Thais and U.S. citizens have a number of striking cultural similarities. Both prize the freedoms they enjoy, both are quite pragmatic and individualistic, and both disdain pomposity and arrogance. ...These traits form a kind of common core that helps Thais and U.S. citizens connect in cross-cultural interactions. Nevertheless, there are also fundamental differences that must be bridged if mutually satisfactory relationships are to be established. This book examines the commonalities and explores the differences in depth. For instance, Thais have a very high regard for authority and status and live in an extremely hierarchical society; far different from the more fluid social milieu in the United States, where authority is easily questioned and status is gained by achievement. Thais withhold emotional expression; avoid confrontation; pursue friendships of a more permanent nature than people in the United States; are much less competitive; and have strong face-saving needs. As for individualism, the Thai, like the U.S. citizen, tends to value self-reliance, but Thai individualism exists within an ethos of group harmony in which the kind of aggressive self-assertion that characterizes U.S. individualism would not be accepted. These and other critical issues are explored, and the book closes with a discussion of the implications of these issues for individuals from the two cultures when they are engaged in face-to-face encounters. Of special interest to students of cross-cultural management is the careful analysis of the contrast in the structure and functioning of organizations in the two countries. (Author/JB)
Escherichia coli O157:H7 has become an important enteropathogen, causing sporadic outbreaks of haemorrhagic colitis. However, it has not so far been isolated from suspect foods, which may be due to ...low numbers, sub-lethal injury, or overgrowth by other organisms. Immunomagnetic separation could provide an answer to these problems. The technique utilises antibody-coated magnetic polymer beads and is considered fast, safe, sensitive and reproducible. Commercially produced polymer beads coated with a polyclonal antibody were standardised and compared with direct plating to maximise recovery of Esch. coli O157:H7 from mixed suspensions. An increase in sensitivity was found, but this was offset by a loss of specificity.
Following UK PHLS guidelines, a total of 166 food samples from a variety of different kitchen outlets were examined for microbiological quality. Over 60% of the samples had satisfactory aerobic plate ...counts, and only 10% (8.5-18.7% of the samples, depending on the nature of the product) were classified as unsatisfactory. Almost 85% of samples presented with low coliform counts, and 6.6% were found to have unsatisfactory or unacceptable levels. Salmonella was found in only one sample, which had been purchased from a street trader.
The connection between human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer is well documented, as is the benefit of an adjunctive, standardised objective test to complement cervical screening. Here, 197 ...liquid-based cytology (LBC) specimens previously processed for cytological examination (75 negative, 108 borderline/mild dyskaryosis, and 14 moderate/severe dyskaryosis) are examined for the presence of HPV using a hybrid capture assay. Of the 197 specimens tested for HPV DNA, 97 (49.2%) were positive using the combined high/low-risk probe, and 59 (29.9%) were negative cytologically and with the hybrid capture HPV test; however, 16/175 (21.3%) specimens classified as negative cytologically with LBC proved positive for HPV by hybrid capture. Of the 122 samples that showed abnormal cytology, 81 (66.4%) were positive for HPV. Although the number of samples tested is small, the results show that the use of LBC technology for both cervical cytological screening and the hybrid capture test has the potential to reduce both false-negative and -positive rates associated with cytological screening alone.
We present the multiwavelength photometry of two Frontier Fields massive galaxy clusters MACS-J0717 and MACS-J1149 and their parallel fields, ranging from HST to ground based K and Spitzer IRAC ...bands, and the public release of photometric redshifts and rest frame properties of galaxies found in cluster and parallel pointings. This work was done within ASTRODEEP project and aims to provide a reference for future investigations of the extragalactic populations. To fully exploit the depth of the images and detect faint sources we used an accurate procedure which carefully removes the foreground light of bright cluster sources and the intra-cluster light thus enabling detection and measurement of accurate fluxes in crowded cluster regions. This same procedure has been successfully used to derive the photometric catalogue of MACS-J0416 and Abell-2744. The obtained multi-band photometry was used to derive photometric redshifts, magnification and physical properties of sources. In line with the first two FF catalogues released by ASTRODEEP, the photometric redshifts reach \(\sim\)4\(\%\) accuracy. Moreover we extend the presently available samples to galaxies intrinsically as faint as H160\(\sim\)32-34 mag thanks the magnification factors induced to strong gravitational lensing. Our analysis allows us to probe galaxy masses larger then 10\(^{7}\) M\(\odot\) and/or SFR=0.1-1M\(\odot\)/yr out to redshift z\(>6\).
Diarrhoeal diseases remain a major cause of mortality and morbidity in developing countries. However, due to lack of funds, supply problems and some inexperience, some laboratories have difficulty ...identifying a causative agent in stool samples. In the year following the opening of the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in Lahore, Pakistan, the microbiology department had not isolated a single enteric pathogen. From January 1996, new culture techniques were introduced, with a resulting increase (10%) in identification of these pathogens. In addition, the introduction of formol-ether concentration made a significant contribution to the number of intestinal parasites seen. This report demonstrates how simple microbiology methods made a difference to the running of the department and, ultimately, to the patients.
A range of polyester motor insulation films is examined for compatibility with the ozone benign hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants HFC 32, HFC 134a and HFC 125 and with mixed acid polyester ...lubricants. The results indicate that the HFC 134a-ester lubricant mixture is considerably more aggressive in terms of oligomer extraction to standard polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film than the chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) 12-mineral oil or HCFC 22-mineral oil standard refrigerant-lubricant mixtures. However, long oligomer PET film shows similar behavior in CFC 12, HCFC 22 or HFC 134a based refrigerant-lubricant systems.
