Job Loss, Credit Constraints and Consumption Growth

We use direct evidence on credit constraints to study their importance for household consumption growth and for welfare. We distentangle the direct effect on consumption growth of a currently binding credit constraints from the indirect effect of a potentially binding credit constraint which generates consumption risk. Our data is focused on job losers. We find that less than 5% of job losers experience a binding credit constraint, but for those that do, they experience significant welfare losses, and consumption growth is 24% higher than for the rest of the population. However, even among those who are currently unconstrained and who are able to borrow if needed, consumption responds to transitory income.Job Loss, Credit Constraints, Consumption

Enhancement of Underwater Images Using FPGA

Due to low illumination and changing environmental circumstances, underwater photography is difficult. The obtained weak images must be upgraded due to limited light offered by the Automated Underwater Vehicles (AUV). In order to employ AUVs, image enhancing algorithms must be created in hardware. Because of their intrinsic parallelism, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) have shown to be a superior solution for image processing approaches. Power law transform, contrast stretching, Histogram Equalization, Histogram Stretching, and Negative transformation are among the spatial domain procedures used to preprocess an underwater picture. A comparison of the above-mentioned picture enhancement technique implemented in FPGA is conducted in this work

Alterations of clock gene RNA expression in brain Regions of a triple transgenic model of Alzheimer's Disease

A disruption to circadian rhythmicity and the sleep/wake cycle constitutes a major feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The maintenance of circadian rhythmicity is regulated by endogenous clock genes and a number of external Zeitgebers, including light. This study investigated the light induced changes in the expression of clock genes in a triple transgenic model of AD (3×Tg-AD) and their wild type littermates (Non-Tg). Changes in gene expression were evaluated in four brain areas¾suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), hippocampus, frontal cortex and brainstem¾of 6- and 18-month-old Non-Tg and 3×Tg-AD mice after 12 h exposure to light or darkness. Light exposure exerted significant effects on clock gene expression in the SCN, the site of the major circadian pacemaker. These patterns of expression were disrupted in 3×Tg-AD and in 18-month-old compared with 6-month-old Non-Tg mice. In other brain areas, age rather than genotype affected gene expression; the effect of genotype was observed on hippocampal Sirt1 expression, while it modified the expression of genes regulating the negative feedback loop as well as Rorα, Csnk1ɛ and Sirt1 in the brainstem. In conclusion, during the early development of AD, there is a disruption to the normal expression of genes regulating circadian function after exposure to light, particularly in the SCN but also in extra-hypothalamic brain areas supporting circadian regulation, suggesting a severe impairment of functioning of the clock gene pathway. Even though this study did not demonstrate a direct association between these alterations in clock gene expression among brain areas with the cognitive impairments and chrono-disruption that characterize the early onset of AD, our novel results encourage further investigation aimed at testing this hypothesis

สมุนไพรพื้นบ้านแก้ไข้

บทคัดย่อวัตถุประสงค์: เพื่อสำรวจสมุนไพรพื้นบ้านและตำรับยาพื้นบ้านในประเทศไทยที่มีฤทธิ์ลดไข้ วิธีการศึกษา: ศึกษาใน 8 จังหวัด คือ ชัยภูมิ น่านสุโขทัย เพชรบูรณ์ สุรินทร์ กระบี่ ยโสธร และอุบลราชธานี โดยสัมภาษณ์หมอพื้นบ้านเกี่ยวกับสมุนไพรที่ใช้ ชื่อพื้นเมือง ส่วนที่ใช้ ประโยชน์และวิธีใช้ พร้อมทั้งเก็บตัวอย่างสมุนไพรจัดทำเป็นตัวอย่างพืชแห้ง ตรวจเอกลักษณ์พืชด้วยรูปวิธานและเปรียบเทียบตัวอย่างพืชที่พิพิธภัณฑ์พืชสิรินธรกรมวิชาการเกษตรและหอพรรณไม้ กรมอุทยานแห่งชาติ สัตว์ป่า และพันธุ์พืช กระทรวงทรัพยากรธรรมชาติและสิ่งแวดล้อม ผลการศึกษา:รวบรวมพรรณไม้ที่ใช้แก้ไข้ได้ทั้งหมด 162 ชนิด จากพืชจำนวน 60 วงศ์ จำแนกเป็นพืชใบเลี้ยงคู่ 46 วงศ์ (132 ชนิด) พืชใบเลี้ยงเดี่ยว 11 วงศ์ (26ชนิด) พืชเมล็ดเปลือย 1 วงศ์ (2 ชนิด) และเฟิร์น 2 วงศ์ (2 ชนิด) วงศ์ที่มีสมุนไพรแก้ไข้มากที่สุดคือ Leguminosae 22 ชนิด รองลงมาคือEuphorbiaceae 12 ชนิด Annonaceae 11 ชนิดและ Rubiaceae 10 ชนิด สกุลที่มีพืชสมุนไพรมากที่สุด 1 สกุล โดยมี 5 ชนิดคือ Diospyros สกุลละ3 ชนิดมี 3 สกุลคือ Alpinia, Flemingia, และ Senna และสกุลละ 2 ชนิด มี 15 สกุลได้แก่ Abrus, Antidesma, Clerodendum, Dendrobium,Desmodium, Dillenia, Ficus, Garcinea, Glochidion, Gnetum, Helicteres, Kaempferia, Memecylon, Thunbergia และ Uvaria และพบสมุนไพร64 ชนิดที่ใช้ในรูปยาตำรับ 25 ตำรับ และใช้เป็นยาเดี่ยว 106 ชนิด สรุป: การศึกษานี้ได้รวบรวมและพิสูจน์เอกลักษณ์ของสมุนไพรพื้นบ้านและตำรับยาพื้นบ้านที่มีฤทธิ์ลดไข้ ข้อมูลนี้จะเป็นประโยชน์ในการวิจัยและพัฒนาซึ่งอาจนำไปสู่เภสัชผลิตภัณฑ์ต่อไปคำสำคัญ: สมุนไพร, ตำรับยาพื้นบ้าน, ลดไข

Bridging Emotion and Belief: Exploring the Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Self-Efficacy among Adolescents

Adolescence is a period of enormous growth and opportunity, during which emotional intelligence and self-efficacy play a crucial part in developing a young person\u27s confidence and success. The current study intends to explore the relationship between adolescent\u27s self-efficacy and emotional intelligence. The sample for the present study includes 200 school-going students aged 14-18 years. The tools used were the Brief Emotional Intelligence Scale (BEIS-10) and the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES). The collected data was analyzed in SPSS (26) using descriptive statistics, bivariate correlation, and regression analysis. A positive relationship between emotional intelligence and self-efficacy (r=.347, p<.001) indicates that higher levels of emotional intelligence are moderately associated with increased self-efficacy. Self-efficacy explains about 12.0% of the variance in emotional intelligence (β=25.679, F=27.098, and p<0.001). In conclusion, the study indicates a strong positive relationship between self-efficacy and emotional intelligence, with self-efficacy emerging as a moderate predictor of emotional intelligence. These findings are significant for policymakers, educators, and parents in developing programs to enhance emotional intelligence and self-efficacy in adolescents, which may result in greater academic performance, better stress management, and general well-being

ICT tools for enhancing sustainable water management in rural environments

Numerical models are relevant tools to achieve the proper application of the Water Framework Directive (WFD, EU 2000). Their major advantage is to foster a full characterization of the involved flow terms and contaminant transport pathways. Thanks to their predictive function, numerical models can help also to address planning and management activities. Many hydrological codes developed so far have faced the problem of tackling multiscale territorial planning (e.g., Bergez et al. 2012). We introduce here the GIS-integrated FREEWAT platform aimed at providing a unique modeling environment to simulate multiple hydrological processes, with a focus on the sustainable management of conjunctive use of surface- and ground-water resources in rural environments. FREEWAT (FREE and open source software tools for WATer resource management; Rossetto et al., 2015) is an EU HORIZON 2020 project, whose main goal is to simplify the application of EU water-related Directives. It aims at integrating a simulation platform in a Geographic Information System (GIS), coupling the power of GIS geo-processing and post-processing tools in spatial data analysis to that of simulation codes. The FREEWAT platform is being developed within the QGIS free open source software package and fosters the simulation of the whole hydrological cycle using open source numerical codes mainly belonging to the USGS MODFLOW family

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Abstract In Kenya, most people especially in rural areas use traditional medicine and medicinal plants to treat many diseases including malaria. Malaria is of national concern in Kenya in view of development of resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum to drugs especially chloroquine, which had been effective and affordable. This has led the Government to provide free antimalarial treatment because the cost of newer antimalarial drugs is unaffordable to local communities. However, traditional remedies against malaria are practised among the rural communities because of ease of availability and convenience and also due to social, psychological and cultural reasons. This paper examines the use of antimalarial plants among the Meru community of Imenti forest area and Gatunga, in Eastern Province, Kenya. Forty seven plant species belonging to 28 families were encountered during the study. Rutaceae, Compositae and Celestraceae families represented the species most commonly cited in treatment of malaria. Six plant species namely: Periploca linearifolia, Maytenus heterophylla, M. putterlickioides, Albizia amara, Teclea simplicifolia and Olea capensis are documented for the first time for treatment of malaria

A Model Approach to Cloud Implementation on Public Libraries with a focus on West Bengal, India

The purpose of this paper is to explore the possibility of introducing cloud architecture for public library system in areas where library automation is operational on a standalone server. It also proposes a cloud based model library management system to function on an affordable, robust architecture. The paper made an attempt to highlight the present status of library automation and networking among public libraries in West Bengal. It presents functional requirements for a SaaS based (Software as a Service) model. The simulation approach for the model architecture supports the possibility to connect all public libraries across different hierarchical tiers under the public library system of West Bengal. The proposed model will upscale workflow, reduce cost and duplication of work in terms of procurement, cataloguing, classification and creating an union catalogue/ OPAC with the provision of resource sharing. The current study is the first of its kind, proposing a SaaS cloud based model architecture for a huge public library network. It suggests ways to improve public library services and coordination across the network to visually present the holdings of the entire network to the user community via a cost effective infrastructure

Recovery Anchors: Social and Psychological Buffers Against Relapse in Drug Addiction

Background: Relapse is a complicated process to reiterate. A lot of biological, psychological, and social variables affect it. Objectives: The present research study aimed to examine the impact of resilience and social support (SS) on relapse periods of drug abuse. Method: A total of 300 drug users who relapsed within a year following medical treatment were included in this study. Participants range in age from 20 to 48 years. Social support and resilience were assessed using self-reported measures. The hypotheses were tested using descriptive statistics and a decision tree model (classification and regression trees) with SPSS 26. Results & Discussion: Both research hypotheses are accepted. A strong protective effect is shown by high social support (>28.00) delaying relapse by significantly (8-12 months) and prolonging the time to relapse to 100%. On the opposite side, early relapse (0-4 months) is characterized in individuals with low social support (≤28.00), particularly those with low resilience (≤12.50) i.e. 68.5%. Low social support, however, does not completely offset the harmful effect of low support, but resilience does moderate the effect and delays relapse out to 4-8 months for those with intermediate resilience (≥12.50). Conclusion: In conclusion, this study highlights the significance of social support and resilience in predicting the likelihood of relapse in individuals in drug addiction treatment. Social support is the most important predictor, and higher levels significantly delay relapse. Resilience is a major moderator, although being secondary, particularly for individuals with limited social support