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博文

目前显示的是 四月, 2017的博文

Health Expenditure & Economic Growth

As is known to all, a healthy society and active workforce are the key factors of sustainable productivity and economic growth. And in nowadays’ world, people are still the main workforce in all kinds of industries. So the health of people is always the focus of different countries and areas. And with the development of society, more and more governments, organizations and individuals have paid more attention to health problems. So the annual health expenditure of each country also attracts a lot of attention.  Health expenditure, an important part of the financial budget and expenditure of each country and area, mainly includes two parts: private health expenditure and public health expenditure. The private health expenditure usually consists of direct household (out-of-pocket) spending, private insurance, charitable donations, and direct service payments by private corporations; while public health expenditure contains recurrent and capital spending from government (central and

Antioxidants: Friend or Foe for Tuberculosis Patients

Tu berculosis , or TB, as it’s commonly called, is a dreaded bacterial infection that usually attacks the lungs and can also spread to other parts of the body, like the brain and spine. It’s caused by the bacteria, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and usually spread by inhaling the droplets from the coughs or sneezes of an infected person. The people who are old or young and ill-developed and declining immune system are at a greater risk to get this disease. Besides, the people who are infected with HIV or like smoking very much are also the target group. TB has been found since ancient ages and used to be the leading cause of the death of people in the worldwide, which is also one of the top ten causes of death now. The common symptoms of this disease include coughing, sometimes with mucus or blood, chest pains, weakness, weight loss, fever and night sweats. Due to it’s a severe infectious disease, its prevention and treatment are very important and with the development of technology

Estimation Models for Software Functional Test Effort

The International Software Benchmarking and Standards Group (ISBSG) database was used to build estimation models for estimating software functional test effort. The analysis of the data revealed three test productivity patterns representing economies or diseconomies of scale and these patterns served as a basis for investigating the characteristics of the corresponding projects. Three groups of projects related to the three different productivity patterns, characterized by domain, team size, elapsed time and rigor of verification and validation carried out during development, were found to be statistically significant. Within each project group, the variations in test effort can be explained, in addition to functional size, by 1) the processes executed during development, and 2) the processes adopted for testing. Portfolios of estimation models were built using combinations of the three independent variables. Performance of the estimation models built using the function point method i

Reflections on Neoliberal Policy

It is reported that the global economic situation is not so good that many kinds of problems are emerging, especially in the developing countries. Egypt and Morocco are two exa mples of our study. They have carried out the economic reform for a long time and what ’ s the effect? A recent article studies the ways they exploited the global economic situation and confirms whether they benefited from the openness of the markets. They mainly analyze the neoliberal policy, which has great influence on the development of their countries and the situation of the country has proved that the perspective of neoliberal policy seems wrong. In fact, neoliberal policy, which is related to neoliberalism, means free-market economics. And it involves policies associated with free trade, privatization, price deregulation, a reduced size of government and flexible labour markets. And the purpose of carrying out the policy is to open the market, reduce the management from the government and impro

Nanobiotechnology in the Management of Glaucoma

  “ Only the deaf appreciate hearing, only the blind realize the manifold blessings that lie in sight. Particularly does this observation apply to those who have lost sight and hearing in adult life. ”                                                                ---- Helen Keller       The above sentences can be read by many people and the story of Helen Keller is also known by most of the people. But can it really work to encourage people who really have the same experience, especially those people that lose sight or hearing after growing up? The absolutely positive or negative answer cannot be given, but the preventive method of losing sight or hearing can be offered by all kinds of researches.      The research introduced here is about the preventive method of losing sight. It introduces the management of glaucoma. Glaucoma is one of the three most severe eye diseases that can cause the blindness when it’s not treated correctly and timely. And the management of glaucoma mai

Effects of Solid Waste on Urban Warming in Warri Metropolis, Nigeria】

This study examined the effects of solid waste on urban warming in Warri metropolis. To achieve this, the study generated data from field measurements of volume of waste generated and greenhouse gases. The data were collected from five (5) major waste dump sites in Warri metropolis. The data generated were analysed using bivariate correlation and multiple regression. Results obtained revealed that 25.1% of waste generated in Warri metropolis was found in the commercial areas of the metropolis while 4.3% of the waste generated was recorded in the low density Areas, 19.7% of the waste generated was found in the high density area (Okumagba, Ugborikoko, Enerhen village, Airport road and upper/lower Eredjuwa) and the remaining 51.9% was generated in the industrial, traditional and fringe zones of Warri metropolis. Warri metropolis has an urban bias of 4.16˚C. There is a significant relationship between temperature and volume of waste generated at R value of 0.722. The temperature in Warri

2016 Evaluation of Fair Plan 3: Outlook for Global Temperature Change throughout the 21st Century

In 2013, the author and colleagues made a projection of temperature departures (from the 1961-1990 average) throughout the remainder of the 21st century due both to Humanity and Nature. Two scenarios of human-caused emissions of greenhouse gases and aerosol precursors were examined: (1) A reference scenario with no emissions reductions, and (2) our Fair Plan to Safeguard Earth’s Climate which zeroes emissions from 2020 through 2100. Human-caused temperature changes from 1756 were calculated using an engineering-type Simple Climate Model. Temperature changes due to Nature were projected from our analyses of the observed temperature departures from 1850 through 2012. These natural changes were due to: (1) Three quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs), each of which we fit with a sine wave to project into the future on a year-by-year basis; (2) Other QPOs that are too irregular to predict yearly, and (3) stochastic noise. We projected natural variations (2) and (3) by the 90% confidence inter

Mergers and Acquisitions: An Efficiency Evaluation

Merger is to bring two or more separated companies together to form a larger one; acquisition means the purchase of one company by another and no new company is formed in the process. And they’re usually used together and known as M&A. M&A is a major form of capital operation and management for most of enterprises. And it can include a number of different transactions, such as mergers, acquisitions, consolidations, tender offers, purchase of assets and management acquisitions. The ultimate purpose for most enterprises which use M&A is to improve the growth of the enterprise and increase their enterprise value. But can all the M&A succeed? And do you know how to evaluate the efficiency of mergers and acquisitions (M&A)? In fact, it’s one of the most difficult problems for most of the economists and experts because all kinds of approaches are used to identify the effects of M&A. In 2013, some Brazilian researchers also made a study for the problem due

A Win-Win Result: To Remove HCl Gas Using Paper Sludge

   Hydrogen chloride is a colorless gas at room temperature and has a pungent smell. It is usually used as a chemical reagent in the manufacture of a variety of industrial chemicals, fertilizers and dyes. However, it’s also one of the most troublesome gases and air pollutants due to its great corrosive and toxic nature and high solubility. And it usually comes from burning and incinerating of the industrial waste. For according to nowadays’ technology, burning is a very common method of handling the industrial waste, the appearance of hydrogen chloride gas is inevitable, which makes the removal of HCI gas be the study focus of scientists and experts of related areas.        In present, calcium hydroxide and calcium carbonate at low temperatures (below 300˚C) are more often used to remove the HCI gas, but they lead to the evolution of some chemicals and cause hot corrosion of the incinerator. So a new method which removes the HCI gas via paper sludge would be a more welcome choice

Use of Poly-Lactic Acid (PLA) to Enhance Properties of Paper Based on Recycled Pulp

Nowadays, recycled paper is broadly used due to environmental reasons. Furthermore, the addition of starch as a dry strength additive improves the properties of recycled paper. Poly-Lactic Acid (PLA), a product from bio-refinery process, has recently been shown to act as a promising strength additive that could be used in combination with starch to further improve the strength of paper. In this study, the use of PLA of three molecular weights (MW) in combination with four different starches was investigated. Three recycled pulps from different origins, with the kappa number of 27.9 to 66 were used. Paper handsheets were made, and selected paper properties were tested. The results indicate that handsheets properties were influenced by the MW of PLAs, the type of starch used, and the lignin content of the pulp. The paper handsheets made from lignin-rich pulp (pulp A, kappa number 66), combined with 0.1% medium MW PLA (PLA_1) and 0.9% cationic starch containing 0.43% N gave the highest i

The Safety of Walking Space for the Elderly People Living in Communities in Beijing, China

According to the sixth national census [1], as of November 1, 2010, China’s elderly people over 60 years of age reached 178 million, accounting for 13.26% of the total population. Of which over the age of 65 for the elderly people reached 119 million, accounting for 8.87% of the total population. China has become the only country with a world elderly population of over 100 million. And it is predicted that this figure is growing at an annual rate of 3%. By 2025, the elderly will account for 19.34% of the total population. To 2040, the elderly will account for 27.8% of the total population. Aging in place is an important option for the elderly people in China due to the influence of Chinese tradition. Communities are the environment where the elderly people spend most of their time. The walking space in the communities is important for the safety of the elderly people. The research studied the safety of walking space of the elderly people living in the communities by using the da

The Importance of Radio Advertisement

Radio advertisement, which first appeared in 1920s, is one of the popular commercials in the world. It usually lasts for 30 - 60 seconds and uses some memorable audio cues, such as jingles or catch phrases, to grab the audiences’ attention. And it often broadcasts during the breaks of the radio programs. Besides, one of the most important elements of radio advertisement is the good script because most people that are listening to the radio are probably doing something else at the same time (whether it be driving, working, etc). If the script is not good enough to draw the interest of the audience, then the ads cannot be kept in mind by the listeners. And that’s why making the radio ad a conversation between two people has much better impact than reading a script by only one person.  And according to some surveys, we can find that the radio advertisement has positive effect on the sale of the products. One of evidence of the results is from an article which studies the effect of ra

Vitamin B12: An Important Element for Pregnant Woman

Vitamin B12, which is also called cobalamin, plays an important role in the development of people’s brain and nervous system, in the synthesis of fatty acids and myelin and in metabolizing carbohydrates, proteins, and fats which can improve people’s mood, energy levels and stress levels. Besides, another important role of the vitamin B12 is to help develop the fetus brain and form the neural tube. So vitamin B12 in pregnancy is a hot issue that is discussed by a lot of experts and professionals. For pregnant women, the recommended daily intake of vitamin B12 is 2.6 ug and it is mainly from milk, eggs, meat, fish, poultry, etc, which should be got easily through a healthy and well-rounded diet. However,  deficiency of vitamin B12 becomes a common phenomenon in pregnant women, and the cause is unknown. So the test of vitamin B12 for pregnant women is very necessary. Then if vitamin B12 is not enough for the pregnant women, the doctors would tell them the disadvantages of deficiency o

The Influence of Knowledge Management on Learning in Government Organisations

There has been a tendency for government organizations to become competitive due to instability in modern economies. Accordingly, Knowledge Management (KM) has been rapidly growing in the past decade as a source of influence on organisational development practices. In the past decade research approaches largely failed to show the importance of KM initiatives in creating synergy with other initiatives to an extent that would lead towards organizational competitiveness. This paper investigates whether KM holistically influences organisational learning, specifically in the context of the government sector. In order to understand the relationships between KM and organisational learning identified in the literature and increasingly used in practice, a quantitative survey approach was undertaken using a series of researcher-developed scales. Based on the literature review Organisational Learning (OL) was identified to be important in relation to KM, and a conceptual framework was designed t

Tax Compliance, Income Distribution and Social Norms

The relationship between income inequality and tax evasion is a complexone. Bloomquist finds a positive correlation between a measure of income in equality and the under reporting rate for wage and salary income. On one hand, if individuals incentive for tax evasion is income related, then the share of tax evaders and the total amount of tax evaded depend on the distribution of income. On the other hand, the specific design ofthe tax system, together with social norms and laws, affect the after-tax distribution of income. This paper studies the effect of income inequality on tax evasion. To discuss the topic, the article presents a simple model that incorporates incentives for tax compliance such as punishment and fines, intrinsic motivation and social norms.In this framework, the paper considers the hypothesis that social norms are group specific as in the case of social segregation or status related networks. The conclusion shows that all the negative effects of inequalities are

Good Gossip at Work

A: “Hey, did you hear that XX was criticized by her leader?” B: “Really? Why? What happened and when? How did you know that?”. A: “Er, I heard it from XXX who said the leader was very angry and it’s said that it’s because XX did……”. B: “Oh, she is so daring. Didn’t she know that according to the firms rules that the things cannot be done.” A: “Well, who knows? Maybe she …….”. Did you usually see the similar scene like the above one in your workplace? And what do you think of it? Do you think it’s a positive phenomenon or a negative one? In actual, when we begin to work, we all know that the above scene, gossip, cannot be avoided. And for most workers, no matter really true or not, saying something that happens in their workplace or to the people around them is a good way for them to keep interaction with their colleagues and relax themselves, and to some extent, satisfy their curiosity. However, for the leaders, they don’t want there is too much gossip in the company, e

Amateur Sports of the Elderly: A Chance for Health and a Higher Quality of Life

A significant increase in sports-leisure activity events in recent years presents the opportunity to compete in all age categories. Among the many sport varieties, special attention ought to be paid to amateur sports—recreational sports, particularly in the context of the increasing leisure time among the elderly. Recreational sports activities are free of many distortions and defects of the modern professional sport. Recreational sports are egalitarian, not exclusive. The health paradigm is always at the heart of it, along with a strong emphasis on hedonism. Sport activities reveal self-fulfillment as the highest needs, giving fulfillment and satisfaction. The ease in the selection of a sports goal makes the amateur sports an important tool for the shaping of persons’ life and health. A sports goal, which is participating in sports events, provides a strong motivation for systematic work. Striving for transgression is a source of strong emotions and satisfaction. Struggling with a pe

School Bullying ≠ School Violence

School bullying, a very prevalent and serious issue, not only has bad effect on the school safety and management, but also causes the physical and mental injury of the students. And it is always misunderstood as the school violence, which happens so frequently in nowadays’ world and includes school shooting, school bullying, gangs, and any other things that make students and teachers feel threaten. In fact, school bullying is not the school violence. It is only one of the forms of school violence, and to some extent, is also one of the causes of the school violence. And there are different types of school bullying, such as physical bullying, verbal bullying, cyberbullying, sexual bullying and so on. And the bullying doesn’t only happen in the classrooms and schools, it also happens out of school. So how can we prevent the school bullying? What can we do to reduce the occurrence of the school bullying, and then stop the school violence? Usually, the researchers analyze the sta

Factors Related to Nocturia in Elderly People Living in Local Remote Area in Japan

The elderly people are prone to be affected by quality of life (QOL) by nocturia becoming the multiple times. A purpose of this study was to determine it about a factor associated with the night urination. This survey was conducted in 2015 as a cross-sectional study. Anonymous, self- administered questionnaires were used to prevent individuals from being identified. The analysis subjects were 699 elderly people with the nocturia which belonged to club of the aged 65 years or older. Those with nocturia were placed in the Nocturia-1 group if they reported experiencing nocturia once per night or in the Nocturia- ≥ 2 group if they reported experiencing nocturia two or more times per night. We analyzed the relationships between the characteristics, lower urinary tract symptoms, and opportunities to go outdoors in the Nocturia-1 and Nocturia- ≥ 2 groups based on sex using the x 2 test. In addition, to investigate the factors that influence the change from nocturia once per night to two or m

Therapeutic Effects of Curcumin on Alzheimer’s Disease

As the number of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) continues to rise throughout the twentyfirst century, scientists are increasingly looking for remedies, although the cause and pathology of the disease remain uncertain. Among treatments for AD, there is a renewed interest in curcumin as a potential medication. Studies of the substance have found a large amount of consumption associated benefits, including anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Its wide healing properties make it increasingly interesting to scientists, with potential uses in the treatment of cancers, arthritis, various cardiovascular diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases. More recently, curcumin has been shown to have multipotent effects against various symptoms of AD. Among other things, curcumin has been able to ameliorate toxicity of beta-amyloid species, a key part of AD nuerodegeneration, in vivo and in vitro, and has been able to inhibit multiple parts along suspected AD pathology. The goal of this r

Rotating Classical Strings

It is a starting point in string theory to assume that elementary particles are in fact rotating strings, and the final goal of the theory is a complete description of fundamental physics, including general relativity. This paper is instead concerned with the reversed question: starting from general relativity, is there a good way to motivate why rotating strings should be more natural models for elementary particles than, say, spherical particles or point-particles? Also, the purpose here is not to motivate full string theory. For example, no hidden dimensions come into play, only the four usual ones, and strings are defined in a very simple geometric way. Rather, the focus is on investigating an interesting mathematical property, which implies that strings may have special features with respect to rotation which spherically symmetric particles have not. In particular, it turns out that in a certain sense rotating strings are simpler than non-rotating ones. This is a consequence of t

Another Fukushima Nuclear Disaster?

It has been 6 years since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan. Do you still remember this energy accident, which was caused by the tsunami following the Tohoku earthquake on March 2001? This accident resulted in the deadly leakage of radiation into the surrounding area, which not only contaminated water and natural environment, but also affected the locals’ health and living condition, so that more than 200,000 residents living nearby had been evacuated. Nowadays, what is the city like? From the relevant news, we know that the Japanese government has taken measures to remove the nuclear fuel in the surrounding area after the disaster and the residents are allowed to Fukushima now, but the city is still desolate and almost no people go back there. In fact, after the disaster, according to the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES), the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster was classed at the level of 7, the highest level in the Scale, and was considered as the worst nucle