Product Market Regulation in Russia

This paper uses the OECD’s indicators of product market regulation (PMR) to assess the extent to which the regulatory environment in Russia supports competition and to draw attention to the areas where further reform efforts would pay dividends. The indicators show that, despite improvements in some areas, many aspects of Russia’s regulatory framework are still restrictive, which provides considerable scope for reaping gains from bringing regulation into line with international best practice. In particular, the scores suggest that Russia’s economic performance would greatly benefit from a reduction in the role of the state enterprise sector in markets that are inherently competitive and reinvigorated efforts to liberalise foreign trade and direct investment regimes. In some network sectors, recent regulatory changes have significantly improved the scope for competition. However, ongoing work needs to focus on separating competitive and monopoly market segments and eliminating barriers to entry. In addition, the authorities need to develop the capacity and strengthen the hands of the sectoral regulators. Introducing an overarching competition policy would also help bring the issue of competition to centre stage and spread a competition ethos through different levels of government.economy, transition, growth, competition, product market regulation, trade, foreign direct investment, state ownership

Systems, interactions and macrotheory

A significant proportion of early HCI research was guided by one very clear vision: that the existing theory base in psychology and cognitive science could be developed to yield engineering tools for use in the interdisciplinary context of HCI design. While interface technologies and heuristic methods for behavioral evaluation have rapidly advanced in both capability and breadth of application, progress toward deeper theory has been modest, and some now believe it to be unnecessary. A case is presented for developing new forms of theory, based around generic “systems of interactors.” An overlapping, layered structure of macro- and microtheories could then serve an explanatory role, and could also bind together contributions from the different disciplines. Novel routes to formalizing and applying such theories provide a host of interesting and tractable problems for future basic research in HCI

Aborsie: ’n Juridiese, etiese en regsetiese vraagstuk

In die geledere van skokkende en onetiese dade in die menslike samelewing, beklee aborsie ’n besondere plek. Vir wetenskaplike doeleindes kan aborsie oor die algemeen gedefinieer word as die skeiding van of afdrywing uit die moederlyf van die „produk” van konsepsie, synde ’n fetus (Geldenhuys, 1974:11; O’Donovan 1975:2). ’n Verdere element van die definisie, wat die blote afdrywing van die vrug gewoonlik kwalifiseer, is dat die fetus, met betrekking tot nageboortelike lewe gesproke, nie lewensvatbaar moes gewees het nie. Met die byvoeging van hierdie element tot die eie definisie word tans egter vertoef ten einde eers die belangrike vraag wanneer lewe ontstaan, te beantwoord

Fungal dissemination by housefly (Musca domestica L.) and contamination of food commodities in rural areas of South Africa

Abstract: Several insects that act as vectors, including houseflies (Musca domestica L.), are often considered to be an important source of fungal contamination in human foods.Houseflies are also involved in the transmission of bacterial pathogens that may pose a serious hazard to human health. Thus, the rural population of South Africa, as typified by that in the Gauteng Province investigated in this study, is at high risk from fungal exposure disseminated by houseflies and it is therefore important to assess the role of flies in contaminating various food commodities. Eighty four samples of houseflies (captured fromhouseholds and pit toilets)were studied for their potential to carry fungal spores into food commodities. The fungi occurring in samples of rawmaize (15) and porridge (19)were also assessed. Fungal isolates were identified based on morphological characteristics by conventional identification methods. Fifteen genera of fungi were isolated and identified, of which Aspergillus, Fusarium, Penicillium, Cladosporium, Moniliella and Mucor were the most prevalent in all three sample types analysed. The incidence rates of fungal contamination per total fungal count isolated in houseflies, maize and porridge were recorded with mean fungal load of 2 × 108 CFU/ml, 1 × 107 CFU/g and 2 × 107 CFU/g respectively. Additionally, A. flavus, A. parasiticus, F. verticillioides, F. proliferatum, P. verrucosum, P. aurantiogriseum and M. suaveolens were the most frequent fungal isolates in houseflies with incidence rate of 34%, 11%, 27%, 21%, 22%, 17% and 32% respectively. F. verticillioides, A. flavus, A. niger and P. oslonii were the most prevalent species contaminating porridge and maize with incidence rate of 23%, 32%, 16% and 28% in maize samples,while incidence rates of 59%, 15% and 29% were recorded in porridge samples with the exception of F. verticillioides. The prevalence of these genera of fungi may pose serious health risks

A rapid and low-cost DNA extraction method for isolating Escherichia coli DNA from animal stools

The price of commercial DNA extraction methods makes the routine use of polymerase chain reaction amplification (PCR) based methods rather costly for scientists in developing countries. A guanidium thiocayante-based DNA extraction method was investigated in this study for the isolation of Escherichia coli (E. coli) DNA from goat, chicken, pig, cow and human stool samples. Two versions of the lysis buffer, with and without _-casein, were tested to alleviate PCR inhibition associated with DNA isolated from stool samples. Results obtained show that, this method using the lysis buffer containing _-casein, produces PCR ready DNA at a fraction of the cost of commercial DNA extraction kits & copy; 2011 Academic Journals

Detection of amoeba-associated Legionella pneumophila in hospital water networks of Johannesburg

Abstract: The prevalence of free-living amoeba and associated Legionella spp. in hospital water systems may pose a risk of Legionnaires’ disease to immuno-compromised patients. This study investigated the occurrence of amoeba-associated Legionella pneumophila in three South African hospital water systems. A total of 98 water and/or biofilm samples were collected from the sterilisation unit, theatres, neonatal ward and intensive care units. Amoebae were isolated from 71 (72.4%) samples. Isolated amoebae were analysed using qPCR and culture methods to test for the presence of Legionella. L. pneumophila did not grow on selective media in any of the samples. A total of 7 out of the 71 (9.9%) amoeba-positive samples showed a positive reaction for L. pneumophila using qPCR. Although relatively few samples were positive for Legionella in this preliminary study, the association with amoeba still presents a potential public health risk to immuno-compromised patients when exposed to contaminated water

The solar influence on the probability of relatively cold UK winters in the future

Recent research has suggested that relatively cold UK winters are more common when solar activity is low (Lockwood et al 2010 Environ. Res. Lett. 5 024001). Solar activity during the current sunspot minimum has fallen to levels unknown since the start of the 20th century (Lockwood 2010 Proc. R. Soc. A 466 303–29) and records of past solar variations inferred from cosmogenic isotopes (Abreu et al 2008 Geophys. Res. Lett. 35 L20109) and geomagnetic activity data (Lockwood et al 2009 Astrophys. J. 700 937–44) suggest that the current grand solar maximum is coming to an end and hence that solar activity can be expected to continue to decline. Combining cosmogenic isotope data with the long record of temperatures measured in central England, we estimate how solar change could influence the probability in the future of further UK winters that are cold, relative to the hemispheric mean temperature, if all other factors remain constant. Global warming is taken into account only through the detrending using mean hemispheric temperatures. We show that some predictive skill may be obtained by including the solar effect

Absolute quantification of E. coli virulence and housekeeping genes to determine pathogen loads in enumerated environmental samples

Abstract: Quantifying pathogenic genes with q-PCR in complex samples to determine the pathogen loads is influenced by a wide range of factors, including choice of extraction method, standard curve, and the decision to use relative versus absolute quantification of the genes. The aim was to investigate the standardisation of q-PCR methods to determine enumerated E. coli gene ratios grown with the IDEXX Colilert® Quanti-Trays® using enteropathogenic E. coli as the model pathogen. q-PCR targeting the eaeA and gadAB genes was used to calculate the eaeA: gadAB ratios for clinical strains collected between [2005–2006 (n = 55)] and [2008–2009 (n = 19)] using the LinRegPCR software and Corbett Research Thermal cycler software. Both programs grouped the isolates into two distinct groups based on the gene ratios although the Corbett Research Thermal cycler software gave results one log higher than the LinRegPCR program. Although the eaeA: gadAB ratio range was determined using extracted E. coli DNA, the impact of free DNA and other bacteria present in the sample needed to be understood. Standard curve variations using serially diluted extracted E. coli DNA, serially diluted pure E. coli culture followed by DNA extraction from each dilution with or without other bacteria was tested using the eaeA q-PCR to quantify the genes. Comparison of the standard curves showed no significant difference between standard curves prepared with diluted DNA or with cells diluted before the DNA is extracted (P = 0.435). Significant differences were observed when background DNA was included in the diluent or Coliform cells added to the diluent to dilute cells before the DNA is extracted (P < 0.001). The “carrier” DNA and Coliform cells enhanced the DNA extraction results resulting in better PCR efficiency. This will have an influence on the quantification of gene ratios and pathogen load in samples containing lower numbers of E. coli

Submerged in the mainstream? A case study of an immigrant learner in a New Zealand primary classroom

Immigrant children from diverse language backgrounds face not only linguistic challenges when enrolled in mainstream English-medium classrooms, but also difficulties adjusting to an unfamiliar learning community. The culture of primary school classrooms in New Zealand typically reflects conventions across three dimensions: interactional, instructional task performance and cognitive-academic development. All three dimensions are underpinned by the culturally specific discourse conventions involved in language socialisation. New learners may be helped by classmates or their teacher to understand and successfully use these conventions, but left on their own they may sink rather than swim. This is a case study of one Taiwanese 11-year old boy, 'John', who entered a New Zealand primary classroom midway through the school year. John's basic conversational ability was sound, but he did not possess the interactive classroom skills needed to operate in the new culture of learning. Selected from a wider study of the classroom, transcript data from audio-recorded excerpts of John's interactions over several months with his teacher and classmates are interpreted from perspectives derived from sociocultural and language socialisation theories. The article concludes with a brief consideration of the extent to which John constructed, or was constrained from constructing meaningful learning experiences, and suggestions for further research and reflection