A positive stigma for child labor ?

The authors introduce a simple empirical model that assumes a positive stigma (or norm) toward child labor that is common in some developing countries. They illustrate the positive stigma model using data from Guatemala. Controlling for several child and household-level characteristics, the analysis uses two instruments for measuring stigma: a child's indigenous background and the household head's childhood work experience.Street Children,Youth and Governance,Children and Youth,Labor Policies,Primary Education

Pyrolytic sugars from cellulosic biomass

Sugars are the feedstocks for many promising advanced cellulosic biofuels. Traditional sugars derived from starch and sugar crops are limited in their availability. In principle, more plentiful supply of sugars can be obtained from depolymerization of cellulose, the most abundant form of biomass in the world. Breaking the glycosidic bonds between the pyranose rings in the cellulose chain to liberate glucose has usually been pursued by enzymatic hydrolysis although a purely thermal depolymerization route to sugars is also possible. Fast pyrolysis of pure cellulose yields primarily levoglucosan, an anhydrosugar that can be hydrolyzed to glucose. However, naturally occurring alkali and alkaline earth metals (AAEM) in biomass are strongly catalytic toward ring-breaking reactions that favor formation of light oxygenates over anhydrosugars. Removing the AAEM by washing was shown to be effective in increasing the yield of anhydrosugars; but this process involves removal of large amount of water from biomass that renders it energy intensive and thereby impractical. In this work passivation of the AAEM (making them less active or inactive) using mineral acid infusion was explored that will increase the yield of anhydrosugars from fast pyrolysis of biomass. Mineral acid infusion was tried by previous researchers, but the possibility of chemical reactions between infused acid and AAEM in the biomass appears to have been overlooked, possibly because metal cations might be expected to already be substantially complexed to chlorine or other strong anions that are found in biomass. Likewise, it appears that previous researchers assumed that as long as AAEM cations were in the biomass, they would be catalytically active regardless of the nature of their complexion with anions. On the contrary, we hypothesized that AAEM can be converted to inactive or less active salts using mineral acids. Various biomass feedstocks were infused with mineral (hydrochloric, nitric, sulfuric and phosphoric acids) and organic acids (formic and acetic acids) followed by analytical pyrolysis on a micropyrolyzer/GC/MS/FID system. It was found that sulfuric and phosphoric acids are very effective in passivating the AAEM thereby increasing the yield of anhydrosugars. An excellent correlation was discovered between the amount of acid required to obtain the maximum yield of anhydrosugars and the amount of AAEM contained in the biomass feedstock. In the micro-scale studies, up to 56% of the cellulose contained in the biomass was converted into anhydrosugars which is close to the 57% conversion obtained from pure cellulose pyrolysis. It is known that LG polymerization and subsequent charring occur at temperatures above 275°C depending on the vapor pressure of LG in the gas stream. A study of pyrolysis of acid-infused biomass feedstocks at various temperatures revealed that LG recovery is best at lower temperatures than the conventional pyrolysis temperature range of 450-500°C. Pyrolysis of acid-infused biomass failed in a continuous fluidized bed reactor due to clogging of the bed. The feedstock formed vitreous material along with the fluidizing sand that was formed from poor pyrolysis of lignin. However, more investigation of this phenomenon is a subject for future work. Pyrolysis experiments on an auger type reactor were successful in producing bio-oils with unprecedented amounts of sugars. Though there was increase in charring when compared to the control feedstock, pyrolysis of red oak infused with 0.4 wt% of sulfuric acid produced bio-oil with 18wt% of sugars. One of the four fractions of bio-oil collected contained most of the sugars, which shows significant potential for separating the sugars from bio-oil using simple means. This work points towards a new pathway for making advanced biofuels viz. upgrading pyrolytic sugars from biomass that could compete with enzymatic sugars from biomass

Effects of Circuit Training On Different Surfaces on Selected Physical and Physiological Variables of School Boys

Forty five boys in the age group of 13 to 14 years of Alagappa Model school, Karaikudi were selected at random and were divided randomly into three groups namely mud circuit training group, concrete circuit training group and control group. The experimental groups participated in the training programme for a period of 6 weeks. During this period, the control group was let off without any training. The data were collected on selected physical and physiological variables of speed, agility, leg explosive power, pulse rate, blood pressure, aerobic capacity respectively before training (pre-test) as well as after 6 weeks of training (post-test). Analysis of covariance was used to analyse the data. The result of the study clearly indicated that the mud circuit training group had improved the speed, agility, leg explosive power, pulse rate, blood pressure, aerobic capacity to a greater degree than concrete circuit training group

Potential of electrospun nanofibers for biomedical and dental applications

YesElectrospinning is a versatile technique that has gained popularity for various biomedical applications in recent years. Electrospinning is being used for fabricating nanofibers for various biomedical and dental applications such as tooth regeneration, wound healing and prevention of dental caries. Electrospun materials have the benefits of unique properties for instance, high surface area to volume ratio, enhanced cellular interactions, protein absorption to facilitate binding sites for cell receptors. Extensive research has been conducted to explore the potential of electrospun nanofibers for repair and regeneration of various dental and oral tissues including dental pulp, dentin, periodontal tissues, oral mucosa and skeletal tissues. However, there are a few limitations of electrospinning hindering the progress of these materials to practical or clinical applications. In terms of biomaterials aspects, the better understanding of controlled fabrication, properties and functioning of electrospun materials is required to overcome the limitations. More in vivo studies are definitely required to evaluate the biocompatibility of electrospun scaffolds. Furthermore, mechanical properties of such scaffolds should be enhanced so that they resist mechanical stresses during tissue regeneration applications. The objective of this article is to review the current progress of electrospun nanofibers for biomedical and dental applications. In addition, various aspects of electrospun materials in relation to potential dental applications have been discussed

Há benefícios a longo prazo da educação infantil em países de baixa e média renda?

We examine the relationship between participation in early childhood education (ECE) and various long-term outcomes: post-ECE educational attainment, the development of both cognitive and socioemotional skills, and labor market outcomes. The data are from the recent Skills Toward Employability and Productivity surveys of urban adults in 12 low- and middle-income countries. Using OLS regression and propensity score matching techniques, we find suggestive evidence of long-term benefits across countries, as well as mixed evidence within countries. Notably, we find positive and statistically significant associations between ECE participation and post-ECE educational attainment (a mean of 0.9 additional years across countries). We find relatively fewer cases of positive associations between ECE and long-term socioemotional outcomes. The evidence on ECE and labor market outcomes is varied, with positive associations for skill-use but weak associations with earnings. Such mixed results suggest that improvements in the quality of ECE programs are necessary for realizing the full range of long-term benefits. Examinamos la relación entre la participación en la educación de la primera infancia (ECE) y varios resultados a largo plazo: el logro educativo después de la ECE, el desarrollo de habilidades cognitivas y socioemocionales, y los resultados del mercado laboral. Los datos provienen de las recientes encuestas de Habilidades hacia el Empleabilidad y la Productividad de adultos urbanos en 12 países de ingresos bajos y medianos. Encontramos evidencia sugestiva de beneficios a largo plazo en todos los países, así como evidencia mixta dentro de los países. En particular, encontramos asociaciones positivas y estadísticamente significativas entre la participación de ECE y el logro educativo después de la ECE (una media de 0,9 años adicionales en todos los países). Encontramos relativamente pocos casos de asociaciones positivas entre ECE y resultados socioemocionales a largo plazo. La evidencia sobre ECE y los resultados del mercado laboral es variada, con asociaciones positivas para el uso de habilidades pero asociaciones débiles con los ingresos. Estos resultados mixtos sugieren que las mejoras en la calidad de los programas de ECE son necesarias para realizar toda la gama de beneficios a largo plazo.Nós examinamos a relação entre a participação na educação infantil (ECE) e vários resultados a longo prazo: o sucesso escolar após a educação infantil, o desenvolvimento de habilidades cognitivas e sócio-emocionais, e os resultados do mercado de trabalho. Os dados são provenientes de pesquisas recentes sobre Competências para Empregabilidade e Produtividade de adultos urbanos em 12 países de baixa e média renda. Encontramos evidências sugestivas de benefícios a longo prazo em todos os países, bem como evidências mistas nos países. Em particular, encontramos associações positivas e estatisticamente significativas entre a participação no ECE e o desempenho educacional após a ECE (uma média de 0,9 anos adicionais em todos os países). Encontramos relativamente poucos casos de associações positivas entre ECE e resultados socioemocionais de longo prazo. A evidência sobre a ECE e os resultados do mercado de trabalho é mista, com associações positivas para o uso de habilidades, mas associações fracas com a renda. Esses resultados mistos sugerem que melhorias na qualidade dos programas de ECE são necessárias para a obtenção de toda a gama de benefícios a longo prazo

Towards Innovative System for Hadith Isnad Processing

Abstract-Science of Hadith gets a great attention in the last few years, in this paper we investigate the opportunity to innovate an automatic Hadith Isnad processing system that can help in automatic judgment of Hadith and distinguish between the accepted (Sahih) and rejected (Da'ief) Hadith

Primary Submucosal Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Rectum Diagnosed by Endoscopic Ultrasound: Case Report and Literature Review

Primary colorectal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is one of the very rare malignancies of the gastrointestinal tract. The diagnosis cannot be made before ruling out other common primary sites. Using the endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) technique to get a tissue biopsy for submucosal tumors has not been demonstrated as the best diagnostic approach in the literature. Surgery is the gold standard treatment with arising evidence of good efficacy following conventional chemoradiation therapy. A 49-year-old male presented with rectal discomfort. Sigmoidoscopy revealed multiple submucosal masses in the rectosigmoid colon. Mucosal biopsies showed nonspecific inflammation. Subsequently, an EUS with fine needle biopsy was done and established the diagnosis of rectal SCC. There were no other primary sites noticed in the extensive evaluation. The patient chose to be treated only with chemoradiation without surgery. At the time of writing this report he had no evidence of recurrence achieving 2.5 years of survival. EUS is an emerging excellent approach to diagnose submucosal colorectal SCC. This case will add supportive evidence of having a complete response following combining treatment with squamous cell directed chemotherapy and external beam radiotherapy without preceded surgery

Photonic biosensor chip for early-stage cancer diagnosis

This paper introduces a generic design of a silicon on silica “lab on a chip” photonic biosensor for medical diagnosis applications, and especially for early-stage cancer diagnosis. The sensitivity of detection of the biosensor developed is at least 10 - 100 times more sensitive than that of current commercial biosensors

MRI reconstruction using discrete Fourier transform: a tutorial

The use of Inverse Discrete Fourier Transform (IDFT) implemented in the form of Inverse Fourier Transform (IFFT) is one of the standard method of reconstructing Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) from uniformly sampled K-space data. In this tutorial, three of the major problems associated with the use of IFFT in MRI reconstruction are highlighted. The tutorial also gives brief introduction to MRI physics; MRI system from instrumentation point of view; K-space signal and the process of IDFT and IFFT for One and two dimensional (1D and 2D) data

Antibiotic Sensitivity Patterns of Uropathogens in Children: The Current Trend

Background: The emergence of antibiotic-resistant infections has led to increased health care costs and mortality among children. The purpose of this study was to determine the causative organisms responsible for urinary tract infection and their antibiotic sensitivity pattern among pediatric patients of Rawalpindi/Islamabad. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out from June 2014 to June 2015, in the Department of Microbiology, Army Medical College, Rawalpindi, affiliated with the Military Hospital, Rawalpindi. About 270 urine samples of children with UTI were analyzed through Analytical Profile Index (API) 20E and biochemical test strips system. Their antibiotic susceptibility was determined by using standard techniques. Data were assessed and analyzed by SPSS version 17. Results: Most common uropathogen was Escherichia coli (61.48%), followed by Proteus (15.5), Klebsiella (12.3%), Pseudomonas (4.5%), Enterococcus (3.7%) and Enterobacter (2.5%). Gram-negative rods, were most sensitive to imipenem (100%), Gentamycin (86%) and Amikacin (78.3%). They were least sensitive to Ampicillin (4.2%) and Norfloxacin (5.5%). Gram-positive cocci showed highest sensitivity for Vancomycin (100%) while displayed relatively less sensitivity for Nitrofurantoin (61.2%) and Gentamycin (48.7%). Cephalosporins also showed increased resistance with only 14% of gram-negative rods showing sensitivity to Cefotaxime. These organisms were highly resistant to Penicillin, showing a sensitivity of only 12.4%. Conclusion: Decreased sensitivity against penicillin and cephalosporins is seen in uropathogens causing UTI in children. High sensitivity towards Nitrofurantoin makes this drug an empirical treatment in UTI.  Regular surveillance of the developing resistance in uropathogens due to inappropriate use of antibiotic is necessary to reduce complication in children with urinary tract infection