A study on stock enhancement/restocking of the Kyoga basin lakes

Increased management attention to the fisheries tn Uganda is fuelled by five major factors:socio-economic demands, human population increase,stock depletion, biodiversity loss and,environmental degradation.Fish exports from Uganda to overseas and regional markets have rapidly increased since the mid 1990s and it is estimated that total exports are worth at least US$ 200m three quarters of the value due mostly to Nile perch exports to overseas markets.Exports to regional markets are dominated by variously processed tilapia "mukene" (Rastrineobo/a argentea),Nile perch "angara"(A/estes baremose) and cat fishes.Virtually all major water bodies contribute to this trade. A combinatilm of exports and an increased human population has seen the per capita fish consumption in Uganda drop from 15kg in the early 1990s to almost 10kg by 2005.this figure is below the WHO recommended fish protein intake of 17kg. the apparent fish gap in a liberalised economic framework has stimulated interest in commercial fish farming

Report of Lake Wamala fisheries frame survey 2012

Lake Wamala, a small lake (180 km2) located in Central Uganda and believed to have been part of the main Lake Victoria and only got separated about 4000 years ago, has already undergone different levels of fisheries evolution that warrant using it as a case study to inform changes in other systems. Using resources provided by the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project (LVEMP) II, under the Applied Research Facility, we evaluated the fishing inputs, socio-economic infrastructure and analyzed trends in fishery benefits to guide evolution of management advice. A frame survey was conducted on the entire lake (13th - 23rd March 2012) enumerating all fishing factors and enlisting available and accessible socio-economic infrastructure along the shores of the lake. The lake traverses districts (Gomba, Mityana, and Mubende) with its largest portion lying in Mityana. There are 26 established fish landing sites and about 600 fishers with a similar number of boats on the lake. The total number of boats on the lake is almost equal to the number of fishers; illustrating the common type (paracute) and size (Small, about 4 m) of boats and hence a fishing crew structure of one fisher per boat. Main fishing gears are Gillnets targeting the tilapia (Ngege) and long line hooks (Protperus, Mamba, and Clarias, Male). Almost equal number of boats used the two main gears on the lake (about 300 each). 97% of the gill nets on the lake are small (3.5” (8.9 cm – 4.5” – 11.4 cm) stretched mesh size while 98% of the hoots are large (< size 10). The implication is gill net fishers target small tilapia while long line fishers aim at the large mamba and male. Generally the lake has poor socio-economic infrastructure compared to other lakes of Uganda probably due to its geo-morphological setting. The lakes fishing factors have continued to expand with the ever increasing population. There may be need to check the continued entry into the fisheries especially if the increasing effort does not translate into increase in fishery yield.

Techniques to improve the shear strength of impacted bone graft: the effect of particle size and washing of the graft.

BACKGROUND: When fresh morselized graft is compacted, as in impaction bone-grafting for revision hip surgery, fat and marrow fluid is either exuded or trapped in the voids between particles. We hypothesized that the presence of incompressible fluid damps and resists compressive forces during impaction and prevents the graft particles from moving into a closer formation, thus reducing the graft strength. In addition, viscous fluid such as fat may act as an interparticle lubricant, thus reducing the interlocking of the particles. METHODS: We performed mechanical shear testing in the laboratory with use of fresh-frozen human femoral-head allografts that had been passed through different orthopaedic bone mills to produce graft of differing particle-size distributions (grading). RESULTS: After compaction of fresh graft, fat and marrow fluid continued to escape on application of normal loads. Washed graft, however, had little lubricating fluid and better contact between the particles, increasing the shear resistance. On mechanical testing, washed graft was significantly (p < 0.001) more resistant to shearing forces than fresh graft was. This feature was consistent for different bone mills that produced graft of different particle-size distributions and shear strengths. CONCLUSIONS: Removal of fat and marrow fluid from milled human allograft by washing the graft allows the production of stronger compacted graft that is more resistant to shear, which is the usual mode of failure. Further research into the optimum grading of particle sizes from bone mills is required.

Techniques to improve the shear strength of impacted bone graft: The effect of particle size and washing of the graft

Background: When fresh morselized graft is compacted, as in impaction bone-grafting for revision hip surgery, fat and marrow fluid is either exuded or trapped in the voids between particles. We hypothesized that the presence of incompressible fluid damps and resists compressive forces during impaction and prevents the graft particles from moving into a closer formation, thus reducing the graft strength. In addition, viscous fluid such as fat may act as an interparticle lubricant, thus reducing the interlocking of the particles. Methods: We performed mechanical shear testing in the laboratory with use of fresh-frozen human femoral-head allografts that had been passed through different orthopaedic bone mills to produce graft of differing particle-size distributions (grading). Results: After compaction of fresh graft, fat and marrow fluid continued to escape on application of normal loads. Washed graft, however, had little lubricating fluid and better contact between the particles, increasing the shear resistance. On mechanical testing, washed graft was significantly (p < 0.001) more resistant to shearing forces than fresh graft was. This feature was consistent for different bone mills that produced graft of different particle-size distributions and shear strengths. Conclusions: Removal of fat and marrow fluid from milled human allograft by washing the graft allows the production of stronger compacted graft that is more resistant to shear, which is the usual mode of failure. Further research into the optimum grading of particle sizes from bone mills is required. Clinical Relevance: Understanding the mechanical properties of milled human allograft is important when impaction grafting is used for mechanical support. A simple means of improving the mechanical strength of graft produced by currently available bone mills, including an intraoperative washing technique, is described.

A novel butt-joint scheme for the preparation of electro-absorptive lasers

A 1.55 mu m InGaAsP/InGaAsP multiple-quantum-well electro-absorption modulator (EAM) monolithically integrated with a distributed feedback laser (DFB) diode has been realized based on a novel butt-joint scheme by ultra-low metal-organic vapour phase epitaxy for the first time. The threshold current of 25 mA and an extinction ratio of more than 30 dB are obtained by using the novel structure. The beam divergence angles at the horizontal and vertical directions are as small as 19.3 degrees x 13 degrees, respectively, without a spot-size converter by undercutting the InGaAsP active region. The capacitance of the ridge waveguide device with a deep mesa buried by polyimide was reduced down to 0.30 pF.

High performance of 1.55 mu m DFB integrated with vertically tapered self-aligned spot-size converter

A new type of self-aligned spotsize converter (SSC) integrated 1.55 mum DFB lasers had been proposed in this article. The upper optical confinement layer and the butt-coupled tapered thickness waveguide were regrown simultaneously, which not only offered the separate optimization of the active region and the integrated SSC, but also reduced the difficulty of the butt-joint selective regrowth. The vertical and horizontal far field angles were 9degrees and 12degrees respectively, the 1- dB misalignment tolerance were both 3.6 and 3.4 mum. The directed coupling efficiency to tapered single mode fiber was 48%.

中国企业员工组织承诺研究

The research objectives were to investigate the psychological structure of employees' organizational commitments(OCs), and its antecedents, and to examine the relative effects of employees' OCs to their performances. In order to deeply uncover the nature of OCs, some standard methods, such as in-depth interview, focus-group, semi-open questionnaire, standard questionnaire etc., were employed. In data analysis, not only some common statistical methods, such as multivariate analysis of variance, cross-table analysis, factor analysis, but also some forefront ones, such as confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis of SEM, were used. The paper covers six chapters: 1) In the first chapter, Firstly some previous empirical studies, which examined structures, antecedents, correlates, and/or consequences of organizational commitment in China and Western countries, were summarized. This summary covers most of the respectable researchers' works of this field, such as H.S.Becker, B.Buchanan, L.W.Porter, G. Ritzer, H.M.Trice, J.A.Alutto, L.G.Hrebiniak, R.T.Mowday, J.P.Meyer, N.J.Allen, G.W.McGee, R.C.Ford, R.Eisenberger, etc. Then three theoretical hypothesis were put forward as following: ① In China, OCs should be multidimensional psychological structures, which means there should exist more than one type of OCs; ② There should be some different antecedents to different OCs; ③ Employees with different types of OC should perform differently in their works. Finally the theoretical and practical significance were discussed. 2) In the second chapter, great efforts were made to investigate the OC types. Firstly, in-depth interview with managers and employees, semi-open questionnaire, and some other methods were used in the pilot research to gather much qualitative material. Then OC questionnaire was designed to get quantitative data in about 20 enterprises, including state-owned, collective-owned, wholly foreign-funded, and joint-ventures. During revising of this questionnaire, there were about 5000 samples surveyed. after factor analysis, the data shows that there should be 5 types of OCs in China, which were respectively named as Affective Commitment, Normative commitment, Ideal Commitment, Economic Commitment, Choice Commitment. Thirdly, confirmatory factor analysis method was used to successfully confirm this 5-factor model. Finally, Cronbach a and test-retest correlate indicate that this questionnaire is reliable. Since factor analysis result has show its construct validity, a simple criterion-related validity research was conducted. 3) In order to investigate the correlation between different OC and employee performance and different antecedents of OC, 5 other questionnaires, such as Employee Satisfaction Questionnaire, Perceived Organizational Support Questionnaire, Social Exchange Questionnaire, Altruism Scale, and Leader Confidence Scale were revised in the third chapter. 4)In the fourth chapter, a lot of correlates, cross-table analysis were conducted to show the correlation between different OCs and 10 performances, which indicate employees with different OCs will show different performance in 10 variables, such as altruism, etc. 5) In the fifth chapter, correlate analysis, multivariate of analysis, and path analysis of SEM were used to investigate the antecedents of OC. A satisfactory model showing the correlation between OC and their antecedents was confirmed. 6) In the last chapter, all researches about OC, and its limitations were summarized.

Effect of solder volume on joint shape with variable chip-to-board contact pad ratio

The objective of this paper is to investigate the effect of the pad size ratio between the chip and board end of a solder joint on the shape of that solder joint in combination with the solder volume available. The shape of the solder joint is correlated to its reliability and thus of importance. For low density chip bond pad applications Flip Chip (FC) manufacturing costs can be kept down by using larger size board pads suitable for solder application. By using “Surface Evolver” software package the solder joint shapes associated with different size/shape solder preforms and chip/board pad ratios are predicted. In this case a so called Flip-Chip Over Hole (FCOH) assembly format has been used. Assembly trials involved the deposition of lead-free 99.3Sn0.7Cu solder on the board side, followed by reflow, an underfill process and back die encapsulation. During the assembly work pad off-sets occurred that have been taken into account for the Surface Evolver solder joint shape prediction and accurately matched the real assembly. Overall, good correlation was found between the simulated solder joint shape and the actual fabricated solder joint shapes. Solder preforms were found to exhibit better control over the solder volume. Reflow simulation of commercially available solder preform volumes suggests that for a fixed stand-off height and chip-board pad ratio, the solder volume value and the surface tension determines the shape of the joint.

Reversal of impairment losses, firm performance and reporting incentives: Evidence from Malaysia

Malaysian Financial Reporting Standard (FRS) No. 136, Impairment of Assets, was issued in 2005. The standard requires public listed companies to report their non-current assets at no more than their recoverable amount. When the value of impaired assets is recovered, or partly recovered, FRS 136 requires the impairment charges to be reversed to its new recoverable amount. This study tests whether the reversal of impairment losses by Malaysian firms is more closely associated with economic reasons or reporting incentives. The sample of this study consists of 182 public companies listed on Bursa Malaysia (formerly known as the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange) that reported reversals of their impairment charges during the period 2006-2009. These firms are matched with firms which do not reverse impairment on the basis of industrial classification and size. In the year of reversal, this study finds that the reversal firms are more profitable (before reversals) than their matched firms. On average, the Malaysian stock market values the reversals of impairment losses positively. These results suggest that the reversals generally reflect increases in the value of the previously impaired assets. After partitioning firms that are likely to manage earnings and those that are not, this study finds that there are some Malaysian firms which reverse the impairment charges to manage earnings. Their reversals are not value-relevant, and are negatively associated with future firm performance. On the other hand, the reversals of firms which are deemed not to be earnings managers are positively associated with both future firm performance and current stock price performance, and this is the dominant motivation for the reversal of impairment charges in Malaysia. In further analysis, this study provides evidence that the opportunistic reversals are also associated with other earnings management manifestations, namely abnormal working capital accruals and the motivation to avoid earnings declines. In general, the findings suggest that the fair value measurement in impairment standard provides useful information to the users of financial statements.

Transport energy demand: techno-economic modelling and scenarios for Irish climate policy

The case for energy policy modelling is strong in Ireland, where stringent EU climate targets are projected to be overshot by 2015. Policy targets aiming to deliver greenhouse gas and renewable energy targets have been made, but it is unclear what savings are to be achieved and from which sectors. Concurrently, the growth of personal mobility has caused an astonishing increase in CO2 emissions from private cars in Ireland, a 37% rise between 2000 and 2008, and while there have been improvements in the efficiency of car technology, there was no decrease in the energy intensity of the car fleet in the same period. This thesis increases the capacity for evidenced-based policymaking in Ireland by developing techno-economic transport energy models and using them to analyse historical trends and to project possible future scenarios. A central focus of this thesis is to understand the effect of the car fleet‘s evolving technical characteristics on energy demand. A car stock model is developed to analyse this question from three angles: Firstly, analysis of car registration and activity data between 2000 and 2008 examines the trends which brought about the surge in energy demand. Secondly, the car stock is modelled into the future and is used to populate a baseline “no new policy” scenario, looking at the impact of recent (2008-2011) policy and purchasing developments on projected energy demand and emissions. Thirdly, a range of technology efficiency, fuel switching and behavioural scenarios are developed up to 2025 in order to indicate the emissions abatement and renewable energy penetration potential from alternative policy packages. In particular, an ambitious car fleet electrification target for Ireland is examined. The car stock model‘s functionality is extended by linking it with other models: LEAP-Ireland, a bottom-up energy demand model for all energy sectors in the country; Irish TIMES, a linear optimisation energy system model; and COPERT, a pollution model. The methodology is also adapted to analyse trends in freight energy demand in a similar way. Finally, this thesis addresses the gap in the representation of travel behaviour in linear energy systems models. A novel methodology is developed and case studies for Ireland and California are presented using the TIMES model. Transport Energy

Some new results on anomalies and herd behavior: Vietnam stock market

info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Hydrocarbon field size distributions: a case study in mixed integer nonlinear programming

Of key importance to oil and gas companies is the size distribution of fields in the areas that they are drilling. Recent arguments suggest that there are many more fields yet to be discovered in mature provinces than had previously been thought because the underlying distribution is monotonic not peaked. According to this view the peaked nature of the distribution for discovered fields reflects not the underlying distribution but the effect of economic truncation. This paper contributes to the discussion by analysing up-to-date exploration and discovery data for two mature provinces using the discovery-process model, based on sampling without replacement and implicitly including economic truncation effects. The maximum likelihood estimation involved generates a high-dimensional mixed-integer nonlinear optimization problem. A highly efficient solution strategy is tested, exploiting the separable structure and handling the integer constraints by treating the problem as a masked allocation problem in dynamic programming.