Developing Countries in the International Economic System: Their Problem and Prospects in the Markets for Finance, Commodities, Manufactures and Services

human development, growth, financing development, equity, reform

Higher Education Governance Reforms in Europe and Serbia - Recommendations for the Way Froward

Higher education governance reforms in Europe are gaining increased attention from HE scholars. Past three decades witnessed reforms of higher education governance in almost all countries in Europe. The topics of HE autonomy, funding, and performance are increasingly gaining ground on the policy makers agendas. The governments are trying to find new ways to steer higher education institutions in order to increase their efficiency and effectiveness and create contribution to national economies. The focus of this thesis is on the relationships between the state and higher education institutions, as well as between different bodies inside the higher education institutions themselves. In other words, the research focus is on internal and external governance. Combination of exploratory and descriptive multiple case study was selected as a research strategy for the purpose of this dissertation. Five European countries have been chosen as case studies: Austria, Finland, North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany), the Netherlands and Slovenia. Their experience with governance reforms is then applied in Serbian context in the form of recommendations for Serbian policy makers. Semi structured interviews with HE experts and other stakeholders have been used for data collection, and governance equalizer and multi-faceted model of organizational change for data analysis. This research produced a number of important findings. First, in the case of five European case studies, there were many changes in both external and internal governance. The governments of these countries decided to steer higher education from a distance, granting higher education institutions higher institutional autonomy. At the same time accountability requirements increased in form of performance based budgeting, introduction of external stakeholders to governing bodies of higher education institutions, reporting, quality assurance, and evaluation and accreditation procedures. Also, the governments emphasized greater role of markets in higher education and foster universities to compete for additional funds, students and staff. In terms of internal governance, higher education institutions have been strengthened as organizations. The role of Rectors and Deans increased, while collegial bodies lost their power and now have mainly advisory role. When it comes to Serbian context, many problems have been identified and some solutions for the new higher education reform was suggested. The main recommendations are for the government to increase its interest and role in higher education on one hand, and to integrate public universities on the other. That will open more space for funding reforms, increased autonomy for higher education institutions, institutional management reform and better efficiency and effectiveness

Structure‐Function Relationships of Rhamnolipid and Exopolysacharide Biosurfactants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa as Therapeutic Targets in Cystic Fibrosis Lung Infections

Chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection is the cause of much morbidity and most of the mortality in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. The high prevalence of P. aeruginosa infections in CF is related to the microbe\u27s large genome and mechanisms of adaptation to the CF lung environment, the host immune system and antibiotic resistance. Among a wide range of P. aeruginosa metabolites involved in infection development in CF, the biosurfactant compounds, rhamnolipids (RLs) and exopolysaccharides (EPSs), have important roles in the early stages of P. aeruginosa infection in CF. RLs and EPSs are involved in bacterial adhesion, biofilm formation, antibiotic resistance, and impairment of host immune system pathways, as well as in processes such as biofilm maintenance and the mucoid phenotype of P. aeruginosa, which lead to development of chronic infection. Due to the proposed roles of RLs and EPSs and the importance of prevention and treatment of P. aeruginosa respiratory infections in CF, these compounds are promising targets for patient therapy. In the future, impairment of P. aeruginosa quorum sensing (QS) pathways and modification of host respiratory mucus epithelial membranes should be considered as potential approaches in preventing respiratory infections caused by this microbe in CF patients

Is there a Scandinavian model for MOOCs? Understanding the MOOC phenomenon in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden

publishedVersio

Spectral matrix methods for partitioning power grids: Applications to the Italian and Floridian high-voltage networks

Intentional islanding is used to limit cascading power failures by isolating highly connected "islands" with local generating capacity. To efficiently isolate an island, one should break as few power lines as possible. This is a graph partitioning problem, and here we give preliminary results on islanding of the Italian and Floridian high-voltage grids by spectral matrix methods.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures

Predictors of Clostridioides difficile recurrence across a national cohort of veterans in outpatient, acute, and long-term care settings

Purpose: The greatest challenge in treating Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is disease recurrence, which occurs in about 20% of patients, usually within 30 days of treatment cessation. We sought to identify independent predictors of first recurrence among a national cohort of veterans with CDI. Methods: We conducted a case-control study among acute and long-term care Veterans Affairs (VA) inpatients and outpatients with a first CDI episode (positive stool sample for C. difficile toxin[s] and receipt of at least 2 days of CDI treatment) between 2010 and 2014. Cases experienced first recurrence within 30 days from the end of treatment. Controls were those without first recurrence matched 4:1 to cases on year, facility, and severity. Multivariable conditional logistic regression was used to identify predictors of first recurrence. Results: We identified 32 predictors of first recurrence among 974 cases and 3,896 matched controls. Significant predictors included medication use prior to (probiotics, fluoroquinolones, laxatives, third- or fourth-generation cephalosporins), during (first- or second-generation cephalosporins, penicillin/amoxicillin/ampicillin, third- and fourth-generation cephalosporins), and after CDI treatment (probiotics, any antibiotic, proton pump inhibitors [PPIs], and immunosuppressants). Other predictors included current biliary tract disease, malaise/fatigue, cellulitis/abscess, solid organ cancer, medical history of HIV, multiple myeloma, abdominal pain, and ulcerative colitis. Conclusion: In a large national cohort of outpatient and acute and long-term care inpatients, treatment with certain antibiotics, PPIs, immunosuppressants, and underlying disease were among the most important risk factors for first CDI recurrence

Multiscale characterisation of the mechanical properties of austenitic stainless steel joints

A multiscale investigation was pursued in order to obtain the strain distribution and evolution during tensile testing both at the macro- and micro-scale for a diffusion bonded 316L stainless steel. The samples were designed for the purpose to demonstrate that the bond line properties were equal or better than the parent material in a sample geometry that was extracted from a larger component. The macroscopic stress-strain curves were coupled to the strain distributions using a camera-based 2D – Digital Image Correlation system. Results showed significant amount of plastic deformation predominantly concentrated in shear bands which were extended over a large region, crossing through the joint area. Yet it was not possible to be certain whether the joint has shown significant plastic deformation. In order to obtain the joints’ mechanical response in more detail, in situ micromechanical testing was conducted in the SEM chamber that allowed areas of 1x1 mm2 and 50x50 mm2 to be investigated. The size of the welded region was rather small to be accurately captured from the camera based DIC system. Therefore a microscale investigation was pursued where the samples were tested within an SEM chamber. Low magnification SEM imaging was utilised in order to cover a viewing area of 1 mm×1 mm while high magnification SEM imaging was employed to provide evidence of the occurrence of plastic deformation within the joint, at an area of just 50 μm×50 μm. The strain evolution over the microstructural level, within the joint and at the base material was obtained. The local strains were highly non-homogeneous through the whole test. Final failure occurred approximately 0.2 mm away from the joint. Large local strains were measured within the joint region, while SEM imaging showed that plastic deformation occurs via the formation of strong slip bands, followed by the activation of additional slip systems upon further plastic deformation which end up in additional slip bands to form on the surface. Plastic deformation occurred by slip and twinning mechanisms. Upon necking, significant out of plane deformations and slip deformation mechanisms were observed which suggested that plastic deformation was also happening at the last stages of damage evolution for the specific alloy. This was also evident from the large difference between the 600 MPa UTS stress value and the low stress values before final failure (which in many cases was below 30 MPa)