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Corruption is generally considered to affect firm innovation negatively. Yet recent scholarship is indicating that corruption may yield positive effects on innovation practices by removing certain barriers associated with starting up or operating businesses. The differing perspectives on the impact of corruption on firm innovation have engendered two contrasting hypotheses: the ‘sand-the-wheels’ a
This dissertation studies the historical relation between the Muslim minority and the non-Muslim majority in Yunnan with a combined method: historical criticism supplemented by ethnological interpretation. This relation manifests in history dynamic and dialectical characteristics: concord and conflict. Concord can be found in the stable and balanced periods in the relevant socio-cultural aspects o
In this thesis, the focus is on the trade relations between Estonia and selected Asian countries based on their importance, aiming to identify the current trade flows, changes within them over time and the reasons behind these changes. Furthermore, the comparative advantage of Estonia in relation to those countries should be revealed. The main research question is how the trade flows have changed
In this thesis the possibility of using mussels as a sensor for contaminants in drinking water intakes was evaluated. Oxygen consumption, heart rate and valve movement was measured upon exposure to oil, caffeine (a marker for waste water) and copper. Valve movement was measured both by time lapse recordings of the mussels and by attaching strain gauges to their shells. One species of freshwater mu
The thesis examines two emergent religiosities which flourish among university students and young professionals connected with the private media field in Beijing. One case group consists of young successful professionals from the field of private media who have started to worship a living Buddha of the Vajrayana school. The other group consists of students from universities connected to the privat
High-frequency in situ measurements at Gosan (Jeju Island, Korea) during November 2007 to December 2008 have been combined with interspecies correlation analysis to estimate national emissions of halogenated compounds (HCs) in East Asia, including the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halons, hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6),
This paper examines how the EU seeks to mitigate external economic vulnerabilities and what this reveals about the EU’s prioritisation concerning different types of vulnerability and the external actors toward whom these vulnerabilities are directed. The paper draws on the theories of complex interdependence and weaponised interdependence to distinguish between resource-based and network-based vul
Digital rights management (DRM) is crucial in safeguarding digital content in today's digital era. However, with the advancement of attack techniques, DRM systems face significant threats from key exposure, leading to increased piracy. To counter this, various DRM solutions utilizing white-box encryption schemes have been developed to prevent key exposure. Unfortunately, many existing solutions ex
In this paper, four major parameters of fresh water production from saline sources are discussed. The parameters are desalination technology type, water sources input type, energy sources and productions cost per cubic meter. Five different types of desalination technology are presented and bench-marked for long-term use. RO and MSF are dominant technologies. Six different input water sources are
A key step in lipolytic activation of adipocytes is the translocation of hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) from the cytosol to the surface of the lipid storage droplet. Adipocytes from perilipin-null animals have an elevated basal rate of lipolysis compared with adipocytes from Wild-type mice, but fail to respond maximally to lipolytic stimuli. This defect is downstream of the p-adrenergic receptor-a
OBJECTIVE: To study the variation of HCV 5'-NCR and core gene in serial sera collected from patients with HCV infection. METHODS: Serial sera were collected from 4 plasma-donors with HCV infection. 5'-NCR and core gene were amplified, sequenced and analyzed using software. RESULTS: All the sequences obtained from the serial sera of patients with HCV infection were 1b and 2a subtypes. The variation
