Affective design identification on the development of batik convection product

Science.gov (United States)

Prastawa, H.; Purwaningsih, R.

2017-11-01

The affective design is increasingly applied to product development in order to meet the desires and preferences of customers. Batik is a traditional Indonesian culture containing historical and cultural values. The development of batik design is one of the efforts to strengthen the identity and superiority of Indonesia’s creative industries as well as to preserve batik as the cultural heritage of the nation. Batik product designs offered by the manufacturers do not necessarily correspond with the wishes of consumers, especially the affective values involved. Therefore it is necessary to identify consumer perceptions of convection- based batik product in the form of clothing and fabrics, especially the affective value as the consideration for the designer or manufacturer to develop design alternatives to batik convection products. This research aims to obtain information on consumer affective value, to identify the affective value perception differences among X and Y Generation and to classify affective value in the corresponding cluster of the batik products convection. This study uses Kansei engineering to determine the perception of affective design in the form of Kansei word. Cluster Analysis was used to form clusters that classify affective value of the same class. The results showed that there were 16 pairs of Kansei word which was worth as an affective consumer desire, the 3 indicators that had significant differences among X and Y Generation and 4 clusters with different characteristics.

Determining the Factors Affecting Labor Productivity of Nurses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yurdanur Dikmen

2016-12-01

Results: It was found that the 45.5% of nurses participated in the study were in the 23-53 age group, 79.5% were women, 76.9% married, 41.1% associate degree graduates. 42.3% of nurses' durations of professional experience were 0-5 years, 22.4% of nurses were clinical chief, 69.2% were working as shifts. Participants believe that the factors affecting the labor productivity were respectively organizational factors, ergonomic factors and personal factors. When organizational factors was examined; nurses stated that the lack of working personnel in the section, the low wages and unequal wages for the same work, the long working hours and the system which based on personal relations instead of merit were affecting productivity. The factors affecting labor productivity of nurses were not different according to age, gender, education level and marital status (p>0.05, but different according to mode of operation and years of experience (p<0.05. Conclusion: According to this study, it was found that there are many factors that affect the efficiency of the nurses. The most important factors affecting nurses' efficiency were determined as wage and working conditions. [J Contemp Med 2016; 6(4.000: 334-342

Factors affecting endoglucanase production by Trichoderma reesei ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Jane

2011-08-22

Aug 22, 2011 ... from the ANOVA analysis have a significant value of Pmodel>F= 0.0008 and R2 .... there are various environmental and nutritional factors ... reported to affect cellulase production from wheat straw ... many factors affecting simultaneously the fermentation ..... and control its stability (Kalra and Sandhu, 1986).

Does Labour Diversity affect Firm Productivity?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Parrotta, Pierpaolo; Pozzoli, Dario; Pytlikova, Mariola

Using a matched employer-employee dataset, we analyze how workforce diversity in cultural background, education and demographic characteristics affects productivity of firms in Denmark. Implementing a structural estimation of the firms' production function (Ackerberg et al., 2006) we find...... diverse workforce, seem to outweigh the positive effects coming from creativity and knowledge spillovers....... that labor diversity in education significantly enhances a firm's value added. Conversely, diversity in ethnicity and demographics induces negative effects on firm productivity. Hence, the negative effects, coming from communication and integration costs connected to a more culturally and demographically...

Determining the Factors Affecting Labor Productivity of Nurses

OpenAIRE

Yurdanur Dikmen; Dilek Kara Yilmaz; Handenur Basaran; Nasibe Yagmur Filiz

2016-01-01

Aim: This study was conducted to determine the factors affecting the labor productivity of nurses. Material and Methods: The study which was planned as descriptive and analytical was carried out with 156 nurses who volunteered to participate in the study in a public hospital in the northwest of Turkey. Data was collected with the and ldquo;Participant Presentation Form and rdquo; and the questionnaire including the factors affecting labor productivity which was developed by Ozkoc (2005). ...

The marketing implications of affective product design.

Science.gov (United States)

Seva, Rosemary R; Duh, Henry Been-Lirn; Helander, Martin G

2007-11-01

Emotions are compelling human experiences and product designers can take advantage of this by conceptualizing emotion-engendering products that sell well in the market. This study hypothesized that product attributes influence users' emotions and that the relationship is moderated by the adherence of these product attributes to purchase criteria. It was further hypothesized that the emotional experience of the user influences purchase intention. A laboratory study was conducted to validate the hypotheses using mobile phones as test products. Sixty-two participants were asked to assess eight phones from a display of 10 phones and indicate their emotional experiences after assessment. Results suggest that some product attributes can cause intense emotional experience. The attributes relate to the phone's dimensions and the relationship between these dimensions. The study validated the notion of integrating affect in designing products that convey users' personalities.

Factors affecting research productivity of production and operations management groups: An empirical study

OpenAIRE

George C. Hadjinicola; Andreas C. Soteriou

2006-01-01

This paper identifies factors that promote research productivity of production and operations management (POM) groups of researchers in US business schools. In this study, research productivity of a POM group is defined as the number of articles published per POM professor in a specific period of time. The paper also examines factors that affect research quality, as measured by the number of articles published per POM professor in journals, which have been recognized in the POM literature as ...

Factors affecting oil palm production in Ondo state of Nigeria

African Journals Online (AJOL)

sola

... affecting oil palm production in predominantly oil palm producing areas of Ondo state of Nigeria. ... This was because the mangrove swamp zone does not .... Research stations e.g. NIFOR. Radio .... palm production management practices.

Factors Affecting Sugarcane Production in Pakistan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adnan Nazir

2013-05-01

Full Text Available This study was undertaken to identify the factors affecting sugarcane production in Pakistan. Data were collected from 387 sugarcane growers from Sindh, Punjab and NWFP province. Data were collected during the period 2007-08. The study reveals that the costs of inputs of sugarcane i.e. urea, DAP, FYM, land preparation, seed and its application, weeding and cost of irrigation were the important factors which influenced on the returns of sugarcane growers. The effectiveness was examined by using the Cobb-Douglas production function; MVP and allocative efficiency were calculated. The coefficient of multiple determinations R2 was 0.9249, which indicated that 92% variation in the cost of inputs was explained by all explanatory variables and the adjusted R2 was 92%. The F-value was 666.94 and was highly significant at 5% level of significance, indicating that the regression model was well fitted. The high prices of inputs, low price of output, delay in payments and lack of scientific knowledge were the major problems in sugarcane production. In order to enhance the productivity of sugarcane in the country, government should solve the identified problems to increase the income of sugarcane growers.

Factors Affecting Oil Palm Production in Ondo State of Nigeria ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The discovery of crude oil and the civil war adversely affected oil palm production in Nigeria. This has resulted in scarcity and high cost of palm products and palm oil. The study therefore investigated the factors influencing oil palm production in Ondo State, Nigeria. One hundred and fifty respondents were selected from ...

Product Meaning, Affective Use Evaluation, and Transfer: A Preliminary Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sacha Helfenstein

2005-01-01

Full Text Available The first part of this investigation explored the multidimensional nature of product meaning, referring to the variety of connotations and functions a consumer associates with a particular product category. The subsequent experiment examined the moderation effects of product meaning and other attributes of the user on (a the affective evaluation of an obstructed use interaction, and (b the transfer of emotion between devices presented as being either of the same or a different brand. Although the failure experience essentially caused frustration, this reaction varied substantially among consumers depending on product meaning, age, and gender. The results also showed that the emotion dimensions of pleasure, arousal, and dominance were affected in distinct ways, and that, in addition to the consumer variables, transfer was mainly dependent on the brand relation. Nevertheless, user frustration did not cause general brand aversion, indicating that poor designs do not unconditionally threaten the customer relationship.

Forest amount affects soybean productivity in Brazilian agricultural frontier

Science.gov (United States)

Rattis, L.; Brando, P. M.; Marques, E. Q.; Queiroz, N.; Silverio, D. V.; Macedo, M.; Coe, M. T.

2017-12-01

Over the past three decades, large tracts of tropical forests have been converted to crop and pasturelands across southern Amazonia, largely to meet the increasing worldwide demand for protein. As the world's population continue to grow and consume more protein per capita, forest conversion to grow more crops could be a potential solution to meet such demand. However, widespread deforestation is expected to negatively affect crop productivity via multiple pathways (e.g., thermal regulation, rainfall, local moisture, pest control, among others). To quantify how deforestation affects crop productivity, we modeled the relationship between forest amount and enhanced vegetation index (EVI—a proxy for crop productivity) during the soybean planting season across southern Amazonia. Our hypothesis that forest amount causes increased crop productivity received strong support. We found that the maximum MODIS-based EVI in soybean fields increased as a function of forest amount across three spatial-scales, 0.5 km, 1 km, 2 km, 5 km, 10 km, 15 km and 20 km. However, the strength of this relationship varied across years and with precipitation, but only at the local scale (e.g., 500 meters and 1 km radius). Our results highlight the importance of considering forests to design sustainable landscapes.

Product meaning, affective use evaluation, and transfer : a preliminary study

OpenAIRE

Helfenstein, Sacha

2005-01-01

The first part of this investigation explored the multidimensional nature of product meaning, referring to the variety of connotations and functions a consumer associates with a particular product category. The subsequent experiment examined the moderation effects of product meaning and other attributes of the user on (a) the affective evaluation of an obstructed use interaction, and (b) the transfer of emotion between devices presented as being either of the same or a different brand. Althou...

How the Physical Work Environment Can Affect Individual Productivity

OpenAIRE

Johannsdottir, Thordis; Hansen, Rebecca

2017-01-01

Master's thesis in Strategic Management The topic of this thesis is about how the physical work environment affects individual productivity, and with focus on productivity through the well-being aspect of individuals. The thesis has a theoretical approach with a pilot-exercise including a pilot experiment and questionnaire. This approach was chosen as the research question is comprehensive, and with the timeframe to complete this thesis. A theoretical approach gives the possibility to furt...

Applying total interpretive structural modeling to study factors affecting construction labour productivity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sayali Shrikrishna Sandbhor

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Construction sector has always been dependent on manpower. Most of the activities carried out on any construction site are labour intensive. Since productivity of any project depends directly on productivity of labour, it is a prime responsibility of the employer to enhance labour productivity. Measures to improve the same depend on analysis of positive and negative factors affecting productivity. Major attention should be given to factors that decrease the productivity of labour. Factor analysis thus is an integral part of any study aiming to improve productivity.  Interpretive structural modeling is a methodology for identifying and summarizing relationships among factors which define an issue or problem. It provides a means to arrange the factors in an order as per their complexity. This study attempts to use the latest version of interpretive structural modeling i.e. total interpretive structural modeling to analyze factors negatively affecting construction labour productivity. It establishes interpretive relationship among these factors facilitating improvement in the overall productivity of construction site.

Role of the pharmacist in preventing distribution of counterfeit medications.

Science.gov (United States)

Chambliss, Walter G; Carroll, Wesley A; Kennedy, Daniel; Levine, Donald; Moné, Michael A; Ried, L Douglas; Shepherd, Marv; Yelvigi, Mukund

2012-01-01

To provide an overview of the counterfeit medication problem and recommendations of a joint American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Academy of Pharmaceutical Research and Science and APhA Academy of Pharmacy Practice and Management taskforce. SciFinder and PubMed were searched from 1980 to March 2011 using the following keywords: counterfeit drug product, counterfeit medications, drug product authentication, drug product verification, and track-and-trace. Publications, presentations, and websites of organizations that research the counterfeit medication problem in the United States and other countries were reviewed. A representative from the security division of a pharmaceutical manufacturer and a representative from a supplier of anticounterfeiting technologies gave presentations to the taskforce. The taskforce recommends that pharmacists (1) purchase medications from known, reliable sources; (2) warn patients of the dangers of purchasing medications over the Internet; (3) confirm with distributors that products were purchased from manufacturers or other reliable sources; (4) monitor counterfeit product alerts; (5) examine products for suspicious appearance; (6) work with the pharmaceutical industry, distributors, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to close gaps in the supply chain, especially for drugs in short supply; (7) use scanning technology in the pharmacy as part of a prescription verification process; (8) educate themselves, coworkers, and patients about the risks of counterfeit medications; and (9) report suspicious medications to FDA, the distributor, and the manufacturer. The consequence of a patient receiving a counterfeit medication in the United States could be catastrophic, and pharmacists must play an active role in preventing such an event from occurring.

Neurophysiological localisation of ulnar neuropathy at the elbow: Validation of diagnostic criteria developed by a taskforce of the Danish Society of clinical neurophysiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Pugdahl, K; Beniczky, S; Wanscher, B; Johnsen, B; Qerama, E; Ballegaard, M; Benedek, K; Juhl, A; Ööpik, M; Selmar, P; Sønderborg, J; Terney, D; Fuglsang-Frederiksen, A

2017-11-01

This study validates consensus criteria for localisation of ulnar neuropathy at elbow (UNE) developed by a taskforce of the Danish Society of Clinical Neurophysiology and compares them to the existing criteria from the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM). The Danish criteria are based on combinations of conduction slowing in the segments of the elbow and forearm expressed in Z-scores, and difference between the segments in m/s. Examining fibres to several muscles and sensory fibres can increase the certainty of the localisation. Diagnostic accuracy for UNE was evaluated on 181 neurophysiological studies of the ulnar nerve from 171 peer-reviewed patients from a mixed patient-group. The diagnostic reference standard was the consensus diagnosis based on all available clinical, laboratory, and electrodiagnostic information reached by a group of experienced Danish neurophysiologists. The Danish criteria had high specificity (98.4%) and positive predictive value (PPV) (95.2%) and fair sensitivity (76.9%). Compared to the AANEM criteria, the Danish criteria had higher specificity (p<0.001) and lower sensitivity (p=0.02). The Danish consensus criteria for UNE are very specific and have high PPV. The Danish criteria for UNE are reliable and well suited for use in different centres as they are based on Z-scores. Copyright © 2017 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Applying total interpretive structural modeling to study factors affecting construction labour productivity

OpenAIRE

Sayali Shrikrishna Sandbhor; Rohan P. Botre

2014-01-01

Construction sector has always been dependent on manpower. Most of the activities carried out on any construction site are labour intensive. Since productivity of any project depends directly on productivity of labour, it is a prime responsibility of the employer to enhance labour productivity. Measures to improve the same depend on analysis of positive and negative factors affecting productivity. Major attention should be given to factors that decrease the productivity of labour. Factor anal...

Enhancing productivity of salt affected soils through crops and cropping system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, S.S.; Khan, A.R.

2002-05-01

The reclamation of salt affected soils needs the addition of soil amendment and enough water to leach down the soluble salts. The operations may also include other simple agronomic techniques to reclaim soils and to know the crops and varieties that may be grown and other management practices which may be followed on such soils (Khan, 2001). The choice of crops to be grown during reclamation of salt affected soils is very important to obtain acceptable yields. This also decides cropping systems as well as favorable diversification for early reclamation, desirable yield and to meet the other requirements of farm families. In any salt affected soils, the following three measures are adopted for reclamation and sustaining the higher productivity of reclaimed soils. 1. Suitable choice of crops, forestry and tree species; 2. Suitable choice of cropping and agroforestry system; 3. Other measures to sustain the productivity of reclaimed soils. (author)

Aspergillus oryzae nrtA affects kojic acid production.

Science.gov (United States)

Sano, Motoaki

2016-09-01

We analyzed the role of the nitrate transporter-encoding gene (nrtA) of Aspergillus oryzae by gene disruption. Southern hybridization analysis indicated that homologous recombination occurred at the resident nrtA locus. Real-time PCR showed that the nrtA gene was strongly inducible by NaNO3. The nrtA disruptant did not exhibit normal growth when nitrate was available as the sole nitrogen source. These results indicate that NrtA is essential for nitrate uptake in A. oryzae. Kojic acid (KA) production was inhibited by the addition of a small amount of sodium nitrate. The nrtA-disrupted strain was deficient in the uptake of nitrate. As a result, KA production in this strain was not considerably affected by the presence of nitrate.

Factors affecting research productivity of production and operations management groups: An empirical study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2006-01-01

Full Text Available This paper identifies factors that promote research productivity of production and operations management (POM groups of researchers in US business schools. In this study, research productivity of a POM group is defined as the number of articles published per POM professor in a specific period of time. The paper also examines factors that affect research quality, as measured by the number of articles published per POM professor in journals, which have been recognized in the POM literature as an elite set. The results show that three factors increase both the research productivity and the quality of the articles published by professors of a POM group. These factors are (a the presence of a POM research center, (b funding received from external sources for research purposes, and (c better library facilities. Doctoral students do assist in improving research quality and productivity, but they are not the driving force. These results have important implications for establishing policy guidelines for business schools. For example, real-world problems are funded by external sources and have a higher probability of publication. Furthermore, schools could place more emphasis on external funding, as most engineering schools do, since groups receiving external funding are more productive in terms of research.

ASSESMENT OF FACTORS AFFECTING THE PRODUCTIVITY OF AMBER CHARKHA AND ERGONOMIC EVALUATION OF WORKERS

OpenAIRE

G. V. THAKRE; S. G. PATIL; D. N. AGRAWAL

2011-01-01

Increasing demands of the cotton fabrics, now a day has made it necessary to increase the production of cotton fabrics. To increase the production it is necessary to study the factors affecting the performance of the women workers working on Amber charkha. Most of the Amber charkha in rural areas are hand operated (i.e. they runwith the help of human energy input). There are various medical, technical and environmental factors which affect the productivity of women workers working on Amber ch...

Atypical Food Packaging Affects The Persuasive Impact of Product Claims

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Ooijen, M.L.; Fransen, P.W.J.; Verlegh, P.W.J.; Smit, E.G.

2016-01-01

Atypical food packaging draws attention in the retail environment, and therefore increases product salience. However, until now, no research has focused on how atypical packaging affects the persuasive impact of other food information. In the present study, we propose that atypical packaging

Atypical food packaging affects the persuasive impact of product claims

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Ooijen, I.; Fransen, M.L.; Verlegh, P.W.J.; Smit, E.G.

Atypical food packaging draws attention in the retail environment, and therefore increases product sal- ience. However, until now, no research has focused on how atypical packaging affects the persuasive impact of other food information. In the present study, we propose that atypical packaging

Productive Love Promotion Via Affective Technology: An Approach Based On Social Psychology And Philosophy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramon Solves Pujol

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes the use of social psychological and philosophical foundations for designing affective technology that promotes the experience of love. The adopted theoretical basis is the concept of productive love, which is heavily based on Enrich Fromm but also includes theories and scientific findings of numerous psychoanalysts, social psychologists, and philosophers. We conducted a review of the theory about the nature of love and found that social psychological and philosophical approaches differ regarding peoples' understandings. The findings were used to elaborate eight principles of productive love. Based on these principles, we derived criteria for designing affective technology when the objective is to promote productive love. We reviewed the existent studies on affective technologies and implemented the criteria into a system design, the Pictures' Call. A prototype of the system was pretested to illustrate how productive love technology could be based on established criteria.

How does burnout affect physician productivity? A systematic literature review

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background Interest in the well-being of physicians has increased because of their contributions to the healthcare system quality. There is growing recognition that physicians are exposed to workplace factors that increase the risk of work stress. Long-term exposure to high work stress can result in burnout. Reports from around the world suggest that about one-third to one-half of physicians experience burnout. Understanding the outcomes associated with burnout is critical to understanding its affects on the healthcare system. Productivity outcomes are among those that could have the most immediate effects on the healthcare system. This systematic literature review is one of the first to explore the evidence for the types of physician productivity outcomes associated with physician burnout. It answers the question, “How does burnout affect physician productivity?” Methods A systematic search was performed of: Medline Current, Medline in process, PsycInfo, Embase and Web of Science. The search period covered 2002 to 2012. The searches identified articles about practicing physicians working in civilian settings. Articles that primarily looked only at residents or medical students were excluded. Productivity was captured by hours worked, patients seen, sick leave, leaving the profession, retirement, workload and presenteeism. Studies also were excluded if: (1) the study sample was not comprised of at least 50% physicians, (2) the study did not examine the relationship between burnout and productivity or (3) a validated measure of burnout was not used. Results The search identified 870 unique citations; 5 met the inclusion/exclusion criteria. This review indicates that globally there is recognition of the potential impact of physician burnout on productivity. Productivity was examined using: number of sick leave days, work ability, intent to either continue practicing or change jobs. The majority of the studies indicate there is a negative relationship between

How does burnout affect physician productivity? A systematic literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Dewa, Carolyn S; Loong, Desmond; Bonato, Sarah; Thanh, Nguyen Xuan; Jacobs, Philip

2014-07-28

Interest in the well-being of physicians has increased because of their contributions to the healthcare system quality. There is growing recognition that physicians are exposed to workplace factors that increase the risk of work stress. Long-term exposure to high work stress can result in burnout. Reports from around the world suggest that about one-third to one-half of physicians experience burnout. Understanding the outcomes associated with burnout is critical to understanding its affects on the healthcare system. Productivity outcomes are among those that could have the most immediate effects on the healthcare system. This systematic literature review is one of the first to explore the evidence for the types of physician productivity outcomes associated with physician burnout. It answers the question, "How does burnout affect physician productivity?" A systematic search was performed of: Medline Current, Medline in process, PsycInfo, Embase and Web of Science. The search period covered 2002 to 2012. The searches identified articles about practicing physicians working in civilian settings. Articles that primarily looked only at residents or medical students were excluded. Productivity was captured by hours worked, patients seen, sick leave, leaving the profession, retirement, workload and presenteeism. Studies also were excluded if: (1) the study sample was not comprised of at least 50% physicians, (2) the study did not examine the relationship between burnout and productivity or (3) a validated measure of burnout was not used. The search identified 870 unique citations; 5 met the inclusion/exclusion criteria. This review indicates that globally there is recognition of the potential impact of physician burnout on productivity. Productivity was examined using: number of sick leave days, work ability, intent to either continue practicing or change jobs. The majority of the studies indicate there is a negative relationship between burnout and productivity. However

40 CFR 63.5985 - What are my alternatives for meeting the emission limits for tire production affected sources?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... the emission limits for tire production affected sources? 63.5985 Section 63.5985 Protection of... Pollutants: Rubber Tire Manufacturing Emission Limits for Tire Production Affected Sources § 63.5985 What are my alternatives for meeting the emission limits for tire production affected sources? You must use...

Methyl salicylate production in tomato affects biotic interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Ament, Kai; Krasikov, Vladimir; Allmann, Silke; Rep, Martijn; Takken, Frank L W; Schuurink, Robert C

2010-04-01

The role of methyl salicylate (MeSA) production was studied in indirect and direct defence responses of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) to the spider mite Tetranychus urticae and the root-invading fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, respectively. To this end, we silenced the tomato gene encoding salicylic acid methyl transferase (SAMT). Silencing of SAMT led to a major reduction in SAMT expression and MeSA emission upon herbivory by spider mites, without affecting the induced emission of other volatiles (terpenoids). The predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis, which preys on T. urticae, could not discriminate between infested and non-infested SAMT-silenced lines, as it could for wild-type tomato plants. Moreover, when given the choice between infested SAMT-silenced and infested wild-type plants, they preferred the latter. These findings are supportive of a major role for MeSA in this indirect defence response of tomato. SAMT-silenced tomato plants were less susceptible to a virulent strain of F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, indicating that the direct defense responses in the roots are also affected in these plants. Our studies show that the conversion of SA to MeSA can affect both direct and indirect plant defence responses.

Long-term affected energy production of waste to energy technologies identified by use of energy system analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Münster, Marie; Meibom, Peter

2010-01-01

Affected energy production is often decisive for the outcome of consequential life-cycle assessments when comparing the potential environmental impact of products or services. Affected energy production is however difficult to determine. In this article the future long-term affected energy...... production is identified by use of energy system analysis. The focus is on different uses of waste for energy production. The Waste-to-Energy technologies analysed include co-combustion of coal and waste, anaerobic digestion and thermal gasification. The analysis is based on optimization of both investments...... and production of electricity, district heating and bio-fuel in a future possible energy system in 2025 in the countries of the Northern European electricity market (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Germany). Scenarios with different CO2 quota costs are analysed. It is demonstrated that the waste...

29 CFR 784.138 - Perishable state of the aquatic product as affecting exemption.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... with the performance of exempt operations on the aquatic forms of animal and vegetable life mentioned... or manufacturing operations on products previously rendered nonperishable, such as refining fish oil... 29 Labor 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Perishable state of the aquatic product as affecting...

Spatial pattern affects diversity-productivity relationships in experimental meadow communities

Science.gov (United States)

Lamošová, Tereza; Doležal, Jiří; Lanta, Vojtěch; Lepš, Jan

2010-05-01

Plant species create aggregations of conspecifics as a consequence of limited seed dispersal, clonal growth and heterogeneous environment. Such intraspecific aggregation increases the importance of intraspecific competition relative to interspecific competition which may slow down competitive exclusion and promote species coexistence. To examine how spatial aggregation impacts the functioning of experimental assemblages of varying species richness, eight perennial grassland species of different growth form were grown in random and aggregated patterns in monocultures, two-, four-, and eight-species mixtures. In mixtures with an aggregated pattern, monospecific clumps were interspecifically segregated. Mixed model ANOVA was used to test (i) how the total productivity and productivity of individual species is affected by the number of species in a mixture, and (ii) how these relationships are affected by spatial pattern of sown plants. The main patterns of productivity response to species richness conform to other studies: non-transgressive overyielding is omnipresent (the productivity of mixtures is higher than the average of its constituent species so that the net diversity, selection and complementarity effects are positive), whereas transgressive overyielding is found only in a minority of cases (average of log(overyielding) being close to zero or negative). The theoretical prediction that plants in a random pattern should produce more than in an aggregated pattern (the distances to neighbours are smaller and consequently the competition among neighbours stronger) was confirmed in monocultures of all the eight species. The situation is more complicated in mixtures, probably as a consequence of complicated interplay between interspecific and intraspecific competition. The most productive species ( Achillea, Holcus, Plantago) were competitively superior and increased their relative productivity with mixture richness. The intraspecific competition of these species is

Affective Productions of Mathematical Experience

Science.gov (United States)

Walshaw, Margaret; Brown, Tony

2012-01-01

In underscoring the affective elements of mathematics experience, we work with contemporary readings of the work of Spinoza on the politics of affect, to understand what is included in the cognitive repertoire of the Subject. We draw on those resources to tell a pedagogical tale about the relation between cognition and affect in settings of…

40 CFR 63.6004 - How do I demonstrate continuous compliance with the emission limits for tire production affected...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... compliance with the emission limits for tire production affected sources? 63.6004 Section 63.6004 Protection... Pollutants: Rubber Tire Manufacturing Continuous Compliance Requirements for Tire Production Affected Sources § 63.6004 How do I demonstrate continuous compliance with the emission limits for tire production...

Does the Unemployement Benefit Institution Affect the Productivity of Workers? Evidence from a Field Experiment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Blanco, M.; Dalton, P.S.; Vargas, J.F.

2013-01-01

Abstract: We investigate whether and how the type of unemployment bene t institution affects productivity. We designed a field experiment to compare workers' productivity under a welfare system, where the unemployed receive an unconditional monetary transfer, with their productivity under a workfare

New product, familiar taste: Effects of slogans on cognitive and affective responses to an unknown food product among food neophobics and neophilics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fenko, Anna; Leufkens, Jean-Marie; van Hoof, Joris Jasper

2015-01-01

Food neophobia is considered a potential barrier for the introduction of new food products. This study investigated how advertising slogans could influence cognitive and affective responses to a new product in food neophobics and food neophilics. An unknown dairy product was used to examine the

Long-term affected energy production of waste to energy technologies identified by use of energy system analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Münster, M; Meibom, P

2010-12-01

Affected energy production is often decisive for the outcome of consequential life-cycle assessments when comparing the potential environmental impact of products or services. Affected energy production is however difficult to determine. In this article the future long-term affected energy production is identified by use of energy system analysis. The focus is on different uses of waste for energy production. The Waste-to-Energy technologies analysed include co-combustion of coal and waste, anaerobic digestion and thermal gasification. The analysis is based on optimization of both investments and production of electricity, district heating and bio-fuel in a future possible energy system in 2025 in the countries of the Northern European electricity market (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Germany). Scenarios with different CO(2) quota costs are analysed. It is demonstrated that the waste incineration continues to treat the largest amount of waste. Investments in new waste incineration capacity may, however, be superseded by investments in new Waste-to-Energy technologies, particularly those utilising sorted fractions such as organic waste and refuse derived fuel. The changed use of waste proves to always affect a combination of technologies. What is affected varies among the different Waste-to-Energy technologies and is furthermore dependent on the CO(2) quota costs and on the geographical scope. The necessity for investments in flexibility measures varies with the different technologies such as storage of heat and waste as well as expansion of district heating networks. Finally, inflexible technologies such as nuclear power plants are shown to be affected. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Crop production in salt affected soils: A biological approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Malik, K A [National Inst. for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE), Faisalabad (Pakistan)

1995-01-01

Plant are susceptible to various stresses, affecting growth productivity. Among the abiotic stresses, soil salinity is most significant and prevalent in both developed and developing countries. As a result, good productive lands are being desertified at a very high pace. To combat this problem various approaches involving soil management and drainage are underway but with little success. It seems that a durable solution of the salinity and water-logging problems may take a long time and we may have to learn to live with salinity and to find other ways to utilize the affected lands fruitfully. A possible approach could be to tailor plants to suit the deleterious environment. The saline-sodic soils have excess of sodium, are impermeable, have little or no organic matter and are biologically almost dead. Introduction of a salt tolerant crop will provide a green cover and will improve the environment for biological activity, increase organic matter and will improve the soil fertility. The plant growth will result in higher carbon dioxide levels, and would thus create acidic conditions in the soil which would dissolve the insoluble calcium carbonate and will help exchange sodium with calcium ions on the soil complex. The biomass produced could be used directly as fodder or by the use of biotechnological and other procedures it could be converted into other value added products. However, in order to tailor plants to suit these deleterious environments, acquisition of better understanding of the biochemical and genetic aspects of salt tolerance at the cellular/molecular level is essential. For this purpose model systems have been carefully selected to carry out fundamental basic research that elucidates and identifies the major factors that confer salt tolerance in a living system. With the development of modern biotechnological methods it is now possible to introduce any foreign genetic material known to confer salt tolerance into crop plants. (Abstract Truncated)

Guinea pig for meat production: A systematic review of factors affecting the production, carcass and meat quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Sánchez-Macías, Davinia; Barba-Maggi, Lida; Morales-delaNuez, Antonio; Palmay-Paredes, Julio

2018-09-01

In developing countries, interest in guinea pig farming is growing exponentially because it provides a regular source of high quality animal protein for domestic consumption. Guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) are prolific animals, grow and are capable of reproduction on a flexible diet, and are adaptable to a wide range of climates. This article mainly reviews findings on guinea pig meat production, including factors affecting raising guinea pigs, carcass and meat quality. We also present some studies that describe biological and pathologic effects on carcass component composition. During the last decades no standard procedure has been established for guinea pig carcass evaluation, which makes very difficult any comparison of results with other studies around the world. Herein we highlight a variety of factors that significantly affect carcass and meat quality. Some of these factors are production systems, environmental and genetic factors, management systems, the diet and health status, age, sex and reproductive management. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Factors affecting Thai rubber farmer production and marketing in the western province of Kanchanaburi

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Narisa Thongtrai

2016-04-01

Full Text Available This research aimed to study the factors affecting the production and marketing of rubber farmers in the western Thai province of Kanchanaburi. The sample group included 30 farmers involved in rubber production. From the questionnaire and statistical analysis by SPSS, 15 observed variables were determined to be factors affecting the production and marketing of rubber farmers. The conclusion from the researchers determined that 1 The area planted is not appropriate and is still expanding plantations without any control was found that the rubber plantations are expanding at high plains area flooding. 2 Farmers of rubber technology farmers are not valid and do not conform to the instructions of the Rubber Research Institute study found that the cause is the opportunity to access technology and lack of knowledge regarding the management, production, and marketing. 3 Use rubber tree tapping of the system to high frequency screaming systems correctly. Does not comply with the instructions of the Rubber Research Institute found that of rubber farmers and farmers opening tapped the tire rubber accelerator before opening a huge size tapped that affect productivity and the income of farmers depressed farmers. 4 Problems with the labor of producing rubber of the household. It was found that labor households in the production system are lower 5 Farmers of Thailand are not yet aware of the concept of livelihood along the sufficiency economy as should farmers be life according to the way of life that is not adjusted to prepare 6 Group integration it was found that is not yet strong.

Does productivity affect profitability in dairy processing industry? Evidence from Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia

OpenAIRE

Saša Muminović; Željana Aljinović Barać

2015-01-01

This paper provides insights into productivity in dairy processing companies in Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia. The aim is to find out whether EBITDA per employee, as a measure of overall productivity as well as labour and capital productivity and their management positively affect company’s profitability. Literature review shows that this issue was relatively neglected, although increase in productivity is regarded as the most important factor in maintaining a competitive advantage in most dev...

Drug Abuse - Multiple Languages

Science.gov (United States)

... Burmese) PDF Facts about Marijuana - myanma bhasa (Burmese) MP3 Karen Chemical Dependency Taskforce of Minnesota Facts about ... Burmese) PDF Facts about Methamphetamine - myanma bhasa (Burmese) MP3 Karen Chemical Dependency Taskforce of Minnesota What Is ...

The Indian National Association for Study of the Liver (INASL) Consensus on Prevention, Diagnosis and Management of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in India: The Puri Recommendations.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Ashish; Acharya, Subrat K; Singh, Shivaram P; Saraswat, Vivek A; Arora, Anil; Duseja, Ajay; Goenka, Mahesh K; Jain, Deepali; Kar, Premashish; Kumar, Manoj; Kumaran, Vinay; Mohandas, Kunisshery M; Panda, Dipanjan; Paul, Shashi B; Ramachandran, Jeyamani; Ramesh, Hariharan; Rao, Padaki N; Shah, Samir R; Sharma, Hanish; Thandassery, Ragesh B

2014-08-01

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the major causes of morbidity, mortality and healthcare expenditure in patients with chronic liver disease. There are no consensus guidelines on diagnosis and management of HCC in India. The Indian National Association for Study of the Liver (INASL) set up a Task-Force on HCC in 2011, with a mandate to develop consensus guidelines for diagnosis and management of HCC, relevant to disease patterns and clinical practices in India. The Task-Force first identified various contentious issues on various aspects of HCC and these issues were allotted to individual members of the Task-Force who reviewed them in detail. The Task-Force used the Oxford Center for Evidence Based Medicine-Levels of Evidence of 2009 for developing an evidence-based approach. A 2-day round table discussion was held on 9th and 10th February, 2013 at Puri, Odisha, to discuss, debate, and finalize the consensus statements. The members of the Task-Force reviewed and discussed the existing literature at this meeting and formulated the INASL consensus statements for each of the issues. We present here the INASL consensus guidelines (The Puri Recommendations) on prevention, diagnosis and management of HCC in India.

Electrostatics in the environment: How they may affect health and productivity

Science.gov (United States)

Jamieson, K. S.; Simon, H. M. Ap; Bell, J. N. B.

2008-12-01

Lifestyles and the built environment have changed considerably during the past century and have greatly influenced the electric field, small air ion and charged submicron aerosol regimes to which individuals are often exposed. In particular the use of electrical items, synthetic materials/finishes and low humidity levels that can lead to the generation of high electrostatic charges, along with inadequate grounding protocols and building techniques which create 'Faraday cage'-like conditions, have all greatly altered the electromagnetic nature of the microclimates many people occupy for prolonged periods of time. It is suggested that the type, polarity and strengths of electric fields individuals are exposed to may affect their likelihood of succumbing to ill-health through influencing biological functioning, oxygen-uptake and retention rates of inhaled submicron contaminants to a far greater degree than previously realised. These factors can also influence the degree of local surface contamination and adhesion that occurs. It is further suggested that both health and work productivity can be affected by such factors, and that improved 'best practice' electro-hygiene/productivity protocols should be adopted wherever practical.

Electrostatics in the environment: How they may affect health and productivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jamieson, K S; ApSimon, H M; Bell, J N B

2008-01-01

Lifestyles and the built environment have changed considerably during the past century and have greatly influenced the electric field, small air ion and charged submicron aerosol regimes to which individuals are often exposed. In particular the use of electrical items, synthetic materials/finishes and low humidity levels that can lead to the generation of high electrostatic charges, along with inadequate grounding protocols and building techniques which create 'Faraday cage'-like conditions, have all greatly altered the electromagnetic nature of the microclimates many people occupy for prolonged periods of time. It is suggested that the type, polarity and strengths of electric fields individuals are exposed to may affect their likelihood of succumbing to ill-health through influencing biological functioning, oxygen-uptake and retention rates of inhaled submicron contaminants to a far greater degree than previously realised. These factors can also influence the degree of local surface contamination and adhesion that occurs. It is further suggested that both health and work productivity can be affected by such factors, and that improved 'best practice' electro-hygiene/productivity protocols should be adopted wherever practical.

Fermentation conditions that affect clavulanic acid production in Streptomyces clavuligerus: a systematic review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hooi-Leng eSer

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The β-lactamase inhibitor, clavulanic acid is frequently used in combination with β-lactam antibiotics to treat a wide spectrum of infectious diseases. Clavulanic acid prevents drug resistance by pathogens against these β-lactam antibiotics by preventing the degradation of the β-lactam ring, thus ensuring eradication of these harmful microorganisms from the host. This systematic review provides an overview on the fermentation conditions that affect the production of clavulanic acid in the firstly described producer, Streptomyces clavuligerus. A thorough search was conducted using predefined terms in several electronic databases (PubMed, Medline, ScienceDirect, EBSCO, from database inception to June 30th 2015. Studies must involve wild-type Streptomyces clavuligerus, and full texts needed to be available. A total of 29 eligible articles were identified. Based on the literature, several factors were identified that could affect the production of clavulanic acid in S. clavuligerus. The addition of glycerol or other vegetable oils (e.g. olive oil, corn oil could potentially affect clavulanic acid production. Furthermore, some amino acids such as arginine and ornithine, could serve as potential precursors to increase clavulanic acid yield. The comparison of different fermentation systems revealed that fed-batch fermentation yields higher amounts of clavulanic acid as compared to batch fermentation, probably due to the maintenance of substrates and constant monitoring of certain entities (such as pH, oxygen availability, etc.. Overall, these findings provide vital knowledge and insight that could assist media optimization and fermentation design for clavulanic acid production in S. clavuligerus.

Does productivity affect profitability in dairy processing industry? Evidence from Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saša Muminović

2015-11-01

Full Text Available This paper provides insights into productivity in dairy processing companies in Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia. The aim is to find out whether EBITDA per employee, as a measure of overall productivity as well as labour and capital productivity and their management positively affect company’s profitability. Literature review shows that this issue was relatively neglected, although increase in productivity is regarded as the most important factor in maintaining a competitive advantage in most developed countries. Results obtained show that comprehensive measure of productivity EBITDA per employee has statistically significant positive impact on company’s profitability, the same as productivity management components labour cost competitiveness and capital productivity.

An affective e-commerce design for SMEs product marketing based on kansei engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Habyba, A. N.; Djatna, T.; Anggraeni, E.

2018-04-01

One of the SMEs problems in Indonesia in this information technology era is the inability to control the market. SMEs can use the e-commerce website to improve their competitiveness. It can be used as a marketing tool for SMEs to promote their products and expands the SMEs markets especially for the agroindustry SMEs where located in district area that still rely on local markets to sell their product. Some SMEs e-commerce websites have been developed in Indonesia but can not significantly increased the sales of SMEs product. Furthemore, the design of it is only able to meet the consumer need in function and usability. The development of e-commerce design should pay attention in high affective quality. This is because the affective responses effect the user’s perception of cognitive quality, usability and ease of use of e-commerce. This study is aimed to make e-commerce that can meet the affective needs of users. The result of Kansei words selection and extraction using TF-IDF are four design concepts of e-commerce website. The formulation of new SMEs e-commerce website design is resulted from the integration of four design concepts and four design elements. The “Natural-Formal” concept has the greatest value than other concepts after QTT-1 analysis. This concept can implemented as the new SMEs e-commerce website design.

40 CFR 63.5996 - How do I demonstrate initial compliance with the emission limits for tire production affected...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... with the emission limits for tire production affected sources? 63.5996 Section 63.5996 Protection of... Pollutants: Rubber Tire Manufacturing Testing and Initial Compliance Requirements for Tire Production Affected Sources § 63.5996 How do I demonstrate initial compliance with the emission limits for tire...

Electrostatics in the environment: How they may affect health and productivity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jamieson, K S; ApSimon, H M; Bell, J N B [Centre for Environmental Policy, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom)], E-mail: keith.jamieson02@imperial.ac.uk

2008-12-01

Lifestyles and the built environment have changed considerably during the past century and have greatly influenced the electric field, small air ion and charged submicron aerosol regimes to which individuals are often exposed. In particular the use of electrical items, synthetic materials/finishes and low humidity levels that can lead to the generation of high electrostatic charges, along with inadequate grounding protocols and building techniques which create 'Faraday cage'-like conditions, have all greatly altered the electromagnetic nature of the microclimates many people occupy for prolonged periods of time. It is suggested that the type, polarity and strengths of electric fields individuals are exposed to may affect their likelihood of succumbing to ill-health through influencing biological functioning, oxygen-uptake and retention rates of inhaled submicron contaminants to a far greater degree than previously realised. These factors can also influence the degree of local surface contamination and adhesion that occurs. It is further suggested that both health and work productivity can be affected by such factors, and that improved 'best practice' electro-hygiene/productivity protocols should be adopted wherever practical.

An Affective Prototyping Approach for the User-Satisfying Assistive Products

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lai, Yoke Chin

This paper outlines the key concepts of a study whose main aim is to devise an integrated design method for efficiently designing usable assistive products. The study grounds on Affective Design principle formulated for user’s needs, emotions and experience handling in an attempt to outline...... an integrated approach so that the key concept of participatory design could be practiced. Incorporating the maturing Augmented Reality technology is expected to create a design setting that could motivate active end-user involvement from the start throughout the product design process. With the aids...... of ontological modeling approach, the design setting is envisioned suitable for disabled and elderly end users participation and to support capturing the abstract but valuable user’s real needs that are influenced by emotions and experiences. The ontology model will outline the basis of a design knowledge...

Making Decisions: Using Electronic Data Collection to Re-Envision Reference Services at the USF Tampa Libraries

Science.gov (United States)

Todorinova, Lily; Huse, Andy; Lewis, Barbara; Torrence, Matt

2011-01-01

Declining reference statistics, diminishing human resources, and the desire to be more proactive and embedded in academic departments, prompted the University of South Florida Library to create a taskforce for re-envisioning reference services. The taskforce was charged with examining the staffing patterns at the desk and developing…

A STUDY ON FACTORS AFFECTING BUYING BEHAVIOUR OF CONSUMERS FOR ECO - FRIENDLY PRODUCTS

OpenAIRE

N. Anil Kumar; Dr. Mridanish Jha

2017-01-01

Products are not the only thing which can be eco-friendly and actions are also friendly to the environment. Several people think that eco-friendly products are only the first step, and that people who are actually dedicated to the environment also need to change their lifestyles, diminishing the quantum of resources they use by living more competently. The exploratory factor analysis shows that price, quality, value, trust and easy to use are the factors that affecting buying behaviour of con...

Glycerol Monolaurate Inhibits Lipase Production by Clinical Ocular Isolates Without Affecting Bacterial Cell Viability.

Science.gov (United States)

Flanagan, Judith Louise; Khandekar, Neeta; Zhu, Hua; Watanabe, Keizo; Markoulli, Maria; Flanagan, John Terence; Papas, Eric

2016-02-01

We sought to determine the relative lipase production of a range of ocular bacterial isolates and to assess the efficacy of glycerol monolaurate (GML) in inhibiting this lipase production in high lipase-producing bacteria without affecting bacterial cell growth. Staphylococcus aureus,Staphylococcus epidermidis,Propionibacterium acnes, and Corynebacterium spp. were inoculated at a density of 10(6)/mL in varying concentrations of GML up to 25 μg/mL for 24 hours at 37 °C with constant shaking. Bacterial suspensions were centrifuged, bacterial cell density was determined, and production of bacterial lipase was quantified using a commercial lipase assay kit. Staphylococcus spp. produced high levels of lipase activity compared with P. acnes and Corynebacterium spp. GML inhibited lipase production by Staphylococcal spp. in a dose-dependent manner, with S. epidermidis lipase production consistently more sensitive to GML than S. aureus. Glycerol monolaurate showed significant (P < 0.05) lipase inhibition above concentrations of 15 μg/mL in S. aureus and was not cytotoxic up to 25 μg/mL. For S. epidermidis, GML showed significant (P < 0.05) lipase inhibition above 7.5 μg/mL. Lipase activity varied between species and between strains. Staphylococcal spp. produced higher lipase activity compared with P. acnes and Corynebacterium spp. Glycerol monolaurate inhibited lipase production by S. aureus and S. epidermidis at concentrations that did not adversely affect bacterial cell growth. GML can be used to inhibit ocular bacterial lipase production without proving detrimental to commensal bacteria viability.

40 CFR Table 1 to Subpart Xxxx of... - Emission Limits for Tire Production Affected Sources

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 12 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Emission Limits for Tire Production Affected Sources 1 Table 1 to Subpart XXXX of Part 63 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION.... 63, Subpt. XXXX, Table 1 Table 1 to Subpart XXXX of Part 63—Emission Limits for Tire Production...

Factors Affecting Consumer Purchase Decision on Insurance Product in PT. Prudential Life Assurance Manado

OpenAIRE

Esau, Eko Yiswa Rasti

2015-01-01

Marketing Mix is the main factor that could affect the whole marketing system. The absence of marketing mix analysis will affecting negatively on a marketing performance. The research aims to analyze the influence of Product, Price, Promotion, People and Process of the Prudential Life Assurance Manado Area on the Consumer Purchase Decision. Data collected through distribution of questionnaires to 100 consumer of Prudential Life Assurance Manado Area. The research used Classic Assumption test ...

Do non-native plant species affect the shape of productivity-diversity relationships?

Science.gov (United States)

Drake, J.M.; Cleland, E.E.; Horner-Devine, M. C.; Fleishman, E.; Bowles, C.; Smith, M.D.; Carney, K.; Emery, S.; Gramling, J.; Vandermast, D.B.; Grace, J.B.

2008-01-01

The relationship between ecosystem processes and species richness is an active area of research and speculation. Both theoretical and experimental studies have been conducted in numerous ecosystems. One finding of these studies is that the shape of the relationship between productivity and species richness varies considerably among ecosystems and at different spatial scales, though little is known about the relative importance of physical and biological mechanisms causing this variation. Moreover, despite widespread concern about changes in species' global distributions, it remains unclear if and how such large-scale changes may affect this relationship. We present a new conceptual model of how invasive species might modulate relationships between primary production and species richness. We tested this model using long-term data on relationships between aboveground net primary production and species richness in six North American terrestrial ecosystems. We show that primary production and abundance of non-native species are both significant predictors of species richness, though we fail to detect effects of invasion extent on the shapes of the relationship between species richness and primary production.

Ammonia production in poultry houses can affect health of humans, birds, and the environment-techniques for its reduction during poultry production.

Science.gov (United States)

Naseem, Sadia; King, Annie J

2018-06-01

Due to greater consumption of poultry products and an increase in exports, more poultry houses will be needed. Therefore, it is important to investigate ways that poultry facilities can coexist in close proximity to residential areas without odors and environmental challenges. Ammonia (NH 3 ) is the greatest concern for environmental pollution from poultry production. When birds consume protein, they produce uric acid, ultimately converted to NH 3 under favorable conditions. Factors that increase production include pH, temperature, moisture content, litter type, bird age, manure age, relative humidity, and ventilation rate (VR). NH 3 concentration and emissions in poultry houses depend on VR; seasons also have effects on NH 3 production. Modern ventilation systems can minimize NH 3 in enclosed production spaces quickly but increase its emissions to the environment. NH 3 adversely affects the ecosystem, environment, and health of birds and people. Less than 10 ppm is the ideal limit for exposure, but up to 25 ppm is also not harmful. NH 3 can be minimized by housing type, aerobic and anaerobic conditions, manure handling practices, litter amendment, and diet manipulation without affecting performance and production. Antibiotics can minimize NH 3 , but consumers have concerns about health effects. Administration of probiotics seems to be a useful replacement for antibiotics. More studies have been conducted on broilers, necessitating the need to evaluate the effect of probiotics on NH 3 production in conjunction with laying hen performance and egg quality. This comprehensive review focuses on research from 1950 to 2018.

40 CFR 63.5795 - How do I know if my reinforced plastic composites production facility is a new affected source or...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Reinforced Plastic Composites Production What This Subpart Covers § 63.5795 How do I know if my reinforced plastic composites production facility is a new affected source or an existing affected source? (a) A reinforced plastic composites production facility is a new...

Innovation Barriers and Enablers that Affect Productivity in Uganda Building Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Henry Mwanaki Alinaitwe, , and

2007-06-01

Full Text Available The construction industry has of recent been blamed for lack of innovation. Lack of innovation in the industry is believed to be responsible for the decreasing or stagnant levels of productivity in comparison with other industries. This paper reviews the major barriers and enablers to innovation in general. Propositions were made about the factors that affect innovation in the construction industry which were then formulated into a questionnaire. A survey was made on building contractors in Uganda, a developing country, targeting those with financial strength, large in size, and with high capacity to carry out big projects. The identified factors were then ranked and correlated. The level of training in science, engineering and technical education, and the level of research and development at the industry level are looked at as the greatest innovation enablers in building that will drive forward labour productivity. The size of the domestic market and the level of security are the worst innovation barriers that lead to low productivity in the building industry in Uganda. Contractors, policy makers and the government should address the identified factors in order to improve productivity.

Factors Affecting Re-usage Intentions of Virtual Communities Supporting Cosmetic Products

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Jhong-Min Yang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Aim/Purpose: This study uses a cosmetic virtual community (VC as the research context and the UTAUT model as the theoretical structure aim to explore factors affecting the re-usage intentions of VC members. Background: The Internet use rate of VC was up to 50%, thereby implying that VC gained the attention of Internet users. Therefore, operating a VC will be an effective way to communicate with customers. However, to maintain an existing member is more efficient than creating a new one. As such, understanding determinants of VC members’ re-use intentions becomes important for firms. Methodology: Through an online survey, 276 valid responses were gathered. The collected data were examined by performing confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modelling procedures, as well as the moderator analysis. Contribution: This study shows the importance in the context of online cosmetics-related VC, which was rarely explored before. We provide issues for future research, despite the accumulated academic literature related to UTAUT and VC. Findings: Results show that only performance expectancy and social influence significantly affecting re-usage intentions and only gender has moderating effects on the path from performance expectancy to VC re-use intention and from trust to VC re-use intention. Recommendations for Practitioners\t: This study found that users emphasized performance expectancy most of all. A cosmetic product-related VC should introduce products abundantly, offer useful information, and help people accomplish tasks quickly and productively. Recommendation for Researchers: Future researchers may use our findings to conduct further positivist research in the area of social influence using different subjects and research contexts.

Factors affecting the efficiency of foal production by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grady ST

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Equine embryo production by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI is currently effective enough to be used clinically. However, there are several factors that affect the efficiency of this procedure because, in addition to specialized equipment, skill in oocyte and embryo handling, and sperm preparation as well as knowledge of oocyte and embryo culture are required. To the best of our knowledge, there are currently only a couple of reports available on the expected efficiency of foal production by ICSI. Here we discuss the parameters that pertain to the Texas A&M Equine Embryo Laboratory only, as other laboratories may have different results.

Innovation Barriers and Enablers that Affect Productivity in Uganda Building Industry

OpenAIRE

Henry Mwanaki Alinaitwe, , and; Kristian Widén; Jackson Mwakali; Bengt Hansson

2007-01-01

The construction industry has of recent been blamed for lack of innovation. Lack of innovation in the industry is believed to be responsible for the decreasing or stagnant levels of productivity in comparison with other industries. This paper reviews the major barriers and enablers to innovation in general. Propositions were made about the factors that affect innovation in the construction industry which were then formulated into a questionnaire. A survey was made on building contractors in U...

Factors affecting the water holding capacity of red meat products: a review of recent research advances.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Qiaofen; Sun, Da-Wen

2008-02-01

The water holding capacity of meat products is a very important quality attribute which has an influence on product yield, which in turn has economic implications, but is also important in terms of eating quality. A number of pre-and post-mortem factors influence the water holding capacity (WHC) of meat. During the growth and development of meat animals, genotype and animal diet are important due to their direct influence on muscle characteristics. In the immediate pre-slaughter period, stresses on the animal such as fasting, and different stunning methods are likely to influence meat WHC. In the post-slaughter period chilling, ageing, injecting non-meat ingredients, as well as tumbling have important influences on WHC. Furthermore, cooking and cooling procedures for the final meat products can also affect the WHC of the product, in particular the cooking and the cooling methods, the heating and the cooling rate, the cooking temperature, and the endpoint temperature. This paper provides an overview of recent research on important intrinsic and extrinsic factors that affect the WHC of beef, pork, and lamb products, and reveals explanations and solutions to some of the critical problems related to WHC and product quality.

Initial pH of medium affects organic acids production but do not affect phosphate solubilization.

Science.gov (United States)

Marra, Leandro M; de Oliveira-Longatti, Silvia M; Soares, Cláudio R F S; de Lima, José M; Olivares, Fabio L; Moreira, Fatima M S

2015-06-01

The pH of the culture medium directly influences the growth of microorganisms and the chemical processes that they perform. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of the initial pH of the culture medium on the production of 11 low-molecular-weight organic acids and on the solubilization of calcium phosphate by bacteria in growth medium (NBRIP). The following strains isolated from cowpea nodules were studied: UFLA03-08 (Rhizobium tropici), UFLA03-09 (Acinetobacter sp.), UFLA03-10 (Paenibacillus kribbensis), UFLA03-106 (Paenibacillus kribbensis) and UFLA03-116 (Paenibacillus sp.). The strains UFLA03-08, UFLA03-09, UFLA03-10 and UFLA03-106 solubilized Ca3(PO4)2 in liquid medium regardless of the initial pH, although without a significant difference between the treatments. The production of organic acids by these strains was assessed for all of the initial pH values investigated, and differences between the treatments were observed. Strains UFLA03-09 and UFLA03-10 produced the same acids at different initial pH values in the culture medium. There was no correlation between phosphorus solubilized from Ca3(PO4)2 in NBRIP liquid medium and the concentration of total organic acids at the different initial pH values. Therefore, the initial pH of the culture medium influences the production of organic acids by the strains UFLA03-08, UFLA03-09, UFLA03-10 and UFLA03-106 but it does not affect calcium phosphate solubilization.

Phytoplankton virus production negatively affected by iron limitation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hans A Slagter

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Fe-limited monocultures of the ubiquitous algae Micromonas pusilla and Phaeocystis globosa were infected with their respective viruses (MpV and PgV to ascertain the effect of Fe-limitation on phytoplankton host-virus dynamics. The effect of the viral shunt on Fe concentrations and bioavailability is starting to gain attention, since not only is Fe released through lysis, but also its solubility is increased by the simultaneous release of Fe-binding dissolved organic ligands. However, the effect of Fe-limitation on the process of viral lysis itself is poorly understood. In this study fine adjustment of a seawater-based culture medium including the use of ultra-clean trace metal conditions and protocols allowed for Fe-limited growth at nanomolar amounts as opposed to micromolar amounts typically employed in culturing. Viral lysates derived from Fe-limited and Fe-replete (for comparison hosts were cross-inoculated in hosts of both Fe treatments, to judge the quality of the resulting lysate as well as the effect of Fe introduction after initial infection. For both phytoplankton host-virus systems, the virus burst size reduced strongly under Fe stress, i.e. on average 28 ±1% of replete. Moreover, the MpV virus progeny showed highly reduced infectivity of 30±7%, whereas PgV infectivity was not affected. A small addition of Fe to Fe-limited cultures coming from the Fe-replete lysate counteracted the negative effect of Fe-limitation on phytoplankton virus production to some extent (but still half of replete, implying that the physiological history of the host at the moment of infection was an important underlying factor. These results indicate that Fe-limitation has the strong potential to reduce the loss of phytoplankton due to virus infection, thereby affecting the extent of Fe-cycling through the viral shunt. To what extent this affects the contribution of viral lysis-induced organic ligand release needs further study.

ANALYSES OF FACTORS THAT AFFECT MILK PRODUCTION AT FARM LEVEL AND BY BRAZILIAN ESTATES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Geicimara Guimarães

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The objective was to evaluate some technical indexes that affect milk production by rural producer and by state of federation. In the first study, information were obtained from 50 rural producers, suppliers of a milk dairy plant in the south region of Rio de Janeiro, including the daily production of milk by a producer, the total area of the property, area for the dairy herd, lactating cows only and total cows from the herd, cooling mode, type and number of milkings, breeds and genetic improvement. In the second study, data were collected from EMBRAPA and IBGE in the years 2004-2006, where the emphasis was on milk production by State instead of production per producer. In both cases, the increase in milk production happens by increase in the number of animals in the herd (r=0.94; first case and milking cows (r=0.93 and 0.95, respectively, with low correlation between productivity per animal and per area with milk production (r

A Quantitative Approach to Variables Affecting Production of Short Films in Turkey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vedat Akman

2011-08-01

Full Text Available This study aims to explore the influence of various variables affecting the production of migration themed short films in Turkey. We proceeded to our analysis using descriptive statistics to describe the main futures of the sample data quantitatively. Due to non-uniformity of the data available, we were unable to use inductive statistics. Our basic sample statistical results indicated that short film producers prefered to produce short films on domestic migration theme rather than international. Gender and university seemed on surface as significant determinants to the production of migration themed short films in Turkey. We also looked at the demografic variables to provide more insights into our quantitative approach.

How do strategic decisions and operative practices affect operating room productivity?

Science.gov (United States)

Peltokorpi, Antti

2011-12-01

Surgical operating rooms are cost-intensive parts of health service production. Managing operating units efficiently is essential when hospitals and healthcare systems aim to maximize health outcomes with limited resources. Previous research about operating room management has focused on studying the effect of management practices and decisions on efficiency by utilizing mainly modeling approach or before-after analysis in single hospital case. The purpose of this research is to analyze the synergic effect of strategic decisions and operative management practices on operating room productivity and to use a multiple case study method enabling statistical hypothesis testing with empirical data. 11 hypotheses that propose connections between the use of strategic and operative practices and productivity were tested in a multi-hospital study that included 26 units. The results indicate that operative practices, such as personnel management, case scheduling and performance measurement, affect productivity more remarkably than do strategic decisions that relate to, e.g., units' size, scope or academic status. Units with different strategic positions should apply different operative practices: Focused hospital units benefit most from sophisticated case scheduling and parallel processing whereas central and ambulatory units should apply flexible working hours, incentives and multi-skilled personnel. Operating units should be more active in applying management practices which are adequate for their strategic orientation.

Breed of cow and herd productivity affect milk nutrient recovery in curd, and cheese yield, efficiency and daily production.

Science.gov (United States)

Stocco, G; Cipolat-Gotet, C; Gasparotto, V; Cecchinato, A; Bittante, G

2018-02-01

Little is known about cheese-making efficiency at the individual cow level, so our objective was to study the effects of herd productivity, individual herd within productivity class and breed of cow within herd by producing, then analyzing, 508 model cheeses from the milk of 508 cows of six different breeds reared in 41 multi-breed herds classified into two productivity classes (high v. low). For each cow we obtained six milk composition traits; four milk nutrient (fat, protein, solids and energy) recovery traits (REC) in curd; three actual % cheese yield traits (%CY); two theoretical %CYs (fresh cheese and cheese solids) calculated from milk composition; two overall cheese-making efficiencies (% ratio of actual to theoretical %CYs); daily milk yield (dMY); and three actual daily cheese yield traits (dCY). The aforementioned phenotypes were analyzed using a mixed model which included the fixed effects of herd productivity, parity, days in milk (DIM) and breed; the random effects were the water bath, vat, herd and residual. Cows reared in high-productivity herds yielded more milk with higher nutrient contents and more cheese per day, had greater theoretical %CY, and lower cheese-making efficiency than low-productivity herds, but there were no differences between them in terms of REC traits. Individual herd within productivity class was an intermediate source of total variation in REC, %CY and efficiency traits (10.0% to 17.2%), and a major source of variation in milk yield and dCY traits (43.1% to 46.3%). Parity of cows was an important source of variation for productivity traits, whereas DIM affected almost all traits. Breed within herd greatly affected all traits. Holsteins produced more milk, but Brown Swiss cows produced milk with higher actual and theoretical %CYs and cheese-making efficiency, so that the two large-framed breeds had the same dCY. Compared with the two large-framed breeds, the small Jersey cows produced much less milk, but with greater actual

Production measurements affected by x irradiation of chicken semen

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zartman, D.L.; Urquhart, N.S.; Francis, D.W.

1976-01-01

Single Comb White Leghorn (S.C.W.L.) and Dark Cornish semen was x-irradiated with 1000 R and introduced into S.C.W.L. hens to produce S.C.W.L. and crossbred chicks. The irradiation reduced the fertilizing capacity of the semen about 25% and the hatchability of the embryos about 38%. Semen of the two breeds was affected differently since there was much less alteration of embryonic development among purebred, S.C.W.L. chicks than among Cornish-sired crossbreds. As is typical, crossbred chicks gained weight faster than purebred S.C.W.L. irrespective of radiation damage. After irradiation, live weight was 4% less at 16 weeks of age for the crossbreds but no substantial effect on growth was evident for the S.C.W.L., although they were significantly heavier at hatching in the irradiated population. The rate of egg production in the first 30 days declined 15% under pressure from the irradiation damage. The distribution, as well as the frequency, of embryonic mortalities changed after parental semen irradiation. The majority of embryonic deaths occurred during the first 6 days of incubation with a coincidental decrease in the proportion of deaths occurring late during incubation. Posthatching mortalities were not affected for S.C.W.L. but were doubled for Cornish up to 16 weeks old

Factors Affecting Adoption of Recommended Cauliflower Production Technology in Nepal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pankaj Raj Dhital

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Binary logit regression model of econometrics was used to identify the factors affecting adoption of recommended agricultural technology by the commercial farmers of Nepal. A survey was carried out in 2012 in 120 households from Kavre district, Nepal. The objective was to appraise factors affecting adoption of recommended technology of cauliflower, finding out the level of adoption, identifying the constraints of cauliflower cultivation, assessing the perceived level of satisfaction and studying the relationship of certain selected variables on the adoption. Education, Occupation, contact with Personal Localite sources of information, Group membership and Experience were the most influencing factors for adoption of recommended technology. Though, other factors were not strong enough to contribute significantly but indirectly influence the adoption decision of farmers as combined effects. Occupation was found as negatively associated. Landholding size was strongly and positively influencing among the non significant factors. The level of satisfaction and the constraints of cauliflower production were also identified. Transfer of technology will be effective if and only if the client adopts the technology. For an effective transfer of technology, it is better to go for activities for the welfare of the socioeconomic factors of the farmers.

Oral warfarin affects peripheral blood leukocyte IL-6 and TNFα production in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Popov, Aleksandra; Belij, Sandra; Subota, Vesna; Zolotarevski, Lidija; Mirkov, Ivana; Kataranovski, Dragan; Kataranovski, Milena

2013-01-01

Warfarin is a Vitamin K (VK) antagonist that affects Vitamin K-dependent (VKD) processes, including blood coagulation, as well as processes unrelated to hemostasis such as bone growth, calcification, and growth of some cell types. In addition, warfarin exerts influence on some non-VKD-related activities, including anti-tumor and immunomodulating activity. With respect to the latter, both immune stimulating and suppressive effects have been noted in different experimental systems. To explore the in vivo immunomodulatory potential of warfarin on one type of activity (i.e., cytokine production) in two different immune cell populations (i.e., mononuclear or polymorphonuclear cells), effects of subchronic oral warfarin intake in rats on pro-inflammatory cytokine (i.e., TNFα, IL-6) production by peripheral blood mononuclear and polymorphonuclear cells (granulocytes) was examined. Differential effects of warfarin intake on TNFα and IL-6 were noted, depending on the type of peripheral blood leukocytes and on the cytokine examined. Specifically, a lack of effect on TNFα and a priming of IL-6 production by mononuclear cells along with a decrease in TNFα and a lack of effect on IL-6 in polymorphonuclear cells were seen in warfarin-exposed hosts. The cell- and cytokine-dependent effects from subchronic oral warfarin intake on peripheral blood leukocytes demonstrated in this study could, possibly, differentially affect reactions mediated by these cells. Ultimately, the observed effects in rats might have implications for those humans who are on long-term/prolonged warfarin therapy.

Dynamic extrafloral nectar production: the timing of leaf damage affects the defensive response in Senna mexicana var. chapmanii (Fabaceae).

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Ian M; Koptur, Suzanne

2015-01-01

• Extrafloral nectar (EFN) mediates food for protection mutualisms between plants and defensive insects. Understanding sources of variation in EFN production is important because such variations may affect the number and identity of visitors and the effectiveness of plant defense. We investigated the influence of plant developmental stage, time of day, leaf age, and leaf damage on EFN production in Senna mexicana var. chapmanii. The observed patterns of variation in EFN production were compared with those predicted by optimal defense theory.• Greenhouse experiments with potted plants were conducted to determine how plant age, time of day, and leaf damage affected EFN production. A subsequent field study was conducted to determine how leaf damage, and the resulting increase in EFN production, affected ant visitation in S. chapmanii.• More nectar was produced at night and by older plants. Leaf damage resulted in increased EFN production, and the magnitude of the response was greater in plants damaged in the morning than those damaged at night. Damage to young leaves elicited a stronger defensive response than damage to older leaves, in line with optimal defense theory. Damage to the leaves of S. chapmanii also resulted in significantly higher ant visitation in the field.• Extrafloral nectar is an inducible defense in S. chapmanii. Developmental variations in its production support the growth differentiation balance hypothesis, while within-plant variations and damage responses support optimal defense theory. © 2015 Botanical Society of America, Inc.

Factors affecting performance and productivity of nurses: professional attitude, organisational justice, organisational culture and mobbing.

Science.gov (United States)

Terzioglu, Fusun; Temel, Safiye; Uslu Sahan, Fatma

2016-09-01

To identify relationships among variables affecting nurses' performance and productivity, namely professional attitudes, organisational culture, organisational justice and exposure to mobbing. The determination of the factors affecting performance and productivity is important for providing efficient nursing services. These factors have been investigated in the literature independently, but the relationship among them has not been clearly identified. This cross-sectional questionnaire study included 772 nurses working in a University Hospital accredited by Joint Commission International. The professional attitude score of the nurses was high (4.35 ± 0.63). However, their organisational justice (2.22 ± 1.26) and organisational culture (2.47 ± 0.71) scores were low. Nurses were subjected to mobbing at a high level (0.82 ± 0.78). As the organisational justice increased, the organisational culture increased and the mobbing decreased. As the organisation culture decreased, the mobbing increased. There was a positive correlation between organisation culture and organisational justice of the nurses and a negative correlation with mobbing. The results of the study are essential for improving nurses' performance and productivity. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Factors Affecting Labour Productivity in Manufacturing Enterprises

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Zbigniew Gołaś

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The article presents the results of the analysis of the factors influencing labour productivity in the manufacturing business sector in 20042008. Labour productivity was analyzed in the context of the assets productivity, technical equipment of work, labour intensity of production, wages, value added and depreciation costs, and using linear stepwise regression. The study shows that despite significant progress, the level of labour productivity in domestic manufacturing significantly lower than the average in the European Union. Lower than in Poland, the level of labour productivity gain only companies in Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Estimated parameters of the regression function showed that the most important determinants of labour productivity in manufacturing are technical equipment of work, labour intensity of production, assets productivity, level of added value in relation to revenues. These factors explain the variability of labour productivity in 20042008 in a high degree.

Factors affecting sustainable dairy production: A case study from Uva Province of Sri Lanka

Science.gov (United States)

Wijethilaka, D.; De Silva, S.; Deshapriya, R. M. C.; Gunaratne, L. H. P.

2018-05-01

Dairy farming has been playing a key role by improving household incomes and food security for rural communities in Sri Lanka. Nevertheless, it has failed to meet the expected self-sufficiency. In 2015, Sri Lanka imported 51percent of the national milk requirement spending US 251 million from its debt-ridden economy. This paper aims to analyse socio-economic characteristics of dairy farmers and factors affecting dairy production efficiency in the Uva Province of Sri Lanka, a highly potential area comprising all the dairy value chain actors. Surveyed was conducted to farmers, key informants from input suppliers, collectors, transporters, processors, sellers and support service providers. Result revealed that intensive farmer’s milk yields per cow was only 7.97 L/day, which was 35% and 60% higher than the yields of semi-intensive and extensive farmers respectively. The highest profit of Rs. 53.30 per litre was earned by extensive farmers, whereas it was Rs. 47.63 for semi-intensive and Rs. 44.76 for intensive farmers respectively if family labour cost was not taken into the account. The Technical Efficiency Analysis revealed that 37.1% and 20% milk production of intensive farmers and semi-intensive is being loss due to inefficiency and could be increased without any additional inputs. The main factors affecting efficiency in milk production included farmers’ socio-economic characteristics and farm characteristics. Based on the results it can be concluded that sustainability dairy production depends on farmer training, collectivizing farmers into farmer societies, culling unproductive male animals, increasing the availability and access to AI/other breading programs and low-cost quality concentrate feed and other supplements, and, thus appropriate measures should be taken to provide these conditions if Sri Lanka aims to achieve self-sufficiency in milk production.

Pig slurry characteristics, nutrient balance and biogas production as affected by separation and acidification

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sommer, S G; Hjorth, Maibritt; Leahy, J J

2015-01-01

and separation fraction applied to fields and crop need. Total biogas production was not affected by separation, whereas acidification reduced biogas production because the process was inhibited by a low pH and a high sulphur concentration. The amount of copper applied per hectare in the liquid manure...... to the wheat field was lower than the amount taken up and more zink and copper was applied in the solid fraction to maize field than taken up. The transportation and field application of solids and liquids did not increase management costs when compared to the transportation of slurry alone, but the investment...

Consumer preference for chicken breast may be more affected by information on organic production than by product sensory properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Napolitano, F; Castellini, C; Naspetti, S; Piasentier, E; Girolami, A; Braghieri, A

2013-03-01

Conventional chicken from a fast-growing strain (CC), organic chicken from a slow-growing strain (OSG), and organic chicken from a fast-growing strain (OFG) were used to assess descriptive sensory differences between organic and conventional breasts, to verify whether differences were perceived by consumers and to evaluate the effect of information about organic production on liking. A conventional quantitative-descriptive analysis was performed by a trained panel of 10 members on breast slices (1 cm thick) grilled at 300°C. A 150-member consumer panel (from southern, central, and northern Italy) rated CC, OSG, and OFG breasts according to 3 types of evaluation: tasting without information (perceived liking), information without tasting (expected liking), and tasting with information (actual liking). Breasts from different sources were clearly discriminated by the trained panel as meat from CC was perceived more tender than OFG (P consumers for perceived liking. However, consumer expected liking scores were higher for organic than for conventional products (P consumers were not. However, consumer liking was markedly affected by the information given on the organic production system, thus providing a tool to differentiate the product in an increasingly competitive market.

Emotions, affects and the production of social life.

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, Nick J

2015-06-01

While many aspects of social life possess an emotional component, sociology needs to explore explicitly the part emotions play in producing the social world and human history. This paper turns away from individualistic and anthropocentric emphases upon the experience of feelings and emotions, attending instead to an exploration of flows of 'affect' (meaning simply a capacity to affect or be affected) between bodies, things, social institutions and abstractions. It establishes a materialist sociology of affects that acknowledges emotions as a part, but only a part, of a more generalized affective flow that produces bodies and the social world. From this perspective, emotions are not a peculiarly remarkable outcome of the confluence of biology and culture, but part of a continuum of affectivity that links human bodies to their physical and social environment. This enhances sociological understanding of the part emotions play in shaping actions and capacities in many settings of sociological concern. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2015.

Encountering Science Education's Capacity to Affect and Be Affected

Science.gov (United States)

Alsop, Steve

2016-01-01

What might science education learn from the recent affective turn in the humanities and social sciences? Framed as a response to Michalinos Zembylas's article, this essay draws from selected theorizing in affect theory, science education and science and technology studies, in pursuit of diverse and productive ways to talk of affect within science…

Note: How Does Product Proliferation Affect Responsiveness?

OpenAIRE

Diwakar Gupta; Mandyam M. Srinivasan

1998-01-01

In this note we consider some strategies that a manufacturing firm may use to deal with an increase in the variety of products it offers. We indicate how alternate strategies for dealing with product proliferation impact the firm's responsiveness, measured in terms of average production lead time and average work-in-process inventory. Focusing on the make-to-order environment and using queueing models, we derive conditions under which an increase in product variety can improve both individual...

Biodiesel production from microalgae: cultivation parameters that affect lipid production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arias Penaranda, Martha Trinidad; Martinez Roldan, Alfredo de Jesus; Canizares Villanueva, Rosa Olivia

2013-01-01

The microalgae have the capacity to mitigate CO 2 emissions and to produce lipids, which are considered with potential to obtain third-generation biofuel. This review provides updated information of the influence of culture conditions on the lipids production with high productivity and profile suitable for the biodiesel production. This document presents a compilation of research conclusions over the last 13 years around the world. in the literature consulted, the authors conclude that although the behavior of microalgae at physiological stress conditions, varies between species; the nutrients limitation, especially nitrogen and phosphorus, associated with heterotrophic growth or high irradiances in phototrophy are considered the most efficient strategies to increase the lipid content in microalgae, particularly triglycerides (consisting of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids), which are excellent for the production of biodiesel. Also, it is reported that the lipid content increase and the number of unsaturated fatty acids decrease with the addition of small amounts of CO 2 and harvesting the biomass it the stationary phase of growth.

Climate change induced rainfall patterns affect wheat productivity and agroecosystem functioning dependent on soil types

Science.gov (United States)

Tabi Tataw, James; Baier, Fabian; Krottenthaler, Florian; Pachler, Bernadette; Schwaiger, Elisabeth; Whylidal, Stefan; Formayer, Herbert; Hösch, Johannes; Baumgarten, Andreas; Zaller, Johann G.

2014-05-01

Wheat is a crop of global importance supplying more than half of the world's population with carbohydrates. We examined, whether climate change induced rainfall patterns towards less frequent but heavier events alter wheat agroecosystem productivity and functioning under three different soil types. Therefore, in a full-factorial experiment Triticum aestivum L. was cultivated in 3 m2 lysimeter plots containing the soil types sandy calcaric phaeozem, gleyic phaeozem or calcic chernozem. Prognosticated rainfall patterns based on regionalised climate change model calculations were compared with current long-term rainfall patterns; each treatment combination was replicated three times. Future rainfall patterns significantly reduced wheat growth and yield, reduced the leaf area index, accelerated crop development, reduced arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonisation of roots, increased weed density and the stable carbon isotope signature (δ13C) of both old and young wheat leaves. Different soil types affected wheat growth and yield, ecosystem root production as well as weed abundance and biomass. The interaction between climate and soil type was significant only for the harvest index. Our results suggest that even slight changes in rainfall patterns can significantly affect the functioning of wheat agroecosystems. These rainfall effects seemed to be little influenced by soil types suggesting more general impacts of climate change across different soil types. Wheat production under future conditions will likely become more challenging as further concurrent climate change factors become prevalent.

The Health Effects of Rotating Shiftwork in the Oil Sector

OpenAIRE

McNamara, Katherine Alice

2018-01-01

Despite the improvements in safety since the advent of Process Safety Management regulations in 1992, human factors still play a large role in catastrophic accidents. Worker fatigue is a significant risk in the petroleum industry, where rotating shiftwork is relied upon to staff round the clock production. Using reports of work organization factors that contributed to fatigue from the listening sessions hosted by the California Interagency Taskforce on Refinery Safety in 2013, we developed ...

Factors affecting the corrosion of SiC layer by fission product palladium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dewita, E.

2000-01-01

HTR is one of the advanced nuclear reactors which has inherent safety system, graphite moderated and helium gas cooled. In general, these reactors are designed with the TRISO coated particle consist of four coating layers that are porous pyrolytic carbon (PyC). inner dense PyC (IPyC), silicon carbide (SiC), and outer dense PyC (OPyC). Among the four coating layers, the SiC plays an important role beside in retaining metallic fission products, it also provides mechanical strength to fuel particle. However, results of post irradiation examination indicate that fission product palladium can react with and corrode SiC layer, This assessment is conducted to get the comprehension about resistance of SiC layer on irradiation effects, especially in order to increase the fuel bum-up. The result of this shows that the corrosion of SiC layer by fission product palladium is beside depend on the material characteristics of SiC, and also there are other factors that affect on the SiC layer corrosion. Fuel enrichment, bum-up, and irradiation time effect on the palladium flux in fuel kernel. While, the fuel density, vapour pressure of palladium (the degree depend on the irradiation temperature and kernel composition) effect on palladium migration in fuel particle. (author)

Exploring the cognitive and affective bases of online purchase intentions : a hierarchical test across product types

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verhagen, Tibert; Bloemers, Daniel

2017-01-01

Whereas there is ample e-commerce research on how online store beliefs and consumer online affective states may influence online purchase intentions, no research so far has examined whether the hierarchy of effects between these concepts differs across product types. In this study, we fill this

How Planting Density Affects Number and Yield of Potato Minitubers in a Commercial Glasshouse Production System

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Veeken, van der A.J.H.; Lommen, W.J.M.

2009-01-01

Commercial potato minituber production systems aim at high tuber numbers per plant. This study investigated by which mechanisms planting density (25.0, 62.5 and 145.8 plants/m2) of in vitro derived plantlets affected minituber yield and minituber number per plantlet. Lowering planting density

Critical Factors Affecting the Success of Cloning, Expression, and Mass Production of Enzymes by Recombinant E. coli

OpenAIRE

Fakruddin, Md.; Mohammad Mazumdar, Reaz; Bin Mannan, Khanjada Shahnewaj; Chowdhury, Abhijit; Hossain, Md. Nur

2013-01-01

E. coli is the most frequently used host for production of enzymes and other proteins by recombinant DNA technology. E. coli is preferable for its relative simplicity, inexpensive and fast high-density cultivation, well-known genetics, and large number of compatible molecular tools available. Despite all these advantages, expression and production of recombinant enzymes are not always successful and often result in insoluble and nonfunctional proteins. There are many factors that affect the s...

Prioritizing factors affecting the hospital employees' productivity from the hospital managers' viewpoint using integrated decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory and analytic network process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ardalan Feili

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Objectives: This study aimed to identify and prioritize factors affecting the hospital employees' productivity from the viewpoint of hospital managers working in the teaching hospitals affiliated to Iran, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, in 2017. Materials and Methods: This was an applied, cross-sectional, and descriptive-analytical study conducted in 2017 in all teaching hospitals affiliated to Iran, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. After identifying factors affecting hospital employees' productivity using the results of previous studies, all hospital managers (56 managers were selected as the study population using census method to prioritize the factors. The decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL and analytic network process (ANP techniques were used for analyzing the collected data through Excel 2010 and Super Decision 2.8. Results: Fifteen factors affecting employees' productivity were determined using the results of previous studies which were classified into four clusters. The results of DEMATEL technique showed that “employees' attitude toward the organization” was the most affecting factor (r = 11.928 and also the most affected factor (c = 12.120, as well as the most important factor affecting the employees' productivity (r + c = 24.048. In addition, the results of ANP showed that the cluster of “leadership and management styles” (relative weight [RW] = 0.274 and its factors, especially “involving employees in the decision-making processes” (L1 (RW = 0.102 and “delegation of authority to the employees” (L2 (RW = 0.100 were the most important factors affecting the employees' productivity. Conclusion: According to the results, adopting an appropriate leadership style and providing participatory management, involving the employees in the hospital decision-making processes, etc., had significant effects on the increases in the employees' motivation and productivity.

Does humor in radio advertising affect recognition of novel product brand names?

Science.gov (United States)

Berg, E M; Lippman, L G

2001-04-01

The authors proposed that item selection during shopping is based on brand name recognition rather than recall. College students rated advertisements and news stories of a simulated radio program for level of amusement (orienting activity) before participating in a surprise recognition test. Humor level of the advertisements was varied systematically, and content was controlled. According to signal detection analysis, humor did not affect the strength of recognition memory for brand names (nonsense units). However, brand names and product types were significantly more likely to be associated when appearing in humorous advertisements than in nonhumorous advertisements. The results are compared with prior findings concerning humor and recall.

The Sensory Quality of Meat, Game, Poultry, Seafood and Meat Products as Affected by Intense Light Pulses: A Systematic Review

OpenAIRE

Tomasevic, Igor; Rajkovic, Andreja

2015-01-01

The effect of intense light pulses (ILP) on sensory quality of 16 different varieties of meat, meat products, game, poultry and seafood are reviewed. Changes induced by ILP are animal species, type of meat product and fluences applied dependent. ILP significantly deteriorates sensory quality of cooked meat products. It causes less change in the sensory properties of dry cured than cooked meat products while fermented sausage is least affected. The higher fluence applied significantly changes ...

DIFFERENCES OF THE FACTORS AFFECTING THE ATTITUDES OF EMPLOYED INDIVIDUALS TOWARDS GREEN PRODUCT ADVERTISEMENTS BY THEIR DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tahir BENLİ

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The reckless consumption of nature to respond to any need has led to the disruption of natural balance and nearly extinction of environmental resources. Environmental problems created by the damage to the structure of nature not only affect the ecological system, but also pose an immense challenge for human health. Hence, the consumers who have become aware that resources and living spaces to maintain their living conditions have been increasingly declining are inclined to adopt a more sensitive attitude in consumption process. Businesses have also turned to green advertising for the promotion of their products and services to strengthen their presence and elude competition with other businesses under these circumstances. This study aims to identify the factors that affect the consumer attitudes of the employed individuals on green advertisements for the businesses, and examine their differences according to demographic features. The reason for the selection of employed individuals is assumption that they will be effective of consumers having purchasing income especially in qualified green product purchasing decisions. The questionnaire form designed for this purpose was conducted on 400 individuals selected through convenience sampling method among people living in central district of Kastamonu. It was found that the factors affecting these employed individuals attitudes towards green product advertisements significantly differ according to gender, marital status, age, education and occupation

Identifying Qualitative Factors Affecting the Production and Distribution of Information and Knowledge in Science and Technology Parks of Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Haji Shamsaei

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This study was conducted in order to identity Qualitative factors affecting the production and distribution of information and knowledge in science and technology parks of Iran. The research was Applied Research in which, qualitative method was carried out. The population of the study was included of 10 managers of Knowledge-based Companies. The data was collected from the population using semi-structured and in-depth interviews. For data analysis, content analysis was used. Results of the qualitative factors affecting the production and distribution of information and knowledge in science and technology parks of Iran, led to extraction of 39 components which were classified in four categories: I Foreign and domestic policy, II Financial and economic support, III Infrastructure barriers and IV Cultural barriers. Results howed that overcoming the political, financial and economic, infrastructural and cultural barriers has undeniable impact on production and distribution of information and knowledge.

Restoration of Degraded Salt Affected Lands to Productive Forest Ecosystem

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Yash; Singh, Gurbachan; Singh, Bajrang; Cerdà, Artemi

2017-04-01

Soil system determines the fluxes of energy and matter in the Earth and is the source of goods, services and resources to the humankind (Keesstra et al., 2012; Brevik et al., 2015; Keesstra et al., 2016). To restore and rehabilitate the soil system is a key strategy to recover the services the soils offers (Celentano et al., 2016; Galati et al., 2016; Parras-Alcantara et al., 2016). Transformation of degraded sodic lands in biodiversity rich productive forest ecosystem is a challenging task before the researchers all over the world. The soils of the degraded sites remain almost unfavorable for the normal growth, development and multiplication of organisms; all our attempts tend to alleviate the soil constraints. Land degradation due to presence of salts in the soil is an alarming threat to agricultural productivity and sustainability, particularly in arid and semiarid regions of the world (Tanji, 1990; Qadir et al., 2006). According to the FAO Land and Nutrition Management Service (2008), over 6% of the world's lands are affected by salinity, which accounts for more than 800 million ha in 100 countries. This is due to natural causes, extensive utilization of land (Egamberdieva et al., 2008), poor drainage systems and limited availability of irrigation water which causes salinization in many irrigated soils (Town et al., 2008).In India, about 6.73 million ha are salt affected which spread in 194 districts out of 584 districts in India and represents 2.1% of the geographical area of the country (Mandal et al., 2009).Out of these, 2.8 million ha are sodic in nature and primarily occurring in the Indo-Gangetic alluvial plains. These lands are degraded in structural, chemical, nutritional, hydrological and microbiological characteristics. The reclamation of salt affected soils with chemical amendments like gypsum and phospho-gypsum are in practice for the cultivation field crops under agricultural production. Forest development on such lands although takes considerable

Divergence for residual feed intake of Holstein-Friesian cattle during growth did not affect production and reproduction during lactation.

Science.gov (United States)

Macdonald, K A; Thomson, B P; Waghorn, G C

2016-11-01

Residual feed intake (RFI) is the difference between actual and predicted dry matter intake (DMI) of individual animals. Recent studies with Holstein-Friesian calves have identified an ~20% difference in RFI during growth (calf RFI) and these groups remained divergent in RFI during lactation. The objective of the experiment described here was to determine if cows selected for divergent RFI as calves differed in milk production, reproduction or in the profiles of BW and body condition score (BCS) change during lactation, when grazing pasture. The cows used in the experiment (n=126) had an RFI of -0.88 and +0.75 kg DM intake/day for growth as calves (efficient and inefficient calf RFI groups, respectively) and were intensively grazed at four stocking rates (SR) of 2.2, 2.6, 3.1 and 3.6 cows/ha on self-contained farmlets, over 3 years. Each SR treatment had equal number of cows identified as low and high calf RFI, with 24, 28, 34 and 40/11 ha farmlet. The cows divergent for calf RFI were randomly allocated to each SR. Although SR affected production, calf RFI group (low or high) did not affect milk production, reproduction, BW, BCS or changes in these parameters throughout lactation. The most efficient animals (low calf RFI) lost similar BW and BCS as the least efficient (high calf RFI) immediately post-calving, and regained similar BW and BCS before their next calving. These results indicate that selection for RFI as calves to increase efficiency of feed utilisation did not negatively affect farm productivity variables (milk production, BCS, BW and reproduction) as adults when managed under an intensive pastoral grazing system.

Factors affecting RFID adoption in the agricultural product distribution industry: empirical evidence from China.

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Ping; Yan, Bo

2016-01-01

We conducted an exploratory investigation of factors influencing the adoption of radio frequency identification (RFID) methods in the agricultural product distribution industry. Through a literature review and field research, and based on the technology-organization-environment (TOE) theoretical framework, this paper analyzes factors influencing RFID adoption in the agricultural product distribution industry in reference to three contexts: technological, organizational, and environmental contexts. An empirical analysis of the TOE framework was conducted by applying structural equation modeling based on actual data from a questionnaire survey on the agricultural product distribution industry in China. The results show that employee resistance and uncertainty are not supported by the model. Technological compatibility, perceived effectiveness, organizational size, upper management support, trust between enterprises, technical knowledge, competitive pressure and support from the Chinese government, which are supported by the model, have significantly positive effects on RFID adoption. Meanwhile, organizational size has the strongest positive effect, while competitive pressure levels have the smallest effect. Technological complexities and costs have significantly negative effects on RFID adoption, with cost being the most significantly negative influencing factor. These research findings will afford enterprises in the agricultural products supply chain with a stronger understanding of the factors that influence RFID adoption in the agricultural product distribution industry. In addition, these findings will help enterprises remain aware of how these factors affect RFID adoption and will thus help enterprises make more accurate and rational decisions by promoting RFID application in the agricultural product distribution industry.

40 CFR Table 2 to Subpart Xxxx of... - Emission Limits for Tire Cord Production Affected Sources

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 12 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Emission Limits for Tire Cord Production Affected Sources 2 Table 2 to Subpart XXXX of Part 63 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL... Manufacturing Pt. 63, Subpt. XXXX, Table 2 Table 2 to Subpart XXXX of Part 63—Emission Limits for Tire Cord...

Critical Factors Affecting the Success of Cloning, Expression, and Mass Production of Enzymes by Recombinant E. coli.

Science.gov (United States)

Fakruddin, Md; Mohammad Mazumdar, Reaz; Bin Mannan, Khanjada Shahnewaj; Chowdhury, Abhijit; Hossain, Md Nur

2013-01-01

E. coli is the most frequently used host for production of enzymes and other proteins by recombinant DNA technology. E. coli is preferable for its relative simplicity, inexpensive and fast high-density cultivation, well-known genetics, and large number of compatible molecular tools available. Despite all these advantages, expression and production of recombinant enzymes are not always successful and often result in insoluble and nonfunctional proteins. There are many factors that affect the success of cloning, expression, and mass production of enzymes by recombinant E. coli. In this paper, these critical factors and approaches to overcome these obstacles are summarized focusing controlled expression of target protein/enzyme in an unmodified form at industrial level.

Measurements of the angular distribution of diffuse irradiance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Elsa; Nielsen, Kristian Pagh; Dragsted, Janne

2015-01-01

Advanced solar resource assessment and forecasting is necessary for optimal solar energy utilization. In order to investigate the short-term resource variability, for instance caused by clouds it is necessary to investigate how clouds affect the solar irradiance, including the angular distribution...... of the solar irradiance. The investigation is part of the Danish contribution to the taskforce 46 within the International Energy Agency and financed by the Danish Energy Agency. The investigation focuses on the distribution of the diffuse solar irradiance and is based on horizontal measurements of the solar...

Mood swings: design and evaluation of affective interactive art

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bialoskorski, Leticia S.S.; Westerink, Joyce H.D.M.; van den Broek, Egon

2009-01-01

The field of affective computing is concerned with developing emphatic products, such as affective consumer products, affective games, and affective art. This paper describes Mood Swings, an affective interactive art system, which interprets and visualizes affect expressed by a person. Mood Swings

Development of the roadmap and guidelines for the prevention and management of high blood pressure in Africa: Proceedings of the PASCAR Hypertension Task Force meeting: Nairobi, Kenya, 27 October 2014.

Science.gov (United States)

Dzudie, A; Ojji, D; Anisiuba, B C; Abdou, B A; Cornick, R; Damasceno, A; Kane, A L; Mocumbi, A O; Mohamed, A; Nel, G; Ogola, E; Onwubere, B; Otieno, H; Rainer, B; Schutte, A; Ali, I T; Twagirumukiza, M; Poulter, N; Mayosi, B

2015-01-01

Africa has one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The economic changes are associated with a health transition characterised by a rise in cardiovascular risk factors and complications, which tend to affect the African population at their age of maximum productivity. Recent data from Africa have highlighted the increasing importance of high blood pressure in this region of the world. This condition is largely underdiagnosed and poorly treated, and therefore leads to stroke, renal and heart failure, and death. Henceforth, African countries are taking steps to develop relevant policies and programmes to address the issue of blood pressure and other cardiovascular risk factors in response to a call by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to reduce premature deaths from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by 25% by the year 2025 (25 × 25). The World Heart Federation (WHF) has developed a roadmap for global implementation of the prevention and management of raised blood pressure using a health system approach to help realise the 25 × 25 goal set by the WHO. As the leading continental organisation of cardiovascular professionals, the Pan-African Society of Cardiology (PASCAR) aims to contextualise the roadmap framework of the WHF to the African continent through the PASCAR Taskforce on Hypertension. The Taskforce held a workshop in Kenya on 27 October 2014 to discuss a process by which effective prevention and control of hypertension in Africa may be achieved. It was agreed that a set of clinical guidelines for the management of hypertension are needed in Africa. The ultimate goal of this work is to develop a roadmap for implementation of the prevention and management of hypertension in Africa under the auspices of the WHF.

Some factors including radiation affecting the productivity of proteinase enzymes by mucor lamprosporus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Kabbany, H.M.I.

1996-01-01

In the present time, great attention has been focused on the production of milk clotting enzymes from microbial source for use as remain substitute due to the increasing demands on rennin for cheese making and the prohibition of the slaughter of small calves. The present investigation included the isolation and identification of remin-like enzyme fungal producers from different egyptian food and soil samples. Different factors including gamma radiation affecting the capability of selected isolate to produce the enzyme was also included. Special attention has also given to study the effect of different purification methods of the produced enzyme. The properties of the purified enzyme were also investigated

Factors Affecting sex pheromone production in female cotton leaf worm moth, Spodoptera littoralis (boisd.)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sallam, H.A.; Hazaa, M.A.; Abd El-Rahman, H.A.; Hussein, M.A.

2000-01-01

Factors influencing sex pheromone production in the cotton leaf worm female moth with emphasis on gamma radiation were investigated. To determine the effect of age on sex pheromone production, ether extracts of the female abdominal tips were prepared from virgin females of various ages in a concentration of 0.01 FE/mu L. Each female extract was tested against 1-2 days-old males. The obtained results indicated that virgin females could secrete sex pheromone early at the beginning of their life. The pheromone production increased rapidly to reach its maximum on the second day. To study the effect of daytime on sex pheromone production, the ether extracts of 1-2 days old virgin female abdominal tips were prepared at 3 hour-intervals, throughout the photo phase and scotophase in a concentration of 0.01 FE/mu L. The obtained results indicated that pheromone production showed a minimum concentration at mid-day during the photo phase. It then increased to a moderate concentration from 7:0 p.m. to 10:0 p.m. and reached its maximum titer at almost mid-night. The obtained data on the effect of gamma irradiation indicated that irradiation of 3 and 6-day-old female pupae with doses of 60 and 120 Gy, respectively caused a reduction of 28.1 and 27.3 % in male response, respectively, to female sex pheromone extracts. When full-grown female pupae were irradiated with 200 and 350 Gy, a reduction of 15.6 and 75% in male response, respectively, was reached. Thus, an irradiation dose of 350 Gy applied to full-grown female pupae could severely affect pheromone production of the emerging female moths

Milk Technological Properties as Affected by Including Artichoke By-Products Silages in the Diet of Dairy Goats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raquel Muelas

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Traditional farming practices include the use of local agricultural by-products in the diet of ruminants. Artichoke harvesting and transformation yield high amounts of by-products that, if properly used, may reduce farming costs and the environmental impact of farming. The present study tests the inclusion of silages from artichoke by-products (plant and outer bracts in the diet of dairy goats (0%, 12.5% and 25% inclusion on the technological and sensory properties of milk during a five-month study. Milk composition, color, stability, coagulation and fermentation properties remained unaffected by diet changes. Panelists were not able to differentiate among yogurts obtained from those milks by discriminant triangular sensory tests. Silages of artichoke by-products can be included in isoproteic and isoenergetic diets for dairy goats, up to a 25% (feed dry matter, without negatively affecting milk technological and sensory properties whereas reducing feeding costs.

Acute central neuropeptide Y administration increases food intake but does not affect hepatic very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL production in mice.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janine J Geerling

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: Central neuropeptide Y (NPY administration stimulates food intake in rodents. In addition, acute modulation of central NPY signaling increases hepatic production of very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL-triglyceride (TG in rats. As hypertriglyceridemia is an important risk factor for atherosclerosis, for which well-established mouse models are available, we set out to validate the effect of NPY on hepatic VLDL-TG production in mice, to ultimately investigate whether NPY, by increasing VLDL production, contributes to the development of atherosclerosis. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Male C57Bl/6J mice received an intracerebroventricular (i.c.v. cannula into the lateral (LV or third (3V ventricle of the brain. One week later, after a 4 h fast, the animals received an intravenous (i.v. injection of Tran(35S (100 µCi followed by tyloxapol (500 mg/kg body weight; BW, enabling the study of hepatic VLDL-apoB and VLDL-TG production, respectively. Immediately after the i.v. injection of tyloxapol, the animals received either an i.c.v. injection of NPY (0.2 mg/kg BW in artificial cerebrospinal fluid; aCSF, synthetic Y1 receptor antagonist GR231118 (0.5 mg/kg BW in aCSF or vehicle (aCSF, or an i.v. injection of PYY3-36 (0.5 mg/kg BW in PBS or vehicle (PBS. RESULTS: Administration of NPY into both the LV and 3V increased food intake within one hour after injection (+164%, p<0.001 and +367%, p<0.001, respectively. NPY administration neither in the LV nor in the 3V affected hepatic VLDL-TG or VLDL-apoB production. Likewise, antagonizing central NPY signaling by either PYY3-36 or GR231118 administration did not affect hepatic VLDL production. CONCLUSION: In mice, as opposed to rats, acute central administration of NPY increases food intake without affecting hepatic VLDL production. These results are of great significance when extrapolating findings on the central regulation of hepatic VLDL production between species.

Factors affecting regional changes in hardwood lumber production

Science.gov (United States)

William G. Luppold; Gilbert P. Dempsey; Gilbert P. Dempsey

1994-01-01

Hardwood lumber production increased by nearly 1.8 billion board feet between 1986 and 1990 and decreased sharply in 1991. However, not all areas of the country experienced the same growth in hardwood lumber production during the 1980s. While lumber production in inland regions of the eastern United States and the west increased during the 1980s, lumber output in...

Decreased summer drought affects plant productivity and soil carbon dynamics in Mediterranean woodland

Science.gov (United States)

Cotrufo, M. F.; Alberti, G.; Inglima, I.; Marjanović, H.; Lecain, D.; Zaldei, A.; Peressotti, A.; Miglietta, F.

2011-06-01

Precipitation patterns are expected to change in the Mediterranean region within the next decades, with projected decreases in total rainfall and increases in extreme events. We manipulated precipitation patterns in a Mediterranean woodland, dominated by Arbutus unedo L., to study the effects of changing precipitation regimes on above-ground net primary production (ANPP) and soil C dynamics, specifically plant-derived C input to soil and soil respiration (SR). Experimental plots were exposed to either a 20 % reduction of throughfall or to water addition targeted at maintaining soil water content above a minimum of 10 % v/v. Treatments were compared to control plots which received ambient precipitation. The throughfall manipulation experiment started in 2004 and we report data up to the 2009 growing season. Enhanced soil moisture during summer months highly stimulated annual stem primary production, litter fall, SR and net annual plant-derived C input to soil which on average increased by 130 %, 26 %, 50 % and 220 %, respectively, as compared to control. In contrast, the 20 % reduction in throughfall (equivalent to 10 % reduction of precipitation) did not significantly change soil moisture at the site, and therefore did not significantly affect ANPP or SR. We conclude that minor changes (around 10 % reduction) in precipitation amount are not likely to significantly affect ANPP or soil C dynamics in Mediterranean woodland. However, if summer rain increases, C cycling will significantly accelerate but soil C stocks are not likely to be changed in the short-term. More studies involving modelling of long term C dynamics are needed to predict if the estimated increases in soil C input under wet conditions is going to be sustained and if labile C is being substituted to stable C, with a negative effect on long term soil C stocks.

Study of factors affecting the productivity of nurses based on the ACHIEVE model and prioritizing them using analytic hierarchy process technique, 2012

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Payam Farhadi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: Improving productivity is one of the most important strategies for social-economic development. Human resources are known as the most important resources in the organizations′ survival and success. Aims: To determine the factors affecting the human resource productivity using the ACHIEVEa model from the nurses′ perspective and then prioritize them from the perspective of head nurses using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP technique. Settings and Design: Iran, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences teaching hospitals in 2012. Materials and Methods: This was an applied, cross-sectional and analytical-descriptive study conducted in two phases. In the first phase, to determine the factors affecting the human resource productivity from nurses′ perspective, 110 nurses were selected using a two-stage cluster sampling method. Required data were collected using the Persian version of Hersey and Goldsmith′s Human Resource Productivity Questionnaire. In the second phase, in order to prioritize the factors affecting human resource productivity based on the ACHIEVE model using AHP technique, pairwise comparisons matrices were given to the 19 randomly selected head nurses to express their opinions about those factors relative priorities or importance. Statistical Analysis Used: Collected data and matrices in two mentioned phases were analyzed using SPSS 15.0 and some statistical tests including Independent-Samples T-Test and Pearson Correlation coefficient, as well as, Super Decisions software (Latest Beta. Results: The human resource productivity had significant relationships with nurses′ sex (P = 0.008, marital status (P < 0.001, education level (P < 0.001, and all questionnaire factors (P < 0.05. Nurses′ productivity from their perspective was below average (44.97 ΁ 7.43. Also, the priorities of factors affecting the productivity of nurses based on the ACHIEVE model from the head nurses′ perspective using AHP technique, from the

How Employee Turnover Affects Productivity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eriksen, Bo

Research on employee turnover suggests that turnover results in negative organization-level outcomes. This paper provides a firm-level analysis of the impact of the in- and outflows of human resources on productivity and how the presence of organizational slack resources moderates the effects...... moderate this effect so that the negative consequences of employee turnover are less severe for larger, older and capital intensive firms. These moderating variables indicate the presence of slack resources in the firm, and thus that the accumulation of slack reduces the efficiency losses from employee...

How shear increments affect the flow production branching ratio in CSDX

Science.gov (United States)

Li, J. C.; Diamond, P. H.

2018-06-01

The coupling of turbulence-driven azimuthal and axial flows in a linear device absent magnetic shear (Controlled Shear Decorrelation Experiment) is investigated. In particular, we examine the apportionment of Reynolds power between azimuthal and axial flows, and how the azimuthal flow shear affects axial flow generation and saturation by drift wave turbulence. We study the response of the energy branching ratio, i.e., ratio of axial and azimuthal Reynolds powers, PzR/PyR , to incremental changes of azimuthal and axial flow shears. We show that increasing azimuthal flow shear decreases the energy branching ratio. When axial flow shear increases, this ratio first increases but then decreases to zero. The axial flow shear saturates below the threshold for parallel shear flow instability. The effects of azimuthal flow shear on the generation and saturation of intrinsic axial flows are analyzed. Azimuthal flow shear slows down the modulational growth of the seed axial flow shear, and thus reduces intrinsic axial flow production. Azimuthal flow shear reduces both the residual Reynolds stress (of axial flow, i.e., ΠxzR e s ) and turbulent viscosity ( χzDW ) by the same factor |⟨vy⟩'|-2Δx-2Ln-2ρs2cs2 , where Δx is the distance relative to the reference point where ⟨vy⟩=0 in the plasma frame. Therefore, the stationary state axial flow shear is not affected by azimuthal flow shear to leading order since ⟨vz⟩'˜ΠxzR e s/χzDW .

Detection of genetic variants affecting cattle behaviour and their impact on milk production: a genome-wide association study.

Science.gov (United States)

Friedrich, Juliane; Brand, Bodo; Ponsuksili, Siriluck; Graunke, Katharina L; Langbein, Jan; Knaust, Jacqueline; Kühn, Christa; Schwerin, Manfred

2016-02-01

Behaviour traits of cattle have been reported to affect important production traits, such as meat quality and milk performance as well as reproduction and health. Genetic predisposition is, together with environmental stimuli, undoubtedly involved in the development of behaviour phenotypes. Underlying molecular mechanisms affecting behaviour in general and behaviour and productions traits in particular still have to be studied in detail. Therefore, we performed a genome-wide association study in an F2 Charolais × German Holstein cross-breed population to identify genetic variants that affect behaviour-related traits assessed in an open-field and novel-object test and analysed their putative impact on milk performance. Of 37,201 tested single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs), four showed a genome-wide and 37 a chromosome-wide significant association with behaviour traits assessed in both tests. Nine of the SNPs that were associated with behaviour traits likewise showed a nominal significant association with milk performance traits. On chromosomes 14 and 29, six SNPs were identified to be associated with exploratory behaviour and inactivity during the novel-object test as well as with milk yield traits. Least squares means for behaviour and milk performance traits for these SNPs revealed that genotypes associated with higher inactivity and less exploratory behaviour promote higher milk yields. Whether these results are due to molecular mechanisms simultaneously affecting behaviour and milk performance or due to a behaviour predisposition, which causes indirect effects on milk performance by influencing individual reactivity, needs further investigation. © 2015 Stichting International Foundation for Animal Genetics.

Comparative effectiveness of different carriers to improve the efficacy of bacterial consortium for enhancing wheat production under salt affected field conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shahzad, S.; Zahir, Z. A.; Asghar, H. N.; Chaudhry, U. K.

2017-01-01

Salinity is one of the most crucial problems for sustainable agriculture which is severely affecting crop growth and decreasing the food production. On another hand, burgeoning population in the world demands to produce more food. So, there is a need of hours to increase agricultural production particularly cereals from salt affected soils by adopting cost effective and environment friendly approaches. Use of bio-inoculants with salt tolerant plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) could be a promising option to enhance the production of cereals in salt affected soils. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted to evaluate different carriers compost, peat, biogas slurry and press mud along with PGPR to enhance wheat production under salinity stress. Consortium containing equal proportion of three PGPR strains (Bacillus cereus strain Y5, Bacillus sp. Y14 and Bacillus subtilis strain Y16) was used with different carriers for seed coating. Finely ground and sterilized carriers were mixed in broth and coated on the surface of wheat seeds with different carriers. Coated seeds were sown in saline field with salinity range of 10-13 dS m/sup -1/. Results revealed that multi-strain bacterial inoculation improved the gas exchange, ionic, biochemical, growth and yield attributes of wheat crop under salinity stress. However, use of different carriers further improved the efficacy of multi-strain inoculation and significantly increased growth, yield and physiological parameters of wheat. The results of compost, peat and biogas slurry as carrier for bio-inoculants were statistically similar. (author)

Some insects affecting Penstemon seed production

Science.gov (United States)

Robert Hammon; Melissa Franklin

2012-01-01

Beardtongue (Penstemon Schmidel [Scrophulariaceae)) seeds are often produced without apparent damage from pests, but several species of native insects can adversely impact seed production fields. Tarnished plant bug (Lygus lineolaris (Palisot)) and western plant bug (Lygus hesperus Knight [Hemiptera: Miridae]), penstemon weevil (Hesperobaris sp. Casey [Coleoptera:...

Light quality affects flavonoid production and related gene expression in Cyclocarya paliurus.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yang; Fang, Shengzuo; Yang, Wanxia; Shang, Xulan; Fu, Xiangxiang

2018-02-01

Understanding the responses of plant growth and secondary metabolites to differential light conditions is very important to optimize cultivation conditions of medicinal woody plants. As a highly valued and multiple function tree species, Cyclocarya paliurus is planted and managed for timber production and medical use. In this study, LED-based light including white light (WL), blue light (BL), red light (RL), and green light (GL) were used to affect leaf biomass production, flavonoid accumulation and related gene expression of one-year C. paliurus seedlings in controlled environments. After the treatments of 60 days, the highest leaf biomass appeared in the treatment of WL, while the lowest leaf biomass was found under GL. Compared to WL, the total flavonoid contents of C. paliurus leaves were significantly higher in BL, RL, and GL, but the highest values of selected flavonoids (kaempferol, isoquercitrin and quercetin) were observed under BL. Furthermore, the greatest yields of total and selected flavonoids in C. paliurus leaves per seedling were also achieved under BL, indicating that blue light was effective for inducing the production of flavonoids in C. paliurus leaves. Pearson's correlation analysis showed that there were significantly positive correlations between leaf flavonoid content and relative gene expression of key enzymes (phenylalanine ammonia lyase, PAL; 4-coumaroyl CoA-ligase, 4CL; and chalcone synthase, CHS) in the upstream, which converting phenylalanine into the flavonoid skeleton of tetrahydroxy chalcone. It is concluded that manipulating light quality may be potential mean to achieve the highest yields of flavonoids in C. paliurus cultivation, however this needs to be further verified by more field trials. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Does increased Nitric Oxide production and oxidative stress due to high fat diet affect cardiac function after myocardial infarction?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marjan Aghajani

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background &Objectives: High fat (HF diet by affecting the oxidative stress and nitric oxide (NO production may lead to different effects on function of the heart after myocardial infarction (MI. In the present study we aimed to address the hypothesis that high release of NO by activated macrophages affects LV function after MI.Methods: The animals were randomly divided into four groups comprising each of 10 rats: 1 Sham; 2 MI; 3 Sham+ HF diet; 4 MI+ HF diet. Animals fed with HF diet 30 days before sham and MI surgery. MI was induced by permanent ligation of left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD. Nitric oxide (NO production of peritoneal macrophages, the concentrations of MDA in the heart and the infarct size were measured.Results: Our study indicated that HF has adverse effects on myocardium and it may increase NO production as well as oxidative stress, resulting in augmentation of infarct size.Conclusion: Our results add to our knowledge that HF diet was associated with overproduction of NO by peritoneal macrophages and ROS that lead to development of infarct size and adverse remodeling.

Do personality traits related to affect regulation predict other tobacco product use among young adult non-daily smokers?

Science.gov (United States)

Brikmanis, Kristin; Petersen, Angela; Doran, Neal

2017-12-01

Understanding factors that influence non-cigarette tobacco use is important given these products' prevalence and health risks. The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that personality traits related to affect regulation would be associated with greater frequency of other tobacco product (OTP) use in a sample of young adult non-daily smokers. Participants (n=518, 51% male) aged 18-24 were non-daily cigarette smokers recruited from the community for a longitudinal study of tobacco use. Personality characteristics (impulsivity, anhedonia, and negative affectivity) were measured at baseline, and participants reported recent tobacco use at baseline and 3, 6, and 9months later. Assessments were conducted online or via mobile phone. Across the 4 assessments, 33-52% of participants reported recent OTP use, with frequency of use decreasing over time. Longitudinal negative binomial regression models indicated that greater sensation seeking and lack of premeditation were associated with more frequent OTP use (psnon-daily cigarette smokers with greater propensity for immediately rewarding behaviors may use OTPs more frequently. Young, non-daily cigarette smokers with high levels of sensation seeking and/or lack of premeditation may be at increased risk for harms related to OTP use and may benefit from prevention and cessation strategies that specifically address affect. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Colloquium on Open Access (OA) Publishing in Particle Physics, 7-8 December 2005, CERN minutes

CERN Document Server

Yeomans, Joanne

2006-01-01

The objective of this Colloquium was to gather practical ideas from all the actors in the particle physics publishing community (scientists, members of funding gencies, publishers ...) for an action plan to make the transition to full open access and low-cost publishing. As a result, the meeting decided to establish a task-force. The task-force was mandated to study and develop sustainable business models for OA publishing for existing and new journals and publishers in particle physics, focused mainly on a sponsoring model. The results should be made available to the Colloquium participants before end of March 2006.

Decreased summer drought affects plant productivity and soil carbon dynamics in a Mediterranean woodland

Science.gov (United States)

Cotrufo, M. F.; Alberti, G.; Inglima, I.; Marjanović, H.; Lecain, D.; Zaldei, A.; Peressotti, A.; Miglietta, F.

2011-09-01

Precipitation patterns are expected to change in the Mediterranean region within the next decades, with projected decreases in total rainfall and increases in extreme events. We manipulated precipitation patterns in a Mediterranean woodland, dominated by Arbutus unedo L., to study the effects of changing precipitation regimes on above-ground net primary production (ANPP) and soil C dynamics, specifically plant-derived C input to soil and soil respiration (SR). Experimental plots were exposed to either a 20 % reduction of throughfall or to water addition targeted at maintaining soil water content above a minimum of 10 % v/v. Treatments were compared to control plots which received ambient precipitation. Enhanced soil moisture during summer months highly stimulated annual stem primary production, litter fall, SR and net annual plant-derived C input to soil which on average increased by 130 %, 26 %, 58 % and 220 %, respectively, as compared to the control. In contrast, the 20 % reduction in throughfall (equivalent to 10 % reduction in precipitation) did not significantly change soil moisture at the site, and therefore did not significantly affect ANPP or SR. We conclude that minor changes (around 10 % reduction) in precipitation amount are not likely to significantly affect ANPP or soil C dynamics in Mediterranean woodlands. However, if summer rain increases, C cycling will significantly accelerate but soil C stocks are not likely to be changed in the short-term. More studies involving modelling of long-term C dynamics are needed to predict if the estimated increases in soil C input under wet conditions is going to be sustained and if labile C is being substituted to stable C, with a negative effect on long-term soil C stocks.

Insecticide use in hybrid onion seed production affects pre- and postpollination processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Gillespie, Sandra; Long, Rachael; Seitz, Nicola; Williams, Neal

2014-02-01

Research on threats to pollination service in agro-ecosystems has focused primarily on the negative impacts of land use change and agricultural practices such as insecticide use on pollinator populations. Insecticide use could also affect the pollination process, through nonlethal impacts on pollinator attraction and postpollination processes such as pollen viability or pollen tube growth. Hybrid onion seed (Allium cepa L., Alliaceae) is an important pollinator-dependent crop that has suffered yield declines in California, concurrent with increased insecticide use. Field studies suggest that insecticide use reduces pollination service in this system. We conducted a field experiment manipulating insecticide use to examine the impacts of insecticides on 1) pollinator attraction, 2) pollen/stigma interactions, and 3) seed set and seed quality. Select insecticides had negative impacts on pollinator attraction and pollen/stigma interactions, with certain products dramatically reducing pollen germination and pollen tube growth. Decreased pollen germination was not associated with reduced seed set; however, reduced pollinator attraction was associated with lower seed set and seed quality, for one of the two female lines examined. Our results highlight the importance of pesticide effects on the pollination process. Overuse may lead to yield reductions through impacts on pollinator behavior and postpollination processes. Overall, in hybrid onion seed production, moderation in insecticide use is advised when controlling onion thrips, Thrips tabaci, on commercial fields.

Come, See and Experience Affective Interactive Art

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nijholt, Antinus; Bialoskorski, Leticia S.S.; Westerink, Joyce H.D.M.; Reidsma, Dennis; van den Broek, Egon; Hondorp, G.H.W.

2009-01-01

The progress in the field of affective computing enables the realization of affective consumer products, affective games, and affective art. This paper describes the affective interactive art system Mood Swings, which interprets and visualizes affect expressed by a person. Mood Swings is founded on

Does Mixed Reimbursement Schemes Affect Hospital Activity and Productivity? An Analysis of the Case of Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Xenia Brun; Bech, Mickael; Jakobsen, Mads Leth

2013-01-01

literature with a deeper understanding of such mixed reimbursement systems as well as empirically by identifying key design factors that determines the incentives embedded in such a mixed model. Furthermore, we describe how incentives vary in different designs of the mixed reimbursement scheme and assess...... whether different incentives affects the performance of hospitals regarding activity and productivity differently. Information on Danish reimbursement schemes has been collected from documents provided by the regional governments and through interviews with regional administrations. The data cover...... the period from 2007-2010. A theoretical framework identified the key factors in an ABF/block grant model to be the proportion of the national Diagnosis-Related Group (DRG) tariff above and below a predefined production target (i.e. the baseline); baseline calculations; the presence of kinks...

Statistical frequency in perception affects children's lexical production.

Science.gov (United States)

Richtsmeier, Peter T; Gerken, LouAnn; Goffman, Lisa; Hogan, Tiffany

2009-06-01

Children's early word production is influenced by the statistical frequency of speech sounds and combinations. Three experiments asked whether this production effect can be explained by a perceptual learning mechanism that is sensitive to word-token frequency and/or variability. Four-year-olds were exposed to nonwords that were either frequent (presented 10 times) or infrequent (presented once). When the frequent nonwords were spoken by the same talker, children showed no significant effect of perceptual frequency on production. When the frequent nonwords were spoken by different talkers, children produced them with fewer errors and shorter latencies. The results implicate token variability in perceptual learning.

Deoxynivalenol in wheat and wheat products from a harvest affected by fusarium head blight

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lidiane Viera MACHADO

Full Text Available Abstract Fusarium head blight is an important disease occurring in wheat, caused mainly by the fungus Fusarium graminearum. In addition to direct damage to crops, reduced quality and yield losses, the infected grains can accumulate mycotoxins (toxic metabolites originating from prior fungal growth, especially deoxynivalenol (DON. Wheat crops harvested in 2014/2015 in southern Brazil were affected by high levels of Fusarium head blight. In this context, the aim of this study was evaluate the mycotoxicological quality of Brazilian wheat grains and wheat products (wheat flour and wheat bran for DON. DON contamination was evaluated in 1,504 wheat and wheat product samples produced in Brazil during 2014. It was determined by high performance liquid chromatograph fitted to a mass spectrometer (LC-MS / MS. The results showed that 1,000 (66.5% out of the total samples tested were positive for DON. The mean level of sample contamination was 1047 µg.kg-1, but only 242 samples (16.1% had contamination levels above the maximum permissible levels (MPL - the maximum content allowed by current Brazilian regulation. As of 2017, MPL will be stricter. Thus, research should be conducted on DON contamination of wheat and wheat products, since wheat is a raw material widely used in the food industry, and DON can cause serious harm to public health.

FACTORS AFFECTING THE PRODUCTIVE POTENTIAL OF THE ENTERPRISE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ileana ANASTASE (BĂDULESCU

2013-06-01

Full Text Available The paper enumerates the factors that determine the production potential of the company, points out the references to the opinions of economic experts in terms of productive investment. The criteria are "inferred" and economically interpreted. Decision making is based on initial information, on a number of criteria that must be led by the manager of the company. Productive potential of the enterprise can be determined only conditionally. Business potential depends on a number of exogenous and endogenous factors including professional qualities of the entrepreneur. In this context, the potential success of the company is determined by the entrepreneur, which is the "motoric" force of the enterprise and needs to possess certain professional, psychological and analytical qualities.

Factors affecting release of ethanol vapour in active modified atmosphere packaging systems for horticultural products

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weerawate Utto

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The active modified atmosphere packaging (active MAP system , which provides interactive postharvest control , using ethanol vapour controlled release, is one of the current interests in the development of active packaging for horticultural products. A number of published research work have discussed the relationship between the effectiveness of ethanol vapour and its concentration in the package headspace, including its effect on postharvest decay and physiological controls. This is of importance because a controlled release system should release and maintain ethanol vapour at effective concentrations during the desired storage period. A balance among the mass transfer processes of ethanol vapour in the package results in ethanol vapour accumulation in the package headspace. Key factors affecting these processes include ethanol loading, packaging material, packaged product and storage environment (temperature and relative h umidity. This article reviews their influences and discusses future work required to better understand their influences on ethanol vapour release and accumulations in active MAP.

Does nitrogen and sulfur deposition affect forest productivity?

Science.gov (United States)

Brittany A. Johnson; Kathryn B. Piatek; Mary Beth Adams; John R. Brooks

2010-01-01

We studied the effects of atmospheric nitrogen and sulfur deposition on forest productivity in a 10-year-old, aggrading forest stand at the Fernow Experimental Forest in Tucker County, WV. Forest productivity was expressed as total aboveground wood biomass, which included stem and branch weight of standing live trees. Ten years after stand regeneration and treatment...

Factors affecting remote handling productivity during installation of the ITER-like wall at JET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Collins, S.; Matthews, G.; Thomas, J.; Hermon, G.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► The paper describes the challenges to achieve the installation of the ILW beryllium sliced wall. ► Examines the factual difference between estimated remote handling in-vessel durations and those achieved, with a view to quantifying the typical disparity between the two. ► The paper will elaborate and highlight the contributing factors. This offers an opportunity to provide provenance for availability estimates of devices such as ITER and DEMO. ► The paper will identify and describe the factors influencing the ratio between estimated versus the actual durations for remote handling operations. -- Abstract: Remote handling operations at JET have encountered many challenges to achieve the installation of the ILW beryllium sliced wall during the Enhanced Performance stage 2 (EP2) shutdown of JET. This was a demanding and challenging activity which was based on the experience gained from a period of over 15 years (20,000 h operations) of JET In-Vessel remote handling operations. This paper describes the difference between estimated remote handling in-vessel durations and those actually achieved with a view to quantifying the typical disparity between them. There are many factors that affect productivity of the remote handling operations and it is important to accommodate these either in the design of the component or within the production of the operational procedures with a view to minimise all impact on the final task duration. Some factors that affect the efficiency are outside the control of the design and operational procedures. These are unforeseen anomalies that were encountered during the removal, naked wall survey and installation of the components. Recoveries from these anomalies are extremely challenging and need to be addressed efficiently in order to minimise the impact on the shutdown duration and prevent optimised panned activities from becoming inefficient by fragmentation

Decreased summer drought affects plant productivity and soil carbon dynamics in a Mediterranean woodland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. F. Cotrufo

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Precipitation patterns are expected to change in the Mediterranean region within the next decades, with projected decreases in total rainfall and increases in extreme events. We manipulated precipitation patterns in a Mediterranean woodland, dominated by Arbutus unedo L., to study the effects of changing precipitation regimes on above-ground net primary production (ANPP and soil C dynamics, specifically plant-derived C input to soil and soil respiration (SR. Experimental plots were exposed to either a 20 % reduction of throughfall or to water addition targeted at maintaining soil water content above a minimum of 10 % v/v. Treatments were compared to control plots which received ambient precipitation. Enhanced soil moisture during summer months highly stimulated annual stem primary production, litter fall, SR and net annual plant-derived C input to soil which on average increased by 130 %, 26 %, 58 % and 220 %, respectively, as compared to the control. In contrast, the 20 % reduction in throughfall (equivalent to 10 % reduction in precipitation did not significantly change soil moisture at the site, and therefore did not significantly affect ANPP or SR. We conclude that minor changes (around 10 % reduction in precipitation amount are not likely to significantly affect ANPP or soil C dynamics in Mediterranean woodlands. However, if summer rain increases, C cycling will significantly accelerate but soil C stocks are not likely to be changed in the short-term. More studies involving modelling of long-term C dynamics are needed to predict if the estimated increases in soil C input under wet conditions is going to be sustained and if labile C is being substituted to stable C, with a negative effect on long-term soil C stocks.

Factors Affecting Exocellular Polysaccharide Production by Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus Grown in a Chemically Defined Medium†

Science.gov (United States)

Petry, Sandrine; Furlan, Sylviane; Crepeau, Marie-Jeanne; Cerning, Jutta; Desmazeaud, Michel

2000-01-01

We developed a chemically defined medium (CDM) containing lactose or glucose as the carbon source that supports growth and exopolysaccharide (EPS) production of two strains of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus. The factors found to affect EPS production in this medium were oxygen, pH, temperature, and medium constituents, such as orotic acid and the carbon source. EPS production was greatest during the stationary phase. Composition analysis of EPS isolated at different growth phases and produced under different fermentation conditions (varying carbon source or pH) revealed that the component sugars were the same. The EPS from strain L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus CNRZ 1187 contained galactose and glucose, and that of strain L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus CNRZ 416 contained galactose, glucose, and rhamnose. However, the relative proportions of the individual monosaccharides differed, suggesting that repeating unit structures can vary according to specific medium alterations. Under pH-controlled fermentation conditions, L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus strains produced as much EPS in the CDM as in milk. Furthermore, the relative proportions of individual monosaccharides of EPS produced in pH-controlled CDM or in milk were very similar. The CDM we developed may be a useful model and an alternative to milk in studies of EPS production. PMID:10919802

Socio-economic factors affecting apple production in South-western ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Labour was the highest cost accounting for 41.8 percent of total production costs. Organic fertiliser, farmers experience and labour were the most critical factors of production. They had a positive and significant effect, explaining 63.6 percent of the variation in apple production. Organic fertiliser had the highest elasticity ...

Production performance and plasma metabolites of dairy ewes in early lactation as affected by chitosan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcia-Rodriguez, A.; Arranz, J.; Mandaluniz, N.; Beltrán-de-Heredia, I.; Ruiz, R.; Goiri, I.

2015-07-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of chitosan (CHI) supplementation on production performance and blood parameters in dairy ewes. Twenty-four multiparous Latxa dairy ewes at d 16 of lactation were divided into two groups of 12 ewes each. Ewes were fed one of two experimental concentrates (0.840 kg dry matter/d), control or supplemented with 1.2% CHI, on a dry matter basis. Ewes also had free access to tall fescue hay, water, and mineral salts. The experimental period lasted for 25 d, of which the first 14 d were for treatment adaptation and the last 11 d for measurements and samplings. Supplementation with CHI decreased total (p=0.043) and fescue (p=0.035) dry matter intake (DMI), but did not affect concentrate DMI. Supplementation with CHI, moreover, increased plasma glucose (p=0.013) and BUN concentrations (p=0.035), but did not affect those of non-esterified fatty acids. Dietary supplementation with CHI, however, did not affect milk yield, 6.5% FCM, milk composition, or BW, but it improved dietary apparent efficiency by increasing the milk yield-to-DMI (p=0.055) and 6.5% FCM-to-DMI (p=0.045) ratios. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of chitosan maintained ewe performance while reducing feed intake and improving dietary apparent efficiency. (Author)

40 CFR Table 10 to Subpart Xxxx of... - Continuous Compliance With the Emission Limits for Tire Production Affected Sources

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 12 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Continuous Compliance With the Emission Limits for Tire Production Affected Sources 10 Table 10 to Subpart XXXX of Part 63 Protection of... Pollutants: Rubber Tire Manufacturing Pt. 63, Subpt. XXXX, Table 10 Table 10 to Subpart XXXX of Part 63...

Biotin status affects nickel allergy via regulation of interleukin-1beta production in mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuroishi, Toshinobu; Kinbara, Masayuki; Sato, Naoki; Tanaka, Yukinori; Nagai, Yasuhiro; Iwakura, Yoichiro; Endo, Yasuo; Sugawara, Shunji

2009-05-01

Biotin, a water-soluble B complex vitamin, is possibly involved in chronic inflammatory diseases, although the detailed mechanisms are unclear. In this study, we investigated the effects of biotin status on nickel (Ni) allergy in mice. Mice were fed a basal or biotin-deficient (BD) diet for 8 wk and sensitized with an intraperitoneal injection of NiCl(2) and lipopolysaccharide. Ten days after sensitization, NiCl(2) was intradermally injected into pinnas and ear swelling was measured. For in vitro analysis, we cultured a murine macrophage cell line, J774.1, under a biotin-sufficient (C, meaning control) or BD condition for 4 wk and analyzed interleukin (IL)-1 production. Significantly higher ear swelling was induced in BD mice than C mice. Adaptive transfer of splenocytes from both C and BD mice induced Ni allergy in unsensitized mice. Regardless of donor mice, ear swelling was significantly higher in BD recipient mice than C recipient mice. Ni allergy was not induced in either C or BD IL-1(-/-) mice. Splenocytes from BD mice produced a significantly higher amount of IL-1beta than those from C mice. Production and mRNA expression of IL-1beta were significantly higher in BD J774.1 cells than in C cells. Biotin supplementation inhibited the augmentation of IL-1beta production in vitro. In vivo supplementation of biotin in drinking water dose-dependently decreased ear swelling in C and BD mice. These results indicate that biotin status affects Ni allergy in the elicitation phase via the upregulation of IL-1beta production in mice, suggesting that biotin supplementation may have therapeutic effects on human metal allergy.

Nocturnal Light Pulses Lower Carbon Dioxide Production Rate without Affecting Feed Intake in Geese

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De-Jia Huang

2016-03-01

Full Text Available This study was conducted to investigate the effect of nocturnal light pulses (NLPs on the feed intake and metabolic rate in geese. Fourteen adult Chinese geese were penned individually, and randomly assigned to either the C (control or NLP group. The C group was exposed to a 12L:12D photoperiod (12 h light and 12 h darkness per day, whereas the NLP group was exposed to a 12L:12D photoperiod inserted by 15-min lighting at 2-h intervals in the scotophase. The weight of the feed was automatically recorded at 1-min intervals for 1 wk. The fasting carbon dioxide production rate (CO2 PR was recorded at 1-min intervals for 1 d. The results revealed that neither the daily feed intake nor the feed intakes during both the daytime and nighttime were affected by photoperiodic regimen, and the feed intake during the daytime did not differ from that during the nighttime. The photoperiodic treatment did not affect the time distribution of feed intake. However, NLPs lowered (p<0.05 the mean and minimal CO2 PR during both the daytime and nighttime. Both the mean and minimal CO2 PR during the daytime were significantly higher (p<0.05 than those during the nighttime. We concluded that NLPs lowered metabolic rate of the geese, but did not affect the feed intake; both the mean and minimal CO2 PR were higher during the daytime than during the nighttime.

Bacterial community affects toxin production by Gymnodinium catenatum.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria E Albinsson

Full Text Available The paralytic shellfish toxin (PST-producing dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum grows in association with a complex marine bacterial community that is both essential for growth and can alter culture growth dynamics. Using a bacterial community replacement approach, we examined the intracellular PST content, production rate, and profile of G. catenatum cultures grown with bacterial communities of differing complexity and composition. Clonal offspring were established from surface-sterilized resting cysts (produced by sexual crosses of strain GCDE06 and strain GCLV01 and grown with: 1 complex bacterial communities derived from each of the two parent cultures; 2 simplified bacterial communities composed of the G. catenatum-associated bacteria Marinobacter sp. strain DG879 or Alcanivorax sp. strain DG881; 3 a complex bacterial community associated with an untreated, unsterilized sexual cross of the parents. Toxin content (STX-equivalent per cell of clonal offspring (134-197 fmol STX cell(-1 was similar to the parent cultures (169-206 fmol STX cell(-1, however cultures grown with single bacterial types contained less toxin (134-146 fmol STX cell(-1 than offspring or parent cultures grown with more complex mixed bacterial communities (152-176 fmol STX cell(-1. Specific toxin production rate (fmol STX day(-1 was strongly correlated with culture growth rate. Net toxin production rate (fmol STX cell(-1 day(-1 did not differ among treatments, however, mean net toxin production rate of offspring was 8-fold lower than the parent cultures, suggesting that completion of the sexual lifecycle in laboratory cultures leads to reduced toxin production. The PST profiles of offspring cultures were most similar to parent GCDE06 with the exception of cultures grown with Marinobacter sp. DG879 which produced higher proportions of dcGTX2+3 and GC1+2, and lower proportions of C1+2 and C3+4. Our data demonstrate that the bacterial community can alter intracellular STX

Bacterial community affects toxin production by Gymnodinium catenatum.

Science.gov (United States)

Albinsson, Maria E; Negri, Andrew P; Blackburn, Susan I; Bolch, Christopher J S

2014-01-01

The paralytic shellfish toxin (PST)-producing dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum grows in association with a complex marine bacterial community that is both essential for growth and can alter culture growth dynamics. Using a bacterial community replacement approach, we examined the intracellular PST content, production rate, and profile of G. catenatum cultures grown with bacterial communities of differing complexity and composition. Clonal offspring were established from surface-sterilized resting cysts (produced by sexual crosses of strain GCDE06 and strain GCLV01) and grown with: 1) complex bacterial communities derived from each of the two parent cultures; 2) simplified bacterial communities composed of the G. catenatum-associated bacteria Marinobacter sp. strain DG879 or Alcanivorax sp. strain DG881; 3) a complex bacterial community associated with an untreated, unsterilized sexual cross of the parents. Toxin content (STX-equivalent per cell) of clonal offspring (134-197 fmol STX cell(-1)) was similar to the parent cultures (169-206 fmol STX cell(-1)), however cultures grown with single bacterial types contained less toxin (134-146 fmol STX cell(-1)) than offspring or parent cultures grown with more complex mixed bacterial communities (152-176 fmol STX cell(-1)). Specific toxin production rate (fmol STX day(-1)) was strongly correlated with culture growth rate. Net toxin production rate (fmol STX cell(-1) day(-1)) did not differ among treatments, however, mean net toxin production rate of offspring was 8-fold lower than the parent cultures, suggesting that completion of the sexual lifecycle in laboratory cultures leads to reduced toxin production. The PST profiles of offspring cultures were most similar to parent GCDE06 with the exception of cultures grown with Marinobacter sp. DG879 which produced higher proportions of dcGTX2+3 and GC1+2, and lower proportions of C1+2 and C3+4. Our data demonstrate that the bacterial community can alter intracellular STX

40 CFR Table 6 to Subpart Xxxx of... - Initial Compliance With the Emission Limits for Tire Production Affected Sources

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 12 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Initial Compliance With the Emission Limits for Tire Production Affected Sources 6 Table 6 to Subpart XXXX of Part 63 Protection of... Pollutants: Rubber Tire Manufacturing Pt. 63, Subpt. XXXX, Table 6 Table 6 to Subpart XXXX of Part 63—Initial...

The Affective Turn

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Carnera, Alexander

2012-01-01

This paper confronts biopolitics with modern labour addressing questions of ‘governmentality’, ‘self-management’ and ‘social innovation’. It argues that the new modes of production within immaterial labour involve a new complex relation between on the one hand the ‘Art of Governance...... of biopolitics that surpasses that of governmentality. The affective self-relation is used as a research tool to analyse the creation of social and economic values in our new modes of productions, for instance, within free labour of the cultural industry. The movie The Five Obstructions is used to show how...... organizing good affective encounters based on limitations enhance and facilitate the performative dimension of self-management. Finally, the paper addresses the problem of critique confronting self-relation with Spinoza's ethics as an ethical difference of powe...

Fruit production and branching density affect shoot and whole-tree wood to leaf biomass ratio in olive.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosati, Adolfo; Paoletti, Andrea; Al Hariri, Raeed; Famiani, Franco

2018-02-14

The amount of shoot stem (i.e., woody part of the shoot) dry matter per unit shoot leaf dry matter (i.e., the shoot wood to leaf biomass ratio) has been reported to be lower in short shoots than in long ones, and this is related to the greater and earlier ability of short shoots to export carbon. This is important in fruit trees, since the greater and earlier carbon export ability of shoots with a lower wood to leaf biomass ratio improves fruit production. This ratio may vary with cultivars, training systems or plant age, but no study has previously investigated the possible effect of fruit production. In this study on two olive cultivars (i.e., Arbequina, with low growth rate, and Frantoio, with high growth rate) subject to different fruit production treatments, we found that at increasing fruit production, shoot length and shoot wood to leaf biomass ratio were proportionally reduced in the new shoots growing at the same time as the fruit. Specifically, fruit production proportionally reduced total new-shoot biomass, length, leaf area and average shoot length. With decreasing shoot length, shoot diameter, stem mass, internode length, individual leaf area and shoot wood to leaf biomass ratio also decreased. This may be viewed as a plant strategy to better support fruit growth in the current year, given the greater and earlier ability of short shoots to export carbon. Moreover, at the whole-tree level, the percentage of total tree biomass production invested in leaves was closely correlated with branching density, which differed significantly across cultivars. By branching more, Arbequina concentrates more shoots (thus leaves) per unit of wood (trunk, branches and root) mass, decreasing wood to leaf biomass ratio at the whole-tree level. Therefore, while, at the shoot level, shoot length determines shoot wood to leaf biomass ratio, at the canopy level branching density is also an important determinant of whole-tree wood to leaf biomass ratio. Whole-tree wood to leaf

Variables affecting the acceptability of radappertized ground beef products. Effects of food grade phosphates, NaCl, fat level, and grinding methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cohen, J.S.; Shults, G.W.; Mason, V.C.; Wierbicki, E.

1977-01-01

A series of experiments was conducted to determine the effect of different variables on the quality of an irradiated ground beef product. Factors studied included: different food-grade phosphates; NaCl content; fat content; and size of grind. The influence of these variables on the cooking loss (moisture retention), shear press values and sensory scores was studied. The addition of phosphates and NaCl was desirable in controlling cooking losses. The most effective phosphate was tetrasodium pyrophosphate. The addition of NaCl decreased the shear press force required to penetrate the beef patty, i.e., it tenderized the product. Phosphate addition did not affect the shear press force. Increased fat content increased the cooking losses, but did not affect the shear press force. Irradiation with sterilizing doses had a marked effect on decreasing the shear press force

How does Investors' Legal Protection affect Productivity and Growth?

OpenAIRE

Binyamin Berdugo; Sharon Hadad

2009-01-01

This paper analyzes the implications of investors' legal protection on aggregate productivity and growth. We have two main results. First, that better investors' legal protection can mitigate agency problems between investors and innovators and therefore expand the range of high-tech projects that can be financed by non-bank investors. Second, investors' legal protection shifts investment resources from less productive (medium-tech) to highly productive (high-tech) projects and therefore enha...

Affective Urbanism

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Samson, Kristine

Urban design and architecture are increasingly used as material and affective strategies for setting the scene, for manipulation and the production of urban life: The orchestration of atmospheres, the framing and staging of urban actions, the programming for contemplation, involvement, play......, experience and consumption are all strategic design tools applied by planners and architects. Whereas urban design in former modernist planning served merely functional or political means, urban design has increasingly become an aesthetical mediator of ideologies embedded in the urban field of life forces....... Under these circumstances affective aesthetics operate strategically within the urban field of interests, capital flows and desires of the social. This ‘affective urbanism’ (Anderson & Holden 2008) is linked to a society influenced by new kinds of information flows, where culture is mediated and enacted...

Klebsiella pneumoniae yfiRNB operon affects biofilm formation, polysaccharide production and drug susceptibility.

Science.gov (United States)

Huertas, Mónica G; Zárate, Lina; Acosta, Iván C; Posada, Leonardo; Cruz, Diana P; Lozano, Marcela; Zambrano, María M

2014-12-01

Klebsiella pneumoniae is an opportunistic pathogen important in hospital-acquired infections, which are complicated by the rise of drug-resistant strains and the capacity of cells to adhere to surfaces and form biofilms. In this work, we carried out an analysis of the genes in the K. pneumoniae yfiRNB operon, previously implicated in biofilm formation. The results indicated that in addition to the previously reported effect on type 3 fimbriae expression, this operon also affected biofilm formation due to changes in cellulose as part of the extracellular matrix. Deletion of yfiR resulted in enhanced biofilm formation and an altered colony phenotype indicative of cellulose overproduction when grown on solid indicator media. Extraction of polysaccharides and treatment with cellulase were consistent with the presence of cellulose in biofilms. The enhanced cellulose production did not, however, correlate with virulence as assessed using a Caenorhabditis elegans assay. In addition, cells bearing mutations in genes of the yfiRNB operon varied with respect to the WT control in terms of susceptibility to the antibiotics amikacin, ciprofloxacin, imipenem and meropenem. These results indicated that the yfiRNB operon is implicated in the production of exopolysaccharides that alter cell surface characteristics and the capacity to form biofilms--a phenotype that does not necessarily correlate with properties related with survival, such as resistance to antibiotics. © 2014 The Authors.

Factors affecting the bacterial community composition and heterotrophic production of Columbia River estuarine turbidity maxima.

Science.gov (United States)

Herfort, Lydie; Crump, Byron C; Fortunato, Caroline S; McCue, Lee Ann; Campbell, Victoria; Simon, Holly M; Baptista, António M; Zuber, Peter

2017-12-01

Estuarine turbidity maxima (ETM) function as hotspots of microbial activity and diversity in estuaries, yet, little is known about the temporal and spatial variability in ETM bacterial community composition. To determine which environmental factors affect ETM bacterial populations in the Columbia River estuary, we analyzed ETM bacterial community composition (Sanger sequencing and amplicon pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene) and bulk heterotrophic production ( 3 H-leucine incorporation rates). We collected water 20 times to cover five ETM events and obtained 42 samples characterized by different salinities, turbidities, seasons, coastal regimes (upwelling vs. downwelling), locations, and particle size. Spring and summer populations were distinct. All May samples had similar bacterial community composition despite having different salinities (1-24 PSU), but summer non-ETM bacteria separated into marine, freshwater, and brackish assemblages. Summer ETM bacterial communities varied depending on coastal upwelling or downwelling conditions and on the sampling site location with respect to tidal intrusion during the previous neap tide. In contrast to ETM, whole (>0.2 μm) and free-living (0.2-3 μm) assemblages of non-ETM waters were similar to each other, indicating that particle-attached (>3 μm) non-ETM bacteria do not develop a distinct community. Brackish water type (ETM or non-ETM) is thus a major factor affecting particle-attached bacterial communities. Heterotrophic production was higher in particle-attached than free-living fractions in all brackish waters collected throughout the water column during the rise to decline of turbidity through an ETM event (i.e., ETM-impacted waters). However, free-living communities showed higher productivity prior to or after an ETM event (i.e., non-ETM-impacted waters). This study has thus found that Columbia River ETM bacterial communities vary based on seasons, salinity, sampling location, and particle size, with the

40 CFR Table 12 to Subpart Xxxx of... - Continuous Compliance With the Emission Limits for Tire Cord Production Affected Sources

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 12 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Continuous Compliance With the Emission Limits for Tire Cord Production Affected Sources 12 Table 12 to Subpart XXXX of Part 63 Protection of... Pollutants: Rubber Tire Manufacturing Pt. 63, Subpt. XXXX, Table 12 Table 12 to Subpart XXXX of Part 63...

The Good, the Bad, and the Expert: How Consumer Expertise Affects Review Valence Effects on Purchase Intentions in Online Product Reviews

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ketelaar, P.E.; Willemsen, L.M.; Sleven, L.; Kerkhof, P.

2015-01-01

This study aims to shed more light on the question whether, and under what circumstances, valence affects consumers' intention to buy a product after reading an online review. We hypothesize that receiver expertise could possibly moderate (a) the impact of review valence on consumers' purchase

The good, the bad and the expert: How consumer expertise affects review valence effects on purchase intentions in online product reviews.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ketelaar, P. E.; Willemsen, L. M.; Sleven, L.; Kerkhof, P.

2015-01-01

This study aims to shed more light on the question whether, and under what circumstances, valence affects consumers' intention to buy a product after reading an online review. We hypothesize that receiver expertise could possibly moderate (a) the impact of review valence on consumers' purchase

Exposure to gemfibrozil and atorvastatin affects cholesterol metabolism and steroid production in zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Habsi, Aziz A; Massarsky, Andrey; Moon, Thomas W

2016-09-01

The commonly used lipid-lowering pharmaceuticals gemfibrozil (GEM) and atorvastatin (ATV) are detected in the aquatic environment; however, their potential effects on non-target fish species are yet to be fully understood. This study examined the effects of GEM and/or ATV on female and male adult zebrafish after a 30d dietary exposure. The exposure led to changes in several biochemical parameters, including reduction in cholesterol, triglycerides, cortisol, testosterone, and estradiol. Changes in cholesterol and triglycerides were also associated with changes in transcript levels of key genes involved with cholesterol and lipid regulation, including SREBP2, HMGCR1, PPARα, and SREBP1. We also noted higher CYP3A65 and atrogin1 mRNA levels in drug-treated male fish. Sex differences were apparent in some of the examined parameters at both biochemical and molecular levels. This study supports these drugs affecting cholesterol metabolism and steroid production in adult zebrafish. We conclude that the reduction in cortisol may impair the ability of these fish to mount a suitable stress response, whereas the reduction of sex steroids may negatively affect reproduction. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

How Does Recycling of Livestock Manure in Agroecosystems Affect Crop Productivity, Reactive Nitrogen Losses, and Soil Carbon Balance?

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Longlong; Lam, Shu Kee; Yan, Xiaoyuan; Chen, Deli

2017-07-05

Recycling of livestock manure in agroecosystems to partially substitute synthetic fertilizer nitrogen (N) input is recommended to alleviate the environmental degradation associated with synthetic N fertilization, which may also affect food security and soil greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, how substituting livestock manure for synthetic N fertilizer affects crop productivity (crop yield; crop N uptake; N use efficiency), reactive N (Nr) losses (ammonia (NH 3 ) emission, N leaching and runoff), GHG (methane, CH 4 ; and nitrous oxide, N 2 O; carbon dioxide) emissions and soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration in agroecosystems is not well understood. We conducted a global meta-analysis of 141 studies and found that substituting livestock manure for synthetic N fertilizer (with equivalent N rate) significantly increased crop yield by 4.4% and significantly decreased Nr losses via NH 3 emission by 26.8%, N leaching by 28.9% and N runoff by 26.2%. Moreover, annual SOC sequestration was significantly increased by 699.6 and 401.4 kg C ha -1 yr -1 in upland and paddy fields, respectively; CH 4 emission from paddy field was significantly increased by 41.2%, but no significant change of that was observed from upland field; N 2 O emission was not significantly affected by manure substitution in upland or paddy fields. In terms of net soil carbon balance, substituting manure for fertilizer increased carbon sink in upland field, but increased carbon source in paddy field. These results suggest that recycling of livestock manure in agroecosystems improves crop productivity, reduces Nr pollution and increases SOC storage. To attenuate the enhanced carbon source in paddy field, appropriate livestock manure management practices should be adopted.

ANALYSIS OF THE FACTORS AFFECTING THE AVERAGE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmen BOGHEAN

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Productivity in agriculture most relevantly and concisely expresses the economic efficiency of using the factors of production. Labour productivity is affected by a considerable number of variables (including the relationship system and interdependence between factors, which differ in each economic sector and influence it, giving rise to a series of technical, economic and organizational idiosyncrasies. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the underlying factors of the average work productivity in agriculture, forestry and fishing. The analysis will take into account the data concerning the economically active population and the gross added value in agriculture, forestry and fishing in Romania during 2008-2011. The distribution of the average work productivity per factors affecting it is conducted by means of the u-substitution method.

40 CFR Table 7 to Subpart Xxxx of... - Initial Compliance With the Emission Limits for Tire Cord Production Affected Sources

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 12 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Initial Compliance With the Emission Limits for Tire Cord Production Affected Sources 7 Table 7 to Subpart XXXX of Part 63 Protection of... Pollutants: Rubber Tire Manufacturing Pt. 63, Subpt. XXXX, Table 7 Table 7 to Subpart XXXX of Part 63—Initial...

Factors affecting the production of seeds in fully fertile tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum L. Mill. and those showing a tendency to parthenocarpy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barbara Gabara

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Comparative studies on the development of the female gametophyte, pollination and fertilization in two lines of Lycopersicon esculentum, Kholodostoykye (Kh, fertile and A33 (with a tendency to parthenocarpy have revealed that seed production is affected by disturbances in embryo sac formation but mainly by its degeneration after anthesis, which is especially visible in line A33. Moreover, delayed development of some embryo sacs and incomplete pollination due to various stigma levels seem to be responsible for the diminution of seed number in line A33. Deep fluorescence of numerous pollen grains as well as whole pollen tubes in 83.3 per cent of A33 stigmas and only 24.1 per cent in the Kh line points to the heterogeneity of pollen. This could be one more reason for reduced fertility. The results of application of plant growth regulators (auxin, PCIB which affect seed production in tomato of line A33 remain inconclusive.

New Mexico English Remediation Taskforce Report

Science.gov (United States)

New Mexico Higher Education Department, 2016

2016-01-01

In March, 2016, the state of New Mexico established a Remediation Task Force to examine remediation reform efforts across the state's higher education institutions. On March 11, the Task Force met for the "New Mexico Corequisite Remediation at Scale Policy Institute" in order to learn about the results of the latest national reform…

New Mexico Math Pathways Taskforce Report

Science.gov (United States)

New Mexico Higher Education Department, 2016

2016-01-01

In April 2015 New Mexico faculty, Dana Center staff, and New Mexico Higher Education (NMHED) co-presented the need for better math pathways statewide. Faculty from 6 institutions (New Mexico State University, New Mexico Highlands University, Dine College, Eastern New Mexico University, El Paso Community College, and San Juan College) participated…

How Glassy States Affect Brown Carbon Production?

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, P.; Li, Y.; Wang, Y.; Bateman, A. P.; Zhang, Y.; Gong, Z.; Gilles, M. K.; Martin, S. T.

2015-12-01

Secondary organic material (SOM) can become light-absorbing (i.e. brown carbon) via multiphase reactions with nitrogen-containing species such as ammonia and amines. The physical states of SOM, however, potentially slow the diffusion of reactant molecules in organic matrix under conditions that semisolids or solids prevail, thus inhibiting the browning reaction pathways. In this study, the physical states and the in-particle diffusivity were investigated by measuring the evaporation kinetics of both water and organics from aromatic-derived SOMs using a quartz-crystal-microbalance (QCM). The results indicate that the SOMs derived from aromatic precursors toluene and m-xylene became solid (glassy) and the in particle diffusion was significantly impeded for sufficiently low relative humidity ( toluene-derived SOM after ammonia exposure at varied RHs. The results suggest that the production of light-absorbing nitrogen-containing compounds from multiphase reactions with ammonia was kinetically limited in the glassy organic matrix, which otherwise produce brown carbon. The results of this study have significant implications for production and optical properties of brown carbon in urban atmospheres that ultimately influence the climate and tropospheric photochemistry.

What factors affect the productivity and efficiency of physician practices?

Science.gov (United States)

Sunshine, Jonathan H; Hughes, Danny R; Meghea, Cristian; Bhargavan, Mythreyi

2010-02-01

Increasing the productivity and efficiency of physician practices could help relieve the rapid growth of US healthcare costs and the expected physician shortage. Radiology practices are an attractive specific focus for research on practices' productivity and efficiency because they are home to many purportedly productivity-enhancing operational technologies. This affords an opportunity to study the effect of production technology on physicians' output. As well, radiology is a leader in the general movement of physicians out of very small practices. And imaging is by the fastest-growing category of physician expenditure. Using data from 2003 to 2007 surveys of radiologists, we estimate a stochastic frontier model to study the effects of practice characteristics, such as work hours, practice size, and output mix, and technologies used in work production, on practices' productivity and efficiency. At the mean, the elasticities of output with respect to practice size and annual hours worked per full-time physician were 0.73 and 0.51, respectively. Some production technologies increase productivity by 15% to 20%; others generate no increase. Using "nighthawks"--ie, contracting out after-hours work to external firms that consolidate workflow--significantly increases practice efficiency. The general US trend toward larger practice size is unlikely to relieve cost or physician shortage pressures. The actual effect of purportedly productivity-enhancing operational technologies needs to be carefully evaluated before they are widely adopted. As the recently-developed innovations of nighthawks and hospitalists show, practices should give more attention to a possible choice to "buy," rather than "make," part of their output.

Statistical Frequency in Perception Affects Children’s Lexical Production

Science.gov (United States)

Richtsmeier, Peter T.; Gerken, LouAnn; Goffman, Lisa; Hogan, Tiffany

2009-01-01

Children’s early word production is influenced by the statistical frequency of speech sounds and combinations. Three experiments asked whether this production effect can be explained by a perceptual learning mechanism that is sensitive to word-token frequency and/or variability. Four-year-olds were exposed to nonwords that were either frequent (presented 10 times) or infrequent (presented once). When the frequent nonwords were spoken by the same talker, children showed no significant effect of perceptual frequency on production. When the frequent nonwords were spoken by different talkers, children produced them with fewer errors and shorter latencies. The results implicate token variability in perceptual learning. PMID:19338981

Whānau Ora; He Whakaaro Ā Whānau: Māori Family Views of Family Wellbeing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amohia F. Boulton

2014-04-01

Full Text Available This article presents the findings from two studies that investigated the concept of whānau ora (family wellbeing: One examined the nature of resilience for Māori whānau and how resilience relates to whānau ora; while the second investigated the impact of the Working for Families policy on Māori families’ perceptions of whānau ora. In each study, Māori were asked to define whānau ora for their family. The responses to the “whānau ora” definition question in each of the studies were separated out to derive a unique dataset of 46 whānau definitions of whānau ora. A secondary analysis of responses was undertaken specifically for this article and these were compared to the whānau ora outcome definition outlined in the Report of the Taskforce on Whānau-Centred Initiatives (Taskforce on Whānau-Centred Initiatives, 2010. The degree of concordance between the definitions of whānau ora expressed by Māori families and those espoused by the government’s Taskforce is outlined. The article discusses the variability in understandings around whānau ora and the implications of our analysis for social service delivery and social policy development.

Some factors affecting tannase production by Aspergillus niger Van Tieghem.

Science.gov (United States)

Aboubakr, Hamada A; El-Sahn, Malak A; El-Banna, Amr A

2013-01-01

One variable at a time procedure was used to evaluate the effect of qualitative variables on the production of tannase from Aspergillus niger Van Tieghem. These variables including: fermentation technique, agitation condition, tannins source, adding carbohydrates incorporation with tannic acid, nitrogen source type and divalent cations. Submerged fermentation under intermittent shaking gave the highest total tannase activity. Maximum extracellular tannase activity (305 units/50 mL) was attained in medium containing tannic acid as tannins source and sodium nitrate as nitrogen source at 30 °C for 96 h. All added carbohydrates showed significant adverse effects on the production of tannase. All tested divalent cations significantly decreased tannase production. Moreover, split plot design was carried out to study the effect of fermentation temperature and fermentation time on tannase production. The results indicated maximum tannase production (312.7 units/50 mL) at 35 °C for 96 h. In other words, increasing fermentation temperature from 30 °C to 35 °C resulted in increasing tannase production.

Some factors affecting tannase production by Aspergillus niger Van Tieghem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hamada A. Aboubakr

2013-01-01

Full Text Available One variable at a time procedure was used to evaluate the effect of qualitative variables on the production of tannase from Aspergillus niger Van Tieghem. These variables including: fermentation technique, agitation condition, tannins source, adding carbohydrates incorporation with tannic acid, nitrogen source type and divalent cations. Submerged fermentation under intermittent shaking gave the highest total tannase activity. Maximum extracellular tannase activity (305 units/ 50 mL was attained in medium containing tannic acid as tannins source and sodium nitrate as nitrogen source at 30 ºC for 96 h. All added carbohydrates showed significant adverse effects on the production of tannase. All tested divalent cations significantly decreased tannase production. Moreover, split plot design was carried out to study the effect of fermentation temperature and fermentation time on tannase production. The results indicated maximum tannase production (312.7 units/50 mL at 35 ºC for 96 h. In other words, increasing fermentation temperature from 30 ºC to 35 ºC resulted in increasing tannase production.

Acrolein inhalation suppresses lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory cytokine production but does not affect acute airways neutrophilia.

Science.gov (United States)

Kasahara, David Itiro; Poynter, Matthew E; Othman, Ziryan; Hemenway, David; van der Vliet, Albert

2008-07-01

Acrolein is a reactive unsaturated aldehyde that is produced during endogenous oxidative processes and is a major bioactive component of environmental pollutants such as cigarette smoke. Because in vitro studies demonstrate that acrolein can inhibit neutrophil apoptosis, we evaluated the effects of in vivo acrolein exposure on acute lung inflammation induced by LPS. Male C57BL/6J mice received 300 microg/kg intratracheal LPS and were exposed to acrolein (5 parts per million, 6 h/day), either before or after LPS challenge. Exposure to acrolein either before or after LPS challenge did not significantly affect the overall extent of LPS-induced lung inflammation, or the duration of the inflammatory response, as observed from recovered lung lavage leukocytes and histology. However, exposure to acrolein after LPS instillation markedly diminished the LPS-induced production of several inflammatory cytokines, specifically TNF-alpha, IL-12, and the Th1 cytokine IFN-gamma, which was associated with reduction in NF-kappaB activation. Our data demonstrate that acrolein exposure suppresses LPS-induced Th1 cytokine responses without affecting acute neutrophilia. Disruption of cytokine signaling by acrolein may represent a mechanism by which smoking contributes to chronic disease in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma.

Heat and light stresses affect metabolite production in the fruit body of the medicinal mushroom Cordyceps militaris.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiaojiao, Zhang; Fen, Wang; Kuanbo, Liu; Qing, Liu; Ying, Yang; Caihong, Dong

2018-05-01

Cordyceps militaris is a highly valued edible and medicinal fungus due to its production of various metabolites, including adenosine, cordycepin, N 6 -(2-hydroxyethyl)-adenosine, and carotenoids. The contents of these metabolites are indicative of the quality of commercially available fruit body of this fungus. In this work, the effects of environmental abiotic factors, including heat and light stresses, on the fruit body growth and metabolite production in C. militaris were evaluated during the late growth stage. The optimal growth temperature of C. militaris was 20 °C. It was found that a heat stress of 25 °C for 5-20 days during the late growth stage significantly promoted cordycepin and carotenoid production without affecting the biological efficiency. Light stress at 6000 lx for 5-20 days during the late growth stage significantly promoted cordycepin production but decreased the carotenoid content. Both heat and light stresses promoted N 6 -(2-hydroxyethyl)-adenosine production. In addition, gene expression analysis showed that there were simultaneous increases in the expression of genes encoding a metal-dependent phosphohydrolase (CCM_04437) and ATP phosphoribosyltransferase (CCM_04438) that are involved in the cordycepin biosynthesis pathway, which was consistent with the accumulation of cordycepin during heat stress for 5-20 days. A positive weak correlation between the cordycepin and adenosine contents was observed with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.338 (P fruit body of C. militaris and contribute to further elucidation of the effects of abiotic stress on metabolite accumulation in fungi.

Mood Swings: An Affective Interactive Art System

Science.gov (United States)

Bialoskorski, Leticia S. S.; Westerink, Joyce H. D. M.; van den Broek, Egon L.

The progress in the field of affective computing enables the realization of affective consumer products, affective games, and affective art. This paper describes the affective interactive art system Mood Swings, which interprets and visualizes affect expressed by a person. Mood Swings is founded on the integration of a framework for affective movements and a color model. This enables Mood Swings to recognize affective movement characteristics as expressed by a person and display a color that matches the expressed emotion. With that, a unique interactive system is introduced, which can be considered as art, a game, or a combination of both.

Factors affecting wild rabbit production in extensive breeding enclosures: how can we optimise efforts?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Guerrero-Casado

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The declining rabbit population in the Iberian Peninsula has led hunters and authorities to rear rabbits in captivity systems for their subsequent release. One alternative method to intensive rabbitry systems is the use of extensive breeding enclosures, since they produce animals of greater quality for hunting and conservation purposes. However, some of the factors that affect rabbit production in breeding enclosures are still unknown. The present study used partial least squares regression (PLSR to analyse the effects of plot size, scrub cover, slope, initial rabbit abundance, the resources needed to dig warrens, predation and proximity to other enclosures on rabbit abundance. The results of our study show a positive effect of the number of other fenced plots within a radius of 3 km, a positive relationship with the availability of optimal resources for building warrens and a positive influence of intermediate values of scrub cover. According to our results, to maximise rabbit production in the enclosures it would be advisable to concentrate the restocking effort by ensuring that the restocking plots are close to each other, thus avoiding isolated enclosures. Furthermore, the selection of plots with an appropriate scrub cover and high availability of elements that favour the construction of warrens, such as large stones, sloping land or tall shrubs, may optimise results.

Issues in nano technologies for Australia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tegart, G.

2007-01-01

The Australian Government in late 2005 created a National Nano technology Taskforce that produced a paper, 'Options for a National Nano technology Strategy', in November last year. As an input to the National Nano technology Strategy Taskforce, in early 2006 the National Academies Forum was contracted by the Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources to produce a report Environmental, Social, Legal and Ethical Aspects of the Development of Nano technologies in Australia (which is available at www.naf.org.au/symposia). The report drew on the expertise of Fellows from the four academies in workshops in Melbourne and Sydney and from discussions with other experts, and expressed its outcomes as a set of opinions to assist in developing guidelines for a National Nano technology Strategy

Health Affects of Biocide in Cosmetic Products

OpenAIRE

Çot, Duygu Ayabakan; Yener, Emine; Akbaba, Muhsin

2018-01-01

Theskin is the largest organ of the body that protects internal tissues fromchemical, physical, and microbial damage. A cosmetic product is any substanceintended to be placed in contact with the external part of the human body forcleaning, perfuming, changing the appearance, protecting or keeping theepidermis, hair, nails, lips or mucous membranes in good condition. Opstrup andfriends says it is well known that chlorhexidine is widely used as adisinfectant in the healthcare setting. Less well...

Progesterone production is affected by unfolded protein response (UPR) signaling during the luteal phase in mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Hyo-Jin; Park, Sun-Ji; Koo, Deog-Bon; Lee, Sang-Rae; Kong, Il-Keun; Ryoo, Jae-Woong; Park, Young-Il; Chang, Kyu-Tae; Lee, Dong-Seok

2014-09-15

We examined whether the three unfolded protein response (UPR) signaling pathways, which are activated in response to endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-stress, are involved in progesterone production in the luteal cells of the corpus luteum (CL) during the mouse estrous cycle. The luteal phase of C57BL/6 female mice (8 weeks old) was divided into two stages: the functional stage (16, 24, and 48 h) and the regression stage (72 and 96 h). Western blotting and reverse transcription (RT)-PCR were performed to analyze UPR protein/gene expression levels in each stage. We investigated whether ER stress affects the progesterone production by using Tm (0.5 μg/g BW) or TUDCA (0.5 μg/g BW) through intra-peritoneal injection. Our results indicate that expressions of Grp78/Bip, p-eIF2α/ATF4, p50ATF6, and p-IRE1/sXBP1 induced by UPR activation were predominantly maintained in functional and early regression stages of the CL. Furthermore, the expression of p-JNK, CHOP, and cleaved caspase3 as ER-stress mediated apoptotic factors increased during the regression stage. Cleaved caspase3 levels increased in the late-regression stage after p-JNK and CHOP expression in the early-regression stage. Additionally, although progesterone secretion and levels of steroidogenic enzymes decreased following intra-peritoneal injection of Tunicamycin, an ER stress inducer, the expression of Grp78/Bip, p50ATF6, and CHOP dramatically increased. These results suggest that the UPR signaling pathways activated in response to ER stress may play important roles in the regulation of the CL function. Furthermore, our findings enhance the understanding of the basic mechanisms affecting the CL life span. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Health Information in Burmese (myanma bhasa)

Science.gov (United States)

... Thinking of Suicide - myanma bhasa (Burmese) MP3 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline What Is Mental ... Karen Chemical Dependency Taskforce of Minnesota Mood Disorders What Is Mental Distress - English PDF What Is ...

Health Information in Swahili (Kiswahili)

Science.gov (United States)

... Someone Thinking of Suicide - Kiswahili (Swahili) MP3 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline What Is Mental ... Karen Chemical Dependency Taskforce of Minnesota Mood Disorders What Is Mental Distress - English PDF What Is ...

Product development capability and marketing strategy for new durable products

OpenAIRE

Banerjee, Sumitro; Soberman, David A.

2013-01-01

Our objective is to understand how a firm’s product development capability (PDC) affects the launch strategy for a durable product that is sequentially improved over time in a market where consumers have heterogeneous valuations for quality. We show that the launch strategy of firms is affected by the degree to which consumers think ahead. However, only the strategy of firms with high PDC is affected by the observability of quality. When consumers are myopic and quality is observable, both hi...

Colostrum and milk production of sows is affected by dietary conjugated linoleic acid

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krogh, Uffe; Flummer, Christine; Jensen, Søren Krogh

2012-01-01

(cis-9, trans-11 and trans-10, cis-12) from day 108 of gestation until weaning (4 wk after parturition) to evaluate whether dietary CLA affects the yield and composition of colostrum, time for initiation of milk production, and sow milk yield. Sows fed CLA tended to produce more colostral fat (6.3 vs....... 5.2%, respectively; P = 0.10) than CON sows whereas contents of lactose, protein, and dry matter were similar in the two groups. Sows fed CLA tended to produce less colostrum than CON sows (409 vs. 463 g/piglet, respectively; P = 0.07) as predicted by the piglet rate of gain from 0 to 24 h (58 vs.......03). Weight at birth (1.40 kg for both groups; P = 0.98) and at weaning [8.2 kg (CLA) and 8.0 kg (CON); P = 0.52] was not statistically different. In conclusion, colostrum yield was inhibited but milk yield was stimulated by dietary inclusion of cis-9, trans-11 and trans-10, cis-12 CLA and indicates that sow...

Efficiency and Import Penetrationon the Productivity of Textile Industry and Textile Products

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catur Basuki Rakhmawan

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Although textile industry and textile products belong to the strategic sub-sector of manufacturing industry in Indonesia, they are facing problems on the availability of energy, old production machines, and the flooding of imported products into the domestic market. This study is aimed to analyze the efficiency and productivity as performance indicators and how the efficiency and import penetration affect the productivity of textile industry and textile products. The methods of data analysis used in this research are divided in two phases. The first phase, the non-metric approach of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA is applied to measure the efficiency and productivity. Secondly, the fixed effect model of econometric regression approach is used to find out the effects of efficiency and import penetration on the productivity of textile industry and textile products. The result shows that the ave-rage level of efficiency of textile industry and textile products during the period of 2004 – 2008 is about 40 percent with a growth rate of average productivity increases 2.4 percent. Whereas, the econometric estimation results indicate that the increase of efficiency will positively and significantly affect the productivity of textile industry and textile products. On the other hand, the increase of import penetration will negatively affect the productivity of this industry.

Microbiological and physicochemical factors affecting Aspergillus section Flavi incidence in Cavendish banana (Musa cavendishii) chips production in Southern Philippines.

Science.gov (United States)

Sales, A C; Azanza, P V; Yoshizawa, T

2005-01-01

Microbiological and physicochemical factors affecting the incidence of Aspergillus section Flavi in dried Cavendish banana (Musa cavendishii) chips production in Southern Philippines were examined. The average counts of Aspergillus section Flavi (AFC) in fresh and dried Cavendish bananas from 10 production batches of the Philippine Agro-Industrial Development Cooperative in Davao del Norte, Southern Philippines were 1.2 x 10(2) and 1.6 x 10(2) cfu/g, respectively. Isolates from both samples were identified to be Aspergillus flavus based on spore type and conidial structure of isolates. An increasing trend in the AFC of Cavendish bananas was observed during dried banana chips processing. Variability in the AFC between production batches was attributed to differences in aerobic and fungal populations and physicochemical characteristics of the fruits, peel damage of the raw materials, concentration of AFC in the air and food-contact surfaces of the production area, and temperature and relative humidity (RH) conditions of the environment during production and storage. Physicochemical characteristics of Cavendish bananas from the receipt of raw materials up to the first day of drying were within the reported range of values allowing growth and toxin production by aflatoxigenic fungi. Air-borne AFC varied depending on the section of the production area examined. The close proximity of the waste disposal area from the production operation to the preparation, drying and storage areas suggests that cross-contamination, probably air-borne or insect-borne was a likely occurrence. The hands of workers were also identified as AFC sources. Results of this study highlight the need for the development of strategies to control aflatoxigenic fungi and aflatoxin contamination in Philippine dried Cavendish bananas.

A mutation in the aroE gene affects pigment production, virulence, and chemotaxis in Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Hong-Il; Noh, Tae-Hwan; Lee, Chang-Soo; Park, Young-Jin

2015-01-01

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) causes bacterial blight (BB) in rice. To study its function, a random insertion mutation library of Xoo was constructed using the Tn5 transposon. A mutant strain with decreased virulence against the susceptible rice cultivar IR24 was isolated from the library (aroE mutant), which also had extremely low pigment production. Thermal asymmetric interlaced-polymerase chain reaction (TAIL-PCR) and sequence analysis of the mutant revealed that the transposon was inserted into the aroE gene (encoding shikimate dehydrogenase). To investigate gene expression changes in the pigment- and virulence-deficient mutant, DNA microarray analysis was performed, which showed downregulation of 20 genes involved in the chemotaxis of Xoo. Our findings reveal that mutation of the aroE gene affects virulence and pigment production, as well as expression of genes involved in Xoo chemotaxis. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Categorization in the Affective Domain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sauciuc, Gabriela-Alina

2011-01-01

Data collected in Romance and Scandinavian languages (N=474) in a superordinate category name production task indicate that a multiple-strategy approach would be more suitable for accounting of categorization in the affective domain instead of a prototype approach as suggested by previous studies....... This paper will highlight performance aspects which appear to be consistent with such an interpretation, as well as an important layman- expert knowledge asymmetry in affective categorization....

The Consumption of Poultry Products in Sivas Province and Factors Affecting on the Consumption

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hüdaverdi Bircan

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In this study, face-to-face surveys were conducted with 461 families in order to determine the consumption values of poultry products in Sivas city centre and the factors affecting them. 85.5% of the participants are in the age range of 18-54, which is considered as the active age group. The sum of high school and college graduates was found to be 68.7%. In terms of monthly food intake, the difference between the income groups was significant and the average monthly food intake was calculated as TL 595.44. In terms of the proportion of poultry products among monthly food expenditures, significant differences were determined among the income groups and the average of the participants was determined as 10.49%. The difference observed in the monthly income of the household income groups was significant, average monthly egg consumption is calculated as 34.47 Units/Month and annual egg consumption per person is calculated as 123.40 Units/year. The difference in monthly household chicken’s consumption values between income groups was found to be significant, monthly household average consumption of chicken meat is 4.13 Kg/Month, average monthly consumption of chicken meat per person is 14.89 Kg/Year. On the consumption of poultry meet, family income level, number of family members and occupational groups were effective, but these factors as well as education levels were effective on egg consumption.

Factors affecting dairy production in peri-urban areas of Kampala

African Journals Online (AJOL)

demand for dairy products by the increasing urban population and the need to provide ... was therefore recommended that if milk production in the peri-urban areas of Kampala is to .... approximately 80% of the total labour use in dairy farming.

40 CFR Table 9 to Subpart Xxxx of... - Minimum Data for Continuous Compliance With the Emission Limits for Tire Production Affected Sources

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 12 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Minimum Data for Continuous Compliance With the Emission Limits for Tire Production Affected Sources 9 Table 9 to Subpart XXXX of Part 63... Hazardous Air Pollutants: Rubber Tire Manufacturing Pt. 63, Subpt. XXXX, Table 9 Table 9 to Subpart XXXX of...

40 CFR Table 11 to Subpart Xxxx of... - Minimum Data for Continuous Compliance With the Emission Limits for Tire Cord Production Affected...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... With the Emission Limits for Tire Cord Production Affected Sources 11 Table 11 to Subpart XXXX of Part... for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Rubber Tire Manufacturing Pt. 63, Subpt. XXXX, Table 11 Table 11 to Subpart XXXX of Part 63—Minimum Data for Continuous Compliance With the Emission Limits for Tire Cord...

Advanced Glycation End-Products affect transcription factors regulating insulin gene expression

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Puddu, A.; Storace, D.; Odetti, P.; Viviani, G.L.

2010-01-01

Advanced Glycation End-Products (AGEs) are generated by the covalent interaction of reducing sugars with proteins, lipids or nucleic acids. AGEs are implicated in diabetic complications and pancreatic β-cell dysfunction. We previously demonstrated that exposure of the pancreatic islet cell line HIT-T15 to high concentrations of AGEs leads to a significant decrease of insulin secretion and content. Insulin gene transcription is positively regulated by the beta cell specific transcription factor PDX-1 (Pancreatic and Duodenal Homeobox-1). On the contrary, the forkhead transcription factor FoxO1 inhibits PDX-1 gene transcription. Activity of FoxO1 is regulated by post-translational modifications: phosphorylation deactivates FoxO1, and acetylation prevents FoxO1 ubiquitination. In this work we investigated whether AGEs affect expression and subcellular localization of PDX-1 and FoxO1. HIT-T15 cells were cultured for 5 days in presence of AGEs. Cells were then lysed and processed for subcellular fractionation. We determined intracellular insulin content, then we assessed the expression and subcellular localization of PDX-1, FoxO1, phosphoFoxO1 and acetylFoxO1. As expected intracellular insulin content was lower in HIT-T15 cells cultured with AGEs. The results showed that AGEs decreased expression and nuclear localization of PDX-1, reduced phosphorylation of FoxO1, and increased expression and acetylation of FoxO1. These results suggest that AGEs decrease insulin content unbalancing transcription factors regulating insulin gene expression.

Statistical screening of factors affecting glucoamylase production by ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

hope&shola

2010-10-25

Oct 25, 2010 ... advantages of cooling-costs reduction during fermentation and high thermostable enzyme production. ... by various microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi and .... shown to be a better substrate than corn starch for .... L-lactic acid-producing thermotolerant Rhizopus fungi. Biosci. ... GP-21 in solid state.

Methyl salicylate production in tomato affects biotic interactions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ament, K.; Krasikov, V.; Allmann, S.; Rep, M.; Takken, F.L.W.; Schuurink, R.C.

2010-01-01

The role of methyl salicylate (MeSA) production was studied in indirect and direct defence responses of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) to the spider mite Tetranychus urticae and the root-invading fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, respectively. To this end, we silenced the tomato gene

Factors affecting surf zone phytoplankton production in Southeastern North Carolina, USA

KAUST Repository

Cahoon, Lawrence B.

2017-07-15

Abstract: The biomass and productivity of primary producers in the surf zone of the ocean beach at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, USA, were measured during all seasons, along with environmental parameters and nutrient levels. Variation in biomass (chlorophyll a) was associated with temperature. Primary production (PP), measured by in situ 14-C incubations, was a function of chlorophyll a, tide height at the start of incubations, and rainfall in the preceding 24-hr period. Biomass-normalized production (PB) was also a function of tide height and rainfall in the preceding 24-hr period. We interpreted these results as evidence of surf production 1) as combined contributions of phytoplankton and suspended benthic microalgae, which may confound application of simple P-E models to surf zone production, and 2) being regulated by nutrient source/supply fluctuations independently from other factors. Surf zone biomass and production levels are intermediate between relatively high estuarine values and much lower coastal ocean values. Surf zone production may represent an important trophic connection between these two important ecosystems.

Factors affecting surf zone phytoplankton production in Southeastern North Carolina, USA

KAUST Repository

Cahoon, Lawrence B.; Bugica, Kalman; Wooster, Michael K.; Dickens, Amanda Kahn

2017-01-01

Abstract: The biomass and productivity of primary producers in the surf zone of the ocean beach at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, USA, were measured during all seasons, along with environmental parameters and nutrient levels. Variation in biomass (chlorophyll a) was associated with temperature. Primary production (PP), measured by in situ 14-C incubations, was a function of chlorophyll a, tide height at the start of incubations, and rainfall in the preceding 24-hr period. Biomass-normalized production (PB) was also a function of tide height and rainfall in the preceding 24-hr period. We interpreted these results as evidence of surf production 1) as combined contributions of phytoplankton and suspended benthic microalgae, which may confound application of simple P-E models to surf zone production, and 2) being regulated by nutrient source/supply fluctuations independently from other factors. Surf zone biomass and production levels are intermediate between relatively high estuarine values and much lower coastal ocean values. Surf zone production may represent an important trophic connection between these two important ecosystems.

Factors affecting surf zone phytoplankton production in Southeastern North Carolina, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Cahoon, Lawrence B.; Bugica, Kalman; Wooster, Michael K.; Dickens, Amanda Kahn

2017-09-01

The biomass and productivity of primary producers in the surf zone of the ocean beach at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, USA, were measured during all seasons, along with environmental parameters and nutrient levels. Variation in biomass (chlorophyll a) was associated with temperature. Primary production (PP), measured by in situ 14-C incubations, was a function of chlorophyll a, tide height at the start of incubations, and rainfall in the preceding 24-hr period. Biomass-normalized production (PB) was also a function of tide height and rainfall in the preceding 24-hr period. We interpreted these results as evidence of surf production 1) as combined contributions of phytoplankton and suspended benthic microalgae, which may confound application of simple P-E models to surf zone production, and 2) being regulated by nutrient source/supply fluctuations independently from other factors. Surf zone biomass and production levels are intermediate between relatively high estuarine values and much lower coastal ocean values. Surf zone production may represent an important trophic connection between these two important ecosystems.

Health Information in Kinyarwanda (Rwanda)

Science.gov (United States)

... PDF Strong Family Relationships Can Prevent Alcohol and Drug Use Among Teens - Rwanda (Kinyarwanda) MP3 Karen Chemical Dependency Taskforce of Minnesota What Is Addiction? - English PDF What Is Addiction? - Rwanda (Kinyarwanda) PDF ...

Road Map for Gender Equality in the FCC Study

CERN Document Server

Genevieve Guinot

2015-01-01

Plan towards defining well scoped deliverables on gender specific communication for discussion, mapping of country context and organisational practices and the establishment of a focused task-force on gender equality in participating institutes.

Texture, not flavor, affects the expected satiation of dairy products

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hogenkamp, P.S.; Stafleu, A.; Mars, M.; Brunstrom, J.M.; Graaf, C. de

2011-01-01

Consumers’ expectations about the satiating capacity of a food may differ markedly across a broad range of food products, but also between foods within one product category. Our objective is to investigate the role of sensory attributes and means of consumption in the expected satiation of dairy

Efficiency and Import Penetration on the Productivity of Textile Industry and Textile Products

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catur Basuki Rakhmawan

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Although textile industry and textile products belong to the strategic sub-sector of manufacturing industry in Indonesia, they are facing problems on the availability of energy, old production machines, and the flooding of imported products into the domestic market. This study is aimed to analyze the efficiency and productivity as performance indicators and how the efficiency and import penetration affect the productivity of textile industry and textile products. The methods of data analysis used in this research are divided in two phases. The first phase, the non-metric approach of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA is applied to measure the efficiency and productivity. Secondly, the fixed effect model of econometric regression approach is used to find out the effects of efficiency and import penetration on the productivity of textile industry and textile products. The result shows that the average level of efficiency of textile industry and textile products during the period of 2004 – 2008 is about 40 percent with a growth rate of average productivity increases 2.4 percent. Whereas, the econometric estimation results indicate that the increase of efficiency will positively and significantly affect the productivity of textile industry and textile products. On the other hand, the increase of import penetration will negatively affect the productivity of this industry.

How Does the Presence of High Need for Recovery Affect the Association Between Perceived High Chronic Exposure to Stressful Work Demands and Work Productivity Loss?

Science.gov (United States)

Dewa, Carolyn S; Nieuwenhuijsen, Karen; Sluiter, Judith K

2016-06-01

Employers have increasingly been interested in decreasing work stress. However, little attention has been given to recovery from the exertion experienced during work. This paper addresses the question: how does the presence of high need for recovery (HNFR) affect the association between perceived high chronic exposure to stressful work demands (PHCE) and work productivity loss (WPL)?. Data were from a population-based survey of 2219 Ontario workers. The Work Limitations Questionnaire was used to measure WPL. The relationship between HNFR and WPL was examined using four multiple regression models. Our results indicate that HNFR affects the association between PHCE and WPL. They also suggest that PHCE alone significantly increases the risk of WPL. Our results suggest that HNFR as well as PHCE could be an important factor for workplaces to target to increase worker productivity.

Health Information in Karen (S’gaw Karen)

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... Thinking of Suicide - S’gaw Karen (Karen) MP3 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline What Is Mental Distress - English ... Karen Chemical Dependency Taskforce of Minnesota Mood Disorders What Is Mental Distress - English PDF What Is ...

Knowledge of Repetitions Range Affects Force Production in Trained Females

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Israel Halperin, Saied J. Aboodarda, Fabien A. Basset, David G. Behm

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Most studies have examined pacing strategies with cyclical activities (running and cycling. It has been demonstrated that males employ different pacing strategies during repeated maximal voluntary contractions (MVCs dependent upon a known endpoint. Since different fatiguing mechanisms have been identified between the genders, it is not known if females use comparable pacing strategies. The purpose of this study was to examine if informing female subjects regarding the number of MVCs to perform would affect force and electromyography (EMG. Twenty well-trained females completed 3 fatiguing protocols in a randomized order. In the control condition participants were informed they would perform twelve MVCs and then actually completed twelve. In the unknown condition they were not told how many MVCs to perform but were stopped after twelve. In the deception condition they were initially informed to perform 6 MVCs, but after the 6th MVC they were asked to perform a few more MVCs and were stopped after twelve. During the first 6 MVCs, forces in the deception condition were greater compared to the unknown (p = 0.021, ES = 0.65, 5% and control (p = 0.022, ES = 0.42, 3% conditions. No differences were found between conditions in the last 6 MVCs. A main effect for repetitions showed force deficits during the first 6 MVCs (p = 0.000, ES = 1.81, 13% and last 6 MVCs (p = 0.05, ES = 0.34, 3%. No differences were found between conditions in biceps and triceps EMG. However, EMG decreased during the first 6 MVCs for biceps (p = 0.001, ES = 1.0, 14% and triceps (p = 0.001, ES = 0.76, 14% across conditions. No differences were found in the last 6 MVCs. The anticipation of performing fewer MVCs led to increased force, whereas no endpoint led to decreased force production.

Rare earth elements concentration in mushroom cultivation substrates affects the production process and fruit-bodies content of Pleurotus ostreatus and Cyclocybe cylindracea.

Science.gov (United States)

Koutrotsios, Georgios; Danezis, Georgios P; Georgiou, Constantinos A; Zervakis, Georgios I

2018-04-20

Concentrations of 16 rare earth elements (REEs) and two actinides were determined for the first time both in cultivated mushrooms and in their production substrates by inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy. Moreover, the effect of REEs on cultivation parameters and composition of the final product was assessed, together with their potential use for authentication purposes. The concentrations of REEs varied greatly among seven cultivation substrates and correlated with measurements in Cyclocybe cylindracea mushrooms; no such correlation was established in Pleurotus ostreatus. Reduction of hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin in substrates during P. ostreatus cultivation was positively correlated with REE concentrations, which also affected the production performance depending on the species examined. In all cases, a negative correlation was established between bioconcentration factors (BCF) in mushrooms and REE content in substrates, while the effect of substrate composition on BCF values varied according to the element studied. The estimated daily intake values of REEs through mushroom consumption was at much lower levels than those reported as potentially harmful for human health. The content of REEs in cultivation substrates and in mushrooms revealed that the bioaccumulation of elements differed in each fungus. The nature/origin of substrates seemed to affect the concentration of REEs in mushrooms to a considerable extent. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Alcohol-to-acid ratio and substrate concentration affect product structure in chain elongation reactions initiated by unacclimatized inoculum.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yuhao; Lü, Fan; Shao, Liming; He, Pinjing

2016-10-01

The objective of the study was to investigate whether the ratio of ethanol to acetate affects yield and product structure in chain elongation initiated by unacclimatized mixed cultures. The effect of varying the substrate concentration, while maintaining the same ratio of alcohol to acid, was also investigated. With a high substrate concentration, an alcohol to acid ratio >2:1 provided sufficient electron donor capacity for the chain elongation reaction. With an ethanol to acetate ratio of 3:1 (300mM total carbon), the highest n-caproate concentration (3033±98mg/L) was achieved during the stable phase of the reaction. A lower substrate concentration (150mM total carbon) gave a lower yield of products and led to reduced carbon transformation efficiency compared with other reaction conditions. The use of unacclimatized inoculum in chain elongation can produce significant amounts of odd-carbon-number carboxylates as a result of protein hydrolysis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Type and amount of organic amendments affect enhanced biogenic methane production from coal and microbial community structure

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Katherine J.; Lu, Shipeng; Barnhart, Elliott P.; Parker, Albert E.; Fields, Matthew W.; Gerlach, Robin

2018-01-01

Slow rates of coal-to-methane conversion limit biogenic methane production from coalbeds. This study demonstrates that rates of coal-to-methane conversion can be increased by the addition of small amounts of organic amendments. Algae, cyanobacteria, yeast cells, and granulated yeast extract were tested at two concentrations (0.1 and 0.5 g/L), and similar increases in total methane produced and methane production rates were observed for all amendments at a given concentration. In 0.1 g/L amended systems, the amount of carbon converted to methane minus the amount produced in coal only systems exceeded the amount of carbon added in the form of amendment, suggesting enhanced coal-to-methane conversion through amendment addition. The amount of methane produced in the 0.5 g/L amended systems did not exceed the amount of carbon added. While the archaeal communities did not vary significantly, the bacterial populations appeared to be strongly influenced by the presence of coal when 0.1 g/L of amendment was added; at an amendment concentration of 0.5 g/L the bacterial community composition appeared to be affected most strongly by the amendment type. Overall, the results suggest that small amounts of amendment are not only sufficient but possibly advantageous if faster in situcoal-to-methane production is to be promoted.

Towards a Managed Aquifer Recharge strategy for Gujarat, India: An economist’s dialogue with hydro-geologists

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, Tushaar

2014-10-01

Gujarat state in Western India exemplifies all challenges of an agrarian economy founded on groundwater overexploitation sustained over decades by perverse energy subsidies. Major consequences are: secular decline in groundwater levels, deterioration of groundwater quality, rising energy cost of pumping, soaring carbon footprint of agriculture and growing financial burden of energy subsidies. In 2009, Government of Gujarat asked the present author, an economist, to chair a Taskforce of senior hydro-geologists and civil engineers to develop and recommend a Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) strategy for the state. This paper summarizes the recommended strategy and its underlying logic. It also describes the imperfect fusion of socio-economic and hydro-geologic perspectives that occurred in course of the working of the Taskforce and highlights the need for trans-disciplinary perspectives on groundwater governance.

Preparing a Nation for the Eclipse of a Generation -

Science.gov (United States)

Speck, Angela; Habbal, Shadia; Tresch Fienberg, Richard; Kentrianakis, Michael; Fraknoi, Andrew; Nordgren, Tyler; Penn, Matthew; Pasachoff, Jay M.; Bakich, Michael; Winter, Henry; Gay, Pamela; Motta, Mario

2018-01-01

On August 21st 2017, there was a total solar eclipse visible from a vast swath of the US.In preparation for that event, the American Astronomical society created a taskforce charged with planning for the eclipse for the entire nation. The preparations included interfacing with the public, the media, non-profit organizations and governmental organizations. Preliminary data suggests that nearly 90% of American adults watched the eclipse either directly or via live streams. Moreover, there were no major problems associated with the event, in spite of valiant attempts from, e.g. imprope solar viewing materials. The eclipse offered opportunities for many scientific experiments within and ebyond astronomy. Here we present on the work of the taskforce, and the lessons learned as well as lesser known science experiments undertaken during the eclipse.

8 ways to cut health care costs

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... care include strep throat, bladder infection, or a dog bite. You will save both time and money ... health services. www.healthcare.gov/coverage/preventive-care-benefits . Accessed October 18, 2016. U.S. Preventive Services Taskforce ...

The acyl-CoA binding protein affects Monascus pigment production in Monascus ruber CICC41233.

Science.gov (United States)

Long, Chuannan; Liu, Mengmeng; Chen, Xia; Wang, Xiaofang; Ai, Mingqiang; Cui, Jingjing; Zeng, Bin

2018-02-01

The present study verified whether acyl-coenzyme A (acyl-CoA)-binding protein (ACBP) affected the production of Monascus pigments (MPs) in Monascus ruber CICC41233 (MrACBP). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the cloned Mracbp gene, which encoded the MrACBP protein, exhibited the closest match (99% confidence level) to the gene from Penicilliopsis zonata . The MrACBP and maltose-binding protein (MBP) were simultaneously expressed in Escherichia coli Rosetta DE3 in the form of a fusion protein. The microscale thermophoresis binding assay revealed that the purified MBP-MrACBP exhibited a higher affinity for myristoyl-CoA (Kd = 88.16 nM) than for palmitoyl-CoA (Kd = 136.07 nM) and octanoyl-CoA (Kd = 270.9 nM). Further, the Mracbp gene was homologously overexpressed in M. ruber CICC41233, and a positive transformant M. ruber ACBP5 was isolated. The fatty acid myristic acid in M. ruber ACBP5 was lower than that in the parent strain M. ruber CICC41233. However, when compared with the parent strain, the production of total MPs, water-soluble pigment, and ethanol-soluble pigment in M. ruber ACBP5 increased by 11.67, 9.80, and 12.70%, respectively, after 6 days. The relative gene expression level, as determined by a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis, of the key genes acbp , pks , mppr1 , fasA , and fasB increased by 4.03-, 3.58-, 1.67-, 2.11-, and 2.62-fold after 6 days. These data demonstrate the binding preference of MrACBP for myristoyl-CoA, and its influence on MPs production.

Chloride stress triggers maturation and negatively affects the postharvest quality of persimmon fruit. Involvement of calyx ethylene production.

Science.gov (United States)

Besada, Cristina; Gil, Rebeca; Bonet, Luis; Quiñones, Ana; Intrigliolo, Diego; Salvador, Alejandra

2016-03-01

In recent years many hectares planted with persimmon trees in E Spain have been diagnosed with chloride toxicity. An effect of this abiotic stress on fruit quality has been reported in different crops. However, the impact of chloride stress on persimmon fruit quality is unknown. The harvest and postharvest quality of persimmons harvested from trees that manifest different intensities of chloride toxicity foliar symptoms was evaluated herein. Our results revealed that fruits from trees under chloride stress conditions underwent chloride accumulation in the calyx, which was more marked the greater the salt stress intensity trees were exposed to. Increased chloride concentrations in the calyx stimulated ethylene production in this tissue. In the fruits affected by slight and moderate chloride stress, calyx ethylene production accelerated the maturity process, as reflected by increased fruit colour and diminished fruit firmness. In the fruits under severe chloride stress, the high ethylene levels in the calyx triggered autocatalytic ethylene production in other fruit tissues, which led fruit maturity to drastically advance. In these fruits effectiveness of CO2 deastringency treatment was not complete and fruit softening enhanced during the postharvest period. Moreover, chloride stress conditions had a marked effect on reducing fruit weight, even in slightly stressed trees. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Chemical factors affecting fission product transport in severe LMFBR accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wichner, R.P.; Jolley, R.L.; Gat, U.; Rodgers, B.R.

1984-10-01

This study was performed as a part of a larger evaluation effort on LMFBR accident, source-term estimation. Purpose was to provide basic chemical information regarding fission product, sodium coolant, and structural material interactions required to perform estimation of fission product transport under LMFBR accident conditions. Emphasis was placed on conditions within the reactor vessel; containment vessel conditions are discussed only briefly

Willapa Bay, Washington Benthic Habitats 1995 Biotic

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — In June 1995, the Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce (CREST) acquired 295 true color aerial photographs (1:12,000) of Willapa Bay, Washington, from the State of...

Willapa Bay, Washington Benthic Habitats 1995 Geoform

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — In June 1995, the Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce (CREST) acquired 295 true color aerial photographs (1:12,000) of Willapa Bay, Washington, from the State of...

Willapa Bay, Washington Benthic Habitats 1995 Substrate

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — In June 1995, the Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce (CREST) acquired 295 true color aerial photographs (1:12,000) of Willapa Bay, Washington, from the State of...

Analysis of efficiency and factors affecting the production of cabbage farming (Brassica oleracea L. in Belung village, Poncokusumo, Malang, Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G.M. Ningsih

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research was to analyze the efficiency and the factors that affect the production of cabbage farm in the village of Belung, Poncokusumo, Malang, Indonesia. Samples taken by census the number of respondents 36 farmers. The analysis used is descriptive qualitative and quantitative. Quantitative analysis include analysis of costs, revenues, income, efficiency and Cobb-Douglas. Based on the analysis, known that farmer acceptance is Rp. 43,767,361 and generated revenues of Rp. 30,124,372/ ha. Result relevaled that the Cabbage farm in the village of Belung, Poncokusumo, Malang was highly efficient and profitable with an efficiency of 3.2. Factors that effect significantly on cabbage farming production are labors, lands, pesticides and seeds. Input combinations are already efficient and optimal pesticides and seeds.

Does Osmotic Stress Affect Natural Product Expression in Fungi?

Science.gov (United States)

Overy, David; Correa, Hebelin; Roullier, Catherine; Chi, Wei-Chiung; Pang, Ka-Lai; Rateb, Mostafa; Ebel, Rainer; Shang, Zhuo; Capon, Rob; Bills, Gerald; Kerr, Russell

2017-08-13

The discovery of new natural products from fungi isolated from the marine environment has increased dramatically over the last few decades, leading to the identification of over 1000 new metabolites. However, most of the reported marine-derived species appear to be terrestrial in origin yet at the same time, facultatively halo- or osmotolerant. An unanswered question regarding the apparent chemical productivity of marine-derived fungi is whether the common practice of fermenting strains in seawater contributes to enhanced secondary metabolism? To answer this question, a terrestrial isolate of Aspergillus aculeatus was fermented in osmotic and saline stress conditions in parallel across multiple sites. The ex-type strain of A. aculeatus was obtained from three different culture collections. Site-to-site variations in metabolite expression were observed, suggesting that subculturing of the same strain and subtle variations in experimental protocols can have pronounced effects upon metabolite expression. Replicated experiments at individual sites indicated that secondary metabolite production was divergent between osmotic and saline treatments. Titers of some metabolites increased or decreased in response to increasing osmolite (salt or glycerol) concentrations. Furthermore, in some cases, the expression of some secondary metabolites in relation to osmotic and saline stress was attributed to specific sources of the ex-type strains.

Cowpea production as affected by dry spells in no-tillage and conventional crop systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rômulo Magno Oliveira de Freitas

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different periods of water shortage in no-tillage and conventional crop systems on cowpea yield components and grain yield in the Mossoró-RN region. For this, an experiment was conducted using two tillage systems (conventional and no-tillage subjected to periods of irrigation suspension (2; 6; 10; 14; 18 end 22 days, started at flowering (34 days after sowing. Plants were harvested 70 days after sowing, and the studied variables were: Pods length (CV, number of grains per pod (NGV, number of pods per plant (NPP, the hundred grains weight (PCG and grain yield (kg ha-1. The no-tillage system is more productive than the conventional under both irrigation and water stress treatments. The water stress length affected grain yield and all yield components studied in a negative way, except for the hundred grains weight. Among the systems studied, the no-tillage provides higher values for the yield components, except the hundred grains weight.

Indian women, health, and productivity

OpenAIRE

Chatterjee, Meera

1990-01-01

The relationship between women's health and their (physical and economic) productivity is complex and multi-dimensional. It is characterized by"flows"in both directions and a host of intervening factors. Two simple statements summarize the major directional flows: (a) women's health affects their productivity; and (b) productivity affects women's health. In the latter case, women's own productivity, that of their households, and even that of larger units such as the local, regional or nationa...

Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse - Multiple Languages

Science.gov (United States)

... PDF Strong Family Relationships Can Prevent Alcohol and Drug Use Among Teens - دری (Dari) MP3 Karen Chemical Dependency Taskforce of Minnesota What Is Addiction? - English PDF What Is Addiction? - دری (Dari) PDF ...

Health Information in Dari (دری)

Science.gov (United States)

... PDF Strong Family Relationships Can Prevent Alcohol and Drug Use Among Teens - دری (Dari) MP3 Karen Chemical Dependency Taskforce of Minnesota What Is Addiction? - English PDF What Is Addiction? - دری (Dari) PDF ...

Identifying variables that influence manufacturing product quality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marek Krynke

2014-10-01

Full Text Available In the article a risk analysis of the production process of selected products in a plant producing votive candles was conducted. The Pareto-Lorenz diagram and FMEA method were used which indicated the most important areas affecting the production of selected elements of candles. The synthesis of intangible factors affecting production in the audited company was also carried out with particular emphasis on the operation of the production system. The factors determining the validity of studies was examined, describing the principle of BOST 14 Toyota management. The most important areas of the company were identified, positively affecting the production process.

Factors Affecting the Growth and Production of Milk-Clotting Enzyme by Amylomyces rouxii in Rice Liquid Medium

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pei-Jing Yu

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Amylomyces rouxii is one of the main fungi usually coexisting with yeasts in Chinese yeast ball, the starter of chiu-niang, a traditional Chinese fermented product from rice. In the present study, growth and production of milk-clotting enzyme (MCE in gelatinous rice liquid culture of A. rouxii as influenced by waxy (gelatinous rice content in the medium (5–20 %, temperature (25–40 °C, cultivation time (1–6 days, shaking speeds (0–150 rpm and metal ions (Na+, K+, Zn2+, Mg2+, Mn2+, Cu2+, Ca2+, Fe3+ and Al3+ were investigated. Results revealed that rice content in the medium, shaking speed, temperature and cultivation time all affected the mycelial propagation and the production of milk-clotting enzyme by A. rouxii in the rice liquid culture. The maximum milk-clotting enzyme activity of ca. 1.22 unit/mL of medium was observed in the 3-day static culture of test organism grown at 30 °C in the medium containing 20 % of gelatinous rice, while mycelial propagation increased with the increase of cultivation time and shaking speed. Furthermore, a significant increase (p<0.05 in the milk-clotting enzyme activity of ca. 1.90 unit/mL of medium, which was about 1.55-fold of the control, was observed when Al3+ was added to the rice liquid medium.

How lingering representations of abandoned context words affect speech production.

Science.gov (United States)

Tydgat, Ilse; Diependaele, Kevin; Hartsuiker, Robert J; Pickering, Martin J

2012-07-01

Four experiments tested whether and how initially planned but then abandoned speech can influence the production of a subsequent resumption. Participants named initial pictures, which were sometimes suddenly replaced by target pictures that were related in meaning or word form or were unrelated. They then had to stop and resume with the name of the target picture. Target picture naming latencies were measured separately for trials in which the initial speech was skipped, interrupted, or completed. Semantically related initial pictures helped the production of the target word, although the effect dissipated once the utterance of the initial picture name had been completed. In contrast, phonologically related initial pictures hindered the production of the target word, but only for trials in which the name of the initial picture had at least partly been uttered. This semantic facilitation and phonological interference did not depend on the time interval between the initial and target picture, which was either varied between 200 ms and 400 ms (Experiments 1-2) or was kept constant at 300 ms (Experiments 3-4). We discuss the implications of these results for models of speech self-monitoring and for models of problem-free word production. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Flow, affect and visual creativity.

Science.gov (United States)

Cseh, Genevieve M; Phillips, Louise H; Pearson, David G

2015-01-01

Flow (being in the zone) is purported to have positive consequences in terms of affect and performance; however, there is no empirical evidence about these links in visual creativity. Positive affect often--but inconsistently--facilitates creativity, and both may be linked to experiencing flow. This study aimed to determine relationships between these variables within visual creativity. Participants performed the creative mental synthesis task to simulate the creative process. Affect change (pre- vs. post-task) and flow were measured via questionnaires. The creativity of synthesis drawings was rated objectively and subjectively by judges. Findings empirically demonstrate that flow is related to affect improvement during visual creativity. Affect change was linked to productivity and self-rated creativity, but no other objective or subjective performance measures. Flow was unrelated to all external performance measures but was highly correlated with self-rated creativity; flow may therefore motivate perseverance towards eventual excellence rather than provide direct cognitive enhancement.

Optimization of factors affecting the production of biodiesel from crude palm kernel oil and ethanol

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kuwornoo, David. K. [Faculty of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Private Mail Bag, Kumasi (Ghana); Ahiekpor, Julius C. [Chemical Engineering Department, Kumasi Polytechnic, P.O. Box 854, Kumasi (Ghana)

2010-07-01

Biodiesel, an alternative diesel fuel made from renewable sources such as vegetable oils and animal fats, has been identified by government to play a key role in the socio-economic development of Ghana. The utilization of biodiesel is expected to be about 10% of the total liquid fuel mix of the country by the year 2020. Despite this great potential and the numerous sources from which biodiesel could be developed in Ghana, studies on the sources of biodiesel and their properties as a substitute for fossil diesel have tended to be limited to Jatropha oil. This paper, however, reports the parameters that influences the production of biodiesel from palm kernel oil, one of the vegetable oils obtained from oil palm which is the highest vegetable oil source in Ghana. The parameters studied are; mass ratio of ethanol to oil, reaction temperature, catalyst concentration, and reaction time using completely randomized 24 factorial design. Results indicated that ethanol to oil mass ratio, catalyst concentration and reaction time were the most important factors affecting the ethyl ester yield. There was also an interaction effect between catalyst and time and ethanol- oil ratio and time on the yield. Accordingly, the optimal conditions for the production of ethyl esters from crude palm kernel oil were determined as; 1:5 mass ratio of ethanol to oil, 1% catalyst concentration by weight of oil, 90 minutes reaction time at a temperature of 30 deg C.

How does whole ecosystem warming of a peatland affect methane production and consumption?

Science.gov (United States)

Hopple, A.; Brunik, K.; Keller, J.; Pfeifer-Meister, L.; Woerndle, G.; Zalman, C.; Hanson, P.; Bridgham, S. D.

2017-12-01

Peatlands are among Earth's most important terrestrial ecosystems due to their massive soil carbon (C) stores and significant release of methane (CH4) into the atmosphere. Methane has a sustained-flux global warming potential 45-times greater than carbon dioxide (CO2), and the accuracy of Earth system model projections relies on our mechanistic understanding of peatland CH4 cycling in the context of environmental change. The objective of this study was to determine, under in situ conditions, how heating of the peat profile affects ecosystem-level anaerobic C cycling. We assessed the response of CO2 and CH4 production, as well as the anaerobic oxidation of CH4 (AOM), in a boreal peatland following 13 months of deep peat heating (DPH) and 16 months of subsequent whole-ecosystem warming (surface and deep heating; WEW) as part of the Spruce and Peatland Responses Under Changing Environments (SPRUCE) project in northern Minnesota, USA. The study uses a regression-based experimental design including 5 temperature treatments that warmed the entire 2 m peat profile from 0 to +9 °C above ambient temperature. Soil cores were collected at multiple depths (25-200 cm) from each experimental chamber at the SPRUCE site and anaerobically incubated at in situ temperatures for 1-2 weeks. Methane and CO2 production in surface peat were positively correlated with elevated temperature, but no consistent temperature response was found at depth (75-200 cm) following DPH. However, during WEW, we observed significant increases in both surface and deep peat methanogenesis with increasing temperature. Surface peat had greater CH4 production rates than deeper peat, implying that the increased CH4 emissions observed in the field were largely driven by surface peat warming. The CO2:CH4 ratio was inversely correlated with temperature across all depths following 16 months of WEW, indicating that the entire peat profile is becoming more methanogenic with warming. We also observed AOM throughout

ZIKA Virus and Neuroscience: the Need for a Translational Collaboration.

Science.gov (United States)

Schuler-Faccini, Lavínia; Roehe, Paulo; Zimmer, Eduardo R; Quincozes-Santos, André; de Assis, Adriano M; Lima, Elizabeth Obino Cirne; Guimarães, Jorge Almeida; Victora, Cesar; Neto, Vivaldo Moura; Souza, Diogo O

2018-02-01

Zika virus (ZIKV) has become a major challenge for scientists and health agencies. ZIKV's involvement with human fetal microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome and its transmission through Aedes africanus and Aedes aegypti mosquitos highlighted the epidemiological and neurological risks associated to ZIKV infection. In 2013, ZIKV arrives in Brazil but the first outbreak in the country was reported in 2015. Here, we used the Web of Science as a search tool for comparing the evolution of world and Brazilian scientific research on dengue virus (DENV)-also present in mosquito-, ZIKV and microcephaly. The association between ZIKV and microcephaly was only evidenced in 2015. Interestingly, Brazil and the USA are the responsible for most of these reports. Furthermore, the level of double-counted articles indicates a high degree of international collaborative effort in studying ZIKV and microcephaly. The ZIKV research clearly requires multidisciplinary expertise including epidemiologic, clinical, virological, and neurochemical backgrounds. This letter intends to emphasize the need of multidisciplinary studies and put forward some as yet unanswered questions in attempting to contribute to the understanding of this multifaceted health problem. In line with this, we recently constituted a collaborative and multidisciplinary taskforce encompassing eight Brazilian scientific institutions of excellence, The ZIKV translational research taskforce. This taskforce comprises a vast international network of collaborators and welcomes additional collaborators. We intend to advance fast in terms of mechanisms, which can potentially contribute to treat or halt ZIKV spreading around the world.

An architecture for a virtual electronic health record

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Linden, H.; Talmon, J.; Tange, H.; Boers, G.; Hasman, A.

2002-01-01

The Healthcare Domain Taskforce of the Object Management Group has specified standards for secure access and retrieval of demographic and medical data. This paper discusses the strengths and weaknesses of an electronic healthcare record that implements these specifications

Exposure to Poverty and Productivity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patricio S Dalton

Full Text Available We study whether exposure to poverty can induce affective states that decrease productivity. In a controlled laboratory setting, we find that subjects randomly assigned to a treatment, in which they view a video featuring individuals that live in extreme poverty, exhibit lower subsequent productivity compared to subjects assigned to a control treatment. Questionnaire responses, as well as facial recognition software, provide quantitative measures of the affective state evoked by the two treatments. Subjects exposed to images of poverty experience a more negative affective state than those in the control treatment. Further analysis shows that individuals in a more positive emotional state exhibit less of a treatment effect. Also, those who exhibit greater attentiveness upon viewing the poverty video are less productive. The results are consistent with the notion that exposure to poverty can induce a psychological state in individuals that adversely affects productivity.

Exposure to Poverty and Productivity

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

We study whether exposure to poverty can induce affective states that decrease productivity. In a controlled laboratory setting, we find that subjects randomly assigned to a treatment, in which they view a video featuring individuals that live in extreme poverty, exhibit lower subsequent productivity compared to subjects assigned to a control treatment. Questionnaire responses, as well as facial recognition software, provide quantitative measures of the affective state evoked by the two treatments. Subjects exposed to images of poverty experience a more negative affective state than those in the control treatment. Further analysis shows that individuals in a more positive emotional state exhibit less of a treatment effect. Also, those who exhibit greater attentiveness upon viewing the poverty video are less productive. The results are consistent with the notion that exposure to poverty can induce a psychological state in individuals that adversely affects productivity. PMID:28125621

Calculator for the correction of the experimental specific migration for comparison with the legislative limit

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Jens Højslev; Hoekstra, Eddo J.

The EURL-NRL-FCM Taskforce on the Fourth Amendment of the Plastic Directive 2002/72/EC developed a calculator for the correction of the test results for comparison with the specific migration limit (SML). The calculator calculates the maximum acceptable specific migration under the given experime......The EURL-NRL-FCM Taskforce on the Fourth Amendment of the Plastic Directive 2002/72/EC developed a calculator for the correction of the test results for comparison with the specific migration limit (SML). The calculator calculates the maximum acceptable specific migration under the given...... experimental conditions in food or food stimulant and indicates whether the test result is in compliance with the legislation. This calculator includes the Fat Reduction Factor, the simulant D Reduction Factor and the factor of the difference in surface-to-volume ratio between test and real food contact....

Factors affecting the number and type of student research products for chemistry and physics students at primarily undergraduate institutions: A case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Mellis, Birgit; Soto, Patricia; Bruce, Chrystal D; Lacueva, Graciela; Wilson, Anne M; Jayasekare, Rasitha

2018-01-01

For undergraduate students, involvement in authentic research represents scholarship that is consistent with disciplinary quality standards and provides an integrative learning experience. In conjunction with performing research, the communication of the results via presentations or publications is a measure of the level of scientific engagement. The empirical study presented here uses generalized linear mixed models with hierarchical bootstrapping to examine the factors that impact the means of dissemination of undergraduate research results. Focusing on the research experiences in physics and chemistry of undergraduates at four Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs) from 2004-2013, statistical analysis indicates that the gender of the student does not impact the number and type of research products. However, in chemistry, the rank of the faculty advisor and the venue of the presentation do impact the number of research products by undergraduate student, whereas in physics, gender match between student and advisor has an effect on the number of undergraduate research products. This study provides a baseline for future studies of discipline-based bibliometrics and factors that affect the number of research products of undergraduate students.

Factors affecting the number and type of student research products for chemistry and physics students at primarily undergraduate institutions: A case study

Science.gov (United States)

Soto, Patricia; Bruce, Chrystal D.; Lacueva, Graciela; Wilson, Anne M.; Jayasekare, Rasitha

2018-01-01

For undergraduate students, involvement in authentic research represents scholarship that is consistent with disciplinary quality standards and provides an integrative learning experience. In conjunction with performing research, the communication of the results via presentations or publications is a measure of the level of scientific engagement. The empirical study presented here uses generalized linear mixed models with hierarchical bootstrapping to examine the factors that impact the means of dissemination of undergraduate research results. Focusing on the research experiences in physics and chemistry of undergraduates at four Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs) from 2004–2013, statistical analysis indicates that the gender of the student does not impact the number and type of research products. However, in chemistry, the rank of the faculty advisor and the venue of the presentation do impact the number of research products by undergraduate student, whereas in physics, gender match between student and advisor has an effect on the number of undergraduate research products. This study provides a baseline for future studies of discipline-based bibliometrics and factors that affect the number of research products of undergraduate students. PMID:29698502

Affective Maps

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Salovaara-Moring, Inka

. In particular, mapping environmental damage, endangered species, and human made disasters has become one of the focal point of affective knowledge production. These ‘more-than-humangeographies’ practices include notions of species, space and territory, and movement towards a new political ecology. This type...... of digital cartographies has been highlighted as the ‘processual turn’ in critical cartography, whereas in related computational journalism it can be seen as an interactive and iterative process of mapping complex and fragile ecological developments. This paper looks at computer-assisted cartography as part...

How body mass and lifestyle affect juvenile biomass production in placental mammals.

Science.gov (United States)

Sibly, Richard M; Grady, John M; Venditti, Chris; Brown, James H

2014-02-22

In mammals, the mass-specific rate of biomass production during gestation and lactation, here called maternal productivity, has been shown to vary with body size and lifestyle. Metabolic theory predicts that post-weaning growth of offspring, here termed juvenile productivity, should be higher than maternal productivity, and juveniles of smaller species should be more productive than those of larger species. Furthermore because juveniles generally have similar lifestyles to their mothers, across species juvenile and maternal productivities should be correlated. We evaluated these predictions with data from 270 species of placental mammals in 14 taxonomic/lifestyle groups. All three predictions were supported. Lagomorphs, perissodactyls and artiodactyls were very productive both as juveniles and as mothers as expected from the abundance and reliability of their foods. Primates and bats were unproductive as juveniles and as mothers, as expected as an indirect consequence of their low predation risk and consequent low mortality. Our results point the way to a mechanistic explanation for the suite of correlated life-history traits that has been called the slow-fast continuum.

40 CFR 60.560 - Applicability and designation of affected facilities.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... recovery section, each product finishing section, and each product storage section. These process sections...) manufacturing processes. (i) Affected facilities with a design capacity to produce less than 1,000 Mg/yr (1,102... Threshold Emission Rates a Production process Process section Uncontrolled emission rate, kg TOC/Mg product...

The level of fertilizer use in sunflower production and the factors affecting the level of fertilizer use. A case study of Tokat province - Turkey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kizilaslan, H.; Akca, H.

1999-01-01

In this study, the factors affecting the amount of fertilizer used in sunflower production have been investigated. Average sunflower production area was determined as 21.91 da and sunflower was grown in irrigated conditions. Average plant nutrients was 20.92 kg N/da, 14.33 kg P 2 O 5 /da, and 2.22 kg K 2 O/da. As a result of the study, it has been determined that farmers used excess fertilizer in sunflower production. In addition, in the use of plant nutrients, the factors such as farm size, sources of fertilizer, irrigation possibilities, credit use situation, and the quality of land were statistically significant contrary to the factors such as land usage situation, educational level of farmers and deciding on fertilization. Refs. 6 (author)

EULAR definition of arthralgia suspicious for progression to rheumatoid arthritis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

van Steenbergen, Hanna W; Aletaha, Daniel; Beaart-van de Voorde, Liesbeth J J

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: During the transition to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) many patients pass through a phase characterised by the presence of symptoms without clinically apparent synovitis. These symptoms are not well-characterised. This taskforce aimed to define the clinical characteristics of patients wit...

EULAR definition of arthralgia suspicious for progression to rheumatoid arthritis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Steenbergen, Hanna W; Aletaha, Daniel; Beaart-van de Voorde, Liesbeth J J; Brouwer, Elisabeth; Codreanu, Catalin; Combe, Bernard; Fonseca, João E; Hetland, Merete L; Humby, Frances; Kvien, Tore K; Niedermann, Karin; Nuño, Laura; Oliver, Sue; Rantapää-Dahlqvist, Solbritt; Raza, Karim; van Schaardenburg, Dirkjan; Schett, Georg; De Smet, Liesbeth; Szücs, Gabriella; Vencovský, Jirí; Wiland, Piotr; de Wit, Maarten; Landewé, Robert L; van der Helm-van Mil, Annette H M

BACKGROUND: During the transition to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) many patients pass through a phase characterised by the presence of symptoms without clinically apparent synovitis. These symptoms are not well-characterised. This taskforce aimed to define the clinical characteristics of patients with

Feeding nitrate and docosahexaenoic acid affects enteric methane production and milk fatty acid composition in lactating dairy cows.

Science.gov (United States)

Klop, G; Hatew, B; Bannink, A; Dijkstra, J

2016-02-01

An experiment was conducted to study potential interaction between the effects of feeding nitrate and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; C22:6 n-3) on enteric CH4 production and performance of lactating dairy cows. Twenty-eight lactating Holstein dairy cows were grouped into 7 blocks of 4 cows. Within blocks, cows were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatments: control (CON; urea as alternative nonprotein N source to nitrate), NO3 [21 g of nitrate/kg of dry matter (DM)], DHA (3 g of DHA/kg of DM and urea as alternative nonprotein N source to nitrate), or NO3 + DHA (21 g of nitrate/kg of DM and 3 g of DHA/kg of DM, respectively). Cows were fed a total mixed ration consisting of 21% grass silage, 49% corn silage, and 30% concentrates on a DM basis. Feed additives were included in the concentrates. Cows assigned to a treatment including nitrate were gradually adapted to the treatment dose of nitrate over a period of 21 d during which no DHA was fed. The experimental period lasted 17 d, and CH4 production was measured during the last 5d in climate respiration chambers. Cows produced on average 363, 263, 369, and 298 g of CH4/d on CON, NO3, DHA, and NO3 + DHA treatments, respectively, and a tendency for a nitrate × DHA interaction effect was found where the CH4-mitigating effect of nitrate decreased when combined with DHA. This tendency was not obtained for CH4 production relative to dry matter intake (DMI) or to fat- and protein corrected milk (FPCM). The NO3 treatment decreased CH4 production irrespective of the unit in which it was expressed, whereas DHA did not affect CH4 production per kilogram of DMI, but resulted in a higher CH4 production per kilogram of fat- and protein-corrected milk (FPCM) production. The FPCM production (27.9, 24.7, 24.2, and 23. 8 kg/d for CON, NO3, DHA, and NO3 + DHA, respectively) was lower for DHA-fed cows because of decreased milk fat concentration. The proportion of saturated fatty acids in milk fat was decreased by DHA, and the proportion of

How polyamine synthesis inhibitors and cinnamic acid affect tropane alkaloid production.

Science.gov (United States)

Marconi, Patricia L; Alvarez, María A; Pitta-Alvarez, Sandra I

2007-01-01

Hairy roots of Brugmansia candida produce the tropane alkaloids scopolamine and hyoscyamine. In an attempt to divert the carbon flux from competing pathways and thus enhance productivity, the polyamine biosynthesis inhibitors cyclohexylamine (CHA) and methylglyoxal-bis-guanylhydrazone (MGBG) and the phenylalanine-ammonia-lyase inhibitor cinnamic acid were used. CHA decreased the specific productivity of both alkaloids but increased significantly the release of scopolamine (approx 500%) when it was added in the mid-exponential phase. However, when CHA was added for only 48 h during the exponential phase, the specific productivity of both alkaloids increased (approx 200%), favoring scopolamine. Treatment with MGBG was detrimental to growth but promoted release into the medium of both alkaloids. However, when it was added for 48 h during the exponential phase, MGBG increased the specific productivity (approx 200%) and release (250- 1800%) of both alkaloids. Cinnamic acid alone also favored release but not specific productivity. When a combination of CHA or MGBG with cinnamic acid was used, the results obtained were approximately the same as with each polyamine biosynthesis inhibitor alone, although to a lesser extent. Regarding root morphology, CHA inhibited growth of primary roots and ramification. However, it had a positive effect on elongation of lateral roots.

How does increased corn-ethanol production affect US natural gas prices?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Whistance, Jarrett; Thompson, Wyatt

2010-01-01

In recent years, there has been a push to increase biofuel production in the United States. The biofuel of choice, so far, has been ethanol produced from corn. The effects of increased corn-ethanol production on the consumer prices of food and energy continue to be studied and debated. This study examines, in particular, the effects of increased corn-ethanol production on US natural gas prices. A structural model of the natural gas market is developed and estimated using two stage least squares. A baseline projection for the period 2007-2018 is determined, and two scenarios are simulated. In the first scenario, current biofuel policies including EISA mandates, tariffs, and tax credits are removed. In the second scenario, we hold ethanol production to the level required only for largely obligatory additive use. The results indicate that the increased level of corn-ethanol production occurring as a result of the current US biofuel policies may lead to natural gas prices that are as much as 0.25% higher, on average, than if no biofuel policies were in place. A similar comparison between the baseline and second scenario indicates natural gas prices could be as much as 0.5% higher, on average, for the same period.

Factors affecting water balance and percolate production for a landfill in operation.

Science.gov (United States)

Poulsen, Tjalfe G; Møoldrup, Per

2005-02-01

Percolate production and precipitation data for a full-scale landfill in operation measured over a 13-year period were used to evaluate the impact and importance of the hydrological conditions of landfill sections on the percolate production rates. Both active (open) and closed landfill sections were included in the evaluation. A simple top cover model requiring a minimum of input data was used to simulate the percolate production as a function of precipitation and landfill section hydrology. The results showed that changes over time in the hydrology of individual landfill sections (such as section closure or plantation of trees on top of closed sections) can change total landfill percolate production by more than 100%; thus, percolate production at an active landfill can be very different from percolate production at the same landfill after closure. Furthermore, plantation of willow on top of closed sections can increase the evapotranspiration rate thereby reducing percolate production rates by up to 47% compared to a grass cover. This process, however, depends upon the availability of water in the top layer, and so the evaporation rate will be less than optimal during the summer where soil-water contents in the top cover are low.

Emotion Eliciting in Affective Design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lai, Yoke Chin

2014-01-01

A successful product needs the designer’s conceptual model congruent with the user’s mental model. The fundamental affective design principle also applies to assistive product design. Eliciting effectively the user’s mental model has been a big challenge for most novice designers. This paper outl...... with 3D digital prototype as emotion stimulus. To form a closed loop reflective model, the emotion response from the user is assessed with an emotion assessment tool. Emotion ontology is established to form the backbone of the emotion assessment tool....

TNFα altered inflammatory responses, impaired health and productivity, but did not affect glucose or lipid metabolism in early-lactation dairy cows.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kai Yuan

Full Text Available Inflammation may be a major contributing factor to peripartum metabolic disorders in dairy cattle. We tested whether administering an inflammatory cytokine, recombinant bovine tumor necrosis factor-α (rbTNFα, affects milk production, metabolism, and health during this period. Thirty-three Holstein cows (9 primiparous and 24 multiparous were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 treatments at parturition. Treatments were 0 (Control, 1.5, or 3.0 µg/kg body weight rbTNFα, which were administered once daily by subcutaneous injection for the first 7 days of lactation. Statistical contrasts were used to evaluate the treatment and dose effects of rbTNFα administration. Plasma TNFα concentrations at 16 h post-administration tended to be increased (P0.10 was detected; rbTNFα treatments increased (P0.10 by rbTNFα administration, but 6 out of 16 measured eicosanoids changed (P0.10 by rbTNFα treatment. Glucose turnover rate was unaffected (P=0.18 by rbTNFα administration. The higher dose of rbTNFα tended to increase the risk of cows developing one or more health disorders (P=0.08. Taken together, these results indicate that administration of rbTNFα daily for the first 7 days of lactation altered inflammatory responses, impaired milk production and health, but did not significantly affect liver triglyceride accumulation or nutrient metabolism in dairy cows.

How Does Poly(hydroxyalkanoate) Affect Methane Production from the Anaerobic Digestion of Waste-Activated Sludge?

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Dongbo; Zhao, Jianwei; Zeng, Guangming; Chen, Yinguang; Bond, Philip L; Li, Xiaoming

2015-10-20

Recent studies demonstrate that, besides being used for production of biodegradable plastics, poly(hydroxyalkanoate) (PHA) that is accumulated in heterotrophic microorganisms during wastewater treatment has another novel application direction, i.e., being utilized for enhancing methane yield during the anaerobic digestion of waste-activated sludge (WAS). To date, however, the underlying mechanism of how PHA affects methane production remains largely unknown, and this limits optimization and application of the strategy. This study therefore aims to fill this knowledge gap. Experimental results showed that with the increase of sludge PHA levels from 21 to 184 mg/g of volatile suspended solids (VSS) the methane yield linearly increased from 168.0 to 246.1 mL/g of VSS (R(2) = 0.9834). Compared with protein and carbohydrate (the main components of a cell), PHA exhibited a higher biochemical methane potential on a unit VSS basis. It was also found that the increased PHA not only enhanced cell disruption of PHA cells but also benefited the soluble protein conversion of both PHA- and non-PHA cells. Moreover, the reactor fed with higher PHA sludge showed greater sludge hydrolysis and acidification than those fed with the lower PHA sludges. Further investigations using fluorescence in situ hybridization and enzyme analysis revealed that the increased PHA enhanced the abundance of methanogenic Archaea and increased the activities of protease, acetate kinase, and coenzyme F420, which were consistent with the observed methane yield. This work provides insights into PHA-involved WAS digestion systems and may have important implications for future operation of wastewater treatment plants.

Properties of raw materials and intermediate products in the production of uranium dioxide sintered tablets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Landspersky, H.; Vanecek, I.; Podest, M.

1977-01-01

The properties are described of ammonium polyuranate and of powder uranium dioxide. Ammonium polyuranate, an intermediate product, is prepared by filtering the precipitate from uranyl nitrate solution precipitation, this either by an ammonia aqueous solution from a uranyl nitrate aqueous solution or by direct U 6+ precipitation from a TBP kerosene solution by aqueous concentrated ammonia. With relation to further processing, the major properties of the intermediate product include grain size, shape and appearance of crystallites, structure and thermal decomposition. These properties affect the properties of UO 2 , the following intermediate product obtained by reduction of ammonium polyuranate. Powder UO 2 is the final intermediate product; high-compacted UO 2 pellets are manufactured from it by compacting and sintering. The final product properties are affected by the following parameters: specific surface, grain size and shape, U/O ratio and compactibility. The effect of and the techniques of determining these parameters are shown. The necessity is emphasised of studying the properties of powder ammonium polyuranate because changes in its production technology affect the properties of further products. (J.P.)

An inventory of factors that affect polysaccharide production by Phaeocystis globosa

Science.gov (United States)

van Rijssel, M.; Janse, I.; Noordkamp, D. J. B.; Gieskes, W. W. C.

2000-08-01

Phaeocystis material contains polysaccharides that are built from at least eight different monosaccharides. Differences have been reported between the carbohydrate composition of different Phaeocystis species, and also between samples taken from Phaeocystis globosa blooms in different areas. In order to elucidate factors that could play a role in determining variation in carbohydrate composition and production, a number of Phaeocystis globosa strains were studied under laboratory conditions. Although there was a clear distinction of a northern and a southern cluster in the Phaeocystis globosa strains based on RAPD analysis, the differences in the composition of the mucopolysaccharides were relatively small. The contribution of glucose, however, ranged from 7-85% of total sugars. A strain that was cultured in seawaters of diverse origin produced polysaccharides of a different composition, suggesting the effect of environmental factors. The presence of bacteria affected neither the amount, nor the composition of the carbohydrates that were produced by Phaeocystis globosa. Glucose is part of both the intracellular polysaccharide pool and of the mucopolysaccharides in the colony matrix. Using specific digestion of the intracellular chrysolaminaran by laminarinase, the distribution of polysaccharides over different pools could be assessed. During growth of an axenic, mucus-producing strain, the portion of glucose present as chrysolaminaran appeared to increase. The polyglucose that was not digested by laminarinase remains unidentified. This study shows that environmental factors rather than strain differences determine differences in the sugar composition of Phaeocystis globosa, especially with respect to the glucose content of the material. A difference in the contribution of glucose could be correlated to the portion of cells in the culture that are not in the colonies. Our study emphasises that for studying polysaccharide dynamics in Phaeocystis globosa it is

Dynamics of dissolved organic matter in riverine sediments affected by weir impoundments: Production, benthic flux, and environmental implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Meilian; Kim, Sung-Han; Jung, Heon-Jae; Hyun, Jung-Ho; Choi, Jung Hyun; Lee, Hyo-Jin; Huh, In-Ae; Hur, Jin

2017-09-15

In order to understand the characteristics and dynamics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the sediment of rivers affected by impoundments, we examined the vertical profiles and the benthic fluxes of DOM in four different core sediments located at upstream sites of weirs in major rivers of South Korea. In three out of four sites, exponential accumulation of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) with depth was observed with the signature of seasonal variability. Except for the site displaying a below-detection limit of Fe(II), the general accumulation trends of DOC with depth was concurrent with the increases of Fe(II) and NH 4 + and the decrease of PO 4 3- , signifying a close linkage of the DOM dynamics with anaerobic respiration via iron reduction, an important early diagenesis pathway. The estimated benthic fluxes from the cores revealed that the sediments likely serve as DOC, chromophoric DOM (CDOM), and fluorescent DOM (FDOM) sources to the overlying water. The benthic effluxes based on DOC were comparable to the ranges previously reported in lake and coastal areas, and those of CDOM and FDOM showed even higher levels. These findings imply that impoundment-affected river systems would change the DOM composition of the overlying water, ultimately influencing the subsequent water treatment processes such as disinfection byproducts production and membrane fouling. A simple mass balance model indicated that the impoundment-affected river sediments may operate as a net carbon sink in the environments due to a greater extent of sedimentation compared to the estimated benthic efflux and sediment biological respiration. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The FRIABLE1 gene product affects cell adhesion in Arabidopsis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lutz Neumetzler

Full Text Available Cell adhesion in plants is mediated predominantly by pectins, a group of complex cell wall associated polysaccharides. An Arabidopsis mutant, friable1 (frb1, was identified through a screen of T-DNA insertion lines that exhibited defective cell adhesion. Interestingly, the frb1 plants displayed both cell and organ dissociations and also ectopic defects in organ separation. The FRB1 gene encodes a Golgi-localized, plant specific protein with only weak sequence similarities to known proteins (DUF246. Unlike other cell adhesion deficient mutants, frb1 mutants do not have reduced levels of adhesion related cell wall polymers, such as pectins. Instead, FRB1 affects the abundance of galactose- and arabinose-containing oligosaccharides in the Golgi. Furthermore, frb1 mutants displayed alteration in pectin methylesterification, cell wall associated extensins and xyloglucan microstructure. We propose that abnormal FRB1 action has pleiotropic consequences on wall architecture, affecting both the extensin and pectin matrices, with consequent changes to the biomechanical properties of the wall and middle lamella, thereby influencing cell-cell adhesion.

Do water cuts affect productivity? Case study of African ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study sought to examine the impact of water disruptions on productivity in African manufacturing firms, using cross-sectional data from the World Bank enterprise surveys. We measured water infrastructure quality or water disruptions using the number of hours per day without water and found this indicator to be a ...

Standardized computer-based organized reporting of EEG SCORE - Second version

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Beniczky, Sándor; Aurlien, Harald; Brøgger, Jan C

2017-01-01

Standardized terminology for computer-based assessment and reporting of EEG has been previously developed in Europe. The International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology established a taskforce in 2013 to develop this further, and to reach international consensus. This work resulted in the se...

Immigration Enforcement Within the United States

Science.gov (United States)

2006-04-06

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Policy Issues...Remained in the United States, (Washington: Center for Immigration Studies, May 2002). Immigration Enforcement Within the United States Introduction ...interior enforcement lack a border component. For example, fugitive taskforces, investigations of alien slavery and sweatshops , and employer sanctions do

Engaged or exhausted—How does it affect dentists’ clinical productivity?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jari J. Hakanen

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This cross-sectional study examines whether job burnout (exhaustion and work engagement are associated with the clinical productivity of dentists measured by the amount of paid procedure fees in a single month. We conducted an OLS regression analyses of data on dentists working at municipal health centers in Finland (N = 269; response rate 37%. The results indicated that work engagement was positively associated with the amount of procedure fees and consequently with dentists’ pay level after several work-related and demographic background variables were controlled for. However, exhaustion was not related to productivity after controlling for the impact of other factors.

Standards and values in policy for manures. What was it all about?; Normen en waarden in het mestbeleid. Waar ging het ook al weer over?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bouma, J.

2011-07-01

EU agricultural policy after 2013 focuses on eco system services and the abolishment of the milk quota in 2015. Both will have major consequences for dairy farming, as addressed by this report. The Trojan report of 2008 also deserves mentioning in this context. In this advice, written by the Taskforce Nitrogen/Ammonia in relation to the Natura 2000 environmental program, attention is paid to the problems of nitrogen emission in Natura 2000 areas and new locations. [Dutch] In het EU-landbouwbeleid ligt na 2013 het accent op ecosysteemdiensten en de opheffing van de melkquotering in 2015. Beide hebben grote gevolgen voor de melkveehouderij, waarop deze publikatie zich richt. In dit verband verdient ook het Trojan rapport van 2008 meer aandacht. In dat advies van de Taskforce Stikstof/ammoniak in relatie tot het Natura 2000 milieuprogramma wordt aandacht geschonken aan de problematiek van stikstofuitstoot in Natura 2000-gebieden en nieuwe vestigingen.

Factors affecting reproductive performance of dairy cows.

Science.gov (United States)

Coleman, D A; Thayne, W V; Dailey, R A

1985-07-01

We conducted two studies to determine how herd management practices and traits of individual cows affect performance of the herd and of the cow within a herd. Management practices, reproductive performance of the herd, and relationships between management and reproductive performance were characterized on 83 dairy farms with 7596 cows. Data included 21 management variables (e.g., facilities, herd health program, estrous detection program) and 8 performance variables obtained from Dairy Herd Improvement or unofficial records (e.g., size of herd, production, days open). Although varying among herds, annual average herd incidences of reproductive disorders and reproductive performance were similar to those reported. Managerial practices influenced incidences of retained placenta and uterine infection, days open of cows not bred and of all cows, services per conception, and percentages of herd open more than 100 days and culled for low production. Veterinarian was the most consistent variable influencing herd reproductive performance. Data also were collected from production and lifetime records of 2532 cows in 19 herds. Reproductive performance was affected by season of calving, production, maturity, and reproductive disorders. Several cows with extremely poor reproductive records were maintained.

Yeast genes involved in regulating cysteine uptake affect production of hydrogen sulfide from cysteine during fermentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Chien-Wei; Walker, Michelle E; Fedrizzi, Bruno; Gardner, Richard C; Jiranek, Vladimir

2017-08-01

An early burst of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) produced by Saccharomyces cerevisiae during fermentation could increase varietal thiols and therefore enhance desirable tropical aromas in varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc. Here we attempted to identify genes affecting H2S formation from cysteine by screening yeast deletion libraries via a colony colour assay on media resembling grape juice. Both Δlst4 and Δlst7 formed lighter coloured colonies and produced significantly less H2S than the wild type on high concentrations of cysteine, likely because they are unable to take up cysteine efficiently. We then examined the nine known cysteine permeases and found that deletion of AGP1, GNP1 and MUP1 led to reduced production of H2S from cysteine. We further showed that deleting genes involved in the SPS-sensing pathway such as STP1 and DAL81 also reduced H2S from cysteine. Together, this study indirectly confirms that Agp1p, Gnp1p and Mup1p are the major cysteine permeases and that they are regulated by the SPS-sensing and target of rapamycin pathways under the grape juice-like, cysteine-supplemented, fermentation conditions. The findings highlight that cysteine transportation could be a limiting factor for yeast to generate H2S from cysteine, and therefore selecting wine yeasts without defects in cysteine uptake could maximise thiol production potential. © FEMS 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Temperature affects long-term productivity and quality attributes of day-neutral strawberry for a space life-support system

Science.gov (United States)

Massa, Gioia D.; Chase, Elaine; Santini, Judith B.; Mitchell, Cary A.

2015-04-01

Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa L.) is a promising candidate crop for space life-support systems with desirable sensory quality and health attributes. Day-neutral cultivars such as 'Seascape' are adaptable to a range of photoperiods, including short days that would save considerable energy for crop lighting without reductions in productivity or yield. Since photoperiod and temperature interact to affect strawberry growth and development, several diurnal temperature regimes were tested under a short photoperiod of 10 h per day for effects on yield and quality attributes of 'Seascape' strawberry during production cycles longer than 270 days. The coolest day/night temperature regime, 16°/8 °C, tended to produce smaller numbers of larger fruit than did the intermediate temperature range of 18°/10 °C or the warmest regime, 20°/12 °C, both of which produced similar larger numbers of smaller fruit. The intermediate temperature regime produced the highest total fresh mass of berries over an entire production cycle. Independent experiments examined either organoleptic or physicochemical quality attributes. Organoleptic evaluation indicated that fruit grown under the coolest temperature regime tended to score the highest for both hedonic preference and descriptive evaluation of sensory attributes related to sweetness, texture, aftertaste, and overall approval. The physicochemical quality attributes Brix, pH, and sugar/acid ratio were highest for fruits harvested from the coolest temperature regime and lower for those from the warmer temperature regimes. The cool-regime fruits also were lowest in titratable acidity. The yield parameters fruit number and size oscillated over the course of a production cycle, with a gradual decline in fruit size under all three temperature regimes. Brix and titratable acidity both decreased over time for all three temperature treatments, but sugar/acid ratio remained highest for the cool temperature regime over the entire production

The Impacts of Country-of-origin, Product Involvement, and Product Familiarity on Product Evaluation

OpenAIRE

Nugroho, Sahid Susilo; Rostiani, Rokhima; Gitosudarmo, Indriyo

2014-01-01

One of the most interesting phenomena in global business is the existence of a product’scountry-of-origin (COO). COO as an informational cue has been proven to affect consumer’spurchasing decisions in terms of their perception towards the product’s attributes as well astheir overall evaluation of the product. The objective of this study is to investigate the impacts ofcountry-of-origin on product evaluation in the Indonesian market by considering consumers’product familiarity and consumers’ p...

Production Time Loss Reduction in Sauce Production Line by Lean Six Sigma Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Ritprasertsri, Thitima; Chutima, Parames

2017-06-01

In all industries, time losses, which are incurred in processing are very important. As a result, losses are incurred in productivity and cost. This research aimed to reduce lost time that occurs in sauce production line by using the lean six sigma approach. The main objective was to reduce the time for heating sauce which causes a lot of time lost in the production line which affects productivity. The methodology was comprised of the five-phase improvement model of Six Sigma. This approach begins with defining phase, measuring phase, analysing phase, improving phase and controlling phase. Cause-and-effect matrix and failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) were adopted to screen the factors which affect production time loss. The results showed that the percentage of lost time from heating sauce reduced by 47.76%. This increased productivity to meet the plan.

Key terms for the assessment of the safety of vaccines in pregnancy: Results of a global consultative process to initiate harmonization of adverse event definitions.

Science.gov (United States)

Munoz, Flor M; Eckert, Linda O; Katz, Mark A; Lambach, Philipp; Ortiz, Justin R; Bauwens, Jorgen; Bonhoeffer, Jan

2015-11-25

The variability of terms and definitions of Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) represents a missed opportunity for optimal monitoring of safety of immunization in pregnancy. In 2014, the Brighton Collaboration Foundation and the World Health Organization (WHO) collaborated to address this gap. Two Brighton Collaboration interdisciplinary taskforces were formed. A landscape analysis included: (1) a systematic literature review of adverse event definitions used in vaccine studies during pregnancy; (2) a worldwide stakeholder survey of available terms and definitions; (3) and a series of taskforce meetings. Based on available evidence, taskforces proposed key terms and concept definitions to be refined, prioritized, and endorsed by a global expert consultation convened by WHO in Geneva, Switzerland in July 2014. Using pre-specified criteria, 45 maternal and 62 fetal/neonatal events were prioritized, and key terms and concept definitions were endorsed. In addition recommendations to further improve safety monitoring of immunization in pregnancy programs were specified. This includes elaboration of disease concepts into standardized case definitions with sufficient applicability and positive predictive value to be of use for monitoring the safety of immunization in pregnancy globally, as well as the development of guidance, tools, and datasets in support of a globally concerted approach. There is a need to improve the safety monitoring of immunization in pregnancy programs. A consensus list of terms and concept definitions of key events for monitoring immunization in pregnancy is available. Immediate actions to further strengthen monitoring of immunization in pregnancy programs are identified and recommended. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

A Framework For Product Development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

McAloone, Timothy Charles; Robotham, Antony John

1999-01-01

-aspect approach to product development; understanding the strategic conditions that affect product development; developing a coherent approach to product quality based on product-life thinking; addressing environmental needs in a proactive manner through innovation techniques; and understanding both...

Simulation-based comparisons of four apparel cell production modes of one clothing production line

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guoqiang Pan

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Purpose: This research, by using the SIMIO simulation platform, provides a quantitative and comparative analysis of how the efficiency of four different cell production modes is affected. It is hoped that the outcomes will be of some help for garment factories to optimize their production lines. Design/methodology/approach: The SIMIO simulation platform was employed in the research and comparisons were made of the simulation test results about the four different production modes. Findings: The operation mode, number of operators, and number of buffer areas are key factors affecting the production line efficiency, and need to be reasonably set to achieve the highest efficiency. Originality/value: As most research literature so far is qualitative, this research provided a simulation-based quantitative analysis of the production efficiency under different cell production modes.

Denitrifying bacterial communities affect current production and nitrous oxide accumulation in a microbial fuel cell.

Science.gov (United States)

Vilar-Sanz, Ariadna; Puig, Sebastià; García-Lledó, Arantzazu; Trias, Rosalia; Balaguer, M Dolors; Colprim, Jesús; Bañeras, Lluís

2013-01-01

The biocathodic reduction of nitrate in Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) is an alternative to remove nitrogen in low carbon to nitrogen wastewater and relies entirely on microbial activity. In this paper the community composition of denitrifiers in the cathode of a MFC is analysed in relation to added electron acceptors (nitrate and nitrite) and organic matter in the cathode. Nitrate reducers and nitrite reducers were highly affected by the operational conditions and displayed high diversity. The number of retrieved species-level Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) for narG, napA, nirS and nirK genes was 11, 10, 31 and 22, respectively. In contrast, nitrous oxide reducers remained virtually unchanged at all conditions. About 90% of the retrieved nosZ sequences grouped in a single OTU with a high similarity with Oligotropha carboxidovorans nosZ gene. nirS-containing denitrifiers were dominant at all conditions and accounted for a significant amount of the total bacterial density. Current production decreased from 15.0 A · m(-3) NCC (Net Cathodic Compartment), when nitrate was used as an electron acceptor, to 14.1 A · m(-3) NCC in the case of nitrite. Contrarily, nitrous oxide (N2O) accumulation in the MFC was higher when nitrite was used as the main electron acceptor and accounted for 70% of gaseous nitrogen. Relative abundance of nitrite to nitrous oxide reducers, calculated as (qnirS+qnirK)/qnosZ, correlated positively with N2O emissions. Collectively, data indicate that bacteria catalysing the initial denitrification steps in a MFC are highly influenced by main electron acceptors and have a major influence on current production and N2O accumulation.

All Plasma Products Are Not Created Equal: Characterizing Differences Between Plasma Products

Science.gov (United States)

2015-06-01

Research and the US Department of Defense. The pooling and solvent detergent treatment processes performed to manufacture the Octaplas and Kedrion products ...All plasma products are not created equal: Characterizing differences between plasma products Philip C. Spinella, MD, Elfaridah Frazier, PhD, Heather... products that may affect efficacy and safety. METHODS: Four different plasma products were analyzed to include fresh frozen plasma (FFP), liquid plasma

TNFα Altered Inflammatory Responses, Impaired Health and Productivity, but Did Not Affect Glucose or Lipid Metabolism in Early-Lactation Dairy Cows

Science.gov (United States)

Mamedova, Laman K.; Sordillo, Lorraine M.; Bradford, Barry J.

2013-01-01

Inflammation may be a major contributing factor to peripartum metabolic disorders in dairy cattle. We tested whether administering an inflammatory cytokine, recombinant bovine tumor necrosis factor-α (rbTNFα), affects milk production, metabolism, and health during this period. Thirty-three Holstein cows (9 primiparous and 24 multiparous) were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 treatments at parturition. Treatments were 0 (Control), 1.5, or 3.0 µg/kg body weight rbTNFα, which were administered once daily by subcutaneous injection for the first 7 days of lactation. Statistical contrasts were used to evaluate the treatment and dose effects of rbTNFα administration. Plasma TNFα concentrations at 16 h post-administration tended to be increased (P0.10) was detected; rbTNFα treatments increased (P0.10) by rbTNFα administration, but 6 out of 16 measured eicosanoids changed (Pinsulin, β-hydroxybutyrate, non-esterified fatty acids, triglyceride, 3-methylhistidine, and liver triglyceride were unaffected (P>0.10) by rbTNFα treatment. Glucose turnover rate was unaffected (P = 0.18) by rbTNFα administration. The higher dose of rbTNFα tended to increase the risk of cows developing one or more health disorders (P = 0.08). Taken together, these results indicate that administration of rbTNFα daily for the first 7 days of lactation altered inflammatory responses, impaired milk production and health, but did not significantly affect liver triglyceride accumulation or nutrient metabolism in dairy cows. PMID:24260367

Affect or cognition: which is more influencing older adult consumers' loyalty?

Science.gov (United States)

Kaur, Deepraj; Mustika, Martina Dwi; Sjabadhyni, Bertina

2018-04-01

In studies on consumer behavior science, it is argued that brand affect, consumer satisfaction, and disconfirmation influence brand loyalty. This study aims to investigate whether the interaction of brand affect and cognition predicts brand loyalty in older adult consumers if consumer satisfaction is considered. A group of 344 older adult consumers participated and a mediated moderation analysis of the data was used to test our hypotheses. The results showed that consumer satisfaction increased the relationship between brand affect and brand loyalty in older adult consumers. However, disconfirmation did not influence that relationship. It can be concluded that the loyalty of older adult consumers toward a brand was more likely to be influenced by their affection than their cognition. Therefore, marketers should design products that better satisfy this population group and create loyalty to the product through enhancing affect connections.

Factors affecting labour productivity in the SME sector of the European Union

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zbigniew Gołaś

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The article presents the results of labour productivity analysis in micro, small and medium enterprises of EU countries. The analysis was conducted on the basis of European Commission for Enterprise and Industry data from 2008. The results of regression analysis point that the technical equipment of work, the share of value added and value of production in revenues are the most important factors influencing the labour productivity in the SME sector.

Framework of product experience

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Desmet, P.; Hekkert, P.

2007-01-01

In this paper, we introduce a general framework for product experience that applies to all affective responses that can be experienced in human-product interaction. Three distinct components or levels of product experiences are discussed: aesthetic experience, experience of meaning, and emotional

Factors Affecting Productivity in the United States Naval Construction Force

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Morton, Darren

1997-01-01

By using a craftsman questionnaire, this thesis identifies and ranks the most important factors impairing Petty Officer productivity and morale in the United States Naval Construction Force (Seabees...

Loving transgressions: Queer of color bodies, affective ties, transformative community.

Science.gov (United States)

Carrillo Rowe, Aimee; Royster, Francesca T

2017-07-03

This introductory article considers the importance of queer woman of color theorizations of affect in thinking more fully the recent interdisciplinary turn to affect. The affective turn has vitally invited culture and feminist critics to interrogate emotion beyond the individual to examine the political and cultural production of emotion. Even as women of color are often associated with excessive affect, the theoretical contributions women of color make to the field of affect studies are often overlooked. Our introduction and this special issue more broadly examine how this solipsism shapes projects invested in critical knowledge production, as well as the stakes of centering a queer woman of color genealogy. For instance, we argue for the importance of retaining U.S. third-world feminist concepts-like interpellation, oppositional consciousness, and the generative force of negative affects-even as they fall out of favor within affect studies. Centering theory that emerges from the vexed spaces of queer women of color lived experiences generates a vital interdisciplinary conversation that contributes to the ongoing political task of mobilizing affect for social action as a critical praxis. In the articles that follow we see this critical praxis at work in the form of community organizing, music, poetry, and performance art.

Sexually transmitted nematodes affect spermatophylax production in the cricket, Gryllodes sigillatus

OpenAIRE

Lien T. Luong; Harry K. Kaya

2005-01-01

Parasites can influence various aspects of host reproduction and mating, including spermatophore production. In the cricket, Gryllodes sigillatus, males transfer to females a two-part spermatophore containing a sperm-filled ampulla and a gelatinous spermatophylax (nuptial gift). Here we investigate the effects of a sexually transmitted nematode on male spermatophylax production. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) have the potential to reduce host fertility or fecundity in insect hosts. To o...

Health Information in Sudanese (Arabic dialect) (سودانية عربية)

Science.gov (United States)

... Suicide - سودانية عربية (Sudanese (Arabic dialect)) MP3 ... Karen Chemical Dependency Taskforce of Minnesota Mood Disorders What Is Mental Distress - سودانية عربية (Sudanese (Arabic ...

Changes in ruminal volatile fatty acid production and absorption rate during the dry period and early lactation as affected by rate of increase of concentrate allowance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dieho, K.; Dijkstra, J.; Schonewille, J. T.; Bannink, A.

The aim of the present experiment was to study changes in volatile fatty acid (VFA) production using an isotope dilution technique, and changes in VFA fractional absorption rate (k aVFA) using a buffer incubation technique (BIT) during the dry period and early lactation, as affected by the

Advanced glycation end products affect cholesterol homeostasis by impairing ABCA1 expression on macrophages.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamtchueng Simo, Olivier; Ikhlef, Souade; Berrougui, Hicham; Khalil, Abdelouahed

2017-08-01

Reverse cholesterol transport (RCT), which is intimately linked to high-density lipoproteins (HDLs), plays a key role in cholesterol homeostasis and the prevention of atherosclerosis. The goal of the present study was to investigate the effect of aging and advanced glycation end products (AGEs) on RCT as well as on other factors that may affect the antiatherogenic property of HDLs. The transfer of macrophage-derived cholesterol to the plasma and liver and then to the feces for elimination was significantly lower in aged mice than in young mice. Chronic injection of d -galactose (D-gal) or AGEs also significantly reduced RCT (65.3% reduction in [ 3 H]cholesterol levels in the plasma of D-gal-treated mice after 48 h compared with control mice, P cholesterol levels in the plasma, although the levels were lower than those of control mice. The in vitro incubation of HDLs with dicarbonyl compounds increased the carbonyl and conjugated diene content of HDLs and significantly reduced PON1 paraoxonase activity (87.4% lower than control HDLs, P cholesterol (69.1% decrease, P < 0.0001). Our results showed, for the first time, that RCT is altered with aging and that AGEs contribute significantly to this alteration.

Some factors affecting rabbit production under egyptian environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nessim, M.Z.

1994-01-01

The present work was carried out in the rabbit of the department of animal production, faculty of agriculture, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt, Blood biochemical analysis and hormonal assay were conducted in tracer bio climatology Unit., Department of radiobiology, nuclear research centre, Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo, Egypt. Eighty male New Zealand white (NZW) and 80 male californian (Cal) rabbits aged 5-6 weeks were used. The animals were housed in rabbit building, naturally ventilated. Rabbits cages were provided with automatic nipple drinkers and drinking and drinking water ad libitum.Rabbits were fed ad libitum on balanced growing pelted rabbit ration. 21 tabs.,13 figs.,158 refs

Factors Affecting Aerosol Radiative Forcing from Both Production-based and Consumption-based View

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, J.; Lin, J.; Ni, R.

2017-12-01

Aerosol radiative forcing (RF) is determined by emissions and various chemical-transport-radiative processes in the atmosphere, a multi-factor problem whose individual contributors have not been well quantified. This problem becomes more complicated when taking into account the role of international trade, which means reallocated aerosol RF due to separation of regions producing goods and emissions and regions consuming those goods. Here we analyze major factors affecting RF of secondary inorganic aerosols (SIOAs, including sulfate, nitrate and ammonium), primary organic aerosol (POA) and black carbon (BC), extending the work of Lin et al. (2016, Nature Geoscience). We contrast five factors determining production-based (RFp, due to a region's production of goods) and consumption-based (RFc, due to a region's consumption) forcing by 11 major regions, including population size, per capita output, emission intensity (emission per output), chemical efficiency (mass per unit emission) and radiative efficiency (RF per unit mass). Comparing across the 11 regions, East Asia produces the strongest RFp and RFc of SIOA and BC and the second largest RFp and RFc of POA primarily due to its high emission intensity. Although Middle East and North Africa has low emissions, its RFp is strengthened by its largest chemical efficiency for POA and BC and second largest chemical efficiency for SIOA. However, RFp of South-East Asia and Pacific is greatly weakened by its lowest chemical efficiency. Economic trade means that net importers (Western Europe, North America and Pacific OECD) have higher RFc than RFp by 50-100%. And such forcing difference is mainly due to the high emission intensity of the exporters supplying these regions. For North America, SIOA's RFc is 50% stronger than RFp, for that emission intensity of SIOA is 5.2 times in East Asia and 2.5 times in Latin America and Caribbean compared with that in North America, and the chemical efficiency in the top four exporters are

7339 BASELINE SURVEY ON FACTORS AFFECTING SORGHUM ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

muuicathy

2013-01-01

Jan 1, 2013 ... factors affecting sorghum production and the sorghum farming ... The informal seed system includes methods such as retaining seed on-farm from ..... Jaetzold R and H Schmidt Farm Management Handbook of Kenya, Ministry.

Could Crop Height Affect the Wind Resource at Agriculturally Productive Wind Farm Sites?

Science.gov (United States)

Vanderwende, Brian; Lundquist, Julie K.

2016-03-01

The collocation of cropland and wind turbines in the US Midwest region introduces complex meteorological interactions that could influence both agriculture and wind-power production. Crop management practices may affect the wind resource through alterations of land-surface properties. We use the weather research and forecasting (WRF) model to estimate the impact of crop height variations on the wind resource in the presence of a large turbine array. A hypothetical wind farm consisting of 121 1.8-MW turbines is represented using the WRF model wind-farm parametrization. We represent the impact of selecting soybeans rather than maize by altering the aerodynamic roughness length in a region approximately 65 times larger than that occupied by the turbine array. Roughness lengths of 0.1 and 0.25 m represent the mature soy crop and a mature maize crop, respectively. In all but the most stable atmospheric conditions, statistically significant hub-height wind-speed increases and rotor-layer wind-shear reductions result from switching from maize to soybeans. Based on simulations for the entire month of August 2013, wind-farm energy output increases by 14 %, which would yield a significant monetary gain. Further investigation is required to determine the optimal size, shape, and crop height of the roughness modification to maximize the economic benefit and minimize the cost of such crop-management practices. These considerations must be balanced by other influences on crop choice such as soil requirements and commodity prices.

Affect or cognition: which is more influencing older adult consumers' loyalty?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deepraj Kaur

2018-04-01

Full Text Available In studies on consumer behavior science, it is argued that brand affect, consumer satisfaction, and disconfirmation influence brand loyalty. This study aims to investigate whether the interaction of brand affect and cognition predicts brand loyalty in older adult consumers if consumer satisfaction is considered. A group of 344 older adult consumers participated and a mediated moderation analysis of the data was used to test our hypotheses. The results showed that consumer satisfaction increased the relationship between brand affect and brand loyalty in older adult consumers. However, disconfirmation did not influence that relationship. It can be concluded that the loyalty of older adult consumers toward a brand was more likely to be influenced by their affection than their cognition. Therefore, marketers should design products that better satisfy this population group and create loyalty to the product through enhancing affect connections. Keywords: Business, Psychology

Photoperiodic regulation of the sucrose transporter StSUT4 affects the expression of circadian-regulated genes and ethylene production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Izabela eChincinska

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Several recent publications report different subcellular localisation of members of the SUT4 subfamily of sucrose transporters. The physiological function of SUT4 sucrose transporters is still not entirely clarified as down-regulation of members of the SUT4 clade had very different effects in rice, poplar and potato. Here, we provide new data on the localization and function of the Solanaceous StSUT4 protein, further elucidating involvement in the onset of flowering, tuberization and in the shade avoidance syndrome of potato plants.Induction of early flowering and tuberization in SUT4-inhibited potato plants correlates with increased sucrose export from leaves and increased sucrose and starch accumulation in terminal sink organs such as developing tubers. SUT4 does not only affect the expression of gibberellin and ethylene biosynthetic enzymes, but also the rate of ethylene synthesis in potato. In SUT4-inhibited plants, the ethylene production no longer follows a diurnal rhythm, leading to the assumption that StSUT4 controls circadian gene expression, potentially by regulating sucrose export from leaves. Furthermore, SUT4 expression affects clock-regulated genes such as StFT, StSOC1 and StCO, which might also be involved in a photoperiod-dependently controlled tuberization. A model is proposed in which StSUT4 controls a phloem-mobile signalling molecule generated in leaves which together with enhanced sucrose export affects developmental switches in apical meristems. SUT4 seems to link photoreceptor-perceived information about the light quality and day length, with phytohormone biosynthesis and the expression of circadian genes.

Yield and nutritional quality of greenhouse lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. as affected by genotype and production methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Govedarica-Lučić Aleksandra

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Greenhouse experiments were conducted in winter growing seasons in order to evaluate the effects of genotype and production methods on yield and nutritional quality of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.. A three-year (2009-2011 study was conducted by randomized block system in a greenhouse without additional heating. The trial included three genotypes of lettuce (Archimedes RZ, Santoro RZ, Kibou RZ. Each row with these genotypes was exposed to the following variants of covering: control-planting on bare soil, mulching before sowing with PE-black foil, agro textile-covering plants after planting with agro textile (17 g, a combination of mulching + agro textile. Throughout of all the three years of the trial, it was continuously evidenced that the genotype “Santoro RZ” had the biggest heads and the highest yield (15.33 kg 10 m-2, which leads to conclusion that the yield of lettuce is a genotype characteristics. Moreover, the nutritional value (ascorbic acid concentration has shown that, depending on the method of production, in average, the combination of mulching + agro textile (26.77 mg 100 g-1 had the highest content while the control variant had significantly lower vitamin C content (21.10 mg 100 g-1. The three-year researches have shown that the production method and genotype significantly affect the nitrate content. An average nitrate content was 2196.33 mg kg-1 on the control variant, and 2526.24 mg kg-1 on agro textile. Leafy lettuce of genotyp „Kibou RZ“ had lower nitrate content (2176.85 mg kg-1 compared to „Archimedes RZ“ (2843.05 mg kg-1 and „Santoro RZ“ (2221.37 mg kg-1. However nitrate concentration in all treatments remained within the European Union’s permissible levels.

MODELO BORROSO PARA EVALUAR LOS FACTORES QUE AFECTAN LA PRODUCTIVIDAD EN LA PYMES // FUZZY MODEL TO ASSESS FACTORS AFFECTING PRODUCTIVITY IN PYME

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roxana Martínez Sánchez

2010-06-01

Full Text Available En Venezuela, las pequeñas y medianas empresas (PYME contribuyen considerablemente a la actividad económica y son un gran generador de empleo. Este trabajo plantea el desarrollo de un modelo borroso que permita evaluar los factores de producción que afectan la productividad, con el fin de estimar su impacto y minimizarlos para que de esta manera la empresa no pierda su nivel del aprovechamiento de los recursos. La importancia del mismo radica en la utilización de la lógica borrosa para la evaluación del efecto de factores como costo de producción, producto y satisfacción del cliente en la productividad de las PYME.// Abstract: In Venezuela, small- and medium sized companies PYME contribute considerably to economic activity and are a great employment generator. This article state a fuzzy model development which permit to evaluate the production factors that affect productivity, in order to estimate and minimize their impact and, in this way the company dosen‘t loose the use or resource level. The importance of this development lies in the use of fuzzy logic to evaluate the effect of factors like production and client satisfaction in PYME‘s productivity.

The 'Sydney Principles' for reducing the commercial promotion of foods and beverages to children.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Swinburn, B.; Sacks, G.; Lobstein, T.; Rigby, N.; Baur, L.A.; Brownell, K.D.; Gill, T.; Seidell, J.C.; Kumanyika, S.

2008-01-01

A set of seven principles (the 'Sydney Principles') was developed by an International Obesity Taskforce (IOTF) Working Group to guide action on changing food and beverage marketing practices that target children. The aim of the present communication is to present the Sydney Principles and report on

Age, sex and ethnic differences in the prevalence of underweight and overweight, defined by using the CDC and IOTF cut points in Asian culture

Science.gov (United States)

No nationally representative data from middle- and low-income countries have been analyzed to compare the prevalence of underweight and overweight, defined by using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the International Obesity TaskForce (IOTF) body mass index cut points. To exa...

Development of a National Standards Framework for the Teaching Profession. ACER Policy Briefs. Issue 1

Science.gov (United States)

Ingvarson, Lawrence

2002-01-01

This paper was prepared for the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment and Training Taskforce on Teacher Quality & Educational Leadership. It covers the following broad areas: (1) How can a national definition of "Good Teaching" be developed, and what should it include?; (2) What should a "National Standards…

Assessing the Future Directions of Global Knowledge Partnership ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

129124.pdf. Studies. ICT4D and K4D trends : report summary; Global Knowledge Partnership ExCo Meeting, May 26th, Paris. 41221. Papers. GKP Task-Force inputs study : the outlook for using Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) in international development assistance - issues, trends and opportunities.

Technical note

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hermansen, Jonas S; Fonslet, Jesper; Søndergaard, Lasse R

2017-01-01

PURPOSE: To provide a faster and more intuitive way of designing shielding for PET facilities, while still relying on the principles of the AAPM 108 Taskforce guidelines, as well as illustrating the calculation output using dose maps that are easily evaluated. METHODS: A graphical user interface ...

Detailed oil and gas proposals in UK energy review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

The UK government is proposing a four-pronged attack to try and sustain future oil and gas production from the UK with measures designed to coerce and encourage maximum exploitation of reserves under the Energy Review proposals. Tax is to be looked at again. There will also be a move towards web-based licence awards to speed up the licensing process for oil and gas exploration blocks; an infrastructure task force in the West of Shetlands region is planned, and the Stewardship initiative will be refocused. The 218-page Energy Review policy document says: 'Using regulatory powers if necessary, Government must press for full investment in fields that are already producing. We will immediately refocus the DTI's Stewardship initiative - on maintaining reliability and encouraging nearby exploration and should see results in these areas by the middle of next year.' Turning to the plans for a taskforce, the Energy Review announces: 'We are establishing a Taskforce with Industry to get the right infrastructure (for example pipelines) in place to the west of Shetland so that, with minimal impact to the environment, we can speed up development and exploration in the area. The Taskforce will report by the end of the year.' Also the Department of Trade and Industry will re-examine the UK's licensing regime, as part of a policy for 'Ensuring the development of a dynamic market fit for the future.' On this point, the government says: 'The commercial framework needs to change so that it encourages the industry to be dynamic in the future by facilitating a strong market in assets and rapid access to infrastructure. For example, the DTI is moving to a web-based system of licence assignments that will substantially speed up deal making and reduce costs, especially for smaller firms. We will also continue to build on the work of PILOT to secure the long-term future of the industry in the UK.' And on tax: 'It is vital to ensure that we have the right fiscal approach,' the government

Consumers' Use of Product Owner Manuals.

Science.gov (United States)

Showers, Linda S.; And Others

1992-01-01

A survey of 1,200 midwesterners received 643 replies identifying factors affecting tendency to read and use product owner's manuals: (1) product familiarity and lack of time negatively affected use; (2) having a question or problem increased use; and (3) perceived value of information (i.e., redundant or obvious information) deterred use. (SK)

Genetic, Physiological, and Environmental Factors Affecting Acrylamide Concentration in Fried Potato Products

Science.gov (United States)

The discovery of acrylamide in processed potato products has brought increased interest in the controlling Maillard reaction precursors (reducing sugars and amino acids) in potato tubers. Because of their effects on nonenzymatic browning of fried potato products, reducing sugars and amino acids have...

Compost amendment of sandy soil affects soil properties and greenhouse tomato productivity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arthur, Emmanuel; Cornelis, W.; Razzaghi, Fatemeh

2012-01-01

Sandy soils, with low productivity, could be improved by compost application to sustain crop production. This study aimed to examine the effect of three compost types (vegetable, fruit and yard waste compost, garden waste compost, and spent mushroom compost) on basic properties of a loamy sand...... compost had greater effect in improving tomato productivity. A decade-long application of composts on loamy sand improved basic chemical and physical properties which were reflected in increased fruit yield in tomato. Since no negative effect of compost was observed, we suggest that sandy soils may serve...... and greenhouse tomato productivity. Disturbed and intact soil samples were taken from a decade-long compost field experiment on loamy sand with three compost types at application rate of 30 m3 ha-1 yr-1 (7.5 ton ha-1 yr-1). The soils were characterized for chemical and physical properties. Tomato was planted...

Formulation of a Production Strategy for a Software Product Line

Science.gov (United States)

2009-08-01

Strategy 9 5.1 Identifying the Critical Factors 9 5.1.1 Market Analysis 10 5.1.2 Building a Business Case 10 5.1.3 Scoping 10 5.1.4 Technology...ability to deliver new products quickly (i.e., its time to market ). The production strategy for a software product line is the high-level description of... strategy . The critical factors mentioned above refer to both market conditions that affect an organ- ization and how an organization’s products can

Copepod recruitment and food composition : Do diatoms affect hatching success?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jonasdottir, Sigrun; Kiørboe, Thomas

1996-01-01

was fed several different diets while egg production and hatching success were monitored. The diet was analysed for fatty acid content as an indicator of food quality. Both egg production and hatching were found to be affected by the nutritional quality of the food. Hatching was also highly dependent......Laboratory experiments were conducted to differentiate between factors controlling the hatching success of copepod eggs. Factors that could affect viability of eggs; viz food quality, female condition and external factors were investigated. In a series of experiments the copepod Acartia tonsa Dana...

Economic Analysis of Factors Affecting Technical Efficiency of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Economic Analysis of Factors Affecting Technical Efficiency of Smallholders ... socio-economic characteristics which influence technical efficiency in maize production. ... Ministry of Agriculture and livestock, records, books, reports and internet.

Genotypic and phenotypic diversity does not affect productivity and drought response in competitive stands of Trifolium repens

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heidrun eHuber

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Clonal plants can form dense canopies in which plants of different genetic origin are competing for the uptake of essential resources. The competitive relationships among these clones are likely to be affected by extreme environmental conditions, such as prolonged drought spells, which are predicted to occur more frequently due to global climate change. This, in turn, may alter characteristics of the ecological system and its associated functioning.We hypothesized that the relative success of individual clones will depend on the size of the ramets as ramets with larger leaves and longer petioles (large ramets were predicted to have a competitive advantage in terms of increased light interception over smaller-sized ramets. Under drier conditions the relative performances of genotypes were expected to change leading to a change in genotype ranking. We also hypothesized that increased genotypic and phenotypic diversity will increase stand performance and resistance to drought. These hypotheses and the mechanisms responsible for shifts in competitive relationships were investigated by subjecting genotypes of the important pasture legume Trifolium repens to competition with either genetically identical clones, genetically different but similarly sized clones, or genetically as well as morphologically different clones under well-watered and dry conditions.Competitive relationships were affected by ramet size with large genotypes outperforming small genotypes in diverse stands in terms of biomass production. However, large genotypes also produced relatively fewer ramets than small genotypes and could not benefit in terms of clonal reproduction from competing with smaller genotypes, indicating that evolutionary shifts in genotype composition will depend on whether ramet size or ramet number is under selection. In contrast to our hypotheses, diversity did not increase stand performance under different selection regimes and genotype ranking was hardly

Genotypic and Phenotypic Diversity Does Not Affect Productivity and Drought Response in Competitive Stands of Trifolium repens.

Science.gov (United States)

Huber, Heidrun; During, Heinjo J; Bruine de Bruin, Fabienne; Vermeulen, Peter J; Anten, Niels P R

2016-01-01

Clonal plants can form dense canopies in which plants of different genetic origin are competing for the uptake of essential resources. The competitive relationships among these clones are likely to be affected by extreme environmental conditions, such as prolonged drought spells, which are predicted to occur more frequently due to global climate change. This, in turn, may alter characteristics of the ecological system and its associated functioning. We hypothesized that the relative success of individual clones will depend on the size of the ramets as ramets with larger leaves and longer petioles (large ramets) were predicted to have a competitive advantage in terms of increased light interception over smaller-sized ramets. Under drier conditions the relative performances of genotypes were expected to change leading to a change in genotype ranking. We also hypothesized that increased genotypic and phenotypic diversity will increase stand performance and resistance to drought. These hypotheses and the mechanisms responsible for shifts in competitive relationships were investigated by subjecting genotypes of the important pasture legume Trifolium repens to competition with either genetically identical clones, genetically different but similarly sized clones, or genetically as well as morphologically different clones under well-watered and dry conditions. Competitive relationships were affected by ramet size with large genotypes outperforming small genotypes in diverse stands in terms of biomass production. However, large genotypes also produced relatively fewer ramets than small genotypes and could not benefit in terms of clonal reproduction from competing with smaller genotypes, indicating that evolutionary shifts in genotype composition will depend on whether ramet size or ramet number is under selection. In contrast to our hypotheses, diversity did not increase stand performance under different selection regimes and genotype ranking was hardly affected by soil

Production practices affecting worker task demands in concrete operations: A case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Memarian, Babak; Mitropoulos, Panagiotis

2015-01-01

Construction work involves significant physical, mental, and temporal task demands. Excessive task demands can have negative consequences for safety, errors and production. This exploratory study investigates the magnitude and sources of task demands on a concrete operation, and examines the effect of the production practices on the workers' task demands. The NASA Task Load Index was used to measure the perceived task demands of two work crews. The operation involved the construction of a cast-in-place concrete building under high schedule pressures. Interviews with each crew member were used to identify the main sources of the perceived demands. Extensive field observations and interviews with the supervisors and crews identified the production practices. The workers perceived different level of task demands depending on their role. The production practices influenced the task demands in two ways: (1) practices related to work organization, task design, resource management, and crew management mitigated the task demands; and (2) other practices related to work planning and crew management increased the crew's ability to cope with and adapt to high task demands. The findings identify production practices that regulate the workers' task demands. The effect of task demands on performance is mitigated by the ability to cope with high demands.

Introducing new products that affect consumer privacy : A mediation model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lancelot Miltgen, Caroline; Henseler, Jörg; Gelhard, Carsten Volker; Popovic, Ales

2016-01-01

Many innovative products can only fully deploy their value if they rely on consumers' personal information. This issue challenges the confidence that consumers have in new innovations, and revolutionizes marketing practices. Malhotra, Kim, and Agarwal's (2004) framework provides the theoretical

78 FR 49768 - Notice Pursuant to the National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993-Joint Task-Force...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-15

...; Ciena, Kanata, Ontario, CANADA; Cinegy, Munich, GERMANY; Cisco, San Jose, CA; Cobalt Digital Inc... speed-up content time-to-market. Patricia A. Brink, Director of Civil Enforcement, Antitrust Division...

Wider stall space affects behavior, lesion scores, and productivity of gestating sows.

Science.gov (United States)

Salak-Johnson, J L; DeDecker, A E; Levitin, H A; McGarry, B M

2015-10-01

Limited space allowance within the standard gestation stall is an important welfare concern because it restricts the ability of the sow to make postural adjustments and hinders her ability to perform natural behaviors. Therefore, we evaluated the impacts of increasing stall space and/or providing sows the freedom to access a small pen area on sow well-being using multiple welfare metrics. A total of 96 primi- and multiparous crossbred sows were randomly assigned in groups of 4 sows/treatment across 8 replicates to 1 of 3 stall treatments (TRT): standard stall (CTL; dimensions: 61 by 216 cm), width-adjustable stall (flex stall [FLX]; dimensions: adjustable width of 56 to 79 cm by 216 cm), or an individual walk-in/lock-in stall with access to a small communal open-pen area at the rear of the stall (free-access stall [FAS]; dimensions: 69 by 226 cm). Lesion scores, behavior, and immune and productivity traits were measured at various gestational days throughout the study. Total lesion scores were greatest for sows in FAS and least for sows in FLX ( pregnancy progressed, lesion scores increased among sows in CTL ( postural behaviors and sham chew behavior were affected by TRT ( changes in postural behaviors, lesion severity scores, and other sow traits. Moreover, compromised welfare measures found among sows in various stall environments may be partly attributed to the specific constraints of each stall system such as restricted stall space in CTL, insufficient floor space in the open-pen area of the FAS system, and gate design of the FLX (e.g., direction of bars and feeder space). These results also indicate that parity and gestational day are additional factors that may exacerbate the effects of restricted stall space or insufficient pen space, further compromising sow well-being.

Bereavement Care Provision in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guldin, Mai-Britt; Murphy, Irene; Keegan, Orla

2015-01-01

The Bereavement Care Taskforce of the EAPC has conducted a survey on bereavement care service provision in Europe. Mai-Britt Guldin, Irene Murphy, Orla Keegan, Barbara Monroe, Maria Antonia Lacasta Reverte and Inger Benkel report on the results. One of the key findings is that not all palliative...

Détermination des orientations futures de l'Alliance mondiale pour le ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

ICT4D and K4D trends : report summary; Global Knowledge Partnership ExCo Meeting, May 26th, Paris. Téléchargez le PDF. Documents. GKP Task-Force inputs study : the outlook for using Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) in international development assistance - issues, trends and opportunities.

Does ownership affect the variability of the production process? Evidence from international courier services

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hsieh, C.; Lazzarini, S.G.; Nickerson, J.A.; Laurini, M.

2010-01-01

A firm often must ensure that products or services it produces match customer expectations. We define variability as any deviation in a production process yielding products or services whose attributes differ from the firm's stated target specifications. Firms pursuing products marked by low

Analysis of Socio-Economic Factors Affecting Output of Farmers' in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This research work was carried out to ascertain the factors affecting cocoa production investment among three management systems in Abia State. The production management systems examined were owner-managed, lease and share-crop management systems. Questionnaires and oral interview were jointly used to elicit ...

Analysis Effect of Environment Attitude, Health Consciousness and Knowledge in Developing Product Perception and Intention to Buy (A Study on Organic Food Product)

OpenAIRE

Widyasari; Jony Oktavian Haryanto

2010-01-01

This research intends to study the factors that can affect the product perception and consumer intention in buying organic product.The study is necessary in that it explores at least some of the factors that can affect the product perception and consumer intention in buying organic product. The research results indicated that there was a positive influence of health consciousness towards environment attitude, consumer’s organic product knowledge towards organic product perception, environm...

Financing of health systems to achieve the health Millennium Development Goals in low-income countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Fryatt, Robert; Mills, Anne; Nordstrom, Anders

2010-01-30

Concern that underfunded and weak health systems are impeding the achievement of the health Millennium Development Goals in low-income countries led to the creation of a High Level Taskforce on Innovative International Financing for Health Systems in September, 2008. This report summarises the key challenges faced by the Taskforce and its Working Groups. Working Group 1 examined the constraints to scaling up and costs. Challenges included: difficulty in generalisation because of scarce and context-specific health-systems knowledge; no consensus for optimum service-delivery approaches, leading to wide cost differences; no consensus for health benefits; difficulty in quantification of likely efficiency gains; and challenges in quantification of the financing gap owing to uncertainties about financial commitments for health. Working Group 2 reviewed the different innovative mechanisms for raising and channelling funds. Challenges included: variable definitions of innovative finance; small evidence base for many innovative finance mechanisms; insufficient experience in harmonisation of global health initiatives; and inadequate experience in use of international investments to improve maternal, newborn, and child health. The various mechanisms reviewed and finally recommended all had different characteristics, some focusing on specific problems and some on raising resources generally. Contentious issues included the potential role of the private sector, the rights-based approach to health, and the move to results-based aid. The challenges and disagreements that arose during the work of the Taskforce draw attention to the many issues facing decision makers in low-income countries. International donors and recipient governments should work together to improve the evidence base for strengthening health systems, increase long-term commitments, and improve accountability through transparent and inclusive national approaches. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Plant Products Affect Growth and Digestive Efficiency of Cultured Florida Pompano (Trachinotus carolinus) Fed Compounded Diets

Science.gov (United States)

Lech, Gregory P.; Reigh, Robert C.

2012-01-01

Costs of compounded diets containing fish meal as a primary protein source can be expected to rise as fish meal prices increase in response to static supply and growing demand. Alternatives to fish meal are needed to reduce production costs in many aquaculture enterprises. Some plant proteins are potential replacements for fish meal because of their amino acid composition, lower cost and wide availability. In this study, we measured utilization of soybean meal (SBM) and soy protein concentrate (SPC) by Florida pompano fed compounded diets, to determine the efficacy of these products as fish meal replacements. We also calculated apparent digestibility coefficients (ADCs) for canola meal (CM), corn gluten meal (CGM), and distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), following typical methods for digestibility trials. Juvenile Florida pompano were fed fish-meal-free diets containing graded levels of SBM and SPC, and weight gain was compared to a control diet that contained SBM, SPC, and fish meal. Fish fed diets that contained 25–30 percent SBM in combination with 43–39 percent SPC had weight gain equivalent to fish fed the control diet with fish meal, while weight gain of fish fed other soy combinations was significantly less than that of the control group. Apparent crude protein digestibility of CGM was significantly higher than that of DDGS but not significantly different from CM. Apparent energy digestibility of DDGS was significantly lower than CGM but significantly higher than CM. Findings suggested that composition of the reference diet used in a digestibility trial affects the values of calculated ADCs, in addition to the chemical and physical attributes of the test ingredient. PMID:22536344

A global analysis of fine root production as affected by soil nitrogen and phosphorus.

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Z Y; Chen, Han Y H

2012-09-22

Fine root production is the largest component of belowground production and plays substantial roles in the biogeochemical cycles of terrestrial ecosystems. The increasing availability of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) due to human activities is expected to increase aboveground net primary production (ANNP), but the response of fine root production to N and P remains unclear. If roots respond to nutrients as ANNP, fine root production is anticipated to increase with increasing soil N and P. Here, by synthesizing data along the nutrient gradient from 410 natural habitats and from 469 N and/or P addition experiments, we showed that fine root production increased in terrestrial ecosystems with an average increase along the natural N gradient of up to 0.5 per cent with increasing soil N. Fine root production also increased with soil P in natural conditions, particularly at P production increased by a global average of 27, 21 and 40 per cent, respectively. However, its responses differed among ecosystems and soil types. The global average increases in fine root production are lower than those of ANNP, indicating that above- and belowground counterparts are coupled, but production allocation shifts more to aboveground with higher soil nutrients. Our results suggest that the increasing fertilizer use and combined N deposition at present and in the future will stimulate fine root production, together with ANPP, probably providing a significant influence on atmospheric CO(2) emissions.

Product Configuration Systems - Implications for Product Innovation and Development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Edwards, Kasper; Pedersen, Jørgen Lindgaard

2004-01-01

configurations. However, costs are but one parameter on which firms compete and firms must continually innovate new and develop existing products. This paper presents original empirical insights on implementation and use of product configuration systems in a number of Danish industrial firms. The paper discusses...... the organisational changes associated with PCS and how this affects product innovation and development. The paper begins by introducing product configuration systems, which are then placed in context to the firm as a process technology which coordinate different processes: product development, order acquisition......Product Configuration Systems (PCS) is a step in the direction of mass customization in the sense that PCS allows a firm to significantly lower the unit cost of configuration. Thus PCS is a valuable technology for lowering operating costs while retaining a high number of possible product...

Job stress and productivity increase.

Science.gov (United States)

Adaramola, Samson Sunday

2012-01-01

This paper examines mental and physical pressures that workers bear at work. The authors discuss how on the-job stress affects a person's capabilities and productivity, and how such pressures lend to higher incidences of accidents at work. The paper also discuss methods of reducing job-related stress and increasing productivity. An intervention was conducted amongst workers in a private firm. It shows mental and emotional pressure can affect performance and productivity of a worker on the job. One of the biggest influences of today's worker is on the-job stress. Job stress occurs when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker. This consequently affects how a person would normally deal with customer service problems, grievances, violence, conflict, and decisions on the job. Stress is an inevitable part of everyday life, and is therefore a distinct part of a person's job. To properly control the outcome of stress, there are certain precautions and methods that should be taken that will boost productivity.

Thraustochytrids can be grown in low-salt media without affecting PUFA production.

Science.gov (United States)

Shabala, Lana; McMeekin, Tom; Shabala, Sergey

2013-08-01

Marine microheterotrophs thraustochytrids are emerging as a potential source for commercial production of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) that have nutritional and pharmacological values. With prospective demand for PUFAs increasing, biotechnological companies are looking for potential increases in those valuable products. However, high levels of NaCl in the culture media required for optimal thraustochytrid growth and PUFA production poses a significant problem to the biotechnological industry due to corrosion of fermenters calling for a need to reduce the amount of NaCl in the culture media, without imposing penalties on growth and yield of cultured organisms. Earlier, as reported by Shabala et al. (Environ Microbiol 11:1835-1843, 2009), we have shown that thraustochytrids use sodium predominantly for osmotic adjustment purposes and, as such, can be grown in low-salt environment without growth penalties, providing the media osmolality is adjusted. In this study, we verify if that conclusion, made for one specific strain and osmolyte only, is applicable to the larger number of strains and organic osmotica, as well as address the issue of yield quality (e.g., PUFA production in low-saline media). Using mannitol and sucrose for osmotic adjustment of the growth media enabled us to reduce NaCl concentration down to 1 mM; this is 15-100-fold lower than any method proposed so far. At the same time, the yield of essential PUFAs was increased by 15 to 20 %. Taken together, these results suggest that the proposed method can be used in industrial fermenters for commercial PUFA production.

Carbon-to-nitrogen ratio affects the biomass composition and the fatty acid profile of heterotrophically grown Chlorella sp. TISTR 8990 for biodiesel production.

Science.gov (United States)

Singhasuwan, Somruethai; Choorit, Wanna; Sirisansaneeyakul, Sarote; Kokkaew, Nakhon; Chisti, Yusuf

2015-12-20

Chlorella sp. TISTR 8990 was cultivated heterotrophically in media with various initial carbon-to-nitrogen ratios (C/N ratio) and at different agitation speeds. The production of the biomass, its total fatty acid content and the composition of the fatty acids were affected by the C/N ratio, but not by agitation speed in the range examined. The biomass production was maximized at a C/N mass ratio of 29:1. At this C/N ratio, the biomass productivity was 0.68gL(-1)d(-1), or nearly 1.6-fold the best attainable productivity in photoautotrophic growth. The biomass yield coefficient on glucose was 0.62gg(-1) during exponential growth. The total fatty acids (TFAs) in the freeze-dried biomass were maximum (459mgg(-1)) at a C/N ratio of 95:1. Lower values of the C/N ratio reduced the fatty acid content of the biomass. The maximum productivity of TFAs (186mgL(-1)d(-1)) occurred at C/N ratios of 63:1 and higher. At these conditions, the fatty acids were mostly of the polyunsaturated type. Allowing the alga to remain in the stationary phase for a prolonged period after N-depletion, reduced the level of monounsaturated fatty acids and the level of polyunsaturated fatty acids increased. Biotin supplementation of the culture medium reduced the biomass productivity relative to biotin-free control, but had no effect on the total fatty acid content of the biomass. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hooked on an Affect: Detroit Techno and Dystopian Digital Culture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard Pope

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Detroit techno is typically historicized as having grown out of the late 1970s and early 1980s middle-class, consumerist, and aspirational high school social party scene, giving the impression that Detroit techno artists created forward-thinking music as a means to acquire subcultural capital and (reproduce their identities. In this essay, this position is nuanced for a more complex understanding of techno’s relation to the quotidian phenomenological encounter with the dystopian setting of Detroit. Concomitantly, predominant theorizations of affect within the humanities, which emphasize the utopian, hopeful dimensions of affect’s inherent productivity, are supplemented for an understanding of productive energy revolving around affects of dystopia and on a certain hopelessness which scholars, in the years ahead, will increasingly have to negotiate.Keywords: techno, Detroit, dystopia, affect, aesthetic, desire, subculture

29 CFR 784.154 - Relationship to other operations as affecting exemption.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Exemptions Provisions Relating to Fishing and Aquatic Products Marketing, Storing, Packing for Shipment, and Distributing § 784.154 Relationship to other operations as affecting exemption. Employment in marketing... 29 Labor 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Relationship to other operations as affecting exemption...

Factors Affecting Tocopherol Concentrations in Soybean Seeds.

Science.gov (United States)

Carrera, Constanza S; Seguin, Philippe

2016-12-21

Soybean seeds contain several health-beneficial compounds, including tocopherols, which are used by the nutraceutical and functional food industries. Soybean tocopherol concentrations are, however, highly variable. Large differences observed in tocopherol concentrations among soybean genotypes together with the relatively simple biosynthetic pathway involving few genes support the feasibility of selecting for high-tocopherol soybean. Tocopherol concentrations are also highly influenced by environmental factors and field management. Temperature during seed filling and soil moisture appear to be the main factors affecting tocopherol concentrations; other factors such as soil fertility and solar radiation also affect concentrations and composition. Field management decisions including seeding date, row spacing, irrigation, and fertilization also affect tocopherols. Knowledge of factors affecting soybean tocopherols is essential to develop management strategies that will lead to the production of seeds with consistent target concentrations that will meet the needs of the nutraceutical and functional food industries.

Does species richness affect fine root biomass and production in young forest plantations?

Science.gov (United States)

Domisch, Timo; Finér, Leena; Dawud, Seid Muhie; Vesterdal, Lars; Raulund-Rasmussen, Karsten

2015-02-01

Tree species diversity has been reported to increase forest ecosystem above-ground biomass and productivity, but little is known about below-ground biomass and production in diverse mixed forests compared to single-species forests. For testing whether species richness increases below-ground biomass and production and thus complementarity between forest tree species in young stands, we determined fine root biomass and production of trees and ground vegetation in two experimental plantations representing gradients in tree species richness. Additionally, we measured tree fine root length and determined species composition from fine root biomass samples with the near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy method. We did not observe higher biomass or production in mixed stands compared to monocultures. Neither did we observe any differences in tree root length or fine root turnover. One reason for this could be that these stands were still young, and canopy closure had not always taken place, i.e. a situation where above- or below-ground competition did not yet exist. Another reason could be that the rooting traits of the tree species did not differ sufficiently to support niche differentiation. Our results suggested that functional group identity (i.e. conifers vs. broadleaved species) can be more important for below-ground biomass and production than the species richness itself, as conifers seemed to be more competitive in colonising the soil volume, compared to broadleaved species.

Machine learning applied to the prediction of citrus production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Díaz, I.; Mazza, S.M.; Combarro, E.F.; Giménez, L.I.; Gaiad, J.E.

2017-01-01

An in-depth knowledge about variables affecting production is required in order to predict global production and take decisions in agriculture. Machine learning is a technique used in agricultural planning and precision agriculture. This work (i) studies the effectiveness of machine learning techniques for predicting orchards production; and (ii) variables affecting this production were also identified. Data from 964 orchards of lemon, mandarin, and orange in Corrientes, Argentina are analysed. Graphic and analytical descriptive statistics, correlation coefficients, principal component analysis and Biplot were performed. Production was predicted via M5-Prime, a model regression tree constructor which produces a classification based on piecewise linear functions. For all the species studied, the most informative variable was the trees' age; in mandarin and orange orchards, age was followed by between and within row distances; irrigation also affected mandarin production. Also, the performance of M5-Prime in the prediction of production is adequate, as shown when measured with correlation coefficients (~0.8) and relative mean absolute error (~0.1). These results show that M5-Prime is an appropriate method to classify citrus orchards according to production and, in addition, it allows for identifying the most informative variables affecting production by tree.

Machine learning applied to the prediction of citrus production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irene Díaz

2017-07-01

Full Text Available An in-depth knowledge about variables affecting production is required in order to predict global production and take decisions in agriculture. Machine learning is a technique used in agricultural planning and precision agriculture. This work (i studies the effectiveness of machine learning techniques for predicting orchards production; and (ii variables affecting this production were also identified. Data from 964 orchards of lemon, mandarin, and orange in Corrientes, Argentina are analysed. Graphic and analytical descriptive statistics, correlation coefficients, principal component analysis and Biplot were performed. Production was predicted via M5-Prime, a model regression tree constructor which produces a classification based on piecewise linear functions. For all the species studied, the most informative variable was the trees’ age; in mandarin and orange orchards, age was followed by between and within row distances; irrigation also affected mandarin production. Also, the performance of M5-Prime in the prediction of production is adequate, as shown when measured with correlation coefficients (~0.8 and relative mean absolute error (~0.1. These results show that M5-Prime is an appropriate method to classify citrus orchards according to production and, in addition, it allows for identifying the most informative variables affecting production by tree.

Machine learning applied to the prediction of citrus production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Díaz, I.; Mazza, S.M.; Combarro, E.F.; Giménez, L.I.; Gaiad, J.E.

2017-07-01

An in-depth knowledge about variables affecting production is required in order to predict global production and take decisions in agriculture. Machine learning is a technique used in agricultural planning and precision agriculture. This work (i) studies the effectiveness of machine learning techniques for predicting orchards production; and (ii) variables affecting this production were also identified. Data from 964 orchards of lemon, mandarin, and orange in Corrientes, Argentina are analysed. Graphic and analytical descriptive statistics, correlation coefficients, principal component analysis and Biplot were performed. Production was predicted via M5-Prime, a model regression tree constructor which produces a classification based on piecewise linear functions. For all the species studied, the most informative variable was the trees' age; in mandarin and orange orchards, age was followed by between and within row distances; irrigation also affected mandarin production. Also, the performance of M5-Prime in the prediction of production is adequate, as shown when measured with correlation coefficients (~0.8) and relative mean absolute error (~0.1). These results show that M5-Prime is an appropriate method to classify citrus orchards according to production and, in addition, it allows for identifying the most informative variables affecting production by tree.

Socio-economic factors affecting pig production in Enugu state Nigeria

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Regression analysis showed that average market weight of the pigs in the state was 79.0kg. The system of pig production practiced by the farmers highly influenced the weight gain of pigs (P<0.01). It was concluded from the study that majority of the pig farmers in Enugu State were educated, young men who practice ...

Hydrogen peroxide production is affected by oxygen levels in mammalian cell culture.

Science.gov (United States)

Maddalena, Lucas A; Selim, Shehab M; Fonseca, Joao; Messner, Holt; McGowan, Shannon; Stuart, Jeffrey A

2017-11-04

Although oxygen levels in the extracellular space of most mammalian tissues are just a few percent, under standard cell culture conditions they are not regulated and are often substantially higher. Some cellular sources of reactive oxygen species, like NADPH oxidase 4, are sensitive to oxygen levels in the range between 'normal' physiological (typically 1-5%) and standard cell culture (up to 18%). Hydrogen peroxide in particular participates in signal transduction pathways via protein redox modifications, so the potential increase in its production under standard cell culture conditions is important to understand. We measured the rates of cellular hydrogen peroxide production in some common cell lines, including C2C12, PC-3, HeLa, SH-SY5Y, MCF-7, and mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) maintained at 18% or 5% oxygen. In all instances the rate of hydrogen peroxide production by these cells was significantly greater at 18% oxygen than at 5%. The increase in hydrogen peroxide production at higher oxygen levels was either abolished or substantially reduced by treatment with GKT 137831, a selective inhibitor of NADPH oxidase subunits 1 and 4. These data indicate that oxygen levels experienced by cells in culture influence hydrogen peroxide production via NADPH oxidase 1/4, highlighting the importance of regulating oxygen levels in culture near physiological values. However, we measured pericellular oxygen levels adjacent to cell monolayers under a variety of conditions and with different cell lines and found that, particularly when growing at 5% incubator oxygen levels, pericellular oxygen was often lower and variable. Together, these observations indicate the importance, and difficulty, of regulating oxygen levels experienced by cells in culture. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Human activities affecting trace gases and climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braatz, B.; Ebert, C.

1990-01-01

The Earth's climate has been in a constant state of change throughout geologic time due to natural perturbations in the global geobiosphere. However, various human activities have the potential to cause future global warming over a relatively short amount of time. These activities, which affect the Earth's climate by altering the concentrations of trace gases in the atmosphere, include energy consumption, particularly fossil-fuel consumption; industrial processes (production and use of chlorofluorocarbons, halons, and chlorocarbons, landfilling of wastes, and cement manufacture); changes in land use patterns, particularly deforestation and biomass burning; and agricultural practices (waste burning, fertilizer usage, rice production, and animal husbandry). Population growth is an important underlying factor affecting the level of growth in each activity. This paper describes how the human activities listed above contribute to atmospheric change, the current pattern of each activity, and how levels of each activity have changed since the early part of this century

Biotic and abiotic factors affect green ash volatile production and emerald ash borer adult feeding preference.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yigen; Poland, Therese M

2009-12-01

The emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), is an exotic woodborer first detected in 2002 in Michigan and Ontario and is threatening the ash resource in North America. We examined the effects of light exposure and girdling on green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh) volatile production, and effects of light exposure, girdling, and leaf age on emerald ash borer adult feeding preferences and phototaxis. Green ash seedlings grown under higher light exposure had lower amounts of three individual volatile compounds, (Z)-3-hexenol, (E)-beta-ocimene, and (Z,E)-alpha-farnesene, as well as the total amount of six detected volatile compounds. Girdling did not affect the levels of these volatiles. Emerald ash borer females preferred mature leaves, leaves from girdled trees, and leaves grown in the sun over young leaves, leaves from nongirdled trees, and leaves grown in the shade, respectively. These emerald ash borer preferences were most likely because of physical, nutritional, or biochemical changes in leaves in response to the different treatments. Emerald ash borer females and males showed positive phototaxis in laboratory arenas, a response consistent with emerald ash borer preference for host trees growing in sunlight.

Machine learning applied to the prediction of citrus production

OpenAIRE

Díaz Rodríguez, Susana Irene; Mazza, Silvia M.; Fernández-Combarro Álvarez, Elías; Giménez, Laura I.; Gaiad, José E.

2017-01-01

An in-depth knowledge about variables affecting production is required in order to predict global production and take decisions in agriculture. Machine learning is a technique used in agricultural planning and precision agriculture. This work (i) studies the effectiveness of machine learning techniques for predicting orchards production; and (ii) variables affecting this production were also identified. Data from 964 orchards of lemon, mandarin, and orange in Corrientes, Argentina are analyse...

Nitrogen sources affect productivity, desiccation tolerance and storage stability of Beauveria bassiana blastospores.

Science.gov (United States)

Mascarin, G M; Kobori, N N; Jackson, M A; Dunlap, C A; Delalibera, Í

2018-03-01

Nitrogen is a critical element in industrial fermentation media. This study investigated the influence of various nitrogen sources on blastospore production, desiccation tolerance and storage stability using two strains of the cosmopolitan insect-pathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana. Complex organic sources of nitrogen such as soy flour, autolysed yeast and cottonseed flour induced great numbers of blastospores after 2-3 days of fermentation, which also survived drying and remained viable (32-56% survival) after 9 months storage at 4°C, although variations were found between strains. Nitrogen availability in the form of free amino acids directly influenced blastospore production and resistance to desiccation. Increasing glucose and nitrogen concentrations up to 120 and 30 g l -1 , respectively, did not improve blastospore production but enhanced desiccation tolerance. Cell viability after drying and upon fast-rehydration was increased when ≥25 g acid-hydrolysed casein per litre was supplemented in the liquid culture medium. These findings indicate that low-cost complex nitrogen compounds are suitable to enhance yeast-like growth by B. bassiana with good desiccation tolerance and therefore support its further scale-up production as a mycoinsecticide. Nitrogen is the most expensive nutrient in liquid media composition, but this study underscores the feasibility of using low-cost nitrogen compounds composed mainly of agro-industrial by-products for rapid production of desiccation-tolerant B. bassiana blastospores by liquid culture fermentation. © 2018 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Upgrading of citric acid production from cheap carbohydrate sources as affected by aspergillus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elbatal, A.I.; Khalaf, S.A.; Khalil, A.H.

1995-01-01

Five strains of aspergillus niger (EMCC 102, EMCC 104, EMCC 111, EMCC 132 and EMCC 147) were for citric acid production at different incubation period using different cheap carbohydrate substrates, such as beet, cane and citrus molasses and milk whey. A. niger EMCC 111 was found to be the most potent strain for citric acid production from beet molasses after 11 days of incubation at 30 degree. The studies concerning molasses concentration and nitrogen sources (inorganic and organic sources with different concentration, revealed that 30 g% beet molasses and ammonium sulfate with 0.05 g% as N 2 content, gave the highest production of citric acid. Gamma irradiated inocula of A. niger EMCC 111 at doses (0.05-0.8 KGy), showed that the dose 0.4 KGy was the optimum for maximum citric acid production. 8 tabs

Does species richness affect fine root biomass and production in young forest plantations?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Domisch, Timo; Finér, Leena; Dawud, Seid Muhie

2015-01-01

Tree species diversity has been reported to increase forest ecosystem above-ground biomass and productivity, but little is known about below-ground biomass and production in diverse mixed forests compared to single-species forests. For testing whether species richness increases below-ground biomass...... and production and thus complementarity between forest tree species in young stands, we determined fine root biomass and production of trees and ground vegetation in two experimental plantations representing gradients in tree species richness. Additionally, we measured tree fine root length and determined...... be that these stands were still young, and canopy closure had not always taken place, i.e. a situation where above- or below-ground competition did not yet exist. Another reason could be that the rooting traits of the tree species did not differ sufficiently to support niche differentiation. Our results suggested...

Remote sensing for assessing the zone of benefit where deep drains improve productivity of land affected by shallow saline groundwater.

Science.gov (United States)

Kobryn, H T; Lantzke, R; Bell, R; Admiraal, R

2015-03-01

The installation of deep drains is an engineering approach to remediate land salinised by the influence of shallow groundwater. It is a costly treatment and its economic viability is, in part, dependent on the lateral extent to which the drain increases biological productivity by lowering water tables and soil salinity (referred to as the drains' zone of benefit). Such zones may be determined by assessing the biological productivity response of adjacent vegetation over time. We tested a multi-temporal satellite remote sensing method to analyse temporal and spatial changes in vegetation condition surrounding deep drainage sites at five locations in the Western Australian wheatbelt affected by dryland salinity-Morawa, Pithara, Beacon, Narembeen and Dumbleyung. Vegetation condition as a surrogate for biological productivity was assessed by Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) during the peak growing season. Analysis was at the site scale within a 1000 m buffer zone from the drains. There was clear evidence of NDVI increasing with elevation, slope and distance from the drain. After accounting for elevation, slope and distance from the drain, there was a significant increase in NDVI across the five locations after installation of deep drains. Changes in NDVI after drainage were broadly consistent with measured changes at each site in groundwater levels after installation of the deep drains. However, this study assessed the lateral extent of benefit for biological productivity and gave a measure of the area of benefit along the entire length of the drain. The method demonstrated the utility of spring NDVI images for rapid and relatively simple assessment of the change in site condition after implementation of drainage, but approaches for further improvement of the procedure were identified. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A study of affecting factors on the degree of university students ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

There are different factors which affect the way people select and continue their attitudes towards products of certain brands. The main objective of the present study was investigating factors affecting the degree of University students' loyalty to Nike brand. This research is functional in regard with objective and ...

Biochar application for the remediation of salt-affected soils: Challenges and opportunities.

Science.gov (United States)

Saifullah; Dahlawi, Saad; Naeem, Asif; Rengel, Zed; Naidu, Ravi

2018-06-01

Soil salinization and sodification are two commonly occurring major threats to soil productivity in arable croplands. Salt-affected soils are found in >100 countries, and their distribution is extensive and widespread in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. In order to meet the challenges of global food security, it is imperative to bring barren salt-affected soils under cultivation. Various inorganic and organic amendments are used to reclaim the salt-affected lands. The selection of a sustainable ameliorant is largely determined by the site-specific geographical and soil physicochemical parameters. Recently, biochar (solid carbonaceous residue, produced under oxygen-free or oxygen-limited conditions at temperatures ranging from 300 to 1000°C) has attracted considerable attention as a soil amendment. An emerging pool of knowledge shows that biochar addition is effective in improving physical, chemical and biological properties of salt-affected soils. However, some studies have also found an increase in soil salinity and sodicity with biochar application at high rates. Further, the high cost associated with production of biochar and high application rates remains a significant challenge to its widespread use in areas affected by salinity and sodicity. Moreover, there is relatively limited information on the long-term behavior of salt-affected soils subjected to biochar applications. The main objective of the present paper was to review, analyze and discuss the recent studies investigating a role of biochar in improving soil properties and plant growth in salt-affected soils. This review emphasizes that using biochar as an organic amendment for sustainable and profitable use of salt-affected soils would not be practicable as long as low-cost methods for the production of biochar are not devised. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Incubation Temperature, But Not Pequi Oil Supplementation, Affects Methane Production, and the Ruminal Microbiota in a Rumen Simulation Technique (Rusitec System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea C. Duarte

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Lipid supplementation is a promising strategy for methane mitigation in cattle and has been evaluated using several different lipid sources. However, limited studies have assessed the effect of temperature on methane emissions from cattle and changes in incubation temperature have also not been extensively evaluated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the combined effect of pequi oil (high in unsaturated fatty acids and incubation temperature on fermentation characteristics and microbial communities using the rumen simulation technique. A completely randomized experiment was conducted over a 28-day period using a Rusitec system. The experiment was divided into four periods of 7 days each, the first of which was a 7-day adaptation period followed by three experimental periods. The two treatments consisted of a control diet (no pequi oil inclusion and a diet supplemented with pequi oil (1.5 mL/day which increased the dietary fat content to 6% (dry matter, DM-basis. Three fermenter vessels (i.e., replicates were allocated to each treatment. In the first experimental period, the incubation temperature was maintained at 39°C, decreased to 35°C in the second experimental period and then increased again to 39°C in the third. Pequi oil was continuously supplemented during the experiment. Microbial communities were assessed using high-throughput sequencing of the archaeal and bacterial 16S rRNA gene. Methane production was reduced by 57% following a 4°C decrease in incubation temperature. Supplementation with pequi oil increased the dietary fat content to 6% (DM-basis but did not affect methane production. Analysis of the microbiota revealed that decreasing incubation temperature to 35°C affected the archaeal and bacterial diversity and richness of liquid-associated microbes, but lipid supplementation did not change microbial diversity.

Oxidation products are increased in patients affected by non-segmental generalized vitiligo.

Science.gov (United States)

Vaccaro, Mario; Bagnato, Gianluca; Cristani, Mariateresa; Borgia, Francesco; Spatari, Giovanna; Tigano, Valeria; Saja, Antonina; Guarneri, Fabrizio; Cannavò, Serafinella P; Gangemi, Sebastiano

2017-08-01

Several lines of evidence support the relevance of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in vitiligo, but the exact role of glycation and oxidation of macromolecules needs to be better addressed. To investigate the involvement of advanced oxidation protein products (AOPPs) and advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), we performed a case-control association study by spectrofluorimetry and spectrophotometry, in 47 patients with non-segmental generalized vitiligo and 47 age- and sex-matched controls. Significantly higher levels of both AOPPs (p vitiligo patients compared to healthy controls. In vitiligo patients, AGEs and AOPPs serum levels were directly associated with extension, duration of vitiligo, and disease activity. ROS, and in particular AGEs and AOPPs, could represent one of the main biomarkers to assess the onset and progression of vitiligo, due to the potential role as direct inducers of cell damage and also as autoimmunity triggers. Further longitudinal studies involving larger cohorts of patients are required to elucidate the role of oxidation products in the pathogenesis of vitiligo.

Analysis Effect of Environment Attitude, Health Consciousness and Knowledge in Developing Product Perception and Intention to Buy (A Study on Organic Food Product

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Widyasari

2010-12-01

Full Text Available This research intends to study the factors that can affect the product perception and consumer intention in buying organic product.The study is necessary in that it explores at least some of the factors that can affect the product perception and consumer intention in buying organic product. The research results indicated that there was a positive influence of health consciousness towards environment attitude, consumer’s organic product knowledge towards organic product perception, environment attitude and consumer’s organic knowledge towards intention to buy organic product. But, there was a negative influence between environment attitude, health consciousness towards consumer’s organic product perception, and consumer’s organic product towards intention to buy organic product.

The Conservatism of Emoji: Work, Affect, and Communication

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luke Stark

2015-09-01

Full Text Available This piece examines emoji as conduits for affective labor in the social networks of informational capitalism. Emoji, ubiquitous digital images that can appear in text messages, emails, and social media chat platforms, are rich in social, cultural, and economic significance. This article examines emoji as historical, social, and cultural objects, and as examples of skeuomorphism and of technical standardization. Now superseded as explicitly monetized objects by other graphics designed for affective interactions, emoji nonetheless represent emotional data of enormous interest to businesses in the digital economy, and continue to act symbolically as signifiers of affective meaning. We argue that emoji characters both embody and represent the tension between affect as human potential, and as a productive force that capital continually seeks to harness through the management of everyday biopolitics. Emoji are instances of a contest between the creative power of affective labor and its limits within a digital realm in the thrall of market logic.

Biogas production as affected by heavy metals in the anaerobic digestion of sludge

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hussein I. Abdel-Shafy

2014-12-01

The sewage sludge samples were separated from the sewage water of the pilot plant at the National Research Centre, TDC site. The effect of heavy metals on the biogas production of the anaerobic digester was studied. The inhibitory effect on the biogas production and toxic level of metals was determined in this study. The general ranking of heavy metal toxicity appears to be Hg > Cd > Cr (III. The present investigation reveals that heavy metals in addition to the anaerobic digester decreased the biogas production as an indication of efficiency of the process. A significant decrease in gas production and volatile organic matter removal was obtained. It was also noted that an accumulation of organic acid intermediates was obtained as a result of methanogenic bacterial inhibition. This accumulation was limited during the pulse feed of metals. This is due to the rapid poisoning of the active bacterial forms in the digester.

Affects and Affect Consciousness

Science.gov (United States)

MONSEN, JON T.; EILERTSEN, DAG ERIK; MELGÅRD, TROND; ØDEGÅRD, PÅL

1996-01-01

Affect consciousness (AC) was operationalized as degrees of awareness, tolerance, nonverbal expression, and conceptual expression of nine specific affects. A semistructured interview (ACI) and separate scales were developed to assess these aspects of affect integration. Their psychometric properties were preliminarily explored by having 20 former psychiatric outpatients complete the interview. Concurrent validity was assessed by using DSM-III-R Axis I and II diagnoses, the Health-Sickness Rating Scale, SCL-90-R, and several indexes from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. Satisfactory interrater reliability and high levels of internal consistency supported the construct validity of the measure. Results suggest the most meaningful use of this instrument is in measuring specific affect and overall AC. Clinically, the ACI has provided highly specific and relevant qualitative data for use in planning psychotherapeutic interventions. PMID:22700292

Some factors affecting tannase production by Aspergillus niger Van Tieghem

OpenAIRE

Aboubakr, Hamada A.; El-Sahn, Malak A.; El-Banna, Amr A.

2013-01-01

One variable at a time procedure was used to evaluate the effect of qualitative variables on the production of tannase from Aspergillus niger Van Tieghem. These variables including: fermentation technique, agitation condition, tannins source, adding carbohydrates incorporation with tannic acid, nitrogen source type and divalent cations. Submerged fermentation under intermittent shaking gave the highest total tannase activity. Maximum extracellular tannase activity (305 units/ 50 mL) was attai...

Affective Primacy vs. Cognitive Primacy: Dissolving the Debate.

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Vicky Tzuyin; Hagoort, Peter; Casasanto, Daniel

2012-01-01

When people see a snake, they are likely to activate both affective information (e.g., dangerous) and non-affective information about its ontological category (e.g., animal). According to the Affective Primacy Hypothesis, the affective information has priority, and its activation can precede identification of the ontological category of a stimulus. Alternatively, according to the Cognitive Primacy Hypothesis, perceivers must know what they are looking at before they can make an affective judgment about it. We propose that neither hypothesis holds at all times. Here we show that the relative speed with which affective and non-affective information gets activated by pictures and words depends upon the contexts in which stimuli are processed. Results illustrate that the question of whether affective information has processing priority over ontological information (or vice versa) is ill-posed. Rather than seeking to resolve the debate over Cognitive vs. Affective Primacy in favor of one hypothesis or the other, a more productive goal may be to determine the factors that cause affective information to have processing priority in some circumstances and ontological information in others. Our findings support a view of the mind according to which words and pictures activate different neurocognitive representations every time they are processed, the specifics of which are co-determined by the stimuli themselves and the contexts in which they occur.

Affective Primacy vs. Cognitive Primacy: Dissolving the debate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vicky T. Lai

2012-07-01

Full Text Available When people see a snake, they are likely to activate both affective information (e.g., dangerous and non-affective information about its ontological category (e.g., animal. According to the Affective Primacy Hypothesis, the affective information has priority, and its activation can precede identification of the ontological category of a stimulus. Alternatively, according to the Cognitive Primacy Hypothesis, perceivers must know what they are looking at before they can make an affective judgment about it. We propose that neither hypothesis holds at all times. Here we show that the relative speed with which affective and non-affective information gets activated by pictures and words depends upon the contexts in which stimuli are processed. Results illustrate that the question of whether affective information has processing priority over ontological information (or vice versa is ill posed. Rather than seeking to resolve the debate over Cognitive vs. Affective Primacy in favor of one hypothesis or the other, a more productive goal may be to determine the factors that cause affective information to have processing priority in some circumstances and ontological information in others. Our findings support a view of the mind according to which words and pictures activate different neurocognitive representations every time they are processed, the specifics of which are co-determined by the stimuli themselves and the contexts in which they occur.

Nodulation, dry matter production and N2 fixation by fababean and chickpea as affected by soil moisture and potassium fertilizer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurdali, F.; Al-Ain, F.; Al-Ahamma, M.

2003-01-01

The impact of three rates of K-fertilizer (0, 75, and 150 kg K 2 O/ha)on nodulation, dry matter production and N 2 fixation by fababean (Vicia faba L.) and chickpea (Cirer arietinum L.) was evaluated in a pot experiment. The plants were subjected to three soil moisture regimes (low, 45-50%; moderate, 55-60% and high 75-80% of field capacity). 15 N-isotope dilution method was employed to evaluate N 2 fixation using a non-fixing chickpea genotype as a reference crop. Water restriction drastically affected dry matter production, nodulation and N 2 fixation by both plant species. The negative effect of water stress on %N 2 fixed was more prominent in chickpea (11-58%) than in fababean (68-81%) under low and high % of field capacity, respectively. Plant species differed in their response to K-fertilizer as a mean to enhance growth and overcome the stress conditions. The higher level of K fertilizer increased both dry matter production and total N 2 fixed in fababean, but did not have any impact on chickpea. %N 2 fixed, however, appeared to be unaffected by K fertilizer as a mean of alleviating drought stress in both plant species. Therefore, it appears that, under the experimental conditions, the beneficial effect of potassium on water-stressed fababean resulted from stimulation the growth rather than improving the N 2 -fixation efficiency. However, under well-watered plants, a high requirement of the symbiotic system to potassium is needed to ensure and optimal growth and N 2 -fixation. (author)

Developing Automatic Form and Design System Using Integrated Grey Relational Analysis and Affective Engineering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chen-Yuan Liu

2018-01-01

Full Text Available In the modern highly competitive marketplace and global market environment, product quality improvements that abridge development time and reduce the production costs are effective methods for promoting the business competitiveness of a product in shorter lifecycles. Since the design process is the best time to control such parameters, systematically designing the processes to develop a product that more closely fits the demand requirements for the market is a key factor for developing a successful product. In this paper, a combined affective engineering method and grey relational analysis are used to develop a product design process. First, design image scale technology is used to acquire the best the design criteria factors, and then affective engineering methods are used to set the relationships between customer needs and production factors. Finally, grey relational analysis is used to select the optimal design strategy. Using this systematic design method, a higher quality product can be expanded upon in a shorter lead-time for improving business competition.

Social health and dementia: a European consensus on the operationalization of the concept and directions for research and practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Dröes, R M; Chattat, R; Diaz, A; Gove, D; Graff, M; Murphy, K; Verbeek, H; Vernooij-Dassen, M; Clare, L; Johannessen, A; Roes, M; Verhey, F; Charras, K

2017-01-01

Because the pattern of illnesses changes in an aging population and many people manage to live well with chronic diseases, a group of health care professionals recently proposed reformulating the static WHO definition of health towards a dynamic one based on the ability to physically, mentally and socially adapt and self-manage. This paper is the result of a collaborative action of the INTERDEM Social Health Taskforce to operationalize this new health concept for people with dementia, more specifically the social domain, and to formulate directions for research and practice to promote social health in dementia. Based on the expertise of the Social Health Taskforce members (N = 54) three groups were formed that worked on operationalizing the three social health dimensions described by Huber et al.: (1) capacity to fulfil potential and obligations; (2) ability to manage life with some degree of independence; (3) participation in social activities. For each dimension also influencing factors, effective interventions and knowledge gaps were inventoried. After a consensus meeting, the operationalizations of the dimensions were reviewed by the European Working Group of People with Dementia (EWGPWD). The social health dimensions could be well operationalized for people with dementia and are assessed as very relevant according to the Social Health Taskforce and EWGPWD. Personal (e.g. sense of coherence, competencies), disease-related (e.g. severity of cognitive impairments, comorbidity), social (support from network, stigma) and environmental factors (e.g. enabling design, accessibility) that can influence the person with dementia's social health and many interventions promoting social health were identified. A consensus-based operationalization of social health in dementia is proposed, and factors that can influence, and interventions that improve, social health in dementia identified. Recommendations are made for research and practice.

ISSLS Prize Winner: Consensus on the Clinical Diagnosis of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: Results of an International Delphi Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Tomkins-Lane, Christy; Melloh, Markus; Lurie, Jon; Smuck, Matt; Battié, Michele C; Freeman, Brian; Samartzis, Dino; Hu, Richard; Barz, Thomas; Stuber, Kent; Schneider, Michael; Haig, Andrew; Schizas, Constantin; Cheung, Jason Pui Yin; Mannion, Anne F; Staub, Lukas; Comer, Christine; Macedo, Luciana; Ahn, Sang-Ho; Takahashi, Kazuhisa; Sandella, Danielle

2016-08-01

Delphi. The aim of this study was to obtain an expert consensus on which history factors are most important in the clinical diagnosis of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). LSS is a poorly defined clinical syndrome. Criteria for defining LSS are needed and should be informed by the experience of expert clinicians. Phase 1 (Delphi Items): 20 members of the International Taskforce on the Diagnosis and Management of LSS confirmed a list of 14 history items. An online survey was developed that permits specialists to express the logical order in which they consider the items, and the level of certainty ascertained from the questions. Phase 2 (Delphi Study) Round 1: Survey distributed to members of the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine. Round 2: Meeting of 9 members of Taskforce where consensus was reached on a final list of 10 items. Round 3: Final survey was distributed internationally. Phase 3: Final Taskforce consensus meeting. A total of 279 clinicians from 29 different countries, with a mean of 19 (±SD: 12) years in practice participated. The six top items were "leg or buttock pain while walking," "flex forward to relieve symptoms," "feel relief when using a shopping cart or bicycle," "motor or sensory disturbance while walking," "normal and symmetric foot pulses," "lower extremity weakness," and "low back pain." Significant change in certainty ceased after six questions at 80% (P < .05). This is the first study to reach an international consensus on the clinical diagnosis of LSS, and suggests that within six questions clinicians are 80% certain of diagnosis. We propose a consensus-based set of "seven history items" that can act as a pragmatic criterion for defining LSS in both clinical and research settings, which in the long term may lead to more cost-effective treatment, improved health care utilization, and enhanced patient outcomes. 2.

NO3-/NH4+ ratios affect nutritional homeostasis and production of Tanzania guinea grass under Cu toxicity.

Science.gov (United States)

de Souza Junior, João Cardoso; Nogueirol, Roberta Corrêa; Monteiro, Francisco Antonio

2018-05-01

Nitrogen (N) can alleviate metal toxicity. However, as of yet, there have been no studies showing the efficacy of NO 3 - /NH 4 + in mitigating Cu toxicity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the Cu toxicity on the nutritional and productive attributes of Panicum maximum cv. Tanzania as well as the role of NO 3 - and NH 4 + ratios in nutritional homeostasis. The experiment was conducted using 3 × 4 factorial treatments arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. The treatments were three NO 3 - /NH 4 + ratios (100/0, 70/30, and 50/50) and four Cu rates (0.3, 250, 500, and 1000 μmol L -1 ) in nutrient solution. Copper concentrations in the diagnostic leaves (DL) were highest in plants grown under 70/30 NO 3 - /NH 4 + ratios and a Cu rate of 1000 μmol L -1 . In this combination, it was observed that DL had higher concentrations of NH 4 + , greater glutamine synthetase activity, lower chlorophyll concentration (SPAD value), and lower shoot dry mass, suggesting high disorders of nutritional homeostasis. Plants receiving N in the form of NO 3 - and 1000 Cu μmol L -1 showed that DL had lower concentrations of Cu, higher concentration of chlorophyll, higher NO 3 - concentration, higher nitrate reductase activity, and higher NO 3 - accumulation in the roots, suggesting a reduction in disorders of nutritional homeostasis. The disorders on mineral uptake, N assimilation, and biomass production caused by Cu toxicity are shown to be affected by NO 3 - /NH 4 + ratios, and N supply via NO 3 - allowed for better homeostasis of the forage grass.

Parameters affecting incorporation and by-product formation during the production of structured phospholipids by lipase-catalyzed acidolysis in solvent free system

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vikbjerg, Anders Falk; Mu, Huiling; Xu, Xuebing

2005-01-01

By-product formation is a serious problem in the lipase-catalyzed acyl exchange of phospholipids (PL). By-products are formed due to parallel hydrolysis reactions and acyl migration in the reaction system. A clear elucidation of these side reactions is important for practical operation in order...... to minimize by-products during reaction. In the present study we examined the Lipozyme RM IM-catalyzed acidolysis for the production of structured phospholipids between phosphatidylcholine (PC) and caprylic acid in the solvent free system. A five-factor response surface design was used to evaluate...

Cambio climático, afectaciones y oportunidades para la ganadería en Cuba Climate change, affectations and opportunities for livestock production in Cuba

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milagros de la C Milera

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Los fenómenos de la desertificación y la degradación de las tierras, la contaminación de las aguas, los suelos y la atmósfera, la pérdida de la diversidad biológica, el agotamiento de la capa de ozono, la deforestación, el recalentamiento del planeta y otros, han conducido a una encrucijada de la existencia humana. El objetivo del presente trabajo es analizar la adecuación de los principales sistemas de producción ante las afectaciones del cambio climático en Cuba y los resultados de fincas diversificadas que emplean alimentos locales y se han convertido en un recurso, por su contribución para mitigarlo. Se exponen las principales afectaciones ocurridas por el cambio climático y la caracterización del período 2000-2010 en la ganadería en el país. También se presentan los principales retos de los sistemas agroforestales y los resultados productivos de cuando se emplean recursos fitogenéticos herbáceos y arbóreos en diferentes sistemas de producción ganadera, así como las propuestas de sistemas resilientes de alimentación basados en los recursos fitogenéticos forrajeros herbáceos y arbóreos que deben utilizarse como resultado de la innovación tecnológica en las áreas ganaderasThe phenomena of desertification and land degradation, water, soil and atmospheric contamination, loss of biological diversity, depletion of the ozone layer, deforestation, planet warming and others, have led to a crossroads of human existence. The objective of this work is to analyze the adaptation of the main production systems before the affectations of climate change in Cuba and the results of diversified farms which use local feedstuffs and have become a resource, for their contribution to mitigate it. The main affectations occurred due to climate change and the characterization of the period 2000-2010 in the livestock production of the country are presented. The work also shows the main challenges of agroforestry systems and the productive

Standardized computer-based organized reporting of EEG

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Beniczky, Sándor; Aurlien, Harald; Brøgger, Jan C.

2017-01-01

Standardized terminology for computer-based assessment and reporting of EEG has been previously developed in Europe. The International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology established a taskforce in 2013 to develop this further, and to reach international consensus. This work resulted in the se......Standardized terminology for computer-based assessment and reporting of EEG has been previously developed in Europe. The International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology established a taskforce in 2013 to develop this further, and to reach international consensus. This work resulted...... in the second, revised version of SCORE (Standardized Computer-based Organized Reporting of EEG), which is presented in this paper. The revised terminology was implemented in a software package (SCORE EEG), which was tested in clinical practice on 12,160 EEG recordings. Standardized terms implemented in SCORE....... In the end, the diagnostic significance is scored, using a standardized list of terms. SCORE has specific modules for scoring seizures (including seizure semiology and ictal EEG patterns), neonatal recordings (including features specific for this age group), and for Critical Care EEG Terminology. SCORE...

Standardized computer-based organized reporting of EEG SCORE - Second version

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Beniczky, Sándor; Aurlien, Harald; Brøgger, Jan C

2017-01-01

Standardized terminology for computer-based assessment and reporting of EEG has been previously developed in Europe. The International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology established a taskforce in 2013 to develop this further, and to reach international consensus. This work resulted in the se......Standardized terminology for computer-based assessment and reporting of EEG has been previously developed in Europe. The International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology established a taskforce in 2013 to develop this further, and to reach international consensus. This work resulted...... in the second, revised version of SCORE (Standardized Computer-based Organized Reporting of EEG), which is presented in this paper. The revised terminology was implemented in a software package (SCORE EEG), which was tested in clinical practice on 12,160 EEG recordings. Standardized terms implemented in SCORE....... In the end, the diagnostic significance is scored, using a standardized list of terms. SCORE has specific modules for scoring seizures (including seizure semiology and ictal EEG patterns), neonatal recordings (including features specific for this age group), and for Critical Care EEG Terminology. SCORE...

Standardized computer-based organized reporting of EEG

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Beniczky, Sándor; Aurlien, Harald; Brøgger, Jan C.

2017-01-01

Standardized terminology for computer-based assessment and reporting of EEG has been previously developed in Europe. The International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology established a taskforce in 2013 to develop this further, and to reach international consensus. This work resulted in the se......Standardized terminology for computer-based assessment and reporting of EEG has been previously developed in Europe. The International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology established a taskforce in 2013 to develop this further, and to reach international consensus. This work resulted...... in the second, revised version of SCORE (Standardized Computer-based Organized Reporting of EEG), which is presented in this paper. The revised terminology was implemented in a software package (SCORE EEG), which was tested in clinical practice on 12,160 EEG recordings. Standardized terms implemented in SCORE...... are used to report the features of clinical relevance, extracted while assessing the EEGs. Selection of the terms is context sensitive: initial choices determine the subsequently presented sets of additional choices. This process automatically generates a report and feeds these features into a database...

Issues and future directions of 'introduction of Risk Informed Regulation'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

In 2004, Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan (NSC) set up a taskforce for developing a scheme of Risk Informed Regulation (RIR) introduction, which had discussed various aspects of utilization of risk information in nuclear regulations. In the final report compiled in 2007, the taskforce identified the significance of RIR introduction from viewpoint of enhancement of rationality, consistency and transparency as well as appropriate allocation of regulatory resources in the nuclear safety regulation and major issues for the further promotion were as follows: NSC is to maintain the comprehensively promoting function of the RIR introduction with reviewing global trends and latest technological knowledge, regulatory bodies are to further enhance the RIR in inspection and operational area, utilities and industries are to utilize further risk information in their self-maintenance activities and to gather trouble information data, academic societies are to establish the standards for risk evaluation technology and RIR, and research institutes are to carry out safety research and risk training for risk-communicators. This article presented summary of the final report aiming at upgrading safety regulation with enhancement of RIR introduction. (T. Tanaka)

Land availability for biofuel production.

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Ximing; Zhang, Xiao; Wang, Dingbao

2011-01-01

Marginal agricultural land is estimated for biofuel production in Africa, China, Europe, India, South America, and the continental United States, which have major agricultural production capacities. These countries/regions can have 320-702 million hectares of land available if only abandoned and degraded cropland and mixed crop and vegetation land, which are usually of low quality, are accounted. If grassland, savanna, and shrubland with marginal productivity are considered for planting low-input high-diversity (LIHD) mixtures of native perennials as energy crops, the total land availability can increase from 1107-1411 million hectares, depending on if the pasture land is discounted. Planting the second generation of biofuel feedstocks on abandoned and degraded cropland and LIHD perennials on grassland with marginal productivity may fulfill 26-55% of the current world liquid fuel consumption, without affecting the use of land with regular productivity for conventional crops and without affecting the current pasture land. Under the various land use scenarios, Africa may have more than one-third, and Africa and Brazil, together, may have more than half of the total land available for biofuel production. These estimations are based on physical conditions such as soil productivity, land slope, and climate.

Blockage of the pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway affects riboflavin production in Ashbya gossypii.

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Rui; Aguiar, Tatiana Q; Domingues, Lucília

2015-01-10

The Ashbya gossypii riboflavin biosynthetic pathway and its connection with the purine pathway have been well studied. However, the outcome of genetic alterations in the pyrimidine pathway on riboflavin production by A. gossypii had not yet been assessed. Here, we report that the blockage of the de novo pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway in the recently generated A. gossypii Agura3 uridine/uracil auxotrophic strain led to improved riboflavin production on standard agar-solidified complex medium. When extra uridine/uracil was supplied, the production of riboflavin by this auxotroph was repressed. High concentrations of uracil hampered this (and the parent) strain growth, whereas excess uridine favored the A. gossypii Agura3 growth. Considering that the riboflavin and the pyrimidine pathways share the same precursors and that riboflavin overproduction may be triggered by nutritional stress, we suggest that overproduction of riboflavin by the A. gossypii Agura3 may occur as an outcome of a nutritional stress response and/or of an increased availability in precursors for riboflavin biosynthesis, due to their reduced consumption by the pyrimidine pathway. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Factors affecting extension workers in their rendering of effective ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Factors affecting extension workers in their rendering of effective service to pre and ... Small, micro and medium entrepreneurs play an important role in economic ... such as production, marketing and management to adequately service the ...

Economic analysis of variables affecting the plantain ( Musa sp ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Journal of Agriculture, Forestry and the Social Sciences ... The study examined variables affecting plantain (Musa sp) mono cropping system of production by ... land fragmentation, wrong application of fertilizer, high cost of fertilizers, lack of ...

Thermophilic Biohydrogen Production

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Karakashev, Dimitar Borisov; Angelidaki, Irini

2011-01-01

Dark fermentative hydrogen production at thermophilic conditions is attractive process for biofuel production. From thermodynamic point of view, higher temperatures favor biohydrogen production. Highest hydrogen yields are always associated with acetate, or with mixed acetate- butyrate type...... fermentation. On the contrary the hydrogen yield decreases, with increasing concentrations of lactate, ethanol or propionate. Major factors affecting dark fermentative biohydrogen production are organic loading rate (OLR), pH, hydraulic retention time (HRT), dissolved hydrogen and dissolved carbon dioxide...... concentrations, and soluble metabolic profile (SMP). A number of thermophilic and extreme thermophilic cultures (pure and mixed) have been studied for biohydrogen production from different feedstocks - pure substrates and waste/wastewaters. Variety of process technologies (operational conditions...

The Impact of Agricultural Policy Distortions on the Productivity Gap: Evidence from the Rice Production

OpenAIRE

Rakotoarisoa, Manitra A.

2008-01-01

This study determines how production and trade policy distortions affected rice productivity in thirty-three rice-producing countries. A rice-productivity index for each country is constructed, and a model linking the productivity gap with policy distortions is presented. After controlling for the differences in infrastructure, openness, and human capital, this article shows that high subsidies and protection in developed countries combined with taxation of rice farming in poor countries have...

Exposure to Poverty and Productivity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dalton, Patricio; Gonzalez Jimenez, Victor; Noussair, Charles

2016-01-01

We study whether poverty can induce affective states that decrease productivity. In a controlled laboratory setting, we find that subjects randomly assigned to a treatment, in which they view a video featuring individuals that live in extreme poverty, exhibit lower subsequent productivity compared

The affective (re)production of refugee representations through educational policies and practices: Reconceptualising the role of emotion for peace education in a divided country

Science.gov (United States)

Zembylas, Michalinos

2012-08-01

Drawing into a discussion of the politicisation of emotion, this paper develops a framework to analyse some of the processes and strategies by which educational policies and pedagogical practices "emotionalise" the representation of refugees in conflict-ridden societies such as Cyprus and explores the implications for peace education. In particular, this paper aims to refine our understanding of how emotions affect the ways in which educational policies and practices reproduce self-other dichotomies through certain representations of the refugee experience. It is argued that these dichotomies are relevant to the emotional reactions against peace education initiatives. Second, this paper examines alternative possibilities of promoting peaceful coexistence, while taking into consideration the affective (re)production of refugee representations yet without undermining the refugee experience. Better understanding of how emotion is involved will help educational policymakers and teachers in divided societies to take into account the hitherto poorly developed aspects of the ways in which emotions, the refugee experience and peace education are inextricably intertwined.

SMART product innovation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cramer-Petersen, Claus L.; Ahmed-Kristensen, Saeema; Li, Xuemeng

2016-01-01

Among the inspirations for the SMART process is “design to customer value,” where products are modified based on a thorough understanding of customers that allows product developers to eliminate features that do not affect customer satisfaction while including only the elements and functionality...... that customers really appreciate. The SMART process includes methods to understand product value for the customer and the user; analyse the cost of components and processes; combine customer value and cost reduction potentials into feasible, high-value concepts; and generate prototypes that can be tested...... with users and customers....

OPEC's production policies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mabro, R.

1989-01-01

An enlightening study on the workings of OPEC its policies and practices, agreements and disagreements, and how each affects the world petroleum market. The book explores OPEC's production patterns and quota agreements and the relationship between production and pricing policies. Political compromises that have hindered OPEC production agreements and their successful implementation are covered - compromises such as concessions made to the U.A.E. and those resulting from the Gulf war. Notable historical events are cited, and a look into the future at what we can expect of OPEC in coming years concludes the study

How do humans affect wildlife nematodes?

Science.gov (United States)

Weinstein, Sara B.; Lafferty, Kevin D.

2015-01-01

Human actions can affect wildlife and their nematode parasites. Species introductions and human-facilitated range expansions can create new host–parasite interactions. Novel hosts can introduce parasites and have the potential to both amplify and dilute nematode transmission. Furthermore, humans can alter existing nematode dynamics by changing host densities and the abiotic conditions that affect larval parasite survival. Human impacts on wildlife might impair parasites by reducing the abundance of their hosts; however, domestic animal production and complex life cycles can maintain transmission even when wildlife becomes rare. Although wildlife nematodes have many possible responses to human actions, understanding host and parasite natural history, and the mechanisms behind the changing disease dynamics might improve disease control in the few cases where nematode parasitism impacts wildlife.

Object orientation affects spatial language comprehension.

Science.gov (United States)

Burigo, Michele; Sacchi, Simona

2013-01-01

Typical spatial descriptions, such as "The car is in front of the house," describe the position of a located object (LO; e.g., the car) in space relative to a reference object (RO) whose location is known (e.g., the house). The orientation of the RO affects spatial language comprehension via the reference frame selection process. However, the effects of the LO's orientation on spatial language have not received great attention. This study explores whether the pure geometric information of the LO (e.g., its orientation) affects spatial language comprehension using placing and production tasks. Our results suggest that the orientation of the LO influences spatial language comprehension even in the absence of functional relationships. Copyright © 2013 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

How Does Gender Affect Sustainable Intensification of Cereal Production in the West African Sahel? Evidence from Burkina Faso.

Science.gov (United States)

Theriault, Veronique; Smale, Melinda; Haider, Hamza

2017-04-01

Better understanding of gender differences in the adoption of agricultural intensification strategies is crucial for designing effective policies to close the gender gap while sustainably enhancing farm productivity. We examine gender differences in adoption rates, likelihood and determinants of adopting strategy sets that enhance yields, protect crops, and restore soils in the West African Sahel, based on analysis of cereal production in Burkina Faso. Applying a multivariate probit model to a nationally representative household panel, we exploit the individual plot as unit of analysis and control for plot manager characteristics along with other covariates. Reflecting the socio-cultural context of farming combined with the economic attributes of inputs, we find that female managers of individual cereal fields are less likely than their male counterparts to adopt yield-enhancing and soil-restoring strategies, although no differential is apparent for yield-protecting strategies. More broadly, gender-disaggregated regressions demonstrate that adoption determinants differ by gender. Plot manager characteristics, including age, marital status, and access to credit or extension services do influence adoption decisions. Furthermore, household resources influence the probability of adopting intensification strategy sets differently by gender of the plot manager. Variables expressing the availability of household labor strongly influence the adoption of soil-restoring strategies by female plot managers. By contrast, household resources such as extent of livestock owned, value of non-farm income, and area planted to cotton affect the adoption choices of male plot managers. Rectifying the male bias in extension services along with improving access to credit, income, and equipment to female plot managers could contribute to sustainable agricultural intensification.

Does body size of dairy cows, at constant ratio of maintenance to production requirements, affect productivity in a pasture-based production system?

Science.gov (United States)

Hofstetter, P; Steiger Burgos, M; Petermann, R; Münger, A; Blum, J W; Thomet, P; Menzi, H; Kohler, S; Kunz, P

2011-12-01

This study compared productivity of dairy cows with different body weight (BW), but a constant ratio of maintenance to production requirements in their first lactation, in a pasture-based production system with spring calving. Two herds, Herd L (13 and 14 large cows in 2003 and 2004 respectively; average BW after calving, 721 kg) and Herd S (16 small cows in both years; 606 kg) [Correction added after online publication 14 January 2011: 16 small cows in both years; 621 kg was changed to 16 small cows in both years; 606 kg], all in their second or following lactations, were each allocated 6 ha of pasture and rotationally grazed on 10 parallel paddocks with equal herbage offer and nutritional values. Winter hay, harvested from the same pastures, was offered ad libitum in the indoor periods in a tied stall barn. Each herd received, per lactation and year, approximately 2000 kg dry matter (DM) of concentrates and of fodder beets, equally distributed to every individual. Indoors, the L-cows ingested more DM than the S-cows (18.7 vs. 16.3 kg DM/cow per day; p pasture (17.9 vs. 15.5 kg DM/cow per day; p dairy cow types were equally efficient in utilising pasture-based forage. © 2010 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Leading co-production

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tortzen, Anne

leadership styles executed by public managers affect the quality and public value of co-production processes? The paper argues that publicly initiated co-production initiatives are influenced by conflicting governance logics placing public managers in an institutional cross pressure (Lowndes & Roberts, 2013...... of building networks and relations, developing trust and focusing on empowerment and on the participants' resources to develop innovative solutions Drawing on three qualitative case studies of ‘most likely' co-production cases in Danish municipalities, the study identifies three different leadership styles...... and increase public value (Bovaird & Löffler, 2012; Osborne, 2010). The paper argues that a deeper understanding of the dynamics of co-production can be gained from analyzing the leadership dimension of co-production processes, which has hitherto not been given much attention by co-production researchers...

Delivering Mass-Produced Bespoke and Appealing Products

Science.gov (United States)

Childs, Thomas Hc; Dalgarno, Kenneth W.; McKay, Alison

The bottleneck in introducing successful new products quickly to market is moving from factory floor manufacturing to the product design process and interfaces between designers, manufacturers and users. ‘Quality’, for products that contact people, has moved beyond functionality and usability to satisfying people’s subjective and emotional lifestyle needs. Affective (kansei) engineering design offers approaches that can be used to bring the emotional responses of consumers into the design process. In parallel, mass customisation promises the delivery of mass-produced bespoke products to individual users. Together, affective engineering and mass customisation are having a dramatic impact on the ways in which designers, engineers and manufacturers interact with each other. The challenge for leading edge manufacture is to create new product opportunities through integration of and new developments in technology, systems and design.

Product variety, product complexity and manufacturing operational performance: A systematic literature review

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Trattner, Alexandria Lee; Hvam, Lars; Herbert-Hansen, Zaza Nadja Lee

Manufacturing in the twenty-first century has been wrought with the struggle to satisfy the rising demand for greater product variety and more complex products while still maintaining efficient manufacturing operations. However, the literature lacks an overview of which operational performance...... measures are most affected by increased variety and complexity. This study presents a systematic literature review of the recent scholarly literature on variety, complexity and manufacturing operational performance (MOP). Results show that product variety has a consistently negative relationship with MOP...... across different time, cost, quality and flexibility measures while product complexity lacks evidence of strong relationships with MOP measures....

Petunia × hybrida floral scent production is negatively affected by high-temperature growth conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Cna'ani, Alon; Mühlemann, Joelle K; Ravid, Jasmin; Masci, Tania; Klempien, Antje; Nguyen, Thuong T H; Dudareva, Natalia; Pichersky, Eran; Vainstein, Alexander

2015-07-01

Increasing temperatures due to changing global climate are interfering with plant-pollinator mutualism, an interaction facilitated mainly by floral colour and scent. Gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy analyses revealed that increasing ambient temperature leads to a decrease in phenylpropanoid-based floral scent production in two Petunia × hybrida varieties, P720 and Blue Spark, acclimated at 22/16 or 28/22 °C (day/night). This decrease could be attributed to down-regulation of scent-related structural gene expression from both phenylpropanoid and shikimate pathways, and up-regulation of a negative regulator of scent production, emission of benzenoids V (EOBV). To test whether the negative effect of increased temperature on scent production can be reduced in flowers with enhanced metabolic flow in the phenylpropanoid pathway, we analysed floral volatile production by transgenic 'Blue Spark' plants overexpressing CaMV 35S-driven Arabidopsis thaliana production of anthocyanin pigments 1 (PAP1) under elevated versus standard temperature conditions. Flowers of 35S:PAP1 transgenic plants produced the same or even higher levels of volatiles when exposed to a long-term high-temperature regime. This phenotype was also evident when analysing relevant gene expression as inferred from sequencing the transcriptome of 35S:PAP1 transgenic flowers under the two temperature regimes. Thus, up-regulation of transcription might negate the adverse effects of temperature on scent production. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Common Problems Encountered in the Microbiological Analysis of Biocidal Products

OpenAIRE

Özdemir, Güven

2015-01-01

As many parameters that affect the success of a biocidal product, under laboratory conditions there are also factors affecting the reliability and accuracy of tests to determine the microbiological efficacy of these products. The assessment of the microbiological efficacy of the biocidal products and in order to ensure standardization between laboratories it is essential the use of internationally accepted methods.

Porcelain Product Quality Analysis in PT XYZ

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ho Hwi Chie

2015-12-01

Full Text Available PT. XYZ is a company engaged in manufacturing porcelain dinner ware such as plates, cups, teapot, bowl, etc Porcelain product is safe for use and product defect will only affect the aesthetic not the functional side. The company always maintain the quality of the products produced as by maintaining a good product, in terms of visuals, will keep customers interested in the product. Good quality products characterized by quality A / B and C, and the product defect characterized by the quality of D, Lost, and BU. Concepts and methods used to analyze is a statistical process control (SPC which includes Pareto diagram, fraction nonconformities, flow charts and fishbone diagrams and management tools (fault tree analysis. Statistical Process Control (SPC is one of the methods, which includes Pareto charts, fraction nonconformities, flow chart, and fishbone diagram and also management tools (fault tree analysis. SPC is useful to find the facts from the problems and factors that affect the quality of the products, while fault tree analysis is useful to analyze each of the production process.

Study of some factors affecting potato microtuber production in vitro

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Safadi, B.; Ayyoubi, Z.; Jawdat, D.

2000-01-01

The effects of variety, growth regulators, sucrose, and low doses of gamma irradiation on the production of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) microtubers in vitro were investigated. Nodal segments from virus free explants of 3 potato varieties were placed on six different media and irradiated with 4 doses of gamma radiation (2.5, 5, 10, 15 Gy).Potato varieties used in the study differed in their ability to produce microtubers. Variety Diamant was the best in microtuber production followed by Draga and Spunta. Kinetin played a significant role in inducing tuberization in vitro especially at a concentration of 4 mg -1 . Tuberization was also enhanced by sucrose especially when its level was increased from 3% to 6%. Irradiating the explants with 2.5 Gy of gamma radiation leads to a significant increase in number of microtubers (34% increase over the control). Weight of microtubers was not significantly influenced by low doses of gamma irradiation or media components. Draga microtubers were the largest followed by Diamant and Spunta. Microtubers resembled mature tubers in shape (Spunta was elongated and Draga and Diamant were round). Size of microtubers was crucial for sprouting in vivo. It is suggested that only microtubers larger than 250 mg (5 mm in diameter) can be used to produce minitubers in vivo. Since 2.5 Gy is a low dose, it can be used to enhance tuberization in vitro without fear of genetic changes in the used varieties. (author)

A Practice onto Personnel In-Service Training’s Affect to Job Satisfaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emrah Köksal

2011-06-01

Full Text Available The kitchen which is qualified as the hearth of hotels is a department includes kitchen staff whose responsibilities, authority and duties are identified related to an organizational structure and in a hierarchy instead of being merely a physical space with equipment and working areas that are built for food production. The aim of kitchen is to realize food production in the limits of cost, quality and hygiene standards of hotel. Beside many factors which affect job satisfaction and organizational loyalty the training which is going to be received is also important. As knowing the job increases the job satisfaction and self confidence and it also affects the organizational loyalty in a positive way. This study aims that grups hotel, how does in-service training affect kitchen personnel. In this study applied filed technique used in and firstly searched the factors affect job satisfaction and thoughts about in-service training then applied an one-week training to the same personnel. A different survey performed order to measure the affect to job satisfaction of personnel who was in training and to determine is the in-service training suitable.

How does real affect affect affect recognition in speech?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Truong, Khiet Phuong

2009-01-01

The automatic analysis of affect is a relatively new and challenging multidisciplinary research area that has gained a lot of interest over the past few years. The research and development of affect recognition systems has opened many opportunities for improving the interaction between man and

A grand model for chemical product design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fung, Ka Y.; Ng, Ka M.; Zhang, Lei

2016-01-01

, a pricing model, an economic model as well as factors such as company strategy, government policies and regulations. This article introduces the model and highlights selected aspects of the model with two case studies. One is a die attach adhesive that illustrates how pricing affects profitability, and how...... product composition changes with market conditions. Another is a hand lotion that illustrates how product quality affects the profit.(C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved....

JSI-124 inhibits IgE production in an IgE B cell line

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cui, Lulu; Bi, Jiacheng; Yan, Dehong; Ye, Xiufeng; Zheng, Mingxing; Yu, Guang; Wan, Xiaochun

2017-01-01

IgE is a key effector molecule in atopic diseases; however, the regulation mechanisms of IgE production in IgE B cells remain poorly understood. In the present study, we demonstrate that JSI-124 (cucurbitacin I), a selective STAT3 inhibitor, selectively inhibits production of IgE by a human IgE B cell line, CRL-8033 cells, while does not affect the IgG production by IgG B cell lines. In the aspect of molecular mechanism, we found that Igλ, but not Ighe, gene expression was suppressed by JSI-124. The above effects of JSI-124 were not mediated by affecting cellular proliferation or apoptosis. Furthermore, multiple B cell differentiation-related genes expression was not significantly affected by JSI-124. Taken together, we demonstrate a potential strategy of therapeutically suppressing IgE production without affecting IgG production in atopic patients. - Highlights: • JSI-124 inhibits IgE production in an IgE B cell line, CRL-8033 cells. • JSI-124 does not affect IgG production by IgG B cell lines. • JSI-124 inhibits IgE production mainly by suppressing transcription of Igλ.

Monitoring and control of protein production in fungi

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schalén, Martin

: • How is protein production affected on a single cell level due to environmental stress factors? • How can we improve heterologous protein production in filamentous fungi, and how does production in Aspergillus nidulans compare to protein production in the industrially exploited Aspergillus niger...... stress elements on the production of heterologous proteins in S. cerevisiae is investigated. A fluorescent reporter strain, producing an intracellular protein linked to tagRFP from the glycolytic PGK1 promoter is constructed. This strain is used to monitor the level of production in each cell when...... exposed to environmental stress. The cells are grown in shake flasks as well as bioreactors and protein levels are analyzed by flow cytometry. It is demonstrated that the fluorescent reporter can be used to study the effects on stress elements on a population basis. Production of the protein was affected...

FACTORS AFFECTING VARIABILITY OF UDDER MORPHOLOGY TRAITS OF SHEEP

OpenAIRE

Prpić, Zoran; Mioč, Boro; Vnučec, Ivan; Pavić, Vesna; Konjačić, Miljenko

2013-01-01

Until recently, selection of dairy sheep breeds was focused almost exclusively on increasing the amount of milk produced and so today they produce several times more milk than breeds selected for meat and wool. However, due to the permanent striving for increasing sheep milk production udder weight becomes too great, and suspensory system can not withstand this overweight so it ruptures more often. That significantly shortens the duration of animal’s production life and adversely affects udde...

SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS AFFECTING GROUNDNUT PRODUCTION IN SABONGARI LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ibrahim Usman

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Groundnut an important oil seed crop provides significant sources of cash through the sales of seed, cakes, oil and haulms. Groundnut plays an important role in the diets of rural populations. Groundnut pod yields from farmer’s field are low, averaging about 800 kg per ha, less than one-third the potential yield of 3000 kg per ha. This large gap is of concern and in view of this, the study was carried out to assess the socio economic characteristics of groundnut farmers, determine the level of profitability of groundnut production, the resource use efficiency as well as to find out problems encountered in groundnut production in Sabon-gari local government area. Seventy-nine farmers involved in groundnut production were randomly selected from the various farms located within the local government area. Data were collected using primary and secondary sources. To examine the profitability of groundnut production, the gross margin and cost benefit analysis were carried out. The result of the study shows that experienced farmers are less involved in groundnut production and most groundnut farmers are engaged in other form of businesses. The cost, availability, and lack of technical knowledge of inputs requirements are responsible for poor use of the inputs. Labour, fertilizer, seed and herbicides are all over utilized except insecticide which is underutilized. Among the problems encountered in groundnut production in the study are lacks of capital and extension services. These two problems accounted for over 78% of the problem of groundnut in the study area. It is therefore recommended that government and research institutes should strengthen extension services to deliver improved technologies to the farmers. Farmers are also advised to source for loans through cooperatives, banks and other available sources at low charges and the procedure for loan should be made simple to enable farmers’ access loans so that groundnut production can be improved.

Earthworm functional traits and interspecific interactions affect plant nitrogen acquisition and primary production

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Andriuzzi, Walter; Schmidt, Olaf; Brussaard, L.; Faber, J.H.; Bolger, T.

2016-01-01

We performed a greenhouse experiment to test how the functional diversity of earthworms, the dominant group of soil macro-invertebrates in many terrestrial ecosystems, affects nitrogen cycling and plant growth. Three species were chosen to represent a range of functional traits: Lumbricus terrestris

Affect, risk perception, and the use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes: a population study of U.S. adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Popova, Lucy; Owusu, Daniel; Weaver, Scott R; Kemp, Catherine B; Mertz, C K; Pechacek, Terry F; Slovic, Paul

2018-03-22

Tobacco companies argue that the decision to smoke is made by well-informed rational adults who have considered all the risks and benefits of smoking. Yet in promoting their products, the tobacco industry frequently relies on affect, portraying their products as part of a desirable lifestyle. Research examining the roles of affect and perceived risks in smoking has been scant and non-existent for novel tobacco products, such as electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes). We examined the relationship between affect, perceived risk, and current use for cigarettes and e-cigarettes in 2015 in a nationally representative sample of 5398 U.S. adults who were aware of e-cigarettes. Participants held various affective associations with tobacco products, and affect towards cigarettes was more negative than affect towards e-cigarettes. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), affect towards cigarettes and e-cigarettes was associated with cigarette smoking and e-cigarette use respectively, and these associations were both direct and partially mediated by risk perceptions towards smoking and e-cigarette use. More positive affect towards cigarettes or e-cigarettes was associated with lower perceived risks, which in turn was associated with higher odds of being a current cigarette or e-cigarette user. In developing models explaining tobacco use behavior, or in creating public communication campaigns aimed at curbing tobacco use, it is useful to focus not only on the reason based predictors, such as perceptions of risks and benefits, but also on affective predictors. Educational efforts aimed at further smoking reductions should highlight and reinforce negative images and associations with cigarettes.

Microbiological Spoilage of Cereal Products

Science.gov (United States)

Cook, Frederick K.; Johnson, Billie L.

A wide range of cereal products, including bakery items, refrigerated dough, fresh pasta products, dried cereal products, snack foods, and bakery mixes, are manufactured for food consumption. These products are subject to physical, chemical, and microbiological spoilage that affects the taste, aroma, leavening, appearance, and overall quality of the end consumer product. Microorganisms are ubiquitous in nature and have the potential for causing food spoilage and foodborne disease. However, compared to other categories of food products, bakery products rarely cause food poisoning. The heat that is applied during baking or frying usually eliminates pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms, and low moisture contributes to product stability. Nevertheless, microbiological spoilage of these products occurs, resulting in substantial economic losses.

Major constraints affecting aquaculture development in Akwa Ibom ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study contributes to nationwide attempts to enhance the contributions of aquaculture to the fishery subsector, and consequent overall gross domestic product of Nigeria, as well as to the protein intake of her citizenry. The focus is on the determination of the magnitude of constraints affecting aquaculture development in ...

Livestock production: recent trends, future prospects

Science.gov (United States)

Thornton, Philip K.

2010-01-01

The livestock sector globally is highly dynamic. In developing countries, it is evolving in response to rapidly increasing demand for livestock products. In developed countries, demand for livestock products is stagnating, while many production systems are increasing their efficiency and environmental sustainability. Historical changes in the demand for livestock products have been largely driven by human population growth, income growth and urbanization and the production response in different livestock systems has been associated with science and technology as well as increases in animal numbers. In the future, production will increasingly be affected by competition for natural resources, particularly land and water, competition between food and feed and by the need to operate in a carbon-constrained economy. Developments in breeding, nutrition and animal health will continue to contribute to increasing potential production and further efficiency and genetic gains. Livestock production is likely to be increasingly affected by carbon constraints and environmental and animal welfare legislation. Demand for livestock products in the future could be heavily moderated by socio-economic factors such as human health concerns and changing socio-cultural values. There is considerable uncertainty as to how these factors will play out in different regions of the world in the coming decades. PMID:20713389

Making Online Products More Tangible: The Effect of Product Presentation Formats on Product Evaluations.

Science.gov (United States)

Verhagen, Tibert; Vonkeman, Charlotte; van Dolen, Willemijn

2016-07-01

Although several studies have looked at the effects of online product presentations on consumer decision making, no study thus far has considered a potential key factor in online product evaluations: tangibility. The present study aims at filling this gap by developing and testing a model that relates different online product presentation formats to the three-dimensional concept of product tangibility. We test how the three tangibility dimensions influence perceived diagnosticity and, eventually, online purchase intentions. A between-subjects lab experiment (n = 366) was used to test the hypothesized effects of three common online product presentation formats (pictures vs. 360 spin rotation vs. virtual mirror). The results showed that out of these formats, virtual mirrors were superior in providing a sense of product tangibility, followed by the 360-spin rotation format and static pictures. Furthermore, in terms of predictive validity, two of the three tangibility dimensions significantly increased perceived diagnosticity, which, in turn, positively and strongly affected purchase intentions. Overall, our results add to previous works studying the relationships between online product presentation formats and consumer decision making. Also, they hold value for online practitioners by highlighting the potential benefits of applying technologically advanced product presentation formats such as the virtual mirror.

Emotions and Social Sciences in 20th century: The Prequel of Affective Turn

OpenAIRE

Giazú Enciso Domínguez; Alí Lara

2014-01-01

The Affective Turn is an innovative movement that is transforming the production of knowledge based on the study of affect and emotion. To understand the current role of emotions, we proposed a 'prequel. Telling what happened with emotions within the social sciences before the Affective Turn, and before the twentieth century. In this work we explain the present from the past, we tell the story before The History, we pay a debt to a previous work: The Affective Turn. We articulate the prequel ...

Estimating product-to-product variations in metal forming using force measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Havinga, Jos; van den Boogaard, Ton

2017-10-01

The limits of production accuracy of metal forming processes can be stretched by the development of control systems for compensation of product-to-product variations. Such systems require the use of measurements from each semi-finished product. These measurements must be used to estimate the final quality of each product. We propose to predict part of the product-to-product variations in multi-stage forming processes based on force measurements from previous process stages. The reasoning is that final product properties as well as process forces are expected to be correlated since they are both affected by material and process variation. In this study, an approach to construct a moving window process model based on historical data from the process is presented. These regression models can be built and updated in real-time during production. The approach is tested with data from a demonstrator process with cutting, deep drawing and bending stages. It is shown that part of the product-to-product variations in the process can be predicted with the developed process model.

Emotion and food. Do the emotions expressed on other people's faces affect the desire to eat liked and disliked food products?

Science.gov (United States)

Barthomeuf, L; Rousset, S; Droit-Volet, S

2009-02-01

The aim of the present study was to test if pleasure, neutrality and disgust expressed by other individuals on a photograph could affect the desire to eat liked or disliked food products. Forty-four men and women were presented with two series of photographs. The first series of photographs was composed of six food photographs: three liked and three disliked food products. The second series consisted of the same photographs presented with eaters expressing three different emotions: disgust, pleasure or neutrality. Results showed that the effect of the presence of an eater, and of emotions expressed by this eater, depended on the food category. For the liked foods, the desire to eat was higher when these foods were presented alone than with an eater expressing neutral emotion. When the eater expressed pleasure, the desire to eat these liked foods did not significantly increase. In contrast, when the eater expressed disgust, the desire to eat them significantly decreased. When the foods were disliked, the influence of the pleasant social context was stronger than for the liked foods. The desire to eat the disliked foods actually increased in the presence of an eater expressing pleasure. On the contrary, the disgust and neutral context had no effect on the desire for disliked foods.

Spices in a Product Affect Emotions: A Study with an Extruded Snack Product †

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, Brandon; Adhikari, Koushik; Alavi, Sajid; King, Silvia; Haub, Mark

2017-01-01

Food commonly is associated with emotion. The study was designed to determine if a spice blend (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves) high in antioxidants can evoke changes in consumer emotions. This was an exploratory study to determine the effects of these four spices on emotions. Three extruded, dry snack products containing 0, 4, or a 5% spice blend were tested. One day of hedonic and just-about-right evaluations (n = 100), followed by three days of emotion testing were conducted. A human clinical trial (n = 10), using the control and the 4% samples, measured total antioxidant capacity and blood glucose levels. The emotion “Satisfied” increased significantly in the 5% blend, showing an effect of a higher spice content. The 4% blend was significantly higher in total antioxidant capacity than the baseline, but blood glucose levels were not significantly different. PMID:28820459

Spices in a Product Affect Emotions: A Study with an Extruded Snack Product †.

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, Brandon; Adhikari, Koushik; Chambers, Edgar; Alavi, Sajid; King, Silvia; Haub, Mark

2017-08-18

Food commonly is associated with emotion. The study was designed to determine if a spice blend (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves) high in antioxidants can evoke changes in consumer emotions. This was an exploratory study to determine the effects of these four spices on emotions. Three extruded, dry snack products containing 0, 4, or a 5% spice blend were tested. One day of hedonic and just-about-right evaluations ( n = 100), followed by three days of emotion testing were conducted. A human clinical trial ( n = 10), using the control and the 4% samples, measured total antioxidant capacity and blood glucose levels. The emotion "Satisfied" increased significantly in the 5% blend, showing an effect of a higher spice content. The 4% blend was significantly higher in total antioxidant capacity than the baseline, but blood glucose levels were not significantly different.

Assessment of cultivation factors that affect biomass and geraniol production in transgenic tobacco cell suspension cultures.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nikolay Vasilev

Full Text Available A large-scale statistical experimental design was used to determine essential cultivation parameters that affect biomass accumulation and geraniol production in transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv. Samsun NN cell suspension cultures. The carbohydrate source played a major role in determining the geraniol yield and factors such as filling volume, inoculum size and light were less important. Sucrose, filling volume and inoculum size had a positive effect on geraniol yield by boosting growth of plant cell cultures whereas illumination of the cultures stimulated the geraniol biosynthesis. We also found that the carbohydrates sucrose and mannitol showed polarizing effects on biomass and geraniol accumulation. Factors such as shaking frequency, the presence of conditioned medium and solubilizers had minor influence on both plant cell growth and geraniol content. When cells were cultivated under the screened conditions for all the investigated factors, the cultures produced ∼ 5.2 mg/l geraniol after 12 days of cultivation in shaking flasks which is comparable to the yield obtained in microbial expression systems. Our data suggest that industrial experimental designs based on orthogonal arrays are suitable for the selection of initial cultivation parameters prior to the essential medium optimization steps. Such designs are particularly beneficial in the early optimization steps when many factors must be screened, increasing the statistical power of the experiments without increasing the demand on time and resources.

A Causal Model of Faculty Research Productivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Bean, John P.

A causal model of faculty research productivity was developed through a survey of the literature. Models of organizational behavior, organizational effectiveness, and motivation were synthesized into a causal model of productivity. Two general types of variables were assumed to affect individual research productivity: institutional variables and…

An oil production forecast for China considering economic limits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Ke; Feng, Lianyong; Wang, Jianliang; Xiong, Yi; Tverberg, Gail E.

2016-01-01

In recent years, it has become apparent that oil prices may not rise endlessly. Unconventional oil is likely to be especially affected by low prices because it tends to be high-priced to extract. To estimate the impact prices might have on future Chinese oil production, we develop a model in which only future unconventional oil production is affected by price. We analyze three price scenarios: Stays Low, Best Estimate, and Ever-Rising Prices. In these scenarios, remaining Ultimate Recoverable Resources (URR) are estimated to be 10%, 50%, and 90% of remaining Technically Recoverable Resources, respectively. Since oil price can be expected to affect the shape of the extraction curve, we spread estimated URR to year using models that do not assume that future production will ultimately produce a symmetric Hubbert-type curve (Multi-Cycle Generalized Weng Model and Stochastic Resource-Constrained Growth Model). In the Best Estimate Scenario, China's oil production is expected to reach a maximum of 226.79 million tons in 2020. In the Ever-Rising Prices Scenario, China's maximum oil production occurs in 2023. In the Stays Low Scenario, maximum production has already been reached. - Highlights: • China's conventional oil reached a peak in 2010 and has begun to decline. • Unconventional oil production will be especially adversely affected by low prices. • Rising selling price of oil may lead to recession, bringing prices back down. • China's total oil supply appears likely to peak about 2020. • Likely oil production is less than Technically Recoverable Resources.

Towards improving construction labor productivity and projects’ performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mostafa E. Shehata

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Proper management of resources in construction projects can yield substantial savings in time and cost. As construction is a labor-intensive industry, this paper focuses on labor productivity in the construction industry. This study considers the current state-of-the-art issues relevant to this subject. It covers the construction labor productivity definitions, aspects, measurements, factors affecting it, different techniques used for measuring it and modeling techniques. The main outcome from the literature is that there is no standard definition of productivity. This study provides a guide for necessary steps required to improve construction labor productivity and consequently, the project performance. It can help improve the overall performance of construction projects through the implementation of the concept of benchmarks. Also, it gives an up to date concept of loss of productivity measurement for construction productivity claims. Two major case studies, from the literature, are presented to show construction labor productivity rates, factors affecting construction labor productivity and how to improve it.

Magnetic nanowires and hyperthermia: How geometry and material affect heat production efficiency

KAUST Repository

Contreras, Maria F.; Zaher, A.; Perez, Jose E.; Ravasi, Timothy; Kosel, Jü rgen

2015-01-01

Magnetic hyperthermia, which refers to the production of heat by magnetic nanostructures under an alternating magnetic field (AMF), has been previously investigated with superparamagnetic nanobeads as a cancer therapy method. Magnetic nanowires (NWs

Analysis of the Theoretical Relationships Between Product and Production Modularity and their Implications in the Automotive Industry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kubota, Flávio Issao; Cauchick Miguel, Paulo Augusto; Hsuan, Juliana

Research in modularity design and in production systems in the automotive industry is increasing, as many Western and Japanese firms are applying this concept. This study focuses the relationships between modularity in design (MID) and production (MIP). After analysing 60 papers on MID and MIP...... in automotive companies, it was observed that some publications suggest that relationships between MID and MIP can be twoways, i.e. not only the former affects the latter, but the latter also affects the former. Conclusively, the relationships between MID and MIP are relevant and future studies should emphasise...

Environmental conditions affecting exopolysaccharide production by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Micrococcus sp., and Ochrobactrum sp.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiliç, Nur Koçberber; Dönmez, Gönül

2008-06-15

Three different chromium-resistant microorganisms (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Micrococcus sp., and Ochrobactrum sp.) were tested with regard to their EPS production at different pH levels, temperatures, Cr(VI) concentrations, and incubation periods. The optimum pH level was 7 for P. aeruginosa and Micrococcus sp., while it was 8 for Ochrobactrum sp. according to the highest EPS amount at 100 mg/L Cr(VI) concentration. The highest production of EPSs by the three bacteria was obtained under different environmental conditions. P. aeruginosa produced the highest EPS (863.3 mg/L) after incubation for 96 h on media with 50 mg/L Cr(VI) at 20 degrees C, Micrococcus sp. gave the highest yield (444.6 mg/L) after incubation for 72 h on media with 100 mg/L Cr(VI) at the same temperature, and Ochrobactrum sp. had the highest production (430.5 mg/L) on media with 150 mg/L Cr(VI) at 30 degrees C at the end of 48 h of incubation.

Fickle focus: Distraction, affect and the production of value in social media

OpenAIRE

Paasonen, Susanna

2016-01-01

The uses of social media can be seen as driven by a search for affective intensity translating as moments of paying attention, no matter how brief these instances may be. In the framework of attention economy, attention has been discussed as a valuable commodity whereas distraction, involving both pleasurable entertainment and dissatisfactory disorientation, has been associated with cognitive overload and the erosive lack of focus. By discussing clickbait sites and Facebook in particular, thi...

Buying Imported Products Online : A quantitative study about Chinese Online consumer behavior towards imported products

OpenAIRE

Chen, Qianqian; Wang, Yuren

2015-01-01

With the fast growing Chinese online marketplace and the increasing popularity of shopping imported products online in China, more and more practitioners and researchers are interested in understanding the cues that Chinese consumers use to evaluate imported products consumption online. Our quantitative study aims to identify what factors affect the behavior of Chinese online consumers towards imported products and the relationships between the identified factors and purchase intention, and t...

Reproductive status following artificial insemination and factors affecting conception rate in dairy cows in smallholder production systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nordin, Y.; Zaini, N.; Wan Zahari, W.M.

2007-01-01

A survey was conducted to evaluate the reproductive status following artificial insemination (AI) and factors affecting conception rate (CR) in dairy cows under the smallholder production system, using the concentration of progesterone (P4) in milk samples taken on the day of AI (Sample 1), day 10-12 after AI (Sample 2) and day 22-24 after AI (Sample 3). The survey involved 115 cows in 33 farms. A follow-up study was carried out on four farms with interventions to improve record keeping, feed supplementation, heat detection and timely pregnancy diagnosis. Based on Sample 1 (n = 115), 93% of the cows had low P4 and were likely to have been in or close to oestrus at AI. Based on Samples 1 and 2 (n = 107), 85% of the cows had ovulatory oestrus. Based on all three samples (n = 59), 54.2% of the cows appeared to have conceived, 18.6% had either non-fertilization or early embryonic mortality and 18.6% had late embryonic mortality, luteal cyst or a persistent corpus luteum. The incidence of AI on pregnant animals was 1.7% and on those in doubtful reproductive status was 6.8%. The overall CR was 35.5% from 121 inseminations done on 115 cows. Mean intervals from calving to first AI (n = 77) and to conception (n = 43) were 90.7 and 113.6 days, respectively. The effects of level of milk production, lactation state and site of semen deposition on CR were significant (p 0.05) but CR tended to be lower in first parity cows and in cows with excessive body condition. The CR was also lower in farms that practice AI only in the afternoon, in farms where relatively less time was spent on dairy activities and in those farms practicing grazing and supplementation with concentrate only, as compared to those providing additional roughage supplementation. CR tended to be higher when AI was carried out by technicians with longer formal training. The survey showed that there was a high occurrence of ovulatory oestrus in cows under the smallholder production system but the CR obtained was

Task parameters affecting ergonomic demands and productivity of HVAC duct installation.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitropoulos, Panagiotis; Hussain, Sanaa; Guarascio-Howard, Linda; Memarian, Babak

2014-01-01

Mechanical installation workers experience work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) at high rates. (1) Quantify the ergonomic demands during HVAC installation, (2) identify the tasks and task parameters that generated extreme ergonomic demands, and (3) propose improvements to reduce the WMSDs among mechanical workers. The study focused on installation of rectangular ductwork components using ladders, and analyzed five operations by two mechanical contractors. Using continuous time observational assessment, the videotaped operations were analyzed along two dimensions: (1) the production tasks and durations, and (2) the ergonomic demands for four body regions (neck, arms/shoulders, back, and knees). The analysis identified tasks with low portion of productive time and high portion of extreme postures, and task parameters that generated extreme postures. Duct alignment was the task with the highest portion of extreme postures. The position of the ladder (angle and distance from the duct) was a task parameter that strongly influenced the extreme postures for back, neck and shoulders. Other contributing factors included the difficulty to reach the hand tools when working on the ladder, the congestion of components in the ceiling, and the space between the duct and the ceiling. The identified tasks and factors provide directions for improvement.

Impact of product configuration systems on product profitability and costing accuracy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Myrodia, Anna; Kristjansdottir, Katrin; Hvam, Lars

2017-01-01

in control of their product assortment, making the right decisions in the sales phase and increasing sales of optimal products. These benefits should have an impact on the company's ability to make more accurate cost estimations in the sales phase, which can positively affect the products’ profitability......This article aims at analyzing the impact of implementing a product configuration system (PCS) on the increased accuracy of the cost calculations and the increased profitability of the products. Companies that have implemented PCSs have achieved substantial benefits in terms of being more...... and after a PCS was implemented. The comparison in the case study revealed that increased accuracy of the cost calculations in the sales phase and consequently increased profitability can be achieved by implementing a PCS....

AFFECTIVE ASSESSMENT IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

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Siti Mariam

2017-04-01

�� English proficiency ? Method of research The R and D is in the scope of the development affective assessment model of English subject. The affective assessment model can be used to help English teachers to enhance students’ English proficiency from affective point of view. This study is limited to the creation of a model of affective assessment of English subject for students of non- English department. To develop a model of affective assessment of English subject, the researcher has employed Research and Development ( R and D . Research and Development is a research that is done to develop a valid product. Borg and Gall use ten steps in their R and D cycle ( 1983 : 775 . According to Sugiyono ( 2012 : 298 , those ten steps are regrouped into three phases : (1. Exploration Phase ( Preliminary Phase , (2. Prototype Development Phase and (3. Testing Phase.The following are research questions of Exploration Phase, Development Phase and Field Assessment Phase. Method of Data Collection in this study used questionnaire, interview, and library research. The result of study shows that affective assessment consists five aspects namely attitude, self-concept, motivation, interest and personal value. The form of affective assessment is rubric in each aspect.

CONSUMERS PRODUCTS AND SERVICES VALUE PERCEPTION

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Bogdan Nichifor

2008-12-01

Full Text Available This article is a theoretical approach on products and services as value satisfiers. Consumers have knowledge about the personal, symbolic values that products, services and brands help them satisfy or achieve. Values are people’s broad life goals. Values often involve the emotional affect associated with such goals and needs (the strong feelings and emotions that accompany success. Recognizing when a value has been satisfied or a basic life goal has been achieved is an internal feeling that is somewhat intangible and subjective. In contrast, functional and psychosocial consequences are more tangible and are more obvious when they occur. Salespeople add value by identifying customer needs and devising or delivering a solution for those needs. Salespeople are able to adapt how products or/and services are presented or even to adapt products/services so that they meet the needs of the buyers. Such adaption powers professional selling, because customers often don’t know what they need or how to configure a solution to their needs. Satisfying a value usually elicits positive affect (happiness, joy, satisfaction, whereas blocking a value produces negative affect (frustration, anger, disappointment. Consumers can have products and services knowledge about products and services attributes, consequences of products or services use and personal values. Most marketing research focuses on one type of products and services knowledge – usually attributes or consequences, where the focus typically is on benefits rather than risks. Values are examined less frequently and usually in isolation. This paper objective is to show the importance of creating, delivering, and capturing buyer value. A company’s ability to deliver value to its customers is closely tied with its ability to create satisfaction for its employees and other stakeholders. Value ultimately depends on the perceiver. Smart companies not only offer purchase value but also offer use value

Working memory affects false memory production for emotional events.

Science.gov (United States)

Mirandola, Chiara; Toffalini, Enrico; Ciriello, Alfonso; Cornoldi, Cesare

2017-01-01

Whereas a link between working memory (WM) and memory distortions has been demonstrated, its influence on emotional false memories is unclear. In two experiments, a verbal WM task and a false memory paradigm for negative, positive or neutral events were employed. In Experiment 1, we investigated individual differences in verbal WM and found that the interaction between valence and WM predicted false recognition, with negative and positive material protecting high WM individuals against false remembering; the beneficial effect of negative material disappeared in low WM participants. In Experiment 2, we lowered the WM capacity of half of the participants with a double task request, which led to an overall increase in false memories; furthermore, consistent with Experiment 1, the increase in negative false memories was larger than that of neutral or positive ones. It is concluded that WM plays a critical role in determining false memory production, specifically influencing the processing of negative material.

78 FR 76333 - New Postal Product

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-17

... POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION [Docket No. CP2011-4; Order No. 1901] New Postal Product AGENCY: Postal Regulatory Commission. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Commission is noticing a recent Postal Service... not materially affect the cost coverage'' of the product. Id. The Postal Service seeks to incorporate...

Exploring the Consumer Behavior of Intention to Purchase Green Products in Belt and Road Countries: An Empirical Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chih-Cheng Chen

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This study explored the consumer behavior of intention to purchase green products based on a decision-making model that integrates cognitive attributes, affective attributes, and behavioral intentions in Belt and Road countries. The questionnaires were collected from customers who previously purchased green products; this study distributed the questionnaires at the appliance section of the department stores and collected 227 valid responses. Environmental attitude, product attitude, social influence, and perceived monetary value positively affected purchase intention; among these attributes, product attitude most substantially affected purchase intention. Cognitive values (collective and individual significantly and positively affected environmental and product attitudes. Regarding individual environmental literacy, objective knowledge did not significantly affect environmental attitude, whereas subjective knowledge positively and significantly affected product attitude. In addition, both environmental awareness and government role (extrinsic motivating attributes significantly and positively affected environmental and product attitudes for sustainable consumption. Media exposure also exerted a significant positive effect on environmental attitude for reducing, reusing and recycling emissions.

The computation of properties of injection-moulded products

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Douven, L.F.A.; Baaijens, F.P.T.; Meijer, H.E.H.

1995-01-01

Injection moulding is a flexible production technique for the manufacture of complex shaped, thin walled polymer products that require minimal finishing. During processing, the polymer experiences a complex deformation and temperature history that affects the final properties of the product. In a

Comparative study of hops-containing products on human cytochrome P450-mediated metabolism.

Science.gov (United States)

Foster, Brian C; Arnason, John T; Saleem, Ammar; Tam, Teresa W; Liu, Rui; Mao, Jingqin; Desjardins, Suzanne

2011-05-11

The potential for 15 different ales (6), ciders (2 apple and 1 pear), and porters (6) and 2 non-alcoholic products to affect cytochrome P450 (CYP)-mediated biotransformation and P-glycoprotein-mediated efflux of rhodamine was examined. As in our previous study, a wide range of recovered nonvolatile suspended solids dry weights were noted. Aliquots were also found to have varying effects on biotransformation and efflux. Distinct differences in product ability to affect the safety and efficacy of therapeutic products confirmed our initial findings that some porters (stouts) have a potential to affect the safety and efficacy of health products metabolized by CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 isozymes. Most products, except 2 of the ciders and the 2 non-alcoholic products, also have the potential to affect the safety of CYP2C9 metabolized medications and supplements. Further studies are required to determine the clinical significance of these findings.

Affective monitoring: A generic mechanism for affect elicitation

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Hans ePhaf

2012-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper we sketch a new framework for affect elicitation, which is based on previous evolutionary and connectionist modeling and experimental work from our group. Affective monitoring is considered a local match-mismatch process within a module of the neural network. Negative affect is raised instantly by mismatches, incongruency, disfluency, novelty, incoherence, and dissonance, whereas positive affect follows from matches, congruency, fluency, familiarity, coherence, and resonance, at least when an initial mismatch can be solved quickly. Affective monitoring is considered an evolutionary-early conflict and change detection process operating at the same level as, for instance, attentional selection. It runs in parallel and imparts affective flavour to emotional behavior systems, which involve evolutionary-prepared stimuli and action tendencies related to for instance defensive, exploratory, attachment, or appetitive behavior. Positive affect is represented in the networks by high-frequency oscillations, presumably in the gamma band. Negative affect corresponds to more incoherent lower-frequency oscillations, presumably in the theta band. For affect to become conscious, large-scale synchronization of the oscillations over the network and the construction of emotional experiences are required. These constructions involve perceptions of bodily states and action tendencies, but also appraisals as well as efforts to regulate the emotion. Importantly, affective monitoring accompanies every kind of information processing, but conscious emotions, which result from the later integration of affect in a cognitive context, are much rarer events.

Organizational Attributes, Market Growth, and Product Innovation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Song, Michael; Chen, Yan

2014-01-01

Extensive research has shown that organizational attributes affect product innovation. Extending this literature, this article delimits two general categories of organizational attributes and relates them to product innovation. Organizational attributes can be either control oriented or flexibility

HYDROLOGIC CONDITIONS AFFECTING THE TROPOSPHERIC FLUX OF VINCLOZOLIN AND ITS DEGRADATION PRODUCTS

Science.gov (United States)

A laboratory chamber was used to determine hydrologic conditions that lead to the tropospheric flux of a suspected anti-androgenic dicarboximide fungicide, vinclozolin (3-(3,5-dichlorophenyl)-5-methyl-5-vinyl-oxzoli-dine-2,4-dione) and three degradation products from sterilized...

Evaluating the Impact of a New Product on the Sales of other Products

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julian Andreev Vasilev

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to evaluate the impact of a new product on the sales of other products. Launching a new product may lead to increase or decrease of sales in the products of the same group. Customers may continue buying standard products or they may be oriented to new products. New products may cause internal competition. Statistical methods are applied. Time series analysis is used. Transactional database of a confectionary factory is the main source of data. The time series analysis is carried in two datasets – quantities of sales of three products on a daily basis and on a monthly basis. The main methods used are time series analysis and regression analysis. The three time series (corresponding to the three products are separated into two parts – before and after launching the new product. It is proved that the new product does not affect the sales of the two other products. The new product is well accepted and its sales increase together with the sales of the two other products.

The National Shipbuilding Research Program. 1997 Ship Production Symposium, Paper Number 7: Physiological Factors Affecting Quality and Safety in Production Environment

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Cantwell, Vincent

1997-01-01

.... These influences affect all personnel and include in part the quality and quantity of sleep achieved, the effects of sleep loss, circadian influence and phase, time on task, consumption of caffeine...

Soil Resources Area Affects Herbivore Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chad M. Dacus

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Soil productivity effects nutritive quality of food plants, growth of humans and animals, and reproductive health of domestic animals. Game-range surveys sometimes poorly explained variations in wildlife populations, but classification of survey data by major soil types improved effectiveness. Our study evaluates possible health effects of lower condition and reproductive rates for wild populations of Odocoileus virginianus Zimmerman (white-tailed deer in some physiographic regions of Mississippi. We analyzed condition and reproductive data for 2400 female deer from the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks herd health evaluations from 1991–1998. We evaluated age, body mass (Mass, kidney mass, kidney fat mass, number of corpora lutea (CL and fetuses, as well as fetal ages. Region affected kidney fat index (KFI, which is a body condition index, and numbers of fetuses of adults (P ≤ 0.001. Region affected numbers of CL of adults (P ≤ 0.002. Mass and conception date (CD were affected (P ≤ 0.001 by region which interacted significantly with age for Mass (P ≤ 0.001 and CD (P < 0.04. Soil region appears to be a major factor influencing physical characteristics of female deer.

Analysis of Economic Factors Affecting Stock Market

OpenAIRE

Xie, Linyin

2010-01-01

This dissertation concentrates on analysis of economic factors affecting Chinese stock market through examining relationship between stock market index and economic factors. Six economic variables are examined: industrial production, money supply 1, money supply 2, exchange rate, long-term government bond yield and real estate total value. Stock market comprises fixed interest stocks and equities shares. In this dissertation, stock market is restricted to equity market. The stock price in thi...

Equipe interdisciplinar reduz infecção sanguínea relacionada ao cateter venoso central em Unidade de Terapia Intensiva Pediátrica Interdisciplinary task-force reduces catheter-related bloodstream infection in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ricardo Vilela

2010-12-01

Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Avaliar o impacto de intervenções interdisciplinares nos indicadores de infecção de corrente sanguínea relacionada ao cateter venoso central e microrganismos isolados, em uma Unidade de Terapia Intensiva Pediátrica. MÉTODOS: Estudo de intervenção do tipo antes e depois. Foi criado um programa educativo e constituída uma equipe interdisciplinar de intervenção composta por médicos e enfermeiros da unidade e do Serviço de Controle de Infecção Hospitalar. As intervenções foram compostas por medidas diretas e indiretas educativas e processuais. O período pré-intervenção (Fase 1, de junho de 2003 a maio de 2004, foi comparado ao período pós-intervenção nas Fases 2 (junho de 2004 a maio de 2005 e 3 (junho de 2005 a maio de 2006. As taxas de infecção foram comparadas por ANOVA, sendo significante pOBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of interdisciplinary interventions on central venous catheter-related bloodstream infections rates in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU and on the bloodstream infection organisms. METHODS: Interventional study type before-and-after. An educational program was performed and an interdisciplinary team of interventions was created. This team was formed by nurses and doctors of the PICU and of the Infection Control Committee. The interventions were composed by direct and indirect educational and procedural measures. Task-force interventions were developed from Jun/2003 to May/2004. This pre-intervention period (Phase 1 was compared with two post-intervention periods: Phases 2 (Jun/2004 to May/2005 and 3 (Jun/2005 to May/2006. Central venous catheter-related bloodstream infection rates during the three periods were compared by ANOVA, being significant p<0.05. RESULTS: 1,234 patients were studied from June 1st 2003 to May 31, 2006. The number of central venous catheter-related bloodstream infections was 22.72 per 1,000 catheter-days in Phase 1, and 6.81 and 5.87 in Phases 2 and 3

The Use of Alternative Raw Material in Production of Pastry Products as a Progressive Direction in Creating the Products of High Biological Value

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janа Bachinska

2017-02-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the impact of the use of alternative vegetable raw materials in the manufacture of pastry products with high biological value; it presents the results of evaluation of commodity of the developed products and compares them with the main samples presented in Kharkiv trade network. The feasibility of using a mixture of fiber and pumpkin seeds in the technology of pastry production to extend the range of confectionery products of high biological value and products with reduced calories has been proved. Adding the mixture of fiber and pumpkin seeds to biscuits and cakes positively affected the chemical composition of the ready-made product, saturating it with useful and necessary to human body mineral elements, vitamins, dietary fiber.

Physical factors affecting the electrically assisted thermal bitumen recovery

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bogdanov, I.I.; Torres, J.-A.; Kamp, A.M. [CHLOE, University of Pau (France); Corre, B. [CSTJF, Total (France)

2011-07-01

In the heavy oil industry, thermal processes are used to enhance oil recovery by increasing the reservoir temperature which results in better oil mobility. Low frequency heating (LFH) is a technology using electrical conductivity of connate water to propagate current between electrodes, thus generating heat in the reservoir through the Joule effect. During the preheating and production periods, many physical factors may affect the LFH process and the aim of this study was to determine which factors affect the process and how, using a particular pattern of electrodes. Simulations were conducted using the CMG Stars reservoir simulator under different configurations, conditions and parameters. Important physical properties and operational conditions affecting the LFH process were determined and results showed that convection heat, bulk electrical conductivity and power distribution can be improved by salt water circulation. This paper highlighted the physical factors affecting LFH efficiency and these findings will be useful for future process design.

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF COWPEA PRODUCTION IN NIGERIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abba M. Wakili

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This study employs a stochastic frontier production function analysis to examine the productivity and technical efficiency of cowpea production in Adamawa State, Nigeria and also to identify the factors affecting the technical inefficiency using farm level survey data collected from 150 cowpea farmers selected using multi stage sampling technique. Findings from the analysis show that cowpea farmers operated on a very small scale and are profitable. The productivity analysis shows that agro chemicals, fertilizer, farm size and labor were all positively and significantly related to the technical efficiency. The return to scale (RTS of 0.9904 shows that cowpea production was in the rational stage of the production surface. The technical efficiency varies from 0.1094 to 0.9568 with a mean technical efficiency of 0.6649, indicating that farmers were operating below the efficiency frontier. Thus, in the short run, there is a scope to increase output by 34%. The inefficiency model revealed that education of the farmers; extension visits and access to credit are the main factors that affect technical efficiency of the farmers.

MEASURING PRODUCTIVITY OF SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT TEAMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Goparaju Purna Sudhakar

2012-02-01

Full Text Available This paper gives an exhaustive literature review of the techniques and models available tomeasure the productivity of software development teams. Definition of productivity, measuringindividual programmer’s productivity, and measuring software development team productivity arediscussed. Based on the literature review it was found that software productivity measurement canbe done using SLOC (Source Lines of Code, function points, use case points, object points, andfeature points. Secondary research findings indicate that the team size, response time, taskcomplexity, team climate and team cohesion have an impact on software development teamproductivity. List of factors affecting the software development team productivity are studied andreviewed.

Dynamic Synchronization of Teacher-Students Affection in Affective Instruction

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Wenhai; Lu, Jiamei

2011-01-01

Based on Bower's affective network theory, the article links the dynamic analysis of affective factors in affective instruction, and presents affective instruction strategic of dynamic synchronization between teacher and students to implement the best ideal mood that promotes students' cognition and affection together. In the process of teaching,…

Product information affects perception of sensory, collative properties and elicited emotions of Indonesian tempe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fibri, Dwi Larasatie Nur; Frøst, Michael Bom

The effects of product information given to consumers were evaluated on sensory and collative properties of tempe, a traditional Indonesian food. A consumer test on 9 different types of tempe (5 traditionally tempe and 4 more modernized version of tempe) was carried out with 175 Indonesian...... methods, where the traditional was most different from partly modernized and fully modernized. However, interaction is not systematic whether on bean or production type. Information changed the perception on sensory and collative properties of the products. The results demonstrate the powerful effect...... of sensory properties, rating of collative properties and elicited emotions. The results show astonishingly large effects of the information (table 1 and 2). The 5 traditional tempes (produced from velvet bean, black soybean, mungbean, jackbean, and local yellow soybean, all inoculated with traditional usar...

Dirhinus giffardii (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae, parasitoid affecting Black Soldier Fly production systems in West Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emilie Devic

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Interest for insect farming is currently growing globally. Conditions in West Africa appear suitable for developing such farming systems that can benefit communities by improving livelihoods, food and feed security or sanitation. In Ghana and Mali, the Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens Linnaeus, 1758 is being produced for waste recycling and animal feed. In a two stages process (egg and larvae production, egg production was hampered by a pupal parasitoid, Dirhinus giffardii Silvestri, 1913 (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae, which reduced future broodstock by almost 72%. This is the first time D. giffardii is reported as a parasitoid of H. illucens pupae and one of the first reports of parasitism in this commercially important fly species. The introduction of precautionary measures is highly recommended for the success of H. illucens production systems in West Africa.

Technology adoption and the impact on average productivity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hellegers, P.J.G.J.; Zeng, D.; Zilberman, D.

2011-01-01

In this paper, a framework is developed to analyze how the specifications of new technologies and the heterogeneity of micro-units of production affect the input use, the adoption pattern, and the productivity of inputs. It shows that asset-productivity-enhancing (APE) technologies tend to be

Product market integration, rents and wage inequality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Torben M.; Sørensen, Allan

"protection" and "specialization" rents. In particular, wage inequality among similar workers (residual wage inequality) may be U-shaped, at first decreasing and then increasing in the process of product market integration. Consequently, there may be gains in both the efficiency and the equity dimension until......Globalization in the form of product market integration affects labour markets and produces winners and losers. While there are aggregate gains, it is in general ambiguous how inequality is affected. We explore this issue in a Ricardian model and show that it depends on the balance between...

Economics of Gypsum Production in Iran

Science.gov (United States)

Esmaeili, Abdoulkarim

The purpose of this research is to analyze the economics of gypsum production in Iran. The trend in production cost, selling price and profit are used to investigate economics of gypsum production. In addition, the multivariate time series method is used to determine factors affecting gypsum price in domestic market. The results indicated that due to increase in production and inflation, profitability of gypsum production has decreased during recent years. It is concluded that tariff and non-tariff barriers on mines machinery are among reasons for increasing production cost in Iranian gypsum mines. Decreasing such barriers could increase profitability of gypsum production in Iran.

Advocates, interest groups and Australian news coverage of alcohol advertising restrictions: content and framing analysis

OpenAIRE

Fogarty Andrea S; Chapman Simon

2012-01-01

Abstract Background Legislating restrictions on alcohol advertising is a cost-effective measure to reduce consumption of alcohol. Yet Australia relies upon industry self-regulation through voluntary codes of practice regarding the content, timing and placement of alcohol advertising. Ending industry self-regulation was recommended by the National Preventative Health Taskforce; a suggestion contested by the drinks industry. Debates about emerging alcohol-control policies regularly play out in ...

Ergonomics study for workers at food production industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohd Fazi Hamizatun

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The health constraint faced by production workers affects the quality of the work. The productivity of the workers is affected by the Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorder (WMSD which limits the movement of the workers. The comfort workplace condition, known as ergonomic environment is important to prevent the occurrence of the WMSD. Proper ergonomic workplace considers the condition of the workers while doing the assigned work. The objectives of this study are to identify the current problems related to ergonomic in food production process, to analyse the actual production data by using Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA and Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA and to recommend the ergonomic workplace environment based on the condition of the study. The study was done at a Small and Medium Enterprises (SME food production company in the Klang Valley of Malaysia. The condition of the workers affects the productivity of the company due to workers’ health deficiency. From the findings, the workers are exposed to the awkward postures which leads to the Work-Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSDs. Besides, the best height of the worker at the study area (critical area to prevent the worker from WMSDs is within 155 cm to 160 cm. The results show that the workers are exposed to the WMSD in different level of risks which causes high absenteeism among the workers.

Validating YouTube Factors Affecting Learning Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Pratama, Yoga; Hartanto, Rudy; Suning Kusumawardani, Sri

2018-03-01

YouTube is often used as a companion medium or a learning supplement. One of the educational places that often uses is Jogja Audio School (JAS) which focuses on music production education. Music production is a difficult material to learn, especially at the audio mastering. With tutorial contents from YouTube, students find it easier to learn and understand audio mastering and improved their learning performance. This study aims to validate the role of YouTube as a medium of learning in improving student’s learning performance by looking at the factors that affect student learning performance. The sample involves 100 respondents from JAS at audio mastering level. The results showed that student learning performance increases seen from factors that have a significant influence of motivation, instructional content, and YouTube usefulness. Overall findings suggest that YouTube has a important role to student learning performance in music production education and as an innovative and efficient learning medium.

Impact of Climate change on Milk production of Murrah buffaloes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Ashutosh

2010-02-01

Full Text Available Global warming is likely to impact productivity of buffaloes due to their sensitivity to temperature changes. Air temperature, humidity, wind velocity and solar radiation are the main climate variables that affect buffalo production in tropical climate. In the present study sensitivity of lactating Murrah buffaloes to sudden temperature (Tmax, Tmin change and THI have been analyzed from milk production and climatic records (1994-2004 of Karnal. Algorithms were developed and validated on lactating buffaloes during 2005-2006 at the Institute. A sudden change (rise or fall in Maximum/Minimum temperature during summer and winter was observed to affect milk production. The decline in minimum temperature (>3°C during winter and increase (>4°C during summer than normal were observed to negatively impact milk production upto 30% on the next or subsequent days after extreme event. The return to normal milk production depended on severity and time period of thermal stress/ event occurrence. The R² was very low for cool period observed during Feb- April/Sept-Nov and actual effect on milk production was minimum. This indicated that low THI had a relatively small effect on milk production performance. The lactation period of animals are shortened during extreme summer when THI were more than 80 and reproductive functions were also adversely affected. Thermal stressed buffaloes did not exhibit estrus or exhibited estrus for short period. The potential direct effects of possible climate change and global warming on summer season milk production of Murrah buffaloes were evaluated using widely known global circulation model UKMO to represent possible scenarios of future climate. Both milk production and reproductive functions of Murrah buffaloes are likely to be affected due to warming effects.

Examining extrinsic factors that influence product acceptance: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, X E; Jervis, S M; Drake, M A

2015-05-01

Drivers of liking (DOL) studies are useful for product development to formulate acceptable products; however, DOL alone are insufficient for understanding why a product is purchased and repurchased, which is ultimately the indication of a successful product. Ultimately sensory attributes drive product success (that is, repeat and continued purchase). However, ignoring the importance of extrinsic factors may neglect the vital product attributes responsible for the initial purchase, which may in turn, affect repeat purchase. The perception of sensory attributes assessed by DOL is mitigated by external perceptions of quality. If the sensory attributes do not deliver based upon the quality cues, the product will not be acceptable. Four key extrinsic factors that affect DOL are the perceived satiety, brand and labeling, price, and the emotional impact to decision making. In order to more thoroughly understand what the DOL for a product is, these 4 product cues should be considered in conjunction with sensory attribute perception to gain a holistic understanding of product acceptance. © 2015 Institute of Food Technologists®

Issues affecting the acceptance of hydrogen fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schulte, I.; Hart, D.; Vorst, R. van der

2004-01-01

While the topic of hydrogen as an alternative vehicle fuel is gaining increasing attention internationally, one significant aspect of its introduction has been given less attention than others: the public acceptance of such a new technology and fuel. After reviewing the existing literature on acceptance, risk perception and customer satisfaction, this paper describes the development of a model that illustrates important aspects in influencing a person's attitude towards a new product. 'Values', 'wants' and 'perception' are the three components found to influence acceptance, they themselves are affected by 'social background' and 'experience'. Suggestions are then given on how to use marketing methods, education projects and product exposure in order to maximise the likelihood of a successful introduction of hydrogen as an alternative fuel. (author)

Trust and Product/Sellers Reviews as Factors Influencing Online Product Comparison Sites Usage by Young Consumers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Radoslaw Macik

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Paper describes young consumers’ behaviour connected with online product comparison sites usage as an example of online decision shopping aids. Authors’ main goal is to check whether or not such factors as: previous experience in such sites usage, personal innovativeness in domain of information technology – PIIT, and particularly cognitive trust (in several subdimensions, as well as affective trust toward online product comparison site, influence purchase intention via mentioned sites (acting as intermediaries in online sales channel, and anticipated satisfaction from choice made by consumer. Also indirect influence of users’ opinions about product and sellers on mentioned constructs has been researched. Study on effective sample of 456 young consumers with data collected through CAWI questionnaire confirmed reliability and validity of measurement scales. Path model estimated via PLS-SEM confirmed most hypotheses settled, particularly confirming strong positive relationships between cognitive trust (mostly in competence on affective trust, and later on purchase intention and choice satisfaction. Product and sellers reviews were partially mediating some of those relationships.

Will marine productivity wane?

Science.gov (United States)

Laufkötter, Charlotte; Gruber, Nicolas

2018-03-01

If marine algae are impaired severely by global climate change, the resulting reduction in marine primary production would strongly affect marine life and the ocean's biological pump that sequesters substantial amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide in the ocean's interior. Most studies, including the latest generation of Earth system models, project only moderate global decreases in biological production until 2100 (1, 2), suggesting that these concerns are unwarranted. But on page 1139 of this issue, Moore et al. (3) show that this conclusion might be shortsighted and that there may be much larger long-term changes in ocean productivity than previously appreciated.

Efficacy of desensitizing products containing 8% arginine and calcium carbonate for hypersensitivity relief in MIH-affected molars: an 8-week clinical study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bekes, Katrin; Heinzelmann, Karolin; Lettner, Stefan; Schaller, Hans-Günter

2017-09-01

The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy in reducing hypersensitivity in molar incisor hypomineralization (MIH)-affected molars immediately and over 8 weeks combining a single in-office application and a homed-based program with desensitizing products containing 8% arginine and calcium carbonate. Nineteen children with at least one MIH-affected molar with hypersensitivity were included. Hypersensitivity was assessed with an evaporative (air) stimulus and a tactile stimulus. Each child received a single in-office treatment with a desensitizing paste containing 8% arginine and calcium carbonate (elmex Sensitive Professional desensitizing paste), followed by 8 weeks of brushing twice daily with a desensitizing toothpaste containing 8% arginine, calcium carbonate with 1450 ppm fluoride (elmex Sensitive Professional toothpaste), using the elmex Sensitive Professional toothbrush. Additionally, the corresponding mouthwash (elmex Sensitive Professional mouthwash) was used. Clinical assessments were made at baseline, immediately after the in-office treatment and after 1, 2, 4 and 8 weeks of brushing twice daily. Fifty-six molars with an air blast hypersensitivity score of 2 or 3 (Schiff Cold Air Sensitivity Scale) were included. Application of the desensitizing paste decreased hypersensitivity significantly immediately and throughout the 8 weeks recalls (p MIH. This is the first study evaluating the desensitizing effect of a desensitizing paste containing 8% arginine and calcium carbonate in patients with MIH.

Petroleum product market outlook

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-09-01

The influence of petroleum market disturbances on price increases was discussed with particular reference to Hurricane Katrina and the loss of refinery production and damage to oil infrastructure in the United States. The supply of petroleum products in Canada will be very tight heading into the winter of 2006, despite the fact that Canadian refineries are operating at full capacity to ensure an adequate supply of gasoline and diesel fuel for consumers. In addition to refinery production, petroleum supplies are also determined by the adequacy of inventories and the efficiency of the infrastructure in place to deliver products to where they are needed. The lack of spare capacity has reduced the flexibility of the North American refining system to respond to further disruptions. Refiners were asked to provide information on 4 areas of their operations in order for Natural Resources Canada to analyze the short-term outlook for petroleum products markets. The 4 areas included refinery utilization rates and capability to increase production; any planned refinery turnaround that would affect petroleum product supplies; inventory levels compared to levels in previous years; and, any logistical problems that could affect product distribution. A graph depicting the relationship between Canadian production of gasoline and domestic sales clearly illustrated the seasonal nature of gasoline consumption and that production in Canada is much higher than consumption. Canada exports large volumes of gasoline, primarily to the United States eastern seabord from refineries in Atlantic Canada. The trend is similar for diesel fuel. Demand for both gasoline and diesel is expected to continue to grow in 2005 as high prices have had a limited impact on demand growth. In general, the Ontario/Quebec region is short of gasoline and must import gasoline during the summer months to cover the shortfall. It was noted that motorists and homeowners who heat with oil will bear the burden of higher

Clouds and silver linings: positive experiences associated with primary affective disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Jamison, K R; Gerner, R H; Hammen, C; Padesky, C

1980-02-01

Clinical psychiatry has focused almost entirely on the psychopathology of the affective disorders. The authors studied responses of 61 patients (35 bipolar. 26 unipolar) to questions about perceived short- and long-term benefits (increased sensitivity, sexuality, productivity, creativity, and social outgoingness) they attributed to their affective illness. Bipolar patients strongly indicated positive experiences associated with manic-depressive illness; few unipolar patients perceived their disorder in such a way. Significant sex differences emerged in the attributions made by bipolar patients.

75 FR 32767 - Pesticide Products; Registration Applications

Science.gov (United States)

2010-06-09

... 19714. Active ingredient: Chlorantraniliprole. Proposed Uses: Seed treatment on head and leaf lettuce... affected entities may include, but are not limited to: Crop production (NAICS code 111). Animal production.... Active ingredient: Spiromesifen. Proposed Uses: Pea, dry seed; and Peppermint and Spearmint tops. Contact...

Management options for food production systems affected by a nuclear accident. Task 3: diversion of crops grown for human consumption to animal feed

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, J.; Wilkins, B.T.; Nisbet, A.F.

2002-01-01

This report forms part of a series describing a study to evaluate selected options for the management of food production systems affected by a nuclear accident. This report considers the scope for the redirection of contaminated foods grown for human consumption to animal feeds and addresses whether crops grown for human consumption can be used as animal feeds for animal production systems; what the likely impact on contamination levels in animal products is; whether amounts of waste food could be reduced in the event of a nuclear accident; and whether the option is acceptable to the farming industry, retail trade and consumers. The study identified that foods intended for human consumption can be used as animal feeds for beef cattle and sheep and, to a limited extent, for breeding sows but it is essential that a suitable nutritional balance is maintained. The scope to provide suitable alternative diets is, however, limited and is dependent upon the time of year at which the deposition occurs. If crops were contaminated at the relevant CFIL, not all of the alternative diets considered would result in animal products that were below the corresponding CFIL value, thus limiting any benefit in implementing the option. Except possibly in the most extreme of circumstances, this management option would not be considered acceptable by consumers or by the retail trade and farmers would only implement such a measure if there was a suitable market for the resultant produce. This work was undertaken under the Environmental Assessments Department and Emergency Response Group's Quality Management System, which has been approved by Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance to the Quality Management Standards ISO 9001:2000 and TickIT Guide Issue 5, certificate number 956546. (author)

Analysis of factors affecting the effect of stope leaching

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xie Wangnan; Dong Chunming

2014-01-01

The industrial test and industrial trial production of stope leaching were carried out at Taoshan orefield of Dabu deposit. The results of test and trial production showed obvious differences in leaching rate and leaching time. Compared with industrial trial production of stope leaching, the leaching rate of industrial test was higher, and leaching time was shorter. It was considered that the blasting method and liquid arrangement were the main factors affecting the leaching rate and leaching time according to analysis. So we put forward the following suggestions: the technique of deep hole slicing tight-face blasting was used to reduce the yield of lump ores, the effective liquid arrangement methods were adopted to make the lixiviant infiltrating throughout whole ore heap, and bacterial leaching was introduced. (authors)

Maximising methane production in stressed fermentation systems for swine production units

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hill, D T

1984-01-01

For economic reasons, digestion systems must be designed to allow the most compact plant. This forces heavy organic loading and relatively short detention times. Consequently, the digestion system is operating in the region approaching instability. An investigation into the effects on methane productivity of the method used to load anaerobic digesters has shown that when operating in regions approaching stress the method of loading plays a major role in maximising energy output. Since the digestion system is designed for steady-state loading, while the actual operating conditions are dynamic, the loading of the system actually varies greatly and is never at steady state. In loading the digestion system, two methods are available. Either Volatile Solids (VS) loading concentration will vary and loading volume remain constant or loading volume will vary and VS loading concentration remain constant. The choice of which operational method is used in a digestion system already operating under heavy loading greatly affects methane productivity. The internal energy usage of the plant also is affected. Results indicate that gross methane production is approximately 33% higher and VS reduction is increased by 28% for the fermentation plant operating with a varying detention time when compared to operating the same plant with a varying loading concentration. (Refs. 14).

Biomass pretreatment affects Ustilago maydis in producing itaconic acid

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Klement Tobias

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In the last years, the biotechnological production of platform chemicals for fuel components has become a major focus of interest. Although ligno-cellulosic material is considered as suitable feedstock, the almost inevitable pretreatment of this recalcitrant material may interfere with the subsequent fermentation steps. In this study, the fungus Ustilago maydis was used to produce itaconic acid as platform chemical for the synthesis of potential biofuels such as 3-methyltetrahydrofuran. No studies, however, have investigated how pretreatment of ligno-cellulosic biomass precisely influences the subsequent fermentation by U. maydis. Thus, this current study aims to first characterize U. maydis in shake flasks and then to evaluate the influence of three exemplary pretreatment methods on the cultivation and itaconic acid production of this fungus. Cellulose enzymatically hydrolysed in seawater and salt-assisted organic-acid catalysed cellulose were investigated as substrates. Lastly, hydrolysed hemicellulose from fractionated beech wood was applied as substrate. Results U. maydis was characterized on shake flask level regarding its itaconic acid production on glucose. Nitrogen limitation was shown to be a crucial condition for the production of itaconic acid. For itaconic acid concentrations above 25 g/L, a significant product inhibition was observed. Performing experiments that simulated influences of possible pretreatment methods, U. maydis was only slightly affected by high osmolarities up to 3.5 osmol/L as well as of 0.1 M oxalic acid. The production of itaconic acid was achieved on pretreated cellulose in seawater and on the hydrolysed hemicellulosic fraction of pretreated beech wood. Conclusion The fungus U. maydis is a promising producer of itaconic acid, since it grows as single cells (yeast-like in submerged cultivations and it is extremely robust in high osmotic media and real seawater. Moreover, U. maydis can grow on

Liquid and Solid Meal Replacement Products Differentially Affect Postprandial Appetite and Food Intake in Older Adults

Science.gov (United States)

Stull, April J.; Apolzan, John W.; Thalacker-Mercer, Anna E.; Iglay, Heidi B.; Campbell, Wayne W.

2008-01-01

Liquid and solid foods are documented to elicit differential appetitive and food intake responses. This study was designed to assess the influences of liquid vs solid meal replacement products on postprandial appetite ratings and subsequent food intake in healthy older adults. This study used a randomized and crossover design with two 1-day trials (1 week between trials), and 24 adults (12 men and 12 women) aged 50 to 80 years with body mass index (calculated as kg/m2) between 22 and 30 participated. After an overnight fast, the subjects consumed meal replacement products as either a beverage (liquid) or a bar (solid). The meal replacement products provided 25% of each subject's daily estimated energy needs with comparable macro-nutrient compositions. Subjects rated their appetite on a 100 mm quasilogarithmic visual analog scale before and 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 150 minutes after consuming the meal replacement product. At minute 120, each subject consumed cooked oatmeal ad libitum to a “comfortable level of fullness.” Postprandial composite (area under the curve from minute 15 to minute 120) hunger was higher (P=0.04) for the liquid vs solid meal replacement products and desire to eat (P=0.15), preoccupation with thoughts of food (P=0.07), and fullness (P=0.25) did not differ for the liquid vs solid meal replacement products. On average, the subjects consumed 13.4% more oatmeal after the liquid vs solid (P=0.006) meal replacement product. These results indicate that meal replacement products in liquid and solid form do not elicit comparable appetitive and ingestive behavior responses and that meal replacement products in liquid form blunt the postprandial decline in hunger and increase subsequent food intake in older adults. PMID:18589034

Factors affecting capsule size and production by lactic acid bacteria used as dairy starter cultures.

Science.gov (United States)

Hassan, A N; Frank, J F; Shalabi, S I

2001-02-28

The effects of sugar substrates on capsule size and production by some capsule-forming nonropy and ropy dairy starter cultures were studied. Test sugars (glucose, lactose, galactose, or sucrose) were used as a sole carbohydrate source and the presence of a capsule and its size were determined by using confocal scanning laser microscopy. Nonropy strains produced maximum capsule size when grown in milk. Strains that did not produce capsules in milk did not produce them in any other growth medium. Specific sugars required for capsule production were strain-dependent. Increasing lactose content of Elliker broth from 0.5 to 5% or adding whey protein or casein digest produced larger capsules. Whey protein concentrate stimulated production of larger capsules than did casamino acids or casitone. Some Streptococcus thermophilus strains produced capsules when grown on galactose only. Nonropy strains of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus produced capsules on lactose, but not on glucose. A ropy strain of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus produced a constant capsule size regardless of the growth medium. The ability of some strains of Streptococcus thermophilus to use galactose in capsule production could reduce browning of mozzarella cheese during baking by removing a source of reducing sugar. Media that do not support capsule production may improve cell harvesting.

Effects of oncoming target velocities on rapid force production and accuracy of force production intensity and timing.

Science.gov (United States)

Ohta, Yoichi

2017-12-01

The present study aimed to clarify the effects of oncoming target velocities on the ability of rapid force production and accuracy and variability of simultaneous control of both force production intensity and timing. Twenty male participants (age: 21.0 ± 1.4 years) performed rapid gripping with a handgrip dynamometer to coincide with the arrival of an oncoming target by using a horizontal electronic trackway. The oncoming target velocities were 4, 8, and 12 m · s -1 , which were randomly produced. The grip force required was 30% of the maximal voluntary contraction. Although the peak force (Pf) and rate of force development (RFD) increased with increasing target velocity, the value of the RFD to Pf ratio was constant across the 3 target velocities. The accuracy of both force production intensity and timing decreased at higher target velocities. Moreover, the intrapersonal variability in temporal parameters was lower in the fast target velocity condition, but constant variability in 3 target velocities was observed in force intensity parameters. These results suggest that oncoming target velocity does not intrinsically affect the ability for rapid force production. However, the oncoming target velocity affects accuracy and variability of force production intensity and timing during rapid force production.

EFFECT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON COCOA PRODUCTIVITY IN ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Prof. Adipala Ekwamu

The study examined the relative effect of climate change on the productivity of cocoa in Nigeria. Data employed were national ... balance and harm agricultural sectors. However, .... and animal life which will inexorably affect productivity of ...

Forest products industry in a digital age: Factors affecting social media adoption

Science.gov (United States)

Kathryn Gazal; Iris Montague; Rajendra Poudel; Jan Wiedenbeck

2016-01-01

The use of social media as a marketing tool has increased significantly in recent years. However, limited information is available regarding social media use in the US forest products industry or social media adoption at the organizational level, especially within the business-to-business context. This study presents part two of a two-part series of articles that look...

Mechanical Properties of Heat Affected Zone of High Strength Steels

Science.gov (United States)

Sefcikova, K.; Brtnik, T.; Dolejs, J.; Keltamaki, K.; Topilla, R.

2015-11-01

High Strength Steels became more popular as a construction material during last decade because of their increased availability and affordability. On the other hand, even though general use of Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS) is expanding, the wide utilization is limited because of insufficient information about their behaviour in structures. The most widely used technique for joining steels is fusion welding. The welding process has an influence not only on the welded connection but on the area near this connection, the so-called heat affected zone, as well. For that reason it is very important to be able to determine the properties in the heat affected zone (HAZ). This area of investigation is being continuously developed in dependence on significant progress in material production, especially regarding new types of steels available. There are currently several types of AHSS on the world market. Two most widely used processes for AHSS production are Thermo-Mechanically Controlled Processing (TMCP) and Quenching in connection with Tempering. In the presented study, TMCP and QC steels grade S960 were investigated. The study is focused on the changes of strength, ductility, hardness and impact strength in heat affected zone based on the used amount of heat input.

Does Peacetime Military Service Affect Crime?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Albæk, Karsten; Leth-Petersen, Søren; le Maire, Daniel

2017-01-01

Draft lottery data combined with Danish longitudinal administrative records show that military service can reduce criminal activity for youth offenders. For this group, property crime is reduced, and our results indicate that the effect is unlikely to be the result of incapacitation only. We find...... no effect of military service on violent crime, on educational attainment, or on employment and earnings, either in the short run or in the long run. These results suggest that military service does not upgrade productive human capital directly, but rather affects criminal activity through other channels (e...

Purchase Unwillingness and Willingness of Indonesian Consumers towards Israeli Products

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Usep Suhud

2017-11-01

Full Text Available This research aimed to measure factors influencing purchase willingness and purchase unwillingness on Israeli products. Four predictor variables including consumer animosity, product judgment, boycott participation, and boycott motivation were used. Data were collected by an online survey, and it attracted 337 participants. Three stages of data analysis were applied, those were exploratory analyses, confirmatory factor analyses, and Structural Equation Model (SEM. In total, there were seven hypotheses tested. This research finds a significant impact of animosity on product judgment, boycott participation, and boycott motivation. Furthermore, product judgment and boycott participation significantly affect purchase willingness. Meanwhile, boycott participation and boycott motivation significantly affect purchase unwillingness.

How Psychological Stress Affects Emotional Prosody

Science.gov (United States)

Paulmann, Silke; Furnes, Desire; Bøkenes, Anne Ming; Cozzolino, Philip J.

2016-01-01

We explored how experimentally induced psychological stress affects the production and recognition of vocal emotions. In Study 1a, we demonstrate that sentences spoken by stressed speakers are judged by naïve listeners as sounding more stressed than sentences uttered by non-stressed speakers. In Study 1b, negative emotions produced by stressed speakers are generally less well recognized than the same emotions produced by non-stressed speakers. Multiple mediation analyses suggest this poorer recognition of negative stimuli was due to a mismatch between the variation of volume voiced by speakers and the range of volume expected by listeners. Together, this suggests that the stress level of the speaker affects judgments made by the receiver. In Study 2, we demonstrate that participants who were induced with a feeling of stress before carrying out an emotional prosody recognition task performed worse than non-stressed participants. Overall, findings suggest detrimental effects of induced stress on interpersonal sensitivity. PMID:27802287

How Psychological Stress Affects Emotional Prosody.

Science.gov (United States)

Paulmann, Silke; Furnes, Desire; Bøkenes, Anne Ming; Cozzolino, Philip J

2016-01-01

We explored how experimentally induced psychological stress affects the production and recognition of vocal emotions. In Study 1a, we demonstrate that sentences spoken by stressed speakers are judged by naïve listeners as sounding more stressed than sentences uttered by non-stressed speakers. In Study 1b, negative emotions produced by stressed speakers are generally less well recognized than the same emotions produced by non-stressed speakers. Multiple mediation analyses suggest this poorer recognition of negative stimuli was due to a mismatch between the variation of volume voiced by speakers and the range of volume expected by listeners. Together, this suggests that the stress level of the speaker affects judgments made by the receiver. In Study 2, we demonstrate that participants who were induced with a feeling of stress before carrying out an emotional prosody recognition task performed worse than non-stressed participants. Overall, findings suggest detrimental effects of induced stress on interpersonal sensitivity.

TLR-mediated NF-kB-dependent cytokine production is differently affected by HIV therapeutics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Melchjorsen, Jesper; Paludan, Søren Riis; Mogensen, Trine

  Pathogen-recognizing Toll-like receptors 2 (TLR2) and TLR4 are known to recognize a number of pathogens, including E.Coli, S. Pneumonia and N. Meningococcus. We have studied whether a number of HIV therapeutics affect immediate proinflammatory cytokine responses in cell cultures. Preliminary...

International Product Market Integration, Rents and Wage Formation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Allan

including product market rents and the possibility that jobs may be relocated across national labour markets. Possibilities and threats, however, will not in general be uniformly distributed across firms and therefore groups in the labour market. These issues are explored in a Ricardian trade model......International product market integration enhances both export possibilities through easier access to foreign markets, but also the import threat arising from foreign firms penetrating into the domestic market. These mechanisms affect wage formation and employment creation through many channels...... with imperfect competition, heterogeneity in the labour market, and decentralized wage-bargaining. The Paper analyses how product market integration affects wage formation, and identifies characteristics of winners and losers in the integration process....

Integrated use of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria, biogas slurry and chemical nitrogen for sustainable production of maize under salt-affected conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmad, M.; Jamil, M.; Akhtar, F.U.Z.

2014-01-01

Salinity is one of the most critical constraints hampering agricultural production throughout the world, including Pakistan. Some plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) have the ability to reduce the deleterious effect of salinity on plants due to the presence of ACC-deaminase enzyme along with some other mechanisms. The integrated use of organic, chemical and biofertilizers can reduce dependence on expensive chemical inputs. To sustain high crop yields without deterioration of soil fertility, it is important to work out optimal combination of chemical and biofertilizers, and manures in the cropping system. A pot trial was conducted to study the effect of integrated use of PGPR, chemical nitrogen, and biogas slurry for sustainable production of maize under salt-stressed conditions and for good soil health. Results showed that sole application of PGPR, chemical nitrogen and biogas slurry enhanced maize growth but their combined application was more effective. Maximum improvement in maize growth, yield, ionic concentration in leaves and nutrient concentration in grains was observed in the treatment where PGPR and biogas slurry was used in the presence of 100% recommended nitrogen as chemical fertilizer. It also improved the soil pH, ECe, and available N, P and K contents. It is concluded that integrated use of PGPR, biogas slurry and chemical nitrogen not only enhanced maize growth, yield and quality but also improved soil health. So, it may be evaluated under field conditions to get sustained yield of maize from salt-affected soils. (author)

Epoxide hydrolase affects estrogen production in the human ovary.

Science.gov (United States)

Hattori, N; Fujiwara, H; Maeda, M; Fujii, S; Ueda, M

2000-09-01

To investigate the mechanisms of ovarian cell differentiation, we raised a new monoclonal antibody, HCL-3, which reacted with human luteal cells. It also reacted with human and porcine hepatocytes. The immunoaffinity-purified HCL-3 antigen from human corpora lutea (CL) was shown to be a 46-kDa protein. The N-terminal 22 amino acids of the 46-kDa protein from porcine liver exhibited high homology (82%) to human microsomal epoxide hydrolase (mEH). The purified HCL-3 antigen from human CL or porcine liver showed EH enzyme activity, confirming that HCL-3 antigen is identical to mEH, which is reported to detoxify the toxic substrates in the liver. In human follicles, mEH was immunohistochemically detected on granulosa and theca interna cells. In the menstrual and pregnant CL, mEH was also expressed on large and small luteal cells. A competitive inhibitor of EH, 1,2-epoxy-3,3,3-trichloropropane, inhibited the conversion of estradiol from testosterone by granulosa cells cultured in vitro, indicating the involvement of mEH in ovarian estrogen production. Because anticonvulsant sodium valproate and its analogues were reported to inhibit EH enzyme activity, these findings provide a new insight into the etiology of endocrine disorders that are frequently observed among epileptic patients taking anticonvulsant drugs.

Field emissions of N2O during biomass production may affect the sustainability of agro-biofuels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Carter, Mette Sustmann; Hauggaard-Nielsen, Henrik; Heiske, Stefan