A Refuge for Refugees: The Historical Context and Socioeconomic Impact of Palestinian Refugees in Jordan

Today more than 41 percent of the Jordanian population is comprised of Palestinian refugees. Some argue that Jordan has become the new Palestinian state in place of their former land pre-1948. This paper presents the complications of this claim by focusing on the Jordanian government’s constitutional provisions on refugee citizenship, Palestinian support programs and the role the Palestinian identity has played in the integration, or lack thereof, of Palestinian refugees into the social, political, and economic spheres of Jordanian society

Casual factors of increased project risk : a review of four in-flight anomalies

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2006.Includes bibliographical references (p. 62-64).Risk management is an essential component any project. Traditional tools of risk management, however, tend to focus solely on the three traditional project elements-cost, schedule, and technical-ignoring the broader environmental issues which also play a part in project success. Without a knowledge and understanding of these additional factors, incident prevention is not possible. The thesis analyzes four in-flight anomalies to identify the underlying environmental factors that contributed to the technical failures. The major themes found from the in-flight anomalies include the importance of a system perspective throughout the life of the project, the criticality of maintaining excellence during routine tasks, and the experimental nature of the projects. Although nothing can guarantee a project success, research indicated the absence of key elements can set a project up for failure. These key elements include environmental awareness, proficient system engineering, engineering curiosity, engineering humility, and hands-on experience. Additionally, a cursory look at human and system behaviors that lead to resistance to change is provided.(cont.) Best practices and lessons learned from past incidents are provided and recommendations for future projects are suggested. A few of the recommendations are to establish a strong system engineering discipline, to provide hands-on training opportunities, and to improve current risk management practices to include system factors.by Rita M. Dal Santo.S.M

Pandemic stress and SARS-CoV-2 infection are associated with pathological changes at the maternal-fetal interface

Introduction The reported effects of SARS-CoV-2 on pregnancy outcomes are conflicting; studies frequently overlook the placenta, which is critical for the health of the mother and infant(s). This study aimed to determine the effect of pandemic stress ± SARS CoV-2 infection on placental histopathology. Methods Women were recruited in Canada (n = 69); France (n = 21) or in the UK (n = 25), between March and October 2020. Historic controls (N = 20) were also included. Placenta and fetal membrane samples were collected rapidly after delivery and were fixed and stained for histopathological analysis. Maternal demographical data and obstetric outcomes were recorded. Results Over 80% of the placentas from SARS-CoV-2+ pregnancies had histopathological abnormalities: predominantly structural (71–86%) or inflammatory (9–22%), depending on geographical location. Excessive fibrin was seen in all sites, whereas deciduitis (Canada), calcifications (UK), agglutinations and chorangiosis (France) predominated in different locations. The frequency of abnormalities was significantly higher than in SARS-CoV-2 negative women (50%, p < 0.05). Demographic and obstetric data were similar in the SARS-CoV-2+ women across all sites - characterised by predominantly Black/Middle Eastern women, and women with elevated body mass index. Discussion Overall, the frequency of placental abnormalities is increased in SARS-CoV-2+ women, but the incidence of placental abnormalities is also higher in SARS-CoV-2- women that gave birth during the pandemic, which highlights the importance of appropriate control groups to ascertain the roles of pandemic stress and SARS-CoV-2 infection on the placenta and pregnancy outcomes

Correlation between two quasilinear elliptic problems with a source term involving the function or its gradient

Thanks to a change of unknown we compare two elliptic quasilinear problems with Dirichlet data in a bounded domain of $\mathbb{R}^{N}.$ The first one, of the form $-\Delta_{p}u=\beta(u)| \nabla u| ^{p}+\lambda f(x),$ where $\beta$ is nonnegative, involves a gradient term with natural growth. The second one, of the form $-\Delta_{p}v=\lambda f(x)(1+g(v))^{p-1}$ where $g$ is nondecreasing, presents a source term of order 0. The correlation gives new results of existence, nonexistence and multiplicity for the two problems

Pro-Atherogenic and Pro-Oxidant Diets Influence Semen and Blood Traits of Rabbit Bucks

: Many dietary factors can affect sperm traits. We compared the effect of diets rich in pro-oxidant (flaxseed oil) and pro-atherogenic (coconut oil) substances without added antioxidants on semen traits, using the rabbit as an animal model. Thirty rabbit bucks (8 months old) were fed three diets for 150 days: CNT (control) a standard diet; HA (high-atherogenic) standard diet + 3% coconut oil, and HO (high-oxidizing) standard diet + 3% flaxseed oil. Semen samples were collected weekly for the evaluation of qualitative traits (kinetics, viability) and the oxidative damage (MDA and cytokines). Blood was collected at the start (T0) and end (T8) of the experimental period for the assessment of the oxidative damage (MDA and isoprostanoids), lipid profile, and testosterone. A worsening of sperm kinetics and viability was recorded in the HA group. Lipid oxidation in seminal plasma, as well as isoprostanoids in blood (F3-IsoPs and F4-NeuroPs), increased in both the HO and HA groups. A high level of TNF-α, a marker of inflammatory status, was recorded in the seminal plasma of the HA group. The resulting outcomes were mainly attributable to the different fatty acid profiles (SFA vs. PUFA) of the diets, which modulated an inflammatory/oxidative response

Acesso e adesão a medicamentos entre pessoas com diabetes no Brasil : evidências da PNAUM

Objective: To describe people with diabetes in Brazil and to compare their sociodemographic characteristics, access and self-reported adherence to diabetes prescribed drugs. Methods: Data analysis from the National Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of the Rational Use of Medicines, a household survey, with sampling by clusters, according to sex and age domains and national and macro-regional representativeness. Adults (≥ 20 years old) who reported having diabetes constituted the sample. The weighted frequencies of the variables in the sample were analyzed and the Pearson χ2 test was applied to evaluate the statistical significance of the differences between the strata for the data of access, form of financing and adherence to the drugs, considering the level of significance of 5%. Results: We found a higher proportion of women, people over 60 years and economy class C. Most participants reported having two or more comorbidities, in addition to diabetes, and taking five or more drugs. Regarding access, 97.8% say they have access to prescription drugs for diabetes and 70.7% say they get them totally free of charge. There was low adherence to anti-diabetic treatment, with significant macro-regional differences (p = 0,001), and greater vulnerability in the South and Northeast regions. Conclusion: Better access to diabetes medicines in the country has been demonstrated. However, to improve the efficiency of health public spending, it is necessary to achieve higher rates of adherence to treatment.Objetivo: Descrever as pessoas com diabetes no Brasil e comparar suas características sociodemográficas, o acesso e a adesão autorreferida aos medicamentos prescritos. Métodos: Análise de dados oriundos da Pesquisa Nacional sobre Acesso, Utilização e Promoção do Uso Racional de Medicamentos, um inquérito domiciliar, com plano amostral por conglomerados, segundo domínios de sexo e idade e representatividade nacional e macrorregional. Os adultos (≥ 20 anos) que referiram ter diabetes constituíram a amostra. Analisaram-se as frequências ponderadas das variáveis na amostra e aplicou-se o teste do χ2 de Pearson para avaliar a significância estatística das diferenças entre os estratos para os dados de acesso, forma de financiamento e adesão aos medicamentos, considerando o nível de significância de 5%. Resultados: Encontrou-se uma maior proporção de mulheres, de maiores de 60 anos e da classe econômica C. A maioria referiu ter duas ou mais comorbidades além do diabetes e tomar cinco ou mais medicamentos. Quanto ao acesso, 97,8% dizem ter acesso aos medicamentos prescritos para diabetes e 70,7%, que os obtêm de forma totalmente gratuita. Verificou-se baixa adesão ao tratamento farmacológico, com diferenças macrorregionais significativas (p = 0,001) e maior vulnerabilidade nas regiões sul e nordeste. Conclusão: Demonstrou-se melhor acesso aos medicamentos para diabetes no país. Entretanto, para melhorar a eficiência dos gastos públicos, ficou demonstrada a necessidade de melhorar a adesão ao tratamento medicamentoso