406 research outputs found
Adversarial framing: President Bashar al-Assad’s depiction of the armed Syrian opposition
No full textThis paper evaluates how Syrian president Bashar al-Assad is framing his opponents in the context of the Syrian civil war. The question is addressed by conducting a qualitative thematic analysis of 13 interviews he gave to international television news networks and newspapers between March and November 2013. It is found that Al-Assad consequently labels the armed opposition as “terrorists” preponderantly composed of groups affiliated to Al-Qaeda. The “terrorists” are framed as posing a threat to the region as well as to international security on a global scale. Furthermore, Al-Assad denies the armed opposition its Syrian grassroots by portraying them as outside aggressors fighting for foreign interests. They are also depicted as “enemies of the Syrian people”, responsible for all the atrocities and human suffering committed during the Syrian civil war.Publisher PD
Methodological issues in article titled, “Prevalence and correlates of nicotine dependence among construction site workers: A cross-sectional study in Delhi”
No full textThe Resilience of Authoritarian Rule in Syria under Hafez and Bashar Al-Asad
No full textThis paper seeks an explanation for the resilience of the Syrian authoritarian regime under Hafez and Bashar Al-Asad. It will be argued that this resilience is to a relevant extent caused by the fact that the regime’s “material” as well as “ideational” forms of power share a common element, if not an underlying principle. This generates their compatibility and congruency and thus produces a convergence of forces which manifests in the regime’s ability to exceed the mere sum of its individual forms of power. It will be demonstrated that this common principle can be conceptualized as a “tacit pact” between unequal parties, with the weaker party under constant threat of exclusion and/or coercion in the event of noncompliance. It will be argued that inherent in the pact is a high level of ambiguity; this, paradoxically, renders it more effective but at the same time also more instable as a tool of domination.authoritarianism, power of command, disciplinary power, hegemony, Middle East
An optofluidic platform for longitudinal circulating tumor cell studies in mouse models of cancer
No full textThis electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2020Cataloged from student-submitted PDF of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (pages 109-119).Metastasis is a complex, multi-step process that is responsible for over 90% of cancer-related deaths. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) that are shed from primary tumors represent the disseminating "seeds" that give rise to distant malignant growths. Despite their importance to metastasis, understanding of their role has been hindered by the extreme difficulty of characterizing CTC populations over time and linking them to metastases that occur during natural tumor progression. The use of in vivo mouse models of cancer for studying metastasis has been crucial for discovering effective new cancer biomarkers and therapies. This thesis outlines the development of a new platform that enables longitudinal and dynamic CTC studies in mouse models of cancer. The platform is designed to help better understand how changes in CTCs may reflect the evolution of their tumors of origin over time.It is composed of a microfluidic, cell-sorting chip connected serially to an un-anesthetized mouse via an implanted arteriovenous shunt. Pneumatically-controlled microfluidic valves capture CTCs as they flow through the chip, and CTC-depleted blood is returned back to the mouse via the shunt. To demonstrate the utility of this platform, we profiled CTCs isolated longitudinally from animals over several days of treatment with the BET inhibitor JQ1 using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq). We showed that our approach eliminates potential biases driven by intermouse heterogeneity that can occur when CTCs are collected across different mice. Furthermore, the direct access to a mouse's circulatory system in real time allowed us to devise a new method for measuring the circulatory dynamics and physical properties of CTCs in mice.Direct measurements of the main parameters that govern CTC levels in blood - mainly the intravasation rate and the half-life time in the circulation - were demonstrated. Observing how such parameters change during tumor development or in response to therapy may help shed light on the dynamics of the most tumorigenic CTCs. Finally, in collaboration with several laboratories at MIT and elsewhere, further validation of this platform is demonstrated by carrying out longitudinal studies of single CTCs and rare, circulating, tumor-experienced immune cells collected from different mouse models of cancer. Information gained from these studies will help dissect the potential mechanisms of resistance to therapy (e.g. immunotherapy) and identify new "druggable" candidate cells.by Bashar Hamza.Ph. D.Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Scienc
Jordan’s Accession to the WTO: Retrospective and Prospective
No full textJordan acceded to the WTO in 1999. In its accession Jordan agreed, for example, to reduce tariffs on imported products and open its services market; it also modified its intellectual property regime. Jordan enjoyed special and differential treatment in few areas and was not able to designate olive oil as a good eligible for special safeguards. The WTO agreements required fundamental changes in the domestic laws and regulations of Jordan. The article concludes by arguing that Jordan's accession to the WTO was a lengthy and costly process. Jordan agreed to an arduous package of legal and economic reforms. Given that Jordan agreed to greater commitments compared to the obligations of the original WTO members, the multilateral trading system witnessed an accession saga.accession, free trade, intellectual property, Jordan, market access, WTO, Financial Economics, International Relations/Trade, Political Economy,
Indian Involvement in Afghanistan: Stepping Stone or Stumbling Block to Regional Hegemony?
No full textThis paper seeks an explanation for the resilience of the Syrian authoritarian regime under Hafez and Bashar Al-Asad. It will be argued that this resilience is to a relevant extent caused by the fact that the regime’s “material” as well as “ideational” forms of power share a common element, if not an underlying principle. This generates their compatibility and congruency and thus produces a convergence of forces which manifests in the regime’s ability to exceed the mere sum of its individual forms of power. It will be demonstrated that this common principle can be conceptualized as a “tacit pact” between unequal parties, with the weaker party under constant threat of exclusion and/or coercion in the event of noncompliance. It will be argued that inherent in the pact is a high level of ambiguity; this, paradoxically, renders it more effective but at the same time also more instable as a tool of domination.Afghanistan, India, South Asia, regional security, regional hegemony
From the river to the sea? : honour, identity and politics in historical and contemporary Palestinian rejectionism
No full textThe present thesis seeks to understand and explain the rhetoric and
behaviour of the rejectionist 'current' within the Palestinian national
movement. It proceeds from the view that extant scholarship, primarily from
within the fields of terrorism and security studies, has profoundly
misunderstood rejectionist speech and behaviour by ignoring the
explanatory capacity of Emic - the research subject's perception - as well as
the influence of the sociocultural milieu within which rejectionism exists.
The thesis proceeds to set up a 'socioculturally sensitive' analytical
framework drawn from social identity theory, a heuristic, non-reductionist
model for understanding group interaction and conflict. Emphasizing
cultural norms and cues identified by anthropologists as salient in the
eastern Mediterranean, the thesis suggests that the social value of honour,
patron-client dynamics and a firmly entrenched group orientation must be
significant elements of a model for understanding rejectionist behaviour.
The main analytical narrative suggests that for reasons derived from
ideology, patron-client relations and group dynamics, what has distinguished
the rejectionists from the mainstream have been a qualitatively different set
of preconditions for, and objectives of diplomatic negotiations. To the main
rejectionist factions the goal of liberating Palestine has always been
inextricably intertwined with the goal of restoring national honour; one
without the other has been impossible and to claim otherwise would mean a
depletion of factional and personal honour. To the rejectionists, there has
never been any question of deviating from the fundamental goals - national
recognition, repatriation, self-determination and independent statehood, not
even for tactical reasons. This 'higher standard' likely derives from their
structurally and politically subordinate position within the national
movement, and the need to creatively enhance their own social status and
appeal
Saponification of Jatropha curcas Seed Oil: Optimization by D-Optimal Design
No full textIn this study, the effects of ethanolic KOH concentration, reaction temperature, and reaction time to free fatty acid (FFA) percentage were investigated. D-optimal design was employed to study significance of these factors and optimum condition for the technique predicted and evaluated. The optimum conditions for maximum FFA% were achieved when 1.75 M ethanolic KOH concentration was used as the catalyst, reaction temperature of 65°C, and reaction time of 2.0 h. This study showed that ethanolic KOH concentration was significant variable for saponification of J. curcas seed oil. In an 18-point experimental design, percentage of FFA for saponification of J. curcas seed oil can be raised from 1.89% to 102.2%
Saponification of Jatropha curcas Seed Oil: Optimization by D-Optimal Design
No full textIn this study, the effects of ethanolic KOH concentration, reaction temperature, and reaction time to free fatty acid (FFA) percentage were investigated. D-optimal design was employed to study significance of these factors and optimum condition for the technique predicted and evaluated. The optimum conditions for maximum FFA% were achieved when 1.75 M ethanolic KOH concentration was used as the catalyst, reaction temperature of 65 • C, and reaction time of 2.0 h. This study showed that ethanolic KOH concentration was significant variable for saponification of J. curcas seed oil. In an 18-point experimental design, percentage of FFA for saponification of J. curcas seed oil can be raised from 1.89% to 102.2%
Search for multimessenger signals in NOvA coincident with LIGO/Virgo detections
No full text© 2020 Authors. Published by the American Physical Society. Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. WSU authors: Meyer, Holger; Muether, Mathew; Solomey, Nickolas. The complete list includes M. A. Acero, P. Adamson, L. Aliaga, T. Alion, V. Allakhverdian, N. Anfimov, A. Antoshkin, L. Asquith, A. Aurisano, A. Back, C. Backhouse, M. Baird, N. Balashov, P. Baldi, B. A. Bambah, S. Bashar, K. Bays, S. Bending, R. Bernstein, V. Bhatnagar, B. Bhuyan, J. Bian, J. Blair, A. C. Booth, P. Bour, C. Bromberg, N. Buchanan, A. Butkevich, S. Calvez, T. J. Carroll, E. Catano-Mur, S. Childress, B. C. Choudhary, T. E. Coan, M. Colo, L. Corwin, L. Cremonesi, G. S. Davies, P. F. Derwent, R. Dharmapalan, P. Ding, Z. Djurcic, D. Doyle, E. C. Dukes, P. Dung, H. Duyang, S. Edayath, R. Ehrlich, G. J. Feldman, P. Filip, W. Flanagan, M. J. Frank, H. R. Gallagher, R. Gandrajula, F. Gao, S. Germani, A. Giri, R. A. Gomes, M. C. Goodman, V. Grichine, M. Groh, R. Group, B. Guo, A. Habig, F. Hakl, J. Hartnell, R. Hatcher, K. Heller, J. Hewes, A. Himmel, A. Holin, J. Huang, J. Hylen, F. Jediny, C. Johnson, M. Judah, I. Kakorin, D. Kalra, D. M. Kaplan, R. Keloth, O. Klimov, L. W. Koerner, L. Kolupaeva, S. Kotelnikov, Ch. Kullenberg, A. Kumar, C. D. Kuruppu, V. Kus, T. Lackey, K. Lang, L. Li, S. Lin, M. Lokajicek, S. Luchuk, S. Magill, W. A. Mann, M. L. Marshak, M. Martine-Casales, V. Matveev, B. Mayes, D. P. Méndez, M. D. Messier, H. Meyer, T. Miao, W. H. Miller, S. R. Mishra, A. Mislivec, R. Mohanta, A. Moren, L. Mualem, M. Muether, S. Mufson, K. Mulder, R. Murphy, J. Musser, D. Naples, N. Nayak, J. K. Nelson, R. Nichol, E. Niner, A. Norman, A. Norrick, T. Nosek, A. Olshevskiy, T. Olson, J. Paley, R. B. Patterson, G. Pawloski, O. Petrova, R. Petti, R. K. Plunkett, A. Rafique, F. Psihas, V. Raj4, B. Rebel, P. Rojas, V. Ryabov, O. Samoylov, M. C. Sanchez, S. Sánchez Falero, P. Shanahan, A. Sheshukov, P. Singh, V. Singh, E. Smith, J. Smolik, P. Snopok, N. Solomey, A. Sousa, K. Soustruznik, M. Strait,*, L. Suter, A. Sutton, R. L. Talaga, B. Tapia Oregui, P. Tas, R. B. Thayyullathil, J. Thomas, E. Tiras, D. Torbunov, J. Tripathi, Y. Torun, J. Urheim, P. Vahle, J. Vasel, P. Vokac, T. Vrba, M. Wallbank, T. K. Warburton, M. Wetstein, D. Whittington, S. G. Wojcicki, J. Wolcott, A. Yallappa Dombara, K. Yonehara, S. Yu, Y. Yu, S. Zadorozhnyy, J. Zalesak, Y. Zhang, and R. Zwaska (NOvA Collaboration).Using the NOvA neutrino detectors, a broad search has been performed for any signal coincident with 28 gravitational wave events detected by the LIGO/Virgo Collaboration between September 2015 and July 2019. For all of these events, NOvA is sensitive to possible arrival of neutrinos and cosmic rays of GeV and higher energies. For five (seven) events in the NOvA Far (Near) Detector, timely public alerts from the LIGO/Virgo Collaboration allowed recording of MeV-scale events. No signal candidates were found.This document was prepared by the NOvA Collaboration using the resources of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), a U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, High Energy Physics(HEP) User Facility. Fermilab is managed by Fermi Research Alliance, LLC, acting under Contract No. DE-AC02-07CH11359
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