The virtuous circle of the welfare state revisited

A central concept of this study is the virtuous circle. The core of our hypothesis is that the equality created by the welfare state is positively interrelated with social capital. Furthermore, we argue that a high level of social capital results in a high level of well-being and this results in support for public social policy. We collect indicators from developed OECD countries to describe public social policy inputs, inequality, social capital and well-being. The data cover the early 1990s, the turn of the millennium and the mid-2000s. In empirical analysis we use structural equation modelling (SEM), which casts doubt over the latest development. It seems that public inputs in social policy no longer diminish inequality as they did before and that increased well-being does not result in increased inputs. Finally, we look for explanations why the virtuous circle seems to fail lately

An overview of the DII-HEP Open Stack based CMS data analysis

An OpenStack based private cloud with the Gluster File System has been built and used with both CMS analysis and Monte Carlo simulation jobs in the Datacenter Indirection Infrastructure for Secure High Energy Physics (DII-HEP) project. On the cloud we run the ARC middleware that allows running CMS applications without changes on the job submission side. Our test results indicate that the adopted approach provides a scalable and resilient solution for managing resources without compromising on performance and high availability. To manage the virtual machines (VM) dynamically in an elastic fasion, we are testing the EMI authorization service (Argus) and the Execution Environment Service (Argus-EES). An OpenStack plugin has been developed for Argus-EES. The Host Identity Protocol (HIP) has been designed for mobile networks and it provides a secure method for IP multihoming. HIP separates the end-point identifier and locator role for IP address which increases the network availability for the applications. Our solution leverages HIP for traffic management. This presentation gives an update on the status of the work and our lessons learned in creating an OpenStack based cloud for HEP.Peer reviewe

Measurement of brown adipose tissue mass using a novel dual-echo magnetic resonance imaging approach: A validation study

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to evaluate and validate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the visualization and quantification of brown adipose tissue (BAT) in vivo in a rat model. We hypothesized that, based on differences in tissue water and lipid content, MRI could reliably differentiate between BAT and white adipose tissue (WAT) and could therefore be a possible alternative for 18 F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography (18FDG-PET), the current gold standard for non-invasive BAT quantification.Materials/MethodsEleven rats were studied using both 18FDG-PET/CT and MRI (1.5 T). A dual echo (in-and-out-of-phase) sequence was used, both with and without spectral presaturation inversion recovery (SPIR) fat suppression (DUAL-SPIR) to visualize BAT, after which all BAT was surgically excised. The BAT volume measurements obtained via 18FDG-PET/CT and DUAL-SPIR MR were quantitatively compared with the histological findings. All study protocols were reviewed and approved by the local ethics committee.ResultsThe BAT mass measurements that were obtained using DUAL-SPIR MR subtraction images correlated better with the histological findings (P = 0.017, R = 0.89) than did the measurements obtained using 18FDG-PET/CT (P = 0.78, R = 0.15), regardless of the BAT metabolic activation state. Additionally, the basic feasibility of the DUAL-SPIR method was demonstrated in three human pilot subjects.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates the potential for MRI to reliably detect and quantify BAT in vivo. MRI can provide information beyond that provided by 18FDG-PET imaging, and its ability to detect BAT is independent of its metabolic activation state. Additionally, MRI is a low-cost alternative that does not require radiation

Mars Science Laboratory relative humidity observations : Initial results

The authors would like to express their gratitude to the MSL and REMS instrument teams in making this wonderful Mars mission come true. Ari‐Matti Harri and Hannu Savijarvi are thankful for the Finnish Academy grants 132825 and 131723.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

COMPARISON OF COOKING TIME OF COMMERCIAL BEAN VARIETIES AND NEW BREEDING LINES DEVELOPED IN EASTERN AFRICA

INTRODUCTION Long cooking time is a major constraint to domestic bean consumers and the processing industry in eastern Africa because it requires more energy, time and increases the cost of production of processed dry bean products, and reduces their competitiveness with other grain legumes. Cooking time of dry beans can vary from 1½ to 8 hours depending on variety (Miles and Sonde, 2004; Kimani et al, 2005). However, little has been done to develop fast cooking bean varieties in eastern Africa (Kimani et al, 2005). Breeding fast cooking bean is now critical due to strong preference for fast cooking and processed foods especially in urban communities. Cooking time of commercial bean varieties grown in eastern Africa under controlled or comparable conditions is not known. Such information will provide a baseline against which improvement in cooking time can be measured. Our objective was to compare the cooking time of commercial varieties and new advanced bean lines selected for fast cooking at the University of Nairobi. MATERIALS AND METHODS Cooking time of 34 bean genotypes were determined using a Mattson cooker in the Food Science laboratory, Upper Kabete campus, University of Nairobi. The genotypes included 10 popular commercial varieties, seven recently released biofortified varieties and 17 advanced lines of diverse market classes selected for fast cooking (Table 1). The study genotypes represented the Andean and Mesoamerican gene pools and the major market classes grown in east, central and southern Africa. Beans were for soaked for 16 hours before cooking. Each trial was replicated three times. Data was analysed using Genstat software (v15)

Customer Value Analysis A Case Study of Electrical Low Voltage Switchgear Industry in Kenya

Project Report by Kibiro Vincent M. Komu, submitted in USIU-A in partial fulfillment for the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Adminiostration