Chemical processing by plasma is utilized in many applications. Plasma-related studies, however, are challenging to carry out due to plasmas' transient and unpredictable behavior, excessive luminosity emission, 3D complexity and aggressive chemistry and physiochemical interactions that are easily affected by external probing. Laser-induced fluorescence is a robust technique for non-intrusive inves

We investigate robustness properties of the Generalized Proportional Allocation (GPA) policy that has been recently proposed for traffic signal control in urban networks. The GPA policy is fully decentralized, relies only on local information on the current congestion state, and requires no knowledge of the routing, the exogenous inflows, or the network structure. In previous work, we proved throu

The asymptotic behaviour of deterministic logit dynamics in heterogeneous routing games is analyzed. It is proved that in directed multigraphs with parallel routes, and in series composition of such multigraphs, the dynamics admits a globally asymptotically stable fixed point. Moreover, the unique fixed point of the dynamics approaches the set of Wardrop equilibria, as the noise vanishes. The resu

We study a robust control problem for dynamical flow networks. In the considered framework, traffic flows along the links of a transportation network —modeled as a capacited multigraph— and queues up at the nodes, whereby control policies determine which incoming queues are to be allocated service simultaneously, within some predetermined scheduling constraints. We first prov

We study the asymptotic behavior of deterministic, continuous-time imitation dynamics for population games over networks. The basic assumption of this learning mechanism --- encompassing the replicator dynamics --- is that players belonging to a single population exchange information through pairwise interactions, whereby they get aware of the actions played by the other players and the correspond

The FBI recently arrested an Iranian academic for failing to register as a foreign agent in accordance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Kaveh Afrasiabi was arrested in Massachusetts and is believed to have received more than $250,000 from the Iranian regime to disseminate its propaganda in the guise of objective analysis. Iranian agent-scholars are easy to recognize: they always oppose th

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Khamenei, is 81 years old and reportedly in declining health. The question of the succession will be decided by the regime’s Assembly of Experts, who will choose the new Supreme Leader following Khamenei’s death. Six individuals have emerged as possible successors.

Over the last several decades, the light-harvesting protein complexes of purple bacteria have been among the most popular model systems for energy transport in excitonic systems in the weak and intermediate intermolecular coupling regime. Despite this extensive body of scientific work, significant questions regarding the excitonic states and the photo-induced dynamics remain. Here, we address the

Fluorescence decay measurements of the rate of non-radiative direct energy transfer have been employed to characterize the core and the core-corona interface of polyisoprene-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PI-PMMA) diblock copolymer micelles in acetonitrile. These micelles consist of a core of the insoluble PI blocks and a corona of the soluble PMMA blocks. The block copolymers are labeled, at the bloc

Contemporary management increasingly acknowledges that employees have an important responsibility for communication. In employees’ interactions with supervisors, colleagues, and external stakeholders, they actively participate in the co-construction of everything from the organization’s internal communication climate, to the brand and reputation of the organization. This case encourages students t

Background: The relationship between animal ethics orientations and consumer demand for meat with high standards of animal welfare, and the way this relationship plays out in different countries, is not well understood. Using pork as a case study, this comparative study aims to identify the animal ethics orientations that drive purchases of welfare meat in Denmark, Germany, andSweden. Methods: CroBACKGROUND: The relationship between animal ethics orientations and consumer demand for meat with high standards of animal welfare, and the way this relationship plays out in different countries, is not well understood. Using pork as a case study, this comparative study aims to identify the animal ethics orientations that drive purchases of welfare meat in Denmark, Germany, and Sweden.METHODS: Cro

It has repeatedly been shown that consumers consider the higher price of organic produce to be a barrier to buying organic food products. The present paper therefore asks whether organic consumption affects consumers’ actual total food expenditures. Food purchase data for a panel of Danish households during 2006–2014 were used to compare the total food expenditures of different organic household sIt has repeatedly been shown that consumers consider the higher price of organic produce to be a barrier to buying organic food products. The present paper therefore asks whether organic consumption affects consumers’ actual total food expenditures. Food purchase data for a panel of Danish households during 2006–2014 were used to compare the total food expenditures of different organic household s

Breast cancer is an important cause of disease-burden and death in women. To prevent over- and undertreatment of breast cancer patients, new prognostic and predictive factors are needed. We aimed to study associations between prognosis and body constitution, genetic factors, and tumor-specific protein levels related to metabolic pathways, and to examine the prognostic impact of statin use and body

Since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, scholars have increasingly turned their attention to the rise and influence of jihadi Salafism. For the most part, though, the focus of this body of work has been on the sociology and activities of organizations such as al-Qaʿeda (AQ) and the Islamic State (IS), with less attention paid to the details of the movements’ ideologies.This, however, should not sugge

This study shows that the production of industrial and commercial waste should form part of normal organisational practices. When asked about waste prevention, representatives of food, textile, electronics and construction companies in Sweden have difficulties highlighting concrete waste-prevention objectives, measures and outcomes. Instead, they highlight economic, technical, and organisational b