Workfare in the undemocratic states: the case of China

This article examines the problems caused by workfare in China. It is found that China’s public assistance scheme is managed mainly by volunteers and government officials who do not necessarily possess relevant qualifications. Also, welfare claimants’ benefits can be ceased without going through a rigorous procedure; they can hardly challenge the decisions of the authority because China’s judicial system is interfered by central and local senior officials. This article concludes that workfare is a product of Western democratic countries; its implementation in undemocratic states will only increase power abuses among welfare bureaucrats and threaten the rights of claimants. </jats:p

Biosynthesis, structure, and biological activities of envelope protein gp65 of murine coronavirus.

We have previously shown that gp65 (E3) is a virion structural protein which varies widely in quantity among different strains of mouse hepatitis virus (MHV). In this study, the biosynthetic pathway and possible biological activities of this protein were examined. The glycosylation of gp65 in virus-infected cells was inhibited by tunicamycin but not by monensin, suggesting that it contains an N-glycosidic linkage. Glycosylation is cotranslational and appears to be complete before the glycoprotein reaches the Golgi complex. Pulse-chase experiments showed that this protein decreased in size after 30 min of chase, suggesting that the carbohydrate chains of gp65 undergo trimming during its transport across the Golgi. This interpretation is supported by the endoglycosidase treatment of gp65, which showed that the peptide backbone of gp65 did not decrease in size after pulse-chase periods. This maturation pathway is distinct from that of the E1 or E2 glycoproteins. Partial endoglycosidase treatment indicated that gp65 contains 9 to 10 carbohydrate side chains; thus, almost all of the potential glycosylation sites of gp65 were glycosylated. In vitro translation studies coupled with protease digestion suggest that gp65 is an integral membrane protein. The presence of gp65 in the virion is correlated with the presence of an acetylesterase activity. No hemagglutinin activity was detected

The chemotherapeutic agent DMXAA as a unique IRF3-dependent type-2 vaccine adjuvant

5,6-Dimethylxanthenone-4-acetic acid (DMXAA), a potent type I interferon (IFN) inducer, was evaluated as a chemotherapeutic agent in mouse cancer models and proved to be well tolerated in human cancer clinical trials. Despite its multiple biological functions, DMXAA has not been fully characterized for the potential application as a vaccine adjuvant. In this report, we show that DMXAA does act as an adjuvant due to its unique property as a soluble innate immune activator. Using OVA as a model antigen, DMXAA was demonstrated to improve on the antigen specific immune responses and induce a preferential Th2 (Type-2) response. The adjuvant effect was directly dependent on the IRF3-mediated production of type-I-interferon, but not IL-33. DMXAA could also enhance the immunogenicity of influenza split vaccine which led to significant increase in protective responses against live influenza virus challenge in mice compared to split vaccine alone. We propose that DMXAA can be used as an adjuvant that targets a specific innate immune signaling pathway via IRF3 for potential applications including vaccines against influenza which requires a high safety profile

The fifa world cup 2002: The effects of terrorism on sport tourists

This paper discusses the relationship between sport and tourism in reference to a specific hallmark event, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) 2002 Football World Cup. In particular, it investigates the terrorism-related issues that affected the event and the possible implications for future mega sporting events in Australia. It seeks to contribute to awareness of spectator experiences of this event by understanding perceptions of safety and responses to security measures. A questionnaire survey of a convenience-based sample of World Cup spectators in the Republic of Korea was undertaken to determine: the extent to which the terrorist attacks on the United States of America on 11 September, 2001 changed these sport tourists’ motivations to attend the event; how safe they felt in Korea during the World Cup; and how risk management measures taken by the event organizers impacted on the tourists’ level of enjoyment. The findings are discussed in the context of sport event management, concluding with consequences for the future organization of sports events. While this study focused on the impact of an act of terrorism, it is suggested that the implications of other critical incidences with global ramifications, such as the recent war in Iraq and the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) need to be taken into account when planning mega sporting events. © 2003 Taylor & Francis Ltd

Magnetic Properties of Dilute Alloys: Equations for Magnetization and its Structural Fluctuations

The dilute Heisenberg ferromagnet is studied taking into account fluctuations of magnetization caused by disorder. A self-consistent system of equations for magnetization and its mean quadratic fluctuations is derived within the configurationally averaged two-time temperature Green's function method. This system of equations is analised at low concentration of non-magnetic impurities. Mean relative quadratic fluctuations of magnetization are revealed to be proportional to the square of concentration of impurities.Comment: 16 pages, LaTe

A hybrid evaluation approach and guidance for mHealth education applications

© Springer International Publishing AG 2018. Mobile health education applications (MHEAs) are used to support different users. However, although these applications are increasing in number, there is no effective evaluation framework to measure their usability and thus save effort and time for their many user groups. This paper outlines a useful framework for evaluating MHEAs, together with particular evaluation metrics: an efficient hybrid of selected heuristic evaluation (HE) and usability evaluation (UE) factors to enable the determination of the usefulness and usability of MHEAs. We also propose a guidance tool to help stakeholders choose the most suitable MHEA. The outcome of this framework is envisioned as meeting the requirements of different users, in addition to enhancing the development of MHEAs using software engineering approaches by creating new and more effective evaluation techniques. Finally, we present qualitative and quantitative results for the framework when used with MHEAs

Bistability in online social networks

Online social networking is an increasingly prominent social phenomenon that has motivated much interesting research in networking. This work studies the dynamic evolvement of online social networks by a simple stochastic model that captures the inter-dependent social interactions. We show that multiple stable states exist in the evolvement of online social networks, leading to fundamental ramifications to the structures of online social networks and their applications. ©2010 IEEE.published_or_final_versionThe 2010 INFOCOM IEEE Conference on Computer Communications Workshops, San Diego, CA., 15-19 March 2010. In Proceedings of the IEEE INFOCOM Conference, 2010, p. 1-

Costs and financial benefits of undertaking green building assessments : final report

Construction Industry Institute-Hong Kong Report, no. 15Other Versio

AZIMA TETRACANTHA LAM. AGAINST CAUSATIVE AGENTS IN DIABETIC FOOT INFECTIONS

Objective: Azima tetracantha Lam.  (Salvadoraceae), a widely growing herb has been used in the traditional medicine for treating many ailments. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of aqueous extract of A. tetracantha leaves (AEAT) against the causative agents in diabetic foot infections and to understand the major phyto-constituents.Methods: Susceptibility analysis was carried out by disc diffusion method at two different concentrations of AEAT ‘viz' 500 &amp;1000 µg/ml. UHPLC-ESI MS/MS was carried over with C18 RP column using gradient mobile system and the spectrum obtained was interpreted.Results: All the strains tested were more susceptible to AEAT with maximum of 15mm inhibition observed for Aspergillus niger and Klebseilla pneumoniae. UHPLC-ESI MS/MS study confirmed the presence of Isorhamnetin-3-O-rutinoside, Myricetin and Friedelin in AEAT.Conclusion:  To conclude AEAT is found to be a good source of lead compounds in diabetic foot infections.  KEYWORDS Azima tetracantha, UHPLC ESI-MS/MS, antimicrobia

Efficacious symmetry-adapted atomic displacement method for lattice dynamical studies

Small displacement methods have been successfully used to calculate the lattice dynamical properties of crystals. It involves displacing atoms by a small amount in order to calculate the induced forces on all atoms in a supercell for the computation of force constants. Even though these methods are widely in use, to our knowledge, there is no systematic discussion of optimal displacement directions from the crystal's symmetry point of view nor a rigorous error analysis of such methods. Based on the group theory and point group symmetry of a crystal, we propose displacement directions, with an equivalent concept of the group of $k$, deduced directly in the Cartesian coordinates rather than the usual fractional coordinates, that maintain the theoretical maximum for the triple product $V$ spanned by the three displacements to avoid possible severe roundoff errors. The proposed displacement directions are generated from a minimal set of irreducible atomic displacements that keep the required independent force calculations to a minimum. We find the error in the calculated force constant explicitly depends on the inverse of $V$ and inaccuracy of the forces. Test systems such as Si, graphene, and orthorhombic Sb2S3 are used to illustrate the method. Our displacement method is shown to be very robust in treating low-symmetry cells with a large `aspect ratio' due to huge differences in lattice parameters, use of a large vacuum height, or a very oblique unit cell due to unconventional choice of primitive lattice vectors. It is expected that our displacement strategy can be used to address higher-order interatomic interactions to achieve good accuracy and efficiency