The impact of migrant labors on Russian economy: production function approach

Over the past few decades, the major flow of labor migrants coming to Russia happened because of higher wage, employment, and similar culture. This paper explored the direct economic contribution of labor migrants in Russian national income through their productivity performance. This empirical study analyzed the impact of migrants on the growth of GDP using Cobb Douglas production approach through linear transformation from the logarithmic form and showed the positive consequences of labor migrants in Russian economy. The study conducted quantitative analysis that was an anticipated outcome from a model which was being created to determine how much migrant workers contributed to the Russian economy which have been successful through the lenses of national income. All data in this study used a repository of 15 years of data from 2000 to 2014 that were collected yearly. The main data sources of this study are Russian Federal State Statistics Service, the World Bank data source and FRED Economic Data. This paper also investigated the heteroscedasticity and endogeneity test among the variables in order to check the robustness of the regression results of the first model. The study introduced a new instrument variable that was constructed with the ratio of GDP per capita in Russia and GDP per capital in the source countries. After that the instrument was implemented into the previous model through two stage least square method. Therefore, the statistical analysis of this empirical research inferred that migrants have a positive impact on Russian’s economy resulted about 10% of national income which has significant growth due to migrants’ employment

Compare Between DCT and DWT for Digital Watermarking in Color Image

In This paper we compare between Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) and Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) in the field of image authentication and digital watermarking. Our proposed method depending on the embedding stage and extraction stag that presented in [1] but our scheme embeds the logo bits inside the low frequency domain because DWT gives optimal results with LL domain, while [1] used middle frequency domain with DCT. Our improvement by using a secrete K called user key (int. K=1, K<=N) where N=10, is used to generate a random vectors  for the selected coefficient, this attempt is made to increase the security and robustness for the proposed scheme to compare between DCT that illustrated in [1] with middle frequency domain and DCT, DWT in the existing paper that used low frequency domain, it used block based technique with embedding stage, the development that illustrated in the existing paper by using DWT transform on the recovered of binary watermark for the purpose of image authentication in frequency domain using DWT, and DCT transforms with true color image. The method focused on the objective quality after embedding stage and the recovered watermark after extraction stage. With DWT in the first step, the cover image is decomposed into three levels by DWT transform. Then the hiding site was LL sub band of the DWT coefficients. Furthermore, our proposed method deal with true color image without converting its color space into other color space with various image texture all of them with size of 256*256 Bit map image file format, the proposed scheme deal with three sub-bands (Red, Green, and Blue) at the same time to hide logo bits inside the host by using Patchwork technique with embedding stage, so if one is destroyed the other may survive, it provide optimal security whenever any sub-bands color destroyed. With our proposed method a secret watermark in the form of binary (o, 1) pattern is embedded inside the host under DCT, DWT, one bit from the watermark will be embedded inside the selected coefficient from the selected block of the host. Our proposed method was evaluated with different types of intended attacks such as: salt and pepper noise, Poisson noise, and speckle noise. Moreover, unintended attacks consider by spatial enhancement filter such as median filter that used to improve the quality for the watermarked image after unintended attack. After experiments, it was found that our proposed method provides security and high performance with low computational complexity and good objective quality. Our scheme evaluate the imperceptibility for the watermarked image after embedding stage by using Peak signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR), while the recovered watermark evaluated by some types of metrics such as Mean Square Error (MSE), Normalized Correlation (NC), and correlation factor (SIM). Our proposed method has ability to deal with different image texture and format such as (BMP), Portable Network Graphics (PNG), and Tagged Image File Format (TIFF). Keywords: Authentication, Objective, Subjective

The role of stoichiometric vacancy periodicity in pressure-induced amorphization of the Ga2SeTe2 semiconductor alloy

We observe that pressure-induced amorphization of Ga2SeTe2 (a III-VI semiconductor) is directly influenced by the periodicity of its intrinsic defect structures. Specimens with periodic and semi-periodic two-dimensional vacancy structures become amorphous around 10-11 GPa in contrast to those with aperiodic structures, which amorphize around 7-8 GPa. The result is a notable instance of altering material phase-change properties via rearrangement of stoichiometric vacancies as opposed to adjusting their concentrations. Based on our experimental findings, we posit that periodic two-dimensional vacancy structures in Ga2SeTe2 provide an energetically preferred crystal lattice that is less prone to collapse under applied pressure. This is corroborated through first-principles electronic structure calculations, which demonstrate that the energy stability of III-VI structures under hydrostatic pressure is highly dependent on the configuration of intrinsic vacancies

Quality of life and its determinants in adult cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment in Pakistan.

Objective: Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. Likewise, in Pakistan, it is a major health problem, with an approximate increase each year. Cancer treatment, particularly chemotherapy, produces a detrimental effect on individuals\u27 well-being. Since the past few years, quality of life (QOL) is considered as the primary goal of cancer treatment in patients\u27 survival. This study aimed to assess the QOL and its determinants in adult cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment. Methods: An analytical cross-sectional design was employed to achieve the study objectives, utilizing consecutive sampling technique. A total of 150 adult (\u3e19 years) cancer patients were recruited from a Tertiary Care Hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. The data were collected using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General, a QOL questionnaire. Multiple linear regression was run to determine the effect of predictor variables, with a mean QOL score. Results: The overall mean score of QOL as 57.37. The domains of physical and emotional well-being were mainly affected by the chemotherapy treatment. Variables such as no previous hospitalization and no significant changes in life events were positively associated with the QOL. On the other hand, being female, unemployed, chemotherapy side effects (\u3e1 week), impaired socialization, and discrimination by family/relatives were negatively associated with the QOL. Conclusions: The study findings suggested an overall low QOL among adult cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment. It is recognized as a stressful treatment, which adversely affects the QOL of cancer patients. Interventions should focus on both the physical and psychological issues and need to be addressed to improve the QOL of adult cancer patients

A Rare Case Report of a Testicular Germ-Cell Tumor (GCT) Metastasis Mimicking Pancreatic Malignancy

Introduction: Testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT), evenly divided into two histologic types, seminomas and nonseminomas, are the most common malignancy among males between ages 15 to 44 years [1, 2]. The incidence of TGCT in the U.S. has increased over the past 20 years, being attributed to chronic exposure environmental risk factors (i.e. pesticides and plastic component polyvinyl chloride) in addition to genetic predisposition [1, 3-6]. Description: We report of an unusual case of retroperitoneal metastatic GCT clinically simulating a pancreatic lymphoma. A 31-year-old male presented with a 2-month history of abdominal pain in the right upper quadrant, 40-pound weight loss, nausea, episodes of emesis and decreased appetite. Abdominal computed tomography scan showed a large heterogenous mass measuring 11 x 8 cm in close proximity to the head and body of the pancreas. This tumor encased portions of the celiac trunk, superior mesenteric artery, splenic, superior mesenteric and portal veins. Additional solid masses measuring 8.2 cm and 10 x 8.8 cm were noted inferior to porta hepatis and medial to the left kidney, respectively. Given the tumor distribution, patient was suspected of having pancreatic lymphoma and underwent endoscopic ultrasound-guided tissue sampling of the tumor. Microscopic examination of the biopsy revealed solid nests of infiltrative malignant epitheloid cells characterized by nuclear pleomorphisms and hyperchromatic nuclei with focal necrotic and apoptotic debris. Immunohistochemical stains revealed positive pancytokeratin and SALL4, a transcription factor specific for embryonic cell pluripotency and an immunohistochemical marker for TGCT [7]. Laboratory tests revealed elevated serum levels of alpha fetoprotein (AFP = 57.8 ng/ml; reference: 10-20 ng/ml), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH = 2919 units/L; reference:106-242 units/L) and beta human chronic gonadotrophin (β-hCG =1458 IU/L; reference: 0-3 IU/L). Both microscopic and laboratory findings are consistent with metastatic retroperitoneal GCT. Subsequent clinical history and physical exam of the patient revealed a right testicular solid mass measuring 13.3 x 7.8 x 10.7 cm. Patient was aware of this progressively enlarging right testicular mass for the past 5-years, but had not undergone previous evaluation. Patient’s family history is negative for TGCT and denied undergoing orchiopexy for cryptorchidism during his childhood. Patient has been working in a plastic manufacturing company with exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals, a potential exogenous risk factor for his TGCT [5]. Conclusion: Final diagnosis was “Stage IIIA-Testicular GCT-Low-risk” based on the primary and metastatic sites involvement and serum tumor marker levels. The patient underwent radical orchiectomy of the right testicle followed by 4 cycles of chemotherapy with etoposide/cisplatin/bleomycin for the remaining retroperitoneal tumors. The five-year progression-free and overall survival rate for our patient are 89% and 92%, respectively [1]. This case highlights an unusual presentation of retroperitoneal GCT metastasis and the need to include the following differentials of lymphoma, sarcoma, and GCT for retroperitoneal masses with lymphadenopathy

First report of anthelmintic resistance in Haemonchus contortus in alpacas in Australia

BACKGROUND: Parasitic nematodes can cause substantial clinical and subclinical problems in alpacas and anthelmintics are regularly used to control parasitic nematodes in alpacas. Although anthelmintic resistance has been reported in ruminants worldwide, very little is known about anthelmintic resistance in alpacas. The present study was carried out to confirm a suspected case of anthelmintic resistance in Haemonchus contortus in alpacas in Australia. METHODS: Post mortem examination of an alpaca was conducted to determine the cause of its death. To confirm a suspected case of macrocyclic lactone (ML) resistance in H. contortus in alpacas, a faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) was performed using closantel (7.5 mg/kg) and ivermectin (0.2 mg/kg). Nematode species were identified by morphological and molecular methods. RESULTS: Post mortem examination of a 1-year-old female alpaca that had died following a brief period of lethargy, anorexia and recumbency revealed severe anaemia, hypoproteinaemia and gastric parasitism by adult Haemonchus contortus, despite recent abamectin (0.2 mg/kg) treatment. Based on these findings and the exclusive use of MLs in the herd over the preceding six years, ML resistance in parasitic nematodes of alpacas on this farm was suspected. FECRT revealed that the efficacy of closantel was 99% (95% CI 93-100), whereas that of ivermectin was 35% (95% CI 0-78), indicating that the treatment failure was likely due to the presence of ML-resistant nematodes. Larval culture of faecal samples collected following ivermectin treatment consisted of 99% H. contortus and 1% Cooperia oncophora, a result confirmed using a PCR assay. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides the first evidence of ML resistance in H. contortus in alpacas in Australia. Based on the extent of anthelmintic resistance in sheep gastrointestinal nematodes in Australia, veterinarians and alpaca owners should be encouraged to implement integrated parasite management strategies to improve nematode control in alpacas

Abnormal hermaphroditic skipjack, Katsuwonus pelamis (Linnaeus, 1758) from Agatti coast, Lakshadweep, India

A hermaphroditic specimen of skipjack tuna, Katsuwonus pelamis of forklength (FL) – 56 cm and total weight (TW) – 3.20 kg was caught by pole and line on 21st November 2005 from the Agatti coast, Lakshadweep. Histological studies revealed that both the ovarian and testicular portions had developed a complete series of gametogenic cell lines