Household-level Credit Constraints in Urban Ethiopia

Empirical evidence on determinants of credit constraints and the amount borrowed by urban household in Sub-Saharan Africa is almost non-existent. Using an extended direct approach by virtue of the unique data set we have (the Fourth Round Ethiopian Urban Household Survey), we analysed the determinants of credit constraints and the amount borrowed by urban households. We find a high percentage of credit-constrained households, the majority of which constitute discouraged borrowers. Discrete choice models that control for potential endogeneity and selectivity bias have been fitted to our data. Our analysis shows current household resources, number of dependants, and location as significant correlates.credit constrained households; credit rationing; endogeneity; instrumental variables; urban Ethiopia; Africa

Search of extended or delayed TeV emission from GRBs with HAWC

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are among the most luminous sources in the universe and the nature of their emission up to very high energy is one of the most important open issue connected with the study of these peculiar events. The High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) gamma-ray observatory, installed at an altitude of 4100 m a. s. l. in the state of Puebla (Mexico), has completed its second year of full operations. Thanks to its instantaneous field of view of ~2 sr and its high duty cycle ($\ge$ 95%), HAWC is an ideal instrument for the study of transient phenomena such as GRBs. We performed a search for TeV emission delayed with respect to, and of longer duration than the prompt emission observed by satellites. We present here the results obtained by observing at the position of a sample of GRBs detected by the Fermi and Swift satellites from December 2014 to February 2017. The upper limits resulting from this analysis are presented and theoretical implications are discussed.Comment: Presented at the 35th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC2017), Bexco, Busan, Korea. See arXiv:1708.02572 for all HAWC contribution

Existence result of the global attractor for a triply nonlinear thermistor problem

We study the existence and uniqueness of a bounded weak solution for a triply nonlinear thermistor problem in Sobolev spaces. Furthermore, we prove the existence of an absorbing set and, consequently, the universal attractor.Comment: This is a 19 pages preprint of a paper whose final and definite form is published in 'Moroccan J. of Pure and Appl. Anal. (MJPAA)', ISSN: Online 2351-8227 -- Print 2605-636

Discovering business process simulation models in the presence of multitasking and availability constraints

Business process simulation is a versatile technique for quantitative analysis of business processes. A well-known limitation of process simulation is that the accuracy of the simulation results is limited by the faithfulness of the process model and simulation parameters given as input to the simulator. To tackle this limitation, various authors have proposed to discover simulation models from process execution logs, so that the resulting simulation models more closely match reality. However, existing techniques in this field make certain assumptions about resource behavior that do not typically hold in practice, including: (i) that each resource performs one task at a time; and (ii) that resources are continuously available (24/7). In reality, resources may engage in multitasking behavior and they work only during certain periods of the day or the week. This article proposes an approach to discover process simulation models from execution logs in the presence of multitasking and availability constraints. To account for multitasking, we adjust the processing times of tasks in such a way that executing the multitasked tasks sequentially with the adjusted times is equivalent to executing them concurrently with the original times. Meanwhile, to account for availability constraints, we use an algorithm for discovering calendar expressions from collections of time-points to infer resource timetables from an execution log. We then adjust the parameters of this algorithm to maximize the similarity between the simulated log and the original one. We evaluate the approach using real-life and synthetic datasets. The results show that the approach improves the accuracy of simulation models discovered from execution logs both in the presence of multitasking and availability constraintsEuropean Research Council PIX 834141Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades OPHELIA RTI2018-101204-B-C22Junta de Andalucía EKIPMENTPLUS (P18–FR–2895

Antilithiasic and Hypolipidaemic Effects of Raphanus sativus

In Mexico, Raphanus sativus L. var. niger (black radish) has uses for the treatment of gallstones and for decreasing lipids serum levels. We evaluate the effect of juice squeezed from black radish root in cholesterol gallstones and serum lipids of mice. The toxicity of juice was analyzed according to the OECD guidelines. We used female C57BL/6 mice fed with a lithogenic diet. We performed histopathological studies of gallbladder and liver, and measured concentrations of cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides. The juice can be considered bioactive and non-toxic; the lithogenic diet significantly induced cholesterol gallstones; increased cholesterol and triglycerides levels, and decreased HDL levels; gallbladder wall thickness increased markedly, showing epithelial hyperplasia and increased liver weight. After treatment with juice for 6 days, cholesterol gallstones were eradicated significantly in the gallbladder of mice; cholesterol and triglycerides levels decreased too, and there was also an increase in levels of HDL (P<0.05). Gallbladder tissue continued to show epithelial hyperplasia and granulocyte infiltration; liver tissue showed vacuolar degeneration. The juice of black radish root has properties for treatment of cholesterol gallstones and for decreasing serum lipids levels; therefore, we confirm in a preclinical study the utility that people give it in traditional medicine

Experimental study of the influence of adhesive properties and bond length on the bond behaviour of NSM FRP bars in concrete

The near-surface mounted (NSM) fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) technique is a relatively recent system for strengthening concrete structures. Bond is a key factor in its behaviour, and is affected by many factors whose influence can only be tested through experimental studies. In this study, the modified pull-out test was used to study the effect of epoxy properties and bond length on the behaviour of NSM FRP bars. Three epoxy types, two FRP materials (carbon and glass) and four bond lengths (6db, 12db, 24db and 30db) are used. The load capacity, slips at the loaded end and free end and average bond stress are all analysed. The test results indicate that the role of epoxy properties appear to be a key factor in bond performance in the NSM FRP strengthening technique, and that their effect varies depending on bond length and FRP properties

Reduced Plasma Nonesterified Fatty Acid Levels and the Advent of an Acute Lung Injury in Mice after Intravenous or Enteral Oleic Acid Administration

Although exerting valuable functions in living organisms, nonesterified fatty acids (NEFAs) can be toxic to cells. Increased blood concentration of oleic acid (OLA) and other fatty acids is detected in many pathological conditions. In sepsis and leptospirosis, high plasma levels of NEFA and low albumin concentrations are correlated to the disease severity. Surprisingly, 24 h after intravenous or intragastric administration of OLA, main NEFA levels (OLA inclusive) were dose dependently decreased. However, lung injury was detected in intravenously treated mice, and highest dose killed all mice. When administered by the enteral route, OLA was not toxic in any tested conditions. Results indicate that OLA has important regulatory properties on fatty acid metabolism, possibly lowering circulating fatty acid through activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors. The significant reduction in blood NEFA levels detected after OLA enteral administration can contribute to the already known health benefits brought about by unsaturated-fatty-acid-enriched diets

Dos glucosinolatos y sus efectos asociados con la prevención de cálculos biliares de colesterol: una revisión

Dos glucosinolatos (glucorafasatina y glucorafanina) y sus productos de degradación (rafasatina y sulforafano) son metabolitos  secundarios que han demostrado propiedades antioxidantes y propiedades inhibidoras contra el colesterol hepático; estos efectos son muy  importantes para la prevención de cálculos biliares de colesterol porque en su fisiopatología existe un desajuste en el transporte y secreción  del colesterol. Estos efectos producen la formación de especies reactivas de oxígeno, que dañan los tejidos hepático y biliar. Los cálculos  biliares de colesterol son un problema de salud pública, su terapia farmacológica es muy limitada y el tratamiento quirúrgico invasivo para  cálculos biliares sintomáticos es la colecistectomía. Las investigaciones actuales están orientadas a la búsqueda de tratamientos preventivos,  porque hay muchos factores de riesgo asociados al desarrollo de cálculos biliares; por lo tanto, una alternativa terapéutica natural podría ser  el uso de estos glucosinolatos, así como sus productos de degradación

ESTRATEGIAS DE CALIDAD DE SERVICIO PARA LA SATISFACCIÓN DEL CLIENTE DE UNA EMPRESA PRIVADA

La investigación tuvo como objetivo general proponer estrategias de calidad de servicio para la satisfacción del cliente. Se realizó un estudio descriptivo, propositivo, con diseño no experimental, la población de 240 clientes de los cuales se obtuvo la muestra de 208 personas, se realizó una encuesta para conocer el nivel de satisfacción de cliente, cuyo cuestionario fue valido por expertos. Se obtuvo como resultados deficiencias en la limpieza de los servicios higiénicos, falta de coordinación para dar bienvenida a los clientes desde su ingreso, en el momento de entrenar y hasta terminar su sesión. El nivel de satisfacción del cliente se puede apreciar que existe un importante nivel de atención de las necesidades; pero un 14% manifestó que ha tenido deficiente servicio, respecto al precio el 19% muestra su desacuerdo, calidad y credibilidad de servicio el 38% indica que le falta mejorar, el 31% describe que no ha tenido el suficiente apoyo del entrenador y del personal que ofrece el servicio, es por ello que se propuso estrategias de calidad alineando a las necesidades encontradas