Turbulence, discovery and foreign market entry: A longitudinal study of an entry into the Russian market

Abstract

The PSA experience in Sweden: accomplishment, limitations and future development

This paper will describe the Swedish PSA experience, based on a nation-wide review performed within the so called SUPER-ASAR Project.     

Decentralized Cooperative Aerial Surveillance Using Fixed-Wing Miniature UAVs

Numerous applications require aerial surveillance. Civilian applications include monitoring forest fires, oil fields, and pipelines and tracking wildlife. Applications to homeland security include border patrol and monitoring the perimeter of nuclear power plants. Military applications are numerous. The current approach to these applications is to use a single manned vehicle for surveillance. However, manned vehicles are typically large and expensive. In addition, hazardous environments and operator fatigue can potentially threaten the life of the pilot. Therefore, there is a critical need for automating aerial surveillance using unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). This paper gives an overview of a cooperative control strategy for aerial surveillance that has been successfully flight tested on small (48-in wingspan) UAVs. Our approach to cooperative control problems can be summarized in four steps: 1) the definition of a cooperation constraint and cooperation objective; 2) the definition of a coordination variable as the minimal amount of information needed to effect cooperation; 3) the design of a centralized cooperation strategy; and 4) the use of consensus schemes to transform the centralized strategy into a decentralized algorithm. The effectiveness of the solution will be shown using both high-fidelity simulation and actual flight tests.     

The influence of deposition conditions and alloying on the electronic properties of amorphous selenium

Electronic properties of a-Se as a function of the source (boat) temperature and as a function of As (up to 0.7%) and Cl (up to 40 wt ppm) concentrations have been experimentally studied by carrying out conventional and interrupted field time-of-flight (IFTOF) transient photoconductivity measurements that provide accurate determinations of the drift mobility and the deep trapping time (lifetime). No variation in electron and hole lifetimes and mobilities for pure a-Se was observed with the source temperature, that is, no dependence was observed either on the deposition rate or on the vapor composition. The addition of As reduces the hole lifetime but does not change the hole mobility. At the same time, As addition increases the electron lifetime while reducing the electron mobility. The electron range μτ, however, increases with the As content, which means that the overall concentration of deep electron traps must be substantially reduced by the addition of As. Cl addition in the ppm range increases the hole lifetime but reduces the electron lifetime. The drift mobility of both carriers remains the same. We interpret the results in terms of a shallow-trap-controlled charge transport in which deep traps are due to potential under-and overcoordinated charged defects that can exist in the structure.     

The influence of exchange delays on cigarette versus money choice: A laboratory analog of voucher-based reinforcement therapy.

Contingency-management interventions that provide reinforcement in the form of exchangeable vouchers, contingent on drug abstinence, are among the most effective substance abuse treatment strategies available. Factors known to contribute to the efficacy of these interventions include voucher magnitude and the schedule with which vouchers are made available. Another potential factor may be the delay between earning a voucher and exchanging it for a desired good or service. The authors adapted a laboratory analog of a voucher program to examine the effects of immediacy of reinforcement and its interaction with reinforcer magnitude. Abstinent cigarette smokers made repeated choices between puffs on a cigarette and points worth a variety of monetary values (10 cents–$2). The time at which these points could be exchanged for money varied from the end of the session to 1 or 3 weeks. Results indicated that longer exchange delays and lower magnitude reinforcers increased the number of choices for drug. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Chloroanisoles may explain mold odor and represent a major indoor environment problem in Sweden

Indoor mold odor is associated with adverse health effects, but the microbial volatiles underlying mold odor are poorly described. Here, chloroanisoles were studied as potential key players, being formed by microbial metabolism of chlorophenols in wood preservatives. Using a three‐stage approach, we (i) investigated the occurrence of chloroanisoles in buildings with indoor air quality problems, (ii) estimated their frequency in Sweden, and (iii) evaluated the toxicological risk of observed chloroanisole concentrations. Analyses of 499 building materials revealed several chloroanisole congeners in various types of buildings from the 1950s to 1970s. Evaluation of Swedish records from this time period revealed three coinciding factors, namely an unprecedented nationwide building boom, national regulations promoting wood preservatives instead of moisture prevention, and use of chlorophenols in these preservatives. Chlorophenols were banned in 1978, yet analysis of 457 indoor air samples revealed several chloroanisole congeners, but at median air levels generally below 15 ng/m³. Our toxicological evaluation suggests that these concentrations are not detrimental to human health per se, but sufficiently high to cause malodor. Thereby, one may speculate that chloroanisoles in buildings contribute to adverse health effects by evoking odor which, enhanced by belief of the exposure being hazardous, induces stress‐related and inflammatory symptoms.     

Effects of oral cocaine on intravenous cocaine discrimination in humans.

This study was designed to evaluate the drug discrimination paradigm as a model for assessing the ability of potential agonist medications to block the effects of intravenous cocaine. Previous research has demonstrated that oral cocaine attenuated the subjective and physiological effects of intravenous cocaine injections, and in the absence of a known efficacious medication for cocaine use disorders, a proof-of-concept approach was used in which cocaine was acutely administered orally to block intravenous cocaine's discriminative-stimulus effects. During training, 11 cocaine-dependent participants were able to discriminate between intravenous saline and 20 mg/70 kg iv cocaine, and 8 of these participants completed the study. After training, participants ingested capsules containing either placebo or 300 mg/70 kg cocaine 60 min prior to the intravenous injection of different doses of cocaine during test sessions with no contingencies in place. Each cocaine dose was administered twice, once under each oral pretreatment condition. Training sessions were interspersed among the test sessions. Physiological and subjective effects were measured throughout each session. Oral cocaine moderately increased some of the subjective and physiological effects of the lower doses of intravenous cocaine, whereas effects at the higher doses were unaltered. Similar changes were seen for the discrimination results. Thus, although oral cocaine given acutely likely is not a viable treatment medication for cocaine dependence, the usefulness of the drug discrimination model in the evaluation of agonist treatment medications remains unclear. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cue-induced craving for marijuana in cannabis-dependent adults.

Recent interest in the development of medications for treatment of cannabis-use disorders indicates the need for laboratory models to evaluate potential compounds prior to undertaking clinical trials. To investigate whether a cue-reactivity paradigm could induce marijuana craving in cannabis-dependent adults, 16 (eight female) cannabis-dependent and 16 (eight female) cannabis-na?ve participants were exposed to neutral and marijuana-related cues, and subsequent changes in mood, self-reported craving, and physiologic function were assessed. Significant Group X cue interactions were found on all three VAS craving indices as well as on the Compulsivity scale of the Marijuana Craving Questionnaire-Brief Form (MCQ-BF). Cannabis-dependent individuals responded to marijuana-related cues with significantly increased reports of marijuana craving compared to neutral cue exposure, although there were no cue-induced changes in any of the physiological measures. There were no significant gender differences on any of the measures. These results indicate that marijuana craving can be induced and assessed in cannabis-dependent, healthy adults within a laboratory setting, and support the need for further research of the cue reactivity paradigm in the development of medications to treat cannabis-use disorders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)