The purpose of this thesis is to explore differences in lifetime excess cancer risk (LECR) for Canadians from intake of contaminants in food and beverages based on geographic location, gender and income levels. A probabilistic risk assessment approach (Monte Carlo simulation) was used to estimate the range and frequency of possible daily contaminant intakes for Canadians, and associate these intake levels with lifetime excess cancer risk. Monte Carlo risk simulation was applied to estimate probable contaminant intake and associated lifetime excess cancer risk from arsenic, benzene, lead, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and tetrachloroethylene (PERC) in 60 whole foods from the dietary patterns of 34,944 Canadians from 10 provinces, as derived from Health Canada’s Canadian Community Health Survey, Cycle 2.2, Nutrition (2004)1. These results were compared to the current Health Canada guideline that suggests that 10 extra cancers per one million people is a negligible risk. Of the 5 contaminants tested in my model arsenic showed the greatest difference between urban and rural estimated lifetime excess cancer risk, although extra cancers in both rural and urban Canada were predicted from exposure to PCB and benzene. Lifetime excess cancer risk is estimated to be higher for men in Canada for all five contaminants, with an emphasis on males in British Columbia compared to females from the dietary intake of arsenic. When based on income level, my model predicts extra cancers higher for low and middle incomes from dietary exposures to arsenic, benzene, lead and PERC, however, high income populations are more likely to have extra cancers from dietary intake of PCBs. / Graduate

This thesis contributes to the literature on the consumption-portfolio choice under uncertainty and is motivated by several empirical failures of the standard consumption-based capital asset pricing model (CCAPM). This canonical model has proven disappointing empirically and has even been questioned whether it is theoretically valuable and practically useful even if it is in some sense the only model we have. The frustration is due to that the model performs no better in practice and generates some well-known consumption puzzles and asset pricing puzzles. The purpose of the thesis is to reexamine these puzzles and then to resolve them. After the debate of Hansen and Singleton (1983) and Hall (1988), the estimates of the elasticity of intertemporal substitution (EIS) of consumption in a representative agent model have not resulted in any consensus. Based on this observation, the first chapter of this thesis is focused on resolving the elasticity puzzle or the unresponsiveness to interest rates. We propose a new theoretical and empirical perspective on the relationship between consumption growth and asset returns. In the spirit of Hansen and Singleton (1983), we demonstrate that observed growth rate of consumption responds not only to a specific asset return but also to other asset returns. Empirically, US postwar quarterly data are used to fit the regression model derived in the chapter, and the sample period is 1953Q2-2001Q2. Empirical results show that the EIS is greater than 0.1, the maximum value considered possible by Hall (1988). Accordingly, we argue that there is no elasticity puzzle in the standard representative agent model. The second chapter provides an explanation for the puzzle of excess sensitivity of consumption to expected income proposed by Flavin (1981). We exploit consumer's superior information (i.e., windfalls in investments and in income) to integrate the consumption Euler equations into a generalized Euler equation. The implications emerging from the equation can refute much of the empirical evidence against the permanent income hypothesis (PIH). In short, we conclude that consumption growth is sensitive to windfalls in income, but not to expected income. Thus, Friedman's prescient insight is being formally corroborated in standard utility theory. The equation also provides an alternative approach permitting one more precisely to estimate the preference parameters and much easier to identify the time-series properties of labor income. Empirical results based on U.S. postwar quarterly data show that the EIS is significantly positive and the labor income should follow a nonstationary second-order autoregressive process. The last chapter of the thesis, chapter three, attempts to address the equity premium puzzle, proposed by Mehra and Prescott (1985), and the risk-free rate puzzle, proposed by Weil (1989). These two asset pricing puzzles have troubled financial economists for nearly two decades. To date, there is still no convincing solution for the equity premium puzzle. The CCAPM is apparently inconsistent with the data, especially the annual data in the 1889-1978 period used by Mehra and Prescott (1985). This has led many economists to question whether the model should be abandoned. The purpose of the chapter is to resolve the two puzzles, and then to consolidate the Lucas-Breeden paradigm embedded in the standard CCAPM. We demonstrate that the equity premium puzzle is resulted from the gaps between the expected asset returns and the actual ones. These gaps have conventionally been regarded as regression disturbances, and explained as good luck or unexpected windfalls. We introduce an alternative way that, using other good luck to explain a given good luck, can help fill in the specific gap. Results of numerical calculations and parametric estimation show that, the gap has been significantly narrowed down and hence the equity premium and risk-free rate puzzles are successfully resolved.

In this dissertation, I investigate whether corporate governance affects the negative association between investment and future excess returns. Shareholders are concerned with the effectiveness of the firm's governance regime as a tool to reduce agency costs. In the absence of strong control over firm assets, managers may choose to invest in value-decreasing projects. The probability that managers select value-decreasing projects is an increasing (decreasing) function in investment activity (governance regime). At the time of investment, the capital market prices expected returns to the investment activity conditioned on the governance regime in place. This study examines future risk-adjusted returns to investment activities conditioned on low and high governance regimes. If the market correctly prices the governance environment and the expected returns to expenditures at time t, there should be no future risk-adjusted returns to either governance or expenditure information. I find that for firms with low external monitoring, and separately, for firms with high shareholder rights, lower (higher) investment activity results in positive (negative) future risk-adjusted returns. Implementing a trading strategy which holds low investment firms and shorts high investment firms results in 7.1% and 5.6% annual risk-adjusted returns when conditioned on low institutional holdings and high shareholder right, respectively. This study also provides preliminary evidence that outside blockholder and activist ownership is effective in mitigating the negative association between investment activity and future excess returns through the shareholder rights mechanism. Finally, I provide evidence that the diversification discount associated with multi-segment firms is generally invariant to investment activity levels.

Nowadays the main challenge for the energy system is the capability of storing the energy forlater use. To deal with this problem, molten salt storage technology is being used in some solarfacilities. By its implementation, the energy can be stored in the form of heat. However, thefeasibility of this technology is in a testing stage. Its implementation could be done in differentenergy fields. In this thesis, a novel implementation is suggested nearby a CHP, with the aim ofutilizing the excess electricity provided by the grid in high energy production days. Differentimplementation methods and a real scenario are presented. A study analysis of the tank’s sizeand the amount of molten salt needed as well as an economic analysis are provided. Numericalapproximations are given and results shown according to the theoretical analysis developed.

The following dissertation contains two distinct empirical essays which contribute to the overall field of Financial Economics. Chapter 1 titles as “Corporate Lobbying, CEO Political Ideology and Firm Performance”. We investigate the influence of CEO political orientation on corporate lobbying efforts. Specifically, we study whether CEO political ideology, in terms of manager-level campaign donations, determines the choice and amount of firm lobbying involvement and the impact of lobbying on firm value. We find a generous engagement in lobbying efforts by firms with Republican leaning-managers, which lobby a larger number of bills and have higher lobbying expenditures. However, the cost of lobbying offsets the benefit for firms with Republican CEOs. We report higher agency costs of free cash flow, lower Tobin’s Q, and smaller increases in buy and hold abnormal returns following lobbying activities for firms with Republican managers, compared to Democratic and Apolitical rivals. Overall, our results suggest that the effects of lobbying on firm performance vary across firms with different managerial political orientations. Chapter 2 titled as “Corporate Lobbying and Labor Relations: Evidence from Employee” Litigations. We utilize employee litigations and other work-related complaints to examine if lobbying firms are favored in judicial process. We gather 27,794 employee lawsuits (after initial court hearing) between 2000 and 2014 and test the relationship between employee allegations and firms’ lobbying strategies. We find that employee litigations increase the number of labor-related bills in our sample. We document that the increase in employee lawsuits may drive firms into lobbying to change policy proposals. We also find robust evidence that the case outcome is different for lobbying firms compared to non-lobbying rivals, which may protect the shareholder wealth in the long run. Our results present that lobbying activities may make a significant difference in employee allegations. Our findings highlight the benefit of building political capital to obtain a biased outcome in favor of politically-connected firms.

Abstract FACTORS AFFECTING GINGIVAL EXCESS, ALTERED PASSIVE ERUPTION AND RECESSION IN THE MANDIBULAR ANTERIOR AND PREMOLAR SITES By William F Bohlen, D.M.D. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Dentistry at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2010 Major Director: Thomas Waldrop, DDS, MS Program director, Department of Periodontics, Virginia Commonwealth University AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the factors affecting gingival excess, altered passive eruption and recession. METHODS: 100 subjects were examined clinically and models of their mandible were fabricated. Demographic, periodontal and cast measurements were recorded for each subject. Measurements were made on casts with digital calipers and included clinical crown length, clinical crown width, papillary height and gingival width. The W:L ratio was calculated and the proportion compared to the maxillary arch ideal of .80. Values greater than .80 were used as a cutoff point for defining gingival excess. Measures of periodontal health were also examined and included probing depths, clinical attachment loss and bleeding on probing. Other patient variables examined were history of orthodontics, presence of occlusal and incisal wear, presence of parafunctional habits, subjective appearance of gummy smile and biotype. RESULTS: The mean W:L ratio was found to be 79.6 %. Tooth type (p<0.001), gender (p<0.0237) and biotype (p<0.0081) were found to significantly contribute to a W:L ratio >.80. There was a significant correlation between the subjective appearance of gingival excess and the W:L ratio, regardless of biotype. There was no association between recession and gingival excess. CONCLUSION: Subjectively, 17% of the study subjects had gingival excess. When the author (WB) made the determination that gingival excess was present, there was a significant increase in the W:L ratio for all teeth, regardless of biotype versus teeth without the presence of gingival excess. Proposed ideal W:L ratios for the mandibular anterior teeth from the second premolar to central incisor are listed in Table 11.

UNIVERZITA KARLOVA V PRAZE Právnická fakulta Katedra trestního práva POJEM A PRÁVNÍ DŮSLEDKY PŘEKROČENÍ MEZÍ NUTNÉ OBRANY A KRAJNÍ NOUZE Diplomová práce Martin Lang Vedoucí diplomové práce: Doc. JUDr. Jiří Herczeg, Ph.D. Praha, prosinec 2010 2 Prohlašuji, že jsem tuto diplomovou práci vypracoval samostatně, všechny použité prameny a literatura byly řádně citovány a práce nebyla využita k získání jiného nebo stejného titulu. V Praze dne 13. prosince 2010 Martin Lang 3 Poděkování Děkuji panu Doc. JUDr. Jiří Herczegovi, Ph.D., vedoucímu mé diplomové práce, za připomínky a pomoc při jejím zpracování. 4 Obsah Obsah ...................................................................................................................................4 Úvod.....................................................................................................................................5 1. Okolnosti vylučující protiprávnost v českém právním řádu .................................7 1.1 Podstata nutné obrany a krajní nouze ............................................................................8 1.2 Ústavněprávní aspekty................................................................................................10 1.3 Správněprávní...

Denna studie handlar om en metod som används för att lokalisera inläckage av tillskottsvatten på spillvattennät. Grunden är de praktikperioder som författaren har haft hos VA-bolaget Helsinge Vatten AB och då det utförts flera försök till att utreda inläckage i spillvattenledningarna. Metoden går ut på att analysera koncentrationen av ammonium i flödet som hämtas från brunnarna ute på nätet. Analyserna sker med hjälp av en portabel spektrofotometer tillsammans med reagenskyvetter som analyserar koncentrationen på bara 15 minuter. Detta ger en indikation på hur utspätt spillvattnet är, om det är utspätt av tillskottsvatten så visar analysen ett lågt värde vilket tyder på inläckage av dagvatten, grundvatten eller dricksvatten. Denna metod är framtagen av Norrköping Vatten och Avfall som har lyckats bra med att lokalisera inläckage med metoden. Norrköping Vatten och Avfall är en stor källa till denna studie med sin rapport ”Minskning av in- och utläckage genom aktiv läcksökning”(Uusijärvi, 2013).  I rapporten redovisas de ammoniumanalyser som har gjorts med tillhörande diagram för att tydliggöra resultaten. Eftersom spillvattennät ofta hör samman med pumpstationer och reningsverk som påverkar elförbrukning har statistik tagits fram för den pumpstation som analysområdet hör samman med. Elförbrukning har jämförts med nederbördsmätning för att se om ledningsnätet är påverkat av nederbörd, eftersom pumpstationen får arbeta mer om det är tillskottsvatten i ledningarna.  För att få fram en uppskattad mängd inläckage så har en beräkning gjorts med hjälp av en mall som Norrköping vatten och avfall har tagit fram. Där används analysvärden som tyder på inläckage tillsammans med antal abonnenter, ledningssträcka och storförbrukares avlopp. Tillsammans blir det ett värde på uppskattat inläckage i liter per dygn och meter ledning(L/D/M).  I rapporten finns det tre områden som ingår i byn Rengsjö som är utredda med ammoniummetoden. I ett testområde blev resultatet inte som önskat men lärorikt för personalen. Ett område gav resultat som visar på god kvalitet av nätet med en jämförelse av torr- och regnväder. Samt ett område där ett troligt inläckage upptäckts som kommer utredas vidare under sommaren. Detta fynd kan ge stora mängder tillskottsvatten, vilket uppfyller delar av de mål som formulerats i rapporten, dvs. att hitta inläckage för att planera vidare utredning. Tillsammans med resultaten för varje område finns en omfattande diskussion där alla aspekter som påverkar de uppmätta analysvärdena tas upp.  Som slutsats konstateras ammoniummetoden som mycket framgångsrik i syfte för Helsinge Vatten att systematiskt kunna kartlägga och utreda sina spillvattennät. Det är en kostnadseffektiv och inte så resurskrävande metod som företaget själv kan använda på en lagom nivå. / This study aims to locate the intrusion of excess water in the sewage networks, analyzing the concentration of ammonium in the flow that is obtained from the wells in the network. The foundation for the work is the author’s previous attempts to investigate stormwater at the VA-company Helsinge Vatten AB. The analysis is carried out by using a portable spectrophotometer with such reagents that can measure ammonium concentration in just 15 minutes. This gives an indication of how diluted effluent is. If  it is diluted by excess water the analysis shows a low value which is indicating intrusion of possibly surface water, groundwater or drinking water. This method is developed by Norrköping vatten och avfall, who have been a major reference of this report, with their study “Minskning av in- och utläckage genom aktiv läcksökning”(Uusijärvi, 2013).  Results from the ammonium analyses have been presented with associated charts. Because the sewage networks often are associated with pumping stations and wastewater treatment plants, which effect the electricity consumption, the electricity consumption has been documented for the pump stations in the area of study. The electricity consumption increases when the pumps are working. A analysis has been made by comparing the electricity consumption and the precipitation to see if the sewage network is influenced by precipitation.  In order to obtain an estimated amount of excess water intrusion, a calculation have been made by using a template produced by Norrköping Vatten och Avfall. In the calculation, values indicating water intrusion along with the number of subscribers, management and those who discharge most wastewater have been used. Together it gives a result of estimated intrusion in liters per day and meter network (L/D/M).  In the report, three areas located in the village Rengsjö have been investigated by using this method. The first area where the outcome was not as desired, but very instructive for the staff. The second area gave results that show the good quality of the net with a comparison of dry and wet weather. And also an area where a likely intrusion is detected and will be investigated further during the summer. This finding can indicate large amounts of stormwater. Those findings compiles with parts of the objectives formulated in the report, to find the intrusion and to plan for further investigation. Together with the results for each area, include an extensive discussion in which all aspects that influence the measured analyses have been taken up.  The report shows that the ammonium method  has been proved to be successful in identifying excess water intrusion in Helsinge Vatten’s sewage networks. This method does not rely on many resources, and therefore it is suitable for companies that wish investigate excess water instruction in a cost-effective way.

This work describes the transportation of excess sports equipment by air travel in particular with regard to the liability of air carriers in case of destruction, loss, damage or delay. Increased attention is paid to transportation to specific surf destinations, e.g. Canary Islands and island of Bali in Indonesia. The aim is to confirm or refute the unsatisfactory situation in the field of transportation of excess sports equipment by air travel, own survey was carried out for this purpose.

This research primarily addresses mortality patterns and trends by main causes of death in the post-communist countries of Central Asia, Central Europe and the Baltic region together with low mortality populations such as those of France, Spain and the USA. The aim of this study is to analyze the changes in the mortality levels and its structure by the main causes of death by sex and age, and confronted with low mortality populations between the period of 1985 and 2005, respectively. The first (and main) part of the work therefore focuses on cause-specific mortality levels and its relative structure by main causes of death in the selected countries. Moreover, the different patterns of excess male mortality were also observed. The second part is concentrated at the age-standardized mortality levels by main causes of death. The research identified several important issues encasing the field of mortality, especially in the cause-specific mortality situation in Central Asian republics.