The concept of a fair and optimal allocation was recently introduced by Sun and Yang [Sun, N., Yang, Z., 2003. A general strategy proof fair allocation mechanism. Economics Letters 81, 73-79]. This note states some basic properties of fair and optimal allocations and provides a simple algorithm for identifying them. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All fights reserved.

Background: There is an urgent need to identify subjects with Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the predementia phase, but validated diagnostic approaches are currently lacking. In this paper, we present the background, design and methods of a study, which aims to develop clinical criteria for predementia AD. We also present baseline characteristics of the subjects included. The study was part of the mu

The aim of this study was to assess the incremental cost effectiveness of on-demand versus prophylactic haemophilia therapy in Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom and The Netherlands from the third-party payers' perspective. Using a decision tree model, the cost effectiveness of on-demand versus prophylactic therapy was analysed by extrapolating data from the European Haemophilia Economic Study to

Offspring locomotor performance has been shown to influence fitness related traits in a wide range of taxa. One potential mechanism by which viviparous animals can increase the performance (e.g. sprint speed) of their offspring is by prolonging pregnancy (beyond that required for complete development). However, to date studies examining this potentially important maternal effect have been largely

Intermolecular structures of complexes formed between a charged polymer and a spherical and oppositely charged macroion have been studied by employing the primitive model solved by Monte Carlo simulations. The strong-complex case involving a polyion and a macroion with equal absolute charges and without small ions was considered. The influence of the polyion flexibility with a bare persistence len

Coexistence conditions for prewetting and layering at a hard surface in additive hard sphere polymer solutions, where the solvent particles are smaller than the monomers, have been calculated by density functional methods. Various chain lengths and pressures have been investigated. An unexpected finding is that prewetting in these systems may proceed below the bulk critical pressure. We rationaliz

Public-private partnerships (PPP) have been advanced as a new tool of global governance, which can supply both effective and legitimate governance. In the context of recent debates on the democratic legitimacy of transnational governance, this paper focuses on accountability as a central component of legitimacy. The aim of this paper is to map transnational climate partnerships and evaluate their

The effect of using different binding agents in combination with hemp shives and fibres in Lime-Hemp Concrete (LHC) building material was examined. LHC is a light composite building material with building lime as binding agents and hemp (Cannabis sativa) as a renewable raw material from agriculture. Contemporary LHC only uses the woody core part of the hemp, the shive. However, using both hemp shi

P>Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are increasingly implicated in the pathogenesis of cancer. The present study describes TLR expression and function in healthy and malignant airway epithelial cells. The squamous cell carcinoma cell line Detroit-562 was compared with the healthy bronchial epithelial cell line NL-20 and primary human nasal epithelial cells (HNECs). TLR2, TLR3 and TLR5 were present in pri

Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are a group of compounds formed when protein-rich foods, such as meat or fish, are prepared under normal cooking conditions, such as frying, grilling, or broiling. To evaluate and estimate the risks associated with HCAs contained in the diet, it is important to determine the levels in cooked foods, and the levels of HCAs and metabolites in the body. HCAs are normally fou

Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate whether preoperative infiltration with ropivacaine in conjunction with breast surgery improves postoperative pain management and attenuates postoperative nausea and vomiting. Method: Prospective, randomised, double-blind study, including 60 healthy women (ASA 1–2) allocated to one of two groups. Thirty patients were given 0.3 ml/kg saline in the o

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of stent-graft design and operator skills on outcomes after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair. STUDY DESIGN: One hundred sixty-four patients (mean age 71 years) underwent stent-graft repair. Patients were treated with four different types of stent-graft: first-generation (n = 58) and second-generation (n = 17) Ivancev-Malm

BACKGROUND: The objective of the present study was to optimize conditions for retroviral transduction of human cord blood (CB) CD34+ cells and to reveal mechanisms which interfere with efficient gene transfer. METHODS: An MSCV based retroviral vector with the gene for enhanced green fluorescent protein (MGIN) produced by GP+envAM12 (amphotropic envelope), PG13 (gibbon ape leukemia virus envelope)

We have examined the effects of three macrophagederived cytokines, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), transforming growth factor-01 (TGF-01) and interleukin-1 a (IL-la) on the contraction of collagen type I gels populated by human foreskin fibroblasts. Contraction was quantified as loss in gel weight. Both PDGF-AA and PDGF-BB were found to induce a rapid collagen-gel contraction. TGF-/J1 also

The ISOLDE RIB-facility at CERN has today been producing a vast range of radioactive beams since more than 30 years. The low-energy beams of ISOLDE will be complemented by a post-accelerator, REX-ISOLDE, currently being assembled. In order to convert the pseudo-DC, singly-charged beam from the ISOLDE mass separators into a cooled and bunched beam at higher charge states, a novel scheme of trapping

Treatment of haemophilia is extremely costly due to the short biological half-life of infused factor and pricing issues. This paper examines the impact of different dosing schedules on factor consumption, via a review of literature on dosing regimens used for prophylaxis with a focus on pharmacokinetics (PK). Pharmacokinetics were found to have an important role for pharmacoeconomics in factor dos

In shadow volume rendering, the shadow volume silhouette edges are used to create primitives that model the shadow volume. A common misconception is that the vertices on such silhouettes can only be connected to two silhouette edges, i.e., have degree two. Furthermore, some believe that such a vertex can have any degree. In this short note, we present a geometric proof that shows that the degree o

The basic bound on the generalisation error of a PAC learner makes the assumption that a consistent hypothesis exists. This makes it appropriate to apply the method only in the case where we have a guarantee that a consistent hypothesis can be found, something that is rarely possible in real applications. The same problem arises if we decide not to use a hypothesis unless its error is below a pres