Transnational NGOs between Popular Uprising and Authoritarian Regime: Developments in Egypt

Scholars differentiate the concepts of internationalism and transnationalism. While the first refers to the connectivity between macro institutions such as states, multinational corporations and other institutionalized actors within and beyond national boundaries, the second term emphasizes public movements, organizations and communities engaged in de-territorialized socio‐cultural, political and economic activities. This paper focuses on the role of transnational NGOs (TNGOs) in recent developments in Egypt. The current scholarly debate on the so‐called “Arab spring” considers the mobilization of disempowered youth, intense media-tech application and sustained international pressure as crucial to ousting authoritarian regimes in North Africa. Delineating the role of TNGOs complements such findings. TNGO activities and responses to the Egyptian uprising in 2011 and to the ensuing coup in 2013 reveal the capability of such organizations to balance civic transformational oriented mobilizations with state centred institutional considerations. Furthermore though TNGOs cannot directly change the current political stalemate in Egypt, the power elite might misinterpret the changing and sometimes contradictory positions of these organizations and might eventually encourage the return to authoritarianism. After introductory remarks on the background of the uprising, the paper proceeds to theoretical discussion of transnational engagement followed by recent historical and current empirical developments

Autecological and Grazing Control Studies of Dyers Woad (Isatis tinctoria L.) on Northern Utah Rangelands

Dyers woad (Isatis tinctoria L.) is a noxious weed on northern Utah rangelands. Chemical and mechanical means of control are unsuitable for rangelands. A potential alternative, biological control, is difficult due to a lack of basic ecological information. To remedy this, some aspects of the population biology and autecolgy of dyers woad were studied. The feasibility of controlling dyers woad by early spring grazing was also investigated via clipping experiments. A population study followed the survivorship of experimentally established populations over two years. Fall germinating individuals (1984) overwintered as rosettes twice and all survivors reproduced successfully. Spring germinating individuals (1985) overwintered as rosettes only once and 87% seeded the subsequent spring. Thus, on a good condition {high seral) foothill rangeland, dyers woad behaved predominantly as a biennial. Peak mortality in both fall and spring populations coincided with summer drought. The population size of dyers woad was constricted at two stages: (i) germination and establishment, and (ii) young rosette. The risk of mortality mortality in young rosettes was 77%. Dyers woad should be targeted for biological control at this vulnerable stage of growth. The seed dispersal pattern of dyers woad was best described by a negative exponential model of the type logy= a+ bx; (r = .78, a= 1.92, and b = -0.02). Ninety-five percent of a11 fruits were deposited within 54cm of mother plants. The root system of dyers woad was predominantly a taproot with some lateral sin the upper 30cm of the soil. There was little difference between mapped taproot and total mapped root lengths of rosette and mature plants. Significant mortality and reduction in reproductive performance occurred only by clipping, on or after 23 May 1984, at 60% or 90% intensity. Clipping twice, at either intensity, before 23 May had no effect on dyers woad. Sheep utilization of dyers woad ceased after mid-May, and had no significant effect on its mortality, percent flowering, and fruit production. Sheep grazing on dyers woad did not occur when much impact on mortality or seed production could be expected. The stocking re qui red to restrict dyers woad will result in range deterioration. More host-specific biological control agents should be tried

Masih Tepatkah Roa sebagai Pengukuran Kinerja Keuangan Industri Asuransi di Indonesia?

The problem of this research was the determinants of financial performance in insurance company in Indonesia, both of internal and external factor. There are some factors that influence positively and the other side influences negatively on the financial performance. The objectives of this research was to examine the factors that affect the financial performance of insurance companies in Indonesia, which was viewed from profitability. The methodology of this research was multiple regression. The object of research is 64 insurance companies listed in Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK) period 2011-2015. Finding and contribution in this research showed that leverage, equity, and management competence index proved to have a significant positive influence, on size, ownership and age, and they were proved to have a significant negative effect on retention ratio had a non-significant positive effect, and Underwriting Risk negatively influenced insignificantly into financial performace (ROA). Implication in this research was that companies need to monitor the fluctuation of leverage and Equity, that positively influence the financial performance, where leverage depends on ratio of debt to equity. In addition assets and ownership negatively affect financial performance, in order to monitor the iincrease in line with the profit increase

Schistosomiasis (mansoni) has a negative impact on serum levels of estradiol, progesterone and prolactin in the female baboon (Papio cynocephalus anubis)

To meet the growing concern for the well-being of laboratory animals, group-housing is now recommended for rats. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of group-housing and relative weight within the group on feedingbehaviour in rats. Studies of the individual feeding behaviour of group-housed animals have been carried out in many farm animals. In these studies, when effects of group-housing and hierarchy on individual feeding behaviour are studied, theresults are often confounded by differences in age, body weight, genetic differences and earlier experience of the animal. All these factors were standardised in the present study. The individual meal patterns of 12 male Sprague-Dawley rats, ofthe same weight and age, housed singly were compared to their meal patterns after two weeks of housing in groups of three per cage, The feed intake and the feeding behaviour were recorded by computerised balances in combination with timelapse video recordings, during the group-housing period. Although when group-housed the rats made the same number of visits to the food cup as when housed singly, they ate more quickly, ate less per visit, and hence spent less time per dayeating. The increase in eating rate was significant for the rats assigned to be the medium weight or lightest in their groups but not for the rats designated to be heaviest in their groups, indicating that the relative weight of the rats had an effect on their eating behaviour

Reduced-Reference Video Quality Metric Using Spatial Information in Salient Regions

In multimedia transmission, it is important to rely on an objective quality metric which accurately represents the subjective quality of processed images and video sequences. Maintaining acceptable Quality of Experience in video transmission requires the ability to measure the quality of the video seen at the receiver end. Reduced-reference metrics make use of side-information that is transmitted to the receiver for estimating the quality of the received sequence with low complexity. This attribute enables real-time assessment and visual degradation detection caused by transmission and compression errors. A novel reduced-reference video quality known as the Spatial Information in Salient Regions Reduced Reference Metric is proposed. The approach proposed makes use of spatial activity to estimate the received sequence distortion after concealment. The statistical elements analysed in this work are based on extracted edges and their luminance distributions. Results highlight that the proposed edge dissimilarity measure has a good correlation with DMOS scores from the LIVE Video Database

The outlook of the production of advanced fuels and chemicals from integrated oil palm biomass biorefinery

The palm oil industry generates significant amounts of solid wastes. The solid wastes, also known as oil palm biomass, includes the trunk (OPT) and fronds (OPT) from the plantation, and empty fruit bunch (EFB), mesocarp fibre (MF) and palm kernel shell (PKS) from the processing mills. Oil palm biomass is not effectively recycled for other applications, and existing disposal practices can cause adverse impacts on the environment. As oil palm biomass is a readily available lignocellulosic biomass, it has the potential to be a low-cost feedstock for conversion into higher value products. The first part of this study provides a comprehensive review of utilisation of oil palm biomass for the production of biofuels, chemicals and biomaterials through direct utilisation and physical conversion, biochemical conversion, thermochemical conversion and synthesis of lignin-based materials. The second part of this study discusses the opportunity for biorefinery development based on existing bioproducts from oil palm biomass, for the production of advanced fuels and platform chemicals that have not been explored in oil palm biomass research. This study proposes integrated biorefinery concepts via the integration of existing oil palm biomass biorefinery products with thermochemical process for upgrading the bioproducts into higher values products. The high-value products integrated biorefinery products include advanced biofuels, fuel additives and platform chemicals. The integrated biorefinery development for oil palm biomass processing is expected to improve the economics of the production of biomass-derived renewable energy and enhance the sustainability of palm oil industry

The effect of instant arabica coffee on the viability of lactobacillus acidophilus and bifidobacterium bifidum in a probiotic, lacto-free dessert.

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a viabilidade de bactérias probióticas Bifidobacterium bifidum subsp. lactis e Lactobacillus acidophilus em uma sobremesa sem lactose, à base de extrato de soja, com diferentes concentrações de café (0 a 1,5%), armazenada a 7 [graus] C. Quatro formulações produzidas foram avaliadas quanto ao pH, acidez e contagem das bactérias probióticas após 0, 7, 14 e 21 dias de armazenamento. Nem o tempo, nem o teor de café influenciaram significativamente o teor de ácido lático e o pH das amostras estudadas. De acordo com a ANVISA, para que o produto possa ser considerado probiótico, a contagem total de cada cepa por porção (100g) deve ser igual ou superior a 10 [elevado a 8]. No presente estudo, este valor foi observado para L.acidophilus até 21 dias, e para B.bifidum até 7 dias de armazenamento, ambos sem interferência do teor ou percentual de café.Food: the tree that sustains life. 1636

Fuzzy Logic based Edge Detection Method for Image Processing

Edge detection is the first step in image recognition systems in a digital image processing. An effective way to resolve many information from an image such depth, curves and its surface is by analyzing its edges, because that can elucidate these characteristic when color, texture, shade or light changes slightly. Thiscan lead to misconception image or vision as it based on faulty method. This work presentsa new fuzzy logic method with an implemention. The objective of this method is to improve the edge detection task. The results are comparable to similar techniques in particular for medical images because it does not take the uncertain part into its account

MEASUREMENT OF FASTING BLOOD SUGAR, SERUM TOTAL PROTEIN, SERUM ALBUMIN, SERUM TOTAL BILIRUBIN, SERUM DIRECT BILIRUBIN, AND LIVER FUNCTION PARAMETERS FOR CHILDREN WITH ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKEMIA

Leukemia is a common malignancy of childhood. Leukemias are group of malignant disorders of the haematopoietic tissues that are characteristically associated with increased numbers of leucocytes in bone marrow and/or peripheral blood. The aetiology of leukemia is unknown but several lines of evidence do suggest that the disease is a result of interactions between several factors for example: viral infections, ionizing radiations, chemicals and genetic factors. The incidence of ALL varies, and depends on age, sex and race. Antineoplastic agents (cytotoxic drugs) are used in the treatment of malignant diseases when radiotherapy and surgery are not possible or they are not effective. This study aims to evaluate some of biochemical parameters in children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. The results indicated that the value of parameters tested varies according to type of test (i.e. some higher than normal, some less than normal). Matrials & Methods: Eighteen pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia children were included in this study. All were subjected to γ-tocopherol, methotrexate, vincristine, and 6-mercaptopurine chemotherapy treatment. Serum fasting glucose, total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, total protein, albumin, alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase levels were measured using autoanalyser device. Results: Of eighteen pediatric patients, two (11.11%) were hypoglycemic (22.00±1.00mg/dL), two (11.11%) with high direct bilirubin (0.50±0.00mg/dL), six (33.33%) with low total protein (3.83±0.85gm/dL), eight (44.44%) with low albumin (2.47±0.41gm/dL), four (22.22%) with low alkaline phosphatase (20.50±11.83U/L), six (33.33%) with high alanine aminotransferase (136.66±37U/l)., and ten (55.56%) with high aspartate aminotransferase (238.60±39.15IU/L). Conclusions: malignancy of disease and chemotherapy treatment negatively affected biochemical levels included in this study, liver function, and nutritional status of patients.&nbsp