The normalisation of terror: the response of Israel's stock market to long periods of terrorism

Man‐made disasters such as acts of terrorism may affect a society's resiliency and sensitivity to prolonged physical and psychological stress. The Israeli Tel Aviv stock market TA‐100 Index was used as an indicator of reactivity to suicide terror bombings. After accounting for factors such as world market changes and attack severity and intensity, the analysis reveals that although Israel's financial base remained sensitive to each act of terror across the entire period of the Second Intifada (2000–06), sustained psychological resilience was indicated with no apparent overall market shift. In other words, we saw a ‘normalisation of terror’ following an extended period of continued suicide bombings. The results suggest that investors responded to less transitory global market forces, indicating sustained resilience and long‐term market confidence. Future studies directly measuring investor expectations and reactions to man‐made disasters, such as terrorism, are warranted.     

基于人工降雨实验的坡面泥石流启动力学计算

运用条分法对人工降雨试验后坡面启动的泥石流土体进行了稳定性验算,得到的安全系数大于1,不符合坡面泥石流启动时所处的实际力学状态。通过能量守恒原理和动量定理对土体的内摩擦系数以及影响泥石流启动的渗透力建立了新的计算方法,并计算了坡体稳定系数,更好地反映了坡面泥石流在降雨作用下所处的实际力学状态,为坡面泥石流的稳定性评价和预测预报提供了可以借鉴的方法。     

Virtues and humanitarian ethics

This paper analyses the contribution of virtue ethics, the study of good character traits, to the humanitarian context. It argues that a virtue ethics perspective paints a realistic picture of the use of ethical standards in morally complex circumstances. Virtuous relief workers can employ standards in their thinking, but they are also committed to professional excellence that goes beyond any formal code. The concept of virtue ethics places a stress on moral development, which can be facilitated by role models that impart modest and feasible ideals. However, virtue ethics cannot provide simple guidelines on how to resolve difficult situations. It is possible that two virtuous persons can disagree on what should be done in a particular instance. In addition, a virtue ethics perspective emphasises the need for both individuals and organisations to discuss the actual purpose of relief work in order to pinpoint the virtues of a good relief professional.     

Dynamics of Tree and Shrub Vegetation in the Eastern Sayan Mountain Tundra

Russian Journal of Ecology - Climate change entails shifts in the ranges of woody plants along both latitudinal and altitudinal gradients in the boreal forest biome. In this study,...     

Cross-sectional mortality studies and air pollution risk assessment

The use of coefficients, derived from cross-sectional mortality studies, for air pollution risk assessment is quite controversial. In this study, the major limitations of cross-sectional studies are reviewed. The consistency of results from the major recent cross-sectional studies is examined, and the sensitivity of results to model specification is analyzed. Finally, the implications for risk assessment of our inquiries are discussed.     

Volatile Organic Compounds: Sampling Methods and Their Worldwide Profile in Ambient Air

The atmosphere is a particularly difficult analytical system because of the very low levels of substances to be analysed, sharp variations in pollutant levels with time and location, differences in wind, temperature and humidity. This makes the selection of an efficient sampling technique for air analysis a key step to reliable results. Generally, methods for volatile organic compounds sampling include collection of the whole air or preconcentration of samples on adsorbents. All the methods vary from each other according to the sampling technique, type of sorbent, method of extraction and identification technique. In this review paper we discuss various important aspects for sampling of volatile organic compounds by the widely used and advanced sampling methods. Characteristics of various adsorbents used for VOCs sampling are also described. Furthermore, this paper makes an effort to comprehensively review the concentration levels of volatile organic compounds along with the methodology used for analysis, in major cities of the world.     

Modeling Diapause Termination of Rhipicephalus Appendiculatus using Statistical Tools to Detect Sudden Behavioral Changes and Time Dependencies

This paper presents statistical methodology to analyze longitudinal binary responses for which a sudden change in the response occurs in time. Probability plots, transition matrices, and change-point models and more advanced techniques such as generalized auto-regression models and hidden Markov chains are presented and applied on a study on the activity of Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, the major vector of Theileria parva, a fatal disease in cattle. This study presents individual measurements on female R. appendiculatus, which are terminating their diapause (resting status) and become active. Comprehending activity patterns is very important to better understand the ecology of R. appendiculatus. The model indicates that activity and non-activity act in an absorbing way meaning that once a tick becomes active it shows a tendency to remain active. The change-point model estimates that the sudden change in activity happens on December 10. The reaction of ticks on acceleration and changes in rainfall and temperature indicates that ticks can sense climatic changes. The study revealed the underlying not visually observable states during diapause development of the adult tick of R. appendiculatus. These states could be related to phases during the dynamic event of diapause development and post-diapause activity in R. appendiculatus.     

Prenatal diagnosis of NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase deficiency

NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I of the mitochondrial respiratory chain) deficiency is a severe disorder with an often early fatal outcome. Prenatal diagnosis for complex I defects currently relies mainly on biochemical assays of complex I in fetal tissues such as chorionic villi (CV), and is only in a minority of cases possible by means of mutational analysis of nuclear-encoded genes of complex I. We report on our experience to date with prenatal diagnosis in pregnancies at risk for complex I deficiency. We measured complex I activity in native CV and/or cultured CV in 23 pregnancies in 15 families. In accordance with the results of the investigations in CV, 15 children were born clinically unaffected. Two prenatally diagnosed unaffected fetuses and two prenatally diagnosed affected fetuses were lost prematurely with spontaneous or provoked abortions, respectively. Two affected children were born (prenatally found to be affected). In two pregnancies a discrepancy between native and cultured cells was found. We conclude that prenatal diagnosis for complex I deficiency can be reliably performed. Pitfalls were encountered in using cultured CV as a result of maternal cell contamination (MCC). Future research on pathogenic nuclear mutations underlying complex I deficiency will extend the possibilities for prenatal diagnosis at the molecular level. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

多级A/O工艺强化城市生活污水再生过程的污染物去除效果研究

北京市某城市污水厂在传统的A ²/O工艺基础上特别增设多级A/O(MAO)工艺强化脱氮除磷效果。以该污水厂各工艺单元出水为研究对象,通过对水质常规理化指标、紫外吸收光谱及其相关参数分析,并结合多元数据统计学手段,分析该工艺对城市污水中污染物的去除效果,特别是溶解性有机物(DOM)的去除。经MAO工艺强化后COD_Cr、DOC、TN、TP和N$H^{+}_{4}$-N的去除率分别为95.14%、89.70%、94.53%、97.26%和99.74%,达到GB 18918—2002《城镇污水处理厂污染物排放标准》一级A标准;增设MAO工艺后,提高了对DOM的去除率,DOM分子量和团聚化程度显著提高,化合物的稳定性增强。对污水再生过程处理单元水质化学指标与紫外光谱参数的相关性分析表明,芳香环上取代基类型以脂肪链为主时对脱氮除磷促进作用更加明显。