THE HIDDEN INEQUALITY IN SOCIALISM

In the same time period over which the former socialist countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia became freer, measured inequality of income for those countries increased. Researchers linked the increase to the egalitarian values of socialism and to the process of economic and political liberalization. We question that link, because we question whether socialism was egalitarian. The inequalities in socialism were hidden but, nevertheless, were real.Transition, Inequality, Socialism, Measurement

Finite Element Analysis of Cross-halved Joints for Structural Composites

The strength and stiffness of a notched, cross-halved joint was investigated using a three-dimensional finite element method (FEM). Composites involved in this research were laminated veneer lumber (LVL) and laminated strand lumber (LSL). The joint consisted of primary and secondary load-carrying elements notched and inserted into each other crosswise. A 3-D FEM technique predicted the deformations and stress developments under concentrated and distributed loads. Experimental validation of the model, based on deformation measurements, showed good to excellent agreement between predicted and measured values. Failure mode analysis revealed that the normal stresses (tension) control the performance of the joint.The joint configuration can provide additional lateral stiffness and stability in structural applications including floor and roof systems. Furthermore, the in-plane moment resistance of the joint may provide better performance of such structures under dynamic loads such as earthquakes and excessive wind loads

Integrating spatial data and shorebird nesting locations to predict the potential future impact of global warming on coastal habitats: A case study on Farasan Islands, Saudi Arabia

AbstractOne of the expected effects of the global warming is changing coastal habitats by accelerating the rate of sea level rise. Coastal habitats support large number of marine and wetland species including shorebirds (plovers, sandpipers and allies). In this study, we investigate how coastal habitats may be impacted by sea level rise in the Farasan Islands, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We use Kentish plover Charadrius alexandrinus – a common coastal breeding shorebird – as an ecological model species to predict the influence of sea level rise. We found that any rise of sea level is likely to inundate 11% of Kentish plover nests. In addition, 5% of the coastal areas of Farasan Islands, which support 26% of Kentish plover nests, will be flooded, if sea level rises by one metre. Our results are constrained by the availability of data on both elevation and bird populations. Therefore, we recommend follow-up studies to model the impacts of sea level rise using different elevation scenarios, and the establishment of a monitoring programme for breeding shorebirds and seabirds in Farasan Islands to assess the impact of climate change on their populations

A snapshot of compliance with the sepsis six care bundle in two acute hospitals in the West Midlands, UK

The sepsis six care bundle has been adopted by hospitals in England and Wales for the management of patients with sepsis, with the aim of increasing survival when all elements of the bundle are achieved. To assess compliance with the Sepsis Six Care Bundle in two acute NHS hospitals in the West Midlands. Adults admitted to hospital over a 24-hour period were screened for sepsis. Sepsis was identified using the Systemic Inflammatory Response (SIRS) criteria and the quick sequential organ failure assessment (qSOFA) score. Adherence to the Sepsis Six Care Bundle was assessed. 249 patients were screened and 24 patients were identified as having sepsis (9.6%). One patient received all six elements of the bundle. Compliance was highest for giving intravenous fluids (58.3%) and antibiotics (58.3%), and lowest for measuring urine output (16.7%). Further research is needed to establish the reasons for low compliance. Frankling C, Patel J, Sharif B, Melody T, Yeung J, Gao F, et al. A Snapshot of Compliance with the Sepsis Six Care Bundle in Two Acute Hospitals in the West Midlands, UK. Indian J Crit Care Med 2019;23(7):310-315

Bird's-eye view on Noise-Based Logic

Noise-based logic is a practically deterministic logic scheme inspired by the randomness of neural spikes and uses a system of uncorrelated stochastic processes and their superposition to represent the logic state. We briefly discuss various questions such as (i) What does practical determinism mean? (ii) Is noise-based logic a Turing machine? (iii) Is there hope to beat (the dreams of) quantum computation by a classical physical noise-based processor, and what are the minimum hardware requirements for that? Finally, (iv) we address the problem of random number generators and show that the common belief that quantum number generators are superior to classical (thermal) noise-based generators is nothing but a myth.Comment: paper in pres