Scale Invariant Cosmology

An attempt is made here to extend to the microscopic domain the scale invariant character of gravitation - which amounts to consider expansion as applying to any physical scale. Surprisingly, this hypothesis does not prevent the redshift from being obtained. It leads to strong restrictions concerning the choice between the presently available cosmological models and to new considerations about the notion of time. Moreover, there is no horizon problem and resorting to inflation is not necessary.Comment: TeX, 20 page

THE EXAMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AND SOCIAL BIAS TOWARD INTERRACIAL RELATIONSHIPS

Although rates of approval toward interracial couples are increasing (Carroll, 2007), interracial couples report facing prejudice and discrimination including disapproval and ostracism from family, friends, and the general public (Carbone-Lopez, 2013; Martin, Campbell, Ueno, Fincham, 2013; Potter & Thomas, 2012; Troy, Lewis-Smith, Laurenceau, 2006). However, there is growing evidence as acceptance rates and challenges faced by couples vary (Pew Research Center, 2012, Golebiowska, 2007), that experiences are different for couples depending on the racial group and gender of both partners involved. To better understand the experience of different interracial couples, I conducted two studies to examine the particular stressors they may encounter and how they are perceived by others. First, I used data from the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS) and the National Survey of American Life (NSAL; N = 5,413), to examine whether the racial and gender composition of a couple (e.g., Asian American man/Hispanic American woman) coincides with the amount and type of challenges a couple experiences. Second, I used a Mechanical Turk sample (N = 447) to examine the social bias toward interracial couples of different racial and gender compositions using the implicit association task (IAT). Overall it seems societal views towards different racial groups are influential in what interracial couples experience and how they were perceived. Rather than considering interracial couples a homogeneous group, future studies should account for the different types of these couples as it may have implications on results

Les Congos à Saint-Domingue : De l’imaginaire au réel

Dans la mémoire collective haïtienne, le terme congo est une insulte ; il désigne une personne encline à la soumission et à la trahison. C’est là une image paradoxale, au regard des faits et de l’histoire. Cet article tente d’élucider ce paradoxe. Il part de l’hypothèse que ce Congo-là est une construction imaginaire, résultant d’une opération de classement quasi racial et d’assignation identitaire. L’auteur montre qu’il s’agit d’une image dépréciative, élaborée au cours de la guerre d’indépendance, dans la dynamique de la lutte de pouvoir entre les divers groupes d’insurgés pour la direction de cette guerre. Au lendemain de l’indépendance d’Haïti, l’image a été reprise et cultivée par la nouvelle minorité possédante au pouvoir, dans ses efforts pour légitimer sa domination sur la masse des cultivateurs réasservis. Aujourd’hui, la fonction de justification et de légitimation de l’image dépréciative de Congo a beaucoup perdu de sa pertinence et de son efficacité. L’image survit cependant à sa fonction sociale, comme légende incontrôlée : un Congo imaginaire s’est superposé au Congo réel.In the Haitian collective memory, the term “congo” is an insult: it refers to a person prone to submission and betrayal. In the face of verifiable history, this is a paradox. This article tries to elucidate that paradox. It begins with the hypothesis that this Congo is an imaginary construct, resulting from a quasi-racial categorization and an assignment of identity. The author shows how a disparaging image was elaborated during the course of the war of independence in the dynamics of the power struggle between the various groups of insurgents over the direction of the war. In the wake of Haitian independence, the image was taken up and developed by the wealthy minority newly brought to power in their efforts to legitimate their domination of the reenslaved farming masses. Today, the function of justification and legitimisation of the negative image of the Congo has lost any relevance and effectiveness. Yet the image survives with its social function, like a legend spun out of control: a Congo of the imagination has been superimposed upon a Congo of reality

Adsorption and release of BMP-2 on nanocrystalline apatite-coated and uncoated hydroxyapatite/b-tricalcium phosphate porous ceramics

The association of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) with calcium phosphate bioceramics is known to confer them osteoinductive properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the surface properties, especially regarding recombinant human BMP-2 (rhBMP-2) adsorption and release, of commercial sintered biphasic calcium phosphate ceramics after coating with biomimetic nanocrystalline apatite. The raw and coated ceramics exhibited similar macroporous structures but different nanometer-sized pores contents. Both types of ceramics showed Langmuir-type adsorption isotherms of rhBMP-2. The coating noticeably increased the rate of adsorption and the total amount of growth factor taken up, but the maximum coverage per surface area unit as well as the affinity constant appeared lower for coated ceramics compared with raw ceramic surfaces. The limited advantage gained by coating the ceramics can be assigned to a lower accessibility of the surface adsorption sites compared with the raw ceramics. The quantity of rhBMP-2 spontaneously released in cell culture medium during the first weeks was lower for coated samples than for uncoated ceramics and represented a minor fraction of the total adsorbed amount. In conclusion, the nanocrystalline apatite coating was found to favor the adsorption of rhBMP-2 while providing a mean to fine tune the release of the growth factor

Accurate calculation of the complex eigenvalues of the Schr\"{o}dinger equation with an exponential potential

We show that the Riccati--Pad\'{e} method is suitable for the calculation of the complex eigenvalues of the Schr\"{o}dinger equation with a repulsive exponential potential. The accuracy of the results is remarkable for realistic potential parameters

“Tourists and Local Residents' Perceptions of Halal Tourism Efforts in Labuan Bajo”

Research on Local People's Perceptions of Halal Tourism Efforts in Labuan Bajo” Referring to this, practitioners and researchers recognize the importance of the tourism market (Battour and Ismail, 2016). Today the global Tourism Industry is becoming increasingly competitive. Understanding the needs, interests, demands, and behavior of international travelers is very important in destination development (Shafaei and Mohamed, 2015). The main research question of this research is "Research on Local Population Perceptions of Halal Tourism Efforts in Labuan Bajo" While the mini research question is as follows: What are the views of the community about efforts to implement halal tourism in Labuan Bajo?. This research is a basic research research, which is useful for increasing insight in social research related to the practice of building tourism potential through halal and non-halal tourism, especially in Labuan Bajo. Theoretically, qualitative research in practice is not singular, but diverse even though both are sheltered under the paradigm of interpretivism (Subadi, 2006:11). The qualitative data analysis technique is through three stages of coding or coding, namely Open Coding, Axial Coding, Selective Coding. The theoretical basis for Halal and Muslim-Friendly Tourism, Halal Awareness, Preception, Halal Tourism Characteristics and Attitude. In this study, the Government through the Tourism Office has a Halal tourism design that is misinterpreted by tourists and local communities. The concept of Halal tourism referred to by the government refers to additional friendly services for Muslim tourists who have different needs from other tourists such as worship facilities and halal food. Keywords: behavioral interest, halal tourism, perceptio

The commentator information system : understanding journalists' needs to overcome cognitive load and navigation issues

Nowadays, sports events are a significant part of the every-day entertainment with local, national, and international championships. A lot of money is invested by broadcasting companies to attract new and more viewers, acquire broadcasting rights, or send entire crews on site to cover such events. Journalists are among the few who go on site. To perform their job and make appealing live commentaries, journalists need a lot of information about athletes, past and live results, records, etc. The Commentator Information System (CIS) is the on-site tool used by journalists for these purposes, and made available by the organizers. The CIS is an LCD touch-screen device that allows users to retrieve sports data by selecting specific buttons on the interface: final or heat results, intermediate times, weather conditions, medal standings, etc. There is one CIS per event; hence the system can cover dozens of different disciplines (e.g. during the Olympic Games) at the same time. There has been research conducted on how to improve TV and online viewers' experience during sports events but nothing, as of today, about improving journalists' work environment. Moreover, their work conditions are very stressful; if they make mistakes in their statements, it can have negative consequences on their career. Thus, the CIS has to be reliable from both a system and usability perspective. Through this study I found important navigation issues and some missing information concerns. I observed that journalists rely heavily on their own notes and not much on the CIS. I discovered, users do make mistakes and have difficulties multitasking under this type of pressure. Finally, I noticed some gender differences in the task performances when users have to find information in the CIS

Association of Primary Varicose Veins with Dysregulated Vein Wall Apoptosis

BACKGROUND: Disordered programmed cell death may play a role in the development of superficial venous incompetence. We have determined the number of cells in apoptosis, and the mediators regulating the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways in specimens of varicose vein. METHODS: Venous segments were obtained from 46 patients undergoing surgical treatment for primary varicose veins. Controls samples were obtained from 20 patients undergoing distal arterial bypass grafting surgery. Segments of the distal and proximal saphenous trunk as well as tributaries were studied. Cell apoptoses and mediators of the mitochondrial and trans membrane pathway were evaluated with peroxidase in situ apoptosis detection, Bax and Fas detection, caspase-9 and 8 detection in the medial layer. RESULTS: Disorganised histological architecture was observed in varicose veins. Primary varicose veins also contained fewer peroxidase in situ-positive cells than control veins (2.6% S.D. 0.2% versus 12% S.D. 0.93%, P=.0001, Mann-Whitney u test), fewer Bax positive cells (2.1.% S.D. 0.3% versus 13% S.D. 0.9%, P=.0001) and fewer Caspase 9 positive cells (3.2% S.D. 1% versus 12% S.D. 1.3%, P=.0001). Similar findings were observed in saphenous trunk, main tributaries and accessory veins. In patients with recurrent varicose veins in whom the saphenous trunk had been preserved showed similar findings to primary varicose veins. Residual varicose veins contained fewer peroxidase in situ-positive cells than healthy veins (3.2% S.D. 0.6% versus 11% S.D. 2%, P=.0001), fewer Bax positive cells (2.2% S.D. 0.3% versus 12% S.D. 0.7%, P=.0001) and fewer Caspase 9 positive cells (2.6% S.D. 0.6% versus 12% S.D. 1%, P=.0001). Immunohistochemical detection for Fas and caspase 8 remained equal was the same in the varicose vein and control groups. CONCLUSION: Apoptosis is down regulated in the medial layer of varicose veins. This dysregulation is attributable to a disorder of the intrinsic pathway and involves the great saphenous vein trunk, major tributaries and accessory veins. This process may be among the causes of primary varicose veins

Insights Collection: Natural disasters and humanitarian settings

Population Council interns Nannette Beckley, Anne-Caroline Midy, Danielle Richard, and Lauren Rutherford curated a selection of Council-led publications that highlight the ways in which various natural disasters result in or contribute to the proliferation of humanitarian settings

The role of social networks in students’ learning experiences

The aim of this research is to investigate the role of social networks in computer science education. The Internet shows great potential for enhancing collaboration between people and the role of social software has become increasingly relevant in recent years. This research focuses on analyzing the role that social networks play in students’ learning experiences. The construction of students’ social networks, the evolution of these networks, and their effects on the students’ learning experience in a university environment are examined