Testofen,a specialised Trigonella foenum-graecum seed extract reduces age-related symptoms of androgen decrease,increases testosterone levels and improves sexual function in healthy aging males in a double-blind randomised clinical study

This study examined the effect of Testofen, a specialised Trigonella foenum-graecum seed extract on the symptoms of possible androgen deficiency, sexual function and serum androgen concentrations in healthy aging males. This was a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial involving 120 healthy men aged between 43 and 70 years of age. The active treatment was standardised Trigonella foenum-graecum seed extract at a dose of 600?mg/day for 12 weeks. The primary outcome measure was the change in the Aging Male Symptom questionnaire (AMS), a measure of possible androgen deficiency symptoms; secondary outcome measures were sexual function and serum testosterone. There was a significant decrease in AMS score over time and between the active and placebo groups. Sexual function improved, including number of morning erections and frequency of sexual activity. Both total serum testosterone and free testosterone increased compared to placebo after 12 weeks of active treatment. Trigonella foenum-graecum seed extract is a safe and effective treatment for reducing symptoms of possible androgen deficiency, improves sexual function and increases serum testosterone in healthy middle-aged and older men.     

Alternative tests for heteroscedasticity of disturbances:a comparative study

This paper presents three small sample tests for testing the heteroscedasticity among regression disturbances. The power of these tests are compared with two of the leading tests for this hypothesis, one by Goldfeld and Quandt [5] and the other by Theil [17]. We also provide a heuristic method of selecting the number of middle observations to be deleted for the Goldfeld-Quandt type of tests.     

How Women Talk in Indian Democracy

Qualitative Sociology - In democracies, political institutions based on deliberation offer citizens scope for talk-based participation in development and governance. A prominent example is the...     

What's love got to do with it? Passion and inequality in white‐collar work

Emotion has become an increasingly important aspect of work in the 21st century. In this article, we take stock of the extant literature delineating the role of emotions, especially passion as a cultural schema, in white‐collar workplaces. Scholars have covered extensive ground on emotions at work, but the role of passion remains an underexplored yet significant area. Drawing from recent developments in research on white‐collar work, we argue that the passion schema has become a critical marker in the labor market for sorting individuals into occupations, hiring and promotion within organizations, and assigning value to people's labor. Emergent research suggests that because the expression and perception of passion remain ambiguously defined in the workplace and varies by context, it is pivotal in reproducing social inequalities. In this review, we focus on how privileging passion in the workplace and interpreting it as a measure of aptitude impacts social inequalities by race, gender, and social class. We close by setting an agenda for further research on this topic.     

经济转型时期“用工荒”现象及其成因的经济学分析

文章从技能型劳动者的分类界定入手,对不同类型劳动者所面临的"用工荒"现象及其成因机制进行微观视角的分类研究。结果发现,当前的"用工荒"现象包含了多种类型的劳动者短缺,其中非技能型劳动者短缺的主要原因是被扭曲的收入分配比例和无保障的弹性用工模式导致新生代农民工供给激励不足,随着企业转型升级进程加快,此类"用工荒"现象将得到有效缓解;而造成技能型劳动者短缺的原因,既包括经济转型发展使对技能型劳动者的需求结构性增长,也有基于历史和现实原因的劳动者供给数量不足。技能型劳动者培育过程中的劳资双方行为"协调失灵"、政府职能缺位、社会化培训体系建设滞后和劳动力市场的无序发展等因素都是导致技能型劳动者增长速度滞后于经济转型发展要求、进而导致技能型劳动者"用工荒"现象的主要原因。     

电路模拟吸收体的遗传算法设计(英文)

提出了一个应用遗传算法的电路模拟多层吸收体的新设计、遗传算法自动综合各层的电磁参数和厚度以及金属电路屏的各参数,并同时提供几个设计方案。当应用遗传算法对特宽带吸收体设计时,其迭代过程出现波动和在带内出现不好的结果。为了克服这些缺点,文中引入了两项技术,使其工作特性明显地改善。设计实例表明在无金属基底的吸收体情形,电路模拟吸收体比普通设计优越得多,在厚度更小和用更少材料下能在特宽带内获得低反射。     

区域社会史视野下的"客家"称谓由来考论--以清代以来赣南的"客佃"、"客籍"与"客家"为例

针对目前客家学界认为今日"客家"的名称产生于明清时期,等同于明清文献中的"客佃"、"客籍"这一流行观点,本文以清代以来赣南文献中的"客佃"、"客籍"与"客家"为例,从区域社会史的角度对这些术语的具体历史语境和历史内涵进行考察和分析.指出清代的"客佃"、"客籍"作为清代移垦过程和户籍制度背景下特定的历史产物,其实是一个与"土著"、"土籍"相对的移民范畴,而今日所谓的"客家",则是在晚清民国以来社会文化变迁和学术发展背景下出现或建构的一个具有人类学意义的民系范畴,二者完全属于不同的历史范畴,故而不能相提并论.     

Essential Micro‐foundations for Contemporary Business Operations: Top Management Tangible Competencies,Relationship‐based Business Networks and Environmental Sustainability

Although various studies have emphasized linkages between firm competencies, networks and sustainability at organizational level, the links between top management tangible competencies (TMTCs) (e.g. contemporary relevant quantitative‐focused education such as big data analytics and data‐driven applications linked with the internet of things, relevant experience and analytical business applications), relationship‐based business networks (RBNs) and environmental sustainability have not been well established at micro‐level, and there is a literature gap in terms of investigating these relationships. This study examines these links based on the unique data collected from 175 top management representatives (chief executive officers and managing directors) working in food import and export firms headquartered in the UK and New Zealand. Our results from structural equation modelling indicate that TMTCs are the key determinants for building RBNs, mediating the correlation between TMTCs and environmental sustainability. Directly, the competencies also play a vital role towards environmental practices. The findings further depict that relationship‐oriented firms perform better compared to those which focus less on such networks. Consequently, our findings provide a deeper understanding of the micro‐foundations of environmental sustainability based on TMTCs rooted in the resource‐based view and RBNs entrenched in social network theory. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings, and we provide suggestions for future research.     

Analysis of microtubule dynamics using growth curve models

Microtubules are part of the structural network within a cell's cytoplasm, providing structural support as well as taking part in many of the cellular processes. A large body of data provide evidence that dynamics of microtubules in a cell is reponsible for the performance of many critical cellular functions such as cell division. In this article, we study the effect of four different isoforms of a protein tau on microtubule dynamics using growth curve models. The results show that a linear growth curve model is sufficient to explain the data. Moreover, we find that a mutated version of a 3-repeat tau protein has a similar effect as a 4-repeat tau protein on microtubule dynamics. The latter findings conform with the biological understanding of the effect of the protein tau on microtubule dynamics.