792 research outputs found
Foreign Direct Investment and Labor Rights: A Panel Analysis of Bilateral FDI Flows
The paper analyses the impact of fundamental labor rights on bilateral FDI flows to 82 developing countries. The results indicate that investments by multinationals are significantly higher in countries that adhere to labor rights, thereby refuting the hypothesis that repression of these rights fosters FDI.FDI, Labor Rights, Developing Countries
Stochastic simulation algorithm for the quantum linear Boltzmann equation
We develop a Monte Carlo wave function algorithm for the quantum linear
Boltzmann equation, a Markovian master equation describing the quantum motion
of a test particle interacting with the particles of an environmental
background gas. The algorithm leads to a numerically efficient stochastic
simulation procedure for the most general form of this integro-differential
equation, which involves a five-dimensional integral over microscopically
defined scattering amplitudes that account for the gas interactions in a
non-perturbative fashion. The simulation technique is used to assess various
limiting forms of the quantum linear Boltzmann equation, such as the limits of
pure collisional decoherence and quantum Brownian motion, the Born
approximation and the classical limit. Moreover, we extend the method to allow
for the simulation of the dissipative and decohering dynamics of superpositions
of spatially localized wave packets, which enables the study of many physically
relevant quantum phenomena, occurring e.g. in the interferometry of massive
particles.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures; v2: corresponds to published versio
Perceived behavioral control as a potential precursor of walking three times a week: Patient's perspectives.
BACKGROUND: Behavior change theories can identify people's main motivations to engage in recommended health practices and thus provide better tools to design interventions, particularly human centered design interventions. OBJECTIVES: This study had two objectives: (a) to identify salient beliefs about walking three times a week for 30 minutes nonstop among patients with hypertension in a low-resource setting and, (b) to measure the relationships among intentions, attitudes, perceived social pressure and perceived behavioral control about this behavior. METHODS: Face-to-face interviews with 34 people living with hypertension were conducted in September-October 2011 in Lima, Peru, and data analysis was performed in 2015. The Reasoned Action Approach was used to study the people's decisions to walk. We elicited people's salient beliefs and measured the theoretical constructs associated with this behavior. RESULTS: Results pointed at salient key behavioral, normative and control beliefs. In particular, perceived behavioral control appeared as an important determinant of walking and a small set of control beliefs were identified as potential targets of health communication campaigns, including (not) having someone to walk with, having work or responsibilities, or having no time. CONCLUSIONS: This theory-based study with a focus on end-users provides elements to inform the design of an intervention that would motivate people living with hypertension to walk on a regular basis in low-resource settings
Perceived behavioral control as a potential precursor of walking three times a week: Patient’s perspectives
Background: Behavior change theories can identify people’s main motivations to engage in recommended
health practices and thus provide better tools to design interventions, particularly
human centered design interventions.
Objectives: This study had two objectives: (a) to identify salient beliefs about walking three times a week
for 30 minutes nonstop among patients with hypertension in a low-resource setting and, (b)
to measure the relationships among intentions, attitudes, perceived social pressure and perceived
behavioral control about this behavior.
Methods: Face-to-face interviews with 34 people living with hypertension were conducted in September-October
2011 in Lima, Peru, and data analysis was performed in 2015. The Reasoned: Action Approach was used to study the people’s decisions to walk. We elicited people’s
salient beliefs and measured the theoretical constructs associated with this behavior.
Results: Results pointed at salient key behavioral, normative and control beliefs. In particular, perceived
behavioral control appeared as an important determinant of walking and a small set of control
beliefs were identified as potential targets of health communication campaigns, including (not)
having someone to walk with, having work or responsibilities, or having no time.
Conclusions: This theory-based study with a focus on end-users provides elements to inform the design
of an intervention that would motivate people living with hypertension to walk on a regular
basis in low-resource settings
Self-regulation of the Peruvian food industry: health message cues in the context of food and beverage advertisements
One strategy to prevent the onset of non-communicable diseases is to motivate healthy lifestyles through health media messages. In Peru, the food industry is currently implementing such strategy with health message cues, in the form of a small icon of a walking person or a healthy dish, appearing on televised food and beverage advertisements. Yet the extent of this practice is unknown. Thus, the objective of this study was three-fold: to identify (1) the food and beverage advertisements showing health cues, (2) the types of health cues, and (3) their length in time
Parental Monitoring of Children’s Television Viewing in a Sample of Peruvian Caregivers
Parental monitoring of children’s television viewing is an important family practice that
helps children understand the messages they find on advertisements and program
content. Research points at different dimensions of monitoring, including parental coviewing,
rules about when and how much time children can watch television, and active
parental mediation. The study describes different dimensions of parental monitoring in
a sample of 303 caregivers of primary school children living in Lima. Main findings
reveal that about a third of the sample engaged in parental monitoring never, rarely or
sometimes, the education level of the caregiver was positively associated with limiting
the time children can watch television, and that child’s age was negatively associated
with the frequency of active mediation and limits on the content children may watch on
TV. Further research is needed in order to understand the practice of parental monitoring
across children’s age groups in the context of Peru
A fast and simple assay to quantify bacterial leukotoxin activity
Citation: Oppermann T, S Schwarz, N Busse, P Czermak: A fast and simple assay to quantify bacterial leukotoxin activity, Electronic Journal of Biotechnology, (2016). Vol. 24
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejbt.2016.10.001Background: Mannheimia haemolytica is the primary bacterial pathogen in causing bovine respiratory disease with tremendous annual losses in the cattle industry. The leukotoxin from M. haemolytica is the predominant virulence factor. Several leukotoxin activity assays are available but not standardized regarding sample preparation and cell line. Furthermore, these assays suffer from a high standard error, a prolonged time consumption and often complex sample pretreatments, which is important from the bioprocess engineering point of view.
Results: Within this study, an activity assay based on the continuous cell line BL3.1 combined with a commercial available adenosine triphosphate viability assay kit was established. The leukotoxin activity was found to be strongly dependent on the sample preparation. Furthermore, the interfering effect of lipopolysaccharides in the sample could be successfully suppressed by adding polymyxin B. We reached a maximum relative P95 value of 14%, which is more than seven times lower compared to current available assays as well as a time reduction up to 88%.
Conclusion: Ultimately, the established leukotoxin activity assay is simple, fast and has a high reproducibility. Critical parameters regarding the sample preparation were characterized and optimized making complex sample purification superfluous
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