Subjective Aspects of the Art of Decision Analysis: Exploring the Role of Decision Analysis in Decision Structuring,Decision Support and Policy Dialogue

The paper argues that, until very recently, decision analysts have devoted relatively little attention to the processes of problem formulation and subjective judgement in handling ill-structured strategic decision problems. Therefore, following a brief review of existing varieties of decision analysis, a modified policy dialogue' model of decision analysis is presented which integrates decision analysis with decision aids and decision support technology. This model is developed using as an illustration strategic problems drawn from the insurance industry. The paper concludes with some suggestions for the successful application and implementation of decision analysis.     

Untersuchung von Wasser

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Solution self-assembly and adsorption at the air-water interface of the monorhamnose and dirhamnose rhamnolipids and their mixtures

The self-assembly in solution and adsorption at the air-water interface, measured by small-angle neutron scattering, SANS, and neutron reflectivity, NR, of the monorhamnose and dirhamnose rhamnolipids (R1, R2) and their mixtures, are discussed. The production of the deuterium-labeled rhamnolipids (required for the NR studies) from a Pseudomonas aeruginosa culture and their separation into the pure R1 and R2 components is described. At the air-water interface, R1 and R2 exhibit Langmuir-like adsorption isotherms, with saturated area/molecule values of about 60 and 75 ?(2), respectively. In R1/R2 mixtures, there is a strong partitioning of R1 to the surface and R2 competes less favorably because of the steric or packing constraints of the larger R2 dirhamnose headgroup. In dilute solution (<20 mM), R1 and R2 form small globular micelles, L(1), with aggregation numbers of about 50 and 30, respectively. At higher solution concentrations, R1 has a predominantly planar structure, L(α) (unilamellar, ULV, or bilamellar, BLV, vesicles) whereas R2 remains globular, with an aggregation number that increases with increasing surfactant concentration. For R1/R2 mixtures, solutions rich in R2 are predominantly micellar whereas solutions rich in R1 have a more planar structure. At an intermediate composition (60 to 80 mol % R1), there are mixed L(α)/L(1) and L(1)/L(α) regions. However, the higher preferred curvature associated with R2 tends to dominate the mixed R1/R2 microstructure and its associated phase behavior.     

Obtaining positions and widths of scattering resonances from a complex multiconfigurational self‐consistent field state using the M1 method

We present a complex multiconfigurational self‐consistent field (CMCSCF)‐based approach to investigate electron‐atom scattering resonances. It is made possible by the use of second quantization algebra adapted for biorthogonal spin orbitals, which has been applied to develop a quadratically convergent CMCSCF method. To control the convergence to the correct CMCSCF stationary point, a modified step‐length control algorithm is introduced. Convergence to a tolerance of 1.0 × 10^?10 a.u. for the energy gradient is found to be typically within 10 iterations or less. A method involving the first block of the M matrix defined in the multiconfigurational spin tensor electron propagator method (MCSTEP) based on the CMCSCF reference state has been implemented to investigate ²P Be^? shape resonances. The position and width of these resonances have been calculated for different complete active space choices. The wide distribution of the position and width of the resonance reported in the literature is explained by the existence of two distinct resonances which are close in energy. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2010     

Highly glycosylated flavonoids from the pods of Bobgunnia madagascariensis

Methanolic extracts of the pods of Bobgunnia madagascariensis (Leguminosae) yielded four pentaglycosylated flavonoids, including the 3-O-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl(1→3)-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl(1→2)[α-l-rhamnopyranosyl(1→6)]-β-d-glucopyranoside-7-O-α-l-rhamnopyranosides of 3,5,7-trihydroxy-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4H-benzopyran-4-one (kaempferol) and 3,5,7-trihydroxy-2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-4H-benzopyran-4-one (quercetin), which were characterized by a novel O-linked branched tetrasaccharide. Spectroscopic and chemical methods were used to determine the structures of the latter, which co-occurred with the corresponding β-d-galactopyranosyl isomers, and two saponins. Conformational isomerism of quercetin 3-O-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl(1→3)-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl(1→2)[α-l-rhamnopyranosyl(1→6)]-β-d-glucopyranoside-7-O-α-l-rhamnopyranoside was detected in solution by NMR, a phenomenon previously associated only with C-glycosylflavonoids.     

Transient tertiary structure formation within the ribosome exit port

The exit tunnel of the ribosome is commonly considered to be sufficiently narrow that co-translational folding can begin only when specific segments of nascent chains are fully extruded from the tunnel. Here we show, on the basis of molecular simulations and comparison with experiment, that the long-range contacts essential for initiating protein folding can form within a nascent chain when it reaches the last 20 ? of the exit tunnel. We further show that, in this "exit port", a significant proportion of native and non-native tertiary structure can form without steric overlap with the ribosome itself, and provide a library of structural elements that our simulations predict can form in the exit tunnel and is amenable to experimental testing. Our results show that these elements of folded tertiary structure form only transiently and are at their midpoints of stability at the boundary region between the inside and the outside of the tunnel. These findings provide a framework for interpreting a range of recent experimental studies of ribosome nascent chain complexes and for understanding key aspects of the nature of co-translational folding.     

Production of entanglement in Raman three-level systems using feedback

We examine the theoretical limits of the generation of entanglement in a damped coupled ion-cavity system using jump-based feedback. Using Raman transitions to produce entanglement between ground states reduces the necessary feedback bandwidth, but does not improve the overall effect of the spontaneous emission on the final entanglement. We find that the fidelity of the resulting entanglement will be limited by the asymmetries produced by vibrations in the trap, but that the concurrence remains above 0.88 for realistic ion trap sizes.     

Isospin-violating dark matter in the Sun

We consider the prospects for studying spin-independent isospin-violating dark matter-nucleon interactions with neutrinos from dark matter annihilation in the Sun, with a focus on IceCube/DeepCore (IC/DC). If dark matter-nucleon interactions are isospin-violating, IC/DC?s reach in the spin-independent cross section may be competitive with current direct detection experiments for a wide range of dark matter masses. We also compare IC/DC?s sensitivity to that of next generation argon, germanium, neon and xenon based detectors.     

Performance of columns packed with the new shell particles,Kinetex-C18

The performance of the new Kinetex-C₁₈ column was investigated. Packed with a new brand of porous shell particles, this column has an outstanding efficiency. Once corrected for the contribution of the instrument extra column volume, the minimum values of the reduced plate heights for a number of low molecular weight compounds (e.g., anthracene and naphtho[2,3-a]pyrene) were between 1.0 and 1.3, breaking the legendary record set 3 years ago by Halo-C₁₈ packed columns. The liquid-solid mass transfer of proteins (e.g., insulin and lyzozyme) is exceptionally fast on Kinetex-C₁₈ much faster than on the Halo-C₁₈ column. The different contributions of dispersion and mass transfer resistances to the column efficiency were determined and discussed. The possible reasons for this extremely high column efficiency are discussed.     

Interaction of the general volatile anesthetic Enflurane with bacteriorhodopsin-DPPC proteoliposomes

Thermal decomposition of dried crystalline powder obtained from titanium(IV) bis(acetylacetonate) diisopropoxide (75% solution in 2-propanol) (1) was monitored by simultaneous TG/DTA, EGA-FTIR and EGA-MS measurements and the results were compared with those of amorphous powder obtained by gelling of acetylacetonate-modified titanium(IV) tetra-isopropoxide at molar ratio of 1:2 in boiling 2-methoxyethanol (2). Thermal degradation of 1 in the temperature range of 25–700°C consists of 5 steps with a total mass loss of 62.5%. EGA by FTIR and MS revealed the release of H₂O below 120°C; followed by an intensive evolution of acetylacetone around 245°C. The release of acetone and acetic acid occurs up to 270°C and that of CO and CO₂ up to 530°C.