Study of Flow Pressure Characteristics of Improved Rotary Valve

This work was supported in part by The National Natural Science Fund of China, Scientific research fund of Nanjing Institute of Technology, Open fund project of Anhui University of Technology, Practical innovation project of graduate students in Jiangsu Province. Support Fund Nos. 51505211, 11302097, CKJB201901, HVC202004, SJCX20_0700.

South African government palliative funds for agriculture amid Covid-19: Challenges of implementation and suggestions for improvements

The novel Corona virus pandemic has been extremely overwhelming at all levels causing massive economic setbacks for many countries including South Africa. The country witnessed an unprecedented scaling-down of its national economic activities, which called for an emergency response from the government. Several Covid-19 relief schemes were instituted by the government to ensure that farms of all sizes would survive. A support fund of R1.2 billion was allocated to the agriculture and food sector through the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD). The fund was primarily meant to assist financially distressed small-scale farmers to ensure continued production and food security for the country. This study collated the conditions for financial Covid-19 stimulus support required from smallholders and analysed several factors that prevented some members of this vulnerable group from benefitting from the relief funds. These factors include complexities associated with satisfactorily categorizing smallholder producers, productivity, marketing and policy challenges, glitches in formalising smallholder producer operations, the farm-business record keeping pitfall, and the exclusion of subsistent producers. The paper suggests some possible corrective measures that could allow for more inclusive support to these categories of farmers; some of which includes a simple but robust financial traceability system for the farmers, and a need to continue to push for the completion of national registration process of smallholder producers.

STARTUP AS A STRATEGIC COMPONENT OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CREATIVE ECONOMY OF UKRAINE

The radical changes that took place at the end of the last century contributed to the emergence of a creative economy. Unlike previous economies, in which the main factors of production were production capacity, land and labor, the basis for the development of the creative economy was the creative potential of man. The current economic situation in Ukraine faces many challenges that need to be confronted with viable solutions. The occupation of Crimea cost Ukraine 3.6% of GDP, and the occupied territories of Donbass cost another 15% of GDP and 25% of all Ukrainian industry. In addition, many industries and factories in Ukraine are physically and morally obsolete and require large capital investments. These problems, which, as the experience of Ukraine shows, are not solved by traditional tools, force us to look for non-standard ways to solve them. Such approaches are offered by the creative economy.To assess the opportunities provided to Ukraine by the development of the national creative economy, the article considers the positive effects of the creative economy as evidenced by the successful experience of other countries. Such effects are the formation of creative human capital, increasing incomes, increasing tolerance, the revival of depressed regions. However, the realization of these positive effects is possible provided that there are components of the creative economy in Ukraine. Research by Ukrainian scientists proves that in Ukraine there are the main features of the creative economy, namely: creative industries; creative class as a basis of the creative lever of development of creative economy; young, creative, ambitious entrepreneurs — startups. A key factor in the development of the creative economy is creative human capital, an essential component of which are entrepreneurs — innovators who establish startups to implement their ideas. Analyzing the various definitions of the category «startup», the authors concluded that the most acceptable is one that reflects the fundamental difference between startups and other businesses, namely: a startup is a business structure based on revolutionary innovations, the purpose of which is to solve a specific problem presentation of a new product or service in conditions of extreme uncertainty. Taking into account the innovative nature of startups, their impact on the creation and development of creative industries and the creative economy in general allowed the authors to conclude that startups are a strategically important component of the development of the creative economy. Research has shown that the Ukrainian startup ecosystem has good potential for development. However, the Government of Ukraine is not yet paying due attention to the development of the ecosystem for the successful creation and operation of domestic startups. Only in the last few years has Ukraine begun to support innovative products at the state level. Examples of such support are the creation of the Invention Support Fund of the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ukrainian Startup Fund. In addition, according to the strategy for the development of innovation for the period up to 2030, startups are a structural part of the national innovation ecosystem. However, intensive long-term work is needed to create an effective startup support ecosystem. Even with large investments and the desire to replicate the successful ecosystems of Silicon Valley or New York, it is very difficult, because their infrastructure was formed over 30 years. Keywords: creative economy, positive effects, creative human capital, startup, ecosystem of startups. JEL Classification М11 Formulas: 0; fig.: 1; tabl.: 1; bibl.: 14.

Impact of Micro Finance Institutes (MFI’s) on the Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Economic stability is very necessary for the development of economy a country. For this purpose industrialization plays a positive role in fulfilling this achievement. The trend of borrowing from Micro Finance Institutions increases day by day as business activities takes place. Also from political stability Foreign Direct Investment takes place resulting in boosting and competitive environment for domestic investors. MFIs serving in all cities of Pakistan focus on enhancing business activities on domestic level. Each and every bank has its own microfinance institution departments focusing mainly on fulfilling the access to finance through some easy steps for starting new ventures. From past some years Pakistan is facing a lot different situations in country like Political Instability, Terrorism and Unemployment. Now in this situation there is lack of foreign investment in our country. Meanwhile, Domestic Level Small & Medium Enterprises faces a lot of challenges while financing their own SMEs. State bank of Pakistan introduces Business Support Fund through which every bank has to facilitate investors with loans to increase new ventures startup which in turns can help out the economy. Trend of MFIs and SMEs had increase in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well like Faisalabad, Karachi and Lahore so do demand for credit investment increases resulting in MFIs with new ideas and proposals.

Measuring Customer Reservation Price for Maintenance, Repair and Operations of the Metro Public Transport System in Qatar

Getting to know the price that users assign to maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) has arisen as an essential consideration in gathering financial sustainability for metro public transport systems. The current research reveals customer reservation price for MRO in the main metro stations in Qatar. The purpose of the present work is to assess the willingness to pay for MRO services in eight metro stations in Doha in order to have a better understanding of user preferences. Qualitative research was carried out employing primary and secondary source of information. Primary data was collected by means of a mixture of data accumulation approaches: key informant meetings and focus-group conversations. Secondary data was collected from the account books, contracts, recordings of trans-actions, statements of work and activity reports given by the local rail committees. A stated preference investigation was applied through open text format questions to more than 1000 customers, and a Poisson regression model was used to evaluate the considerations affecting every higher value. Outputs reveal normal customer reservation prices per month and per train journey. The results also indicate a significant willingness to pay differential among the studied railway stations. The study of the decisive considerations elicits that the degree to which the MRO service can exclude paying consumers, the attending of rail conferences and the possibility of using another rail station are related with the customer reservation price. The outputs of this research are significant for railway public authorities willing to set up reasonable, adequate and realistic fares that support fund competent railway systems in Qatar.

Infection-exposure in infancy is associated with reduced allergy-related disease in later childhood in a Ugandan cohort

Background:Lack of early infection-exposure has been associated with increased allergy-related disease (ARD) susceptibility. In tropical Africa, little is known about which infections contribute to development of ARDs, and at which time.Methods:We used latent class analysis to characterise the early infection-exposure of participants in a Ugandan birth cohort and assessed ARDs in later childhood.Results:Of 2345 live births, 2115 children (90%) had data on infections within the first year of life while 1179 (50%) had outcome data at 9 years. We identified two latent classes of children based on first-year infection-exposure. Class 1 (32% membership), characterised by higher probabilities for malaria (80%), diarrhoea (76%), and lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) (22%), was associated with lower prevalence of wheeze, eczema, rhinitis, and Dermatophagoides skin prick test (SPT) positivity at 9 years. Based on 5-year cumulative infection experience, class 1 (31% membership), characterised by higher probabilities for helminths (92%), malaria (79%), and LRTI (45%), was associated with lower probabilities of SPT positivity at 9 years.Conclusions:In this Ugandan birth cohort, early childhood infection-exposure, notably to malaria, helminths, LRTI, and diarrhoea, is associated with lower prevalence of atopy and ARDs in later childhood.Funding:This work was supported by several funding sources. The Entebbe Mother and Baby Study (EMaBS) was supported by the Wellcome Trust, UK, senior fellowships for AME (grant numbers 064693, 079110, 95778) with additional support from the UK Medical Research Council. LL is supported by a PhD fellowship through the DELTAS Africa Initiative SSACAB (grant number 107754). ELW received funding from MRC Grant Reference MR/K012126/1. SAL was supported by the PANDORA-ID-NET Consortium (EDCTP Reg/Grant RIA2016E-1609). HM was supported by the Wellcome’s Institutional Strategic Support Fund (grant number 204928/Z/16/Z).

The effect of taxes, similar financial liabilities and demographic variables on Turkey's table wine market: a survey

PurposeThis study examines the effect of taxes, similar financial liabilities, and demographic variables such as respondent age, company age, and field of operation on the table wine market in Turkey.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey was conducted on the wine producers and importers via SurveyMonkey. Thirty-six survey questions were answered using a five-point Likert scale. The responses obtained from 51 owners and administrators of wine companies were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 23 program.FindingsExcise and value-added taxes affected the amount and price of table wine production in Turkey, whereas the banderole affected quality and price. The excise tax, value-added tax, banderole, Resource Utilization Support Fund, customs duty, and authorizations also affected the amount, quality and price of table wine imports. Although financial liabilities such as the banderole, Resource Utilization Support Fund and authorizations required for import do not constitute a heavy load on wine costs, they do have similar effects as other taxes on table wine imports.Research limitations/implicationsA limitation of this study was its sample size. Only 51 individuals responded, as it was an online questionnaire. However, this did not compromise the representativeness of the sample with regard to the company's field of operation (production and import of table wine), lending credibility to the opinions provided.Originality/valueThis study establishes that, contrary to popular belief, decisions regarding wine production and import are not solely affected by a heavy tax burden. Other factors, such as the banderole, Resource Utilization Support Fund, ages of companies and respondents and authorizations required for import, which are not viewed as a heavy burden in monetary terms, also prove to be decisive.

Neither Blood Culture Positivity nor Time to Positivity is Associated with Mortality among Patients Presenting with Severe Manifestations of Sepsis: The FABLED Cohort Study

Background Sepsis is a leading cause of morbidity, mortality, and health care costs worldwide. Methods We conducted a multi-center, prospective cohort study evaluating the yield of blood cultures drawn before and after empiric antimicrobial administration among adults presenting to the emergency department with severe manifestations of sepsis (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01867905). Enrolled patients who had the requisite blood cultures drawn were followed for 90 days. We explored the independent association between blood culture positivity and its time to positivity in relation to 90-day mortality. Findings 325 participants were enrolled; 90-day mortality among the 315 subjects followed-up was 25·4% (80/315). Mortality was associated with age (mean age in those who died was 72·5 ±15·8 vs. 62·9 ±17·7 years among survivors, p<0·0001), greater Charlson Comorbidity Index (2 (IQR 1,3) vs. 1 (IQR 0,3), p=0·008), dementia (13/80 (16·2%) vs. 18/235 (7·7%), p=0·03), cancer (27/80 (33·8%) vs. 47/235 (20·0%), p=0·015), positive qSOFA score (57/80 (71·2%) vs. 129/235 (54·9%), p=0·009), and normal white blood cell counts (25/80 (31·2%) vs. 42/235 (17·9%), p=0·02). The presence of bacteremia, persistent bacteremia after antimicrobial infusion, and shorter time to blood culture positivity were not associated with mortality. Neither the source of infection nor pathogen affected mortality. Interpretation Although severe sepsis is an inflammatory condition triggered by infection, its 90-day survival is not influenced by blood culture positivity nor its time to positivity. Funding Vancouver Coastal Health; St-Paul’s Hospital Foundation Emergency Department Support Fund; the Fonds de Recherche Santé – Québec (CPY); Intramural Research Program of the NIH, Clinical Center (AL); the Maricopa Medical Foundation

A candidate genetic modifier and autosomal recessive cause of Brugada syndrome that may alter the circadian expression of SCN5A

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Private grant(s) and/or Sponsorship. Main funding source(s): This work was supported by a generous grant from the Newnham College Senior Members Research Support fund. Introduction Inherited cardiac arrhythmias (ICAs) are a major cause of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in the young. ICAs are caused by variants in genes encoding ion channels that predispose individuals to life-threatening arrhythmic events. Early diagnosis to facilitate implementation of effective clinical interventions that greatly reduce SCD risk is critical. ICAs have traditionally been considered monogenic diseases. However, the genomic architecture of ICAs is likely a continuum, ranging from monogenic and near-monogenic (strong genetic factor influenced by a few genetic modifiers) to oligogenic (cumulative effects of coinheritance of many genetic modifiers). The circadian clock, which is predicted to control the expression of one third of the protein-coding genome, has been implicated in contributing to ICAs because the incidence of arrhythmic events in ICA patients oscillates with a period of 24 hours. We therefore hypothesised that it may contribute to oligogenic disease. Purpose To identify variants that may contribute to ICAs and that are located in cis-regulatory motifs that are both functionally predicted to be binding sites for clock transcription factors and located in the promoters of ICA-associated genes predicted to exhibit diurnal rhythmic expression. Methods Genes associated with ICAs and predicted to be rhythmically expressed were identified and the region 1kb upstream of their transcription start sites screened for mammalian circadian motifs. Whole genome sequencing data from participants with ICAs in The 100,000 Genomes Project was interrogated for variants within these motifs. Results Two variants in the SCN5A promoter were significantly associated with Brugada syndrome (BrS) (OR = 2.77, p-value <2.2E-16; OR = 2.11, p-value = 6.23E-14). The variants were found in high linkage disequilibrium (D’=0.988, p-value <2.2E-16). This 2-variant haplotype was enriched in BrS patients who did (OR = 2.43, p-value = 7.07E-08; OR = 1.32, p-value = 0.0204) and did not (OR = 3.00, p-value <2.2E-16; OR = 1.78, p-value = 8.30E-09) have a likely genomic cause, implying that it may be a genetic modifier of BrS. This haplotype in the homozygous state was significantly enriched in individuals with BrS in whom a likely genomic cause had not been identified, suggesting it may be an autosomal recessive cause (OR = 0.102, Fisher’s p-value = 0.0120). Conclusion This haplotype has previously been reported to modulate BrS severity in a large family with a pathogenic SCN5A variant and has demonstrated a trend towards reduced SCN5A expression in murine cardiomyocytes – a molecular mechanism that slows cardiac conduction, predisposing individuals to BrS. Therefore, this 2-variant haplotype, or 1 variant therein, in the SCN5A promoter is a putative genetic modifier and autosomal recessive cause of BrS. Future work includes functional assay in human cardiomyocytes to characterise its molecular consequences on SCN5A expression and the circadian clock.

Rwanda: Lessons from Applied Intergovernmental Fiscal Equalization Formula

It is a well-known fact that budgetary allocations need to be based on a just formula for balanced service delivery in the modern world. This paper describes the intergovernmental formula designed for Rwanda in 2003 to allocate grants from the central to local governments (LGs). First, the previous criterion, the Local Authority Budget Support Fund, was reviewed. This was followed by a literature review and field visits. Finally, the specifications of the mathematical model are described, followed by the proxy selection, data analysis, econometric evaluation, and estimations used in the study. In 2003, data analysis revealed that LGs had low fiscal capacities and ubiquitous fiscal needs. These were proxied by mean own source revenues and expenditure needs, respectively, in the proposed formula. The difference between the two was taken as the mean fiscal gap. This formula corrected the inherent weaknesses in the previous transfer system. It proposed weighting parameters to determine subnational transfer entitlements. Additionally, it constructed and applied welfare poverty and fiscal gap indices that captured the behavior of LGs in terms of wellbeing, fiscal needs, and revenue capacity for the first time in Rwanda. The study recommendations were entirely adopted by the government. The formula was used to allocate unconditional grants from the central government to LGs to improve service delivery and reduce poverty. The study also highlights that any successful transfer formula design depends on how the following are determined—the transfer pool, weights, proposed variables, and proxy indices—and how they enter the model.