Human Rights and the War on Terror: Uzbekistan at the Crossroads

Uzbekistan is at the crossroads of the Central Asian region. Because of its strategic location and natural resources, Uzbekistan is becoming an interest to many different states, including the United States. However, many states that are interested in Uzbekistan are cautious about developing relations due to civil and governmental unrest

Human Rights and the War on Terror: Human Rights Challenges in Georgia

Since the Rose Revolution of 2003, human rights problems in Georgia have been improving. Economically and socially, Georgia has been reaching milestones as it continues to improve different facets of the state. In contrast to past research, current writing on Georgia has become increasingly more positive. Many pieces written on Georgia tell of a growing and thriving country that has gone to great lengths to strengthen national pride and to gain positive global recognition

Effects of single-particle potentials on the level density parameter

The new definition of the energy dependence for the level density parameter including collective effects depends strongly on the semi-classical approach. For this method, defining an accurate single-particle potential is of great importance. The effect of the single-particle potential terms, which are central, spin-orbit, harmonic oscillator, Woods-Saxon and Coulomb potential, both for spherical and deformed cases, on the level density parameter was investigated by examining the local success of the global parameterizations of eight different combinations of these terms. Among these combinations, the sum of the central, spin-orbit, harmonic oscillator and Coulomb potentials, gives the most accurate predictions compared with experimental data. The local selections of the global parameterizations show that the single-particle models, which are based on Woods-Saxon potential as the main term, are more suitable candidates than the models based on harmonic oscillator potential to extrapolate away far from stability. Also it can be concluded that the contribution of the Coulomb interaction, both around the closed and open shells is not neglectable.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in European Physical Journal A (revised version matching the accepted one

Human Rights and the War on Terror: Chechnya: Human Rights Issues

Chechnya is a country plagued by terrorism and human rights abuses. A primary source of these issues is the unsettled situation between local insurgents and the Russian military. This conflict, increasing in magnitude over time, makes it incredibly difficult to negotiate the terms of Chechnya’s independence perpetuating the crisis. Rising violence fuels Russia’s frustration in addressing the conflict with Chechen groups. Russia has and continues to employ various tactics to minimize the violence, but such tactics have all so far been unsuccessful

Contact Urticaria

The term “contact urticaria” was first used by Fisher in 1973 as a pruritic wheal and flare reaction appearing within minutes after the contact of the skin with the substance causing the reaction. The incidence is not clearly known due to misdiagnosis. The causative agents can be plants, food substances, drugs, cosmetic products, chemicals and animal products. Contact urticaria is classified according to the underlying mechanism as non-immunologic (irritant), immunologic (allergic) and mixed (undetermined). It is usually local but can rarely cause systemic symptoms and sometimes result in anaphylaxis. Diagnostic tests include the prick test, open test and RAST test. The main treatment step is avoiding the causative agent

Urticarial Syndromes

Urticaria is a common dermatological condition that can occur in acute and chronic forms. Common urticaria is generally easy to diagnose; however, urticarial syndromes should be considered in cases where lesions persist for greater than 24–36 h, the location of lesions has bilateral symmetry, urticarial lesions are accompanied by additional elementary lesions, and/or the patient presents with additional systemic symptoms. Additionally, urticarial syndromes should be considered for patients with typical urticarial lesions that do not respond to systemic antihistamine treatment. Hyperpigmentation or bruising can be observed following resolution of urticarial syndromes. Many cutaneous and systemic diseases can cause urticarial syndromes. Systemic causes of urticarial syndromes can affect multiple organ systems and may be accompanied by systemic symptoms such as fever, asthenia, and arthralgia. Clinicopathologic correlation is essential for the accurate diagnosis of urticarial syndromes. In this chapter, cutaneous and systemic etiologies of urticarial syndromes are reviewed

A quantitative investigation of students’ attitudes towards electronic book technology

The purpose of this study is to analyze the factors that have an impact on technology adoption for e-books utilizing the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Multiple Regression Analysis methods. Findings indicate that perceived usefulness and ease of use are the most significant determinants in using e-books. Of key significance is that AHP results show that consumers make pairwise comparisons, adding environmental concerns to the selection process. Recognizing the importance of all these factors is valuable to e-book developers and marketers in presenting products that meet all consumer choice criteria. AHP provides researchers with a more thorough decision making analysis

Detection of gamma irradiated spices with OSL method and its reliability

Irradiation has been accepted as an effective food safety method for various foods over 50 years. Gamma rays from radioactive isotopes of Cobalt 60 or Cesium 137 are used for food irradiation applications. The main concern about food irradiation is the detection of these irradiated foods and also loss of detection of irradiation through the storage period. Photo Stimulated Luminescence (PSL) is one of the physical techniques that can be used for irradiation detection. The aim of this study is to analyze the behavior of PSL signals of irradiated spices with respect to storage period, storage temperature, origin and type of samples