Labor Rights and the Democracy Movement in Iran: Building a Social Democracy

Since the early days of the twentieth century, the Iranian working class has suffered the consequences of an undemocratic, repressive capitalist state. With the large and growing size of the Iranian working class, no viable and sustainable democratization process can take shape without independent labor organizations and without the working class\u27s participation in the political arena. In the post-presidential election protest of 2009, one of the critical weaknesses of the Green Movement in its quest for democracy was that the working class was not massively and distinctly present among the middle-class women, men, and youth. Nevertheless, in the current struggle for democratization in Iran, the working class is becoming acutely aware of its important role as a social force in shaping the balance of class power. This article underscores some of the obstacles facing the Iranian working class in its struggle to attain basic rightsincluding the right to form independent organizationsand to protect and promote socioeconomic and political rights within the Islamic Republic

Labor Rights and the Democracy Movement in Iran: Building a Social Democracy

Since the early days of the twentieth century, the Iranian working class has suffered the consequences of an undemocratic, repressive capitalist state. With the large and growing size of the Iranian working class, no viable and sustainable democratization process can take shape without independent labor organizations and without the working class\u27s participation in the political arena. In the post-presidential election protest of 2009, one of the critical weaknesses of the Green Movement in its quest for democracy was that the working class was not massively and distinctly present among the middle-class women, men, and youth. Nevertheless, in the current struggle for democratization in Iran, the working class is becoming acutely aware of its important role as a social force in shaping the balance of class power. This article underscores some of the obstacles facing the Iranian working class in its struggle to attain basic rightsincluding the right to form independent organizationsand to protect and promote socioeconomic and political rights within the Islamic Republic

Intrinsic surface superconducting instability in Type-I Weyl Semimetals

Recent experiments on non-magnetic Weyl semimetals have seen separate bulk and surface superconductivity in Weyl semimetals, which raises the question of whether the surface Fermi arcs can support intrinsic superconductivity while the bulk stays in the normal state. A theoretical answer to this question is hindered by the absence of a well-defined surface Hamiltonian since the Fermi arcs merge with the bulk states at their endpoints. Using an alternate, Green's functions-based approach on a phenomenological model that can yield arbitrary Fermi arcs, we show -- within mean-field theory -- that the surface can support a standard Cooper instability while the bulk remains disordered. Although the surface has lower dimensionality, a higher density of states compared to the bulk allows it to have a higher mean-field superconducting transition temperature.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

A novel diblock copolymer of (monomethoxy poly [ethylene glycol]-oleate) with a small hydrophobic fraction to make stable micelles/polymersomes for curcumin delivery to cancer cells

Curcumin is a potent natural anticancer agent, but its effectiveness is limited by properties such as very low solubility, high rate of degradation, and low rate of absorption of its hydrophobic molecules in vivo. To date, various nanocarriers have been used to improve the bioavailability of this hydrophobic biomaterial. This study investigates the encapsulation of curcumin in a novel nanostructure of monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-oleate (mPEG-OA) and its anticancer effect. Tests were done to determine the critical micelle concentration (CMC), encapsulation efficiency, drug-loading efficiency, and cytotoxicity (against U87MG brain carcinoma cells and HFSF-PI3 cells as normal human fibroblasts) of some nanodevice preparations. The results of fluorescence microscopy and cell-cycle analyses indicated that the in vitro bioavailability of the encapsulated curcumin was significantly greater than that of free curcumin. Cytotoxicity evaluations showed that half maximal inhibitory concentrations of free curcumin and curcumin-loaded mPEG-OA for the U87MG cancer cell line were 48 μM and 24 μM, respectively. The Annexin-V-FLUOS assay was used to quantify the apoptotic effect of the prepared nanostructures. Apoptosis induction was observed in a dose-dependent manner after curcumin-loaded mPEG-OA treatments. Two common self-assembling structures, micelles and polymersomes, were observed by atomic force microscopy and dynamic light scat­tering, and the abundance of each structure was dependent on the concentration of the diblock copolymer. The mPEG-OA micelles had a very low CMC (13.24 μM or 0.03 g/L). Moreover, atomic force microscopy and dynamic light scattering showed that the curcumin-loaded mPEG-OA polymersomes had very stable structures, and at concentrations 1,000 times less than the CMC, at which the micelles disappear, polymersomes were the dominant structures in the dispersion with a reduced size distribution below 150 nm. Overall, the results from these tests revealed that this nanocarrier can be considered as an appropriate drug delivery system for delivering curcumin to cancer cells. © 2014 Erfani-Moghadam et al

Barriers to Green IT Service Management: A Case Study

This paper focusses on the barriers and factors affecting Green IT Service Management (ITSM) implementation and practices. To contribute to the body of knowledge on Green ITSM innovation, we performed an exploratory case study with the primary IT service provider of an Australian State Government, the Center of Information Technology and Communication (CITEC). A systematic literature review included the IT Infrastructure Library® (ITIL®v3) framework to identify its coverage of Green ITSM concepts. Structured interviews with CITEC's Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) are underway to gather experts' perceptions on the Green ITSM implementation related issues. This research-in-progress paper proposes that Green ITSM can deliver a competitive advantage to businesses over traditional ITSM frameworks. The insights gained in this study highlight the technology, institutional and individual factors that can help and hinder an IT organization's goal to contribute in a positive way to the environment

Subarachnoid hemorrhage:unusual situations leading to sah and underlying principles of physics behind its complications

Multiple authors have identified the most unusual novel associations as precipitant factors of subarachnoid hemorrhage and the knowledge of these and pathogenesis in background is necessary to suspect and therefore timely diagnose subarachnoid bleed and understand the mechanism of its subsequent complications. Objective: We herein describe unusual causes of subarachnoid bleed reported in various case reports with a comprehensive but elaborative review describing underlying pathogenesis and physiological mechanisms behind these precipitants and complications. Evidence Review: We sorted unusual causes of subarachnoid hemorrhage from literature review. By conducting meticulous scrutinization on search engines likePubmed®, Medline ®, Medline Plus ®, PubMed Central ®, MedNets®, Medbioworld®, Journal Watch® and Pakmedinet®; we found many novel associations using the key words: “Hemorrhagic stroke; subarachnoid hemorrhage; unusual precipitants; novel causes; pathogenesis; physical principles; aneurysms”. Findings: Novel associations of subarachnoid bleed include coagulopathies, lumbar puncture, degenerative vascular diseases, herpes encephalitis, sexual intercourse, bee sting, Conn’s syndrome and likewise many others. The basis of pathogenesis and its complications lies in understanding the complexity of relationship between the dynamics of intracranial pressure, volume and flow. Conclusions and Relevance: Understanding the physiology of exchange of force between different intracranial contents is the key to learn the mechanics of complicated brain injuries in SAH. Identifying the most unusual novel associations as precipitant factors of subarachnoid hemorrhage and the knowledge of these and the pathogenesis behind complications is necessary to suspect and therefore timely diagnose subarachnoid bleed.It may also help generate newer ideas for management in SAH

Access & Benefit Sharing Provisions Under Biodiversity Conservation Law in Australia & Its Implications for India

Australia played a major role in the developing ABS framework under biodiversity conservation law. Australia is a megadiverse country with complex ABS experience and possessed huge support from the biodiversity stakeholders. Australia has adopted the regulations regarding access benefit sharing under article 15 of CBD, 1992. The Australian legislation is in compliance with PIC and MAT. The agreement reaffirms faith in CBD, 1992, Bonn Guidelines, 2001 and Nagoya Protocol, 2009. The government system of Australia is a constitutional federation which is made up of six sovereign governments, two autonomous territories, and a national government. It has a ‘common law’ system adopted from Britain. Australia’s experience is extensive with ABS to draw lessons about developing an effective institutional mechanism for public and private sector with equitable benefit sharing in scientific and commercial access. The access and benefit sharing provisions under biodiversity conservation law in Australia have potential impact to design its national laws and policies for India by synergizing environmental law and intellectual property rights in a sustainable framework