Saving the Sustainability of the European Union, Fighting Terrorism

Albeit the absence of an agreement on the definition, terrorism as studied in this literature has a complex nature and diverse factors that are involved. Furthermore, dealing with terrorism has become the centrepiece of foreign policies of many countries worldwide. The European Union has a long history of fighting terrorism. Yet, the current terrorism threats have shaken the bases of the Union. According to the authors’ assessment and evaluation, terrorism in Europe, in the aftermath of the Second World War, occurs due to the unsustainable foreign policies of the EU member states. To save the European Union and to fight terrorism, the authors suggest a framework based on four complementary headlines: i) Education, ii) Social justice and human rights, iii) Law enforcement, and iv) Sustainable common defence policy. A prerequisite to the success of this framework is a revision of the Europe-transatlantic relations to address the imbalance in the EU relations with USA

Impact of remittances on economic growth in developing countries: The role of openness

The paper examines the empirical relationship between remittances and economic growth for a sample of 62 developing countries over the time period 1990–2014. Remittances seem to promote growth only in the ‘more open’ countries. That is because remittances are in themselves not sufficient for growth. The extent of the benefit depends on domestic institutions and macroeconomic environment in the receiving country. Unlike the ‘less open’ countries, ‘more open’ countries have better institutions and better financial markets to take advantage of the remittances income and channelise them into profitable investments which, in turn, accelerates the rate of economic growth in these countries.N/

The division of labour between community medicine distributors influences the reach of mass drug administration: A cross-sectional study in rural Uganda.

BACKGROUND: Despite decades of community-based mass drug administration (MDA) for neglected tropical diseases, it remains an open question as to what constitutes the best combination of community medicine distributors (CMDs) for achieving high (>65%/75%) treatment rates within a village. METHODS: Routine community-based MDA was evaluated in Mayuge District, Uganda. For one month, we tracked 6,148 individuals aged 1+ years in 1,118 households from 28 villages. Praziquantel, albendazole, and ivermectin were distributed to treat Schistosoma mansoni, lymphatic filariasis, and soil-transmitted helminths. The similarity/diversity between CMDs was observed and used to predict the division of labour and overall village treatment rates. The division of labour was calculated by dividing the lowest treatment rate by the highest treatment rate achieved by two CMDs within a village. CMD similarity was measured for 16 characteristics including friendship network overlap, demographic and socioeconomic factors, methods of CMD selection, and years as CMD. Relevant variables for MDA outcomes were selected through least absolute shrinkage and selection operators with leave-one-out cross validation. Final models were run with ordinary least squares regression and robust standard errors. RESULTS: The percentage of individuals treated with at least one drug varied across villages from 2.79-89.74%. The only significant predictor (p-value<0.05) of village treatment rates was the division of labour. The estimated difference between a perfectly equal (a 50-50 split of individuals treated) and unequal (one CMD treating no one) division of labour was 39.69%. A direct tie (close friendship) between CMDs was associated with a nearly twofold more equitable distribution of labour when compared to CMDs without a direct tie. CONCLUSIONS: An equitable distribution of labour between CMDs may be essential for achieving treatment targets of 65%/75% within community-based MDA. To improve the effectiveness of CMDs, national programmes should explore interventions that seek to facilitate communication, friendship, and equal partnership between CMDs.Financial support from the Wellcome Trust grants 083931/Z/07/Z and 100891/Z/13/Z (https://wellcome.ac.uk), the Vice Chancellor’s Fund of the University of Cambridge, the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (https://www.schistosomiasiscontrolinitiative.org), the Isaac Newton Trust grant 15.40v (https://www.newtontrust.cam.ac.uk), and King’s College, Cambridge (http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Differences in human plasma protein interactions between various polymersomes and stealth liposomes as observed by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

A significant factor hindering the clinical translation of polymersomes as vesicular nanocarriers is the limited availability of comparative studies detailing their interaction with blood plasma proteins compared to liposomes. Here, polymersomes are self-assembled via film rehydration, solvent exchange, and polymerization-induced self-assembly using five different block copolymers. The hydrophilic blocks are composed of anti-fouling polymers, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) or poly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline) (PMOXA), and all the data is benchmarked to PEGylated “stealth” liposomes. High colloidal stability in human plasma (HP) is confirmed for all but two tested nanovesicles. In situ fluorescence correlation spectroscopy measurements are then performed after incubating unlabeled nanovesicles with fluorescently labeled HP or the specific labeled plasma proteins, human serum albumin, and clusterin (apolipoprotein J). The binding of HP to PMOXA-polymersomes could explain their relatively short circulation times found previously. In contrast, PEGylated liposomes also interact with HP but accumulate high levels of clusterin, providing them with their known prolonged circulation time. The absence of significant protein binding for most PEG-polymersomes indicates mechanistic differences in protein interactions and associated downstream effects, such as cell uptake and circulation time, compared to PEGylated liposomes. These are key observations for bringing polymersomes closer to clinical translation and highlighting the importance of such comparative studies

The use of hand-held computers (PDAs) to audit and validate eradication of a post-border detection of Khapra Beetle, Trogoderma granarium, in Western Australia

Most of Australia’s agricultural produce is exported. Demonstrating freedom from certain plant and animal pests and diseases is critical to securing and maintaining market access. Surveillance is an important tool in gaining market access and accordingly exporting countries now need to provide accurate, credible evidence to confirm pest freedom status.In the past nearly all field-collected surveillance information was recorded manually to paper reducing the rate of capture, integrity, conformity as well as security of the data. This paper describes the development of pest surveillance data collection software and hardware using PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) to provide auditing, validation, chain of evidence and increase the volume of data collected as well as its integrity through relational databases and seamless data transfer to corporate systems. The system’s first deployment was during a T. granarium eradication. The khapra beetle (Trogoderma granarium) is one of the most serious pests of stored grain and is a regulated quarantine pest in most countries around the world. In April 2007, there was a post-border detection of T. granarium larvae and adults in a Western Australian residence. Immediate and uncompromising action was taken to quarantine the home and fumigate it with methyl-bromide at an internationally established rate known to control T. granarium (AQIS T9056). A two-year T. granarium trapping program was undertaken which used PDA software to provide evidence of complete eradication via 1273 trap inspections. This achievement was supported by GPSlocated traps, digital voice navigation itineraries, digital time and date stamps, field printed barcode labels, site imagery, all in a single hand-held unit. Keywords: T. granarium, Khapra beetle, Eradication, Biosecurity, PDA, Surveillanc

Spectroscopic Methods For Lubricant Quality Control In Engines And Gear Boxes

Lubricants play a vital role in reducing the wear and tear of engine/gear box metal parts. Number of analytical and spectroscopic methods have been used to analyze the quality of the lubricant oil. Moreover some parameters such as Total Acid Number (TAN), viscosity index also have been used to analyze the quality of the oil. Several used wind turbine gear oil samples were analyzed by various spectroscopic methods such as UV-Visible, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and Fluorescence Spectroscopy. Fluorescence method gave promising results among those three spectroscopic methods. In order to study thermal degradation, motor oil samples were subjected to artificial aging in the laboratory conditions by heating them up to different temperatures for different time periods and then subsequently analyzed with fluorescence spectroscopic method. Subsequently two used engine oil samples from a same diesel engine vehicle were analyzed using fluorescence spectroscopic method.  Notable variation in fluorescence emission intensities was observed with oil aging. Intensity of the fluorescence emission signal decrease with oil degradation.  Therefore fluorescence spectroscopic method can be used to predict the reusability of gear oils as well as to identify the oil degradation. This method can be further extended to develop a novel potential sensor to detect the quality of oil in various types of engines. KEYWORDS: Lubricant oil, Oil degradation, Fluorescence spectroscopy, Analytical methods

Essential irrigation and the economics of strawberries in a temperate climate

Strawberries are a high value crop in the UK soft fruit sector, with the majority of production grown at field-scale and under protected (polytunnel) conditions. Despite its importance to the rural economy, there is surprisingly little published scientific evidence on the economics of irrigated strawberry production and the value of water in this horticultural sector. A survey of growers, supplemented by secondary data and industry sources, shows considerable variation in key physical and financial performance indicators, both within and between different strawberry production systems, as well as evidence of good practice. Water application depths ranged widely from 800 to over 2000 m3 ha−1 according to grower and crop variety. Irrigation costs typically range between £1.30 and £2.50 m−3 of water applied, highest where storage reservoirs and public water supplies are used. The average value of irrigation water for strawberry net of costs was about £6 m−3, much higher than for field crops such as potatoes. The importance of a reliable water supply to support irrigated strawberry production is highlighted. Climate change and growing pressures on water resources are likely to force a greater interest in irrigation economics in the soft fruit sector, especially in the face of restrictions on summer abstraction and rising competition and charges for using public water supply

Influence of growing season, nitrogen fertilisation and wheat variety on Fusarium infection and mycotoxin production in wheat kernel

Abstract Fusarium spp. are phytopathogens causing fusarium head blight in wheat. They produce mycotoxins, mainly fumonisins, deoxynivalenol, and zearalenone. The study was conducted during two growing seasons (2020 and 2021) at the experimental field and laboratories of the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (MATE). The aim of the study was to determine the influence of growing season, nitrogen fertilisation, and wheat variety on Fusarium infection and mycotoxin production in wheat kernel. Zearalenone was not detected during the two growing seasons and deoxynivalenol was only detected in 2020. The results indicate that nitrogen fertilisation and wheat variety did not have statistically significant influence on Fusarium infection and mycotoxin production. The growing season had statistically significant influence on Fusarium infection and fumonisins production due to higher rainfall in 2021 compared to 2020 during the flowering period when the wheat spike is the most vulnerable to Fusarium infection