Illusory Borders: The Myth of the Modern Nation-State and its Impact on the Repatriation of Cultural Artifacts, 15 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 486 (2016)

While the current world order of independent nation-states may seem like a natural state that has existed for centuries, in reality, it is a relatively new development that was forged after the demise of imperial rule. Yet, the nation-state is the foundational entity of our current international political and legal framework. International treaties and relations are structured around the nation-state, which is recognized as the core entity in which rights are vested and on which obligations are imposed. This prioritization of the nation-state leads to issues when we consider the repatriation of cultural heritage, particularly in light of the history of many of the nation-states in existence today. Many of the nation-states we see on maps today were political creations whose borders were drawn arbitrarily, with complete disregard for the cultural, ethnic, political, religious, and social divides that already existed among indigenous and native peoples. As such, there is a discongruence between the peoples of the world and many of the national borders demarcated by maps today. This article examines this history, highlighting some of the arbitrary and politically-driven ways in which our world of nation-states came about. It also discusses some of the issues that arise when the nation-state is prioritized over peoples with respect to rights to cultural heritage. Finally, this article suggests that the framework for the repatriation of cultural heritage must evolve away from a system in which the default rightholder is the nation-state. Instead, where feasible and just, peoples should be recognized as having superior rights to cultural heritage. Such a model would give indigenous and marginalized peoples greater control over the fate of their cultural heritage and align more with the goals of repatriation

New influencing dimensions to creating a climate for innovation – case of the Egyptian telecommunications industry

The interest in leading and managing for innovation is growing among practitioners and academics (Isaksen and Akkermans, 2011). The aim of this research is to investigate and identify further dimensions of climate for innovation within the Egyptian telecommunications industry. This study contributes to the innovation management literature by identifying further dimensions of climate for innovation that foster organisation innovativeness in a real-life setting. This study pinpoints dimensions of climate for innovation that were not identified in previous climate for innovation frameworks. This study contributes to the climate for innovation by adding insights from the Egyptian telecommunications sector

Phase Diagram and Membrane Desalination

Desalination technologies have made a significant impact in seawater and brackish water desalination. Recently, the evolution of membrane development has improved performance to lower operating costs and membranes have become the preferred technology for water desalination. Fortunately, different raw materials can be used for preparing membrane sheets which include either organic or inorganic materials, such as cellulose acetate, polyamide, polyimide, ceramic, natural, or artificial polymers. On the one hand, as a result of the variety of the raw materials which already exist in the entire world, different membrane separation processes might be applied dependent on the nature of the membrane sheet and the requirements of treatment process. On the other hand, there are different types of membranes can be used for membrane desalination by using different technologies such as reverse osmosis (RO), membrane distillation (MD), and forward osmosis (FO). The ternary phase diagram for membrane casting solution has an important role to get the required membranes

The relationship between employees’ perceptions of climate for innovation, organisation innovativeness, and customer experience in a major telecommunications organisation in Egypt

Organisational success in the 21st century is determined by an organisation’s ability to remain in a state of continuous innovation. Innovation is considered as a competitive tool for an organisation’s long term performance and an important means for adapting to the evolving customer needs. Therefore, it is vital for organisations to develop work environments that promote innovation. By fostering a climate for innovation, employees are inspired to be innovative, leading to the production of innovative outcomes. Customer experience also is increasingly becoming a differentiating factor for companies. Interest in the customer experience concept has increased tremendously over the past decades among researchers and practitioners. Organisations need to introduce innovative products and services to leverage the customer experience. There have been no studies examining the relationship between employees’ perceptions of climate for innovation, organisation innovativeness, and customer experience in a single study. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate and provide an in-depth understanding of the relationship between employees’ perceptions of climate for innovation, organisation innovativeness, and customer experience in a service setting. This study adopts a qualitative single case study research design to provide an in-depth investigation and understanding of the phenomena under study in a major telecommunications organisation in Egypt. Findings from this study show that there is a relationship between employees’ perceptions of climate for innovation, organisation innovativeness, and customer experience in a service setting. The study identifies five main themes of climate for innovation that enhance organisation innovativeness. Finally, a key finding of this research is identifying that there are certain dimensions of climate for innovation that are highly related to customer experience than other dimensions: customer centricity, idea support, senior management support, risk-taking, open innovation, idea time, teamwork and cohesion, employee empowerment, structure of functional units, rewards and recognition, challenging jobs, and employee involvement

Utjecaj fluniksina na uklanjanje i dinamiku rezidua oksitetraciklina u mlijeku mliječnih pasmina koza

This research assessed the impact of flunixin meglumine (FM) co-administration on the elimination and milk residual properties of oxytetracycline (OTC) in dairy goats. OTC was administered via single intravenous (i/v) and intramuscular (i/m) injections at a dose of 10 mg/kg body mass (b.m.). Serum, urine, milk and ruminal juice were analysed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The OTC serum concentrations were higher than the MIC for 12 hours against most susceptible pathogens in both groups. The half-lives of the distribution (T1/2α) and elimination (T1/2β) of OTC were 0.24 and 5.79 hours, respectively. The total body clearance was significantly increased in the FM coadministered groups. Following i/m injection, the absorption half-life (T1/2ab) with the maximum absorption time (Tmax) revealed a rapid absorption rate. Furthermore, the systemic bioavailability (F%) after i/m was 107.2%, indicating complete absorption from the muscular tissues. The bounded fraction of OTC with serum proteins was 18.73%. FM significantly decreases OTC concentration in milk and ruminal juice. OTC is eliminated primarily through the kidneys and to a lesser extent via milk and ruminal juice in dairy goats. Milk obtained from OTC treated goats may not be safe for human consumption two days post administration. Concomitantly, the use of FM with OTC may necessitate the surveillance and optimization of OTC dosage.Istražen je utjecaj fluniksina-meglumina (FM) na uklanjanje i rezidualna svojstva oksitetraciklina (OTC) u mlijeku mliječnih pasmina koza. OTC je dan jednokratno intravenski i intramuskularno u dozi od 10 mg/kg tjelesne mase. Serum, urin, mlijeko i buražni sok analizirani su tekućinskom kromatografijom visoke učinkovitosti (HPLC). Koncentracije OTC u serumu bile su tijekom 12 sati više od najmanje inhibitorne koncentracije za najosjetljivije patogene u objema skupinama. Vrijeme polurazgradnje OTC-a (T1/2α) bilo je 0,24 sata, a vrijeme uklanjanja (T1/2β) 5,79 sati. Vrijeme potpunog uklanjanja OTC-a statistički znakovito je poraslo u skupinama kojima je istodobno dan i fluniksin-meglumin. Nakon intramuskularne injekcije poluvijek apsorpcije (T1/2ab) s maksimalnim vremenom apsorpcije (Tmax) pokazao je veću brzinu apsorpcije. Osim toga sistemska bioraspoloživost (F %) nakon intramuskularne primjene bila je 107,2 % što upućuje na potpunu apsorpciju iz mišićnih tkiva. Dio OTC-a vezan na serumske proteine iznosio je 18,73 %. Fluniksin-meglumin statistički znakovito je smanjio koncentracije OTC-a u mlijeku i buražnom soku. OTC je uklonjen ponajprije putem bubrega i, u manjoj mjeri, mlijekom i buražnim sokom u mliječnih pasmina koza. Mlijeko dobiveno od koza kojima je davan OTC nije prikladno za upotrebu u ljudi do dva dana nakon primjene. Istodobna primjena FM-a s OTC-om može zahtijevati praćenje i optimizaciju OTC doze

Nematocidal and Bactericidal Activities of Green Synthesized Silver Nanoparticles Mediated by \u3ci\u3eFicus sycomorus\u3c/i\u3e Leaf Extract

Nanoparticles effectively control most plant pathogens, although research has focused more on their antimicrobial than their nematocidal properties. This study synthesized silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) through a green biosynthesis method using an aqueous extract of Ficus sycomorus leaves (FS-Ag-NPs). The nanoparticles were characterized using SEM, TEM, EDX, zeta sizer, and FTIR. The TEM results showed that the synthesized NPs were nanoscale and had an average particle size of 33 ± 1 nm. The elemental silver signal at 3 keV confirmed the formation of Ag-NPs from an aqueous leaf extract of F. sycomorus. The FTIR analysis revealed the existence of several functional groups in the prepared Ag-NPs. The strong-broad band detected at 3430 cm-1 indicated the stretching vibration of -OH (hydroxyl) and -NH2 (amine) groups. The nematocidal activity of biosynthesized FS-Ag-NPs has been evaluated in vitro against the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita at 24, 48, and 72 h. The FS-Ag-NPs at a 200 μg/mL concentration applied for 48 h showed the highest effectiveness, with 57.62% nematode mortality. Moreover, the biosynthesized FS-Ag-NPs were also tested for their antibacterial activity against Pectobacterium carotovorum, P. atrosepticum, and Ralstonia solanacearum. With the application of nanoparticles, the reduction in bacterial growth gradually increased. The most potent activity at all concentrations was found in R. solanacearum, with values of 14.00 ± 2.16, 17.33 ± 2.05, 19.00 ± 1.41, 24.00 ± 1.41, and 26.00 ± 2.83 at concentrations of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 μg/mL, respectively, when compared with the positive control (Amoxicillin 25 μg) with a value of 16.33 ± 0.94. At the same time, the nanoparticles showed the lowest reduction values against P. atrosepticum when compared to the control. This study is the first report on the nematocidal activity of Ag-NPs using F. sycomorus aqueous extract, which could be a recommended treatment for managing plant-parasitic nematodes due to its simplicity, stability, cost-effectiveness, and environmentally safe nature

Semi-spectral Chebyshev method in Quantum Mechanics

Traditionally, finite differences and finite element methods have been by many regarded as the basic tools for obtaining numerical solutions in a variety of quantum mechanical problems emerging in atomic, nuclear and particle physics, astrophysics, quantum chemistry, etc. In recent years, however, an alternative technique based on the semi-spectral methods has focused considerable attention. The purpose of this work is first to provide the necessary tools and subsequently examine the efficiency of this method in quantum mechanical applications. Restricting our interest to time independent two-body problems, we obtained the continuous and discrete spectrum solutions of the underlying Schroedinger or Lippmann-Schwinger equations in both, the coordinate and momentum space. In all of the numerically studied examples we had no difficulty in achieving the machine accuracy and the semi-spectral method showed exponential convergence combined with excellent numerical stability.Comment: RevTeX, 12 EPS figure

Parallel algorithm with spectral convergence for nonlinear integro-differential equations

We discuss a numerical algorithm for solving nonlinear integro-differential equations, and illustrate our findings for the particular case of Volterra type equations. The algorithm combines a perturbation approach meant to render a linearized version of the problem and a spectral method where unknown functions are expanded in terms of Chebyshev polynomials (El-gendi's method). This approach is shown to be suitable for the calculation of two-point Green functions required in next to leading order studies of time-dependent quantum field theory.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figure