Išanalizuota dabartinė Lietuvos mokesčių sistema, atkreipiant dėmesį į pagrindinius mokesčius, t.y. gyventojų pajamų, pelno, laikinąjį socialinį, pridėtinės vertės bei akcizų mokesčius, atskleisti pagrindinių mokesčių trūkumai ir pateikti pasiūlymai mokesčių sistemai tobulinti, darbe išdėstytos pagrindinės mintys apie valstybės mokesčius bei jų paskirtį, apžvelgiami mokesčių sistemos ypatumai, nagrinėjami teoriniai mokesčių sistemos formavimo pagrindai, t.y. mokesčių reikšmė ir būtinumas, vykdant valstybės funkcijas, mokesčių teorijos, apmokestinimo principai ir riba, pateikiama Lietuvos Respublikos mokesčių sistema. Rašant darbą atlikta ekonominės, mokslinės, normatyvinės ir kt. literatūros analizė, naudoti loginės analizės ir sintezės, palyginamosios analizės tyrimo metodai, santykiniai dydžiai, grafinis būdas ir kt.. Darbe iškelta hipotezė pasitvirtino, LR mokesčių sistema nėra tinkamai sureguliuota (suformuota), jai būdinga - apmokestinimo nuostatų neapibrėžtumas, nestabilumas ir neskaidrumas, ko pasekoje sumažėja mokestinių įplaukų produktyvumas bei ekonominis efektyvumas. / MA thesis covers the analysis of current Lithuanian tax system paying attention to main taxes, i.e., value-added tax, personal income tax, profits tax, temporary social tax, and excise duty tax. Here, drawbacks of the most important taxes are also discussed; furthermore, some suggestions of improving tax system are provided. Also, the study concentrates on taxes and their purpose, surveys peculiarities of tax system; and researches theoretical elements of forming tax system, i.e. significance and importance of taxes prosecuting functions of government, theories of taxation, principals of taxation and its limit. Finally, tax system of the Lithuanian Republic is provided. The analysis of economical, scientific, normative and other kind of literature is carried out; research methods such as logic analysis and synthesis, comparative analysis, relative values, graphical presentations are applied in the study. The raised hypothesis was proved out that tax system of the Lithuanian Republic is not properly formed, due to this fact, regulations of taxation are indeterminate, unstable and not transparent what influences the decrease of productivity of annual income and economical efficiency.

While new road lighting technologies, either LED or adaptive road lighting systems, offer a wide range of unique potential benefits (mainly in terms of energy savings), it is necessary to evaluate the safety impacts of these technologies on road users. The literature survey shows that providing light on previous unlit roads has a positive effect on traffic safety. Reducing the amount of light has the opposite effect. These studies are usually conducted by using crash numbers, which makes it impossible to draw conclusions on changes in driving behaviour. Driving behaviour analyses need special approaches and indicators. Therefore indirect indicators such as speed and safety relationship, jerky driving and traffic conflict parameters are presented. The individual character of such data is difficult to deal with and limits big scale analyses. In order to have a practical example of such indicators a case study is conducted. Floating car data collected in Vienna is used to analyse travel speeds of taxi drivers at two LED test sites. A simple before-after analysis is used with data from January 2011 to May 2012 in order to examine an expected increase in speed due to a better visual performance of LED light. However the results show either no changes at all or a trend in speed reduction of 1km/h in average. Unfavourable test site locations might limit the significance of the results.

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As the demand for energy continues to increase around the world, more vessels used in the transport of energy, such as Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) and crude oil tankers are being built to transport energy to market overseas. The escort tug has been developed in order to assist in the safe transit of such vessels in confined waterways. Designed to apply emergency braking and steering forces to the stern of a tanker while underway, an escort tug features a hull shape that generates large hydrodynamic lift and drag forces when operating at high angles of attack, this is known as indirect mode. This escorting mode is highly effective at speeds 8 knots and above, often generating towline forces well in excess of bollard pull. Escort performance prediction is a vital aspect of the design of escort tugs. It is important to know a priori if a design will meet the necessary performance criteria. In the past, performance predictions have relied heavily on model testing and empirical methods. With the recent emergence of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) as a commercially viable design tool for naval architects, extensive escort performance predictions can now be carried out more accurately in less time and at less cost than was previously possible. This thesis describes the methodology of a CFD based escort performance prediction method that is accurate and cost effective. / Graduate

Antiplatelet therapy with clopidogrel is widely used in patients with coronary artery disease, but the recent development of the new P2Y12 receptor antagonists prasugrel and ticagrelor will increase treatment options. An overview of systematic reviews was performed to summarize available evidence on clopidogrel. Current data on prasugrel and ticagrelor were identified by a systematic review and used for an indirect treatment comparison (ITC) of the drugs against each other and versus placebo in the absence of head-to-head clinical trials. Adjusted indirect comparison according to Bucher, Bayesian methods for mixed treatment comparisons using Winbugs, and generalized linear mixed models using SAS were employed for ITC, yielding almost identical results: prasugrel was favored regarding stent thrombosis and ticagrelor regarding major bleeding. However, substantial differences in trial design were identified, demanding caution when interpreting these results. On the basis of the obtained results, a randomized controlled trial was designed within the gap of current evidence.

In this study, optimization of a transformation and regeneration system via indirect organogenesis in cotyledonary petiole tissue of lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) was investigated. Eight different medium types differing in their plant growth regulator compositions were employed to examine the callus induction potency of cotyledonary petiole. Except two, all other tested medium yielded more than 80% callus induction. Nine different medium types were studied to test the potencies of callus structures for shoot induction. Only the callus induced in medium H (1 mg/L Zeatin riboside + 1 mg/L Naphthalane acetic acid) yielded shoots at 8 to 40 % frequency. The most responsive medium was MS basal medium with no growth regulators. Also five and three different medium types were employed to examine callus induction potency of epicotyl tissues respectively. Each medium type yielded 90% callus induction. Only the callus induced in medium H yielded shoots At 6 to 26% frequency. Preliminary studies were carried out for somatic embryogenesis in cotyledonary petiole. Effects of salicylic acid on somatic embryogenesis were also investigated. Salicylic acid at 200&micro / M was found to enhance the percentage of somatic embryos by 25 % and reduce the necrosis 24 %. However none of the globular and heart shape embryos were able to regenerate. Transient GUS expression efficiencies of roots, shoot tips, and cotyledonary petioles were tested after Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Transformation frequencies were 26, 74, and 38 % for cotyledonary petiole, shoot tips, and roots respectively.

Cougars (Puma concolor) have recently begun to reclaim former range and also are expanding into new territory. The Cypress Hills of southeast Alberta and southwest Saskatchewan now hosts the most eastern confirmed breeding population of cougars in Canada. However, with the return of cougars come new issues about human safety and risk of livestock depredation. Using GPS radiocollars, scat analysis, snowtracking and wildlife cameras, I found that the Cypress Hills boasts one of the highest densities of cougars ever reported, yet the large cats avoid human-use areas and have not been documented to prey on livestock. Using aerial ungulate survey data, I also show that the increase in cougar abundance is associated with a shift in distribution of nave ungulate prey to areas outside the park. Provided that cougars continue to avoid humans and cattle, this island habitat could prove to be an important stepping stone to further expansion eastward. / Ecology

The indirect effect of aerosols expresses how changes in aerosols would influence clouds and cause impacts on Earth's climate and hydrological cycle. The current assessment of the interactions between aerosols and clouds is uncertain and parameterizations used to represent cloud processes are not well constrained. This thesis first evaluates a cloud activation parameterization by investigating cloud droplet number concentration closure for stratocumulus clouds sampled during the 2005 MArine Stratus Experiment (MASE). Further analysis of the droplet size distribution characteristics using the extended parameterization is performed by comparing the predicted droplet spectra with the observed ones. The effect of dynamical variability on the droplet size distribution evolution is also investigated by considering a probability density function for updraft velocity. The cumulus and stratocumulus cloud datasets from in-situ field measurements of NASA's Cirrus Regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers - Florida Area Cirrus Experiment (CRYSTAL-FACE) and Coastal STRatocumulus Imposed Perturbation Experiment (CSTRIPE) campaigns are used for this task. Using the same datasets, the autoconversion rate is calculated based on direct integration of kinematic collection equation (KCE). Six autoconversion parameterizations are evaluated and the effect of turbulence on magnifying collection process is also considered. Finally, a general circulation model (GCM) is used for studying the effect of different autoconversion parameterizations on indirect forcing estimates. The autoconversion rate given by direct KCE integration is also included by implementing a look-up table for collection kernels. Although these studies add more variability to the current estimate of aerosol indirect forcing, they also provide direction towards a more accurate assessment for climate prediction.

The studies described in this thesis investigate the role of indirect effects in invasion biology. The Introduction provides a brief overview of indirect effects and an outline of the thesis structure. The role of indirect effects in the context of invasion biology is addressed in an in-depth published literature review that comprises the second chapter, providing a theoretical background for the subsequent empirical studies. Chapters Three to Six are comprised of manuscripts that have been published or are under review or in press, which describe studies that investigate the importance of indirect effects in invasion biology using a model system consisting of the alien Asteraceae Senecio madagascariensis, a closelyrelated native, Senecio pinnatifolius, and the insect species with which they interact. Senecio madagascariensis and S. pinnatifolius occur in a similar geographic range in eastern Australia and these studies were conducted in mixed and pure populations of the two species. The herbivore and floral visitor assemblages of the two Senecio species at seven field sites in South-east Queensland were compared using sweep-net sampling, manual searching and floral visitor observation techniques. The floral visitor assemblages were similar between the two species, comprised largely of species of Syrphidae and the European honeybee, Apis mellifera. Herbivore assemblages, however, were highly variable both between species and between sites, with greater herbivore abundance and diversity recorded on the native S. pinnatifolius than its alien congener. The most commonly recorded herbivores were sap-sucking species such as Myridae. The magpie moth, Nyctemera amica was the most common folivore on both Senecio species and laboratory studies demonstrated a clear preference by ovipositing females and feeding larvae of this species for the native Senecio species, over the alien. Field surveys supported these findings, recording greater leaf damage on the native species than the invader. Herbivory levels were lower, rather than higher, in mixed populations than in pure populations, thus there was no evidence that the presence of one species enhanced herbivory in the other. Field pollination trials were conducted to determine whether competition for pollinators or facilitation of pollination occurred in mixed Senecio populations. The presence of the native S. pinnatifolius affected pollinator visitation rates to the alien Senecio; bee visits to S. madagascariensis were significantly reduced by the presence of S. pinnatifolius, whilst syrphid visits increased. However, altered visitation rates were not reflected in seed set. The presence of the alien species had no impact on pollinator visits to the native. Surprisingly, S. pinnatifolius seed set was higher in mixed populations than in pure populations. This might be due to abiotic factors, lower rates of herbivory at these sites or transfer of pollen between species resulting in the production of hybrid seed (if S. madagascariensis has greater male fitness). Hybridisation in the field was investigated using AFLP techniques. No mature hybrid plants were recorded in mixed populations, but hybrid seeds were produced by both species. Senecio pinnatifolius maternal parents produced higher numbers of hybrid seed than expected based on the relative frequencies of the two species, whilst hybridisation in S. madagascariensis was lower than expected. This may indicate greater male fitness of the invader. A range of complex indirect interactions can occur between invasive and native species, with these interactions having the potential to influence the success or failure of the invader and its impacts on co-occurring natives. The Discussion addresses the findings of the studies described here in the context of invasion biology theory.