance in the case of reactivity). Although experimental observations are provided to support the singularity effect, the model remains a heterodox notion at the present time. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||