DYNAMIC PRODUCTS IN WORLD EXPORTS

The values and market shares of three product categories have grown most rapidly in world exports during the period 1980–1998: electrical and electronic goods (including parts and components for such goods), goods which require high R&D expenditures, and labour-intensive products, particularly clothing. A strong geographical concentration in developing countries at both regional and country levels is discernable regarding the origin of these products. There appears to be a sustained movement in world exports towards the growing significance of a limited number of products and it would seem that there has been a rapid and sustained technological upgrading in the export composition of developing countries. However, since the involvement of developing countries is usually limited to the labour-intensive stages in the production process of technology-intensive goods in the context of international production sharing, simple measures of growth in gross export values are poor guides for an assessment of the nature of participation of developing countries in world trade.

The Unmaking of Arab Socialism

Conditions of malnutrition, conflict, or a combination of both characterize many Arab countries, but this was not always so. As in much of the developing world, the immediate post-independence period represented an age of hope and relative prosperity. But imperialism did not sleep while these countries developed, and it soon intervened to destroy these post-independence achievements. The two principal defeats and losses of territory to Israel in 1967 and 1973, as well as the others that followed, left in their wake more than the destruction of assets and the loss of human lives: the Arab World lost its ideology of resistance. The Unmaking of Arab Socialism is an attempt to understand the reasons for Arab world's developmental descent from the pinnacle of Arab socialism to its present desolate conditions through an examination of the post-colonial histories of Egypt, Syria, and Iraq

Graphical Evaluation of the Ridge-Type Robust Regression Estimators in Mixture Experiments

In mixture experiments, estimation of the parameters is generally based on ordinary least squares (OLS). However, in the presence of multicollinearity and outliers, OLS can result in very poor estimates. In this case, effects due to the combined outlier-multicollinearity problem can be reduced to certain extent by using alternative approaches. One of these approaches is to use biased-robust regression techniques for the estimation of parameters. In this paper, we evaluate various ridge-type robust estimators in the cases where there are multicollinearity and outliers during the analysis of mixture experiments. Also, for selection of biasing parameter, we use fraction of design space plots for evaluating the effect of the ridge-type robust estimators with respect to the scaled mean squared error of prediction. The suggested graphical approach is illustrated on Hald cement data set

ON THE PRODUCT OF TWO HYPOEXPONENTIAL RANDOM VARIABLES

In this paper, we consider the product of two independent Hypoexponential distributions which has many applications in sciences and engineering. We find analytically the probability density function, the cumulative distribution function, moment generating function, the reliability function and hazard function, which was proved to be a linear combination of the K distribution. Finally, we will apply our results application in stochastic PERT Network

High temperature behaviour of polypropylene fibres reinforced mortars

International audienceThe aim of this paper is primarily experimental and is intended to analyse the behaviour of two cementitious materials, before and after heat treatment: one unreinforced (i.e. without fibres) and the other reinforced (with polypropylene fibres).At room temperature and after heating up to 500 °C, the bending strength is improved by the presences of fibres. The residual young modulus is slightly higher for the fibres reinforced samples.As the temperature increases, the strength gain due to fibres inclusion is reduced. Beyond 500 °C, the bending strength is lower for the fibre reinforced cementitious material compared to those without fibres. Fracture energy is also improved for the fibre mortars at room temperature. At 400 °C this improvement decreases gradually with the introduction of polypropylene fibres. Beyond this temperature and due to the introduction of polypropylene fibres, the fracture energy is reduced.Another test is developed: rapid heating due to exposure to a flame. The temperature in the front side reaches in few seconds 1000 °C. At this temperature and after one hour of exposure, the opposite side reached 140 °C. After cooling, the punching shear strength of the fibre mortar is definitely weaker than of the mortar without fibre

Ekspresi PDGF-B dan SCUBE 1 pada Arteri Karotis Mencit yang Diligasi dan Tidak Diligasi

AbstrakDiffuse Intimal Thickening (DIT)terjadi sebagai adaptasi fisologis terhadap shear stress yang dapat terbentuk melalui ligasi arteri karotis. Ligasi akan menyebabkan terbentuknya penebalan tunika intima pada pembuluh darah. Penebalan tunika intima terjadi melalui proses inflamasi yang melibatkan sitokin seperti PDGF-Bdan SCUBE 1 yang terdapat di dalam trombosit dan endotel. Tujuan penelitian adalah mengetahui ekspresi PDGF-B dan SCUBE 1 pada arteri karotis mencit yang diligasi dan tidak diligasi. Desain penelitian adalah eksperimental dengan menggunakan 5 ekor mencit yang dilakukan ligasi pada arteri karotis kiri sedangkan arteri karotis kanan tidak diligasi. Kemudian, arteri karotis tersebut dikumpulkan dan diperiksa kadar PDGF-B dan SCUBE 1 dengan menggunakan PCR. Uji hipotesis yang digunakan adalah independent t-test. Hasil penelitian adalah tidak terdapat perbedaan bermakna PDGF-B pada arteri karotis mencit yang diligasi dan tidak diligasi (p = 0,66; p>0,05) dan tidak terdapat perbedaan bermakna SCUBE 1 pada arteri karotis mencit yang diligasi dan tidak diligasi (p = 0,33; p>0,05).Kata kunci: diffuse intimal thickening, DIT, PDGF-B, SCUBE 1, PCR. AbstractDiffuse Intimal Thickening (DIT) develops as physiological adaptive process of shear stress which can be performed by carotid artery ligation in mice. Ligation will cause an intimal thickening in vessel. Intimal thickening occurs through an inflammatory process that involves cytokines such as PDGF-B and SCUBE 1 that are found in platelet and endothelial cells.The objective of this study was to determine the expression of PDGF-B and SCUBE 1 in ligated and non ligated carotid artery of mice.The design study was experimental. This study used 5 mouse that were ligated in left carotid artery and non ligated in right carotid artery. Then, those carotid arteries were collected and examined PDGF-B and SCUBE 1 levels using PCR. The hypothesis test of this study was Independent t-test.The result was no significant difference between PDGF-B in ligated and non ligated carotid artery of mice (p = 0.66; p>0.05). The same result was also found in SCUBE 1 as well (p = 0.33; p>0.05).Keywords: diffuse intimal thickening, DIT, PDGF-B, SCUBE 1, PCR

Učinak dodatka hrani (zakiseljivača i sredstva za vezivanje toksina) u proizvodnji mlijeka u mliječnih krava

Dairy cow feeding plays an important role in milk production. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of a feed additive (association of acidifier and mycotoxin binder) on milk production in dairy cattle. For this purpose, 22 cows belonging to three breeds (Montbeliard, Holstein, and Flekveih) were used. The cows were divided into two groups; a control group with seven cows and an experimental group with 15 animals. The results showed that the additive had a positive effect on milk production (23.14±5.87 litres for the experimental group vs 18.00±6.90 litres for the control). The additive also had a good effect on the percentage of sub-clinical mastitis: the Californian Mastitis Test (CMT) carried out at monthly intervals showed a clear improvement in the udder health of females in the experiment with 13 positive samples in the first test for nine cows (with four affected teats) and 10 positive samples for the second test in three cows (with three affected teats). Moreover, statistical tests revealed a significant difference in the mean fat content (35 g/L vs 23.86 g/L, respectively) while the average Faeces Consistency Score and Dornic acidity was lower in the experimental group compared to the control (2.23 vs 3.21 and 13.83 vs 16.14, respectively). These results show the importance of incorporating the feed additive into the diet of dairy cows and the need to implement an extension programme and zootechnical supervision of all actors in the sector to ensure the quality of milk production and the performance of dairy cows.Hranidba mliječnih krava je vrlo važna u njihovoj proizvodnji. Ova studija je provedena za procjenu učinka dodatka hrani (kombinacije zakiseljivača i sredstva za vezivanje mikotoksina) na proizvodnju mlijeka u mliječnih krava. U tu su svrhu praćeme 22 krave: 3 pasmine (montbeliard, holstein i flekveih). Krave su podijeljene u 2 skupine: kontrolnu skupinu sa 7 krava i eksperimentalnu skupinu s 15 životinja. Dobiveni rezultati pokazali su da organska kiselina ima pozitivan učinak na proizvodnju mlijeka (23,14±5,87 litara za eksperimentalnu skupinu u usporedbi s 18,00±6,90 litara za kontrolnu skupinu). Uz to, aditiv je imao i pozitivan učinak na postotak subkliničkog mastitisa. Kalifornijski mastitis test (CMT) proveden u razmaku od 1 mjeseca za životinje pokazao je jasno poboljšanje zdravlja vimena krava podvrgnutih istraživanju s 13 pozitivnih uzoraka u prvom testu za 9 krava (s 4 zahvaćene sise) i 10 drugih pozitivnih uzoraka za drugi test u 3 krave (s 3 zahvaćene sise). Statistički testovi su otkrili značajnu razliku između prosječnog udjela masnoća (35 g/L u usporedbi s 23,86 g/L) dok je prosječno bodovanje konzistencije izmeta i kiselost po Dornicu bilo niže u istoj skupini u usporedbi s kontrolnom skupinom (2,23 u usporedbi s 3,21 i 13,83 u usporedbi s 16,14). Podatci su pokazali važnost i potrebu dodatka hrani u hranidbu mliječnih krava i potrebu za provedbom programa proširenja i zootehničkog nadzora svih aktera u sektoru da bi se osigurala kvaliteta proizvodnje mlijeka i učinkovitost mliječnih krava

Bariatrik cerrahi sonrası viseral organ yağ infiltrasyon değişikliklerini izlemenin etkili yöntemi: İdeal IQ sekansı

Aim: The aim of this study is to demonstrate the efficiency of non-invasive imaging method-MR proton density fat fraction (PDFF); ideal IQ sequence- on detecting the effects of bariatric surgery on liver and pancreatic fatty infiltration. Materials and Methods: Thirty-nine patients (25 females, 14 males) who underwent bariatric surgery between May 2016 and April 2017 were analyzed retrospectively in this study. Body mass index (BMI) and body weight (BW) values of all patients were noted one week before and one month after bariatric surgery, and meanwhile an unenhanced upper abdominal MR imaging was performed. Liver fat fraction (LFF), pancreas fat fraction (PFF), liver volume (LV) and craniocaudal length of liver (LL) were measured with MR-PDFF and T2 weighted images. Changes in all parameters after the surgery were recorded and the correlation of these changes with the change in LFF was analyzed. Results: At the end of first month of bariatric surgery, a significant decrease on mean values of LFF and PFF has been observed along with a decrease of LV, LL, BW and BMI (p<0.0001). A moderate positive linear correlation was observed between LFF and PFF, LV, LL (r=0.69, 0.61, 0.49; respectively) while a weak positive linear correlation was noticed between LFF and BMI, BW (r=0.34, 0.21; respectively). Conclusion: Ideal IQ sequence enables quantitative analysis of fatty infiltration of the liver and pancreas and thus may be used as a non-invasive tool to monitor the positive effects of the bariatric surgery on fatty infiltration of these visceral organs in the postoperative period.Amaç: Bariatrik cerrahinin karaciğer ve pankreas yağ infiltrasyonu üzerindeki etkilerinin saptanmasında non-invaziv görüntüleme yönteminin-MR proton dansite yağ fraksiyonu (PDFF); ideal IQ sekansı-etkinliğini göstermeyi amaçladık. Gereç ve Yöntem: Bu çalışmada Mayıs 2016 ile Nisan 2017 tarihleri arasında obezite cerrahisi geçiren 39 hasta (25 kadın, 14 erkek) retrospektif olarak incelendi. Tüm hastaların vücut kitle indeksi (VKİ) ve vücut ağırlığı (VA) değerleri bariatrik cerrahiden bir hafta önce ve bir ay sonra kaydedildi ve bu esnada kontrastsız üst abdomen MR görüntülemesi yapıldı. MR-PDFF ve T2 ağırlıklı görüntülerle karaciğer yağ fraksiyonu (KYF), pankreas yağ fraksiyonu (PYF), karaciğer hacmi (KV) ve karaciğer kraniyokaudal uzunluğu (KKU) ölçüldü. Ameliyat sonrası tüm parametrelerdeki değişiklikler kaydedildi ve bu değişikliklerin KYF’deki değişiklik ile korelasyonu analiz edildi. Bulgular: Bariatrik cerrahinin 1. ayının sonunda KYF ve PYF ortalama değerlerinde anlamlı azalma ile birlikte KV, KKU, VA ve VKİ’de azalma gözlendi (p<0,0001). KYF ile PYF, KV, KKU arasında orta derecede pozitif bir doğrusal korelasyon gözlenirken (sırasıyla r=0,69, 0,61, 0,49), KYF ile VKİ, VA arasında (sırasıyla r=0,34, 0,21) zayıf bir pozitif doğrusal korelasyon fark edildi. Sonuç: İdeal IQ sekansı, karaciğer ve pankreasın yağ infiltrasyonunun kantitatif analizini sağlar ve bu nedenle postoperatif dönemde bariatrik cerrahinin bu viseral organların yağ infiltrasyonu üzerindeki olumlu etkilerini izlemek için non-invaziv bir araç olarak kullanılabilir

Leukaemia’s Cells Pattern Tracking Via Multi-phases Edge Detection Techniques

Edge detection involves identifying and tracing the sudden sharp discontinuities to extract meaningful information from an image. The purpose of this paper is to improve detecting the leukaemia edges in the blood cell image. Toward this end, two distinctive procedures are developed which are Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm and the gradient edge detectors (Sobel, Prewitt and Robert). The latter involves image filtering, binarization, kernel convolution filtering and image transformation. Meanwhile, ACO involves filtering, enhancement, detection and localisation of the edges. Finally, the performance of the edge detection methods ACO, Sobel, Prewitt and Robert is compared to determine the best edge detection method. The results revealed that the Prewitt edge detection method produced an optimal performance for detecting edges of leukaemia cells with a value of 107%. Meanwhile, the ACO, Sobel and Robert yielded performance results of 76%, 102% and 93% respectively. Overall findings indicated that the gradient edge detection methods are superior to the Ant Colony Optimization method