New circumstellar dust component in oxygen rich environments

Spectra of oxygen rich stars in the IRAS low-resolution spectra (LRS) catalog were found to display two distinct classes of curcumstellar excess emission. The first group has the normal silicate with emission peaking at 10 and 18 microns. The second group has an emission spectrum peaking at 13 and 20 microns. There are also spectra with a mixture of the above types. Generally the continuum temperature associated with the second group is much warmer than that associated with the normal silicate group. Laboratory spectra are compared with the new excess which associates the emission with a class of materials represented by hydrated aluminates and silicates. Possible interpretations include equilibrium condensation sequences and peculiar metal abundance ratios

Carbon stars with alpha-C:H emission

Many carbon stars in the IRS low resolution spectra (LRS) catalog were found which display emission spectra that compare favorable with the absorption spectrum of alpha-C:H. These stars have largely been classified as 4X in the LRS which has led to their interpretation by others in terms of displaying a mixture of the UIRF's 8.6 micron band and SiC at 11.5 microns. It was also found that many of these stars have a spectral upturn at 20+ microns which resembles the MgS band seen in carbon stars and planetary nebulae. It was concluded that this group of carbon stars will evolve into planetary nebulae like NGC 7027 and IC 418. In the presence of hard ultraviolet radiation the UIRF's will light up and be displayed as narrow emission bands on top of the broad alpha-C:H emission bands

An Agent-Based Simulation of Rental Housing Markets

We simulate a closed rental housing market with search and matching frictions, in which both landlord and tenant agents are imperfectly informed. Homogeneous landlords set rents to maximise revenue, using information on the market to estimate the relationship between posted rent and time-on-the-market (TOM). Tenants, heterogeneous in income, engage in undirected search accepting residences based on their idiosyncratic tastes for housing and a disagreement point derived from information on the distribution of offers. The steady state to which the simulation evolves shows price dispersion, nonzero search times and vacancies.The main results concern the effects of increasing information on either side of the market. When tenants see a greater percentage of the distribution of offers, tenants learn to refuse high rents and so the population rises and tenants' utilities rise as does overall welfare. Conversely, when landlords have less information, their utility can rise as over estimations in best posting rent move the market to higher rents.Real estate; Rental markets; Search; Information; Simulation; Multi-agent systems

Organic Food and Farming in Kenya

The organic farm sector itself is basically organized around a minor number of large farm enterprises, or various supply organizations, based on purely commercial, community, faith or simply farmer cooperation involved in packaging, domestic or export sales. 35 farm enterprises covered the organic production in Kenya’s eight provinces. More than half are concentrated in the Central Province, where also most of the outgrowers are connected in relation to the labour intensive crop production within horticulture. A total of 1’811 farm outgrowers (smallholders of various sizes) were included to secure the ‘critical mass of supply’ – either for export or national market chains. The total organic area is distinguished between what is agricultural land and what is considered wild and extensive production. The agricultural land consisted of 4’535 hectares, which together with the area for wild and extensive collection reaching 73’851 hectares amounted to a total 78’438 hectares certified organic. The Central province dominates within horticulture, fruits, nuts, coffee and essential oils – five out of the six major organic product categories Kenya produces and exports. Tea is the sixth product, which is produced in the Rift Valley province around the town Kericho

Comparison of Family 9 Cellulases from Mesophilic and Thermophilic Bacteria

Cellulases containing a family 9 catalytic domain and a family 3c cellulose binding module (CBM3c) are important components of bacterial cellulolytic systems. We measured the temperature dependence of the activities of three homologs: Clostridium cellulolyticum Cel9G, Thermobifida fusca Cel9A, and C. thermocellum Cel9I. To directly compare their catalytic activities, we constructed six new versions of the enzymes in which the three GH9-CBM3c domains were fused to a dockerin both with and without a T. fusca fibronectin type 3 homology module (Fn3). We studied the activities of these enzymes on crystalline cellulose alone and in complex with a miniscaffoldin containing a cohesin and a CBM3a. The presence of Fn3 had no measurable effect on thermostability or cellulase activity. The GH9-CBM3c domains of Cel9A and Cel9I, however, were more active than the wild type when fused to a dockerin complexed to scaffoldin. The three cellulases in complex have similar activities on crystalline cellulose up to 60°C, but C. thermocellum Cel9I, the most thermostable of the three, remains highly active up to 80°C, where its activity is 1.9 times higher than at 60°C. We also compared the temperature-dependent activities of different versions of Cel9I (wild type or in complex with a miniscaffoldin) and found that the thermostable CBM is necessary for activity on crystalline cellulose at high temperatures. These results illustrate the significant benefits of working with thermostable enzymes at high temperatures, as well as the importance of retaining the stability of all modules involved in cellulose degradation

How much lack of mastery is there in a better-than-average high school in the fundamental skills of arithmetic, and what is the nature of the deficiencies?

Thesis (Ed. M.)--Boston Universit

Social and community infrastructure: Lessons from Co Durham

The example of Sacriston, a former mining village, shows the power of community organisation, but also its limits. Some problems can only be solved by political interventions, but this must work in collaboration with the community, and in harmony with the social infrastructure people have built for themselves. The Labour Party emerged from a labour movement that was active on many fronts: fighting for workers’ rights and decent pay, but also providing support for the elderly, housing, cooperative food shops, and many other social and community benefits. As John Tomaney notes elsewhere in this issue, it was well over 100 years ago that the Durham Miners’ Association established the Durham Aged Mineworkers’ Homes Association, for miners and their families who were denied colliery housing when their employment ended. By the mid-twentieth century, 29 per cent of the total population of the Northern Counties was in a cooperative society. Despite the swing to Morrisonian centralisation in the post-war period, a rich array of community organisations and community infrastructure still exists across Britain. Central and local government should work in collaboration with these organisations, initiatives and communities, drawing on their situated knowledge. In this article we report on a pilot research project undertaken by researchers at UCL in conjunction with the Durham Miners’ Association, exploring social infrastructure in the former mining village of Sacriston, four miles north west of Durham City, with a population of c. 6,000. It shows that despite rapid social and economic changes following colliery closure, experienced as decline and loss by many in the village, the community has displayed resilience and, despite lasting austerity and many obstacles, impressive efforts to maintain and build social infrastructure

Inadequate Insurance Claims Reserving and Financial Distress in Non-Life Insurance Companies in Kenya: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Financial distress (FD) is a common occurrence in Kenyan commercial sector and is not lacking in non-life insurance companies in Kenya. Several insurance companies have been placed under statutory management for failure to pay genuine claims and other creditors. Insurance companies provide unique financial services, not only to individuals but also to the growth and development of the economy; giving employment to workers and dividends to investors. Financial distress places insurable properties and businesses at risk thus reducing the general public confidence in the insurance sector. For this paper, the goal was to investigate whether inadequate reserving of claims (IRC) causes financial distress in non-life insurance companies in Kenya. In accounting for insurance claims reserves, increases in reserves mean a reduction of profitability of an insurer, whereas a decrease in reserves increases the profitability resulting in higher taxation and payment of dividends, which drains the insurer’s cash flow, thus causing financial distress. Out of 37 non-life insurance companies, registered in 2018 in Kenya, four insurers were subjected to Pilot Testing and another four companies declined to participate in the survey. Secondary data from Insurance Regulatory Authority website was retrieved for calculations of Z-scores as per Altman (1993), amended formula. Primary data was also collected through a questionnaire. A partial least squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed to assess the mediating effect of Insurance Regulatory Association (IRA) supervision on the association between inadequate reserving of claims and financial distress. Goodness-of-fit (GoF) indices were used to assess the model’s goodness of fit. By using the discriminative Z-score formula, 52% of the institutions considered in 2018 were financially distressed, compared to 48% in 2017. However, when considering the average of ten years (2009 to 2018), financially distressed..............Keywords: Non-life  insurance  companies,  Policyholders,  Insurance  Regulatory  Authority,  Claims Reserving, Z-Scores, Structural Equation Modelling DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/12-12-06 Publication date:June 30th 2021

Addressing the theory practice gap in nurse education: evaluating teaching through audit against NMC standards and final management placement

IntroductionThis paper outlines an innovative approach to auditing and evaluating the content of a management and leadership module for undergraduate nursing students after their final management clinical placement. Normally evaluations of teaching in a module take place at the end of a teaching module and therefore do not properly reflect the value of the teaching in relation to practical clinical experience. AimThis audit and evaluation sought to explore both the practical value of the teaching and learning, and also the degree to which it the teaching reflected against the NMC Standards of Education and Learning (2010 domain 3).MethodsHaving piloted the evaluative tool with an earlier cohort of nursing students, this evaluation explored both a quantitative assessment employing a Personal Response System (n =172), together with a qualitative dimension (n=116), thus delivering paper-based comments and reflections from students on the value and practicality of the module teaching theory to their final clinical management experience. The quantitative audit data were analysed for frequencies and cross tabulation and the qualitative audit data were thematically analysed.ResultsResults suggest a significant proportion of the students, appreciated the quality of the standard of teaching, but more importantly, ‘valued or highly valued’ the teaching and learning in relation to how it helped to significantly inform their management placement experience. A smaller proportion of the students underlined limitations and areas in which further improvement can be made in teaching and learning to the module.ConclusionSignificantly positive evaluation by the students of the practical value of teaching and learning, to the theoretical management module. This has proved a useful auditing approach in assessing the theoretical teaching to student’s Level 3 clinical experience, and facilitated significant recommendations as far as developing the teaching and learning to better reflect the practice needs of nursing students<br/