O discurso xenofóbico na esfera política e seu impacto social

In recent times, international migrations are intensifying in all directions, their movements have become a real challenge for the international community. The conversion of homogeneous societies into heterogeneous societies is a change that is difficult to accept, which causes a negative feeling towards new people and their cultures. The increase in racism and xenophobia is something that draws the attention of all those who are interested in migratory issues. Societies, with little democratic tradition and little civic content, were always the points that concern human rights defenders and entities that fight against racism and xenophobia. In these countries, people feel helpless and unprotected against violence and hate with all their colors. In countries with a democratic tradition, institutions offer  foreign culturally different people certain institutional guarantees that allow them to raise their voices and defend themselves against their aggressors. Curious paradox is what we find, currently, in countries with high democratic tradition where an institutional racism is being generated that uses democracy as a pretext to spread its hatred against everything different. The increase in racist discourses of many political parties and their leaders is something unheard of in traditional democracies. The mismanagement of its contents would be able to break the social coexistence of peoples, especially in those heterogeneous societies with plurality of cultural and racial ingredients.En los últimos tiempos se están intensificando las migraciones internacionales en todas las direcciones, sus movimientos se han convertido en un auténtico reto para la comunidad internacional. La conversión de unas sociedades homogéneas en unas sociedades heterogéneas es un cambio que está costando aceptar, lo que provoca un sentimiento negativo hacia las nuevas personas y sus culturas. El aumento del racismo y de la xenofobia es algo que llama sumamente la atención a todos los que se interesan por la temática migratoria. Las sociedades, con poca tradición democrática y poco contenido cívico, fueron siempre los puntos que inquietan a los defensores de los derechos humanos y de las entidades que luchan contra el racismo y la xenofobia. En estos países las personas se sienten desamparadas y desprotegidas frente a la violencia y el odio con todos sus colores. En los países con tradición democrática, las instituciones ofrecen a las personas foráneas, culturalmente diferentes, unas ciertas garantías institucionales que les permiten alzar sus voces y defenderse frente a sus agresores. Curiosa paradoja es la que encontramos, actualmente, en países con alta tradición democrática donde se está generando un racismo institucional que usa la democracia como pretexto para extender su odio contra todo lo diferente. El aumento de los discursos racistas de muchos partidos políticos y de sus líderes es algo inaudito en las democracias tradicionales. La mala gestión de sus contenidos sería capaz de romper la convivencia social de los pueblos, sobre todo en aquellas sociedades heterogéneas con pluralidad de ingredientes culturales y raciales.Nos últimos tempos, as migrações internacionais estão se intensificando em todas as direções, seus movimentos se tornaram um verdadeiro desafio para a comunidade internacional. A conversão de sociedades homogêneas em sociedades heterogêneas é uma mudança difícil de aceitar, que causa um sentimento negativo em relação a novas pessoas e suas culturas. O aumento do racismo e da xenofobia é algo que chama a atenção de todos aqueles que estão interessados ​​em questões migratórias. As sociedades, com pouca tradição democrática e pouco conteúdo cívico, sempre foram os pontos que preocupam os defensores dos direitos humanos e as entidades que lutam contra o racismo e a xenofobia. Nesses países, as pessoas se sentem desamparadas e desprotegidas contra a violência e o ódio com todas as suas cores. Em países com uma tradição democrática, as instituições oferecem a pessoas culturalmente diferentes estrangeiras certas garantias institucionais que lhes permitem levantar a voz e se defender contra seus agressores. Paradoxo curioso é o que encontramos atualmente em países com alta tradição democrática em que está sendo gerado um racismo institucional que usa a democracia como pretexto para espalhar seu ódio contra tudo o que é diferente. O aumento dos discursos racistas de muitos partidos políticos e de seus líderes é algo inédito nas democracias tradicionais. A má administração de seu conteúdo seria capaz de romper a coexistência social dos povos, especialmente nas sociedades heterogêneas, com pluralidade de ingredientes culturais e raciais

Optimal Indirect Tax Revenues and Economic Growth in Sudan Economy: A Threshold Regression Approach

Indirect taxes play a fundamental role in revenue collection in Sudan. This role is under investigation by estimating an optimum level beyond which they make vulnerable the acceleration of economic growth. A threshold regression was used for estimation which covers the period 1970 – 2017. The model contains real GDP (Y) as the dependent variable and indirect taxes as a threshold variable. The unemployment rate (UR), the external gap (GAP2), and the real effective exchange rate (REER) are the non-threshold variables. The main research findings indicate that the average indirect tax ratio is more than three times the direct tax ratio and constitutes about 55.3% of the total revenue collection compared to 18% of the direct tax. These findings suggest that the optimum threshold is 7.46% above which indirect taxes exert a negative impact on economic growth. It is clear that resorting to indirect taxes fosters the maximum economic growth at the threshold that corresponds to the year 1982. This year is considered to be the most economically stable year (elected as a base year). Here the non-threshold variables i.e. external gap represents 0.03% of its mean value, while real exchange rate and employment rate are less than their mean values. This paper focuses on restructuring the tax system which is highly recommended to shift the balance in favor of direct taxes so as to curb price rises, attain social and economic balance, and reduce income inequality. Economic policies have to be focused on tackling unemployment especially among young graduates and disguised unemployment. Here, monitory policy can stimulate demand and put the economy back on track, as well as a fiscal policy through taxation and government spending. A favorable economic environment conducive for investment and jobs creation ought to be one of the priorities. Job description and irradiation of nepotism can help much in reducing unemployment. Export diversification and improved range of merchandized, recapitalization of the export-import (EXIM) bank for smooth credit provision, revision of rules & tariffs, creation of single window for customs clearance, and the stable exchange rate should be the main concern of the government

Molecular Characterization of Coagulase Positive Staphylococci Isolated From Dogs and Cats

Isolation studies of coagulase-positive staphylococci were conducted on hospitalised and out patient dogs and cats, on three sites: skin, nose and ear, between January and September 1997. Three tests were used to differentiate between coagulase-positive staphylococci, namely: acetoin production, P agar supplemented with acriflavin and B-galactosidase test. Thirty-six Staphylococcus aureus and 90 Staphylococcus intermedius isolates were recovered from these animals. Staphylococcus hyicus was not isolated, the results indicated that the major coagulase-positive Staphylococcus species in dogs was S. intermedius and in cats was S. aureus. The antimicrobial typing of S. aureus and S. intermedius was compared with the molecular typing methods such as: Polyacrylamide-gel Electrophoresis profiles -and of ,protein A concentration-l whole cell proteins, and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)-based methods that include: Random Amplification of Polymorphic DNA (RAPD-PCR), Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus sequences (ERICPCR), Coagulase gene PCR amplification and Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP). The antimicrobial typing differentiated S. aureus and S. intermedius isolates into 14 and 28 profiles respectively. Isolates of S. aureus and S. intermedius containing plasmids were 41.7% and 46% respectively. However, no correlation could be made between plasmid occurrence and antibiotic resistance profiles. The SDS-PAGE profiles of whole cell proteins grouped 24 S. aureus and 48 S. intermedius strains into 19 and 16 profiles respectively. In PCR-based methods the isolates were typed using three primers. The combination of three primers for the RAPD gave 33 and 83 profiles of 36 S. aureus and 90 S. intermedius isolates respectively. ERIC primers grouped 24 S. aureus and 47 S. intermedius isolates into 19 and 43 profiles respectively. The coagulase gene from 24 S. aureus and 47 S. intermedius isolates showed limited discriminatory to the other methods and was least useful for the preliminary epidemiological studies. The restriction enzyme analysis of coagulase gene PCR products was very useful to increase the discriminatory power of coagulase gene PCR but required the use of multiple restriction enzymes. It was concluded that RAPD-PCR and ERIC-PCR are the best methods for typing S. aureus and S. intermedius

Performance and dynamic characteristics of a multi stages vertical axis wind turbine

Vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) are used to convert wind energy to mechanical output or electricity. Vertical axis wind turbines are favorable at buildings as it can receive wind from any direction, have a design that can be integrated simply with building architecture and they have better response in turbulent wind flow which is common in urban areas. Using a calculation code based on the Double Multiple Stream Tube theory, symmetrical straight-bladed NACA0012 wind turbine performance was evaluated. The induction factor for both upwind and downwind zone is determined with the aid of a root-finding algorithm. This numerical analysis highlighted how turbine performance is strongly influenced by the wind speed (Reynolds number) and rotor solidity (turbine radius and blade chord length). Also a dimensional analysis is introduced and is to be considered in such a way to generalize the design for different turbine specifications. One of the qualities provided by dimensional analysis is that geometrically similar turbines will produce the same non-dimensional results. This allows one to make comparison between different sizes wind turbines in terms of power output and other related variables. One of the main problems affecting the turbine performance and dynamics is the torque ripple phenomena. So in this paper a turbine design configuration is introduced in order to decrease the turbine torque fluctuation. This design is carried out by constructing more similar turbine units (stages) on the vertical axis on top of each other with different orientation phase angles. The results showed that using even number of turbine assembly is better than odd number to avoid torque fluctuation and mechanical vibrations acting on the turbine. Also it is preferred to use four turbine stages as the eight stages will have no sensible effect on decreasing the torque fluctuation

Transition of free convection flow inside an inclined parallel walled channel: effects of inclination angle and width of the channel

Transition of free convection flow in an inclined parallel walled channel has been investigated numerically by employing k–ɛ turbulent model. Particular attention is paid on how the inclination angle and width of the channel affect the transition process of the flow developing in the channel. The upper plate of the channel is heated isothermally and facing downward, while the lower one is kept under the adiabatic condition. The inclination angle of the channel is varied from 0° to 85° with respect to its vertical position while the distance separating the two plates is systematically reduced from 0.45 to 0.06 m. Distributions of velocity, turbulent kinetic energy and local heat flux are presented to examine the critical distance and the results obtained show good agreement with experimental data available in the literature

Mathematical modeling the effect of catalyst initial shape and the crack pattern in olefin copolymerization

A two-dimensional (2D) single particle model for the copolymerization of propylene-ethylene with heterogeneous Ziegler-Natta catalyst is developed. The model accounts for the effects of the initial shape of the catalyst and carck/ pore patterns on the copolymer composition, polymerization rate and the average molecular weight properties. The spherical and oblate ellipsoidal shapes of catalyst particle and four different pattern distributions of cracks and pores in a growing particle are studied in this simulation. It is assumed that the diffusion coefficient of monomers in the cracks/pores is 10 times higher than the compact zone of the particle.In other word, the cracks are distinguished from parts with higher monomer diffusion coefficient.The dynamic 2D monomer diffusion-reaction equation is solved together with a two-site catalyst kinetic mechanism using the finite element method. Simulation results indicate that the initial shape of catalyst changes the average copolymer composition only in the early stage of polymerization, but the crack/pore patterns in the growing particle have a strong impact on the copolymer composition in the polymer particles due to the change ofmass transfer limitations

Obesity-related kidney disease: Beyond hypertension and insulin-resistance

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) causes considerable morbidity, mortality, and health expenditures worldwide. Obesity is a significant risk factor for CKD development, partially explained by the high prevalence of diabetes mellitus and hypertension in obese patients. However, adipocytes also possess potent endocrine functions, secreting a myriad of cytokines and adipokines that contribute to insulin resistance and induce a chronic low-grade inflammatory state thereby damaging the kidney. CKD development itself is associated with various metabolic alterations that exacerbate adipose tissue dysfunction and insulin resistance. This adipose-renal axis is a major focus of current research, given the rising incidence of CKD and obesity. Cellular senescence is a biologic hallmark of aging, and age is another significant risk factor for obesity and CKD. An elevated senescent cell burden in adipose tissue predicts renal dysfunction in animal models, and senotherapies may alleviate these phenotypes. In this review, we discuss the direct mechanisms by which adipose tissue contributes to CKD development, emphasizing the potential clinical importance of such pathways in augmenting the care of CKD

Fruits Vinegar : Quality Characteristics, Phytochemistry, and Functionality

The popularity of fruits vinegar (FsV) has been increased recently as a healthy drink wealthy in bioactive compounds that provide several beneficial properties. This review was designed in the frame of valorization of fruits vinegar as a by-product with high value added by providing overall information on its biochemical constituents and beneficial potencies. It contains a cocktail of bioactive ingredients including polyphenolic acids, organic acids, tetramethylperazine, and melanoidins. Acetic acid is the most abundant organic acid and chlorogenic acid is the major phenol in apple vinegar. The administration of fruits vinegar could prevent diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, oxidative stress, cancer, and boost immunity as well as provide a remarkable antioxidant ability. The production techniques influence the quality of vinegar, and consequently, its health benefits.Peer reviewe

The Incidence rate of hypothyroidism following head and neck radiotherapy visiting the radiotherapy clinic at Shafa Medical Center, Kerman, Iran

Background: Hypothyroidism means the production of thyroid hormone is inadequate for normal human activity. Due to the high prevalence of hypothyroidism after radiotherapy with and without surgery and the large number of patients treated at the radiotherapy center of Shafa hospital, this study aimed to determine the incidence of hypothyroidism in patients referred to this center and to motivate identifying them. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 100 patients visiting the Radiotherapy Center of Shafa Hospital during the years 2008-2014. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 20 using t-test in the subgroups. Results: The mean age of the participants was 56.65 ± 11.29 and 19% were diagnosed with hypothyroidism. There was a significant relation between the stage of tumor (P = 0.014) and type of treatment (P <0.001) with hypothyroidism. Conclusion: Overall, it seems that the incidence of hypothyroidism in patients receiving radiotherapy is high, especially in patients undergoing radiotherapy with surgery. Special attention should be paid to screening patients with laryngeal cancer or other cancers of the head and neck, after radiotherapy and surgery. Keywords: Hypothyroidism, Incidence, Radiation therapy, Head and neck tumors

The Nutritional and Antioxidant Potential of Artisanal and Industrial Apple Vinegars and Their Ability to Inhibit Key Enzymes Related to Type 2 Diabetes In Vitro

The main objective of the current study was to determine the physicochemical properties, antioxidant activities, and α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibition of apple vinegar produced by artisanal and industrial methods. Apple vinegar samples were analyzed to identify their electrical conductivity, pH, titratable acidity, total dry matter, Brix, density, mineral elements, polyphenols, flavonoids, and vitamin C. The antioxidant activity of apple vinegar samples was evaluated using two tests, total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and DPPH radical scavenging activity. Finally, we determined α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitory activities of artisanal and industrial apple vinegar. The results showed the following values: pH (3.69–3.19); electrical conductivity (2.81–2.79 mS/cm); titratable acidity (3.6–5.4); ash (4.61–2.90); °Brix (6.37–5.2); density (1.02476–1.02012), respectively, for artisanal apple vinegar and industrial apple vinegar. Concerning mineral elements, potassium was the most predominant element followed by sodium, magnesium, and calcium. Concerning bioactive compounds (polyphenols, flavonoids, and vitamin C), the apple vinegar produced by the artisanal method was the richest sample in terms of bioactive compounds and had the highest α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibition. The findings of this study showed that the quality and biological activities of artisanal apple vinegar were more important than industrial apple vinegar