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Economic, social and psychological drivers of labor trafficking and its impacts : a case study on returned Bangladeshi survivors
No full textIrregular maritime migration from Bangladesh to Malaysia presents serious risks for Bangladeshi laborers who seek work overseas to change their precarious living conditions. Survivors' voices are often unheard and their motivation and experiences are largely undocumented. This study details the accounts of 25 survivors of labor trafficking, all men, from three major trafficking hubs in Bangladesh. Interviews with selected stakeholders provide insights into this industry and its business model. The study seeks to understand how and why decisions to undertake the journey were made. It details the multi-faceted consequences for survivors, including loss of key assets (e.g., land, livestock, cash and future work opportunities). Most of the survivors never reached their planned destination and only two persons secured work for more than six months. As a direct result of migration, most moved from living marginally below the poverty line at pre-departure to extreme poverty. Migration, precarity and motivation theories help explain the perspectives and migration decisions of the research participants. These insights can inform policymakers to develop more holistic prevention, prosecution and reintegration measures
[In Press] EEG resting state alpha dynamics predict an individual's vulnerability to auditory hallucinations
No full textTask-free brain activity exhibits spontaneous fluctuations between functional states, characterized by synchronized activation patterns in distributed resting-state (RS) brain networks. The temporal dynamics of the networks’ electrophysiological signatures reflect individual variations in brain activity and connectivity linked to mental states and cognitive functions and can predict or monitor vulnerability to develop psychiatric or neurological disorders. In particular, RS alpha fluctuations modulate perceptual sensitivity, attentional shifts, and cognitive control, and could therefore reflect a neural correlate of increased vulnerability to sensory distortions, including the proneness to hallucinatory experiences. We recorded 5Â min of RS EEG from 33 non-clinical individuals varying in hallucination proneness (HP) to investigate links between task-free alpha dynamics and vulnerability to hallucinations. To this end, we used a dynamic brain state allocation method to identify five recurrent alpha states together with their spatiotemporal dynamics and most active brain areas through source reconstruction. The dynamical features of a state marked by activation in somatosensory, auditory, and posterior default-mode network areas predicted auditory and auditory-verbal HP, but not general HP, such that individuals with higher vulnerability to auditory hallucinations spent more time in this state. The temporal dynamics of spontaneous alpha activity might reflect individual differences in attention to internally generated sensory events and altered auditory perceptual sensitivity. Altered RS alpha dynamics could therefore instantiate a neural marker of increased vulnerability to auditory hallucinations
Macroeconomic conditions and bank failure
No full textUtilizing a simple time-varying hazard model, we incorporate nationwide and state-level economic variables with banking-industry and bank-level data to examine U.S. bank failures during 1977–2019. We find that bank-level financial conditions are more essential in predicting bank failure, although macro factors affect the failure likelihood of vulnerable banks. We also find that banking-industry market variables are significant predictors. Unlike bank systemic funding cost whose predictive power is subsumed in the presence of macroeconomic variables, banking-industry market performance has a significantly independent predictive power on bank failure. This finding is novel to existing literature of bank-failure forecast and has important policy implications
Kant and the Feeling of Life: Beauty and Nature in the Critique of Judgment
No full textKant and the Feeling of Life positions Kant's concept of life as a guiding thread for understanding not only Kant's approach to aesthetics and teleology but the underlying unity of the Critique of Judgment itself. The "feeling of life," which Kant describes as affecting us in various ways—as animating, enlivening, and quickening the mind—lies at the heart of Kant's philosophical project, but it has remained understudied for a theme of such centrality. This volume brings together, for the first time, essays focused on the topic of life in Kant's work, providing a wealth of perspectives and analyses ranging from the Critique of Judgment to Kant's early aesthetics, his social and political philosophy, his work connected to the body and health, and his moral theory
The body complex : (con)spirituality, wellness and COVID-19 in Australia
No full textThe spread of conspiracy theories and associated vaccine rejection within the wellness industry and spiritual communities during the COVID-19 pandemic attracted significant media and scholarly attention. Informed by the ‘(Con)spirituality, Science and COVID-19 in Australia’ project (2020–2021) (Halafoff, Marriott, et al., 2022 ; Halafoff, Weng, et al., 2022; Roginski & Rocha, 2022), funded by the Templeton Religion Trust and awarded via the International Research Network for the Study of Science and Belief in Society (INSBS), this chapter reports on findings pertaining to holistic spirituality, purity doctrines and wellness, arising from a parallel pilot study on ‘Spirituality and Wellness (SWell) in Australia’ (2021). Both studies have revealed a ‘spiritual complexity’ in Australia and internation¬ally, and the authors report on this here, focussed particularly on spir¬ituality’s quest for pristine bodies, and on spiritual ‘moral communities’ (Ganga Kieffer, 2023) exceptionalism and relationality
A light-blocking greenhouse film differentially impacts climate control energy use and capsicum production
No full textHigh-tech protected cropping holds great potential to improve global food security, but high cooling energy costs in warm climates pose difficulties in propagating the industry. Emerging technologies, such as diffuse glasses fitted with photoselective thin films, have interactions with crops and other cooling technologies which are not well-characterized for warm-climate glasshouses. A light-blocking film (LBF) was chosen as a high-tech, climate-controlled greenhouse cover permitting transmission of 85% of photosynthetically-active light and blocking heat-generating radiation. Two consecutive 7-month trials of two capsicum crops were grown under warm climate conditions partially impacted by bushfire smoke, with 2 cultivars (Gina and O06614) in the first trial, and 2 cultivars (Gina and Kathia) in the second trial. Capsicum fruit yield decreased by 3% in Gina and increased by 3% in O06614 for the first trial, and decreased by 13% in Gina, 26% in Kathia for the second trial. Cooling energy use increased by 11% and 12% for both capsicum crops in AE and SE respectively, with small but insignificant decreases in fertigation demand (2%–5%). Cooling potential was significantly different from material specifications, with indications that convection from LBF interfaces was responsible for higher heat loads. LBF and similar absorptive glasses may still be beneficial for reducing nutrient, water, and energy use in warm climate glasshouses. However, yield is cultivar-dependent and may decrease with below-optimal crop lighting, whereas energy savings are more dependent on LBF orientation and building geometry than outside climate
Effect of polyphenols against complications of COVID-19 : current evidence and potential efficacy
No full textThe COVID-19 pandemic that started in 2019 and resulted in significant morbidity and mortality continues to be a significant global health challenge, characterized by inflammation, oxidative stress, and immune system dysfunction. Developing therapies for preventing or treating COVID-19 remains an important goal for pharmacology and drug development research. Polyphenols are effective against various viral infections and can be extracted and isolated from plants without losing their therapeutic potential. Researchers have developed methods for separating and isolating polyphenols from complex matrices. Polyphenols are effective in treating common viral infections, including COVID-19, and can also boost immunity. Polyphenolic-based antiviral medications can mitigate SARS-CoV-2 enzymes vital to virus replication and infection. Individual polyphenolic triterpenoids, flavonoids, anthraquinonoids, and tannins may also inhibit the SARS-CoV-2 protease. Polyphenol pharmacophore structures identified to date can explain their action and lead to the design of novel anti-COVID-19 compounds. Polyphenol-containing mixtures offer the advantages of a well-recognized safety profile with few known severe side effects. However, studies to date are limited, and further animal studies and randomized controlled trials are needed in future studies. The purpose of this study was to review and present the latest findings on the therapeutic impact of plant-derived polyphenols on COVID-19 infection and its complications. Exploring alternative approaches to traditional therapies could aid in developing novel drugs and remedies against coronavirus infection
[In Press] The nursing-midwifery workforce size significantly influences the reduction of neonatal mortality rate
No full textPurpose: This study aimed to quantify the confounded and independent role of nursing-midwifery workforce size (NMWS) in protecting against neonatal mortality (NMR) globally and regionally. Methods: Scatter plots, bivariate correlation, partial correlation, and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to assess the correlations between NMWS and NMR. This cross-sectional study fully accounted for potential confounding effects of economic affluence, total fertility rate, and urbanization on this relationship. Countries were categorized to explore regional variations in the protective role of NMWS in reducing NMR. Results: Explaining 55.76% of NMR variance worldwide, NMWS correlated to NMR negatively and significantly. NMWS still significantly correlated to NMR, but only explained 9.12% of NMR variance when the confounding effects of economic affluence, total fertility rate and urbanization were removed in partial correlation. Linear stepwise regression identified NMWS as the third most significant variable influencing NMR variance worldwide. NMWS correlated to NMR significantly and consistently in different country groupings, especially in developing countries. This suggested that nursing shortage is a significant global issue, but worse in developing countries. Conclusions: NMWS appears to have been a protective factor against NMR globally, particularly in developing nations. This protective effect remained significant even after adjusting for economic affluence, total fertility rate, and urbanization. The consistent negative correlations observed between NMWS and NMR, both globally and regionally, highlight the importance of addressing the chronic shortage of nursing and midwifery personnel, prompting healthcare authorities to prioritize this issue
Unravelling the complex interplay between antibiotic consumption and adaptive changes in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
No full textObjectives: This study aims to elucidate the genomic dynamics driving the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), with a specific focus on the interplay between AMR and antimicrobial usage. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive analysis using a ST239 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) dataset over a continuous 12-year period from a single hospital. Genomic analyses were performed tracking the changes in MRSA populations, particularly the emergence of reduced vancomycin susceptibility, and assessing the impact of glycopeptide use on these emergence events. Results: Our findings reveal a significant correlation between hospital glycopeptide usage and the selection of MRSA strains with reduced vancomycin susceptibility. Genomic analyses provided insights into the molecular mechanisms driving resistance emergence, including the slowing of the molecular clock rate in response to heightened antimicrobial consumption. Conclusions: In conclusion, this study the highlights the complex dynamics between AMR and antimicrobial use at the hospital level. The observed correlation between antimicrobial consumption and the development of less susceptible MRSA strains underscores the importance of antimicrobial stewardship programmes and the establishment of optimal consumption thresholds for mitigating AMR effectively
Coevolution mechanisms of stakeholder strategies in the green building technologies innovation ecosystem : an evolutionary game theory perspective
No full textHigh carbon emissions, excessive pollution, and inefficiency are common challenges in the construction sector. Related studies showed that developing innovative green building technologies (GBTs) supports the sustainable growth of the sector. However, previous studies on GBTs innovation failed to consider the interactions of stakeholder strategies and external environment changes, which reflects the complex and systemic nature of the GBTs innovation. This study aims to improve GBTs innovation by examining the coevolution mechanism of stakeholder strategies under dynamically changing external environment in the GBTs innovation ecosystem. Delphi was used to identify internal and external factors affecting major stakeholders' mutual relationships. A tripartite evolutionary game model which comes from the evolutionary game theory (EGT) was developed using data collected from expert interviews and public records. The results showed that with and without government subsidies, the three focal innovation entities' strategic decisions are differentially interdependent, demonstrated by parameter changes and transmission effect. The interdependence of the three-game stakeholders and the interaction with external environment constitute the evolutionary mechanism of GBTs innovation ecosystem. The scenario simulation further revealed the evolutionary trend of the GBTs innovation ecosystem that eventually evolves from the initial stage of low-order (independent symbiosis) to higher-order (mutualistic symbiosis). The research is innovative because it not only constructs a tripartite evolutionary game model that is more consistent with GBTs innovation during the construction phase of a building project, but also combines EGT and innovation ecosystems, expanding their theoretical boundaries and practical applications. The outcomes may benefit various stakeholders making more informed decisions