111 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
Transfer of technology to developing countries. "A methodology to quantify and predict temporal rates of technology transfer from advanced to developing countries".
The transfer of technology to developing countries constitutes
one of the major debates in the literature on development
economics. The present empirical investigation is intended to
" contribute to the large existing literature on technological
transfer. Its major contribution lies in demonstrating rigorously
that the integration of foreign technologies is greatly affected
by the socio-economic conditions of the recipient countries.
The present study attempts to identify the main socioeconomic
characteristics involved in assimilating transferred
technlogy. It first provides a quantifiable measure of the rate
of technological absorption. Then, in presenting the selection
of indicators, the general procedures followed in choosing the
sample of countries are summarized and the principles guiding the
choice of variables are examined. The model is based on multiple
regression analysis, which is discussed in some detail. Another
statistical method is used to explore the interdependence of the
economic and social indicators, which provides more exact knowledge
about their various interactions and lays the groundwork
for the problem at hand.
Three main indicators are identified that explain a significant-.
sixty one percent of the total variance of the dependent
variable. These main indicators are the rate of education, trade
policies and the availability of certain consumer products. It
is found that these variables express different and important
dimensions of the third world economy. In general, the results
reveal that the rate of technology integration varies greatly
with the level of socio economic development. The findings of the
investigation are analysed using new and efficient methods of
diagnostic techniques, and are also seen within their theoretical
perspectives'.
The analysis of results is concluded with a discussion of
intangible factors that cannot as yet be quantified; factors such
as political and managerial quality and yet can be expected to
have significant effects on the rate of technological integration.Ministry of Hydraulics in Algeri
Recommended from our members
An evaluation of financial performance of companies. The financial performance of companies is investigated using multiple discriminant analysis together with methods for the identification of potential high performance companies.
The objective of this study is to establish whether companies
that utilise their resources more efficiently present specific
characteristics in their financial profile, and whether on the basis
of these characteristics a classification model can be constructed
that includes, alongside resource utilisation measures, predictors
related to other financial dimensions calculated from published
information.
The- research proceeds by examining the factors influencing
companies' performance, and the reliabilty of published accounts.
Discriminant analysis is chosen as the most appropriate technique of
analysis. Its applications in the field of financial analysis are
discussed -and an examination of the discriminant analysis technique
is undertaken.
For reasons of comparability and access to a large quantity of
information, the analytical part of the study is based on data
extracted from a computer readable tape provided by Extel
Statistical Services Ltd. It starts by describing the financial
variables to be used later on in the study, and proposing a
classification framework that would be of assistance in identifying
the financial dimensions of importance in relation to the problem
under investigation. A discriminant model that correctly classifies
85 per cent of the companies is then constructed. It includes,
besides measures of resources utilisation, measures of financial
levarage, working capital management, cash position and stability of
past performance. The-part of the analysis on the identification of
potential well performing companies indicates that, although
specific characteristics can be noticed up to five year before, it
is only possible to construct a classification model with sufficient
accuracy one year before a high level of performance is actually
reached. Finally,
an index of financial performance based on normal
approximations of the z-score distributions from the model used to
identify well performing companies is suggested and an assessment of
the structural change experienced by companies rising from a less
well to a well performaing status is presented.Algerian Ministere de l'Hydrauliqu
Construction and optimization of novel recombinant Adeno-Associated Virus rAAV2/5 for targeting microglia to regulate immune responses during neuroinflammation
Activated microglia promote central nervous system (CNS) inflammation through antigen presentation and secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Although this activation is necessary to protect the brain during infection, aberrant release of pro-inflammatory and/or cytotoxic factors such as tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, nitric oxide and reactive oxygen substances may lead to neuronal damage and degeneration.
Targeting microglia during neuroinflammation to regulate the expression of cytokines without affecting other cell types in the CNS is challenging since no specific microglial markers have yet been established that distinguish microglia from infiltrating, peripheral myeloid cells. Therefore, we propose that a viral-based gene delivery system might be a better strategy to regulate gene expression in microglia. Using the recombinant Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector pseudotype 2/5, which preferentially infects microglia (, we constructed a plasmid backbone which contains GFP under the control of the F4/80 promoter, a macrophage-specific marker. In order to demonstrate the specificity of this promoter for macrophages, we transfected human kidney cells HEK 293 cells, mouse leukemic macrophages RAW 264.7 cells, human hepatocytes cell line (HepG2) and human ovarian carcinoma cell line (1A9) with the AAV-F4/80-eGFP construct or the control plasmid AAV-CAG-eGFP. Our results indicate that the rAAV-F4/80-GFP construct is selective for macrophages.
To begin to assess the usefulness of this system to alter microglia function, we have cloned the Membrane Associated Ring-CH protein (MARCHI) into the rAAV-F4/80-eGFP vector that has been shown earlier to regulate antigen presentation by inducing the intracellular sequestration of MHC class II. We were able to confirm this finding by transfecting interferon gamma stimulated macrophages cell line RAW 264.7 cells via our constructed AAV-F4/80-MARCHI-eGFP vector and demonstrate the ability of our recombinant AAV vector that is driven by specific promoter to deliver and express MARCHI to induce MHC class II sequestration. Together this work will lead to the development of tools that will allow us to dissect the pathways by which microglia promote neuroinflammation
The arabic version of the Personality Inventory for the DSM-5 (PID-5) in a clinical sample of United Arab Emirates (UAE) nationals
Objectives: We aimed to test the potential of the Arabic version of the PID-5 to distinguish between clinical and non-clinical participants, as well as to examine its convergent validity and factor structure in an Emirati clinical sample. Methods: The Arabic version of the PID-5 was administered to a clinical sample comprised of 156 participants (Mage = 31.38, SD = 8.99, 37.8% male, 62.2% female) and a community sample also comprised of 156 participants (Mage = 31.43, SD = 9.52, 37.2% male, 62.8% female). We addressed the descriptive measures, internal consistency, mean rank scores differences, convergent validity with SCL-90-R, and PID-5's factor structure. Results: As expected, the clinical sample presented statistically significantly higher scores than the non-clinical sample, with medium to high effect sizes. In addition, all the PID-5 domains showed positive correlations with most of the symptomatic constellations of the SCL-90-R as well as the PID-5 facets with all their SCL-90-R counterparts. However, our findings did not entirely replicate the PID-5 original 5-factor structure, as only a 4-factor solution was retained. Conclusions: Future studies with the Arabic PID-5 in clinical samples are needed to understand its relevance and clinical utility in Arabic countries.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
The Arabic Version of the Personality Inventory for the DSM-5 (PID-5) in a Clinical Sample of United Arab Emirates (UAE) Nationals
Objectives: We aimed to test the potential of the Arabic version of the PID-5 to distinguish between clinical and non-clinical participants, as well as to examine its convergent validity and factor structure in an Emirati clinical sample. Methods: The Arabic version of the PID-5 was administered to a clinical sample comprised of 156 participants (Mage = 31.38, SD = 8.99, 37.8% male, 62.2% female) and a community sample also comprised of 156 participants (Mage = 31.43, SD = 9.52, 37.2% male, 62.8% female). We addressed the descriptive measures, internal consistency, mean rank scores differences, convergent validity with SCL-90-R, and PID-5\u27s factor structure. Results: As expected, the clinical sample presented statistically significantly higher scores than the non-clinical sample, with medium to high effect sizes. In addition, all the PID-5 domains showed positive correlations with most of the symptomatic constellations of the SCL-90-R as well as the PID-5 facets with all their SCL-90-R counterparts. However, our findings did not entirely replicate the PID-5 original 5-factor structure, as only a 4-factor solution was retained. Conclusions: Future studies with the Arabic PID-5 in clinical samples are needed to understand its relevance and clinical utility in Arabic countries
Injury to the tunica media initiates atherogenesis in the presence of hyperlipidemia
Background and aimsFatty streaks initiating the formation of atheromatous plaque appear in the tunica intima. The tunica media is not known to be a nidus for lipid accumulation initiating atherogenesis. We assessed changes to the tunica media in response to a micro-injury produced in the pig aorta. In addition, we assessed human carotid endarterectomy plaques for indication of atheroma initiation in the tunica media.MethodsThree healthy landrace female pigs underwent laparotomy to inject autologous blood and create micro-hematomas at 6 sites within the tunica media of the infrarenal abdominal aorta. These pigs were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for 4–12 weeks. Post-mortem aortas from all pigs, including a control group of healthy pigs, were serially stained to detect lipid deposits, vasa vasora (VV), immune cell infiltration and inflammatory markers, as well as changes to the vascular smooth muscle cell (vSMC) compartment. Moreover, 25 human carotid endarterectomy (CEA) specimens were evaluated for their lipid composition in the tunica media and intima.ResultsHigh lipid clusters, VV density, and immune cell infiltrates were consistently observed at 5 out of 6 injection sites under prolonged hyperlipidemia. The hyperlipidemic diet also affected the vSMC compartment in the tunica media adjacent to the tunica adventitia, which correlated with VV invasion and immune cell infiltration. Analysis of human carotid specimens post-CEA indicated that 32% of patients had significantly greater atheroma in the tunica media than in the arterial intima.ConclusionThe arterial intima is not the only site for atherosclerosis initiation. We show that injury to the media can trigger atherogenesis
Transfer of technology to developing countries
SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:D52285/84 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo
An evaluation of financial performance of companies
SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:D52284/84 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo
- …