In vitro activity of curcumin in combination with epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) versus multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.No external funding was available to undertake this work

Small-group teaching in geography.

The manual guides staff in geography departments through the purposes, advantages and disadvantages of small-group teaching as an educational device in geography degrees. The manual covers issues of authority, roles, syllabus, learning outcomes and skills. It highlights areas of potential difficulty and how to cope with these. There is a wide range of examples of how small-group teaching can be used with different types of material, students at different stages, and to achieve a variety of learning outcomes and skills

Dissolving Firm Boundaries Through Surveillance: Incomplete Contracts, Information Assets, and Process Integration

This paper addresses the issue of interorganizational governance and process integration. Specifically, we are concerned with IOSs characterized by shared processes, joint control, yet divergent incentive structures. The analysis is inspired by the Grossman, Hart, and Moore theory of incomplete contracting, which forms a framework of vertical and lateral integration based upon residual rights of control over physical assets. In this study, we explore the application of a derivative of this framework, which allows for the separation of physical and information-based assets. As a consequence of this separation, we demonstrate how the acquisition of information can shift the locus of decisions in integrated processes as well as affect pricing and the distribution of rents within a value chain. The empirical setting is a high-tech manufacturer that implemented a Lotus Notes application which tracks the flow of products across several legal entities within its sales channel. We conduct a simple regression analysis for transactions with one distributor, where we find significance in the price differential for products traded within vs. outside of the system, demonstrating a shift in the distribution of rents via information appropriation. We conclude with a discussion of how a managerial perspective would benefit from viewing supply and value chains that span organizations as single systems, not merely competing agents, and suggest how an incomplete contracts perspective is beneficial to this challenge

Youngest First? Why it is Wrong to Discriminate Against the Elderly in Healthcare

In South Africa and abroad the elderly are systematically discriminated against at all levels of healthcare allocation decision-making. Such discrimination is perhaps surprising in light of the National Health Act and the Older Persons Act, which explicitly recognise the elderly as a vulnerable group whose equal rights require special protection. However, ethical theory and public opinion offer some reasons to think that discrimination against the elderly may be justified. This paper examines possible ethical grounds for age discrimination. I claim that there are very few cases in which the aged may be discriminated against, and that age alone is never sufficient grounds for discrimination

Intense and Lasting Harm: Cluster Munition Attacks in Ukraine

Intense and Lasting Harm reviews the use of cluster munitions in the international armed conflict in Ukraine since Russia's invasion on February 24, 2022. Russian armed forces have used at least six types of cluster munitions in hundreds of attacks that have caused hundreds of civilian casualties and damaged civilian objects, including homes, hospitals and schools. Ukrainian forces have appeared to use cluster munitions in at least one attack.The report charts civilian harm caused by the cluster munition attacks and the long-term dangers posed by unexploded submunitions. Many countries have already condemned the use of cluster munitions in Ukraine, demonstrating the growing stigma against these weapons.The report urges both Russia and Ukraine to immediately stop using cluster munitions. It also calls on them to join the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans all use of the weapon and requires destruction of stockpiles, clearance of areas contaminated by cluster munitions remnants, and assistance to victims

Deprivation and the See-saw of Death

Epicurus argued that death can be neither good nor bad because it involves neither pleasure nor pain. This paper focuses on the deprivation account as a response to this Hedonist Argument. Proponents of the deprivation account hold that Epicurus’s argument fails even if death involves no painful or pleasurable experiences and even if the hedonist ethical system, which holds that pleasure and pain are all that matter ethically, is accepted. I discuss four objections that have been raised against the deprivation account and argue that this response to Epicurus’s argument is successful once it has been sufficiently clarified

The Roles of Internal Representation and Processing in Problem Solving Involving Insight: A Computational Complexity Perspective

In human problem solving, there is a wide variation between individuals in problem solution time and success rate, regardless of whether or not this problem solving involves insight. In this paper, we apply computational and parameterized analysis to a plausible formalization of extended representation change theory (eRCT), an integration of problem solving by problem space search and insight as problem restructuring which proposes that this variation may be explainable by individuals having different problem representations and search heuristic choices. Our analyses establish not only the intractability of eRCT in general, but also sets of restrictions under which eRCT-based problem solving can and cannot be done quickly. As such, our analyses both prove that several conjectures about what makes problem solving under eRCT possible in practice are incomplete, in the sense that not all factors in the model whose restriction is responsible for efficient solvability are part of the explanation, and provide several new explanations that are complete

Does good practice quality equate to earlier cancer stage at diagnosis?

The early diagnosis of cancer is a priority within the UK, with GPs being identified as playing a key role. The aim of this research was to look at the relationship between GP practice quality and cancer stage at diagnosis, for breast and colorectal cancer, within the North East of England. This was done by utilising existing healthcare databases, with data being obtained from the National Health Service (NHS) information centre, public health observatories and Northern and Yorkshire Cancer Registry and Information Service. Patient data was from between 2006-2008 with n = 13,610 cases of breast cancer and n = 11,606 cases of colorectal cancer. The data was combined and a range of analyses conducted to investigate the potential relationship between GP practice quality and a patient’s cancer stage at diagnosis. For breast cancer there was a significant relationship between GP practice quality and cancer stage in both multi-level and base outcome regression analyses. A range of specific variables, many of which were related to patient experience, were found to have a significant effect upon breast cancer stage. Patient age and level of income were also found to have a significant effect upon breast cancer stage. For colorectal cancer no association was found in multi-level analysis but a significant association was found between cancer stage and variables related to patient experience, such as a patient’s ability to see a doctor within two days. Patients of working age (18-64) compared to retirement age (65+), were found to be more likely to have a more advanced cancer stage at diagnosis, as were patients with low income. In summary, significant associations were found between measures of GP practice quality and patient cancer stage at diagnosis, specifically GP variables related to patient experience. This association suggests that higher quality of practice may increase the likelihood of being diagnosed with earlier stage of cancer. The limitations of this research are highlighted and directions for future research projects and healthcare policy are discussed and outlined