An Analysis Of Factors Determining Competitiveness: The Case Of The Indonesian Palm Oil Industry

IndonesianKajian ini menganalisis faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi daya saing industri kelapa sawit Indonesia di pasar internasional. Kerangka kajian ini menggabungkan pendekatan teori perdagangan neo-klasik dan manajemen strategis dalam menganalisis daya saing internasional pada tingkat industri. Penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa daya saing global industri kelapa sawit di Indonesia dapat dijelaskan oleh produktifitas tenaga kerja, nilai tukar rupiah, dan rasio konsentrasi empat perusahaan. Campur tangan pemerintah dalam bentuk penentuan harga alokasi dalam negeri juga merupakan faktor yang sangat penting dan berpengaruh negatif pada daya saing global industri kelapa sawit di Indonesia.EnglishThis paper analyses factors that determine the competitiveness of the Indonesian palm oil industry including the effect of government interventions. The conceptual framework used in this study combines neo-classical trade and strategic management approaches for analyzing competitiveness at the industry level. This study shows that the competitiveness of the Indonesian palm oil industry can be explained by its labor productivity, the real exchange rates, and the four-firm concentration ratio. It is shown that government interventions--in the form of domestic allocation prices--have significant and negative effects on the competitiveness of the palm oil industry

An Analysis of Factors Determining Competitiveness: the Case of the Indonesian Palm Oil Industry

IndonesianKajian ini menganalisis faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi daya saing industri kelapa sawit Indonesia di pasar Internasional. Kerangka kajian ini menggabungkan pendekatan teori perdagangan neo-klasik dan manajemen strategis dalam menganalisis daya saing Internasional pada tingkat industri. Penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa daya saing global industri kelapa sawit di Indonesia dapat dijelaskan oleh produktifitas tenaga kerja, nilai tukar rupiah, dan rasio konsentrasi empat Perusahaan. Campur tangan pemerintah dalam bentuk penentuan harga alokasi dalam negeri juga merupakan faktor yang sangat penting dan berpengaruh negatif pada daya saing global industri kelapa sawit di Indonesia.EnglishThis paper analyses factors that determine the competitiveness of the Indonesian palm oil industry including the effect of government interventions. The conceptual framework used in this study combines neo-classical trade and strategic management approaches for analyzing competitiveness at the industry level. This study shows that the competitiveness of the Indonesian palm oil industry can be explained by its labor productivity, the real exchange rates, and the four-firm concentration ratio. It is shown that government interventions--in the form of domestic allocation prices--have significant and negative effects on the competitiveness of the palm oil industry

Flexural Behaviour of Geopolymer Concrete T-Beams Reinforced with GFRP Bars

YesThe flexural performance of geopolymer concrete (GPC) T-beams reinforced longitudinally with GFRP bars under a four-point static bending test was investigated. Six full-scale simply supported T-beams were cast and tested; one control specimen was made with ordinary Portland cement concrete (OPCC), while the other five beams were made of geopolymer concrete. The G-GPC2 was designed to attain the same theoretical moment capacity as the G-OPCC6 control beam. The main parameters investigated were the reinforcement ratio of ρ_f/ρ_b= 0.75, 1.05, 1.12, 1.34 and 1.34 for G-GPC1, G-GPC2, G-GPC3, G-GPC4, and G-GPC5, respectively, and compressive strength of geopolymer concrete. Based on the results of the experiments, the ultimate strain of GPC did not show the same behaviour as that of OPCC, which affects the mode of failure. The beam capacity and deflection were, respectively, overestimated and underestimated using the ACI 440 2R-17 predictive equations

Pesticide free coating for papaya (Carica papaya 'Eksotika II')

Mature green stage (Index 2) papaya (Carica papaya L. ‘Eksotika II’) fruits were treated either with 2.5% calcium chloride infiltration, 0.75% chitosan coating, calcium infiltration at 2.5% then subsequently chitosan coating at 0.75% or with distilled water as the control. The fruits were then stored at 13±1°C for up to five weeks. Calcium infiltration was effective in maintaining the firmness and weight loss of the fruits. Firmness was 2.7 fold higher than the control and water loss was about 3% less. However, the chitosan coating had less effect on maintaining firmness (only 1.7 fold higher firmness) but had more effect in preventing weight loss resulting in 5.6% less weight loss. The chitosan coating treatment markedly slowed the ripening of papaya as shown by their reduced weight loss, delayed changes in their external colour (which is normally closely correlated with the internal colour) and other quality aspects. However, when calcium infiltration was combined with chitosan coating, this treatment further extended the storage life up to five weeks with better retention of fruits firmness and water loss control compared to the single treatments

Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19) Lockdown on Mental Health and Well-Being in the United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates (UAE) has taken unprecedented precautionary measures including complete lockdowns against COVID-19 to control its spread and ensure the well-being of individuals. This study investigated the impact of COVID-19 and societal lockdown measures on the mental health of adults in the UAE. A cross-sectional study was conducted using an English and Arabic online questionnaire between May and June 2020. The psychological impact was assessed by the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), and the social and family support impact was evaluated using questions from the Perceived Support Scale (PSS). A total of 4,426 participants (3,325 females and 1,101 males) completed the questionnaire. The mean IES-R score was 28.0 ± 14.6, reflecting a mild stressful impact with 27.3% reporting severe psychological impact. Over 36% reported increased stress from work, home and financial matters. Also, 43–63% of the participants felt horrified, apprehensive or helpless due to COVID-19. Females, younger participants, part-timers, and college or University graduates were more likely to have a high IES-R score (p \u3c 0.05). The majority of participants reported receiving increased support from family members, paying more attention to their mental health, and spending more time to rest and relax. The results of this study demonstrate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health among the UAE residents and highlight the need to adopt culturally appropriate interventions for the general population and vulnerable groups, such as females and younger adults

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London

Harnessing the potential of ligninolytic enzymes for lignocellulosic biomass pretreatment

Abundant lignocellulosic biomass from various industries provides a great potential feedstock for the production of value-added products such as biofuel, animal feed, and paper pulping. However, low yield of sugar obtained from lignocellulosic hydrolysate is usually due to the presence of lignin that acts as a protective barrier for cellulose and thus restricts the accessibility of the enzyme to work on the cellulosic component. This review focuses on the significance of biological pretreatment specifically using ligninolytic enzymes as an alternative method apart from the conventional physical and chemical pretreatment. Different modes of biological pretreatment are discussed in this paper which is based on (i) fungal pretreatment where fungi mycelia colonise and directly attack the substrate by releasing ligninolytic enzymes and (ii) enzymatic pretreatment using ligninolytic enzymes to counter the drawbacks of fungal pretreatment. This review also discusses the important factors of biological pretreatment using ligninolytic enzymes such as nature of the lignocellulosic biomass, pH, temperature, presence of mediator, oxygen, and surfactant during the biodelignification process

The burden of unintentional drowning: Global, regional and national estimates of mortality from the Global Burden of Disease 2017 Study

__Background:__ Drowning is a leading cause of injury-related mortality globally. Unintentional drowning (International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 10 codes W65-74 and ICD9 E910) is one of the 30 mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive causes of injury-related mortality in the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study. This study's objective is to describe unintentional drowning using GBD estimates from 1990 to 2017. __Methods:__ Unintentional drowning from GBD 2017 was estimated for cause-specific mortality and years of life lost (YLLs), age, sex, country, region, Socio-demographic Index (SDI) quintile, and trends from 1990 to 2017. GBD 2017 used standard GBD methods for estimating mortality from drowning. __Results:__ Globally, unintentional drowning mortality decreased by 44.5% between 1990 and 2017, from 531 956 (uncertainty interval (UI): 484 107 to 572 854) to 295 210 (284 493 to 306 187) deaths. Global age-standardised mortality rates decreased 57.4%, from 9.3 (8.5 to 10.0) in 1990 to 4.0 (3.8 to 4.1) per 100 000 per annum in 2017. Unintentional drowning-associated mortality was generally higher in children, males and in low-SDI to middle-SDI countries. China, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh accounted for 51.2% of all drowning deaths in 2017. Oceania was the region with the highest rate of age-standardised YLLs in 2017, with 45 434 (40 850 to 50 539) YLLs per 100 000 across both sexes. __Conclusions:__ There has been a decline in global drowning rates. This study shows that the decline was not consistent across countries. The results reinforce the need for continued and improved policy, prevention and research efforts, with a focus on low-and middle-income countries

Mapping disparities in education across low- and middle-income countries

Analyses of the proportions of individuals who have completed key levels of schooling across all low- and middle-income countries from 2000 to 2017 reveal inequalities across countries as well as within populations. Educational attainment is an important social determinant of maternal, newborn, and child health(1-3). As a tool for promoting gender equity, it has gained increasing traction in popular media, international aid strategies, and global agenda-setting(4-6). The global health agenda is increasingly focused on evidence of precision public health, which illustrates the subnational distribution of disease and illness(7,8); however, an agenda focused on future equity must integrate comparable evidence on the distribution of social determinants of health(9-11). Here we expand on the available precision SDG evidence by estimating the subnational distribution of educational attainment, including the proportions of individuals who have completed key levels of schooling, across all low- and middle-income countries from 2000 to 2017. Previous analyses have focused on geographical disparities in average attainment across Africa or for specific countries, but-to our knowledge-no analysis has examined the subnational proportions of individuals who completed specific levels of education across all low- and middle-income countries(12-14). By geolocating subnational data for more than 184 million person-years across 528 data sources, we precisely identify inequalities across geography as well as within populations.Peer reviewe