Small-x QCD Effects in Particle Collisions at High Energies

Recent theoretical developments to calculate cross sections of hadronic objects in the high energy limit are summarised and experimental attempts to establish the need for new QCD effects connected with a resummation of small hadron momentum fractions x are reviewed. The relation between small-$x$ parton dynamics and the phenomenon of diffraction is briefly out-lined. In addition, a search for a novel, non-perturbative QCD effect, the production of QCD instanton induced events, is presented.Comment: Invited talk at the XX. Int. Sym. on Lepton and Photon Interactions at High Energies, Rome, Italy, July 200

Examining the public policy perspective of CSR implementation in Sub-Saharan Africa

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the public policy perspective of corporate social responsibility (CSR) implementation in Sub-Saharan Africa. There has been an increase in the number of countries adopting a national policy for CSR practice, particularly in the Western society. Despite the growing awareness about the role of government in CSR promotion, governments in Sub-Saharan Africa are yet to evolve policies that could help promote CSR in the region. As drivers of CSR, governments hold resources, like access to regulated parts of society that makes the inclusion of CSR opportunities relevant to strategic and operational management. From the extant literature, the role of government in defining and shaping the field of CSR is gaining wider acceptability. Design/methodology/approach - Using a qualitative research approach, this paper examines the current status of CSR implementation, particularly from the public policy perspective in selected Sub-Saharan African countries. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with policymakers and policy implementers. The study adopted a thematic analysis and developed a rigorous phenomenological design to reveal the insights to CSR policy-making. Findings - The findings established that the status of CSR implementation in Sub-Saharan Africa is influenced by absence of national CSR policy, CSR being mainstreamed in government constitution and CSR being a company initiative action to comply with international code of business conduct. Practical implications - The results of this study could have policy implications for both executive and MPs of national governments for CSR regulatory policies. Originality/value - In most developing countries, including Sub-Saharan African countries, the aforementioned institutional conditions are often an exception. There are both no legal and regulatory frameworks for Multinational Corporation activities and their socio-ecological impact, or such regulations may exist but are not adequately enforced (Rwabizambuga, 2007). This situation, unfortunately, has created a huge reporting gap between what organisations do and what they report regarding CSR. Hence, this original study adds to the body of knowledge for this region by revealing the central issues around the phenomenon

Vanadium removal and recovery from bauxite residue leachates by ion exchange

Bauxite residue is an important by-product of the alumina industry, and current management practices do not allow their full valorisation, especially with regard to the recovery of critical metals. This work aims to test the efficiency of ion exchange resins for vanadium (V) removal and recovery from bauxite residue leachates at alkaline pH (11.5 and 13). As an environmental pollutant, removal of V from leachates may be an obligation of bauxite residue disposal areas (BRDA) long-term management requirements. Vanadium removal from the leachate can be coupled with the recovery, and potentially can be used to offset long-term legacy treatment costs in legacy sites. Kinetics studies were performed to understand the adsorption process. The rate kinetics for the V adsorption was consistent with the pseudo-first-order kinetic model, with a higher adsorption rate for pH 11.5 (1.2 min(-1)). Adsorption isotherm data fitted better to Freundlich equations than to the Langmuir model. The maximum adsorption capacity (Langmuir value q max) was greatest for pH 13 (9.8 mg V g(-1) resin). In column tests, breakthrough was reached at 70 bed volumes with the red mud leachate at pH 13, while no breakthrough was achieved with the effluent at pH 11.5. In regeneration, 42 and 76 % of V were eluted from the resin with 2 M NaOH from the red mud leachate at pH 13 and 11.5, respectively. Further optimization will be needed to upscale the treatment

Exploring Neutral Hydrogen and Galaxy Evolution with the SKA

One of the key science drivers for the development of the SKA is to observe the neutral hydrogen, HI, in galaxies as a means to probe galaxy evolution across a range of environments over cosmic time. Over the past decade, much progress has been made in theoretical simulations and observations of HI in galaxies. However, recent HI surveys on both single dish radio telescopes and interferometers, while providing detailed information on global HI properties, the dark matter distribution in galaxies, as well as insight into the relationship between star formation and the interstellar medium, have been limited to the local universe. Ongoing and upcoming HI surveys on SKA pathfinder instruments will extend these measurements beyond the local universe to intermediate redshifts with long observing programmes. We present here an overview of the HI science which will be possible with the increased capabilities of the SKA and which will build upon the expected increase in knowledge of HI in and around galaxies obtained with the SKA pathfinder surveys. With the SKA1 the greatest improvement over our current measurements is the capability to image galaxies at reasonable linear resolution and good column density sensitivity to much higher redshifts (0.2 < z < 1.7). So one will not only be able to increase the number of detections to study the evolution of the HI mass function, but also have the sensitivity and resolution to study inflows and outflows to and from galaxies and the kinematics of the gas within and around galaxies as a function of environment and cosmic time out to previously unexplored depths. The increased sensitivity of SKA2 will allow us to image Milky Way-size galaxies out to redshifts of z=1 and will provide the data required for a comprehensive picture of the HI content of galaxies back to z~2 when the cosmic star formation rate density was at its peak.Comment: 25 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables. Contribution to the conference 'Advancing Astrophysics with the Square Kilometre Array', June 8-13, 2014, Giardini Naxos, Ital

TREC-Rio trial: a randomised controlled trial for rapid tranquillisation for agitated patients in emergency psychiatric rooms [ISRCTN44153243]

Agitated or violent patients constitute 10% of all emergency psychiatric treatment. Management guidelines, the preferred treatment of clinicians and clinical practice all differ. Systematic reviews show that all relevant studies are small and none are likely to have adequate power to show true differences between treatments. Worldwide, current treatment is not based on evidence from randomised trials. In Brazil, the combination haloperidol-promethazine is frequently used, but no studies involving this mix exist. TREC-Rio (Tranquilização Rápida-Ensaio Clínico [Translation: Rapid Tranquillisation-Clinical Trial]) will compare midazolam with haloperidol-promethazine mix for treatment of agitated patients in emergency psychiatric rooms of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. TREC-Rio is a randomised, controlled, pragmatic and open study. Primary measure of outcome is tranquillisation at 20 minutes but effects on other measures of morbidity will also be assessed. TREC-Rio will involve the collaboration of as many health care professionals based in four psychiatric emergency rooms of Rio as possible. Because the design of this trial does not substantially complicate clinical management, and in several aspects simplifies it, the study can be large, and treatments used in everyday practice can be evaluated

Safety and efficacy of fluticasone propionate in the topical treatment of skin diseases

Fluticasone propionate - the first carbothioate corticosteroid - has been classified as a potent anti-inflammatory drug for dermatological use. It is available as 0.05% cream and 0.005% ointment formulations for the acute and maintenance treatment of patients with dermatological disorders such as atopic dermatitis, psoriasis and vitiligo. This glucocorticoid is characterized by high lipophilicity, high glucocorticoid receptor binding and activation, and a rapid metabolic turnover in skin. Although skin blanching following fluticasone propionate exceeds that of corticosteroids of medium strength, several clinical trials demonstrate a low potential for cutaneous and systemic side-effects, even in difficult-to-treat areas like the face, the eyelids and intertriginous areas. Even among paediatric patients with atopic dermatitis, fluticasone propionate proved to be safe and effective. These pharmacological and clinical properties are reflected by the high therapeutic index of this glucocorticoid

Experimental study of Pomeron

A Pomeron phenomenon remains a mystery. A short review of the experimental situation in diffractive physics and an account of some spectacular manifestations of the Pomeron are given.Comment: 17 pages, 7 Figs, LATEX. Talk given at the conference "From the smallest to largest distances", ITEP, Moscow, 24-26 May 2001. Changes: Fig.2 replace