Chinese Market Access Barriers of U.S Oilseeds and Grains

China was admitted into the WTO in December 2001 and this raised the hopes of the US that China will open up to agricultural trade with the US. However, this potential has not been realized. The goal of this study is to determine the impacts of trade impediments and barriers of the market access of US oilseeds and grains in China. A market access variable that was obtained by dividing the total value of U.S soybean and corn exports to China by U.S agricultural G.D.P was regressed on China’s per capita income, exchange rate of the yuan to the dollar, arable land to labor ratio in the U.S and a dummy variable representing China’s WTO accession. The result found per capita income to have a positive impact on market access of U.S oilseeds and grains in China. Exchange rate of the yuan to the dollar was found to be significant and has a negative impact on market access. However, China’s WTO accession and the arable land to labor ratio in the U.S did not have any significance on the market access of U.S oilseeds and grains.Market Access, Market Access Barriers, U.S Oil seeds and Grains, Import, International Development, International Relations/Trade,

Chinese Market Access Barriers Of U.S. Oilseeds And Grains

The goal of the present study is to determine the impacts of trade impediments and barriers of the Chinese market access of U.S oilseeds and grains. In order to achieve this goal the study examined the barriers to market access of U.S oilseeds and grains in China. It also econometrically determined the impacts of these barriers on the U.S

Organizational Architecture, Resilience, and Cyberattacks

This study develops a unique model of organizational resilience architecture with an emphasis on the ways in which organizations respond to cyber-attacks. The model elucidates the dynamics and approaches through which organizations mobilize and utilize expertise and resources to combat the effects of cyber-attackson normal business operations. Drawing on recent cases of cyber-attacks against organizations, the study identifies a host of strategic and tactical responses victims usedto aid recoveryand return to daily activities. The responses are grouped into three stages to demonstrate the steps that organizations can take to enhance their resilience: Stage 1 focuses on proactive environmental scanning and locating potential threatsand attacks, Stage 2 emphasizes neutralizing threats and attacks,and Stage 3 focuses on re-designing, upgrading and updating human, technological and financial resources. On this basis, the study sheds light on levels of organizational resilience and strategies for organizational design in withstanding cyber-attacks and security breaches. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed

Analysis of Changes in Hydration Products During Solidification/Stabilization Process of Heavy Metals in the Presence of Magnesium Potassium Phosphate Cement

Abstract To study the changes in hydration products over time during the solidification/stabilization process of magnesium potassium phosphate cementing material (MKPC) and to reveal the solidification mechanism of heavy metal elements in MKPC, methods, such as scanning electron microscope-energy spectrum (SEM-EDS), X ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) etc., were used to analyze the composition and microstructure of MKPC solidified body products with different production time, which are further adulterated with heavy metals, such as Zn, Cu, Ni, Cd and Cr, as well as changes in phases of hydration products. The results showed that the preliminary, intermediate and the final hydration products were MgHPO 4 ×7H 2 O, Mg 2 KH(PO 4 ) 2 ×15H 2 O and MgKPO 4 ×6H 2 O(MKP), respectively on day 7, day 15, day 30, day 45 and day 60 after the curing of the solidified body, which was adulterated with heavy metals. Based on the analysis of the result of Cu 2+ solidification test through FTIR, Mg 2+ was replaced by Cu 2+ in MKPC hydration products to generate CuKPO 4 , and the structure of the original hydration products did not have a crystal lattice change. The scanning electron microscope image (SEM) showed that cracks and harmful voids in the MKPC solidified body decreased gradually during the curing period between day 7 and day 60, and the effect of heavy metal solidification was strengthened. Based on energy spectrum analysis, heavy metal ions existing in the hydration products and MKPC could be used to solidify heavy metals. It was thus concluded that MKPC could solidify heavy metals, primarily due to the fact that heavy metals are capable of replacing Mg 2+ . Also, they participate in a variety of chemical reactions to generate heavy metal phosphate, which could react with heavy metal ions and precipitate them. Such sediments cement and the cemented body can seal partial heavy metal ions, and the combined actions could further solidify and stabilize heavy metals

In direct breach of managerial edicts: A practice approach to creative deviance in professional service firms

Drawing on practice as a meta-theoretical lens, we explore creative deviance (CD): wilful violation of managerial orders by employee(s) to pursue creative ideas. Data for our inquiry comes from in-depth interviews with middle managers and employees in two professional service firms (PSFs). We argue that two distinct organising processes are necessary for the emergence of CD in practice: organising configuration and formalisation of R&D processes. We develop these dimensions to produce a typology of interrelated ideal types of outcomes when employees are explicitly instructed to stop pursuing an idea. We found three salient organising practices (technical concerns for efficiency and metrics, suppression of metistic knowledge and disjointed managerial responses to violations of sanctioned organising procedures), which may operate in combination or serially, to foster CD in practice. We conclude with some key implications for the theory and practice of creativity in PSFs. © 2018 RADMA and John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Systematic review of studies generating individual participant data on the efficacy of drugs for treating soil-transmitted helminthiases and the case for data-sharing

Preventive chemotherapy and transmission control (PCT) by mass drug administration is the cornerstone of the World Health Organization (WHO)’s policy to control soil-transmitted helminthiases (STHs) caused by Ascaris lumbricoides (roundworm), Trichuris trichiura (whipworm) and hookworm species (Necator americanus and Ancylostama duodenale) which affect over 1 billion people globally. Despite consensus that drug efficacies should be monitored for signs of decline that could jeopardise the effectiveness of PCT, systematic monitoring and evaluation is seldom implemented. Drug trials mostly report aggregate efficacies in groups of participants, but heterogeneities in design complicate classical meta-analyses of these data. Individual participant data (IPD) permit more detailed analysis of drug efficacies, offering increased sensitivity to identify atypical responses potentially caused by emerging drug resistance

New approaches to measuring anthelminthic drug efficacy: parasitological responses of childhood schistosome infections to treatment with praziquantel

By 2020, the global health community aims to control and eliminate human helminthiases, including schistosomiasis in selected African countries, principally by preventive chemotherapy (PCT) through mass drug administration (MDA) of anthelminthics. Quantitative monitoring of anthelminthic responses is crucial for promptly detecting changes in efficacy, potentially indicative of emerging drug resistance. Statistical models offer a powerful means to delineate and compare efficacy among individuals, among groups of individuals and among populations.; We illustrate a variety of statistical frameworks that offer different levels of inference by analysing data from nine previous studies on egg counts collected from African children before and after administration of praziquantel.; We quantify responses to praziquantel as egg reduction rates (ERRs), using different frameworks to estimate ERRs among population strata, as average responses, and within strata, as individual responses. We compare our model-based average ERRs to corresponding model-free estimates, using as reference the World Health Organization (WHO) 90 % threshold of optimal efficacy. We estimate distributions of individual responses and summarize the variation among these responses as the fraction of ERRs falling below the WHO threshold.; Generic models for evaluating responses to anthelminthics deepen our understanding of variation among populations, sub-populations and individuals. We discuss the future application of statistical modelling approaches for monitoring and evaluation of PCT programmes targeting human helminthiases in the context of the WHO 2020 control and elimination goals

EVALITA Evaluation of NLP and Speech Tools for Italian - December 17th, 2020

Welcome to EVALITA 2020! EVALITA is the evaluation campaign of Natural Language Processing and Speech Tools for Italian. EVALITA is an initiative of the Italian Association for Computational Linguistics (AILC, http://www.ai-lc.it) and it is endorsed by the Italian Association for Artificial Intelligence (AIxIA, http://www.aixia.it) and the Italian Association for Speech Sciences (AISV, http://www.aisv.it)

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat