Mesenchymal stem cell 1 (MSC1-based therapy attenuates tumor growth whereas MSC2-treatment promotes tumor growth and metastasis.

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Ruth S Waterman

Full Text Available Currently, there are many promising clinical trials using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs in cell-based therapies of numerous diseases. Increasingly, however, there is a concern over the use of MSCs because they home to tumors and can support tumor growth and metastasis. For instance, we established that MSCs in the ovarian tumor microenvironment promoted tumor growth and favored angiogenesis. In parallel studies, we also developed a new approach to induce the conventional mixed pool of MSCs into two uniform but distinct phenotypes we termed MSC1 and MSC2.Here we tested the in vitro and in vivo stability of MSC1 and MSC2 phenotypes as well as their effects on tumor growth and spread. In vitro co-culture of MSC1 with various cancer cells diminished growth in colony forming units and tumor spheroid assays, while conventional MSCs or MSC2 co-culture had the opposite effect in these assays. Co-culture of MSC1 and cancer cells also distinctly affected their migration and invasion potential when compared to MSCs or MSC2 treated samples. The expression of bioactive molecules also differed dramatically among these samples. MSC1-based treatment of established tumors in an immune competent model attenuated tumor growth and metastasis in contrast to MSCs- and MSC2-treated animals in which tumor growth and spread was increased. Also, in contrast to these groups, MSC1-therapy led to less ascites accumulation, increased CD45+leukocytes, decreased collagen deposition, and mast cell degranulation.These observations indicate that the MSC1 and MSC2 phenotypes may be convenient tools for the discovery of critical components of the tumor stroma. The continued investigation of these cells may help ensure that cell based-therapy is used safely and effectively in human disease.

Infusion of Trx-1-overexpressing hucMSC prolongs the survival of acutely irradiated NOD/SCID mice by decreasing excessive inflammatory injury.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

JiangWei Hu

Full Text Available A protective reagent for ARI should have the ability to repair injured tissue caused by radiation and prevent continuous damage from secondary risk factors. Trx-1 was explored as a candidate therapy for ARI, as it scavenges reactive oxygen species, regulates cell growth and differentiation, participates in immune reactions, and inhibits apoptosis by acting inside and/or outside cells. Trx-1 can also decrease excessive inflammation in ARI by regulating the creation of inflamed media, by inhibiting the activation of complement, and by reducing the chemotaxis, adhesion, and migration of inflammatory cells. As effectively and stably expressing exogenous genes in the long term and regulating immune inflammation and tissue repair, MSC are a good choice for Trx-1 gene therapy. In this study, Trx-1-overexpressing hucMSC-Trx-1 were obtained by adenoviral vector-mediated infection. We first measured the redox capacity of hucMSC-Trx-1 with an antioxidant capacity (T-AOC assay, a hydrogen peroxide (H2O2 content determination assay in vivo, a H2O2-induced oxidation hemolysis assay, and a lipid peroxidation assay in vitro. Then, we measured survival time, the protection of the hematopoietic system, and the regulation of inflammation in important organs in three treatment groups of NOD/SCID mice (treated with hucMSC-Trx-1, with hucMSC, and with saline that were exposed to 4.5 Gy (60Co-γ-ray radiation. The hucMSC-Trx-1 group achieved superior antioxidation results, protecting bone marrow hematopoietic stem cells (Lin(-CD117(+: hucMSC-Trx-1 vs. hucMSC, P<0.05; hucMSC-Trx-1 vs. NS, P<0.01, promoting the formation of red blood cells and hemoglobin (hucMSC-Trx-1 vs. hucMSC or NS, P<0.05, reducing inflammation and damage in important organs (Bone marrow and lung: hucMSC-Trx-1 vs. NS, P<0.01; hucMSC-Trx-1 vs. hucMSC, P<0.05. Liver and intestine: hucMSC-Trx-1 vs. NS, P<0.05; hucMSC-Trx-1 vs. hucMSC, P<0.05, and prolonging survival (hucMSC-Trx-1 vs. hucMSC or NS, P<0

Infusion of Trx-1-overexpressing hucMSC prolongs the survival of acutely irradiated NOD/SCID mice by decreasing excessive inflammatory injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, JiangWei; Yang, ZaiLiang; Wang, Jun; Tang, YongYong; Liu, Hao; Zhang, Bin; Chen, Hu

2013-01-01

A protective reagent for ARI should have the ability to repair injured tissue caused by radiation and prevent continuous damage from secondary risk factors. Trx-1 was explored as a candidate therapy for ARI, as it scavenges reactive oxygen species, regulates cell growth and differentiation, participates in immune reactions, and inhibits apoptosis by acting inside and/or outside cells. Trx-1 can also decrease excessive inflammation in ARI by regulating the creation of inflamed media, by inhibiting the activation of complement, and by reducing the chemotaxis, adhesion, and migration of inflammatory cells. As effectively and stably expressing exogenous genes in the long term and regulating immune inflammation and tissue repair, MSC are a good choice for Trx-1 gene therapy. In this study, Trx-1-overexpressing hucMSC-Trx-1 were obtained by adenoviral vector-mediated infection. We first measured the redox capacity of hucMSC-Trx-1 with an antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) assay, a hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content determination assay in vivo, a H2O2-induced oxidation hemolysis assay, and a lipid peroxidation assay in vitro. Then, we measured survival time, the protection of the hematopoietic system, and the regulation of inflammation in important organs in three treatment groups of NOD/SCID mice (treated with hucMSC-Trx-1, with hucMSC, and with saline) that were exposed to 4.5 Gy (60)Co-γ-ray radiation. The hucMSC-Trx-1 group achieved superior antioxidation results, protecting bone marrow hematopoietic stem cells (Lin(-)CD117(+): hucMSC-Trx-1 vs. hucMSC, PTrx-1 vs. NS, PTrx-1 vs. hucMSC or NS, PTrx-1 vs. NS, PTrx-1 vs. hucMSC, PTrx-1 vs. NS, PTrx-1 vs. hucMSC, PTrx-1 vs. hucMSC or NS, PTrx-1 combines the merits of gene and cell therapy as a multifunctional radioprotector for ARI.

Management scenarios for the Jordan River salinity crisis

Science.gov (United States)

Farber, E.; Vengosh, A.; Gavrieli, I.; Marie, Amarisa; Bullen, T.D.; Mayer, B.; Holtzman, R.; Segal, M.; Shavit, U.

2005-01-01

Recent geochemical and hydrological findings show that the water quality of the base flow of the Lower Jordan River, between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, is dependent upon the ratio between surface water flow and groundwater discharge. Using water quality data, mass-balance calculations, and actual flow-rate measurements, possible management scenarios for the Lower Jordan River and their potential affects on its salinity are investigated. The predicted scenarios reveal that implementation of some elements of the Israel-Jordan peace treaty will have negative effects on the Jordan River water salinity. It is predicted that removal of sewage effluents dumped into the river (???13 MCM/a) will significantly reduce the river water's flow and increase the relative proportion of the saline groundwater flux into the river. Under this scenario, the Cl content of the river at its southern point (Abdalla Bridge) will rise to almost 7000 mg/L during the summer. In contrast, removal of all the saline water (16.5 MCM/a) that is artificially discharged into the Lower Jordan River will significantly reduce its Cl concentration, to levels of 650-2600 and 3000-3500 mg/L in the northern and southern areas of the Lower Jordan River, respectively. However, because the removal of either the sewage effluents or the saline water will decrease the river's discharge to a level that could potentially cause river desiccation during the summer months, other water sources must be allocated to preserve in-stream flow needs and hence the river's ecosystem. ?? 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

MSC in clinics: Liver Transplantation

OpenAIRE

DETRY, Olivier

2014-01-01

For several years, mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) have been evaluated in vivo and in vitro for their immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, anti- ischemia-reperfusion injury and “tissue repair” properties. These characteristics could make them interesting in various clinical applications, and particularly in organ transplantation. Taking advantage of our centre expertise and experience concerning MSC use in graft-versus-host disease after bone marrow transplantation and using already functioning ...

Pulling MscL open via N-terminal and TM1 helices: A computational study towards engineering an MscL nanovalve.

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Adam D Martinac

Full Text Available There are great opportunities in the manipulation of bacterial mechanosensitive (MS ion channels for specific and targeted drug delivery purposes. Recent research has shown that these ion channels have the potential to be converted into nanovalves through clever use of magnetic nanoparticles and magnetic fields. Using a combination of molecular dynamics (MD simulations and the finite element (FE modelling, this study investigates the theoretical feasibility of opening the MscL channel (MS channel of large conductance of E. coli by applying mechanical force directly to its N-terminus. This region has already been reported to function as a major mechanosensor in this channel. The stress-strain behaviour of each MscL helix was obtained using all atom MD simulations. Using the same method, we simulated two models, the wild-type (WT MscL and the G22N mutant MscL, both embedded in a POPE lipid bilayer. In addition to indicating the main interacting residues at the hydrophobic pore, their pairwise interaction energies were monitored during the channel gating. We implemented these inputs into our FE model of MscL using curve-fitting codes and continuum mechanics equations. In the FE model, the channel could be fully opened via pulling directly on the N-terminus and bottom of TM1 by mutating dominant van der Waals interactions in the channel pore; otherwise the stress generated on the channel protein can irreversibly unravel the N-secondary structure. This is a significant finding suggesting that applying force in this manner is sufficient to open an MscL nanovalve delivering various drugs used, for example, in cancer chemotherapy. More importantly, the FE model indicates that to fully operate an MscL nanovalve by pulling directly on the N-terminus and bottom of TM1, gain-of-function (GOF mutants (e.g., G22N MscL would have to be employed rather than the WT MscL channel.

Messinian post-evaporitic paleogeography of the Po Plain-Adriatic region by 3D numerical modeling: implications for the Central Mediterranean desiccation during the MSC

Science.gov (United States)

Amadori, Chiara; Garcia-Castellanos, Daniel; Di Giulio, Andrea; Fantoni, Roberto; Ghielmi, Manlio; Sternai, Pietro; Toscani, Giovanni

2017-04-01

In the last decades the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) has been the topic of a number of studies, in particular in onshore areas, as they offer a unique opportunity to analyze the controlling factors and the geological consequences of the estimated 1.5 km sea-level drop. During the MSC, the geometry of western and eastern sides of the Mediterranean basin was similar to the present day basin while, important changes took place in the central portion as a consequence of the (still ongoing) tectonic activity of the Apennine domain. Recent high-resolution 2D seismo-stratigraphic and 1D backstripping analysis by Eni E&P group described a step-wise sea-level lowering during evaporitic and post-evaporitic MSC phases in the Po Plain-Northern Adriatic foreland (PPAF), with a sea-level drop not exceeding 900 m. Thanks to a dense grid of 2D seismic profiles, integrated with ca. 200 well logs (confidential data, courtesy of ENI E&P), a 3D reconstruction of the entire northern PPAF basin geometry and the facies distribution during the Latest Messinian time has been carried out. In this study, we performed a 3D backstripping and lithospheric scale uplift calculations of the northern PPAF basin testing the 800-900m of sea-level draw down. The resulted restored Latest Messinian paleotopography (corresponding to the bottom Pliocene in the most of the study area) and related shoreline position, strongly fit with the recentmost continental/marine facies distribution maps. The latest Messinian morphology shows deep marine basins persisting during the entire MSC period, filled by clastic turbiditic sediments and a wide emerged area along the Southern Alps margin and Friulian-Venetian basin. A 3D reconstruction of the Latest Messinian surface shows peculiar river incisions along the Southern Alps margin; these V-shape canyons perfectly fit with the present day fluvial network, dating back the drainage origin at least at the Messinian acme. Moreover, if in a well-constrained marginal

Student performance in a newly developed MSc programme

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Richelsen, Ann Bettina

2011-01-01

The Technical University of Denmark (DTU) offers, as a consequence of the Bologna Declaration, international Master of Science in Engineering (MSc) programmes. Thereby, one of the challenges for DTU is to evaluate international applicants with an educational engineering background and traditions...... other than DTUs and allow qualified students to enter the MSc programmes. The focus of the present work is a comparison of how international and Danish students perform within specific modules of the MSc curriculum in Engineering Design and Applied Mechanics at Technical University of Denmark...

TACT: A Set of MSC/PATRAN- and MSC/NASTRAN- based Modal Correlation Tools

Science.gov (United States)

Marlowe, Jill M.; Dixon, Genevieve D.

1998-01-01

This paper describes the functionality and demonstrates the utility of the Test Analysis Correlation Tools (TACT), a suite of MSC/PATRAN Command Language (PCL) tools which automate the process of correlating finite element models to modal survey test data. The initial release of TACT provides a basic yet complete set of tools for performing correlation totally inside the PATRAN/NASTRAN environment. Features include a step-by-step menu structure, pre-test accelerometer set evaluation and selection, analysis and test result export/import in Universal File Format, calculation of frequency percent difference and cross-orthogonality correlation results using NASTRAN, creation and manipulation of mode pairs, and five different ways of viewing synchronized animations of analysis and test modal results. For the PATRAN-based analyst, TACT eliminates the repetitive, time-consuming and error-prone steps associated with transferring finite element data to a third-party modal correlation package, which allows the analyst to spend more time on the more challenging task of model updating. The usefulness of this software is presented using a case history, the correlation for a NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) low aspect ratio research wind tunnel model. To demonstrate the improvements that TACT offers the MSC/PATRAN- and MSC/DIASTRAN- based structural analysis community, a comparison of the modal correlation process using TACT within PATRAN versus external third-party modal correlation packages is presented.

TLR4 plays a crucial role in MSC-induced inhibition of NK cell function

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lu, Ying [No. 307 Hospital of the Chinese People' s Liberation Army, Beijing (China); Liu, Jin; Liu, Yang; Qin, Yaru [Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing (China); Luo, Qun [No. 307 Hospital of the Chinese People' s Liberation Army, Beijing (China); Wang, Quanli, E-mail: 13691110351@163.com [No. 307 Hospital of the Chinese People' s Liberation Army, Beijing (China); Duan, Haifeng, E-mail: duanhf0720@163.com [Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing (China)

2015-08-21

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are a kind of stromal cell within the tumor microenvironment. In our research, MSC derived from acute myeloid leukemia patients' bone marrow (AML-MSC) and lung cancer tissues (LC-MSC) as well as normal bone marrow-derived MSC (BM-MSC) cultured in conditioned medium of HeLa cells were found to have higher expressions of Toll-like receptor (TLR4) mRNA compared with BM-MSC. The sorted TLR4-positive MSC (TLR4+ MSC) differed in cytokine (interleukin-6, interleukin-8, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1) secretion from those of unsorted MSC. MSC was reported to inhibit natural killer (NK) cell proliferation and function. In this research, we confirmed that TLR4+ MSC aggravate this suppression. Furthermore, when TLR4 in the sorted cells were stimulated by LPS or following blocked by antibody, the suppression on NK cell proliferation and cytotoxicity were more intensive or recovered respectively. Compared to unsorted MSC, NKG2D receptor expression on NK cells were also inhibited by TLR4+ MSC. These findings suggest that activation of TLR4 pathway is important for TLR4+ MSC and MSC to obstruct anti-tumor immunity by inhibiting NK cell function, which may provide a potential stroma-targeted tumor therapy. - Highlights: • TLR4+ MSC inhibit NK cell proliferation in vivo and in vitro. • TLR4+ MSC inhibit NKG2D expression on NK cells and NK cell cytotoxicity. • The distinguished cytokine expression of TLR4+ MSC may contribute to the inhibition on NK cell function.

GMP-compliant isolation and large-scale expansion of bone marrow-derived MSC.

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Natalie Fekete

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC have gained importance in tissue repair, tissue engineering and in immunosupressive therapy during the last years. Due to the limited availability of MSC in the bone marrow, ex vivo amplification prior to clinical application is requisite to obtain therapeutic applicable cell doses. Translation of preclinical into clinical-grade large-scale MSC expansion necessitates precise definition and standardization of all procedural parameters including cell seeding density, culture medium and cultivation devices. While xenogeneic additives such as fetal calf serum are still widely used for cell culture, its use in the clinical context is associated with many risks, such as prion and viral transmission or adverse immunological reactions against xenogeneic components. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We established animal-free expansion protocols using platelet lysate as medium supplement and thereby could confirm its safety and feasibility for large-scale MSC isolation and expansion. Five different GMP-compliant standardized protocols designed for the safe, reliable, efficient and economical isolation and expansion of MSC was performed and MSC obtained were analyzed for differentiation capacity by qPCR and histochemistry. Expression of standard MSC markers as defined by the International Society for Cellular Therapy as well as expression of additional MSC markers and of various chemokine and cytokine receptors was analysed by flow cytometry. Changes of metabolic markers and cytokines in the medium were addressed using the LUMINEX platform. CONCLUSIONS: The five different systems for isolation and expansion of MSC described in this study are all suitable to produce at least 100 millions of MSC, which is commonly regarded as a single clinical dose. Final products are equal according to the minimal criteria for MSC defined by the ISCT. We showed that chemokine and integrin receptors analyzed had the same expression pattern

Gamma irradiation and heat treatment for sterilization of Mushroom Spent Compost (MSC)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosnani Abdul Rashid; Hassan Hamdani Mutaat; Foziah Ali; Zainab Harun; Hoe, P.C.K.; Mohd Meswan Maskom; Khairuddin Abdul Rahim

2016-01-01

Mushroom spent compost (MSC) refers to substrate residue from mushroom cultivation. MSC can be used as a material to improve soil properties for farming. MSC is also suitable as a carrier or substrate to hold beneficial microorganisms in bio fertilizer products. The carrier for bio fertilizer products must be sterilized completely before inoculating with bacteria inoculum. In this study, the effects of gamma irradiation and heat on sterilization of MSC were evaluated by microbial enumeration technique. The MSC was packed into polyethylene bags. The packed MSC were irradiated at different doses of 0 (control), 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 kGy, and heat sterilized at different autoclaving time of 0 (control), 15, 30, 45 and 60 minutes, separately. The irradiated and autoclaved samples were enumerated for viable colonies. The results showed that MSC was completely sterilized by gamma irradiation at the dose of 30 kGy whilst sterilization by heat required 30 minute autoclaving time. (author)

Hungarian medical physics MSc education

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Legrady, D.; Czifrus, Z.; Zarand, P.; Aszodi, A.; Pesznyak, C.; Major, T.

2012-01-01

The medical physics specialisation aims at providing high level interdisciplinary theoretical and practical knowledge and readily applicable skills, which can put into action in both the clinical and the R and D field. The first competence based gradual medical physics course in the B.Sc./M.Sc. system in Hungary was launched two years ago at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of Budapest University of Technology and Economics managed by the Institute of Nuclear Techniques. The MSc programme was compiled on the base of EFOMP, IPEM, AAPM and IAEA recommendations. The course curriculum comprises fundamental physical subjects (atomic and molecular physics, nuclear physics and particle physics) as well as fundamental medical knowledge (anatomy, physiology and radiobiology) required for subjects of diagnostic and therapy. Students of this MSc branch may chose further subjects from a 'compulsory optional' set of subjects, which contains medical imaging, X-ray diagnostics, radiation therapy, magnetic resonance imaging, radiation protection, Monte Carlo calculation and its clinical applications, ultrasound diagnostics and nuclear medicine. (authors)

Using PAFEC as a preprocessor for MSC/NASTRAN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gray, W.H.; Baudry, T.V.

1983-01-01

Programs for Automatic Finite Element Calculations (PAFEC) is a general-purpose, three-dimensional, linear and nonlinear finite element program. PAFEC's features include free-format input using engineering keywords, powerful mesh-generating facilities, sophisticated database management procedures, and extensive data validation checks. Presented here is a description of a software interface that permits PAFEC to be used as a preprocessor for MSC/NASTRAN. This user-friendly software, called PAFMSC, frees the stress analyst from the laborious and error-prone procedure of creating and debugging a rigid-format MSC/NASTRAN bulk data deck. By interactively creating and debugging a finite element model with PAFEC, thus taking full advantage of the free-format, engineering-keyword-oriented data structure of PAFEC, the stress analyst can drastically reduce the amount of time spent during model generation. The PAFMSC software will automatically convert a PAFEC data structure into an MSC/NASTRAN bulk data deck. The capabilities and limitations of the PAFMSC software are fully discussed in the following report

Using PAFEC as a preprocessor for MSC/NASTRAN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gray, W.H.; Baudry, T.V.

1983-01-01

Programs for Automatic Finite Element Calculations (PAFEC) is a general-purpose, three-dimensional, linear and nonlinear finite element program. PAFEC's features include free-format input using engineering keywords, powerful mesh-generating facilities, sophisticated database management procedures, and extensive data validation checks. Presented here is a description of a software interface that permits PAFEC to be used as a preprocessor for MSC/NASTRAN. This user-friendly software, called PAFMSC, frees the stress analyst from the laborious and error-prone procedure of creating and debugging a rigid-format MSC/NASTRAN bulk data deck. By interactively creating and debugging a finite element model with PAFEC, thus taking full advantage of the free-format, engineering-keyword-oriented data structure of PAFEC, the stress analyst can drastically reduce the amount of time spent during model generation. The PAFMSC software will automatically convert a PAFEC data structure into an MSC/NASTRAN bulk data deck. The capabilities and limitations of the PAFMSC software are fully discussed

Transcriptome Analyses of Mosaic (MSC Mitochondrial Mutants of Cucumber in a Highly Inbred Nuclear Background

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Tomasz L. Mróz

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. has a large, paternally transmitted mitochondrial genome. Cucumber plants regenerated from cell cultures occasionally show paternally transmitted mosaic (MSC phenotypes, characterized by slower growth, chlorotic patterns on the leaves and fruit, lower fertility, and rearrangements in their mitochondrial DNAs (mtDNAs. MSC lines 3, 12, and 16 originated from different cell cultures all established using the highly inbred, wild-type line B. These MSC lines possess different rearrangements and under-represented regions in their mtDNAs. We completed RNA-seq on normalized and non-normalized cDNA libraries from MSC3, MSC12, and MSC16 to study their nuclear gene-expression profiles relative to inbred B. Results from both libraries indicated that gene expression in MSC12 and MSC16 were more similar to each other than MSC3. Forty-one differentially expressed genes (DEGs were upregulated and one downregulated in the MSC lines relative to B. Gene functional classifications revealed that more than half of these DEGs are associated with stress-response pathways. Consistent with this observation, we detected elevated levels of hydrogen peroxide throughout leaf tissue in all MSC lines compared to wild-type line B. These results demonstrate that independently produced MSC lines with different mitochondrial polymorphisms show unique and shared nuclear responses. This study revealed genes associated with stress response that could become selection targets to develop cucumber cultivars with increased stress tolerance, and further support of cucumber as a model plant to study nuclear-mitochondrial interactions.

USING OF MSC WITH DIFFERENT ONTOGENETIC MATURITY FOR CORRECTION OF CHRONIC FIBROSING LIVER DAMAGE

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M. Y. Shagidulin

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Aim. To compare the effectiveness of MSC with different degree of ontogenetic maturity (MSC bone marrow – MSC BM and MSC umbilical cord – MSC UC on regenerative processes in injured liver. Methods. In 4 groups of experiments on Wistar rats (n = 80 with a model of fibrotic toxic liver damage (FLD it was studied the effect of MSCs with different degree of ontogenetic maturity on recovery processes at the regeneration of damaged liver: 1 gr. – Control, 2 gr. and 3 gr. introduction of MSC BM, included in Sphero®GEL-long in doses of 2.5 ×106 and 5.0 x 106 cells, respectively, and 4 gr. – introduction of MSC UC in the form of cell-spheroids (8–10 × 105 cells. The cells were injected into the damaged liver in 7 days after the end of FDL-modeling. The effect of cell therapy was studied during 180 days. The effectiveness of corrective therapy was evaluated by the results of functional and morphological investigations of livers (histological control of parenchymal and nonparenchy- mal liver tissue. Results. MSC BM in both doses and MSC UC contributed to a more rapid normalization of liver enzyme indices compared with the control (1 gr., but the differences in the rate of recovery of disturbed enzymatic liver functions between groups 2, 3 and 4 – were absent. In 90 days after the cell application it was determined a more pronounced recovery activity of cells in groups 3 and 4; in 180 days the more pronounced activation of recovery processes was observed in group 3; but in group 4 the sclerotic processes were more pro- nounced in this period. Conclusion. For the induction of recovery processes in damage liver it is advisable not to use the MSC UC, but to use MSC BM in the Sphero®GEL, because MSC BM exert not only local but also systemic immune-regulatory effect, increasing the pool of T-reg. cells, which are additional carriers of regenera- tion information in organism. 

Cytokine treatment optimises the immunotherapeutic effects of umbilical cord-derived MSC for treatment of inflammatory liver disease.

Science.gov (United States)

de Witte, Samantha F H; Merino, Ana M; Franquesa, Marcella; Strini, Tanja; van Zoggel, Johanna A A; Korevaar, Sander S; Luk, Franka; Gargesha, Madhu; O'Flynn, Lisa; Roy, Debashish; Elliman, Steve J; Newsome, Philip N; Baan, Carla C; Hoogduijn, Martin J

2017-06-08

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) possess immunomodulatory properties and low immunogenicity, both crucial properties for their development into an effective cellular immunotherapy. They have shown benefit in clinical trials targeting liver diseases; however the efficacy of MSC therapy will benefit from improvement of the immunomodulatory and immunogenic properties of MSC. MSC derived from human umbilical cords (ucMSC) were treated for 3 days in vitro with various inflammatory factors, interleukins, vitamins and serum deprivation. Their immunogenicity and immunomodulatory capacity were examined by gene-expression analysis, surface-marker expressions, IDO activity, PGE 2 secretion and inhibition of T cell proliferation and IFNγ production. Furthermore, their activation of NK cell cytotoxicity was investigated via CD107a expression on NK cells. The immunomodulatory capacity, biodistribution and survival of pre-treated ucMSC were investigated in a CCl 4 -induced liver disease mouse model. In addition, capacity of pre-treated MSC to ameliorate liver inflammation was examined in an ex vivo liver inflammation co-culture model. IFN-γ and a multiple cytokine cocktail (MC) consisting of IFN-γ, TGFβ and retinoic acid upregulated the expression of immunomodulatory factor PD-L1 and IDO activity. Subsequently, both treatments enhanced the capacity of ucMSC to inhibit CD4 and CD8 T cell proliferation and IFN-γ production. The susceptibility of ucMSC for NK cell lysis was decreased by IFN-β, TGFβ and MC treatment. In vivo, no immunomodulation was observed by the ucMSC. Four hours after intravenous infusion in mice with CCl 4 -induced inflammatory liver injury, the majority of ucMSC were trapped in the lungs. Rapid clearance of ucMSC(VitB 6 ), ucMSC(Starv + VitB 6 ) and ucMSC(MC) and altered bio-distribution of ucMSC(TGFβ) compared to untreated ucMSC was observed. In the ex vivo co-culture system with inflammatory liver slices ucMSC(MC) showed significantly enhanced

Injectable MMP-sensitive alginate hydrogels as hMSC delivery systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Fonseca, Keila B; Gomes, David B; Lee, Kangwon; Santos, Susana G; Sousa, Aureliana; Silva, Eduardo A; Mooney, David J; Granja, Pedro L; Barrias, Cristina C

2014-01-13

Hydrogels with the potential to provide minimally invasive cell delivery represent a powerful tool for tissue-regeneration therapies. In this context, entrapped cells should be able to escape the matrix becoming more available to actively participate in the healing process. Here, we analyzed the performance of proteolytically degradable alginate hydrogels as vehicles for human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) transplantation. Alginate was modified with the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-sensitive peptide Pro-Val-Gly-Leu-Iso-Gly (PVGLIG), which did not promote dendritic cell maturation in vitro, neither free nor conjugated to alginate chains, indicating low immunogenicity. hMSC were entrapped within MMP-sensitive and MMP-insensitive alginate hydrogels, both containing cell-adhesion RGD peptides. Softer (2 wt % alginate) and stiffer (4 wt % alginate) matrices were tested. When embedded in a Matrigel layer, hMSC-laden MMP-sensitive alginate hydrogels promoted more extensive outward cell migration and invasion into the tissue mimic. In vivo, after 4 weeks of subcutaneous implantation in a xenograft mouse model, hMSC-laden MMP-sensitive alginate hydrogels showed higher degradation and host tissue invasion than their MMP-insensitive equivalents. In both cases, softer matrices degraded faster than stiffer ones. The transplanted hMSC were able to produce their own collagenous extracellular matrix, and were located not only inside the hydrogels, but also outside, integrated in the host tissue. In summary, injectable MMP-sensitive alginate hydrogels can act as localized depots of cells and confer protection to transplanted cells while facilitating tissue regeneration.

Influences Factors of the Cadmium Removal by Magnetic Solid Chelator Powder(MSC in Soil

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LIU Jun-long

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Pot experiments were conducted for the purpose of analyzing the influencing effects for the magnetic solid chelator powder(MSC, magnetic solid chelator powder on removal of cadmium pollution in the soil. The influencing factors included straws,air drying,activation structural material, stirring time and repetition times, etc. The results showed that the straw addition in the soil decreased the removal efficiency of Cd. The different air drying degree in the soil also had the effect of MSC. The air drying in the soil affected the results more by comparison with the straws. When stirring time was 40 min, the removal rate of Cd was 22.67% and achieved the best removal efficiency. With the increasing of stirring time, the effect of MSC on Cd removal increased first, then decreased. Drying MSC material lost the effect of Cd removal in the soil. After activation(soaking in water for 12 h, MSC material could remov Cd in the soil once again. MSC material had removal and remediation effects on soil Cd, the removal effects depended on soil properties, material properties and operation process and other factors. The research of MSC materials in soil remediation had important practical significance.

Safety assessment of bone marrow derived MSC grown in platelet-rich plasma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shoji Fukuda

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The injection of endothelial progenitor cells and mononuclear cells derived from bone marrow at the ischemic region of peripheral artery disease patients is reported to be effective for therapeutic angiogenesis; however, these cell therapies require large amounts of bone marrow to obtain sufficient numbers of cells. To solve this problem, we attempted to culture bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSC, which are supposed to secrete several cytokines that promote angiogenesis. We also focused on using platelet-rich plasma (PRP as a supplement for cell culture instead of fetal bovine serum. Human BM-MSC obtained from healthy volunteers expanded rapidly when cultured with 10% PRP prepared from their own blood. FACS analysis revealed that these cultured human MSC were homogeneous populations, and chromosomal analysis showed a normal karyotype. Moreover, the angiogenetic effect was apparent two weeks after human BM-MSC were injected into the ischemic muscle in SCID mice. Tumor formation was not detected three months after injection into SCID mice either subcutaneously or intramuscularly. To simulate clinical settings, canine BM-MSC were grown with canine PRP and injected into their ischemic muscles. We confirmed that donor cells existed in situ two and six weeks after operation without any side effects. These results suggest that cultured human BM-MSC can be a promising cell source for therapeutic angiogenesis.

Marketing: MSc in logistics and transportation

OpenAIRE

Jenkins, Mark

1983-01-01

The objective of this course is to introduce the basic concepts of marketing to students undertaking an MSc in Transportation and Logistics. This module will take a strategic view of marketing in that it will develop ideas for achieving sustainable competitive advantage.

A new antibiotic with potent activity targets MscL.

Science.gov (United States)

Iscla, Irene; Wray, Robin; Blount, Paul; Larkins-Ford, Jonah; Conery, Annie L; Ausubel, Frederick M; Ramu, Soumya; Kavanagh, Angela; Huang, Johnny X; Blaskovich, Mark A; Cooper, Matthew A; Obregon-Henao, Andres; Orme, Ian; Tjandra, Edwin S; Stroeher, Uwe H; Brown, Melissa H; Macardle, Cindy; van Holst, Nick; Ling Tong, Chee; Slattery, Ashley D; Gibson, Christopher T; Raston, Colin L; Boulos, Ramiz A

2015-07-01

The growing problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a major threat to human health. Paradoxically, new antibiotic discovery is declining, with most of the recently approved antibiotics corresponding to new uses for old antibiotics or structurally similar derivatives of known antibiotics. We used an in silico approach to design a new class of nontoxic antimicrobials for the bacteria-specific mechanosensitive ion channel of large conductance, MscL. One antimicrobial of this class, compound 10, is effective against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with no cytotoxicity in human cell lines at the therapeutic concentrations. As predicted from in silico modeling, we show that the mechanism of action of compound 10 is at least partly dependent on interactions with MscL. Moreover we show that compound 10 cured a methicillin-resistant S. aureus infection in the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Our work shows that compound 10, and other drugs that target MscL, are potentially important therapeutics against antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections.

Screening of sesame ecotypes (Sesamum indicum L. for salinity tolerance under field conditions: 1-Phenological and morphological characteristics

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F. Fazeli Kakhki

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Salinity is one of the most restrictions in plant growth in dry and semi dry land which effects production of many crops such as sesame. In order to study the phenology and morphology characteristics of 43 ecotypes and line of sesame (Sesamum indicum L. under salinity of irrigation water (5.2 dS.m-1 a field experiment was conducted at research farm of center of excellence for special crops, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran, during growing season of 2009-2010 based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. Results showed that four sesame ecotypes could not emerge, 14 sesame ecotypes had appropriate emergence but died before reproductive stage and only 58 % of sesame ecotypes could alive until maturity. There was significant difference between sesame ecotypes for phenological stages and were varied from 64 to 81 days for vegetative and 60 to 65 days for reproductive stages. Plant height, number and length of branches also were different between sesame ecotypes. The highest and the lowest plant height were observed in MSC43 and MSC12 ecotypes, respectively. Number of branches per plant was from 1 to 8 and length of branches in 32 percent of ecotypes was more than 100 cm. There was a considerable correlation between seed weight in plant with reproductive growth (r=0.38** and plant height (r=0.25. In addition different response of sesame ecotypes to saline water and also better morphological indices in some sesame ecotypes may be show the tolerance of these accessions to salinity. More studies may be useful for selection of sesame salt tolerance resources.

Cytokine treatment optimises the immunotherapeutic effects of umbilical cord-derived MSC for treatment of inflammatory liver disease

OpenAIRE

de Witte, Samantha F. H.; Merino, Ana M.; Franquesa, Marcella; Strini, Tanja; van Zoggel, Johanna A. A.; Korevaar, Sander S.; Luk, Franka; Gargesha, Madhu; O?Flynn, Lisa; Roy, Debashish; Elliman, Steve J.; Newsome, Philip N.; Baan, Carla C.; Hoogduijn, Martin J.

2017-01-01

Background Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) possess immunomodulatory properties and low immunogenicity, both crucial properties for their development into an effective cellular immunotherapy. They have shown benefit in clinical trials targeting liver diseases; however the efficacy of MSC therapy will benefit from improvement of the immunomodulatory and immunogenic properties of MSC. Methods MSC derived from human umbilical cords (ucMSC) were treated for 3?days in vitro with various inflammator...

Synchronous onset of the Messinian evaporite precipitation: First Mediterranean offshore evidence

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Ochoa, Diana; Sierro, Francisco J.; Lofi, Johanna; Maillard, Agnès; Flores, Jose-Abel; Suárez, Mercedes

2015-10-01

The Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) was a major ecological crisis affecting shallow and deep-water settings over the entire Mediterranean basin. However, the evolution of the MSC and its ecological impacts have mainly been explained on the basis of sediments from onshore outcrops. Lack of complete and physically connected records from onshore and offshore settings has inhibited comprehensive understanding of basin behaviour during the MSC. Herein we present a continuous record from an intermediate-depth basin on the Balearic Promontory that comprises late Tortonian-Messinian marls and evaporitic beds from the first MSC phase (i.e., Primary Lower Gypsum-PLG stage). Well-log and biostratigraphic data allow us establishing a large-scale calibration to the astronomical solutions, and to correlate pre-MSC sediments with classical rhythmic successions outcropping onshore. Thickness and characteristic sedimentary patterns observed in the offshore evaporitic records resemble those from marginal PLG sequences. Furthermore, seismic reflectors from a Bedded Unit (BU), which corresponds to an evaporitic interval according to well-to-seismic ties, are correlated with the onshore PLG sequences. This correlation constitutes the first attempt to link well-known marginal sequences with intermediate-depth offshore settings, which have previously only been studied through seismic imaging. Our time-calibration provides direct evidence supporting a synchronous onset of the PLG phase between onshore and offshore settings along the southwestern Balearic Promontory margin. Those BU reflectors, which were positively correlated to the PLG, were likely precipitated offshore the continental shelf at Messinian times. These results suggest that gypsum precipitation and/or preservation was not always limited to 200 m water-depths and could occur in non-silled basins. Finally, we only found a major erosion at the top of the PLG sequences, implying that the MSC drawdown occurred after the

Investigating Miocene Mediterranean-Atlantic Gateway Exchange (IMMAGE) - an amphibious drilling proposal

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Flecker, Rachel

2017-04-01

Today Mediterranean seawater flows out through the Gibraltar Straits, forming a saline plume at intermediate depths in the Atlantic. The plume's sedimentary record of distinctive, contouritic deposits has recently been recovered during IODP Leg 339 in the Gulf of Cadiz documenting a Mediterranean contribution to Atlantic thermohaline circulation since the Pliocene. However, before the Pliocene, the conduit for Mediterranean-Atlantic exchange is unclear. Gibraltar may have already been open, but two additional marine corridors also existed through northern Morocco and southern Spain. The restriction and closure of these Miocene connections resulted in extreme salinity fluctuations in the Mediterranean, leading to the precipitation of thick evaporites. This event is known as the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) and recovering a complete record of the MSC is the target of current IODP drilling proposals (e.g. DREAM). Understanding both the causes of high-amplitude salinity change in the Mediterranean and its global consequences for thermohaline circulation in the Atlantic is dependent on recovering a complete record of Mediterranean-Atlantic exchange before, during and after the MSC. This key objective of the IMMAGE drilling proposal requires core recovery on-shore at the mouths of the Betic and Rifian corridors which are now exposed on land, as well as offshore, in the Alborán Sea and on the Atlantic continental margin. Consequently to meet this objective, an amphibious drilling strategy is necessary, involving both IODP and ICDP targets. In addition to allowing us to reconstruct Mediterranean-Atlantic exchange during high amplitude salinity fluctuations and identify the conduit through which exchange occurred, the sediments recovered from IMMAGE drilling will also provide us with a unique and explicit test for ocean physics hypotheses describing the location, size and velocity of overflow plumes under conditions where the density contrast between the two water

Dihydrotestosterone induces pro-angiogenic factors and assists homing of MSC into the cardiac tissue.

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Popa, Mirel-Adrian; Mihai, Maria-Cristina; Constantin, Alina; Şuică, Viorel; Ţucureanu, Cătălin; Costache, Raluca; Antohe, Felicia; Dubey, Raghvendra K; Simionescu, Maya

2018-01-01

The use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) as a therapeutic tool in cardiovascular diseases is promising. Since androgens exert some beneficial actions on the cardiovascular system, we tested our hypothesis that this hormone could promote MSC-mediated repair processes, also. Cultured MSCs isolated from Wharton's jelly were exposed to 30 nM dihydrotestosterone (DHT) for 1 or 4 days and the effects of the hormone on their growth/migration/adhesion and the underlying mechanisms were assessed. Results were obtained by real-time cell impedance measurements, and DNA quantification showed that DHT increased MSC proliferation by ~30%. As determined by xCELLigence system, DHT augmented (~2 folds) the migration of MSC toward cardiac tissue slices (at 12 h), and this effect was blocked by flutamide, an androgen receptor (AR) antagonist. Exposure of cells to DHT, upregulated the gene and protein expression of AR , EMMPRIN and MMP-9 and downregulated the expression of MMP-2 DHT significantly induced the release of nitric oxide by MSC (≥2-fold) and flutamide blocked this effect. When MSCs were co-cultured with cardiac slices, immunohistochemical analysis and qRT-PCR showed that the integration of DHT-stimulated MSC was significantly higher than that of in controls. In conclusion, our findings provide the first evidence that DHT promotes MSC growth, migration and integration into the cardiac slices. The modulating effects of DHT were associated with upregulation of ARs and of key molecules known to promote tissue remodeling and angiogenesis. Our findings suggest that priming of MSC with DHT may potentially increase their capability to regenerate cardiac tissue; in vivo studies are needed to confirm our in vitro findings. © 2018 Society for Endocrinology.

The c-Met Inhibitor MSC2156119J Effectively Inhibits Tumor Growth in Liver Cancer Models

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Bladt, Friedhelm, E-mail: Friedhelm.Bladt@merckgroup.com; Friese-Hamim, Manja; Ihling, Christian; Wilm, Claudia; Blaukat, Andree [EMD Serono, and Merck Serono Research and Development, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt 64293 (Germany)

2014-08-19

The mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor (c-Met) is a receptor tyrosine kinase with hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) as its only high-affinity ligand. Aberrant activation of c-Met is associated with many human malignancies, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We investigated the in vivo antitumor and antimetastatic efficacy of the c-Met inhibitor MSC2156119J (EMD 1214063) in patient-derived tumor explants. BALB/c nude mice were inoculated with MHCC97H cells or with tumor fragments of 10 patient-derived primary liver cancer explants selected according to c-Met/HGF expression levels. MSC2156119J (10, 30, and 100 mg/kg) and sorafenib (50 mg/kg) were administered orally as single-agent treatment or in combination, with vehicle as control. Tumor response, metastases formation, and alpha fetoprotein (AFP) levels were measured. MSC2156119J inhibited tumor growth and induced complete regression in mice bearing subcutaneous and orthotopic MHCC97H tumors. AFP levels were undetectable after 5 weeks of MSC2156119J treatment, and the number of metastatic lung foci was reduced. Primary liver explant models with strong c-Met/HGF activation showed increased responsiveness to MSC2156119J, with MSC2156119J showing similar or superior activity to sorafenib. Tumors characterized by low c-Met expression were less sensitive to MSC2156119J. MSC2156119J was better tolerated than sorafenib, and combination therapy did not improve efficacy. These findings indicate that selective c-Met/HGF inhibition with MSC2156119J is associated with marked regression of c-Met high-expressing tumors, supporting its clinical development as an antitumor treatment for HCC patients with active c-Met signaling.

MSc degree in color technology for the automotive sector

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Martinez-Verdu, F.; Perales, E.; Chorro, E.; Viqueira, V.; Gilabert, E.

2014-07-01

Nowadays, the measurement and management of color quality of the gonio-apparent materials is complex, but highly demanded in many industrial sectors, as automotive, cosmetics, plastics for consumer electronics, printing inks, architectural coatings, etc. It is necessary to control complex instrumentation and to do visual assessments of texture and color differences to get, for instance, a visual harmony in car bodies; and a profound knowledge of physics and chemistry of special-effect pigments for their optical formulation to obtain attractive visual effects in coatings, plastics, etc, combining among them and with solid pigments. From University of Alicante, for the academic year 2013-14, we are organizing the first MSc degree in Color Technology for the Automotive Sector, with a design of contents embracing CIE colorimetry and visual perception, included the AUDI2000 color difference formula, instrumentation and color management software, fundamentals of coatings and plastics in the automotive sector, and, optical formulation of pigments. The MSc syllabus, with 60 ECTS, is designed to be taught in two semesters: from September to February with on classroom theoretical and practical activities, and, from March to June at virtual level, with internships of training in some companies. Therefore, the MSc Thesis would be the performance report during the internship in companies or research institutions. Some multinational companies, both as car makers and coatings and plastics providers, from European and non-European countries have already shown their support and interest in welcoming students for specific training, even some job offers when the first MSc edition finishes.

Suicide gene reveals the myocardial neovascularization role of mesenchymal stem cells overexpressing CXCR4 (MSC(CXCR4.

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Jialiang Liang

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Our previous studies indicated that MSC(CXCR4 improved cardiac function after myocardial infarction (MI. This study was aimed to investigate the specific role of MSC(CXCR4 in neovascularization of infarcted myocardium using a suicide gene approach. METHODS: MSCs were transduced with either lentivirus-null vector/GFP (MSC(Null as control or vector encoding for overexpressing CXCR4/GFP. The MSC derived-endothelial cell (EC differentiation was assessed by a tube formation assay, Dil-ac-LDL uptake, EC marker expression, and VE-cadherin promoter activity assay. Gene expression was analyzed by quantitative RT-PCR or Western blot. The suicide gene approach was under the control of VE-cadherin promoter. In vivo studies: Cell patches containing MSC(Null or MSC(CXCR4 were transduced with suicide gene and implanted into the myocardium of MI rat. Rats received either ganciclovir (GCV or vehicle after cell implantation. After one month, the cardiac functional changes and neovascularization were assessed by echocardiography, histological analysis, and micro-CT imaging. RESULTS: The expression of VEGF-A and HIF-1α was significantly higher in MSC(CXCR4 as compared to MSC(Null under hypoxia. Additionally, MSC(CXCR4 enhanced new vessel formation and EC differentiation, as well as STAT3 phosphorylation under hypoxia. STAT3 participated in the transcription of VE-cadherin in MSC(CXCR4 under hypoxia, which was inhibited by WP1066 (a STAT3 inhibitor. In addition, GCV specifically induced death of ECs with suicide gene activation. In vivo studies: MSC(CXCR4 implantation promoted cardiac functional restoration, reduced infarct size, improved cardiac remodeling, and enhanced neovascularization in ischemic heart tissue. New vessels derived from MSC(CXCR4 were observed at the injured heart margins and communicated with native coronary arteries. However, the derived vessel networks were reduced by GCV, reversing improvement of cardiac function. CONCLUSION: The

Precessional control of Sr ratios in marginal basins during the Messinian Salinity Crisis?

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Topper, R. P. M.; Lugli, S.; Manzi, V.; Roveri, M.; Meijer, P. Th.

2014-05-01

Based on 87Sr/86Sr data of the Primary Lower Gypsum (PLG) deposits in the Vena del Gesso basin—a marginal basin of the Mediterranean during the Messinian Salinity Crisis—a correlation between 87Sr/86Sr values and precessional forcing has recently been proposed but not yet confirmed. In this study, a box model is set up to represent the Miocene Mediterranean deep basin and a connected marginal basin. Measurements of 87Sr/86Sr in the Vena del Gesso and estimated salinity extrema are used to constrain model results. In an extensive analysis with this model, we assess whether coeval 87Sr/86Sr and salinity fluctuations could have been forced by precession-driven changes in the fresh water budget. A comprehensive set of the controlling parameters is examined to assess the conditions under which precession-driven 87Sr/86Sr variations occur and to determine the most likely setting for PLG formation. Model results show that precession-driven 87Sr/86Sr and salinity fluctuations in marginal basins are produced in settings within a large range of marginal basin sizes, riverine strontium characteristics, amplitudes of precessional fresh water budget variation, and average fresh water budgets of both the marginal and deep basin. PLG deposition most likely occurred when the Atlantic-Mediterranean connection was restricted, and the average fresh water budget in the Mediterranean was significantly less negative than at present day. Considering the large range of settings in which salinities and 87Sr/86Sr fluctuate on a precessional timescale, 87Sr/86Sr variations are expected to be a common feature in PLG deposits in marginal basins of the Mediterranean.

Optimasi Penambahan Colcemid pada Karyotyping Kultur Mecenchymal Stem Cells (MSC Mencit

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Ratih Rinendyaputri

2016-02-01

Full Text Available AbstractControl of the genetic stability of stem cells prior to the conduct of therapy is essential to prevent effects such as stem cell transformation. Karyotyping is a conventional technique to conduct an analysis of the number and structure of chromosomes. The analysis can only be performed on metaphase stage that needs to be optimized to get the cell at that stage because the length of the cell cycle are different in the each cell types. This study aims to obtain an optimal time to get MSC at metaphase stage. The study was conducted at the stem cell laboratory of Center for Biomedical and Basic Technology of Health. The event begins with isolation using flushing technique at the femur and tibia of mice. Furthermore, the culture in vitro and induction colcemid 0,25μg/ml for 8,16 and 24 hours to get the MSC at metaphase stage. KCl solution with a concentration of 0.075 M and 0,045 M used as a solvent hipotonis. Results showed that 16 hours of induction colcemid 0,25μg/ml in 0.075 M KCl solution usage percentage of MSC who are at metaphase stage and do the highest analysis (p<0.05. In this study 16 hours induction colcemid 0,25μg/ml is the optimal time to obtain metaphase stage of the MSC from bone marrow of mice.Keywords: mecenchymal stem cell, karyotyping, colcemidAbstrakKontrol terhadap stabilitas genetik pada sel punca sebelum pelaksanan terapi merupakan hal yang penting untuk mencegah efek seperti transformasi sel punca yang dapat terjadi. Secara konvensional dapat dilakukan karyotyping untuk melakukan analisis terhadap jumlah dan struktur kromosom. Analisis hanya dapat dilakukan pada tahap metafase sehingga perlu dilakukan optimasi untuk mendapatkan sel pada tahap tersebut mengingat panjang siklus sel setiap jenis sel berbeda. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk memperoleh waktu yang optimal untuk mendapatkan MSC pada tahap metafase. Penelitian dilakukan di Laboratorium stem cell Pusat Biomedis dan Teknologi Dasar Kesehatan Badan Litbangkes

Optimization and translation of MSC-based hyaluronic acid hydrogels for cartilage repair

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Erickson, Isaac E.

2011-12-01

Traumatic injury and disease disrupt the ability of cartilage to carry joint stresses and, without an innate regenerative response, often lead to degenerative changes towards the premature development of osteoarthritis. Surgical interventions have yet to restore long-term mechanical function. Towards this end, tissue engineering has been explored for the de novo formation of engineered cartilage as a biologic approach to cartilage repair. Research utilizing autologous chondrocytes has been promising, but clinical limitations in their yield have motivated research into the potential of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) as an alternative cell source. MSCs are multipotent cells that can differentiate towards a chondrocyte phenotype in a number of biomaterials, but no combination has successfully recapitulated the native mechanical function of healthy articular cartilage. The broad objective of this thesis was to establish an MSC-based tissue engineering approach worthy of clinical translation. Hydrogels are a common class of biomaterial used for cartilage tissue engineering and our initial work demonstrated the potential of a photo-polymerizable hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogel to promote MSC chondrogenesis and improved construct maturation by optimizing macromer and MSC seeding density. The beneficial effects of dynamic compressive loading, high MSC density, and continuous mixing (orbital shaker) resulted in equilibrium modulus values over 1 MPa, well in range of native tissue. While compressive properties are crucial, clinical translation also demands that constructs stably integrate within a defect. We utilized a push-out testing modality to assess the in vitro integration of HA constructs within artificial cartilage defects. We established the necessity for in vitro pre-maturation of constructs before repair to achieve greater integration strength and compressive properties in situ. Combining high MSC density and gentle mixing resulted in integration strength over 500 k

Fit for purpose? Evaluation of an MSc. in Medical Physics.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

van der Putten, W J

2014-05-01

The National University of Ireland in Galway established a Master in Science (MSc.) program in medical physics in 2002. The course was designed to be 90 ECTS(1) credits and of one calendar year duration. From the outset the MSc. was designed to be part of an overall medical physics training program. MSc. programs are now widely used as part of the training and education of medical physicists. There is however paucity of data on the effectiveness of such courses and the purpose of the study reported here is to provide information on one particular MSc. course in medical physics. This is relevant to medical physicists who are involved in the development and running of medical physics training programs. The study used as methodology the Kirkpatrick levels of professional training. It was conducted through an online survey, both from students who graduated from the course and from students who were in the process of completing the course. The survey proved to be an effective way to determine attributes of modules such as learning outcomes, knowledge imparted, quality of teaching materials and others. The survey proved to be remarkably able to demonstrate interventions in the individual course modules. Although the course was shown to be effective in the imparting of the knowledge required to become a qualified medical physicist several areas for improvement were identified. These are mainly in the areas of increased practical experience and in course delivery.

Electrostatics at the membrane define MscL channel mechanosensitivity and kinetics.

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Zhong, Dalian; Blount, Paul

2014-12-01

The bacterial mechanosensitive channel of large conductance (MscL) serves as a biological emergency release valve, preventing the occurrence of cell lysis caused by acute osmotic stress. Its tractable nature allows it to serve as a paradigm for how a protein can directly sense membrane tension. Although much is known of the importance of the hydrophobicity of specific residues in channel gating, it has remained unclear whether electrostatics at the membrane plays any role. We studied MscL chimeras derived from functionally distinct orthologues: Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Dissection of one set led to an observation that changing the charge of a single residue, K101, of E. coli (Ec)-MscL, effects a channel phenotype: when mutated to a negative residue, the channel is less mechanosensitive and has longer open dwell times. Assuming electrostatic interactions, we determined whether they are due to protein-protein or protein-lipid interactions by performing site-directed mutagenesis elsewhere in the protein and reconstituting channels into defined lipids, with and without negative head groups. We found that although both interactions appear to play some role, the primary determinant of the channel phenotype seems to be protein-lipid electrostatics. The data suggest a model for the role of electrostatic interactions in the dynamics of MscL gating. © FASEB.

Umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell (UC-MSC) transplantations for cerebral palsy

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Dong, Huajiang; Li, Gang; Shang, Chongzhi; Yin, Huijuan; Luo, Yuechen; Meng, Huipeng; Li, Xiaohong; Wang, Yali; Lin, Ling; Zhao, Mingliang

2018-01-01

This study reports a case of a 4-year-old boy patient with abnormalities of muscle tone, movement and motor skills, as well as unstable gait leading to frequent falls. The results of the electroencephalogram (EEG) indicate moderately abnormal EEG, accompanied by irregular seizures. Based on these clinical characteristics, the patient was diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP) in our hospital. In this study, the patient was treated with umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell (UC-MSC) transplantation therapy. This patient received UC-MSC transplantation 3 times (5.3*107) in total. After three successive cell transplantations, the patient recovered well and showed obvious improvements in EEG and limb strength, motor function, and language expression. However, the improvement in intelligence quotient (IQ) was less obvious. These results indicate that UC-MSC transplantation is a promising treatment for cerebral palsy. PMID:29636880

Combined MSC and GLP-1 Therapy Modulates Collagen Remodeling and Apoptosis following Myocardial Infarction

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Elizabeth J. Wright

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1 are being tested as treatment strategies for myocardial infarction (MI; however, their mechanisms in the heart are not fully understood. Methods. We examined the effects of MSCs, either native, or engineered to secrete a GLP-1 fusion protein (MSCs ± GLP-1, on human cardiomyocyte apoptosis in vitro. The effect on cardiac remodeling when encapsulated in alginate beads (CellBeads-MSC and CellBeads-MSC + GLP-1 was also evaluated in a pig MI model, whereby pigs were treated with Empty Beads, CellBeads-MSC, or CellBeads-MSC + GLP-1 and sacrificed at one or four weeks following MI. Results. MSC + GLP-1 conditioned media demonstrated antiapoptotic effects on ischaemic human cardiomyocytes in vitro. In vivo, qRT-PCR revealed large changes in the expression of several genes involved in extracellular matrix remodeling, which were altered following MSC ± GLP treatment. After four weeks, infarcted areas were imaged using atomic force microscopy, demonstrating significant alterations between groups in the structure of collagen fibrils and resulting scar. Conclusions. These data demonstrate that MSCs ± GLP-1 exhibit modulatory effects on healing post-MI, affecting both apoptosis and collagen scar formation. These data support the premise that both MSCs and GLP-1 could be beneficial in MI treatment.

Phenotypic, Functional, and Safety Control at Preimplantation Phase of MSC-Based Therapy

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Lech, Wioletta; Figiel-Dabrowska, Anna; Drela, Katarzyna; Obtulowicz, Patrycja; Noszczyk, Bartlomiej Henryk; Buzanska, Leonora

2016-01-01

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) exhibit enormous heterogeneity which can modify their regenerative properties and therefore influence therapeutic effectiveness as well as safety of these cells transplantation. In addition the high phenotypic plasticity of MSC population makes it enormously sensitive to any changes in environmental properties including fluctuation in oxygen concentration. We have shown here that lowering oxygen level far below air atmosphere has a beneficial impact on various parameters characteristic for umbilical cord Wharton Jelly- (WJ-) MSC and adipose tissue- (AD-) derived MSC cultures. This includes their cellular composition, rate of proliferation, and maintenance of stemness properties together with commitment to cell differentiation toward mesodermal and neural lineages. In addition, the culture genomic stability increased significantly during long-term cell passaging and eventually protected cells against spontaneous transformation. Also by comparing of two routinely used methods of MSCs isolation (mechanical versus enzymatic) we have found substantial divergence arising between cell culture properties increasing along the time of cultivation in vitro. Thus, in this paper we highlight the urgent necessity to develop the more sensitive and selective methods for prediction and control cells fate and functioning during the time of growth in vitro. PMID:27651796

Phenotypic, Functional, and Safety Control at Preimplantation Phase of MSC-Based Therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Lech, Wioletta; Figiel-Dabrowska, Anna; Sarnowska, Anna; Drela, Katarzyna; Obtulowicz, Patrycja; Noszczyk, Bartlomiej Henryk; Buzanska, Leonora; Domanska-Janik, Krystyna

2016-01-01

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) exhibit enormous heterogeneity which can modify their regenerative properties and therefore influence therapeutic effectiveness as well as safety of these cells transplantation. In addition the high phenotypic plasticity of MSC population makes it enormously sensitive to any changes in environmental properties including fluctuation in oxygen concentration. We have shown here that lowering oxygen level far below air atmosphere has a beneficial impact on various parameters characteristic for umbilical cord Wharton Jelly- (WJ-) MSC and adipose tissue- (AD-) derived MSC cultures. This includes their cellular composition, rate of proliferation, and maintenance of stemness properties together with commitment to cell differentiation toward mesodermal and neural lineages. In addition, the culture genomic stability increased significantly during long-term cell passaging and eventually protected cells against spontaneous transformation. Also by comparing of two routinely used methods of MSCs isolation (mechanical versus enzymatic) we have found substantial divergence arising between cell culture properties increasing along the time of cultivation in vitro. Thus, in this paper we highlight the urgent necessity to develop the more sensitive and selective methods for prediction and control cells fate and functioning during the time of growth in vitro.

Finding and tracing human MSC in 3D microenvironments with the photoconvertible protein Dendra2

Science.gov (United States)

Caires, Hugo R.; Gomez-Lazaro, Maria; Oliveira, Carla M.; Gomes, David; Mateus, Denisa D.; Oliveira, Carla; Barrias, Cristina C.; Barbosa, Mário A.; Almeida, Catarina R.

2015-05-01

Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells (MSC) are a promising cell type for cell-based therapies - from tissue regeneration to treatment of autoimmune diseases - due to their capacity to migrate to damaged tissues, to differentiate in different lineages and to their immunomodulatory and paracrine properties. Here, a simple and reliable imaging technique was developed to study MSC dynamical behavior in natural and bioengineered 3D matrices. Human MSC were transfected to express a fluorescent photoswitchable protein, Dendra2, which was used to highlight and follow the same group of cells for more than seven days, even if removed from the microscope to the incubator. This strategy provided reliable tracking in 3D microenvironments with different properties, including the hydrogels Matrigel and alginate as well as chitosan porous scaffolds. Comparison of cells mobility within matrices with tuned physicochemical properties revealed that MSC embedded in Matrigel migrated 64% more with 5.2 mg protein/mL than with 9.6 mg/mL and that MSC embedded in RGD-alginate migrated 51% faster with 1% polymer concentration than in 2% RGD-alginate. This platform thus provides a straightforward approach to characterize MSC dynamics in 3D and has applications in the field of stem cell biology and for the development of biomaterials for tissue regeneration.

Breaking the hydrophobicity of the MscL pore: insights into a charge-induced gating mechanism.

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Balasubramanian Chandramouli

Full Text Available The mechanosensitive channel of large conductance (MscL is a protein that responds to membrane tension by opening a transient pore during osmotic downshock. Due to its large pore size and functional reconstitution into lipid membranes, MscL has been proposed as a promising artificial nanovalve suitable for biotechnological applications. For example, site-specific mutations and tailored chemical modifications have shown how MscL channel gating can be triggered in the absence of tension by introducing charged residues at the hydrophobic pore level. Recently, engineered MscL proteins responsive to stimuli like pH or light have been reported. Inspired by experiments, we present a thorough computational study aiming at describing, with atomistic detail, the artificial gating mechanism and the molecular transport properties of a light-actuated bacterial MscL channel, in which a charge-induced gating mechanism has been enabled through the selective cleavage of photo-sensitive alkylating agents. Properties such as structural transitions, pore dimension, ion flux and selectivity have been carefully analyzed. Besides, the effects of charge on alternative sites of the channel with respect to those already reported have been addressed. Overall, our results provide useful molecular insights into the structural events accompanying the engineered MscL channel gating and the interplay of electrostatic effects, channel opening and permeation properties. In addition, we describe how the experimentally observed ionic current in a single-subunit charged MscL mutant is obtained through a hydrophobicity breaking mechanism involving an asymmetric inter-subunit motion.

Geochemical constraints on the provenance and depositional environment of the Messinian sediments, onshore Nile Delta, Egypt: Implications for the late Miocene paleogeography of the Mediterranean

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Leila, Mahmoud; Moscariello, Andrea; Šegvić, Branimir

2018-07-01

The Messinian sequence rocks in the Nile Delta present prolific hydrocarbon reservoirs and are, therefore, of great importance from the aspect of petroleum exploration and development strategies. Yet, little is known about their tectonic provenance and depositional setting. This study focuses on the geochemical signatures archived in the Messinian siliciclastic sediments to employ them as a powerful tool to elucidate the basin evolution during the Messinian salinity crisis (MSC). The pre-MSC Qawasim sediments are texturally and compositionally immature. They are enriched in lithic fragments, foraminiferal bioclasts, and rounded heavy minerals suggesting a significant contribution from the pre-existing Cretaceous-Eocene mixed carbonate-siliciclastic rocks bordering the Nile Delta. In contrast, the textural and mineralogical compositions as well as a range of geochemical proxies (e.g., chemical index of alteration and weathering CIA, CIW as well as index of chemical variability ICV and Zr/Sc ratio) are in favor of prolonged weathering and at least second-cycle origin of the MSC Abu Madi sediments. The mutually correspondent elemental ratios (e.g., Al2O3/TiO2, K2O/Na2O, Zr/Hf, Rb/Sr, Cr/Zr, and Cr/Th) and uniform weathering trends are indicatives for a similar provenance of the pre-MSC Qawasim and MSC Abu Madi sediments. Rare earth element (REE) distribution reveals a significant enrichment in LREE, depletion in HREE, relatively high (La/Yb)N (mean > 9), low (Gd/Yb)N (mean sediments to have been eroded and recycled from the older pre-MSC Qawasim sediments by gravity-flow processes and fluvial channels prior to redeposition as incised-valley-fills during the late stage of the MSC. The geochemical paleoenvironmental indicators such as C-value, Sr/Cu and Sr/Ba confirm arid-dry climatic conditions during the onset of the MSC consistent with the Mediterranean desiccation. These indicators also depict a transition from freshwater to relatively normal salinity conditions

Late Neogene benthic stable isotope record of ODP Site 999: Implications for Caribbean paleoceanography, organic carbon burial and the Messininian salinity crisis

Science.gov (United States)

Bickert, T.; Haug, G.; Tiedemann, R.

2003-04-01

The late Neogene closure of the seaway between the North and South American continents is thought to have caused extensive changes in ocean circulation and Northern Hemisphere climate. The timing and consequences of the emergence of the Isthmus of Panama for the ocean circulation have been addressed in several papers which indicate a marked reorganization of surface and deep ocean circulation starting 4.6 million years ago. However, the biogeographic development of marine faunas and floras on both sides of the Panama Isthmus suggests that the paleoceanographic changes related to the closing of the isthmus started much earlier. Furthermore, the closing history of the Panama Seaway overlaps with the tectonic evolution of other ocean gateways in the late Miocene, especially the closure of the Strait of Gibraltar, which led to a transient isolation of the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean, known as the Messinian Salinity Crisis. We report on epibenthic foraminiferal d18O and d13C and percentage sand records of the carbonate fraction from Caribbean ODP Site 999 (12°44´N, 78° 44´W, water depth 2828 m) spanning the interval from 8.6 to 5.3 Ma. Low epibenthic d13C values and low sand contents indicate a poorly ventilated deep Caribbean throughout the late Miocene. At this time the deep Caribbean was dominated by a nutrient-rich Southern Ocean water mass. A mostly constant d13C gradient between the Caribbean and deep Atlantic records suggests that the fluctuations in d13C reflect rather global changes in d13C of the dissolved inorganic carbon due to varying erosion of organic carbon from terrigenous soils and shelf sediments. The observed 100-ky cyclicity of epibenthic d13C is in well accordance with the variability of the terrigenous input to the equatorial Atlantic as recorded by susceptibility records of the Ceara Rise. However, some gradient changes between 6.8 and 5.6 Ma indicate a poorer ventilation of the deep Atlantic related to a reduced production of

Determining total sulfur content in coal by MSC radiometric sulfur meter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Czerw, B; Sikora, T; Golebiowski, W

1976-01-01

The MSC radiometric sulfur meter is used to determine total sulfur content in brown and black coals. Sulfur content is determined by measuring intensity of radiation beam which has travelled through a coal sample with the optimum constant surface mass. Construction of the MSC, consisting of a measuring head and the electronic measuring system, is shown in a scheme. AM-241 (with activity of 50 mCi) is the source of radiation. Energy of 25.3 keV (tin disc) is selected as the optimum. The SSU-70 probe with NaJ/Tl crystal is the radiation detector. The black coal sample weighs 10 g and the brown coal sample weighs 18 g. Duration of sulfur determination is 10 min. Error of sulfur determination ranges from plus or minus 0.2% to 0.3%. The results of operational tests of MSC radiometric sulfur meters in black and brown coal mines are discussed. Accuracy of measurement is shown in 5 tables. (8 refs.)

Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSC Regulate Activation of Granulocyte-Like Myeloid Derived Suppressor Cells (G-MDSC in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Patients.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cesarina Giallongo

Full Text Available It is well known that mesenchymal stem cells (MSC have a role in promotion of tumor growth, survival and drug-resistance in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML. Recent reports indicated that a subpopulation of myeloid cells, defined as granulocyte-like myeloid-derived suppressor cells (G-MDSC is increased in these patients. So far, the role of MSC in MDSC expansion and activation into the BM microenvironment remains unexplored. To address this question, here we use a specific experimental model in vitro, co-culturing MSC with peripheral blood mononucleated cells (PBMC from normal individuals, in order to generate MSC-educated G-MDSC. Although MSC of healthy donors (HD and CML patients were able to generate the same amount of MDSC, only CML-MSC-educated G-MDSC exhibited suppressive ability on autologous T lymphocytes. In addition, compared with HD-MSC, CML-MSC over-expressed some immunomodulatory factors including TGFβ, IL6 and IL10, that could be involved in MDSC activation. CML-MSC-educated G-MDSC expressed higher levels of ARG1, TNFα, IL1β, COX2 and IL6 than G-MDSC isolated from co-culture with HD-MSC. Our data provide evidence that CML-MSC may play a critical role in tumor microenvironment by orchestrating G-MDSC activation and regulating T lymphocytes-mediated leukemia surveillance, thus contributing to CML immune escape.

Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSC) Regulate Activation of Granulocyte-Like Myeloid Derived Suppressor Cells (G-MDSC) in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Giallongo, Cesarina; Romano, Alessandra; Parrinello, Nunziatina Laura; La Cava, Piera; Brundo, Maria Violetta; Bramanti, Vincenzo; Stagno, Fabio; Vigneri, Paolo; Chiarenza, Annalisa; Palumbo, Giuseppe Alberto; Tibullo, Daniele; Di Raimondo, Francesco

2016-01-01

It is well known that mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) have a role in promotion of tumor growth, survival and drug-resistance in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Recent reports indicated that a subpopulation of myeloid cells, defined as granulocyte-like myeloid-derived suppressor cells (G-MDSC) is increased in these patients. So far, the role of MSC in MDSC expansion and activation into the BM microenvironment remains unexplored. To address this question, here we use a specific experimental model in vitro, co-culturing MSC with peripheral blood mononucleated cells (PBMC) from normal individuals, in order to generate MSC-educated G-MDSC. Although MSC of healthy donors (HD) and CML patients were able to generate the same amount of MDSC, only CML-MSC-educated G-MDSC exhibited suppressive ability on autologous T lymphocytes. In addition, compared with HD-MSC, CML-MSC over-expressed some immunomodulatory factors including TGFβ, IL6 and IL10, that could be involved in MDSC activation. CML-MSC-educated G-MDSC expressed higher levels of ARG1, TNFα, IL1β, COX2 and IL6 than G-MDSC isolated from co-culture with HD-MSC. Our data provide evidence that CML-MSC may play a critical role in tumor microenvironment by orchestrating G-MDSC activation and regulating T lymphocytes-mediated leukemia surveillance, thus contributing to CML immune escape.

The role of crisis in family crisis intervention: do crisis experience and crisis change matter?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Al, C.M.W.; Stams, G.J.J.M.; van der Laan, P.H.; Asscher, J.J.

2011-01-01

Evaluation studies of crisis intervention have focused on prevention of out-of-home placement of children or family functioning, but largely neglected the aspect of crisis. The present study examined crisis in 183 families receiving Family Crisis Intervention (FCI), addressing crisis characteristics

β3-Adrenergic Regulation of EPC Features Through Manipulation of the Bone Marrow MSC Niche.

Science.gov (United States)

Vafaei, Rana; Nassiri, Seyed Mahdi; Siavashi, Vahid

2017-12-01

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) reside in a specific niche in the bone marrow, however, biological features of this niche are still not fully understood. Given the interactions of MSCs with endothelial cells in different tissues, bone marrow MSC niche may influence the biological features of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). To understand the role of the sympathetic nervous system in regulation of the MSC niche, we examined whether the manipulation of the MSC niche via β3-adrenergic signals will affect EPC features. A selective β3 agonist (BRL37344) or a β3 antagonist (SR59230A) was administered in mice for 2 weeks to determine the potential effects of these regimens on the population of CD133 + stem cells in the bone marrow. Then, bone marrow-derived MSCs and EPCs were harvested and expanded from the mice to examine the effect of changes in the MSC niche on EPC features. Improved MSC colony forming potency with increased bone marrow stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1) (also known as C-X-C motif chemokine 12 [CXCL12]) expression was shown as a result of intensification of the bone marrow adrenergic signals through BRL37344 injection. On the other hand, the blockage of these signals limited the expression level of SDF-1 and resulted in bone marrow enrichment of CD133 + cells. Manipulation of the MSC niche and decreased SDF-1 expression via SR59230A injection also prompted EPCs to form more colonies with augmented proliferation and differentiation capacity. Overall, our results indicate that the β3-adrenergic signals regulate the MSC niche, thereby resulting in modulation of EPC biological features. J. Cell. Biochem. 118: 4753-4761, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

S. aureus MscL is a pentamer in vivo but of variable stoichiometries in vitro: implications for detergent-solubilized membrane proteins.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael R Dorwart

Full Text Available While the bacterial mechanosensitive channel of large conductance (MscL is the best studied biological mechanosensor and serves as a paradigm for how a protein can sense and respond to membrane tension, the simple matter of its oligomeric state has led to debate, with models ranging from tetramers to hexamers. Indeed, two different oligomeric states of the bacterial mechanosensitive channel MscL have been resolved by X-ray crystallography: The M. tuberculosis channel (MtMscL is a pentamer, while the S. aureus protein (SaMscL forms a tetramer. Because several studies suggest that, like MtMscL, the E. coli MscL (EcoMscL is a pentamer, we re-investigated the oligomeric state of SaMscL. To determine the structural organization of MscL in the cell membrane we developed a disulfide-trapping approach. Surprisingly, we found that virtually all SaMscL channels in vivo are pentameric, indicating this as the physiologically relevant and functional oligomeric state. Complementing our in vivo results, we purified SaMscL and assessed its oligomeric state using three independent approaches (sedimentation equilibrium centrifugation, crosslinking, and light scattering and established that SaMscL is a pentamer when solubilized in Triton X-100 and C(8E(5 detergents. However, performing similar experiments on SaMscL solubilized in LDAO, the detergent used in the crystallographic study, confirmed the tetrameric oligomerization resolved by X-ray crystallography. We further demonstrate that this stoichiometric shift is reversible by conventional detergent exchange experiments. Our results firmly establish the pentameric organization of SaMscL in vivo. Furthermore they demonstrate that detergents can alter the subunit stoichiometry of membrane protein complexes in vitro; thus, in vivo assays are necessary to firmly establish a membrane protein's true functionally relevant oligomeric state.

S. aureus MscL is a pentamer in vivo but of variable stoichiometries in vitro: implications for detergent-solubilized membrane proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Dorwart, Michael R; Wray, Robin; Brautigam, Chad A; Jiang, Youxing; Blount, Paul

2010-12-07

While the bacterial mechanosensitive channel of large conductance (MscL) is the best studied biological mechanosensor and serves as a paradigm for how a protein can sense and respond to membrane tension, the simple matter of its oligomeric state has led to debate, with models ranging from tetramers to hexamers. Indeed, two different oligomeric states of the bacterial mechanosensitive channel MscL have been resolved by X-ray crystallography: The M. tuberculosis channel (MtMscL) is a pentamer, while the S. aureus protein (SaMscL) forms a tetramer. Because several studies suggest that, like MtMscL, the E. coli MscL (EcoMscL) is a pentamer, we re-investigated the oligomeric state of SaMscL. To determine the structural organization of MscL in the cell membrane we developed a disulfide-trapping approach. Surprisingly, we found that virtually all SaMscL channels in vivo are pentameric, indicating this as the physiologically relevant and functional oligomeric state. Complementing our in vivo results, we purified SaMscL and assessed its oligomeric state using three independent approaches (sedimentation equilibrium centrifugation, crosslinking, and light scattering) and established that SaMscL is a pentamer when solubilized in Triton X-100 and C(8)E(5) detergents. However, performing similar experiments on SaMscL solubilized in LDAO, the detergent used in the crystallographic study, confirmed the tetrameric oligomerization resolved by X-ray crystallography. We further demonstrate that this stoichiometric shift is reversible by conventional detergent exchange experiments. Our results firmly establish the pentameric organization of SaMscL in vivo. Furthermore they demonstrate that detergents can alter the subunit stoichiometry of membrane protein complexes in vitro; thus, in vivo assays are necessary to firmly establish a membrane protein's true functionally relevant oligomeric state.

Effects of platelet rich plasma and chondrocyte co-culture on MSC chondrogenesis, hypertrophy and pathological responses

OpenAIRE

Ramezanifard, Rouhallah; Kabiri, Mahboubeh; Hanaee Ahvaz, Hana

2017-01-01

Regarding the inadequate healing capability of cartilage tissue, cell-based therapy is making the future of cartilage repair and regeneration. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) have shown great promise in cartilage regeneration. However, a yet-unresolved issue is the emergence of hypertrophic and pathologic markers during in vitro MSC chondrogenesis. Articular chondrocytes (AC) can suppress the undesired hypertrophy when co-cultured with MSC. On the other hand, platelet rich plasma (PRP), is consi...

MSc Agriculture students working with ex-campus stakeholders

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Langer, Vibeke; Lund, Mogens; Bendevis, Mira Arpe

2014-01-01

both on BSc and MSc level. For many students this results in concerns whether their knowledge, skills and competencies are sufficient when confronted with reality in a job, i.e. in a lack of professional confidence. Therefore when revising the program we focused on competences in contextualizing...

Confirming the Revised C-Terminal Domain of the MscL Crystal Structure

OpenAIRE

Maurer, Joshua A.; Elmore, Donald E.; Clayton, Daniel; Xiong, Li; Lester, Henry A.; Dougherty, Dennis A.

2008-01-01

The structure of the C-terminal domain of the mechanosensitive channel of large conductance (MscL) has generated significant controversy. As a result, several structures have been proposed for this region: the original crystal structure (1MSL) of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis homolog (Tb), a model of the Escherichia coli homolog, and, most recently, a revised crystal structure of Tb-MscL (2OAR). To understand which of these structures represents a physiological conformation, we measured the ...

European MSc Programs in Nuclear Sciences - To meet the Need of Stakeholders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salbu, Brit; Skipperud, Lindis; Priest, Nick; Garelick, Hemda; Tamponnet, Christian; Mitchell, Peter

2009-01-01

A stakeholder needs assessment, carried out under the EU-EURAC and EU-ENEN II projects, clearly showed that, at the European level, there are a significant and constant need for post-graduates with skills in radiochemistry, radioecology, radiation dosimetry and environmental modelling and a smaller, but still important, demand for radiobiologists and bio-modellers. Most of these needs are from government organizations. If only the nuclear industry is considered, then the largest demand is for radiochemists and radiation protection dosimetrists. Given this spectrum of need and existing capacity in the areas of radiobiology it was concluded that the needs identified would be most efficiently met by three new degree programs: European MSc Radiation Protection European MSc Analytical Radiochemistry European MSc Radioecology. All three master programs would be developed using the framework provided by the Bologna Convention and the lecturing could be shared among specialist Scientists within a network of collaborating universities. Therefore, educational plans have been developed for the above MSc degrees. These plans envisage each degree comprising three modules that are common to all the degrees (3x10 ECTS credits), three specialist modules (3x10 ECTS credits) and a research project (1x60 ECTS credits). The courses should be aimed, not only to fill the identified European postgraduate education gap in radiological sciences, but also to provide a modular structure that is easily accessed by stakeholders for CPD training. It is anticipated that the European Masters will meet the academic training requirements of qualified 'experts', as defined by the European Commission and the IAEA. At the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB) a pilot MSc in Radioecology has successfully been initiated in collaboration with UK and France.

European MSc Programs in Nuclear Sciences-To meet the need of stakeholders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skipperud, L.; Salbu, B.; Priest, N.; Garelick, H.; Tamponnet, C.; Abbott, A.; Mitchell, P.

2011-01-01

A stakeholder needs assessment, carried out under the EU-EURAC and EU-ENEN-II projects, clearly showed that, at the European level, there are a significant and constant need for post-graduates with skills in radiochemistry, radioecology, radiation dosimetry and environmental modelling and a smaller, but still important, demand for radiobiologists and bio-modellers. Most of these needs are from government organizations. If only the nuclear industry is considered, then the largest demand is for radio chemists and radiation protection dosimetry experts. Given this spectrum of need and existing capacity in the areas of radiobiology it was concluded that the needs identified would be most efficiently met by three new degree programs: ·European MSc Radiation Protection, ·European MSc Analytical Radiochemistry, ·European MSc Radioecology. All three master programs would be developed using the framework provided by the Bologna Convention and the lecturing could be shared among specialist Scientists within a network of collaborating universities. Therefore, educational plans have been developed for the above MSc degrees. These plans envisage each degree comprising three modules that are common to all the degrees (3 x 10 ECTS credits), three specialist modules (3 x 10 ECTS credits) and a research project (1 x 60 ECTS credits). The courses should be aimed, not only to fill the identified European post-graduate education gap in radiological sciences, but also to provide a modular structure that is easily accessed by stakeholders for CPD training. It is anticipated that the European Masters will meet the academic training requirements of qualified experts', as defined by the European Commission and the IAEA. At the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB) a pilot MSc in Radioecology has successfully been initiated in collaboration with UK and France.

M.Sc. in Civil and Structural Engineering

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

The following pages contain a list of project ideas proposed by the scientific staff at the Department of Civil Engineering, Aalborg University, and a number of companies. Most of the project ideas in this catalogue may form the basis for long and short master projects as well as regular 3rd...... semester projects at the M.Sc. programme in Civil and Structural Engineering....

M.Sc. in Civil and Structural Engineering

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Clausen, Johan

The report contain a list of project ideas proposed by the scientific staff at the Department of Civil Engineering, Aalborg University, and a number of companies. Most of the project ideas in this catalogue may form the basis for long and short candidate projects as well as regular 3rd semester...... projects at the M.Sc. programme in Civil and Structural Engineering....

M.Sc. in Civil and Structural Engineering

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

The catalogue contain a list of project ideas proposed by the scientific staff at the Department of Civil Engineering, Aalborg University, and a number of companies. Most of the project ideas in this catalogue may form the basis for long and short candidate projects as well as regular 3rd semester...... projects at the M.Sc. programme in Civil and Structural Engineering....

M.Sc. in Civil and Structural Engineering

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

This catalogue contains a list of project ideas proposed by the scientific staff at the Department of Civil Engineering, Aalborg University, and a number of companies. Most of the project ideas in this catalogue may form the basis for long and short candidate projects as well as regular 3rd...... semester projects at the M.Sc. programme in Civil and Structural Engineering....

Messinian seismic Markers in the Western Tyrrhenian Sea: preliminary results from the "METYSS" Cruise (June 2009)

Science.gov (United States)

Lofi, Johanna; Gaullier, Virginie; Sage, Françoise; Chanier, Franck; Deverchere, Jacques; Gorini, Christian; Maillard, Agnès.; Pascucci, Vincenzo; Sellier, Nicolas; Thinon, Isabelle

2010-05-01

This work has been undertaken in the framework of an integrated study of the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC, Hsu et al., 1973) seismic makers at the scale of the Mediterranean basin. This new approach is based on multi-site comparative studies and on a unified nomenclature for Messinian sedimentary units and surfaces (Lofi et al., accepted). The objectives are to establish the impact of the MSC event on margins and basins that are characterized by various geodynamical, structural and sedimentary settings. In this scientific context, the Tyrrhenian Sea and especially its western part, constitutes a major target because of its geodynamical evolution. This area is a Neogene back-arc basin opened by continental rifting and oceanic spreading related to the eastward migrating Apennine subduction system (Jolivet et al., 2006). Rifting of the Tyrrhenian Sea started first on the Eastern Sardinian margin during the Tortonian-Messinian times, thus including Messinian deposits potentially syn-rift in some places. For these reasons, the western part of the Tyrrhenian basin is a key-area to document relationships between Messinian deposits and tectonic activity. In addition, this geodynamical evolution rises the question of the paleogeography and paleo-connections with the East Corsica basin, that may have worked as an independent lacustrine basin during the MSC, a topic that is questioned (Thinon et al., 2004). The dataset used in this study consists of 15 seismic high-resolution reflection profiles (±1200 km). They have been acquired during the "METYSS" cruise (June 2009) along the Eastern Sardinian and South-Eastern Corsican margins on the R/V "Téthys II" (INSU-CNRS/CIRMED) (Gaullier et al., 2009). These profiles penetrate up to 1 second TWT below the sea-floor, allowing to clearly image the Plio-Quaternary sequence, Messinian Salinity Crisis deposits and erosion surfaces, down to the basement top. Here, we describe the characteristics (seismic facies, geometry

Granulocyte-like myeloid derived suppressor cells (G-MDSC) are increased in multiple myeloma and are driven by dysfunctional mesenchymal stem cells (MSC).

Science.gov (United States)

Giallongo, Cesarina; Tibullo, Daniele; Parrinello, Nunziatina L; La Cava, Piera; Di Rosa, Michelino; Bramanti, Vincenzo; Di Raimondo, Cosimo; Conticello, Concetta; Chiarenza, Annalisa; Palumbo, Giuseppe A; Avola, Roberto; Romano, Alessandra; Di Raimondo, Francesco

2016-12-27

Granulocytic-Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (G-MDSC) are increased in Multiple Myeloma (MM) patients but the mechanisms of G-MDSC generation are still unknown. There are many evidences of the role of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) in promoting MM cell growth, survival and drug-resistance. We here used a specific experimental model in vitro to evaluate the ability of MSC to induce G-MDSC. We found that although MSC derived from healthy donors (HD), MGUS and MM were able to generate the same amount of MDSC, only MM-MSC-educated G-MDSC exhibited suppressive ability. In addition, in comparison with MSC derived from HD, MM-MSC produce higher amount of immune-modulatory factors that could be involved in MDSC induction. Compared to G-MDSC obtained from co-culture models with MSC from healthy subjects, both MGUS and MM-MSC-educated G-MDSC showed increase of immune-modulatory factors. However, only MM-MSC educated G-MDSC 1) up-regulated immune-suppressive factors as ARG1 and TNFα, 2) expressed higher levels of PROK2, important in angiogenesis and inflammatory process, and 3) showed ability to digest bone matrix.Our data demonstrate that MM-MSC are functionally different from healthy subjects and MGUS-MSC, supporting an evolving concept regarding the contribution of MM-MSC to tumor development and progression.

Review of Signaling Pathways Governing MSC Osteogenic and Adipogenic Differentiation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aaron W. James

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC are multipotent cells, functioning as precursors to a variety of cell types including adipocytes, osteoblasts, and chondrocytes. Between osteogenic and adipogenic lineage commitment and differentiation, a theoretical inverse relationship exists, such that differentiation towards an osteoblast phenotype occurs at the expense of an adipocytic phenotype. This balance is regulated by numerous, intersecting signaling pathways that converge on the regulation of two main transcription factors: peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ and Runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2. These two transcription factors, PPARγ and Runx2, are generally regarded as the master regulators of adipogenesis and osteogenesis. This review will summarize signaling pathways that govern MSC fate towards osteogenic or adipocytic differentiation. A number of signaling pathways follow the inverse balance between osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation and are generally proosteogenic/antiadipogenic stimuli. These include β-catenin dependent Wnt signaling, Hedgehog signaling, and NELL-1 signaling. However, other signaling pathways exhibit more context-dependent effects on adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation. These include bone morphogenic protein (BMP signaling and insulin growth factor (IGF signaling, which display both proosteogenic and proadipogenic effects. In summary, understanding those factors that govern osteogenic versus adipogenic MSC differentiation has significant implications in diverse areas of human health, from obesity to osteoporosis to regenerative medicine.

Comparison Virtual Landing Gear Drop Test for Commuter Aircraft Utilize MSC ADAMS And Solidworks Motion Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Hidayat, Dony; Istiyanto, Jos; Agus Sumarsono, Danardono

2018-04-01

Loads at main landing gear while touchdown impact is function of aircraft weight and ground reaction load factor. In regulation states ground reaction load factor at Vsink = 3.05 m/s is below 3. Contact/impact force from simulation using MSC ADAMS is 94680 N, while using Solidworks Motion Analysis is 97691 N. The difference between MSC ADAMS and Solidworks Motion Analysis is 3.08%. The ground reaction load factor in MSC ADAMS is 2.78 while in Solidworks Motion Analysis is 2.87.

Salinization and Saline Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Vengosh, A.

2003-12-01

One of the most conspicuous phenomena of water-quality degradation, particularly in arid and semi-arid zones, is salinization of water and soil resources. Salinization is a long-term phenomenon, and during the last century many aquifers and river basins have become unsuitable for human consumption owing to high levels of salinity. Future exploitation of thousands of wells in the Middle East and in many other water-scarce regions in the world depends, to a large extent, on the degree and rate of salinization. Moreover, every year a large fraction of agricultural land is salinized and becomes unusable.Salinization is a global environmental phenomenon that affects many different aspects of our life (Williams, 2001a, b): changing the chemical composition of natural water resources (lakes, rivers, and groundwater), degrading the quality of water supply to the domestic and agriculture sectors, contribution to loss of biodiversity, taxonomic replacement by halotolerant species ( Williams, 2001a, b), loss of fertile soil, collapse of agricultural and fishery industries, changing of local climatic conditions, and creating severe health problems (e.g., the Aral Basin). The damage due to salinity in the Colorado River Basin alone, for example, ranges between 500 and 750 million per year and could exceed 1 billion per year if the salinity in the Imperial Dam increases from 700 mg L-1 to 900 mg L-1 (Bureau of Reclamation, 2003, USA). In Australia, accelerating soil salinization has become a massive environmental and economic disaster. Western Australia is "losing an area equal to one football oval an hour" due to spreading salinity ( Murphy, 1999). The annual cost for dryland salinity in Australia is estimated as AU700 million for lost land and AU$130 million for lost production ( Williams et al., 2002). In short, the salinization process has become pervasive.Salinity in water is usually defined by the chloride content (mg L-1) or total dissolved solids content (TDS, mg L-1or g

L’Italia: una crisi nella crisi.(Italy: A Crisis within the Crisis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlo D'ippoliti

2011-10-01

Full Text Available The article synthesises the large and extending literature on the financial and economic crisis from a Post-Keynesian point of view. The authors take on the position that the international and internal real imbalances are serious and worrying, but yet they are not the cause of the crisis or of its tremendous dimension. The flawed and insufficient regulation of finance is the prime cause of the crisis, as well as it is one of the main hindrances to expansionary macroeconomic policies that may less painfully drive developed countries out of the crisis. It then examines the most recent developments in the euro-area, claiming that we are not facing a sovereign debt crisis but rather a speculative attack on the euro. Finally, the article considers specifically the situation of Italy, currently at the hearth of such an attack, and suggests that the country was already facing critical developments before the 2007/2008 crisis. Thus, the policy measures so far suggested to exit the current stressful situation, in so far as they ignore this fact, seriously run the risk of proving insufficient or altogether noxious.JEL: B50; E12; G01  

Crisis, What Crisis? The Media: Business and Journalism in Times of Crisis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosario de Mateo

2010-08-01

Full Text Available The global financial and economic crisis is often used to justify a crisis of media and journalism: lower advertising, collapses in the share price, falls in consumption, more unemployment. But is this just a business crisis, or is it also a crisis in journalism and its role in democratic societies? In this case, is the journalism crisis attributable to the economic crisis or, rather, was it forged during the years of high profitability and high salaries in the mass media? These two sides of the crisis, in media industry and in journalism, are addressed in this article, which explores the evolution of mainly Spanish media in the years before the crisis. However, in order to understand how they reached the current situation, political and economic transformations in what has been called the Information Society and neoliberal globalization must be addressed.

Water Dynamics and Dewetting Transitions in the Small Mechanosensitive Channel MscS

Science.gov (United States)

Anishkin, Andriy; Sukharev, Sergei

2004-01-01

The dynamics of confined water in capillaries and nanotubes suggests that gating of ion channels may involve not only changes of the pore geometry, but also transitions between water-filled and empty states in certain locations. The recently solved heptameric structure of the small mechanosensitive channel of Escherichia coli, MscS, has revealed a relatively wide (7–15 Å) yet highly hydrophobic transmembrane pore. Continuum estimations based on the properties of pore surface suggest low conductance and a thermodynamic possibility of dewetting. To test the predictions we performed molecular dynamics simulations of MscS filled with flexible TIP3P water. Irrespective to the initial conditions, several independent 6-ns simulations converged to the same stable state with the pore water-filled in the wider part, but predominantly empty in the narrow hydrophobic part, displaying intermittent vapor-liquid transitions. The polar gain-of-function substitution L109S in the constriction resulted in a stable hydration of the entire pore. Steered passages of Cl− ions through the narrow part of the pore consistently produced partial ion dehydration and required a force of 200–400 pN to overcome an estimated barrier of 10–20 kcal/mole, implying negligibly low conductance. We conclude that the crystal structure of MscS does not represent an open state. We infer that MscS gate, which is similar to that of the nicotinic ACh receptor, involves a vapor-lock mechanism where limited changes of geometry or surface polarity can locally switch the regime between water-filled (conducting) and empty (nonconducting) states. PMID:15111405

Cytokine treatment optimises the immunotherapeutic effects of umbilical cord-derived MSC for treatment of inflammatory liver disease

NARCIS (Netherlands)

S.F. De Witte (Samantha Fh); A. Merino (Ana); M. Franquesa (Marcella); T. Strini (Tanja); J.A.A. van Zoggel (Hanneke); S.S. Korevaar (Sander); F. Luk (Franka); M. Gargesha (Madhusudhana); O'Flynn, L. (Lisa); D. Roy (Debashish); Elliman, S.J. (Steve J.); Newsome, P.N. (Philip N.); C.C. Baan (Carla); M.J. Hoogduijn (Martin)

2017-01-01

textabstractBackground: Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) possess immunomodulatory properties and low immunogenicity, both crucial properties for their development into an effective cellular immunotherapy. They have shown benefit in clinical trials targeting liver diseases; however the efficacy of MSC

Sertifikaatit ravintolassa : Luomu, UTZ, MSC, ASC

OpenAIRE

Hakamäki, Henna

2017-01-01

Tämän opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena on selvittää tietävätkö ihmiset, mitä sertifikaatit tarkoittavat, olisivatko asiakkaat valmiita maksamaan sertifioiduista raaka-aineista tehdystä ruoasta enemmän ja markkinoivatko ravintolat käytössä olevia sertifikaatteja riittävästi saadakseen siitä hyödyn. Tulosten perusteella pyrittiin selvittämään kannattaako yritysten panostaa sertifikaattien markkinointiin. Teoriaosassa käsitellään neljää opinnäytetyöhön valikoitua sertifikaattia: luomu, UTZ, MSC ...

Comparing and contrasting Escherichia coli and Mycobacterium tuberculosis mechanosensitive channels (MscL) - New gain of function mutations in the loop region

OpenAIRE

Maurer, Joshua A.; Elmore, Donald E.; Lester, Henry A.; Dougherty, Dennis A.

2000-01-01

Sequence analysis of 35 putative MscL homologues was used to develop an optimal alignment for Escherichia coli and Mycobacterium tuberculosis MscL and to place these homologues into sequence subfamilies. By using this alignment, previously identified E. coli MscL mutants that displayed severe and very severe gain of function phenotypes were mapped onto the M. tuberculosis MscL sequence. Not all of the resulting M. tuberculosis mutants displayed a gain of function phenotype; for instance, norm...

The finite element analysis program MSC Marc/Mentat a first introduction

CERN Document Server

Öchsner, Andreas

2016-01-01

Based on simple examples, this book offers a short introduction to the general-purpose finite element program MSC Marc, a specialized program for non-linear problems (implicit solver) distributed by the MSC Software Corporation, which is commonly used in academia and industry. Today the documentation of all finite element programs includes a variety of step-by-step examples of differing complexity, and in addition, all software companies offer professional workshops on different topics. As such, rather than competing with these, the book focuses on providing simple examples, often single-element problems, which can easily be related to the theory that is discussed in finite element lectures. This makes it an ideal companion book to classical introductory courses on the finite element method.

Further Developments on Optimum Structural Design Using MSC/Nastran and Sequential Quadratic Programming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holzleitner, Ludwig

1996-01-01

, here the shape of two dimensional parts with different thickness areas will be optimized. As in the previos paper, a methodology for structural optimization using the commercial finite element package MSC/NASTRAN for structural analysis is described. Three different methods for design sensitivity......This work is closely connected to the paper: K.G. MAHMOUD, H.W. ENGL and HOLZLEITNER: "OPTIMUM STRUCTURAL DESIGN USING MSC/NASTRAN AND SEQUENTIAL QUADRATIC PROGRAMMING", Computers & Structures, Vol. 52, No. 3, pp. 437-447, (1994). In contrast to that paper, where thickness optimization is described...

Therapeutic use of human mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) for the treatment of radio-induced diseases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mouiseddine, Moubarak

2008-05-01

Ionising radiation can induce toxic effects on body. They provoke physiological modifications of tissues and organs which can be lethal. Total body irradiation or local abdominal irradiation can induce serious complications. Intestine is the first tissue concerned by these side effects. Radiation induces malabsorption of the intestine and lost of it integrity. Radio-induced physiopathological effects on intestine could lead to distant effects on other tissues and organs such as liver. The actual treatments have a limited efficiency or are not adapted to gastrointestinal damages. Indeed, in this type of lesions, the heterogeneous systems which are concerned and the gravity of lesions complicates the medical care. Our purpose is to show that cell therapy using human mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) constitutes resolution in this type of illness. The works which are presented in this thesis show that MSC are multi-potent and have heterogeneous expression of molecules. These cells are able to establish themselves in many organs and tissues after injection into irradiated body. Thus we have shown that MSC can prevent the small intestine from radio-induced damages. Indeed we demonstrate that through their actions on gut, MSC can indirectly restore hepatic integrity. (author)

Middle and late Badenian palaeoenvironments in the northern Vienna Basin and their potential link to the Badenian Salinity Crisis

Science.gov (United States)

Harzhauser, Mathias; Grunert, Patrick; Mandic, Oleg; Lukeneder, Petra; Gallardo, Ángela García; Neubauer, Thomas A.; Carnevale, Giorgio; Landau, Bernard M.; Sauer, Roman; Strauss, Philipp

2018-04-01

Hydrocarbon exploration in the Bernhardsthal and Bernhardsthal-Sued oil fields documents an up to 2000 m thick succession of middle and upper Badenian deposits in this part of the northern Vienna Basin (Austria). Based on palaeontological analyses of core-samples, well-log data and seismic surveys we propose an integrated stratigraphy and describe the depositional environments. As the middle/late Badenian boundary is correlated with the Langhian/Serravallian boundary, the cores capture the crucial phase of the Middle Miocene Climate Transition. The middle Badenian starts with a major transgression leading to outer neritic to upper bathyal conditions in the northern Vienna Basin, indicated by Bathysiphon-assemblages and glass-sponges. A strong palaeo-relief and rapid synsedimentary subsidence accentuated sedimentation during this phase. The middle/late Badenian boundary coincides with a major drop of relative sea level by about 200 m, resulting in a rapid shift from deeper marine depositional environments to coastal and freshwater swamps. In coeval marine settings, a more than 100 m thick unit of anhydrite-bearing clay formed. This is the first evidence of evaporite precipitation during the Badenian Salinity Crisis in the Vienna Basin. Shallow lagoonal environments with diverse and fully marine mollusc and fish assemblages were established during the subsequent late Badenian re-flooding. In composition, the mollusc fauna differs considerably from older ones and is characterized by the sudden appearance of species with eastern Paratethyan affinities.

MiR-9-5p promotes MSC migration by activating β-catenin signaling pathway.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xianyang; He, Lihong; Yue, Qing; Lu, Junhou; Kang, Naixin; Xu, Xiaojing; Wang, Huihui; Zhang, Huanxiang

2017-07-01

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have the potential to treat various tissue damages, but the very limited number of cells that migrate to the damaged region strongly restricts their therapeutic applications. Full understanding of mechanisms regulating MSC migration will help to improve their migration ability and therapeutic effects. Increasing evidence shows that microRNAs play important roles in the regulation of MSC migration. In the present study, we reported that miR-9-5p was upregulated in hepatocyte growth factor -treated MSCs and in MSCs with high migration ability. Overexpression of miR-9-5p promoted MSC migration, whereas inhibition of endogenous miR-9-5p decreased MSC migration. To elucidate the underlying mechanism, we screened the target genes of miR-9-5p and report for the first time that CK1α and GSK3β, two inhibitors of β-catenin signaling pathway, were direct targets of miR-9-5p in MSCs and that overexpression of miR-9-5p upregulated β-catenin signaling pathway. In line with these data, inhibition of β-catenin signaling pathway by FH535 decreased the miR-9-5p-promoted migration of MSCs, while activation of β-catenin signaling pathway by LiCl rescued the impaired migration of MSCs triggered by miR-9-5p inhibitor. Furthermore, the formation and distribution of focal adhesions as well as the reorganization of F-actin were affected by the expression of miR-9-5p. Collectively, these results demonstrate that miR-9-5p promotes MSC migration by upregulating β-catenin signaling pathway, shedding light on the optimization of MSCs for cell replacement therapy through manipulating the expression level of miR-9-5p. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Adaptive MscS gating in the osmotic permeability response in E. coli: the question of time.

Science.gov (United States)

Boer, Miriam; Anishkin, Andriy; Sukharev, Sergei

2011-05-17

Microorganisms adapt to osmotic downshifts by releasing small osmolytes through mechanosensitive (MS) channels. We want to understand how the small mechanosensitive channel's (MscS) activation and inactivation, both driven by membrane tension, optimize survival in varying hypoosmotic shock situations. By measuring light scattering with a stopped-flow device, we estimate bacterial swelling time as 30-50 ms. A partial solute equilibration follows within 150-200 ms, during which optical responses from cells with WT MscS deviate from those lacking MS channels. MscS opening rates estimated in patch clamp show the channels readily respond to tensions below the lytic limit with a time course faster than 20 ms and close promptly upon tension release. To address the role of the tension-insensitive inactivated state in vivo, we applied short, long, and two-step osmotic shock protocols to WT, noninactivating G113A, and fast-inactivating D62N mutants. WT and G113A showed a comparable survival in short 1 min 800 mOsm downshock experiments, but G113A was at a disadvantage under a long 60 min shock. Preshocking cells carrying WT MscS for 15 s to 15 min with a 200 mOsm downshift did not sensitize them to the final 500 mOsm drop in osmolarity of the second step. However, these two-step shocks induced death in D62N more than just a one-step 700 mOsm downshift. We conclude MscS is able to activate and exude osmolytes faster than lytic pressure builds inside the cell under abrupt shock. During prolonged shocks, gradual inactivation prevents continuous channel activity and assists recovery. Slow kinetics of inactivation in WT MscS ensures that mild shocks do not inactivate the entire population, leaving some protection should conditions worsen.

Precessional control of Sr ratios in marginal basins during the Messinian Salinity Crisis?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Topper, R.P.M.; Lugli, S.; Manzi, V.; Roveri, M.; Meijer, P.Th.

Based on 87Sr/86Sr data of the Primary Lower Gypsum (PLG) deposits in the Vena del Gesso basin—a marginal basin of the Mediterranean during the Messinian Salinity Crisis—a correlation between 87Sr/86Sr values and precessional forcing has recently been proposed but not yet confirmed. In this study, a

Results of scatterometer systems analysis for NASA/MSC Earth Observation Sensor Evaluation Program.

Science.gov (United States)

Krishen, K.; Vlahos, N.; Brandt, O.; Graybeal, G.

1971-01-01

Radar scatterometers have applications in the NASA/MSC Earth Observation Aircraft Program. Over a period of several years, several missions have been flown over both land and ocean. In this paper a system evaluation of the NASA/MSC 13.3-GHz Scatterometer System is presented. The effects of phase error between the Scatterometer channels, antenna pattern deviations, aircraft attitude deviations, environmental changes, and other related factors such as processing errors, system repeatability, and propeller modulation, were established. Furthermore, the reduction in system errors and calibration improvement was investigated by taking into account these parameter deviations. Typical scatterometer data samples are presented.

In vivo MR detection of fluorine-labeled human MSC using the bSSFP sequence.

Science.gov (United States)

Ribot, Emeline J; Gaudet, Jeffrey M; Chen, Yuhua; Gilbert, Kyle M; Foster, Paula J

2014-01-01

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are used to restore deteriorated cell environments. There is a need to specifically track these cells following transplantation in order to evaluate different methods of implantation, to follow their migration within the body, and to quantify their accumulation at the target. Cellular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using fluorine-based nanoemulsions is a great means to detect these transplanted cells in vivo because of the high specificity for fluorine detection and the capability for precise quantification. This technique, however, has low sensitivity, necessitating improvement in MR sequences. To counteract this issue, the balanced steady-state free precession (bSSFP) imaging sequence can be of great interest due to the high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Furthermore, it can be applied to obtain 3D images within short acquisition times. In this paper, bSSFP provided accurate quantification of samples of the perfluorocarbon Cell Sense-labeled cells in vitro. Cell Sense was internalized by human MSC (hMSC) without adverse alterations in cell viability or differentiation into adipocytes/osteocytes. The bSSFP sequence was applied in vivo to track and quantify the signals from both Cell Sense-labeled and iron-labeled hMSC after intramuscular implantation. The fluorine signal was observed to decrease faster and more significantly than the volume of iron-associated voids, which points to the advantage of quantifying the fluorine signal and the complexity of quantifying signal loss due to iron.

Matrix metalloproteinase-1 facilitates MSC migration via cleavage of IGF-2/IGFBP2 complex.

Science.gov (United States)

Guan, Shou P; Lam, Alan T L; Newman, Jennifer P; Chua, Kevin L M; Kok, Catherine Y L; Chong, Siao T; Chua, Melvin L K; Lam, Paula Y P

2018-01-01

The specific mechanism underlying the tumor tropism of human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for cancer is not well defined. We previously showed that the migration potential of MSCs correlated with the expression and protease activity of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1. Furthermore, highly tumor-tropic MSCs expressed higher levels of MMP-1 and insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-2 than poorly migrating MSCs. In this study, we examined the functional roles of IGF-2 and MMP-1 in mediating the tumor tropism of MSCs. Exogenous addition of either recombinant IGF-2 or MMP-1 could stimulate MSC migration. The correlation between IGF-2, MMP-1 expression, and MSC migration suggests that MMP-1 may play a role in regulating MSC migration via the IGF-2 signaling cascade. High concentrations of IGF binding proteins (IGFBPs) can inhibit IGF-stimulated functions by blocking its binding to its receptors and proteolysis of IGFBP is an important mechanism for the regulation of IGF signaling. We thus hypothesized that MMP-1 acts as an IGFBP2 proteinase, resulting in the cleavage of IGF-2/IGFBP2 complex and extracellular release of free IGF-2. Indeed, our results showed that conditioned media from highly migrating MSCs, which expressed high levels of MMP-1, cleaved the IGF-2/IGFBP2 complex. Taken together, these results showed that the MMP-1 secreted by highly tumor-tropic MSCs cleaved IGF-2/IGFBP2 complex. Free IGF-2 released from the complex may facilitate MSC migration toward tumor.

Functional properties of meat by-products and mechanically separated chicken (MSC) in a high-moisture model petfood system.

Science.gov (United States)

Rivera, J A; Sebranek, J G; Rust, R E

2000-05-01

Contributions to water retention capacity (% WRC) and texture changes were determined for pork by-products (lung lobes, kidneys), chicken viscera (head, feet and viscera) and mechanically separated chicken (MSC) as affected by pH and various salts in a high-moisture model system. The % WRC for meat by-products and MSC was increased by increased pH (4.5-6.8). Pork lungs and MSC had the highest % WRC (pmeat by-products. Meat by-product % WRC was not signifcantly (p>0.05) affected by salt (2%), phosphate (0.3%) or NaOH (0.075%). Chicken viscera had the lowest (pmeat by-products and MSC. Strong negative correlations (p<0.05) were obtained for texture with total collagen, soluble collagen and high ionic strength soluble (HIS) proteins. These results should be considered for product quality changes when these by-products are used in formulation of high moisture pet food products.

Gastric cancer-derived MSC-secreted PDGF-DD promotes gastric cancer progression.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Feng; Wang, Mei; Yang, Tingting; Cai, Jie; Zhang, Qiang; Sun, Zixuan; Wu, Xiaodan; Zhang, Xu; Zhu, Wei; Qian, Hui; Xu, Wenrong

2014-11-01

This study was designed to investigate the role of PDGF-DD secreted by gastric cancer-derived mesenchymal stem cells (GC-MSCs) in human gastric cancer progression. Gastric cancer cells were indirectly co-cultured with GC-MSCs in a transwell system. The growth and migration of gastric cancer cells were evaluated by cell colony formation assay and transwell migration assay, respectively. The production of PDGF-DD in GC-MSCs was determined by using Luminex and ELISA. Neutralization of PDGFR-β by su16f and siRNA interference of PDGF-DD in GC-MSCs was used to demonstrate the role of PDGF-DD produced by GC-MSCs in gastric cancer progression. GC-MSC conditioned medium promoted gastric cancer cell proliferation and migration in vitro and in vivo. Co-culture with GC-MSCs increased the phosphorylation of PDGFR-β in SGC-7901 cells. Neutralization of PDGFR-β by su16f blocked the promoting role of GC-MSC conditioned medium in gastric cancer cell proliferation and migration. Recombinant PDGF-DD duplicated the effects of GC-MSC conditioned medium on gastric cancer cells. Knockdown of PDGF-DD in GC-MSCs abolished its effects on gastric cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. PDGF-DD secreted by GC-MSCs is capable of promoting gastric cancer cell progression in vitro and in vivo. Targeting the PDGF-DD/PDGFR-β interaction between MSCs and gastric cancer cells may represent a novel strategy for gastric cancer therapy.

Effectiveness of cross-border knowledge transfer in Malaysian MSC status corporations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aaron Sow Yee Pook

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Knowledge has become the key asset for the economy to gain competitiveness as more and more countries have shifted or are shifting towards knowledge-based economy, no exception for Malaysia. In order to acquire and transfer technology and/or knowledge from overseas to Malaysia, Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC has been proposed. However, research focuses on cross-border knowledge transfer especially in the context of MSC status corporations in Malaysia is still limited. The factors that affect the effectiveness of cross-border knowledge transfer will be determined and presented in this paper. Quantitative approach has been adopted in this study. The findings of this study show that knowledge characteristics (KC and network characteristics (NC have positive significant relationship with cross-border knowledge transfer. The effects context towards KC and NC will also be examined in this study.

Education of MSc and PhD Students in Fluid Power and Mechatronics at DTU

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Conrad, Finn

1996-01-01

The paper deals with education of MSc and PhD students in engineering areas fluid power and mechatronics at the Technical Univ of Denmark, DTU, Lyngby. The new education structure and programs for MSc and PhD students adapted to the change and development of technologies. Focus is on two of twenty...... engineering profilies:(1) Engineeing Design and Product Development and (2)Control Engineering which give possibilitie for specialisation in fluid power and mechatronics design and productdevelopment. Synthesis, design and self-learning competency have a high priority taking the importance of training...

Effective treatment of steroid and therapy-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease with a novel mesenchymal stromal cell product (MSC-FFM).

Science.gov (United States)

Bader, Peter; Kuçi, Zyrafete; Bakhtiar, Shahrzad; Basu, Oliver; Bug, Gesine; Dennis, Michael; Greil, Johann; Barta, Aniko; Kállay, Krisztián M; Lang, Peter; Lucchini, Giovanna; Pol, Raj; Schulz, Ansgar; Sykora, Karl-Walter; von Luettichau, Irene; Herter-Sprie, Grit; Uddin, Mohammad Ashab; Jenkin, Phil; Alsultan, Abdulrahman; Buechner, Jochen; Stein, Jerry; Kelemen, Agnes; Jarisch, Andrea; Soerensen, Jan; Salzmann-Manrique, Emilia; Hutter, Martin; Schäfer, Richard; Seifried, Erhard; Klingebiel, Thomas; Bonig, Halvard; Kuçi, Selim

2018-01-29

The inability to generate mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) of consistent potency likely is responsible for inconsistent clinical outcomes of patients with aGvHD receiving MSC products. We developed a novel MSC manufacturing protocol characterized by high in vitro potency and near-identity of individual doses, referred to as "MSC-Frankfurt am Main (MSC-FFM)". Herein, we report outcomes of the 69 patients who have received MSC-FFM. These were 51 children and 18 adults with refractory aGvHD grade II (4%), III (36%) or IV (59%). Patients were refractory either to frontline therapy (steroids) (29%) or to steroids and 1-5 additional lines of immunosuppressants (71%) were given infusions in four weekly intervals. The day 28 overall response rate was 83%; at the last follow-up, 61% and 25% of patients were in complete or partial remission. The median follow-up was 8.1 months. Six-month estimate for cumulative incidence of non-relapse mortality was 27% (range, 16-38); leukemia relapse mortality was 2% (range, 0-5). This was associated with a superior six-month overall survival (OS) probability rate of 71% (range, 61-83), compared to the outcome of patients not treated with MSC-FFM. This novel product was effective in children and adults, suggesting that MSC-FFM represents a promising therapy for steroid refractory aGvHD.

Aiming for outstanding: Action research from students of the MSc in the Teaching of Psychology

OpenAIRE

Lintern, Fiona; Davies, Jamie; McGinty, Andrew; Fisher, Jeannine

2014-01-01

The first cohort of a new MSc programme is due to complete the course in August 2014. During the three-year online course students conduct several pieces of action research in their classrooms. There is little research specifically related classroom practice in the pre-tertiary psychology classroom. The following describes the rationale and context of the MSc in the Teaching of Psychology and reports on three students’ final year research. The first considers the benefits of Psychology Applie...

Hyperthyroidism-associated hypercalcemic crisis: A case report and review of the literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Ke; Xie, Yanhong; Zhao, Liling; Mo, Zhaohui

2017-01-01

Hyperthyroidism is one of the major clinical causes of hypercalcaemia, however, hyperthyroidism-related hypercalcemic crisis is rare, only 1 case have been reported. The potential mechanisms are still not too clear. It may be related that thyroid hormone stimulate bone turnover, elevate serum calcium, increase urinary and fecal calcium excretion. A 58-year-old female patient was found to have Graves' disease, a marked elevated serum calcium level (adjusted serum calcium: 3.74 mmol/L), and reduced parathyroid hormone level. She was diagnosed as hyperthyroidism-associated hypercalcemic crisis. Treatment with methimazole to correct the hyperthyroidism and treatment of the patient's hypercalcaemia was achieved by physiological saline, salmon calcitonin and furosemide. After treatment for hypercalcaemia and hyperthyroidism, her symptoms and serum calcium levels quickly returned to normal. hyperthyroid-associated hypercalcaemia crisis is rare, however, the diagnosis should pay attention to screening for other diseases caused by hypercalcemia. Timely treatment of hypercalcaemia is a critical step for rapidly control of symptoms, and treatment of hyperthyroidism is beneficial to relief the symptoms and maintain the blood calcium level.

Learning Crisis Unit through Post-Crisis: Characteristics and Mechanisms

Science.gov (United States)

Chebbi, Hela; Pündrich, Aline Pereira

2015-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to identify the characteristics that a crisis unit should have to achieve effective learning after crisis. Literature has identified many relations between learning organizations and crisis; yet, there is a dearth of research on specific studies about crisis units and their post-crisis learning features. Thus, this paper…

Crisis and Crisis Scenarios

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Øjvind

2016-01-01

This special issue of Nordicum-Mediterraneum contains select proceedings from the third meeting of the Nordic Summer University research circle called “Crisis and Crisis Scenarios: Normativity, Possibilities and Dilemmas”, held April 9th — 12th, 2015 at the Lysebu Conference Centre in Oslo, Norway....... The circle’s research program runs from 2014 to 2016 and is aimed at examining the concept of crisis as it is used today in academia and public discussion. In this collection of papers from the symposium we present some of the different ways in which the topic of the study group was addressed....

Crisis Communication Online

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Utz, Sonja; Schultz, Friederike; Glocka, Sandra

2013-01-01

Social media play in today's societies a fundamental role for the negotiation and dynamics of crises. However, classical crisis communication theories neglect the role of the medium and focus mainly on the interplay between crisis type and crisis communication strategy. Building on the recently...... developed “networked crisis communication model” we contrast effects of medium (Facebook vs. Twitter vs. online newspaper) and crisis type (intentional vs. victim) in an online experiment. Using the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster as crisis scenario, we show that medium effects are stronger than...... the effects of crisis type. Crisis communication via social media resulted in a higher reputation and less secondary crisis reactions such as boycotting the company than crisis communication in the newspaper. However, secondary crisis communication, e.g. talking about the crisis communication, was higher...

Advanced finite element simulation with MSC Marc application of user subroutines

CERN Document Server

Javanbakht, Zia

2017-01-01

This book offers an in-depth insight into the general-purpose finite element program MSC Marc, which is distributed by MSC Software Corporation. It is a specialized program for nonlinear problems (implicit solver) which is common in academia and industry. The primary goal of this book is to provide a comprehensive introduction to a special feature of this software: the user can write user-subroutines in the programming language Fortran, which is the language of all classical finite element packages. This subroutine feature allows the user to replace certain modules of the core code and to implement new features such as constitutive laws or new elements. Thus, the functionality of commercial codes (‘black box’) can easily be extended by linking user written code to the main core of the program. This feature allows to take advantage of a commercial software package with the flexibility of a ‘semi-open’ code. .

L’Italia: una crisi nella crisi

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alessandro Roncaglia

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The article synthesises the large and extending literature on the financial and economic crisis from a Post-Keynesian point of view. The authors take on the position that the international and internal real imbalances are serious and worrying, but yet they are not the cause of the crisis or of its tremendous dimension. The flawed and insufficient regulation of finance is the prime cause of the crisis, as well as it is one of the main hindrances to expansionary macroeconomic policies that may less painfully drive developed countries out of the crisis. It then examines the most recent developments in the euro-area, claiming that we are not facing a sovereign debt crisis but rather a speculative attack on the euro. Finally, the article considers specifically the situation of Italy, currently at the hearth of such an attack, and suggests that the country was already facing critical developments before the 2007/2008 crisis. Thus, the policy measures so far suggested to exit the current stressful situation, in so far as they ignore this fact, seriously run the risk of proving insufficient or altogether noxious.

Erosion of continental margins in the Western Mediterranean due to sea-level stagnancy during the Messinian Salinity Crisis

Science.gov (United States)

Just, Janna; Hübscher, Christian; Betzler, Christian; Lüdmann, Thomas; Reicherter, Klaus

2011-02-01

High-resolution multi-channel seismic data from continental slopes with minor sediment input off southwest Mallorca Island, the Bay of Oran (Algeria) and the Alboran Ridge reveal evidence that the Messinian erosional surface is terraced at an almost constant depth interval between 320 and 380 m below present-day sea level. It is proposed that these several hundred- to 2,000-m-wide terraces were eroded contemporaneously and essentially at the same depth. Present-day differences in these depths result from subsidence or uplift in the individual realms. The terraces are thought to have evolved during one or multiple periods of sea-level stagnancy in the Western Mediterranean Basin. According to several published scenarios, a single or multiple periods of relative sea-level stillstand occurred during the Messinian desiccation event, generally known as the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Some authors suggest that the stagnancy started during the refilling phase of the Mediterranean basins. When the rising sea level reached the height of the Sicily Sill, the water spilled over this swell into the eastern basin. The stagnancy persisted until sea level in the eastern basin caught up with the western Mediterranean water level. Other authors assigned periods of sea-level stagnancy to drawdown phases, when inflowing waters from the Atlantic kept the western sea level constant at the depth of the Sicily Sill. Our findings corroborate all those Messinian sea-level reconstructions, forwarding that a single or multiple sea-level stagnancies at the depth of the Sicily Sill lasted long enough to significantly erode the upper slope. Our data also have implications for the ongoing debate of the palaeo-depth of the Sicily Sill. Since the Mallorcan plateau experienced the least vertical movement, the observed terrace depth of 380 m there is inferred to be close to the Messinian depth of this swell.

CRISIS-DIAGNOSTICS IN ANTI-CRISIS MANAGEMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gavrylenko Valentina

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. In today’s conditions of a changing market environment, uncertainty and risk, one of the main tasks of management is the timely detection of crisis symptoms and the development of measures aimed at preventing their negative impact on the activities of the enterprise. The purpose of this article is to determine the accounting and analytical information for the development of the model KRIZІS-diagnostics and ensure the effectiveness of its functioning in anti-crisis management. Results. The analysis of definition of the concept «KRIZІS-diagnostics» in the scientific literature is carried out. Multi-factor models for assessing the financial status and the diagnostics of enterprises bankruptcy for different countries are presented. The specified classification of management KRIZІS-diagnostics is specified. The stages and tasks of KRIZІS-diagnostics are determined. The sources of information, which are determinants of the early symptoms of the crisis and necessary for KRIZІS-diagnostics are indicated and the characteristic is also given. Qualitative and quantitative indicators that characterize the business processes of the enterprise and can be used to analyze the state of the enterprise in a changing environment for preventing the crisis are determined. Conclusions. This approach of identifying crisis symptoms in business processes is the basis for managing an enterprise to make strategic management decisions in order to prevent a crisis at its early stages. The development of KRIZІS-diagnostics as an information provision for anti-crisis management is the direction of further research.

Financial crisis and crisis management in Sweden: Lessons for today

OpenAIRE

Jonung, Lars

2009-01-01

This paper gives an account of the Swedish financial crisis covering the period 1985-2000, dealing with financial deregulation and the boom in the late 1980s, the bust and the financial crisis in the early 1990s, the recovery from the crisis and the bank resolution policy adopted during the crisis. The paper focuses on three issues: the causes and consequences of the financial crisis, the policy response concerning bank resolution, and the applicability of the Swedish model of bank crisis man...

Crisis Communication and Management: Surviving a Public Relations Crisis

Science.gov (United States)

Eramo, Eric M.

2009-01-01

Crisis management, or crisis communication, is never a good thing for a business to experience. It is, however, a public relations' professional moment to shine and put their honed skills to good use. A good crisis management plan is not only action during the crisis but preparation and reflection. Hiring a PR firm that deals with crisis…

Effect of Bioactive Materials Modified with Chondroitin Sulfate on Human MSC =

Science.gov (United States)

De La Torre Torres, Jessica Elizabeth

In this project chondroitin sulfate (CS) and growth factors were studied for their effect on hMSC in biomaterials. First, the effect of these biomolecules was tested in solution. Then, two kinds of biomaterials were created: bioactive surfaces for enhancing bioactivity of implantable devices and bioactive hydrogels which can be used as 3D scaffolds for cell encapsulation and delivery. A pro-survival effect of the growth factors studied in this project (epidermal growth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor and fibroblast growth factor) was not observed when tested in solution, therefore the project further focused on CS effect only. Interestingly, CS did not affect cell growth in media containing serum, while inducing cell detachment from substrate in serum free conditions. For the bioactive surfaces construction, CS was grafted to either an amine-rich plasmapolymerized coating created on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films (further referred as LP) or to commercial cell culture plates functionalized with amino groups. The bioactive surfaces were characterized by different techniques such as contact angle, atomic force microscopy, Orange II dye and Toluidine Blue O dye colorimetric assays (for amino group and CS quantification respectively) and finally, cell culture experiments (adhesion, growth and survival). Results confirmed the presence of CS grafted on both substrates. Commercial amine plates grafted almost five times more CS compared to LP. This rendered the surface antifouling for proteins and cells as confirmed by protein adsorption and cell culture assays. Cell culture assays on bioactive surfaces based on LP demonstrated improved cell adhesion and growth when compared to tissue culture plates or bare PET films in serum containing conditions. Chitosan based hydrogels containing CS at a concentration of 500 mug/ml resulted in a cohesive hydrogel which supported hMSC viability up to 7 days. However increasing CS concentration to high level such as

Kesterson crisis: Sorting out the facts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benson, S.M.; Delamore, M.; Hoffman, S.

1990-07-01

The Kesterson Reservoir was planned as a regulating facility to control drainage water discharges into the San Joaquin-Scaramento River Delta from the ''San Luis Drain'' which was to dispose of salt-ladin agricultural water. Anticipated environmental impacts of the Kesterson operations focused almost exclusively on problems related to seepage and water-logging of nearby lands. Reuse of drainage water for wetlands focused on excessive salinity. Drainage water entered the reservoir in 1978. By 1983 elevated levels of selenium were found with selenium poisoning causing deformed embryos of water birds, adult bird mortality and their poor reproductive success. An estimated 9000 kg of selenium was delivered to Kesterson between 1981 to 1986. This paper details the chronology of the Kesterson crisis and environmental remediation. 20 refs., 1 fig

The histopathology of a human mesenchymal stem cell experimental tumor model: support for an hMSC origin for Ewing's sarcoma?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Burns, J S; Abdallah, B M; Schrøder, Henrik Daa

2008-01-01

-forming potential of early passage hMSC-TERT20 cells, tumors derived from late passage cells expressed early biomarkers of osteogenesis. However, hMSC-TERT20 cells were heterogeneous for alpha smooth muscle actin (ASMA) expression and one out of six hMSC-TERT20 derived single cell clones was strongly ASMA positive....... Tumors from this ASMA+ clone had distinctive vascular qualities with hot spots of high CD34+ murine endothelial cell density, together with CD34- regions with a branching periodic acid Schiff reaction pattern. Such clone-specific differences in host vascular response provide novel models to explore...

In vivo MR detection of fluorine-labeled human MSC using the bSSFP sequence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ribot EJ

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Emeline J Ribot,1 Jeffrey M Gaudet,1,2 Yuhua Chen,1 Kyle M Gilbert,1 Paula J Foster1,2 1Imaging Research Laboratories, Robarts Research Institute, London, ON, Canada; 2Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada Abstract: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC are used to restore deteriorated cell environments. There is a need to specifically track these cells following transplantation in order to evaluate different methods of implantation, to follow their migration within the body, and to quantify their accumulation at the target. Cellular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI using fluorine-based nanoemulsions is a great means to detect these transplanted cells in vivo because of the high specificity for fluorine detection and the capability for precise quantification. This technique, however, has low sensitivity, necessitating improvement in MR sequences. To counteract this issue, the balanced steady-state free precession (bSSFP imaging sequence can be of great interest due to the high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR. Furthermore, it can be applied to obtain 3D images within short acquisition times. In this paper, bSSFP provided accurate quantification of samples of the perfluorocarbon Cell Sense-labeled cells in vitro. Cell Sense was internalized by human MSC (hMSC without adverse alterations in cell viability or differentiation into adipocytes/osteocytes. The bSSFP sequence was applied in vivo to track and quantify the signals from both Cell Sense-labeled and iron-labeled hMSC after intramuscular implantation. The fluorine signal was observed to decrease faster and more significantly than the volume of iron-associated voids, which points to the advantage of quantifying the fluorine signal and the complexity of quantifying signal loss due to iron. Keywords: bSSFP, fluorine MRI, mesenchymal stem cell, mouse, cell tracking

The therapeutic effects of MSc1 nanocomplex, synthesized by nanochelating technology, on experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitic C57/BL6 mice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fakharzadeh S

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Saideh Fakharzadeh,1 Mohammad Ali Sahraian,2 Maryam Hafizi,1 Somayeh Kalanaky,1 Zahra Masoumi,1 Mehdi Mahdavi,1 Nasser Kamalian,3 Alireza Minagar,4 Mohammad Hassan Nazaran1 1Department of Research and Development, Sodour Ahrar Shargh Company, Tehran, Iran; 2MS Research Center, Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 3Department of Pathology, Medical School of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 4Department of Neurology, LSU Health Sciences Centre, Shreveport, LA, USA Purpose: Currently approved therapies for multiple sclerosis (MS at best only slow down its progression. Therefore, it is necessary to utilize novel technologies in order to synthesize smart multifunctional structures. In the present study, for the first time we evaluated the therapeutic potential of MSc1 nanocomplex, which was designed based on novel nanochelating technology. Materials and methods: MSc1 cell-protection capacity, with and without iron bond, was evaluated against hydrogen peroxide (H2O2-induced oxidative stress in cultured rat pheochromocytoma-12 cells. The ability of MSc1 to maintain iron bond at pH ranges of 1–7 was evaluated. Nanocomplex toxicity was examined by estimating the intraperitoneal median lethal dose (LD50. Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitic mice were injected with MSc1 14 days after disease induction, when the clinical symptoms appeared. The clinical score, body weight, and disease-induced mortality were monitored until day 54. In the end, after collecting blood samples for assessing hemoglobin and red blood cell count, the brains and livers of the mice were isolated for hematoxylin and eosin staining and analysis of iron content, respectively. Results: The results showed that MSc1 prevented H2O2-induced cell death even after binding with iron, and it preserved its bond with iron constant at pH ranges 1–7. The nanocomplex intraperitoneal LD50 was 1,776.59 mg/kg. MSc1 prompted therapeutic

Crisis? What crisis? How European professionals handle crises and crisis communication

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verhoeven, P.; Tench, R.; Zerfass, A.; Moreno, A.; Verčič, D.

2014-01-01

A broad study in 43 European countries shows that 70% of communication professionals encounter at least one crisis a year, mostly institutional, related to the performance of the organization or a crisis in management or leadership. Organizational response and image restoration approaches are mainly

Crisis?: What crisis?: currency vs. banking in the financial crisis of 1931

OpenAIRE

Albrecht Ritschl; Samad Salferaz

2010-01-01

This paper examines the role of currency and banking in the German financial crisis of 1931 for both Germany and the U.S. We specify a structural dynamic factor model to identify financial and monetary factors separately for each of the two economies. We find that monetary transmission through the Gold Standard played only a minor role in causing and propagating the crisis, while financial distress was important. We also find evidence of crisis propagation from Germany to the U.S. via the ban...

Effect of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) on chronic visceral hypersensitivity in a radio-induced colonic ulceration model in the rat

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Durand, Christelle

2014-01-01

Patients who undergo pelvic radiotherapy may develop significant incidence of undesirable chronic gastrointestinal complications resulting from radiation-induced damages around the tumour. Chronic visceral pain is one of the radiation-induced side effects that greatly affects the quality of life of 'cancer survivors'. The lack of effective analgesic treatment highlights the importance of novel and effective therapeutic strategies. In our laboratory, mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) based approach showed beneficial immunomodulatory and regenerative effects in a rat model of irreversible radiationinduced colonic ulcers. The goal of my work was to assess the relevance of this model to study radiation-induced visceral persistent hypersensitivity and its modulation by MSC treatment. We first demonstrated that this model is associated with long-lasting visceral hypersensitivity and central neuronal sensitization. In this context we showed then that mast cells (MC) are involved in the mechanism of peripheral sensitization. Moreover, we suggested the implication of the neuro-mediator NO . in the pathophysiology of persistent radiation-induced visceral hypersensitivity. We also suggested that MSC treatment reversed radiation-induced hypersensitivity by a mechanism that in part may involve the modulation of MC activation and/or the decrease in the number of MC and nerve fiber interactions. In addition, MSC treatment reduced the percentage of nitrinergic neurons, increased after irradiation, and restored colonic muscular contractibility. Such processes may promote the therapeutic benefit of MSC observed in our study. In conclusion, this work provided new insights on the therapeutic benefit of MSC in our study model and a new argument in favour of their use in a future clinical trial to cure abdomino-pelvic radiotherapy side effects. (author) [fr

Crisis Thought

OpenAIRE

Morris, Edwin Kent

2016-01-01

Crisis thought is an idea that gives a name to and accounts for some of the problematics of the sign crisis in political, social, cultural, and economic discourse. Specifically, crisis thought is a discursive formation, a concept used loosely here to refer to an assemblage of signs such as anxiety or fear that evoke or invoke similar, but inaccurate connotations as crisis in political and everyday usage. The general question this study grapples with is why political, social, cultural, and eco...

Intra-osseous injection of donor mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) into the bone marrow in living donor kidney transplantation; a pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hyunah; Park, Jae Berm; Lee, Sanghoon; Baek, Soyoung; Kim, HyunSoo; Kim, Sung Joo

2013-04-11

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multi-potent non-hematopoietic progenitor cells possessing an immune-regulatory function, with suppression of proliferation of activated lymphocytes. In this study, adult living donor kidney transplantation (LDKT) recipients were given MSCs derived from the donor bone marrow to evaluate the safety and the feasibility of immunological changes related to the intra-osseous injection of MSC into the bone marrow. MSCs were derived from negative HLA cross-match donors. Donor bone marrow was harvested 5 weeks prior to KT. At the time of transplantation, 1 x 106 cell/kg of donor MSC was directly injected into the bone marrow of the recipient's right iliac bone. Patients' clinical outcomes, presence of mixed chimerism by short tandem repeat polymerase chain reaction, analysis of plasma FoxP3 mRNA and cytokine level, and mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) were performed. Seven patients enrolled in this study and received donor MSC injections simultaneously with LDKT. The median age of recipients was 36 years (32 ~ 48). The number of HLA mismatches was 3 or less in 5 and more than 3 in 2. No local complications or adverse events such as hypersensitivity occurred during or after the injection of donor MSC. There was no graft failure, but the biopsy-proven acute rejections were observed in 3 recipients during the follow-up period controlled well with steroid pulse therapy (SPT). The last serum creatinine was a median of 1.23 mg/dL (0.83 ~ 2.07). Mixed chimerism was not detected in the peripheral blood of the recipients at 1 and 8 week of post-transplantation. Donor-specific lymphocyte or T cell proliferation and Treg priming responses were observed in some patients. Plasma level of IL-10, a known mediator of MSC-induced immune suppression, increased in the patients with Treg induction. Donor MSC injection into the iliac bone at the time of KT was feasible and safe. A possible correlation was observed between the induction of inhibitory

ANALYSIS WITH MSC ADAMS OF A 5-FINGER AND 3-PHALANX /FINGER UNDER-ACTUATEDMECHANICAL HAND

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gheorghe POPESCU

2013-05-01

Full Text Available This paper studies the analysis with MSC ADAMS of a 5-fingered and 3-phalanx/finger underactuatedmechanical hand, designed by the author to work on industrial robots. Moreover, in order to increasegrasping safety in the automated handling process, the author has fitted each finger with a locking sequence inthe final phase of grasping. Thus, the mechanism of mechanical hand is considered to be a mechanical systemand is treated like a set of rigid bodies connected by mechanical linkages and elastic elements. To model andsimulate this mechanism with MSC ADAMS programme, the author covered the following stages: constructionof the model, testing-simulation, validation, finishing, parameterization, and optimization

The Northern Apennines palynological record as a contribute for the reconstruction of the Messinian palaeoenvironments

Science.gov (United States)

Bertini, Adele

2006-06-01

The Messinian stage has long been associated with an overall warm and dry climate whereas recent researches indicate either a warm and humid or a cool and dry climate. The integrated stratigraphic record of vegetation and climatic changes from Northern Apennines sites provides the solution to this apparent contradiction. Its integration with the updated geological and sedimentological studies provides additional data for the reconstruction of the depositional palaeoenvironments in both marginal and deeper sub-basins of the Apennines foredeep. The onset of the Mediterranean salinity crisis (MSC) is recorded in the Gessoso-Solfifera of the Vena del Gesso (marginal sub-basin). Cyclical humid conditions, corresponding to precession minima, developed during the deposition of the shales interbedded with the gypsum (5.9 to 5.6 Ma); some cooler events took also place under the effects of global (glacial stadials) and regional factors (Apennines uplift). At present no major changes from moist to dry conditions are attested to just before the salinity crisis, as well as in Sicily. So climate did not play a major role in the onset of the MSC despite the favourable context provided by inferred thermo-xeric conditions in southern Italy. A drier episode indicated by the expansion of the open vegetation including the northward migration of Lygeum postdates the onset of the salinity crisis of about 400 kyr, in the lower post-evaporitic deposits of Maccarone (deeper sub-basin). It falls within a period of global warming whereas at a regional scale it could correlate p.p. to the evaporite deposition in deeper basins and to hiatuses in the marginal basins of Sicily and of the western sector of Northern Apennines. Its sudden end, about 100 kyr later, in coincidence with a significant increase of Pinaceae, indicates a turnover in the terrestrial setting not linked to major climate changes but possibly to a complex interaction between other palaeoenvironmental factors (e.g., tectonics

Cell therapy medicinal product regulatory framework in Europe and its application for MSC based therapy development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janis eAncans

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs, including cell therapy products, form a new class of medicines in the European Union. Since ATMPs are at the forefront of scientific innovation in medicine, specific regulatory framework has been developed for these medicines and implemented from 2009. The Committee for Advanced Therapies (CAT has been established at European Medicines Agency (EMA for centralized classification, certification and evaluation procedures, and other ATMP related tasks. Guidance documents, initiatives and interaction platforms are available to make the new framework more accessible for small and medium-sized enterprises, academia, hospitals and foundations. Good understanding of centralised and national components of the regulatory system is required to plan product development. It is in the best interests of cell therapy developers to utilise provided resources starting with the preclinical stage. Whilst there have not been mesenchymal stem cell (MSC based medicine authorisations in the EU, three MSC products have received marketing approval in other regions since 2011. Information provided on regulatory requirements, procedures and initiatives is aimed to facilitate MSC based medicinal product development and authorisation in the EU.

Was the 2007 crisis really a global banking crisis?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Shehzad, Choudhry Tanveer; De Haan, Jakob

We argue that the 2007 crisis was not a global banking crisis. Stock prices of banks in emerging countries faced a temporary shock but quickly recovered, while stock prices of banks located in industrial countries remained much lower than before the 2007 crisis. Our results also suggest that stock

High-performance ionic diode membrane for salinity gradient power generation.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Jun; Guo, Wei; Feng, Dan; Wang, Huanting; Zhao, Dongyuan; Jiang, Lei

2014-09-03

Salinity difference between seawater and river water is a sustainable energy resource that catches eyes of the public and the investors in the background of energy crisis. To capture this energy, interdisciplinary efforts from chemistry, materials science, environmental science, and nanotechnology have been made to create efficient and economically viable energy conversion methods and materials. Beyond conventional membrane-based processes, technological breakthroughs in harvesting salinity gradient power from natural waters are expected to emerge from the novel fluidic transport phenomena on the nanoscale. A major challenge toward real-world applications is to extrapolate existing single-channel devices to macroscopic materials. Here, we report a membrane-scale nanofluidic device with asymmetric structure, chemical composition, and surface charge polarity, termed ionic diode membrane (IDM), for harvesting electric power from salinity gradient. The IDM comprises heterojunctions between mesoporous carbon (pore size ∼7 nm, negatively charged) and macroporous alumina (pore size ∼80 nm, positively charged). The meso-/macroporous membrane rectifies the ionic current with distinctly high ratio of ca. 450 and keeps on rectifying in high-concentration electrolytes, even in saturated solution. The selective and rectified ion transport furthermore sheds light on salinity-gradient power generation. By mixing artificial seawater and river water through the IDM, substantially high power density of up to 3.46 W/m(2) is discovered, which largely outperforms some commercial ion-exchange membranes. A theoretical model based on coupled Poisson and Nernst-Planck equations is established to quantitatively explain the experimental observations and get insights into the underlying mechanism. The macroscopic and asymmetric nanofluidic structure anticipates wide potentials for sustainable power generation, water purification, and desalination.

The modeling experience of fuel element units operation under MSC.MARC and MENTAT 2008R1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kulakov, G.; Kashirin, B.; Kosaurov, A.; Konovalov, Y.; Kuznetsov, A.; Medvedev, A.; Novikov, V.; Vatulin, A.

2009-01-01

MSC Software is leading developer of CAE-software in the world, so behaviour of fuel elements modeling with MSC.MARC use is of great practical importance. Behaviour of fuel elements usually is modeled in the elastic-viscous-plastic statement with account on fuel swelling during irradiation. For container type fuel elements contact interaction between fuel pellets and cladding or other parts of fuel element in top and bottom plugs must be in account. Results of simulated behaviour of various type fuel elements - container type fuel elements for PWR and RBMK reactors, dispersion type fuel elements for research reactors are presented. (authors)

School Crisis Management: A Model of Dynamic Responsiveness to Crisis Life Cycle

Science.gov (United States)

Liou, Yi-Hwa

2015-01-01

Purpose: This study aims to analyze a school's crisis management and explore emerging aspects of its response to a school crisis. Traditional linear modes of analysis often fail to address complex crisis situations. The present study applied a dynamic crisis life cycle model that draws on chaos and complexity theory to a crisis management case,…

Presentation of the CEA's crisis national organization: coordination centre in case of crisis, crisis technical teams, intervention means, and so on

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pectorin, X.

2010-01-01

After having briefly recalled the existence of a legal framework for crisis management organisation, this report briefly describes how the CEA plans the crisis management. This management is based on the definition of critical scenarios, on the building up of a crisis management team, and on the elaboration of crisis management operational documents. It evokes the alert organisation and the triggering of crisis management. Then, it describes the CEA's national crisis organisation with its main crisis management structures, the role and the operation of the Crisis Coordination Centre (CCC, the decision body), the role and operation of the Central Crisis Technical Teams (ETC-C, Equipes Techniques de Crise Centrales), the role of field interveners (various rescue, protection, health care and technical teams) and of other additional intervention actors. It evokes the objectives of the various exercises which are organised every year at the internal, national or international level

Cell therapy medicinal product regulatory framework in Europe and its application for MSC-based therapy development

Science.gov (United States)

Ancans, Janis

2012-01-01

Advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs), including cell therapy products, form a new class of medicines in the European Union. Since the ATMPs are at the forefront of scientific innovation in medicine, specific regulatory framework has been developed for these medicines and implemented from 2009. The Committee for Advanced Therapies (CAT) has been established at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for centralized classification, certification and evaluation procedures, and other ATMP-related tasks. Guidance documents, initiatives, and interaction platforms are available to make the new framework more accessible for small- and medium-sized enterprises, academia, hospitals, and foundations. Good understanding of the centralized and national components of the regulatory system is required to plan product development. It is in the best interests of the cell therapy developers to utilize the resources provided starting with the pre-clinical stage. Whilst there have been no mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-based medicine authorizations in the EU, three MSC products have received marketing approval in other regions since 2011. The information provided on the regulatory requirements, procedures, and initiatives is aimed at facilitating MSC-based medicinal product development and authorization in the EU. PMID:22912639

Silk-ionomer and silk-tropoelastin hydrogels as charged three-dimensional culture platforms for the regulation of hMSC response.

Science.gov (United States)

Calabrese, Rossella; Raia, Nicole; Huang, Wenwen; Ghezzi, Chiara E; Simon, Marc; Staii, Cristian; Weiss, Anthony S; Kaplan, David L

2017-09-01

The response of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) encapsulated in three-dimensional (3D) charged protein hydrogels was studied. Combining silk fibroin (S) with recombinant human tropoelastin (E) or silk ionomers (I) provided protein composite alloys with tunable physicochemical and biological features for regulating the bioactivity of encapsulated hMSCs. The effects of the biomaterial charges on hMSC viability, proliferation and chondrogenic or osteogenic differentiation were assessed. The silk-tropoelastin or silk-ionomers hydrogels supported hMSC viability, proliferation and differentiation. Gene expression of markers for chondrogenesis and osteogenesis, as well as biochemical and histological analysis, showed that hydrogels with different S/E and S/I ratios had different effects on cell fate. The negatively charged hydrogels upregulated hMSC chondrogenesis or osteogenesis, with or without specific differentiation media, and hydrogels with higher tropoelastin content inhibited the differentiation potential even in the presence of the differentiation media. The results provide insight on charge-tunable features of protein-based biomaterials to control hMSC differentiation in 3D hydrogels, as well as providing a new set of hydrogels for the compatible encapsulation and utility for cell functions. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Chinese Crisis Management

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Gudgel, Andy

2004-01-01

.... China's crisis management strategy is geared towards obtaining the maximum political advantage for China, as opposed to resolving the crisis. China tries to define the crisis on its terms in order to shape the resolution favorably.

M.Sc. in Civil and Structural Engineering

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Clausen, Johan Christian

The following pages contain a list of project ideas proposed by the scientific staff at the Department of Civil Engineering, Aalborg University, and a number of companies. Most of the project ideas in this catalogue may form the basis for long and short master projects as well as regular 3rd...... semester projects at the M.Sc. programme in Civil and Structural Engineering. Each project description provides a brief overview of the purpose as well as the main activities. Further, a weighting between theoretical analysis, experimental work and computer modelling has been proposed. Usually...... page. Furthermore, other ideas for projects may be discussed with a potential supervisor. Many private engineering companies have a homepage on which they state that they would like to collaborate with students on a master project....

Partial suppression of the respiratory defect of qrs1/her2 glutamyl-tRNA amidotransferase mutants by overexpression of the mitochondrial pentatricopeptide Msc6p.

Science.gov (United States)

Moda, Bruno S; Ferreira-Júnior, José Ribamar; Barros, Mario H

2016-08-01

Recently, a large body of evidences indicates the existence in the mitochondrial matrix of foci that contain different proteins involved in mitochondrial RNA metabolism. Some of these proteins have a pentatricopeptide repeat motif that constitutes their RNA-binding structures. Here we report that MSC6, a mitochondrial pentatricopeptide protein of unknown function, is a multi copy suppressor of mutations in QRS1/HER2 a component of the trimeric complex that catalyzes the transamidation of glutamyl-tRNAQ to glutaminyl-tRNAQ. This is an essential step in mitochondrial translation because of the lack of a specific mitochondrial aminoacyl glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase. MSC6 over-expression did not abolish translation of an aberrant variant form of Cox2p detected in QRS1/HER2 mutants, arguing against a suppression mechanism that bypasses Qrs1p function. A slight decrement of the mitochondrial translation capacity as well as diminished growth on respiratory carbon sources media for respiratory activity was observed in the msc6 null mutant. Additionally, the msc6 null mutant did not display any impairment in RNA transcription, processing or turnover. We concluded that Msc6p is a mitochondrial matrix protein and further studies are required to indicate the specific function of Msc6p in mitochondrial translation.

From oil crisis to climate crisis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Langseth, Bjarne

2000-01-01

The oil crisis in the 1970s led to the shift from oil to hydro- and nuclear power. An almost similar shift might soon come as a ''climate crisis''. A climate crisis may imply a renaissance for hydropower and nuclear power and natural gas will be used on a large scale. In Europe, natural gas is currently considered environmentally friendly. Although there is at present growing opposition to nuclear power in Sweden and Germany, this attitude may change as the result of increased focus on the costs of the alternatives. A forced phase-out of nuclear power in Europe simultaneously with a climate crisis with reduced energy production from fossil fuels is likely to entail significantly increased prices of electricity. In Norway, 98% of the country's electric power production is based on hydro power, which means that much more heating can be based on electricity than in countries in which electricity is produced by combustion of fossil fuels. Much research is in progress to find technologies that will make it possible to shift from fossil fuel energy to energy from renewable sources like solar, water, wind, biomass and geothermal energy

Managing crisis

OpenAIRE

Bakacsi, Gyula

2010-01-01

The traditional approach to crisis management suggest autocratic leadership, that has risks anyway (leader is the bottle-neck of problem solving, single-loop learning, crisis management is a matter of efficiency). However, managing nowadays crisis is rather effectiveness issue, and requires double-loop learning (second-order change) and leadership role in the sense of Kotter’s theory. Paper discusses the top-management’s leadership responsibilities, and their special tasks in the problem solv...

Crisis Response Strategy and Crisis Types Suitability: A Preliminary Study on MH370

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamad Ashari Noratikah

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In time of crisis, the organisation’s tactic in responding to the crisis according to its type/s may significantly affect the organisation’s effort to survive its reputational damages. The study of crisis response strategy (CRS requires further exploration within the Malaysian context, moreso with the greater and apparent use of social media as a platform for the organisation in crisis to reach out to its stakeholders. This preliminary paper studies the MH370 crisis in light of Coombs [1] Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT. It aims to discuss the suitability of the CRS applied by Malaysia Airlines System (MAS with the crisis type/s that was/were experienced by the organisation. Hence, the need for this paper to investigate the crisis type/s of MH370 and examines the CRS applied by MAS by content analysing media statements that were disseminated directly to the organisation’s stakeholders on Facebook during the first day of the crisis. Results ultimately show an interesting analysis to the crisis type of MH370, and the suitability of the CRS applied by MAS for that matter.

Hemolytic crisis

Science.gov (United States)

... page: //medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003270.htm Hemolytic crisis To use the sharing features on this page, please enable JavaScript. Hemolytic crisis occurs when large numbers of red blood cells ...

the dutch crisis and recovery act: economic recovery and legal crisis

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Jonathan

THE DUTCH CRISIS AND RECOVERY ACT: ECONOMIC RECOVERY AND. LEGAL CRISIS? J Verschuuren. 1 Introduction. Throughout the world, governments are responding to the financial and economic crisis. Such responses vary from supporting the banking system to adopting economic stimulus packages. The latter ...

Dalla crisi finanziaria alla crisi reale. ( Financial and real crisis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlo D'Adda

2010-03-01

Full Text Available  The financial crisis of 2008 is put in relation with two bubbles, financial and housing. Easy credit is at the origin of both bubbles. Risky bonds were issued to mobilize mortgages originated in the housing market, and bad bonds entered a fantastic number of institutional and private portfolios all over the world without any perception of the their risk. Unfortunately, bank credit to speculators was abundant and fed the final growth of the bubbles. When fears started to spread, the fall was immediate and expectations impaired very rapidly. The main aggregate demand components were severely curtailed and production fell as well. This is the crisis of the real economy. Fortunately, as opposed to what happened in 1929, the interventions of central banks and governments have been of an unprecedented size. The bail out of insolvent banks in particular has been providential. The exit from the current crisis, however, will surely be slow.  JEL: E44, G01, G10

Current Studies on Crisis Response Communication:Focus on Crisis Communication Theories in the United States

OpenAIRE

平澤 敦

2017-01-01

Researchers have shown an increased interest in crisis communication as well as crisis management. Crisis communication became an established corporate discipline in the last 20 years. Because of the recent rash of corporate (organizational) scandals, natural disasters and so on, importance of crisis communication (management) attracts much more attention than the past.Crisis communication is used to help governments and companies organizations to respond to and recover from a crisis. Crisis ...

Crisis communication: an inequalities perspective on the 2010 Boston water crisis.

Science.gov (United States)

Galarce, Ezequiel M; Viswanath, K

2012-12-01

Although the field of crisis risk communication has generated substantial research, the interaction between social determinants, communication processes, and behavioral compliance has been less well studied. With the goal of better understanding these interactions, this report examines how social determinants influenced communications and behavioral compliance during the 2010 Boston, Massachusetts, water crisis. An online survey was conducted to assess Boston residents' knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, mass and interpersonal communication, and preventive behaviors on emergency preparedness topics dealing with the water crisis. Of a total sample of 726 respondents, approximately one-third (n = 267) reported having been affected by the water crisis. Only data from affected participants were analyzed. Following an order to boil water, 87.5% of respondents refrained from drinking unboiled tap water. These behaviors and other cognitive and attitudinal factors, however, were not uniform across population subgroups. All communication and behavioral compliance variables varied across sociodemographic factors. Crisis communication, in conjunction with other public health preparedness fields, is central to reducing the negative impact of sudden hazards. Emergency scenarios such as the Boston water crisis serve as unique opportunities to understand how effectively crisis messages are conveyed to and received by different segments of the population.

Talking about a Crisis - Italian Bloggers' Perceptions of Alitalia's Crisis Responses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Valentini, Chiara; Romenti, Stefania

In this study we intend to examine the way in which bloggers and blog readers framed a company performance during a crisis, but looking at the most discussed crisis's themes, at the sources of their statements and at their evaluations. To facilitate that, we focused on a specific crisis case......, the Alitalia's one, as this case shows some specificities that have influenced the contents of the communicative discourses among bloggers and blog readers on the organization's response to its crisis....

Hypertensive Crisis

Science.gov (United States)

... Artery Disease Venous Thromboembolism Aortic Aneurysm More Hypertensive Crisis: When You Should Call 9-1-1 for ... Nov 13,2017 A hypertensive ( high blood pressure ) crisis is when blood pressure rises quickly and severely ...

Do laboratory salinity tolerances of freshwater animals correspond with their field salinity?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kefford, Ben J.; Papas, Phil J.; Metzeling, Leon; Nugegoda, Dayanthi

2004-06-01

The degree to which laboratory derived measures of salinity tolerance reflect the field distributions of freshwater biota is uncertain. In this paper we compare laboratory-derived acute salinity tolerance (LC{sub 50} values) of freshwater macroinvertebrates (range 5.5-76 mS/cm) and fish (range 2.7-82 mS/cm) from southeastern Australia with the salinity from which they have been collected in the field. Only 4% of the macroinvertebrates were collected at salinity levels substantially higher than their 72-h LC{sub 50} obtained from directly transferring animals from low salinity water to the water they were tested (direct transfer LC{sub 50}). This LC{sub 50} value was correlated with the maximum salinity at which a species had been collected. For common macroinvertebrates, the maximum field salinity was approximated by the direct transfer 72-h LC{sub 50}. For adult freshwater fish, 21% of species were collected at salinities substantially greater than their acute direct transfer LC{sub 50} and there was a weak relationship between these two variables. Although there was a weak correlation between the direct transfer LC{sub 50} of early life stages of freshwater fish and the maximum field salinity, 58% of the field distribution were in higher than their LC{sub 50} values. In contrast, LC{sub 50} determined from experiments that acclimated adult fish to higher salinity (slow acclimation) provided a better indication of the field distribution: with only one fish species (7%) being in conflict with their maximum field salinity and a strong positive relationship between these variables. This study shows that laboratory measures of acute salinity tolerance can reflect the maximum salinity that macroinvertebrate and fish species inhabit and are consistent with some anecdotal observations from other studies. - Acute laboratory salinity tolerances relate to maximum salinity where organisms occur in nature.

Do laboratory salinity tolerances of freshwater animals correspond with their field salinity?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kefford, Ben J.; Papas, Phil J.; Metzeling, Leon; Nugegoda, Dayanthi

2004-01-01

The degree to which laboratory derived measures of salinity tolerance reflect the field distributions of freshwater biota is uncertain. In this paper we compare laboratory-derived acute salinity tolerance (LC 50 values) of freshwater macroinvertebrates (range 5.5-76 mS/cm) and fish (range 2.7-82 mS/cm) from southeastern Australia with the salinity from which they have been collected in the field. Only 4% of the macroinvertebrates were collected at salinity levels substantially higher than their 72-h LC 50 obtained from directly transferring animals from low salinity water to the water they were tested (direct transfer LC 50 ). This LC 50 value was correlated with the maximum salinity at which a species had been collected. For common macroinvertebrates, the maximum field salinity was approximated by the direct transfer 72-h LC 50 . For adult freshwater fish, 21% of species were collected at salinities substantially greater than their acute direct transfer LC 50 and there was a weak relationship between these two variables. Although there was a weak correlation between the direct transfer LC 50 of early life stages of freshwater fish and the maximum field salinity, 58% of the field distribution were in higher than their LC 50 values. In contrast, LC 50 determined from experiments that acclimated adult fish to higher salinity (slow acclimation) provided a better indication of the field distribution: with only one fish species (7%) being in conflict with their maximum field salinity and a strong positive relationship between these variables. This study shows that laboratory measures of acute salinity tolerance can reflect the maximum salinity that macroinvertebrate and fish species inhabit and are consistent with some anecdotal observations from other studies. - Acute laboratory salinity tolerances relate to maximum salinity where organisms occur in nature

Salinity changes and anoxia resulting from enhanced run-off during the late Permian global warming and mass extinction event

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. E. van Soelen

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The late Permian biotic crisis had a major impact on marine and terrestrial environments. Rising CO2 levels following Siberian Trap volcanic activity were likely responsible for expanding marine anoxia and elevated water temperatures. This study focuses on one of the stratigraphically most expanded Permian–Triassic records known, from Jameson Land, East Greenland. High-resolution sampling allows for a detailed reconstruction of the changing environmental conditions during the extinction event and the development of anoxic water conditions. Since very little is known about how salinity was affected during the extinction event, we especially focus on the aquatic palynomorphs and infer changes in salinity from changes in the assemblage and morphology. The start of the extinction event, here defined by a peak in spore : pollen, indicating disturbance and vegetation destruction in the terrestrial environment, postdates a negative excursion in the total organic carbon, but predates the development of anoxia in the basin. Based on the newest estimations for sedimentation rates, the marine and terrestrial ecosystem collapse took between 1.6 and 8 kyr, a much shorter interval than previously estimated. The palynofacies and palynomorph records show that the environmental changes can be explained by enhanced run-off and increased primary productivity and water column stratification. A lowering in salinity is supported by changes in the acritarch morphology. The length of the processes of the acritarchs becomes shorter during the extinction event and we propose that these changes are evidence for a reduction in salinity in the shallow marine setting of the study site. This inference is supported by changes in acritarch distribution, which suggest a change in palaeoenvironment from open marine conditions before the start of the extinction event to more nearshore conditions during and after the crisis. In a period of sea-level rise, such a reduction

Salinity changes and anoxia resulting from enhanced run-off during the late Permian global warming and mass extinction event

Science.gov (United States)

van Soelen, Elsbeth E.; Twitchett, Richard J.; Kürschner, Wolfram M.

2018-04-01

The late Permian biotic crisis had a major impact on marine and terrestrial environments. Rising CO2 levels following Siberian Trap volcanic activity were likely responsible for expanding marine anoxia and elevated water temperatures. This study focuses on one of the stratigraphically most expanded Permian-Triassic records known, from Jameson Land, East Greenland. High-resolution sampling allows for a detailed reconstruction of the changing environmental conditions during the extinction event and the development of anoxic water conditions. Since very little is known about how salinity was affected during the extinction event, we especially focus on the aquatic palynomorphs and infer changes in salinity from changes in the assemblage and morphology. The start of the extinction event, here defined by a peak in spore : pollen, indicating disturbance and vegetation destruction in the terrestrial environment, postdates a negative excursion in the total organic carbon, but predates the development of anoxia in the basin. Based on the newest estimations for sedimentation rates, the marine and terrestrial ecosystem collapse took between 1.6 and 8 kyr, a much shorter interval than previously estimated. The palynofacies and palynomorph records show that the environmental changes can be explained by enhanced run-off and increased primary productivity and water column stratification. A lowering in salinity is supported by changes in the acritarch morphology. The length of the processes of the acritarchs becomes shorter during the extinction event and we propose that these changes are evidence for a reduction in salinity in the shallow marine setting of the study site. This inference is supported by changes in acritarch distribution, which suggest a change in palaeoenvironment from open marine conditions before the start of the extinction event to more nearshore conditions during and after the crisis. In a period of sea-level rise, such a reduction in salinity can only be

Structural Investigation of MscL Gating Using Experimental Data and Coarse Grained MD Simulations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Deplazes, Evelyne; Louhivuori, Martti; Jayatilaka, Dylan; Marrink, Siewert J.; Corry, Ben

The mechanosensitive channel of large conductance (MscL) has become a model system in which to understand mechanosensation, a process involved in osmoregulation and many other physiological functions. While a high resolution closed state structure is available, details of the open structure and the

Crisis Response Strategy and Crisis Types Suitability: A Preliminary Study on MH370

OpenAIRE

Mohamad Ashari Noratikah; Abang Ahmad Dayang Aizza Maisha; Samani Mus Chairil

2017-01-01

In time of crisis, the organisation’s tactic in responding to the crisis according to its type/s may significantly affect the organisation’s effort to survive its reputational damages. The study of crisis response strategy (CRS) requires further exploration within the Malaysian context, moreso with the greater and apparent use of social media as a platform for the organisation in crisis to reach out to its stakeholders. This preliminary paper studies the MH370 crisis in light of Coombs [1] Si...

The Euro crisis. Causes and Symptoms

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Christoph S. Weber

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The Euro crisis is mainly a consequence of the international financial crisis of 2008. Thereby, the term Euro crisis is misleading as there is no currency crisis. First, the article shows some of the birth defects of the Euro. Second, it shows that the increase in public debt was caused by rescue measures for banks and anti-cyclical fiscal policy. Third, we argue that the Euro crisis is not just one crisis (a sovereign debt crisis but it is a combination of several macroeconomic crises including a growth crisis, a labour market crisis, a public debt crisis, and a current account crisis.

The impact of crisis response strategy, crisis type, and corporate social responsibility on post-crisis consumer trust and purchase intention

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hegner, Sabrina M.; Beldad, Ardion D.; Kraesgenberg, Anne Lotte

2016-01-01

Organisational crises can have deleterious consequences for organisational reputation and sales. Hence, one exigent question pertains to the effects of a company's action prior to the crisis and its crisis response on customers' post-crisis attitude and behavioural intention. To address that

THE CURRENCY CRISIS TRIGGER OF THE ROMANIAN FINANCIAL CRISIS OF 2008

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Radu SOVIANI

2014-07-01

Full Text Available This paper analyses the ways the financial crisis started to manifest into the Romanian Financial System, through the exchange rate channel. The focus of this Paper is on how the Romanian decision makers contributed in triggering the financial crisis (that would have been triggered anyway. The paper will determine the trigger (the first obvious event for the Romanian Financial Crisis (the debut and it will prove that the consequences of this trigger could have been anticipated - it is in line with similar triggers for the debut in other currency crises. Therefore, one of the main conclusions of this paper is that while a global crisis starts to manifest the local economy should limit the exuberance of the decision makers in order to smooth the effects of the crisis.

Crisis Communication

OpenAIRE

Anca Jarmila Guţă

2006-01-01

The paper presents the manner in which the crisis of different types can disturb the normal activity of an organization and also the modalities by which the communication in this situation can solve or attenuate the negative effects of a crisis.

Mechanical loading regulates human MSC differentiation in a multi-layer hydrogel for osteochondral tissue engineering.

Science.gov (United States)

Steinmetz, Neven J; Aisenbrey, Elizabeth A; Westbrook, Kristofer K; Qi, H Jerry; Bryant, Stephanie J

2015-07-01

A bioinspired multi-layer hydrogel was developed for the encapsulation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) as a platform for osteochondral tissue engineering. The spatial presentation of biochemical cues, via incorporation of extracellular matrix analogs, and mechanical cues, via both hydrogel crosslink density and externally applied mechanical loads, were characterized in each layer. A simple sequential photopolymerization method was employed to form stable poly(ethylene glycol)-based hydrogels with a soft cartilage-like layer of chondroitin sulfate and low RGD concentrations, a stiff bone-like layer with high RGD concentrations, and an intermediate interfacial layer. Under a compressive load, the variation in hydrogel stiffness within each layer produced high strains in the soft cartilage-like layer, low strains in the stiff bone-like layer, and moderate strains in the interfacial layer. When hMSC-laden hydrogels were cultured statically in osteochondral differentiation media, the local biochemical and matrix stiffness cues were not sufficient to spatially guide hMSC differentiation after 21 days. However dynamic mechanical stimulation led to differentially high expression of collagens with collagen II in the cartilage-like layer, collagen X in the interfacial layer and collagen I in the bone-like layer and mineral deposits localized to the bone layer. Overall, these findings point to external mechanical stimulation as a potent regulator of hMSC differentiation toward osteochondral cellular phenotypes. Copyright © 2015 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Post-MSc technological design (PDEng) traineeships by Dutch universities of technology catalyse industrial innovation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Swinkels, P.L.J.

2015-01-01

The two-year post-MSc technological design traineeships organized by the Dutch Universities of Technology, and leading to the Professional Doctorate in Engineering (PDEng) degree, are still going strong after 28 years of existence. In 1986 the Dutch government and the Dutch industry - both aiming to

Deep Biosphere Secrets of the Mediterranean Salt Giant

Science.gov (United States)

Aloisi, Giovanni; Lugli, Stefano; McGenity, Terry; Kuroda, Junichiro; Takai, Ken; Treude, Tina; Camerlenghi, Angelo

2015-04-01

One component of the IODP multi-platform drilling proposal called DREAM (Deep-Sea Record of Mediterranean Messisnian Events), plans to investigate the deep biosphere associated to the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) Salt Giant. We propose that the MSC Salt Giant, because of the variety of chemical environments it produces, has the potential to harbour an unprecedented diversity of microbial life with exceptional metabolic activity. Gypsum and anhydrite deposits provide a virtually unlimited source of sulphate at depths where oxidants are a rarity in other sedimentary environments. When reduced organic carbon comes into contact with these minerals there is the potential for a dynamic deep biosphere community of sulphate reducers to develop, with implications for sedimentary biogeochemical cycles and the souring of cruide oil. But the thickness of the Messinian evaporites and the range of chemical environments it harbours poses fundamental questions: will the interaction of several extreme conditions of temperature, salinity, pressure and chemical composition limit the ability of microbes to take advantage of such favourable thermodynamic conditions? And has such a diverse set of physical and chemical environments fostered microbal diversity, rather than phylogenetic specialization, as recent research into deep Mediterranean brine systems seems to indicate ? Over three kilometres in thickness, approaching the known temperature limits of life and with fluids precipitating carbonate, sulphate, halite and potash salts, microbes living within and around the MSC Salt Giant will be subject to the most exotic combinations of extremes, and have likely evolved yet unknown adaptations. Gypsum and Halite crystals contain fluid inclusions that are a micro-habitat in which microbes survive for tens of thousands, to possibly millions, of years, posing the fundamental question of cells devoting nearly all of their energy flow to somatic maintenance needs, rather than growth and

One-step derivation of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC-like cells from human pluripotent stem cells on a fibrillar collagen coating.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yongxing Liu

Full Text Available Controlled differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs into cells that resemble adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs is an attractive approach to obtain a readily available source of progenitor cells for tissue engineering. The present study reports a new method to rapidly derive MSC-like cells from hESCs and hiPSCs, in one step, based on culturing the cells on thin, fibrillar, type I collagen coatings that mimic the structure of physiological collagen. Human H9 ESCs and HDFa-YK26 iPSCs were singly dissociated in the presence of ROCK inhibitor Y-27632, plated onto fibrillar collagen coated plates and cultured in alpha minimum essential medium (alpha-MEM supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum, 50 uM magnesium L-ascorbic acid phosphate and 100 nM dexamethasone. While fewer cells attached on the collagen surface initially than standard tissue culture plastic, after culturing for 10 days, resilient colonies of homogenous spindle-shaped cells were obtained. Flow cytometric analysis showed that a high percentage of the derived cells expressed typical MSC surface markers including CD73, CD90, CD105, CD146 and CD166 and were negative as expected for hematopoietic markers CD34 and CD45. The MSC-like cells derived from pluripotent cells were successfully differentiated in vitro into three different lineages: osteogenic, chondrogenic, and adipogenic. Both H9 hES and YK26 iPS cells displayed similar morphological changes during the derivation process and yielded MSC-like cells with similar properties. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that bioimimetic, fibrillar, type I collagen coatings applied to cell culture plates can be used to guide a rapid, efficient derivation of MSC-like cells from both human ES and iPS cells.

Possibilities and tools of business crisis management during the natural crisis

OpenAIRE

Bosáková, Renáta

2009-01-01

This work analyses disposable tools of business crisis management to manage crisis which are induced by natural threats and it considers possibilities of these methods using. On basis of performed analysis then in the practical part it uses the acceptable methods and tools to look for threats and risks of the firm and suggests optimal structure of crisis plan.

Communication in the state of crisis

OpenAIRE

Senić Vladimir; Senić Radoslav

2015-01-01

Due to diversity of research related to crisis it is rather important to present definitions of various key terms related to crisis, crisis management and crisis communication, in order to establish tangible boundaries among them. Those three are mutually intertwined and should be considered starting from the first symptoms of crisis to crisis management and finally crisis communication. In the state of crisis, conventional management practice is often not adequate, while types of reaction ar...

Absolute Salinity, ''Density Salinity'' and the Reference-Composition Salinity Scale: present and future use in the seawater standard TEOS-10

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, D. G.; Pawlowicz, R.; McDougall, T. J.; Feistel, R.; Marion, G. M.

2011-01-01

Salinity plays a key role in the determination of the thermodynamic properties of seawater and the new TEOS-101 standard provides a consistent and effective approach to dealing with relationships between salinity and these thermodynamic properties. However, there are a number of practical issues that arise in the application of TEOS-10, both in terms of accuracy and scope, including its use in the reduction of field data and in numerical models. First, in the TEOS-10 formulation for IAPSO Standard Seawater, the Gibbs function takes the Reference Salinity as its salinity argument, denoted SR, which provides a measure of the mass fraction of dissolved material in solution based on the Reference Composition approximation for Standard Seawater. We discuss uncertainties in both the Reference Composition and the Reference-Composition Salinity Scale on which Reference Salinity is reported. The Reference Composition provides a much-needed fixed benchmark but modified reference states will inevitably be required to improve the representation of Standard Seawater for some studies. However, the Reference-Composition Salinity Scale should remain unaltered to provide a stable representation of salinity for use with the TEOS-10 Gibbs function and in climate change detection studies. Second, when composition anomalies are present in seawater, no single salinity variable can fully represent the influence of dissolved material on the thermodynamic properties of seawater. We consider three distinct representations of salinity that have been used in previous studies and discuss the connections and distinctions between them. One of these variables provides the most accurate representation of density possible as well as improvements over Reference Salinity for the determination of other thermodynamic properties. It is referred to as "Density Salinity" and is represented by the symbol SAdens; it stands out as the most appropriate representation of salinity for use in dynamical physical

Absolute Salinity, "Density Salinity" and the Reference-Composition Salinity Scale: present and future use in the seawater standard TEOS-10

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, D. G.; Pawlowicz, R.; McDougall, T. J.; Feistel, R.; Marion, G. M.

2010-08-01

Salinity plays a key role in the determination of the thermodynamic properties of seawater and the new TEOS-101 standard provides a consistent and effective approach to dealing with relationships between salinity and these thermodynamic properties. However, there are a number of practical issues that arise in the application of TEOS-10, both in terms of accuracy and scope, including its use in the reduction of field data and in numerical models. First, in the TEOS-10 formulation for IAPSO Standard Seawater, the Gibbs function takes the Reference Salinity as its salinity argument, denoted SR, which provides a measure of the mass fraction of dissolved material in solution based on the Reference Composition approximation for Standard Seawater. We discuss uncertainties in both the Reference Composition and the Reference-Composition Salinity Scale on which Reference Salinity is reported. The Reference Composition provides a much-needed fixed benchmark but modified reference states will inevitably be required to improve the representation of Standard Seawater for some studies. The Reference-Composition Salinity Scale should remain unaltered to provide a stable representation of salinity for use with the TEOS-10 Gibbs function and in climate change detection studies. Second, when composition anomalies are present in seawater, no single salinity variable can fully represent the influence of dissolved material on the thermodynamic properties of seawater. We consider three distinct representations of salinity that have been used in previous studies and discuss the connections and distinctions between them. One of these variables provides the most accurate representation of density possible as well as improvements over Reference Salinity for the determination of other thermodynamic properties. It is referred to as "Density Salinity" and is represented by the symbol SAdens; it stands out as the most appropriate representation of salinity for use in dynamical physical

Treatment of radio-induced colorectal lesions with Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MSC): part of the inflammatory process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bessout, R.

2012-01-01

Throughout the last decades, radiotherapy established as a major tool in the treatment of abdomino-pelvic cancers. Despite great technological evolutions, radiotherapy remains associated with side effects that can sometimes be really harmful, this being mainly due to the toxicity of ionizing radiations for healthy tissues surrounding the tumor. As part of abdomino-pelvic radio-therapies, these side effects mainly affect the gastrointestinal tract, which is very sensitive to radiations. The development of curative treatments thus became a priority. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) showed their immunomodulatory ability as well as their ability to regenerate tissue in many models. During my thesis, we aimed at giving rise to the therapeutic advantage brought by MSC in the treatment of radioinduced damage as well as the underlying molecular mechanisms. Our results allowed us to demonstrate the efficiency of our treatment with an effect both on the colic epithelial structure and on its contractile functions. We demonstrated that this therapeutical efficiency depends on two processes. Stimulation of the epithelial proliferation through the Wnt pathway allows the epithelial regeneration process to be enhanced. The increased local corticosterone secretion allows the number and the activation state of T lymphocytes to diminish. Our results moreover suggest the existence of a link between the two observed phenomenons thus providing with a new proof of the combinatory effects of MSC therapy. (author)

Dalla crisi finanziaria alla crisi reale

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CARLO D’ADDA

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The financial crisis of 2008 is put in relation with two bubbles, financial and housing. Easy credit is at the origin of both bubbles. Risky bonds were issued to mobilize mortgages originated in the housing market, and bad bonds entered a fantastic number of institutional and private portfolios all over the world without any perception of the their risk. Unfortunately, bank credit to speculators was abundant and fed the final growth of the bubbles. When fears started to spread, the fall was immediate and expectations impaired very rapidly. The main aggregate demand components were severely curtailed and production fell as well. This is the crisis of the real economy. Fortunately, as opposed to what happened in 1929, the interventions of central banks and governments have been of an unprecedented size. The bail out of insolvent banks in particular has been providential. The exit from the current crisis, however, will surely be slow.

THE ROLE AND IMPORTANCE OF COMPANY CRISIS DIAGNOSIS IN ANTI-CRISIS MANAGEMENT

OpenAIRE

Klodane, Alona

2016-01-01

Nowadays, under a free market, crises at companies are a frequent phenomenon; however, anti-crisis management and related aspects are currently a little researched problem in Latvia. The research aim is to examine the nature of company crisis diagnosis and its role and importance in the anti-crisis management system. The research general tasks are: to describe the nature of company crisis diagnosis and review the scope, purpose and tasks of performing a diagnosis; to examine the role and impo...

Crisis Diagnosis in Anti-Crisis Management Process in a Company

OpenAIRE

Ruta Meiste; Sandra Jakstiene

2015-01-01

Crisis concept links up to its appearance area. Some different kinds and levels of crises have been found: we face with global, mainly nature cataclysm crises, state economic crises, corporate crises and individual or psychological crises. The research area of this paper is micro level, i.e. corporate crises or crisis in a company. However, it is emphasized that company is a sociotechnical system, performing in a complex environment, therefore crisis in a company is closely related to global ...

Narratives of crisis: identity crisis or crisis of meaning?!

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roseli Araújo Barros Costa

2006-06-01

Full Text Available This article is about a review of a broader research on the understanding of the professional development of Mathematics teachers, especially the results of the analysis of one of the selected categories, the projectors and the crisis narratives. This analysis was theoretically supported by Larrosa (2002. To carry out the research, we adopted the qualitative research, with a narrative focus, based on semi-structured interviews about the life history of a teacher who teaches mathematics in Basic Education. Based on a concept of professional development taken from a continuous perspective, idealized in a broader context of teaching work, permeating crises and conflicts, the analysis shows that the teacher's crisis reports are related to factors such as: low salaries, conflicts in her current institution Lack of social prestige and insecurity. His reports reveal that initial training did nothing to address the "new" changes in education. It shows that their lack of enthusiasm is associated with the emptying of the useful meaning of their formation, which results from the overvaluation of their exchange value. However, a crisis narrative can construct the present as a critical moment in the double sense of the word as a decisive moment and, at the same time, as a moment in which the subject critically recovers his own history, appropriates himself critically To find out where it is and to decide its own movement (LARRROSA, 2002. The individual, by critically restoring his history, can rethink the past, think the present, and (reconstruct his own future. The teacher, in her crisis narratives, shows that, by critically recovering her story, by putting out all her "revolt", she opens a "door" that will possibly show a new path to be taken. This seeks new challenges for their professional development

Political pragmatism and principles in times of crisis : the role of pragmatist political crisis management during the U.S. financial crisis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bartenberger, M.

2017-01-01

Based on philosophical pragmatism, this study builds a model of pragmatist crisis management at the political-strategic level and contrasts it with a principle-guided approach towards political crisis management. It identifies four cornerstons of pragmatist political crisis management and builds a

Sickle Cell Crisis (For Teens)

Science.gov (United States)

... Safe Videos for Educators Search English Español Sickle Cell Crisis (Pain Crisis) KidsHealth / For Teens / Sickle Cell ... drepanocíticas (Crisis de dolor) What Is a Sickle Cell Crisis? Sickle cell disease changes the shape of ...

Seismic analysis of plutonium glovebox by MSC/NASTRAN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirata, Masaru; Ishikawa, Kazuya; Korosawa, Makoto; Fukushima, Susumu; Hoshina, Hirofumi.

1993-01-01

Seismic analysis of the structural strength of gloveboxes is important for plutonium confinement evaluation. However, the analytical methods must be developed for evaluating the mutual displacement between the window frame and acrylic resin window panel with regard to plutonium confinement during an earthquake. Therefore, seismic analysis for a standard glovebox in Plutonium Fuel Research Facility at Oarai Research Establishment of JAERI has been conducted by FEM (Finite Element Method) computer code MSC/NASTRAN (MacNeal-Schwendler Corporation NASA Structural Analysis). Modelling of glovebox window frame has been investigated from the results of natural frequency analysis and static analysis. After the acquisition of a suitable model, displacement around the window frame and glovebox structural strength have been evaluated in detail by use of floor response spectrum analysis and time-history (transient response) analysis. (author)

Changing strategy and implementation of a new treatment protocol for cleft palate surgery in "Maria Sklodowska Curie" (MSC) Children's Hospital, Bucharest, Romania.

Science.gov (United States)

Spataru, Radu; Mark, Hans

2014-12-01

In "Maria Sklodowska Curie" (MSC) Children's Hospital, Bucharest, Romania, cleft palate repair has been performed according to von Langenbeck since 1984. The speech was good in most patients but wide clefts had a high percentage of fistulas, abnormal speech due to short length and limited mobility of the soft palate. In 2009, the protocol was changed to Gothenburg Delayed Hard Palate Closure, (DHPC) technique. The present evaluation was performed to study the implementation of this technique. One hundred and sixty-eight patients with cleft palate were admitted, 89 isolated cleft palate (ICP), 53 unilateral (UCLP) and 26 bilateral (BCLP). In these, 228 surgical interventions were performed. Soft Palate Repair (SPR) and Hard Palate Repair (HPR) were performed with the DHPC procedure. The transfer to this technique was successfully performed in three steps: one team visit to Gothenburg by a surgeon from MSC and two visits by surgeons from Gothenburg to the MSC. Patients with SPR and HPR were operated on without major complications and there were no differences in results between Gothenburg surgeons and MSC surgeons. The interventions with SPR and HPR technique were proven to be easy to teach and learn and successfully performed without major complications. For cleft patients at MSC hospital it has meant earlier surgery, less re-operations and complications. This report shows a successful change of strategy for palatal repair with improved outcome regarding surgery. In future, speech and growth will be followed on a regular basis and will be compared with results from the Gothenburg Cleft Team.

Companies’ management during economic crisis

OpenAIRE

Kumpikaitė, Vilmantė; Grybauskas, Andrius; Juodelis, Mantas; Strumyla, Dovydas

2011-01-01

Lots of companies faced recent economic crisis. It was generated by global markets deregulation and it triggered relevant situation to emerge other types of crisis. Many scientists all over the world analyses how crisis affected global economy and changed companies’ management actions. Scientists exclude these types of crisis: economic, informational, physical, human resource, reputational, psychopathic acts production and financial. This paper examines economic crisis generated negative effe...

Energy crisis? The likelihood of a global energy crisis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Franssen, H.

2001-01-01

This paper assess global energy problems and compares the energy crises of the 1970s with current US energy problems. The reaction of the OECD countries to the oil crises of 1973/4 and 1979/80, the perception of future oil supplies, and the difficulties faced by ordinary consumers in accepting that there is an energy crisis are discussed along with the Californian electricity crisis, the falling US natural gas supplies, and the low return on investment in the US refining industry. The prospect of another oil crisis, and the need for consumers to learn to live with price volatility are considered

System Trade-Off Study and Opto-Thermo Analysis of a Sunshield on the MSC of the KOMPSAT-2

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Young-Soo Kim

2003-12-01

Full Text Available The Multi-Spectral Camera (MSC is the payload of KOMPSAT-2 which is designed for earth imaging in optical and near-infrared region on a sun-synchronous orbit. The telescope in the MSC is a Ritchey-Chretien type with large aperture. The telescope structure should be well stabilized and the optical alignment should be kept steady so that best images can be achieved. However, the MSC is exposed to adverse thermal environment on the orbit which can give impacts on optical performance. Solar incidence can bring non-uniform temperature rise on the telescope tube which entails unfavorable thermal distortion. Three ways of preventing the solar radiation were proposed, which were installing external mechanical shield, internal shield, and maneuvering the spacecraft. After trade-off study, internal sun shield was selected as a practical and optimal solution to minimize the effect of the solar radiation. In addition, detailed designs of the structure and sunshield were produced and analyses have been performed. The results were assessed to verify their impacts to the image quality. It was confirmed that the internal sunshield complies with the requirements and would improve image quality.

Comparing estimates of EMEP MSC-Wand UFORE models in air pollutant reduction by urban trees

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Guidolotti, G.; Salvatio, M.; Calfapietra, Carlo

2016-01-01

Roč. 23, č. 19 (2016), s. 19541-19550 ISSN 0944-1344 Institutional support: RVO:67179843 Keywords : i-Tree * UFORE, EMEP/MSC-Wmodel * urban forest * atmospheric pollutants * O3 * NO2 * PM10 Subject RIV: EF - Botanics Impact factor: 2.741, year: 2016

Waiting for a Crisis: Case Studies of Crisis Leaders in Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Muffet-Willett, Stacy L.

2010-01-01

This study examines the system of crisis leadership in higher education. Using case study methods, five crisis leadership participants were interviewed to develop a deep understanding of how they perceive their university crisis leadership system. Two participants were from a private institution, and three were from a public institution. Higher…

Research on Sichuan Cuisine Enterprises Crisis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianfei Nan

2014-04-01

Full Text Available It is impossible to avoid crisis for Sichuan cuisine enterprises. On the basis of emphasizing the importance of the research of Sichuan cuisine enterprises crisis, the paper mainly analyzed the issue of Sichuan cuisine enterprises crisis from three aspects including formation mechanism of Sichuan cuisine enterprises crisis, the impact mechanism of Sichuan cuisine enterprises crisis and its response measures(such as principles, methods and strategiesin order to provide an important reference so that Sichuan cuisine enterprises have a correct understanding of the crisis, effectively response to the crisis, and strengthen crisis management so as to achieve their scientific development themselves. To some extent, the paper is helpful to cope with the crisis and promote the safety operation of the enterprises which are facing the crisis.

A small population of resident limb bud mesenchymal cells express few MSC-associated markers, but the expression of these markers is increased immediately after cell culture.

Science.gov (United States)

Marín-Llera, Jessica Cristina; Chimal-Monroy, Jesús

2018-05-01

Skeletal progenitors are derived from resident limb bud mesenchymal cells of the vertebrate embryos. However, it remains poorly understood if they represent stem cells, progenitors, or multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC). Derived-MSC of different adult tissues under in vitro experimental conditions can differentiate into the same cellular lineages that are present in the limb. Here, comparing non-cultured versus cultured mesenchymal limb bud cells, we determined the expression of MSC-associated markers, the in vitro differentiation capacity and their gene expression profile. Results showed that in freshly isolated limb bud mesenchymal cells, the proportion of cells expressing Sca1, CD44, CD105, CD90, and CD73 is very low and a low expression of lineage-specific genes was observed. However, recently seeded limb bud mesenchymal cells acquired Sca1 and CD44 markers and the expression of the key differentiation genes Runx2 and Sox9, while Scx and Pparg genes decreased. Also, their chondrogenic differentiation capacity decreased through cellular passages while the osteogenic increased. Our findings suggest that the modification of the cell adhesion process through the in vitro method changed the limb mesenchymal cell immunophenotype leading to the expression and maintenance of common MSC-associated markers. These findings could have a significant impact on MSC study and isolation strategy because they could explain common variations observed in the MSC immunophenotype in different tissues. © 2018 International Federation for Cell Biology.

Consequences of the crisis: New concepts

OpenAIRE

Andrei Marga

2010-01-01

The crisis that started in 2008 began with the malfunctioning of the financial mechanisms, i.e. as a financial crisis; it quickly became an economic crisis and is now threatening to become an energetic crisis and, lately, a crisis of agricultural products, announcing at the same time the crisis of a development model and an ontological crisis. It engages the questioning of certain conceptualizations and orientations. If one wonders about the new concepts employed by the foreseen “ontological ...

Absolute Salinity, ''Density Salinity'' and the Reference-Composition Salinity Scale: present and future use in the seawater standard TEOS-10

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. G. Wright

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Salinity plays a key role in the determination of the thermodynamic properties of seawater and the new TEOS-10¹ standard provides a consistent and effective approach to dealing with relationships between salinity and these thermodynamic properties. However, there are a number of practical issues that arise in the application of TEOS-10, both in terms of accuracy and scope, including its use in the reduction of field data and in numerical models.

First, in the TEOS-10 formulation for IAPSO Standard Seawater, the Gibbs function takes the Reference Salinity as its salinity argument, denoted S_R, which provides a measure of the mass fraction of dissolved material in solution based on the Reference Composition approximation for Standard Seawater. We discuss uncertainties in both the Reference Composition and the Reference-Composition Salinity Scale on which Reference Salinity is reported. The Reference Composition provides a much-needed fixed benchmark but modified reference states will inevitably be required to improve the representation of Standard Seawater for some studies. However, the Reference-Composition Salinity Scale should remain unaltered to provide a stable representation of salinity for use with the TEOS-10 Gibbs function and in climate change detection studies.

Second, when composition anomalies are present in seawater, no single salinity variable can fully represent the influence of dissolved material on the thermodynamic properties of seawater. We consider three distinct representations of salinity that have been used in previous studies and discuss the connections and distinctions between them. One of these variables provides the most accurate representation of density possible as well as improvements over Reference Salinity for the determination of other thermodynamic properties. It is referred to as "Density Salinity" and is represented by the symbol

Economic crisis: prelude to an energetic crisis?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chevallier, B.

2009-01-01

Recession due to the financial crisis of 2008 has stopped the world economic development and the hydrocarbons sector too. Collapse of prices, cancellation of investments, reach of a 'peak demand', the four speeches which are given here, describe these impacts and their consequences; but in scrutinizing the incentives of the crisis, they show the new role of petroleum: pretext value against the weakness of dollar and the inflation risks, speculative value for the investment funds. (O.M.)

Currency Crisis Revisited: A Literature Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Teuta Ismaili Muharremi

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This paper elaborates on currency crisis, focusing on the main factors causing the currency crisis. After a brief overview of the main factors driving currency crisis, the paper provides a literature review highlighting that the history of the global economy experienced a number of currency crisis whereas as relates to the triggers of the currency crisis there are three generations of models that have been used to explain currency crisis during the last four decades. Underscoring the role of the government in financial market, in particular the evolution of this role as a result of the recent global financial crisis and highlighting other factors that trigger such crisis, the paper concludes that the potential financial crisis can be addressed using early warning system, which consists of indicators proven to be beneficial in anticipation of the currency crisis, and using the advanced empirical models of currency crisis. In this context the paper reveals that currency crisis are associated with all factors impacting them such as inflation, real exchange rate, import growth, US interest rates, public debt/GDP, and current account/GDP – all with a slightly different time lag.

Crowds and Crisis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Borch, Christian

The November Revolution in 1918 made manifest and further unleashed a political crisis in Germany, the consequences of which have been thoroughly examined. What has attracted less attention is how the Revolution also triggered a semantic crisis within sociology, namely with regard to conceptions...... selected aspects of classical crowd semantics – in particular notions of imitation and suggestibility – and for placing them centrally in the understanding of the social, in times of crisis and not....

Nuclear management during crisis: a study through representations of crisis managers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suchet, Romain

2015-01-01

This thesis is the result of almost 4 years of research carried out within the IRSN, one of the actors among the different actors in charge of nuclear crisis response. We started with the following question: how France gets prepared to manage a nuclear accident situation and what are the results of this preparation in a real accident case even if it is a minor accident or if it happens abroad? Thanks to a very fruitful documentary and in field research work, we are able to show in this thesis that the unilateral management of a 'crisis' situation by the different actors organized under the leadership of high level engineers from the 'Corps de mines', results in a very technical definition of the 'crisis' focused on the technical aspects while disregarding the general public. As a consequence, emergency drills that are defined and carried out do not prepare intervention teams to manage social reactions that may be caused by a nuclear accident. To the opposite and paradoxically, such a vision that neglects the reaction of the population may generate by itself a crisis situation even when an accident is deemed to be 'technically' of a minor importance. However the management system of nuclear crisis is evolving. Organizational changes in this area that progressively take into account the social factor, really result from the in field experience of dealing with the general public reactions during a real nuclear crisis. Crisis training and drills have a lesser impact on this evolution. (author)

A co-culture system with three different primary human cell populations reveals that biomaterials and MSC modulate macrophage-driven fibroblast recruitment.

Science.gov (United States)

Caires, Hugo R; Barros da Silva, Patrícia; Barbosa, Mário A; Almeida, Catarina R

2018-03-01

The biological response to implanted biomaterials is a complex and highly coordinated phenomenon involving many different cell types that interact within 3D microenvironments. Here, we increased the complexity of a 3D platform to include at least 3 cell types that play a role in the host response upon scaffold implantation. With this system, it was possible to address how immune responses triggered by 3D biomaterials mediate recruitment of stromal cells that promote tissue regeneration, mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSC), or a foreign body response, fibroblasts. Primary human macrophages yielded the highest fibroblast recruitment when interacting with chitosan scaffolds but not polylactic acid. Interestingly, when there were MSC and fibroblasts in the same environment, macrophages in chitosan scaffolds again promoted a significant increase on fibroblast recruitment, but not of MSC. However, macrophages that were firstly allowed to interact with MSC within the scaffolds were no longer able to recruit fibroblasts. This study illustrates the potential to use different scaffolds to regulate the dynamics of recruitment of proregenerative or fibrotic cell types through immunomodulation. Overall, this work strengths the idea that ex vivo predictive systems need to consider the different players involved in the biological response to biomaterials and that timing of arrival of specific cell types will affect the outcome. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Cytoplasmic Domain of MscS Interacts with Cell Division Protein FtsZ: A Possible Non-Channel Function of the Mechanosensitive Channel in Escherichia Coli.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Piotr Koprowski

Full Text Available Bacterial mechano-sensitive (MS channels reside in the inner membrane and are considered to act as emergency valves whose role is to lower cell turgor when bacteria enter hypo-osmotic environments. However, there is emerging evidence that members of the Mechano-sensitive channel Small (MscS family play additional roles in bacterial and plant cell physiology. MscS has a large cytoplasmic C-terminal region that changes its shape upon activation and inactivation of the channel. Our pull-down and co-sedimentation assays show that this domain interacts with FtsZ, a bacterial tubulin-like protein. We identify point mutations in the MscS C-terminal domain that reduce binding to FtsZ and show that bacteria expressing these mutants are compromised in growth on sublethal concentrations of β-lactam antibiotics. Our results suggest that interaction between MscS and FtsZ could occur upon inactivation and/or opening of the channel and could be important for the bacterial cell response against sustained stress upon stationary phase and in the presence of β-lactam antibiotics.

Cytoplasmic Domain of MscS Interacts with Cell Division Protein FtsZ: A Possible Non-Channel Function of the Mechanosensitive Channel in Escherichia Coli.

Science.gov (United States)

Koprowski, Piotr; Grajkowski, Wojciech; Balcerzak, Marcin; Filipiuk, Iwona; Fabczak, Hanna; Kubalski, Andrzej

2015-01-01

Bacterial mechano-sensitive (MS) channels reside in the inner membrane and are considered to act as emergency valves whose role is to lower cell turgor when bacteria enter hypo-osmotic environments. However, there is emerging evidence that members of the Mechano-sensitive channel Small (MscS) family play additional roles in bacterial and plant cell physiology. MscS has a large cytoplasmic C-terminal region that changes its shape upon activation and inactivation of the channel. Our pull-down and co-sedimentation assays show that this domain interacts with FtsZ, a bacterial tubulin-like protein. We identify point mutations in the MscS C-terminal domain that reduce binding to FtsZ and show that bacteria expressing these mutants are compromised in growth on sublethal concentrations of β-lactam antibiotics. Our results suggest that interaction between MscS and FtsZ could occur upon inactivation and/or opening of the channel and could be important for the bacterial cell response against sustained stress upon stationary phase and in the presence of β-lactam antibiotics.

Crisis Management: Research Summaries

Science.gov (United States)

Brock, Stephen E., Ed.; Dorman, Sally; Anderson, Luke; McNair, Daniel

2013-01-01

This article presents summaries of three studies relevant to school crisis response. The first report, "A Framework for International Crisis Intervention" (Sally Dorman), is a review of how existing crisis intervention models (including the NASP PREPaRE model) have been adapted for international use. The second article, "Responding…

Consumer experience of formal crisis-response services and preferred methods of crisis intervention.

Science.gov (United States)

Boscarato, Kara; Lee, Stuart; Kroschel, Jon; Hollander, Yitzchak; Brennan, Alice; Warren, Narelle

2014-08-01

The manner in which people with mental illness are supported in a crisis is crucial to their recovery. The current study explored mental health consumers' experiences with formal crisis services (i.e. police and crisis assessment and treatment (CAT) teams), preferred crisis supports, and opinions of four collaborative interagency response models. Eleven consumers completed one-on-one, semistructured interviews. The results revealed that the perceived quality of previous formal crisis interventions varied greatly. Most participants preferred family members or friends to intervene. However, where a formal response was required, general practitioners and mental health case managers were preferred; no participant wanted a police response, and only one indicated a preference for CAT team assistance. Most participants welcomed collaborative crisis interventions. Of four collaborative interagency response models currently being trialled internationally, participants most strongly supported the Ride-Along Model, which enables a police officer and a mental health clinician to jointly respond to distressed consumers in the community. The findings highlight the potential for an interagency response model to deliver a crisis response aligned with consumers' preferences. © 2014 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

Husserl's Crisis as a crisis of psychology.

Science.gov (United States)

Feest, Uljana

2012-06-01

This paper places Husserl's mature work, The Crisis of the European Sciences, in the context of his engagement with--and critique of--experimental psychology at the time. I begin by showing (a) that Husserl accorded psychology a crucial role in his philosophy, i.e., that of providing a scientific analysis of subjectivity, and (b) that he viewed contemporary psychology--due to its naturalism--as having failed to pursue this goal in the appropriate manner. I then provide an analysis of Husserl's views about naturalism and scientific philosophy. Some central themes of the Crisis are traced back to Husserl's earlier work and to his relationship with his teacher, Franz Brentano, with whom he disagreed about the status of "inner perception" as the proper scientific method for a phenomenological analysis. The paper then shows that Husserl was well aware of at least one publication about the crisis of psychology (Bühler's 1927 book), and it teases out some aspects of the complicated relationship between Husserl and members of the Würzburg School of thought psychology: The latter had drawn on Husserl's writings, but Husserl felt that they had misunderstood his central thesis. I conclude by placing Husserl's work in the wider context of scientific, cultural, and political crisis-discourses at the time. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Läätsa Kalatööstus järjekordne MSC sertifikaadi omanik / Alar Mik

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Mik, Alar

2014-01-01

MSC (Marine Stewardship Council)-märgis toodetel tõendab, et tegemist on keskkonnaalaselt vastutustundliku ettevõttega, kelle toodangutsükkel on kala püüdmisest kuni valmistoodangu tarbijani jõudmiseni rangelt seaduslik ja keskkonnasäästlik. Vestlusest ettevõtte juhatuse liikme Toomas Auliga

INFUSION OF THIRD-PARTY MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS (MSC) AFTER KIDNEY AND LIVER TRANSPLANTATION: A PHASE I-II, OPEN-LABEL, CLINICAL STUDY (EudraCT 2011-001822-81 & NCT01429038)

OpenAIRE

DETRY, Olivier; DELBOUILLE, Marie-Hélène; LECHANTEUR, Chantal; SOMJA, Joan; DE ROOVER, Arnaud; WEEKERS, Laurent; SQUIFFLET, Jean-Paul; Honoré, Pierre; DELVENNE, Philippe; MEURISSE, Michel; BAUDOUX, Etienne; BEGUIN, Yves

2013-01-01

MSC cells have demonstrated significant immunosuppressive effects in various in vivo and in vitro studies. This study aims to be the first evaluation of the safety and tolerability of third party MSC infusion after cadaveric kidney and liver transplantation in a prospective phase I-II study, taking advantage of our centre expertise and experience in MSC use in graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after bone marrow transplantation and using an already functioning GMP-compliant laboratory producing...

Interaction effects of water salinity and hydroponic growth medium on eggplant yield, water-use efficiency, and evapotranspiration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farnoosh Mahjoor

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Eggplant (Solanum melongena L. is a plant native to tropical regions of Southeast Asia. The water crisis and drought on the one hand and eggplant greenhouse crop development as one of the most popular fruit vegetables for people on the other hand, led to the need for more research on the use of saline water and water stress to optimize salinity level and their impact on eggplant evapotranspiration and encounter better yield and crop quality. The objective of the present study was to investigate the interactions of water salinity and hydroponic growth medium on qualitative and quantitative properties of eggplant and its water-use efficiency. The study used the factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with three replications of four levels of water salinity (electrical conductivity of 0.8 (control, 2.5, 5, and 7 dS m−1 and three growth media (cocopeat, perlite, and a 50–50 mixture of the two by volume. Total yield, yield components, evapotranspiration, and water-use efficiency were determined during two growing periods, one each in 2012 and 2013. All of these indices decreased significantly as water salinity increased. Water with of 0.8 dS m−1 produced an average eggplant yield of 2510 g per plant in 2012 and 2600 g in 2013. The highest yield was observed in cocopeat. Water with 7 dS m−1 reduced yield to 906 g per plant in 2012 and to 960 g in 2013. Lowest yield was observed in perlite. The highest evapotranspiration values occurred in cocopeat at the lowest salinity in both years. Cocopeat and the cocopeat–perlite mixture were equally good substrates. The mixture significantly improved the quantitative and qualitative properties of eggplant yield.

Modified crisis intervention for personality disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Rudnick, A

1998-01-01

This study proposes that the goal of crisis intervention for persons with personality disorders should be to return them to their pre-crisis level of functioning, even though this is maladaptive. This is contrasted with standard crisis intervention, which aims to return normal or neurotic persons to their pre-crisis normal or neurotic functioning, usually by means of few and short-term therapeutic encounters. The modification proposed costs more time and resources in persons with personality disorders in crisis and fits the intervention to the personality type. This is illustrated by the case of Eve, a patient in crisis, whose pre-crisis functioning was maladaptive because of a dependent personality disorder. The goal of (modified) crisis intervention in this case was to return the patient to her dependent lifestyle, by means of pharmacotherapy combined with intensive supportive psychotherapy during 3-4 months of partial (day) hospitalization. The special nature of crisis in personality disorders is discussed.

Trust vs. Crisis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mogensen, Kirsten

2014-01-01

The three social phenomena -- norms, trust, and crisis -- are in this paper combined into one model that illustrates their function and relationship. Crisis is seen as a reaction to serious violations of expectations that leave people disoriented, insecure about situational norms, and unable...... to judge whom to trust. One logical solution to a crisis is to rebuild a shared understanding of the norms involved in any given context. Banking is used as a case. Central concepts are borrowed from Niklas Luhmann Trust (1968), Alf Ross Directives and Norms (1967), and Arthur G. Neal National Trauma...

The Venezuelan oil crisis; La crisis del petroleo venezolano

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Billig, Michelle [Council on Foreign Relations (United States)

2004-10-15

The last year, Washington was taken aback by the crisis in Caracas. Such crisis caused the crude oil prices were shot up and it exposed the United States' weak points with regard to both the forecast and the management of the possible threats to their energy supply. Both the government and the industry should do better for the next time. [Spanish] Washington fue tomado por sorpresa cuando se desato la crisis del ano pasado en Caracas, hecho que causo que se dispararan los precios del petroleo y expuso las fallas en la capacidad de Estados Unidos de pronosticar y poder manejar las amenazas a su suministro energetico. Tanto el gobierno como la industria deben hacerlo mejor la proxima vez.

Mobile crisis management teams as part of an effective crisis management system for rural communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Trantham, Doug; Sherry, Anne

2012-01-01

Mobile crisis management teams provide crisis prevention and intervention services in community settings. The Appalachian Community Services crisis management program shows how such teams can be used to effectively serve rural communities.

Crisis, routine, consolidation: the politics of the Mediterranean migration crisis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jeandesboz, J.; Pallister-Wilkins, P.

2016-01-01

The current ‘migration crisis’ is framed as a moment of reckoning in the EU’s dealings with its Mediterranean neighbourhood. Yet to what extent is crisis the most useful tool to account for migration and European border control practices in the current context? An exclusive focus on crisis, we

Energy and crisis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosa, L.P.

1984-01-01

Several aspects of the Brazilian energy policy are dealt with, regarding petroleum, electric energy and the nuclear question. Regional and international aspects relating to the energy crisis are discussed, and some alternatives for this crisis are suggested. (I. de C.R.) [pt

Unpacking the Global Crisis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Juego, Bonn; Schmidt, Johannes Dragsbæk

The paper hopes to contribute to a reading of the political economy of the current global crisis with a focus on four interrelated themes. First, we discuss the constitutive role and functional character of crises in the evolution of neo-liberalism in particular and in capitalist reproduction...... opposing crisis responses—from multilaterals to regional organisations to global civil society—and realise that responses from either pro-neoliberal or anti-neoliberal forces are fundamentally the same through the years, simply re-articulating analyses and programmes that they have respectively...... pursued and advocated long before the global crisis. And fourth, in the context of East and Southeast Asia, we examine the tendencies of the global crisis vis-à-vis the strengthening and even acceleration of emergent authoritarian liberalism in the region despite and because of the global crisis....

Fibrous hyaluronic acid hydrogels that direct MSC chondrogenesis through mechanical and adhesive cues.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Iris L; Khetan, Sudhir; Baker, Brendon M; Chen, Christopher S; Burdick, Jason A

2013-07-01

Electrospinning has recently gained much interest due to its ability to form scaffolds that mimic the nanofibrous nature of the extracellular matrix, such as the size and depth-dependent alignment of collagen fibers within hyaline cartilage. While much progress has been made in developing bulk, isotropic hydrogels for tissue engineering and understanding how the microenvironment of such scaffolds affects cell response, these effects have not been extensively studied in a nanofibrous system. Here, we show that the mechanics (through intrafiber crosslink density) and adhesivity (through RGD density) of electrospun hyaluronic acid (HA) fibers significantly affect human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) interactions and gene expression. Specifically, hMSC spreading, proliferation, and focal adhesion formation were dependent on RGD density, but not on the range of fiber mechanics investigated. Moreover, traction-mediated fiber displacements generally increased with more adhesive fibers. The expression of chondrogenic markers, unlike trends in cell spreading and cytoskeletal organization, was influenced by both fiber mechanics and adhesivity, in which softer fibers and lower RGD densities generally enhanced chondrogenesis. This work not only reveals concurrent effects of mechanics and adhesivity in a fibrous context, but also highlights fibrous HA hydrogels as a promising scaffold for future cartilage repair strategies. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

MSC/NASTRAN ''expert'' techniques developed and applied to the TFTR poloidal field coils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Toole, J.A.

1986-01-01

The TFTR poloidal field (PF) coils are being analyzed by PPPL and Grumman using MSC/NASTRAN as a part of an overall effort to establish the absolute limiting conditions of operation for TFTR. Each of the PF coils will be analyzed in depth, using a detailed set of finite element models. Several of the models developed are quite large because each copper turn, as well as its surrounding insulation, was modeled using solid elements. Several of the finite element models proved large enough to tax the capabilities of the National Magnetic Fusion Energy Computer Center (NMFECC), specifically disk storage space. To allow the use of substructuring techniques with their associated data bases for the larger models, it became necessary to employ certain infrequently used MSC/NASTRAN ''expert'' techniques. The techniques developed used multiple data bases and data base sets to divide each problem into a series of computer runs. For each run, only the data required was kept on active disk space, the remainder being placed in inactive ''FILEM'' storage, thus, minimizing active disk space required at any time and permitting problem solution using the NMFECC. A representative problem using the TFTR OH-1 coil global model provides an example of the techniques developed. The special considerations necessary to obtain proper results are discussed

Managing stress in a crisis.

Science.gov (United States)

Wright-Reid, Alison

2018-01-01

Crisis situations are inherently uncertain and threatening. Although the primal stress reactions they provoke deliver some advantages, they so severely restrict intellect and behaviour that consultants observe crisis teams making the same mistakes over and again. Stress risks can be managed before, during and after a crisis. Crisis planning can select the right people, control the crisis team environment, and mitigate fatigue risks and memory demands. Because stress reactions are primitive, stress can be manipulated at a remarkably primitive level and teams can increase their resilience through such basics as sleep and breathing skills. Teams can learn to manipulate perceptions of danger, to tolerate uncertainty and to become comfortable making decisions which were reasonable at the time. Crisis leaders can frame the crisis as a challenge and options as gains, and can ensure the team avoids groupthink and challenges the paradigm. Where individuals are trained to apply critical thinking processes, intuitive decision-making is not only fast, but also accurate, and helps to challenge assumptions, predictions and groupthink. Crises are more easily recognised and managed where training has covered critical decision methods.

Integrated crisis management exercises

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Callen, R.B.; DeHart, R.E.

1994-01-01

This paper describes some of the steps that Mobil has taken to enhance their crisis management capability and to improve their readiness. The approach stretches from the individual plant level to Mobil's Corporate offices in Fairfax, Virginia. Some of the lessons learned from several integrated crisis management exercises are outlined and some areas where additional industry co-operation in crisis management could pay dividends are suggested

K-12 School Leaders and School Crisis: An Exploration of Principals' School Crisis Competencies and Preparedness

Science.gov (United States)

McCarty, Sean P.

2012-01-01

On any given day, principals could find themselves faced with a situation that could define their roles as crisis leaders. This dissertation research offers an exploratory study in the field of crisis response and educational leadership. From experts in the field of crisis response, the author compiled a list of crisis management competencies…

Insights into the Ukrainian Crisis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Costel Daniel Arfire

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Political crises are increasingly frequent and devastating not only for the population of a state, but also for the international diplomacy. Such an example is the ongoing Ukrainian crisis. Starting from S. Fink‘s life cycle of a crisis and T.W. Coombs‘s crisis response strategies, I will analyse the evolution of the Ukrainian crisis and the crisis response strategies of three major international actors: Vladimir Putin, Barack Obama and Angela Merkel. The findings of my study will prove that the denial strategy prevails in Putin‘s statement, whereas Obama uses the diminish strategy and Merkel focuses on the bolstering strategy.

Trust vs. Crisis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kirsten Mogensen

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The three social phenomena -- norms, trust, and crisis -- are in this paper combined into one model that illustrates their function and relationship. Crisis is seen as a reaction to serious violations of expectations that leave people disoriented, insecure about situational norms, and unable to judge whom to trust. One logical solution to a crisis is to rebuild a shared understanding of the norms involved in any given context. Banking is used as a case. Central concepts are borrowed from Niklas Luhmann Trust (1968, Alf Ross Directives and Norms (1967, and Arthur G. Neal National Trauma & Collective Memory (1998.

Innovative taught MSc in Medical Visualisation and Human Anatomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Clunie, Lauren; Livingstone, Daniel; Rea, Paul M

2015-06-01

A relatively new, fully accredited MSc in Medical Visualisation and Human Anatomy, is now offered through a joint collaboration with the Laboratory of Human Anatomy, University of Glasgow and the Digital Design Studio, Glasgow School of Art. This degree combines training in digital technologies and intensive human anatomy training as a result of a long-standing successful partnership between these two esteemed institutes. The student also has to complete a research dissertation which encompasses both the digital perspective and a related medical, dental, surgical, veterinary (comparative anatomy) or life science specialty to enhance development in the digital field for a variety of specialties. This article discusses the background in development of this degree, the course structure and the career prospects and destinations for graduates of this unique degree programme.

Nursing MSc theses: a study of an Iranian College of Nursing and Midwifery in two decades (1990-2010).

Science.gov (United States)

Motamed-Jahromi, Mohadeseh; Leila Dehghani, Seyedeh

2014-05-15

A thesis is an important part of nursing graduate students' education, which is also their first systematic and scientific attempt to learn the ABCs of research. Articles derived from theses are important for the dissemination of science and the improvement of nursing as a field. Therefore, it is the goal of the present research is to analyze the different aspects of nursing MSc theses and the number of published articles derived from them. This was a descriptive research carried out on 145 nursing MSc theses defended in Razi Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery in Kerman between 1990 and 2010. All of the extracted data were put into an Excel file (2007 version) followed by a data analysis. The results of this study were then presented via the use of descriptive statistics and figures. The research findings showed that most of the theses used a descriptive or analytical-descriptive method, and 42% of them had patients as their participants. They were usually delivered on the subject of health care, and only 58 articles were extracted from the whole 145 theses. The process of writing nursing MSc theses and thesis research articles is improving gradually. However, there is a growing need for empirical and semi-empirical research to bridge the gap between theory and practice, which is also a major concern among nurses.

Saline groundwater in crystalline bedrock

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lampen, P.

1992-11-01

The State-of-art report describes research made on deep saline groundwaters and brines found in crystalline bedrock, mainly in site studies for nuclear waste disposal. The occurrence, definitions and classifications of saline groundwaters are reviewed with a special emphasis on the different theories concerning the origins of saline groundwaters. Studies of the saline groundwaters in Finland and Sweden have been reviewed more thoroughly. Also the mixing of different bodies of groundwaters, observations of the contact of saline groundwaters and permafrost, and the geochemical modelling of saline groundwaters as well as the future trends of research have been discussed. (orig.)

Chaos and Crisis: Propositions for a General Theory of Crisis Communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Seeger, Matthew W.

2002-01-01

Presents key concepts of chaos theory (CT) as a general framework for describing organizational crisis and crisis communication. Discusses principles of predictability, sensitive dependence on initial conditions, bifurcation as system breakdown, emergent self-organization, and fractals and strange attractors as principles of organization. Explores…

Proactive Crisis Management (PCM) : Perceptions of crisis-awareness and crisis-readiness in organizations in relation with their actual strategic initiatives against industrial crises caused by human errors.

OpenAIRE

Humanson, Richard; Nordeman, Patrik

2017-01-01

Abstract Purpose: In a competitive and constituently changing global business environment, it is almost  impossible  for  organizations  to  avoid  crises  of  various  types  and  magnitude.  The objective of this study is to display relationships between perception of crisis awareness, crisis readiness and the organizations` actual crisis management initiatives against major industrial crises. This thesis also aims to clarify if the perception of crisis-awareness and crisis-readiness could ...

Thyrotoxic crisis presenting with jaundice.

Science.gov (United States)

Wickramasinghe, R D S S; Luke, W A N V; Sebastiampillai, B S; Gunathilake, M P M L; Premaratna, R

2016-06-23

Thyrotoxic crisis is a medical emergency requiring early diagnosis and urgent management, which can be challenging due to its diverse clinical presentations. While common presentations include fever, sweating, palpitations, tremors and confusion, presence of jaundice is rare. We report a 35-year-old male who presented with jaundice due to cholestasis along with other features of thyrotoxic crisis due to Graves' disease. He had a good clinical recovery with resolution of cholestasis following treatment for thyrotoxic crisis. Jaundice can be a rare manifestation of thyrotoxic crisis, and should be considered in the differential diagnosis when other clinical features of thyrotoxic crisis are present. However secondary causes of jaundice should be looked into and excluded.

The Nature of Crisis in Enterprise Activities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kozachenko Ganna V.

2017-09-01

Full Text Available It is shown that the concept of enterprise anti-crisis management and its components should be based on the nature of crisis in enterprise activities, the idea of which is the fundamental basis of enterprise anti-crisis management and determines its object, subject, tasks, main guidelines and vectors. Examples of defining the concept “crisis in enterprise activities”, which testify to the lack of unity of views on its content, are given. There revealed the attributive nature of crisis in enterprise activities, according to which a crisis, being an attribute of the system “enterprise”, begins intensifying under the influence of driving forces and individual factors, which is identified by presence of disruptions in the performance by the enterprise of its functions. There substantiated the expediency of singling out manifestations of crisis in enterprise activities (crisis phenomena, crisis situation and crisis state depending on the level of disruptions in the performance by the enterprise of its functions, which is of great importance for determining the tasks of enterprise anti-crisis management. The crisis cycle in enterprise activities in any of its manifestations is analysed, features of the cycle are considered.

The health crisis in Argentina.

Science.gov (United States)

Escudero, José Carlos

2003-01-01

The health crisis in Argentina is part of the larger crisis that has resulted from a collapse in the country's economic and political systems. After a brief review of the country's history over the last century, from international success story to economic failure, the author explains the health crisis in particular and the social crisis in general in terms of failed neoliberal policies imposed on Argentina by the United States and International Monetary Fund through the mediation of the country's political class.

Crisis strategies in BP's Deepwater Horizon response : An image repair and situational crisis communication study

OpenAIRE

Johansson, Mikael

2017-01-01

The BP Deepwater Horizon crisis in 2010 was one the largest catastrophes in the history of the oil industry. BP was sued over the disaster, and lost several billion dollars. This study examines the crisis response strategies and/or image repair strategies, which can be found in BP's press releases following the Deepwater Horizon crisis. In particular, the study looks closer at what established crisis communication strategies could be discerned in the material, and how they are used discursive...

Use of most significant change (MSC) technique to evaluate health promotion training of maternal community health workers in Cianjur district, Indonesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Limato, Ralalicia; Ahmed, Rukhsana; Magdalena, Amelia; Nasir, Sudirman; Kotvojs, Fiona

2018-02-01

Maternal health promotion is a defined activity in the community integrated posts (Posyandu) in Indonesia. However, it is often neglected due to limited knowledge and skills of the community health workers (kader). We conducted health promotion training for the kader and village midwives in four villages in Cianjur district. This study describes the use of "most significant change" (MSC) technique to evaluate impact of health promotion to the beneficiaries and community at large. The MSC uses stories as raw data. Through interviews focused on perception of change, stories were collected from four pregnant women, eight kader and three village midwives. A Panel consisting of policy and programme managers and implementers read all the stories. The story by a pregnant woman who routinely attended Posyandu was selected as the story with most significant change. Her story highlighted changes in kader's knowledge and communication of health messages and attitude towards pregnant women. She expressed these changes impacted community awareness about health and to seek help from kader.The MSC technique enabled stakeholders to view raw data and evaluate the impact of health promotion from the beneficiary's perspective. At the same time, recipients of health promotion contributed to the decision process of evaluation through their stories. The different perspectives on the MSC reflected individual's objectives of the health promotion. The application of this technique is limited in maternal health promotion programme in Indonesia, and none have been published in peer reviewed journals. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Should the shady steal thunder? : The effects of crisis communication timing, pre-crisis reputation valence, and crisis type on post-crisis organizational trust and purchase intention

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beldad, Ardion D.; van Laar, Ester; Hegner, Sabrina M.

2018-01-01

A scenario-based 2 (communication timing: stealing thunder vs. thunder) × 2 (pre-crisis reputation valence: positive vs. negative) × 2 (crisis type: product-harm vs. moral-harm) between-subjects experiment was implemented with 273 Dutch participants to address the question of whether or not the

Are Low Salinity Waters the Remedy to Noctiluca scintillans Blooms in the Arabian Sea?

Science.gov (United States)

Gibson, J.

2017-12-01

salinity/fresh water and desalinization technology, may offer a potential remedy to the Noctiluca crisis.

From Subprime and Eurozone Crisis with Full Speed into the Next Financial Crisis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Strašek Sebastjan

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This paper offers an analysis of the road from subprime and eurozone crisis to the elements of a new systemic crisis. Our aim is to research common issues that accompany each of these crises and to explore elements that hint that the financial systems are moving toward a new crisis. By holding short-term interest rates near zero, the central banks have encouraged malinvestment and speculation. Fuelling the bubble is the fear of missing out on trade. We find that actual events and movements on security markets follow a typical pattern, which indicates a serious threat for the next financial crisis. We also find enough signs that old crises lessons haven’t been learned.

Enhancing Organizational Survivability in a Crisis: Perceived Organizational Crisis Responsibility, Stance, and Strategy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

JiYeon Jeong

2015-08-01

Full Text Available For the purpose of enhancing organizational sustainability during a crisis, an organization takes a position in decision-making, how to respond toward its public, and that is supposed to determine which stance or tactic to employ. This study aims to examine whether publics’ perceptions of organizational crisis responsibility affect their expectations that an organization should choose certain stances and strategies toward the public in a crisis. To address these concerns, an experiment was conducted. As the specific public of this research, health journalists were selected, since they affect public perceptions significantly and public opinion can ultimately put pressure on an organization. Results from an analysis of the experimental data with health journalists confirm that they expect a more accommodative stance/strategy when they perceive that the organization is highly responsible for a health-related crisis. Conversely, when the journalists perceive that an organization has a low level of responsibility for a crisis, they expect a more advocative stance/strategy. By taking into account the health journalists’ expectations along with the needs of the organization, public relations practitioners are better able to make optimal decisions regarding their client organizations’ adopted stance and strategy, and finally, enhance organizational sustainability in a crisis.

Trust During an Energy Crisis

OpenAIRE

Smith, Eric R.A.N.; Carlisle, Juliet; Michaud, Kristy

2003-01-01

In every energy crisis the U.S. has faced—beginning with the first crisis in 1973—we have seen a common sequence of events, which has been labelled the “energy crisis cycle” (Smith 2002). The steps in the cycle are: (1) When the demand for energy exceeded the supply, energy prices rose sharply — starting the energy crisis cycle. (2) Along with increases in energy prices came large increases in the profits of energy producers. (3) Politicians and interest group advocates criticized the energy...

Policing the Global Crisis

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William I. Robinson

2015-08-01

Full Text Available As part of my research for a book manuscript on the crisis of global capitalism I recently finished writing (Robinson forthcoming, I decided to re-read the classic 1978 study conducted by the noted socialist and cultural theorist Stuart Hall and several of his colleagues, Policing the Crisis. The authors show in that book how the restructuring of capitalism as a response to the crisis of the 1970s - which was the last major crisis of world capitalism until the current one hit in 2008 -led in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to an "exceptional state," by which they meant a situation in which there was an ongoing breakdown of consensual mechanisms of social control and a growing authoritarianism.

The Post-Crisis Healthcare System: Effects of the Economic Crisis in Romania

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Marta Christina SUCIU

2012-05-01

Full Text Available The economic crisis is still on the lips of economic and political analysts from nations around the world, even more so in places where its effects continue to make themselves felt. Romania is among these troubled countries, having to deal with no just the aftermath but also signs of a possible relapse. This paper begins with a brief presentation of the economic crisis, focusing on the national specificities along with its EU member status and their effects on the evolution of the situation. Following that, the more important elements of the presented situation are identified and individually analyzed, with the purpose of identifying useful information for any possible future crisis. The final purpose of the paper is to determine the trajectory of a future crisis by taking into account inefficient management of the economic system and the strategies used to safeguard the economy, which have up until now failed to properly deal with the situation. In order to properly achieve this purpose, the analysis will attempt to identify the impact of the crisis on the healthcare system and its post-crisis configuration as well as the steps taken at the administrative level. The results of this interdisciplinary research are meant to be used as a source for a future expansion of the study and to bring attention to certain areas that can show a possible recurrence in the future.

A state of emergency in crisis communication: An intercultural crisis communication research agenda

OpenAIRE

Diers-Lawson, AR

2016-01-01

This article seeks to provide an evidence-based set of recommendations for the development of an intercultural crisis communication research agenda with three goals. First, to provide an advancement in our understanding of the state of crisis communication research in general. Second, to offer a grounded introduction to crisis communication for intercultural scholars who may not be as familiar with the field. Finally to identify three broad evidence-based areas for developing intercultural cr...

US health care crisis.

Science.gov (United States)

Cirić, Ivan

2013-01-01

The United States health care is presently challenged by a significant economic crisis. The purpose of this report is to introduce the readers of Medicinski Pregled to the root causes of this crisis and to explain the steps undertaken to reform health care in order to solve the crisis. It is hoped that the information contained in this report will be of value, if only in small measure, to the shaping of health care in Serbia.

Psychosocial crisis management: the unexplored intersection of crisis leadership and psychosocial support.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dückers, M.L.A.; Yzermans, C.J.; Jong, W.; Boin, A.

2017-01-01

Epidemiological research has documented the serious health issues that can affect the victims of disasters and major crises. Yet, the psychosocial dimension of crisis has received little attention in crisis management literature. This paper integrates psychosocial principles with a model of

Crisis and Communication among Rural Poor People

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Agus Ganjar Runtiko

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The effect of the crisis is often multiple on people in rural poverty that secluded and away from the reach of government. Main factor cannot be ignored in crisis is communication. Prolonged crisis will occur when the channels of communication in society clogged. This study establishes three specific targets: (1 To obtain a comprehensive overview of the rural poor people’s knowledge about the crisis and the potential impact, (2 To discover crisis problems faced by the rural people poor, (3 To enlist communication problems in a crisis situation. This study used a qualitative method with a case study approach. Research data collect by conducting FGD of 40 informants selected based on purposive sampling, furthermore eight people were interviewed in depth, plus other supporting informant. The results of the research show people on those two locations have understood the crisis based on their experience of dealing with it. They believe the economic crisis as the first aspect that must be resolved. The completion of crisis should consider indigenous wisdom to avoid a new crisis.

RESTRUCTURING COMPANIES UNDER CRISIS

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Hezi Aviram SHAYB

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Nobody is planning to fail, but many companies are failing because of lack of planning. Real business experience showed during the years that crisis can be prevented, avoided or limited. If detected in time, the risks associated with the crisis can be mitigated and the effects can be diminished, with the condition that the actions required are done fast, in a sharp and accurate manner. When it comes, a crisis brings an intense level of pressure and under these conditions there is no time or room for mistakes. Delays, losing focus and lack of planning will bring a company one step away from failure. The right way to deal with crisis, if required measures are not done in time, is to minimize the losses and reposition in the best way possible. Analysing the success stories of some of the biggest and strongest companies in the world, led to an important conclusion: the majority of these companies were in the situation to face huge crises which threatened their ability to survive in certain moments, on their way to success. With the right planning and by setting a proper organisational structure, the negative aspects of the crisis can be turned into benefits and opportunities for the company. The most critical challenge for management is to assess the level of exposure to risk of the company and identify the key points to focus on in order to overcome the crisis and create value. In order to set up a strong plan in dealing with crisis, a business organisation needs reliable, efficient and effective tools and this is what this article is all about.

Effect of Different Alternate Irrigation Strategies using Saline and Non-Saline Water on Corn Yield, Salinity and Moisture Distribution in Soil Profile

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Ali Reza Kiani

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Lack of water and deterioration in the quality of soil and water resources are considered to be the prime cause of reduced crop yield in arid and semi-arid regions ‘More crop per drop’ by trickle irrigation, deficit irrigation, and uncommon water are the best strategies for mitigating water crises. Different irrigation management strategies are needed to increase production in different areas. In areas where sufficient water is available, a full irrigation strategy could be a suitable option, while in areas where water is limited, deficit irrigation would be an appropriate method, and finally in areas where water resources are saline, management strategies for achieving sustainable production as well as economic yields would be suitable. Maize is the third most important grain crop in the world following wheat and rice and it is the main source of nutrition for humans and animals. Because of the importance of maize in the world, increasing maize production under environmental stresses is a big challenge for agricultural scientists. Different methods of irrigation and the use of saline water that had satisfactory results for increasing agricultural production have been studied by several investigators . The main objective of this study was to establish an efficient use of limited water resources as well as to explore the possibility of replacing saline water with fresh water using different management techniques. Materials and Methods: A field experiment was conducted over two maize cropping seasons (2012–2013 in northern Iran (Gorgan Agricultural Research Station to compare different alternate irrigation scenarios using saline water on corn yield, salinity and soil moisture distribution in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Treatments were: T1 and T2 = 100 and 50 % of crop water requirement with non-saline water, respectively; T3 and T4 = variable and fixed full irrigation with saline and non-saline

Crisis in the Curriculum? New Counselors' Crisis Preparation, Experiences, and Self-Efficacy

Science.gov (United States)

Morris, Carrie A. Wachter; Minton, Casey A. Barrio

2012-01-01

Professional counselors are responsible for providing crisis assessment, referral, and intervention (Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, 2009); however, little is known about their preparation and experiences in these areas. This study examined new professional counselors' (N= 193) crisis intervention…

El derecho constitucional y la crisis = Constitutional law and the crisis

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Enrique Álvarez Conde

2013-09-01

Full Text Available La actual crisis económica, originada por una serie de sujetos activos con la pretensión de ocupar determinados espacios públicos, es una de las consecuencias de la llamada «globalización de la miseria». La misma esta poniendo en tela de juicio el modelo democrático de las democracias occidentales, produciendo una crisis institucional más grave aún que la propia crisis económica. Ello conduce a la necesidad imperiosa de proporcionar respuestas normativas adecuadas, que requieren la utilización de nuevas categorías dogmáticas. A este respecto, el Derecho constitucional, como Derecho común del ordenamiento jurídico y como Derecho principial, se encuentra en una posición prevalente para llevar a cabo, en colaboración con las demás disciplinas jurídicas, todo ese proceso de reconstrucción dogmática que ha de conducir, necesariamente, a una constitucionalización de lo privado. The current economic crisis, caused by a series of active subjects with the aim of occupying certain public spaces, is one of the consequences of the «globalization of poverty». It is putting into question the democratic model of Western democracies, causing a constitutional crisis even worse than the economic crisis itself. This leads to the imperative to provide appropriate policy responses, requiring the use of new categories dogmatic. In this regard, constitutional law, and common law legal system and as principial law, is prevalent in a position to carry out, in collaboration with other legal disciplines, all that dogmatic reconstruction process that must lead necessarily, a constitution for the private.

The Welfare State as Crisis Manager: Explaining the Diversity of Policy Responses to Economic Crisis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Starke, Peter; Kaasch, Alexandra; van Hooren, Franca

Written during an ongoing period of global economic crisis, The Welfare State as a Crisis Manager examines the practice and potential of using social policy to cope with crises. Through an in-depth analysis of social policy reactions in the wake of international economic shocks in four different...... welfare states, over a 40-year period, the book reveals the ways in which expansion and retrenchment are shaped by domestic politics and existing welfare state institutions. Moreover, the study addresses the kind of policy change triggered by economic crisis. In contrast to conventional wisdom...... and previous scholarship, reactions tend to be characterised by incrementalism and 'crisis routines' rather than fundamental deviations from earlier policy patterns. For the first time, the study of domestic political dynamics following crisis is systematically embedded in the transnational policy debate...

["Crisis"--oscillating between keyword and buzzword. On the discourse about a "crisis of medicine" in the Weimar Republic].

Science.gov (United States)

Geiger, Karin

2010-01-01

The buzzword "crisis" has not only become omnipresent since the recent financial crisis. The term that originated in Ancient Greece underwent several different usages--quantitatively as well as qualitatively; especially in the Weimar Republic, the time period that has long been considered as the crisis era par excellence. Using the discourse about the "crisis of medicine" in the 1920s and the early 1930s as an example, the article attempts to provide a critical reflection on the concept of "crisis". The focus of this article is on the idea's construction, the different semantic usages of "crisis" and the motives of the different authors for their respective rhetorical applications of this term. The analysis of the examined publications on the "crisis of medicine", how they influenced other periods and the reconstruction of their origin show that the semantics of the word "crisis" went far beyond a simply negative connotation, and with regard to its rhetorical usage have oscillated between keyword and a meaningless but catchy buzzword.

Veterans Crisis Line: 1-800-273-8255

Science.gov (United States)

Veterans Crisis Line Skip to Main Content SuicidePreventionLifeline.org Get Help Materials Get Involved Crisis Centers About Be There ... Line FAQs Veteran Suicide Welcome to the Veterans Crisis Line Website The Veterans Crisis Line connects Veterans ...

Financial crisis 2007-2009. How real estate bubble and transparency and accountability issues generated and worsen the crisis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bilal Aziz

2012-07-01

Full Text Available This paper seeks to explain some main factors behind the Financial Crisis 2007–2009 with a special focus on the Real Estate Bubble and Transparency and Accountability Issues in US Financial System and how these two factors generated and worsen the crisis. Financial Crisis 2007–2009, which starts from the United States sub–prime mortgage market and spread to US financial sector and later on spread to the rest of world, is said to be an even bigger crisis than the Great Depression of 1929. This crisis is unique in this way and we haven’t seen such a bigger impact world wide from any other crisis. This paper would empirically prove the main causes which are right in the heart of the crisis and least discussed

Studies on storage rot of cocoyam

African Journals Online (AJOL)

uc network

42(3): 2059-2068. Eze, C.S (1984). Studies on storage rot of cocoyam (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott) at Nsukka. MSc. Dissertation, Dept of Botany, Univ of Nigeria, Nsukka. 73pp. Loyonga, S. N and Nzietchueng S. (1987). Cocoyam and African food crisi. In: Tropical Root Crops: Root crops and the African food crisis Terry ...

Identification of a subpopulation of marrow MSC-derived medullary adipocytes that express osteoclast-regulating molecules: marrow adipocytes express osteoclast mediators.

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Vance Holt

Full Text Available Increased marrow medullary adipogenesis and an associated decrease in bone mineral density, usually observed in elderly individuals, is a common characteristic in senile osteoporosis. In this study we investigated whether cells of the medullary adipocyte lineage have the potential to directly support the formation of osteoclasts, whose activity in bone leads to bone degradation. An in vitro mesenchymal stem cell (MSC-derived medullary adipocyte lineage culture model was used to study the expression of the important osteoclast mediators RANKL, M-CSF, SDF-1, and OPG. We further assessed whether adipocytes at a specific developmental stage were capable of supporting osteoclast-like cell formation in culture. In vitro MSC-derived medullary adipocytes showed an mRNA and protein expression profile of M-CSF, RANKL, and OPG that was dependent on its developmental/metabolic stage. Furthermore, RANKL expression was observed in MSC-derived adipocytes that were at a distinct lineage stage and these cells were also capable of supporting osteoclast-like cell formation in co-cultures with peripheral blood mononuclear cells. These results suggest a connection between medullary adipocytes and osteoclast formation in vivo and may have major significance in regards to the mechanisms of decreased bone density in senile osteoporosis.

The Roman Empire - The Third Century Crisis and Crisis Management

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-04

December 2010. Hekster, Olivier, Gerda De Kleijn, and Danielle Slootjes. "Introduction." Impact of Empire. 7, (2006, June 1): 3-10. Koselleck...Crisis of the Third Century. Edited by Olivier Hekster, Gerda De Kleijn, and Danielle Slootjes. Vol. 7, Impact of EMpire. Boston: Brill Academic, 2012...1. Protagoras and John Nicols, Mapping the Crisis of the Third Century, ed. Olivier Hekster, Gerda De Kleijn, and Danielle Slootjes

Employability and career experiences of international graduates of MSc Public Health: a mixed methods study.

Science.gov (United States)

Buunaaisie, C; Manyara, A M; Annett, H; Bird, E L; Bray, I; Ige, J; Jones, M; Orme, J; Pilkington, P; Evans, D

2018-05-08

This article aims to describe the public health career experiences of international graduates of a Master of Science in Public Health (MSc PH) programme and to contribute to developing the evidence base on international public health workforce capacity development. A sequential mixed methods study was conducted between January 2017 and April 2017. Ninety-seven international graduates of one UK university's MSc PH programme were invited to take part in an online survey followed by semistructured interviews, for respondents who consented to be interviewed. We computed the descriptive statistics of the quantitative data obtained, and qualitative data were thematically analysed. The response rate was 48.5%. Most respondents (63%) were employed by various agencies within 1 year after graduation. Others (15%) were at different stages of doctor of philosophy studies. Respondents reported enhanced roles after graduation in areas such as public health policy analysis (74%); planning, implementation and evaluation of public health interventions (74%); leadership roles (72%); and research (70%). The common perceived skills that were relevant to the respondents' present jobs were critical analysis (87%), multidisciplinary thinking (86%), demonstrating public health leadership skills (84%) and research (77%). Almost all respondents (90%) were confident in conducting research. Respondents recommended the provision of longer public health placement opportunities, elective courses on project management and advanced statistics, and 'internationalisation' of the programme's curriculum. The study has revealed the relevance of higher education in public health in developing the career prospects and skills of graduates. International graduates of this MSc PH programme were satisfied with the relevance and impact of the skills they acquired during their studies. The outcomes of this study can be used for curriculum reformation. Employers' perspectives of the capabilities of these

Crisis exercises at AREVA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chanson, D.

2016-01-01

AREVA being an operator of nuclear facilities has to organize crisis exercises regularly. About 100 crisis exercises are performed each year in AREVA installations. These exercises allow the training of the staff, the assessing of material and humane means and the checking of the quality of the interfaces between all the participants (other AREVA teams or Nuclear Safety Authority or...). The management of nuclear crisis is based on anticipation and relies on 3 pillars: a referential gathering all the useful documents (emergency plans, procedures,...), the training and practice of AREVA staff in specific domains to cope with emergency situations, and various crisis exercises to keep fit all the teams. The basis emergency exercise lasts 2 hours and is organized into modules. First module: detecting abnormal conditions, alerting, rescuing and limiting the consequences; second module: launching the emergency plan; third module: understanding the situation and limiting the consequences; fourth module: communicating with other actors that intervene in a nuclear crisis (nuclear safety authority, state or local officials, the media...); and fifth module: anticipating the end of the emergency phase to prepare post-accidental management. (A.C.)

The Dutch Crisis and Recovery Act: Economic Recovery and Legal Crisis?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J Verschuuren

2010-12-01

Full Text Available In the Netherlands, the 2010 Crisis and Recovery Act aims at speeding up decisionmaking on a wide variety of activities, hoping that after the financial and economic crisis has passed, development projects can immediately be carried out without any delay caused by legal procedures in court or elsewhere. The Act meets great criticism for many reasons: it allegedly curtails citizen's procedural rights because it focuses almost exclusively on environmental standards as "obstructing" standards that need to be removed, and it infringes international and European Union law. In this note, the legal critique on the Act is analysed. The conclusion is that the sense of urgency surrounding the design of legal measures to address the economic crisis enables the legislature to implement innovations and long-time pending amendments to existing legislation. Most issues have however not been fully or properly considered. Many legal questions will arise when implementing the Act, which will retard rather than expedite projects. It is difficult to predict whether the positive effects of the Crisis and Recovery Act would outweigh the negative aspects. Much depends on the manner in which the authorities will actually apply the Act. Should they implement the Act to its full potential, the effect of the Act in sum will be negative. In that case, the Act may help the economy to recover, but it will bring about a crisis in the legal system. It will, in all probability, also not contribute to sustainable development.

Finding a solution: Heparinised saline versus normal saline in the maintenance of invasive arterial lines in intensive care.

Science.gov (United States)

Everson, Matthew; Webber, Lucy; Penfold, Chris; Shah, Sanjoy; Freshwater-Turner, Dan

2016-11-01

We assessed the impact of heparinised saline versus 0.9% normal saline on arterial line patency. Maintaining the patency of arterial lines is essential for obtaining accurate physiological measurements, enabling blood sampling and minimising line replacement. Use of heparinised saline is associated with risks such as thrombocytopenia, haemorrhage and mis-selection. Historical studies draw variable conclusions but suggest that normal saline is at least as effective at maintaining line patency, although recent evidence has questioned this. We conducted a prospective analysis of the use of heparinised saline versus normal saline on unselected patients in the intensive care of our hospital. Data concerning duration of 471 lines insertion and reason for removal was collected. We found a higher risk of blockage for lines flushed with normal saline compared with heparinised saline (RR = 2.15, 95% CI 1.392-3.32, p  ≤ 0.001). Of the 56 lines which blocked initially (19 heparinised saline and 37 normal saline lines), 16 were replaced with new lines; 5 heparinised saline lines and 11 normal saline lines were reinserted; 5 of these lines subsequently blocked again, 3 of which were flushed with normal saline. Our study demonstrates a clinically important reduction in arterial line longevity due to blockages when flushed with normal saline compared to heparinised saline. We have determined that these excess blockages have a significant clinical impact with further lines being inserted after blockage, resulting in increased risks to patients, wasted time and cost of resources. Our findings suggest that the current UK guidance favouring normal saline flushes should be reviewed.

LA CRISIS ECONÓMICA MUNDIAL

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Julián Sabogal Tamayo

2008-07-01

Full Text Available Se argumenta el contenido de la actual crisis mundial, entendida como propia del movimiento cíclico del sistema capitalista y no como una crisis particularmente financiera. Se sostiene que las crisis económicas son propias del sistema, mas no de la economía perse. Se sustenta su diferencia con respecto a la crisis cíclica de 1929-1933 con base los ciclos sistémicos y las características diferentes de los inicios y el final del ciclo; al final del ciclo el capital es en su mayor parte financiero. Finalmente se sostiene la tesis que las crisis cíclicas, por tener causas objetivas, son inevitables, la única alternativa es buscar otra forma de organizar la sociedad y la producción: pasar de la búsqueda de rentabilidad a la satisfacción de las necesidades de toda la comunidad.

Las crisis familiares

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Idarmis González Benítez

2000-06-01

Full Text Available Con este trabajo nos propusimos actualizar el tema de las crisis familiares. Se pone de manifiesto que tanto los eventos propios del desarrollo, como los accidentales, dan lugar a la aparición de crisis en la familia. Queda esclarecido, que no necesariamente han de tener implicaciones negativas para la familia. Se hace énfasis en la valoración del evento por la familia y su significación. Se destaca el papel de los recursos familiares como protectores y moduladores de las crisis. Por último se señalan algunos pasos a seguir en la intervención familiarWith this paper we intend to update the topic of the family crises. It is shown that the own events of development as well as the accidental ones bring about the appearance of crises in the family. It is made clear that they not always have negative implications for the family. Emphasis is made on the assessment of the event for the family and its significance. The role played by the family resources as protective and modulators of the crisis is stressed. Finally, some of the steps to be taken in family intervention are mentioned

Marketing in current financial crisis

OpenAIRE

Mariánek, Lukáš

2009-01-01

The paper is describing the effects of recessions and current financial crisis on companies and their marketing. The topic covers the history of marketing throughout the world biggest recessions and describes the current marketing efforts of Czech companies under the current financial crisis. A strategical analysis with the impacts of crisis on long-term strategy planning is provided at the end of the paper.

The Role of Social Media in Crisis Communication and Crisis Management

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Mustafa Emre Civelek

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Social media and social media tools have improved rapidly and started to influence society especially in recent years. This influence has forced businesses to revolutionize their communication with the external environment. The fact that Web 2.0 has an influence on consumer behavior, and that it makes the consumers stronger; requires faster, more flexible and more sensitive communication processes in businesses. Especially during a time of crisis, a business’ communication with the external environment is quite critical. For this reason, the way how the crisis communication is managed through social media is vital for businesses. In this article, the perceptions of how to manage businesses during a time of crisis so that they make minimum loss, is shared.

Recent Issues in the Asian Currency Crisis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jae Joon Lee

1998-09-01

Full Text Available Since the outbreak of the Asia exchange rate crisis last year, different analysts have attempted to analyze and explain the reason and the development of the crisis theoretically. But the present theory of the reason of the crisis is not account for the crisis, especially the evident feature that the Asia crisis appear to be infective, which seems to make the world economy to a stagnant degree. This thesis filed the present argumentations which helped to understand the Asia foreign exchange rate crisis and made a discussion at this level. This thesis first explained a certain contact between the secular trend of the capital movement and the appearance of the foreign exchange crisis, then extend to the theoretical explanation of the infective effect of the foreign exchange crisis. Meanwhile, as to the question the predictive possibility which is an important part related to foreign exchange theory, this thesis introduced former thesis which took Korea as the object of analysis.

The Integrated Crisis Management Model for the Hotel Industry: Lowering Crisis Susceptibility and Strengthening Stakeholder Relationship Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicola ZECH

2016-03-01

Full Text Available This research paper focuses on crisis management processes within the hotel industry – an industry which still seems reluctant in implementing profound and structured crisis management concepts. Responses to crisis situations are mostly intuitive and ad-hoc. In times of high competition in almost all destinations, categories and conceptions no opportunity of convincing guests as well as all other stakeholders of a trustworthy management shall be missed in order to gain competitive advantage. Each corporate crisis affects several or all stakeholder groups of the organisation – to a varying extent. Stakeholders might either affect or be affected by the hotel organisation and the respective crisis management processes. Taking the manifold opportunities for co-operation of a hotel organisation and its respective stakeholder groups into consideration, an integrated crisis management model for the hotel industry is evolved based both on theoretical foundations and empirical findings from the analysis of expert interviews as well as stakeholder surveys. The model neutralizes the deficits and discrepancies revealed between general crisis management literature and status quo respectively specific prerequisites for the hotel industry.

Crisis decision making

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holsti, O.R.

1989-01-01

This article presents evidence that the potential loss of control of events by officials who must operate under conditions that generate substantial stress is one of the central problems of crisis decision making. Examples of U.S. crises management and alliance management are reviewed, and possible tools for improving crisis management decisions are discussed. This article particularly focuses on crises which may lead to nuclear war

Saline agriculture: A technology for economic utilization and improvement of saline environments (abstract)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aslam, Z.; Malik, K.A.; Khurshid, S.J.; Awan, A.R.; Akram, M.; Hashmi, Z.; Ali, Y.; Gulnaz, A.; Hussain, M.; Hussain, F.

2005-01-01

The salinity problem is one of the severe constraints for agriculture in Pakistan. In a socio-economic and salinity and drainage survey over an area of about 25000 acres of salt-affected land recently, crop production is found to be very low. Livestock is underfed and malnourished. Pakistan has spent and allocated over one billion US dollars on Salinity Control and Reclamation Projects (SCARP), of course, with dubious results. Over the years, a Saline Agriculture Technology has been developed as a cheap alternative at NIAB for comfortably living with salinity and to profitably utilize saline land rather than its reclamation. The soil improvement is a fringe benefit in this approach. The Saline Agriculture Technology has been tested at laboratory level, at field stations and at farms of some progressive farmers. Now we are sharing this technology with farming communities through a 'Saline Agriculture Farmer Participatory Development Project in Pakistan', with assistance from the National Rural Support Programme. The new project has been launched simultaneously in all four provinces of Pakistan on 25000 acres of salt-affected land. Under this project seeds of salt tolerant crop varieties wheat, cotton, rice, castor, brassica and barley and saplings of trees/shrubs, e.g. Acacia ampliceps, A. nilotica, Casuarina glauca, ber, jaman, etc selected for development work in various institutions of Pakistan are being provided to farmers. Know-how on new irrigation techniques like bed-and-corrugation and bed-and-furrow, agronomic practices like laser land leveling, planting on beds and in auger holes and soil/water amendment practices (use of gypsum and mineral acids) are being shared with farmers. These interventions are quite efficient, save water up to 40% and enable farmers to utilize bad quality water. In general, farmers are being familiarized with prevalent animal diseases, nutritional problems and prophylactic techniques. They are being helped in developing Saline

Credibility and Crisis Stress Testing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Lian Ong

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Credibility is the bedrock of any crisis stress test. The use of stress tests to manage systemic risk was introduced by the U.S. authorities in 2009 in the form of the Supervisory Capital Assessment Program. Since then, supervisory authorities in other jurisdictions have also conducted similar exercises. In some of those cases, the design and implementation of certain elements of the framework have been criticized for their lack of credibility. This paper proposes a set of guidelines for constructing an effective crisis stress test. It combines financial markets impact studies of previous exercises with relevant case study information gleaned from those experiences to identify the key elements and to formulate their appropriate design. Pertinent concepts, issues and nuances particular to crisis stress testing are also discussed. The findings may be useful for country authorities seeking to include stress tests in their crisis management arsenal, as well as for the design of crisis programs.

Treating Chronic Crisis Bearers and Their Families

Science.gov (United States)

Doyle, Averil Marie; Dorlac, Charles

1978-01-01

This article presents a method for family crisis intervention. The goal is extended from restoring the crisis bearing unit to its pre-crisis level of coping to a basic restructuring of maladaptive pre-crisis behaviors. It is aimed at general behavior change as well as resolution of the immediate situation. (Author)

Crisis control - the background

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Young, R.E.

1983-01-01

The problems of destructive accidents and the need for a crisis management system to deal with every kind of emergency is discussed. Crisis control with regard to the ''Problem'' and the ''Outlook'' were covered, as well as the ''Development of an Incident''. (U.K.)

Crisis response to schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, K

2000-01-01

While community based crisis response teams offer needed resources to schools impacted by crisis, they are often not asked to help. Reports from crisis team leaders at the school shooting incidents at James W. Parker Middle School, Edinboro, Pennsylvania and Columbine High School, Littleton, Colorado are contrasted regarding utilization of community resources. Factors limiting the usefulness of community based teams include unfamiliarity with school organization, culture, and procedures. Key differences in school vs. community team precepts, decision-making, and strategic paradigms render team coordination difficult. Successful cross training presents opportunities for school-community partnership and utilization of community teams for school duty.

Campus Crisis Response at Viberg College

Science.gov (United States)

Eaker, Rachel; Viars, Jamie

2014-01-01

This fictional case study examines crisis response in higher education settings. Information about current crisis response procedures, plans, and trends was gathered from informational interviews, current crisis management literature, and multiple college and university websites. The information was synthesized into a fictional case study using…

In vivo MR detection of fluorine-labeled human MSC using the bSSFP sequence

OpenAIRE

Ribot, Emeline J; Gaudet, Jeffrey M; Chen, Yuhua; Gilbert, Kyle M; Foster, Paula J

2014-01-01

Emeline J Ribot,1 Jeffrey M Gaudet,1,2 Yuhua Chen,1 Kyle M Gilbert,1 Paula J Foster1,2 1Imaging Research Laboratories, Robarts Research Institute, London, ON, Canada; 2Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada Abstract: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are used to restore deteriorated cell environments. There is a need to specifically track these cells following transplantation in order to evaluate different methods of implantation, to follow their migra...

Dextrose saline compared with normal saline rehydration of hyperemesis gravidarum: a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Peng Chiong; Norazilah, Mat Jin; Omar, Siti Zawiah

2013-02-01

To compare 5% dextrose-0.9% saline against 0.9% saline solution in the intravenous rehydration of hyperemesis gravidarum. Women at their first hospitalization for hyperemesis gravidarum were enrolled on admission to the ward and randomly assigned to receive either 5% dextrose-0.9% saline or 0.9% saline by intravenous infusion at a rate 125 mL/h over 24 hours in a double-blind trial. All participants also received thiamine and an antiemetic intravenously. Oral intake was allowed as tolerated. Primary outcomes were resolution of ketonuria and well-being (by 10-point visual numerical rating scale) at 24 hours. Nausea visual numerical rating scale scores were obtained every 8 hours for 24 hours. Persistent ketonuria rates after the 24-hour study period were 10 of 101 (9.9%) compared with 11 of 101 (10.9%) (P>.99; relative risk 0.9, 95% confidence interval 0.4-2.2) and median (interquartile range) well-being scores at 24 hours were 9 (8-10) compared with 9 (8-9.5) (P=.73) in the 5% dextrose-0.9% saline and 0.9% saline arms, respectively. Repeated measures analysis of variance of the nausea visual numerical rating scale score as assessed every 8 hours during the 24-hour study period showed a significant difference in favor of the 5% dextrose-0.9% saline arm (P=.046) with the superiority apparent at 8 and 16 hours, but the advantage had dissipated by 24 hours. Secondary outcomes of vomiting, resolution of hyponatremia, hypochloremia and hypokalemia, length of hospitalization, duration of intravenous antiemetic, and rehydration were not different. Intravenous rehydration with 5% dextrose-0.9% saline or 0.9% saline solution in women hospitalized for hyperemesis gravidarum produced similar outcomes. ISRCTN Register, www.controlled-trials.com/isrctn, ISRCTN65014409. I.

Investigation of Lake Water Salinity by Using Four-Band Salinity Algorithm on WorldView-2 Satellite Image for a Saline Industrial Lake

Science.gov (United States)

Budakoǧlu, Murat; Karaman, Muhittin; Damla Uça Avcı, Z.; Kumral, Mustafa; Geredeli (Yılmaz), Serpil

2014-05-01

Salinity of a lake is an important characteristic since, these are potentially industrial lakes and the degree of salinity can significantly be used for determination of mineral resources and for the production management. In the literature, there are many studies of using satellite data for salinity related lake studies such as determination of salinity distribution and detection of potential freshwater sources in less salt concentrated regions. As the study area Lake Acigol, located in Denizli (Turkey) was selected. With it's saline environment, it's the major sodium sulphate production resource of Turkey. In this study, remote sensing data and data from a field study was used and correlated. Remote sensing is an efficient tool to monitor and analyze lake properties by using it complementary to field data. Worldview-2 satellite data was used in this study which consists of 8 bands. At the same time with the satellite data acquisition, a field study was conducted to collect the salinity values in 17 points of the laker with using YSI 556 Multiparametre for measurements. The values were measured as salinity amount in grams per kilogram solution and obtained as ppt unit. It was observed that the values vary from 34 ppt - 40.1 ppt and the average is 38.056 ppt. In Thalassic serie, the lake was in mixoeuhaline state in the time of issue. As a first step, ATCOR correction was performed on satellite image for atmospheric correction. There were some clouds on the lake field, hence it was decided to continue the study by using the 12 sampling points which were clear on the image. Then, for each sampling point, a spectral value was obtained by calculating the average at a 11*11 neighborhood. The relation between the spectral reflectance values and the salinity was investigated. The 4-band algorithm, which was used for determination of chlorophyll-a distribution in highly turbid coastal environment by Wei (2012) was applied. Salinity α (Λi-1 / Λj-1) * (Λk-1 / Λm-1) (i

Crisis and Policy Reformcraft: Advocacy Coalitions and Crisis-induced Change in Swedish Nuclear Energy Policy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nohrstedt, Daniel

2007-04-15

This dissertation consists of three interrelated essays examining the role of crisis events in Swedish nuclear energy policymaking. The study takes stock of the idea of 'crisis exceptionalism' raised in the literature, which postulates that crisis events provide openings for major policy change. In an effort to explain crisis-induced outcomes in Swedish nuclear energy policy, each essay explores and develops theoretical assumptions derived from the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF). The introduction discusses the ACF and other theoretical perspectives accentuating the role of crisis in policymaking and identifies three explanations for crisis-induced policy outcomes: minority coalition mobilization, learning, and strategic action. Essay 1 analyzes the nature and development of the Swedish nuclear energy subsystem. The results contradict the ACF assumption that corporatist systems nurture narrow subsystems and small advocacy coalitions, but corroborate the assumption that advocacy coalitions remain stable over time. While this analysis identifies temporary openings in policymaking venues and in the advocacy coalition structure, it is argued that these developments did not affect crisis policymaking. Essay 2 seeks to explain the decision to initiate a referendum on nuclear power following the 1979 Three Mile Island accident. Internal government documents and other historical records indicate that strategic considerations superseded learning as the primary explanation in this case. Essay 3 conducts an in-depth examination of Swedish policymaking in the aftermath of the 1986 Chernobyl accident in an effort to explain the government's decision not to accelerate the nuclear power phaseout. Recently disclosed government documents show that minority coalition mobilization was insufficient to explain this decision. In this case, rational learning and strategic action provided a better explanation. The main theoretical contribution derived from the three

Crisis and Policy Reformcraft: Advocacy Coalitions and Crisis-induced Change in Swedish Nuclear Energy Policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nohrstedt, Daniel

2007-04-01

This dissertation consists of three interrelated essays examining the role of crisis events in Swedish nuclear energy policymaking. The study takes stock of the idea of 'crisis exceptionalism' raised in the literature, which postulates that crisis events provide openings for major policy change. In an effort to explain crisis-induced outcomes in Swedish nuclear energy policy, each essay explores and develops theoretical assumptions derived from the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF). The introduction discusses the ACF and other theoretical perspectives accentuating the role of crisis in policymaking and identifies three explanations for crisis-induced policy outcomes: minority coalition mobilization, learning, and strategic action. Essay 1 analyzes the nature and development of the Swedish nuclear energy subsystem. The results contradict the ACF assumption that corporatist systems nurture narrow subsystems and small advocacy coalitions, but corroborate the assumption that advocacy coalitions remain stable over time. While this analysis identifies temporary openings in policymaking venues and in the advocacy coalition structure, it is argued that these developments did not affect crisis policymaking. Essay 2 seeks to explain the decision to initiate a referendum on nuclear power following the 1979 Three Mile Island accident. Internal government documents and other historical records indicate that strategic considerations superseded learning as the primary explanation in this case. Essay 3 conducts an in-depth examination of Swedish policymaking in the aftermath of the 1986 Chernobyl accident in an effort to explain the government's decision not to accelerate the nuclear power phaseout. Recently disclosed government documents show that minority coalition mobilization was insufficient to explain this decision. In this case, rational learning and strategic action provided a better explanation. The main theoretical contribution derived from the three essays is to posit

Salinity Trends in the Upper Colorado River Basin Upstream From the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit, Colorado, 1986-2003

Science.gov (United States)

Leib, Kenneth J.; Bauch, Nancy J.

2008-01-01

In 1974, the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act was passed into law. This law was enacted to address concerns regarding the salinity content of the Colorado River. The law authorized various construction projects in selected areas or 'units' of the Colorado River Basin intended to reduce the salinity load in the Colorado River. One such area was the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit in western Colorado. The U. S. Geological Survey has done extensive studies and research in the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit that provide information to aid the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Natural Resources Conservation Service in determining where salinity-control work may provide the best results, and to what extent salinity-control work was effective in reducing salinity concentrations and loads in the Colorado River. Previous studies have indicated that salinity concentrations and loads have been decreasing downstream from the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit, and that the decreases are likely the result of salinity control work in these areas. Several of these reports; however, also document decreasing salinity loads upstream from the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit. This finding was important because only a small amount of salinity-control work was being done in areas upstream from the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit at the time the findings were reported (late 1990?s). As a result of those previous findings, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation entered into a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Geological Survey to investigate salinity trends in selected areas bracketing the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit and regions upstream from the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit. The results of the study indicate that salinity loads were decreasing upstream from the Grand Valley Salinity Control Unit from 1986 through 2003, but the rates of decrease have slowed during the last 10 years. The average rate of decrease in salinity load upstream from the Grand Valley

Basics of theory of ecological crisis management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stajić Ljubomir

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Today, it is clear that environmental accidents and processes represent, not only potential but also real causes of crises on which states must be aware of. The formation of the ecological crisis is growing exponentially, along with their consequences. The problem with the environmental crisisis lies not in the fact that they exist, but how we treat them. Exploring the causes of the crisis requires an interdisciplinary approach. At the micro level, this approach focuses on the role of individuals. At the middle level of research, focus is on organizational factors and processes that may play important role in causing the crisis. Macro level of approach lists possible causes that seem to make the crisis more or less inevitable and unavoidable features of the modern world. The crisis is also characterized by negative effects (perturbations, deregulation, conflict, confused action, intense stress, which leads to reckless actions and positive effects (mobilization, solidarity, cooperation, improved adaptation to the environment, experiential learning. Furthermore, ecological crisis represents an emergency situation whose beginning and duration are not predetermined. Anti-crisis measures have failed mainly because of the numerous factors influencing on one hand, on a complexity of the crisis and, on the other hand, because of its continuously changing factors throughout the duration of the crisis. Managing ecological crisis occurs, therefore, as a permanently professional inventive and complicated process which aims to prevent the escalation of the crisis, as well as the elimination of the expected and actual negative consequences of the crisis. Mismanagement of such crisis drains system resources, interferes with its function and organization, impacts on the financial opportunities while achieving positive goals. Extreme mismanagement can lead to the entropy of the system itself. The purpose of this paper is to elaborate basic facts of managing

Central Banking after the Crisis

OpenAIRE

Frederick S. Mishkin

2013-01-01

This paper explores where central banking is heading after the recent financial crisis. First it discusses the central bank consensus before the crisis and then outlines the key facts learned from the crisis that require changes in the way central banks conduct their business. Finally, it discusses four main areas in which central banks are altering their policy frameworks: 1) the interaction between monetary and financial stability policies, 2) nonconventional monetary policy, 3) risk manage...

The Ukraine Crisis: The Battle of Superpowers

OpenAIRE

Elmquist-Clausen, Caroline

2016-01-01

This project concerns the Ukraine crisis, and how the crisis can be explained as a battle between Russia and the West. The project takes it departure in neoclassical realism, and uses this theory to understand how the actors in the crisis balance each other. This project concerns the Ukraine crisis, and how the crisis can be explained as a battle between Russia and the West. The project takes it departure in neoclassical realism, and uses this theory to understand how the actors in the cri...

Education of 'nuclear' students (BSc and MSc curricula) at the Faculty of Nuclear Science and Physical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matejka, K.; Zeman, J.

2003-01-01

The Faculty of Nuclear Science and Physical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague has been educating nuclear power engineering experts for nearly half a century. The article describes the current status and prospects of education of new specialists at the faculty for all nuclear power-related areas within the MSc and BSc level curricula. The current transition to 'European type' structured education, enabling students who have graduated from the BSc programme to continue smoothly their MSc programme, is outlined. The major courses of the 'Nuclear Engineering' educational specialisation, focused on nuclear power, environment, and dosimetry, are highlighted, including the number of lessons taught in each study year. (author)

Re-Envisioning Crisis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Snaith, Holly; Rosamond, Ben

2015-01-01

of EU integration – namely the 1970s oil shocks and the more recent global financial crisis – in order to determine the extent to which these events have been contemporarily defined as providing opportunities to act, or simply challenges to the existing order. The paper provides an analysis of the way...... in which EU actors have mobilised the idea of ‘crisis’ in order to (a) exert control over endogenous and exogenous destabilising forces, (b) (re)define the EU as an object of both political engagement and academic study, and finally (c) make the case for further expansion and integration (particularly....... The comparative nature of the findings helps to contextualise current discourses around the global financial crisis, in order to evaluate the EU’s previous efforts at global repositioning, and the significance of crisis discourse to these efforts....

Saline agriculture in Mediterranean environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Albino Maggio

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Salinization is increasingly affecting world's agricultural land causing serious yield loss and soil degradation. Understanding how we could improve crop productivity in salinized environments is therefore critical to meet the challenging goal of feeding 9.3 billion people by 2050. Our comprehension of fundamental physiological mechanisms in plant salt stress adaptation has greatly advanced over the last decades. However, many of these mechanisms have been linked to salt tolerance in simplified experimental systems whereas they have been rarely functionally proven in real agricultural contexts. In-depth analyses of specific crop-salinity interactions could reveal important aspects of plant salt stress adaptation as well as novel physiological/agronomic targets to improve salinity tolerance. These include the developmental role of root vs. shoot systems respect to water-ion homeostasis, morphological vs. metabolic contributions to stress adaptation, developmental processes vs. seasonal soil salinity evolution, residual effects of saline irrigation in non-irrigated crops, critical parameters of salt tolerance in soil-less systems and controlled environments, response to multiple stresses. Finally, beneficial effects of salinization on qualitative parameters such as stress-induced accumulation of high nutritional value secondary metabolites should be considered, also. In this short review we attempted to highlight the multifaceted nature of salinity in Mediterranean agricultural systems by summarizing most experimental activity carried out at the Department of Agricultural Engineering and Agronomy of University of Naples Federico II in the last few years.

Public relations in crisis management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Dziadkiewicz

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The company crisis decreases its value. Undoubtedly, it ruins the company’s image, the stakeholders’ opinion and puts the company at a disadvantage on the market. It strikes very unexpectedly and destroys the company financially. Moreover, the company loses its credibility and limits its relations with the environment. It does effect the emotional sphere of the top management and employees, which is crucial for the company. This report presents the heart of crisis management. It defines such terms as issue and crisis management, as well as shows the most effective way to create the communications channel in case of crisis and its reduction. Apart from the academic aspect, there are also practical references concerning insurance agreement as a means of risk elimination.

Analysis of "anti-crisis strategy" definition essence and its role in enterprise anti-crisis management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Тетяна Олександрівна Ставерська

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The analysis of existing research of the category essence of "anti-crisis strategy" is given, the main essential features are revealed. These features are best matching its content. Existing approaches to determine the definition of "anti-crisis strategy" are systematized and summarized. Based on the allocation of essential features of anti-crisis strategy, the author’s generalized definition of this category is formulated considering the trajectory of the turbulent processes in environment

Crisis Management Research Summaries

Science.gov (United States)

Brock, Stephen E., Ed.

2009-01-01

In this column, Crisis Management in the Schools Interest Group members summarize recent crisis management publications. The first article summarized was a meta-analysis of the risk factors associated with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among adults. The second study looked at the presence of life stressors among students who were expelled…

N2-fixation in fababean (vicia faba l.) grown in saline and non saline conditions using 15N tracer technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khalifa, Kh.; Kurdali, F.

2002-09-01

A pot experiment was conducted to study the performance of growing fababean and barley under saline conditions, in terms of, dry matter yield, total nitrogen and, percentages and amount of N derived from soil, fertilizer and atmosphere using 15 N isotope dilution method. Three saline treatments were performed: First, plants were grown in saline soil and irrigated with saline water (Ws Ss), Second, Plants were grown in saline soil and irrigated with saline water (Ws Ss); and Third, Plants grown in non saline soil and irrigated with saline water (Ws Sn). Furthermore, a control treatment was performed by using non-saline soil and non-saline water (Wn Sn). The different salinity treatments reduced plant growth and the reduction was more pronounced in fababean than in barley. However, under conditions of either saline soil-soft irrigation water or non saline soil-salty irrigation water, the relative growth reduction did not exceed 50% of the control; whereas, a significant negative effect was obtained when plants were grown under completely saline conditions of both soil and irrigation water. Percentage of N 2 -fixed (% Ndfa) was not negatively affected by saline conditions. However, our results clearly demonstrated that the effect of salinity in fababean was more evident on plant growth than on N 2 -fixing activity. Further studies are needed to obtain more salt tolerant faba bean genotypes in terms of growth and yield. This could be simultaneously improve yield and N 2 -fixation under sever saline conditions. (author)

The anti-crisis mechanism diagnose risk of bankruptcy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhdanov Vasiliy Yuryevich

2011-11-01

Full Text Available The article provides analysis and systematization of such terms as "crisis", "insolvency", "inefficiency", "bankruptcy" of an enterprise in terms of the crisis theory. It also describes the scheme of the enterprise crisis development, which includes three periods: pre-crisis, crisis and chronic crisis, where the final point is the enterprise bankruptcy. The article also develops a mechanism of the bankruptcy risk diagnostic including an analysis of the enterprise in terms of four sections.

Crisis management to avoid damage for corporate reputation: the case of retail chain crisis in the Baltic countries

OpenAIRE

Šontaitė-Petkevičienė, Miglė

2014-01-01

This paper analyses crisis management in relation to its effect on corporate reputation. It provides theoretical analysis of crises management actions that contribute to avoid damage for corporate reputation. Empirical research of the paper provides case analysis of retail chain “Maxima” crisis management in the Baltic countries. Even though retail chain “Maxima” has made several mistakes during crisis, in general crisis was managed properly so this case provides valuable insights how prevent...

Paleoecological crisis in the steppes of the Lower Volga region in the Middle of the Bronze Age (III-II centuries BC)

Science.gov (United States)

Demkina, T. S.; Borisov, A. V.; Demkin, V. A.; Khomutova, T. E.; Kuznetsova, T. V.; El'tsov, M. V.; Udal'tsov, S. N.

2017-07-01

Diagnostic features of a catastrophic aridization of climate, desertification, and paleoecological crisis in steppes of the Lower Volga region have been identified on the basis of data on the morphological, chemical, and microbiological properties of paleosols under archeological monuments (burial mounds) of the Middle Bronze Age. These processes resulted in a certain convergence of the soil cover with transformation of zonal chestnut (Kastanozems) paleosols and paleosolonetzes (Solonetz Humic) into specific chestnut-like eroded saline calcareous paleosols analogous to the modern brown desert-steppe soils (Calcisols Haplic) that predominated in this region 4300-3800 years ago.1 In the second millennium BC, humidization of the climate led to the divergence of the soil cover with secondary formation of the complexes of chestnut soils and solonetzes. This paleoecological crisis had a significant effect on the economy of the tribes in the Late Catacomb and Post-Catacomb time stipulating their higher mobility and transition to the nomadic cattle breeding.

The Little-Known Crisis

Science.gov (United States)

Eckholm, Erik P.

1975-01-01

For one-third of the world's people, the energy crisis means the daily scramble to find the wood they need to cook. The accelerating destruction of forests throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America and the utilization of manure as a firewood substitute may produce the most profound ecological crisis of this century. (BT)

Knowledge communication: a key to successful crisis management.

Science.gov (United States)

Johansson, Anders; Härenstam, Malin

2013-09-01

A winning concept of crisis management can be summarized in 2 words: knowledge communication. If decision makers, communicators, experts, and the public understand what the crisis is about and share their knowledge, the process of handling it will be optimized. Effective crisis communication implies the necessity of an unhindered but purposeful exchange of information within and between authorities, organizations, media, involved individuals, and groups before, during, and after a crisis. This article focuses on the importance of the before, or prevention, part of a crisis since it holds a rich possibility to enhance the chances for successful crisis management of a bioterrorism incident. An extended perspective on crisis communication efficiently links to a more thorough understanding of risk perception with various stakeholders and the public, which also will be helpful for situational awareness. Furthermore, the grounded baseline for the dialogue type of crisis communication suitable in modern society and to modern social media is achieved by linking to those risk communication efforts that are made. The link between risk and crisis should be afforded more attention since, especially in biosecurity, there would be no crisis without risk negligence and poor or malfunctioning preventive efforts.

Commercial speech in crisis: Crisis Pregnancy Center regulations and definitions of commercial speech.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilbert, Kathryn E

2013-02-01

Recent attempts to regulate Crisis Pregnancy Centers, pseudoclinics that surreptitiously aim to dissuade pregnant women from choosing abortion, have confronted the thorny problem of how to define commercial speech. The Supreme Court has offered three potential answers to this definitional quandary. This Note uses the Crisis Pregnancy Center cases to demonstrate that courts should use one of these solutions, the factor-based approach of Bolger v. Youngs Drugs Products Corp., to define commercial speech in the Crisis Pregnancy Center cases and elsewhere. In principle and in application, the Bolger factor-based approach succeeds in structuring commercial speech analysis at the margins of the doctrine.

Timing crisis information release via television.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Jiuchang; Zhao, Dingtao; Yang, Feng; Du, Shaofu; Marinova, Dora

2010-10-01

When and how often to release information on television are important issues in crisis and emergency risk communication. There is a lot of crisis information, including warnings and news, to which people should have access, but most of it is not significantly urgent to interrupt the broadcasting of television programmes. Hence, the right timing for the release of crisis information should be selected based on the importance of the crisis and any associated communication requirements. Using recursive methods, this paper builds an audience coverage model of crisis information release. Based on 2007 Household Using TV (HUT) data for Hefei City, China, the optimal combination of broadcasting sequence (with frequencies between one and eight times) is obtained using the implicit enumeration method. The developed model is applicable to effective transmission of crisis information, with the aim of reducing interference with the normal television transmission process and decreasing the psychological effect on audiences. The same model can be employed for other purposes, such as news coverage and weather and road information. © 2010 The Author(s). Journal compilation © Overseas Development Institute, 2010.

The risks of nation branding as crisis response

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Rasmus Kjærgaard; Merkelsen, Henrik

2014-01-01

alternative strategies for handling crises based on 'societal models'. Through a case study of Denmark's so-called Cartoon Crisis we demonstrate how crisis communication falls short of coping aptly with the complexity of the crisis due to the branding-inspired translation from 'sudden' to 'ongoing' crisis. We......In this article, we investigate the limitations of organization-centric models for crisis communication in handling place crises. Two distinct types of place crisis are identified as what we respectively term the 'sudden' and the 'ongoing' type. We point out that place branding traditionally has...... been used to handle the latter type. We then demonstrate how the inspiration from corporate communication in place branding has led to a fixation on reputation, which becomes salient when place branding is used as crisis communication in sudden crisis. Here the corporate inspiration tends to rule out...

International Trade Crisis

OpenAIRE

Popa Diana

2011-01-01

This article captures a brief history of the negotiations of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA), analyzes its deadlock and offers some suggestions for a successful Doha deal. First, this study shows that the nearly decade-long negotiation stalemate is caused by the opposite perceptions between industrialized countries and developing ones on agriculture, as well as by the influences of economic crisis on the world trade. Subsequently, some proposals are presented to solve the current crisis fro...

The psychology behind the crisis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amalia PANDELICA

2010-05-01

Full Text Available This paper is an extensive analysis of bought international business press andacademic literature in the field about crisis management and related fields. The paperis grounded on the premise that the psychology of the crisis is an important componentof the present international context and psychological factors play an important part inthe alteration of consumer’s behavior. The question that generated our researchapproach in such conditions was at what extent peoples’ behavior is determined byindividual rational choices. The central message of this paper is that in the presenteconomic crisis conditions the factors that are playing an important role in shapingpeople’s behaviour are: risk perception and risk attitude. We consider that at presentmanagers should understand how their clients react in crisis conditions and how theirbehavior changes in order to handle successfully the present situation.

Crisis and Environmental Philosophy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Wolsing

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Environmental ethics began in the 1960s with a growing awareness of coming environmental problems such as pollution and the projected shortage of resources caused by an acceleration in human’s technically based exploitation of nature. In addition to becoming an issue in public debate and in politics since the 1970s, the environmental crisis, which can be laid at the door of industrialization, calls for a more basic consideration of man’s attitude to nature. In this paper I give a short presentation of the concept of crisis in a selection of the principal classical critical philosophies of history and suggest that they all connect crisis to the oppression of man’s inner nature. I go on to sketch the idea of environmental crisis as an oppression of outer nature (the natural environment suggesting that a new, more nuanced organic concept of nature is needed as a condition for ascribing value to life on earth as a whole, which is what most non-anthropocentric ethical theories to some extent do.

Crisis behavior: An exploration of theories in concert.

Science.gov (United States)

McConnell, Jason B; Crudo, Christine

2015-01-01

How might prominent existing communication theory better explain behavior in a crisis context, when considered in concert with one another? This theoretical work highlights the insight to be gained using Situational Crisis Communication Theory and Bandura's notions of self-efficacy to heighten the explanatory power of the Theory of Planned Behavior as applied to communication during times of crisis. Situational Crisis Communication Theory better explains how past experience with crisis influences the attitudes and social norms of crisis behavior, while Bandura's notion of self-efficacy speaks more directly to the availability of resources as contributing factors to perceived behavioral control in a crisis situation. As such, the incorporation of these well-developed notions into the broader framework of the Theory of Planned Behavior affords greater understanding of the relationship between communication and behavior during a crisis. Further exploration of this theoretical relationship is warranted.

"Pastoral crisis intervention": toward a definition.

Science.gov (United States)

Everly, G S

2000-01-01

The pastoral community represents a large and often untapped resource in times of crisis. It possesses a unique aggregation of characteristics that makes it uniquely valuable amidst the turmoil of a psychological crisis. In critical incidents such as terrorism, mass disasters, violence, the loss of loved ones, and any events wherein human actions result in injury, destruction, and/or death, the pastoral community may possess especially powerful restorative attributes. Unfortunately, heretofore, there has existed no generally recognized and accepted manner in which the healing factors inherent in pastoral care have been functionally integrated with the well-formulated principles of crisis intervention. This paper represents an initial effort to elucidate how the principles of pastoral care may be functionally integrated with those of crisis intervention. The amalgam shall heretofore be referred to as "pastoral crisis intervention" and is defined herein.

Crisis communication online: How medium, crisis type and emotions affected public reactions in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Utz, S.; Schultz, F.

2013-01-01

Social media play in today's societies a fundamental role for the negotiation and dynamics of crises. However, classical crisis communication theories neglect the role of the medium and focus mainly on the interplay between crisis type and crisis communication strategy. Building on the recently

Crisis communication as an important tool of corporate management

OpenAIRE

Francová, Martina

2009-01-01

Theory-metodological part: definition of basic terms as corporation -- corporation surroundings, corporate identity and image; extraordinary incident, crisis situation, crisis, crisis management; brief definition of legislative-juristic environment. Definition of the term communications -- common aspects and types of communication. Crisis communication, analysis of available methods of crisis communication in a company, analysis of available tools of crisis communication in a company. Practic...

ROMANIAN ECONOMY IN THE EUROPEAN CRISIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aurel Mihuţ

2012-01-01

Full Text Available European economy still faces today, one of the worst economic and financial crisis since the Second World War. Economic and financial crisis has spread worldwide with maximum speed, the economies of all Member States of the European Union encountering serious difficulties, both in the banking system and real economy. Romanian economic crisis started in 2008 and the uncertain deadline, is a matter of concern for many people. It is true that today we are witnessing the worst crisis in 80 years. We have an official explanation of the crisis, provided by public institutions, that the problem stems from inappropriate behavior of economic agents: selfishness, greed, speculation and market unable to function smoothly, ensuring proper allocation of resources: information asymmetry, liquidity trap , deflation, etc.On the other hand, most researchers, members of the academic, and private sector analysts argue that state intervention just planted seeds of financial turmoil that cross the present. The recipe prescribed by the authorities can result in mitigation of economic difficulties but, in contrary to their aggravation. The economic crisis is the result of several factors, which mainly include monetary policy errors, distorted economic incentives and pathology of the banking and financial regulatory policy.This paper is to highlight what triggered today's crisis in the Romanian economy, hoping to find a remedy to the problems of the economic, social and political that we face.

Nigeria; Publication of Financial Sector Assessment Program Documentation––Technical Note on Crisis Management and Crisis Preparedness Frameworks

OpenAIRE

International Monetary Fund

2013-01-01

The Nigerian financial system underwent a banking crisis in 2008–09, owing to the global financial crisis and domestic events. The decisive crisis response effectively stabilized the banking system, but the challenge now is to devise a credible exit strategy. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has a broad resolution toolkit, which was put to use during the crisis to resolve the intervened banks. The Nigerian authorities set up the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to purchase non...

The European Crisis Management: An Organizational Narrative

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrícia Kaplánová

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The debate of scholars in the field of international relations in last years has put the European Union’s role into the consideration. The European Foreign and Security Policy has positioned itself through its development to the constructive and normative line of research of world politics. With this respect, this article examines a character of crisis management of the European Common Foreign Policy based on the institutional development. Besides the European Union does not possess a unified foreign and security policy, regardless one army and single institutional mechanism, the recent crisis management actions have shaped the policies into a comprehensive nature. The paper overviews briefly the history of Common Foreign and Security Policy as well as Common Security and Defence Policy and focuses on crisis management of civilian and military missions. The author claims that the development has a significant impact on a character of crisis management analyzed from the institutional and financial capacities of the European Security and Defence Policy. Consequently, the character of crisis management performs complex mechanisms of responsive, political/administrative, legal, economic and human help to crisis-affected territories in the world. Respectfully, the character of crisis management has thus more pre-crisis nature of a resilience.

Enhancing crisis leadership in public health emergencies.

Science.gov (United States)

Deitchman, Scott

2013-10-01

Reviews of public health emergency responses have identified a need for crisis leadership skills in health leaders, but these skills are not routinely taught in public health curricula. To develop criteria for crisis leadership in public health, published sources were reviewed to identify attributes of successful crisis leadership in aviation, public safety, military operations, and mining. These sources were abstracted to identify crisis leadership attributes associated with those disciplines and compare those attributes with crisis leadership challenges in public health. Based on this review, the following attributes are proposed for crisis leadership in public health: competence in public health science; decisiveness with flexibility; ability to maintain situational awareness and provide situational assessment; ability to coordinate diverse participants across very different disciplines; communication skills; and the ability to inspire trust. Of these attributes, only competence in public health science is currently a goal of public health education. Strategies to teach the other proposed attributes of crisis leadership will better prepare public health leaders to meet the challenges of public health crises.

Efficacy of nebulised L-adrenaline with 3% hypertonic saline versus normal saline in bronchiolitis

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Shabnam Sharmin

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Background: Bronchiolitis is one of the most common respiratory diseases requiring hospitalization. Nebulized epineph­rine and salbutamol therapy has been used in different centres with varying results. Objective: The objective of the study was to compare the efficacy of nebulised adrenaline diluted with 3% hypertonic saline with nebulised adrenaline diluted with normal saline in bronchiolitis. Methods: Fifty three infants and young children with bronchiolitis, age ranging from 2 months to 2 years, presenting in the emergency department of Manikganj Sadar Hospital were enrolled in the study. After initial evaluation, patients were randomized to receive either nebulized adrenaline I .5 ml ( 1.5 mg diluted with 2 ml of3% hypertonic saline (group I ornebulised adrenaline 1.5 ml (1.5 mg diluted with 2 ml of normal saline (group II. Patients were evaluated again 30 minutes after nebulization. Results: Twenty eight patients in the group I (hypertonic saline and twenty five in groupII (normal saline were included in the study. After nebulization, mean respiratory rate decreased from 63.7 to 48.1 (p<.01, mean clinical severity score decreased from 8.5 to 3.5 (p<.01 and mean oxygen satw·ation increased 94.7% to 96.9% (p<.01 in group I. In group II, mean respiratory rate decreased from 62.4 to 47.4 (p<.01, mean clinical severity score decreased from 7.2 to 4.1 (p<.01 and mean oxygen saturation increased from 94. 7% to 96. 7% (p<.01. Mean respiratory rate decreased by 16 in group I versus 14.8 (p>.05 in group 11, mean clinical severity score decreased by 4.6 in group versus 3 (p<.05 in group, and mean oxygen saturation increased by 2.2% and 1.9% in group and group respectively. Difference in reduction in clinical severity score was statistically significant , though the changes in respiratory rate and oxygen saturation were not statistically significant. Conclusion: The study concluded that both nebulised adrenaline diluted with 3% hypertonic saline and

The Effect of the Global Financial Crisis and the Sovereign Debt Crisis on Public Sector Accounting: A Contextual Analysis

OpenAIRE

Emmanuel Igbawase Abanyam; Paul Aondona Angahar

2015-01-01

This paper examines the effect of global financial crisis and the sovereign debt crisis on public sector accounting. The global financial crisis and sovereign debt crisis were contextually analysed bringing out clearly its effect on public sector accounting which include accounting issues related to public sector intervention, accounting for recapitalization of investment, accounting for fiscal support, accounting for financial guarantees. The paper found out that, the unresolved fiscal and d...

Leadership in a (permanent) crisis.

Science.gov (United States)

Heifetz, Ronald; Grashow, Alexander; Linsky, Marty

2009-01-01

The current economic crisis is not just another rough spell. Today's mix of urgency, high stakes, and uncertainty will continue even after the recession ends. The immediate crisis--which we will get through with policy makers' expert technical adjustments--sets the stage for a sustained, or even permanent, crisis, a relentless series of challenges no one has encountered before. Instead of hunkering down and relying on their familiar expertise to deal with the sustained crisis, people in positions of authority--whether they are CEOs or managers heading up a company initiative--must practice what the authors call adaptive leadership. They must, of course, tackle the underlying causes of the crisis, but they must also simultaneously make the changes that will allow their organizations to thrive in turbulent environments. Adaptive leadership is an improvisational and experimental art, requiring some new practices. Like Julie Gilbert, who overcame internal resistance to reorient Best Buy toward female purchasers, adaptive leaders get things done to meet today's challenges and then modify those things to thrive in tomorrow's world. They also embrace disequilibrium, using turbulence as an opportunity to build crucial new capacities, as Paul Levy did to rescue Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center from a profound financial crisis. Finally, adaptive leaders, such as Egon Zehnder, the founder of an executive search firm, draw out the leadership skills that reside deep in the organization, recognizing the interdependence of all employees and mobilizing everyone to generate solutions.

[Crisis and future of humanity].

Science.gov (United States)

Bellver Capella, Vicente

2012-09-01

We live in troubling times. The economic crisis fills us with anxiety. Young, unemployed and throes to finish living worse fear that their parents are not able to take charge of the situation. What has happened to that Spain and Europe, less than four years ago seemed to land of opportunities for native and foreign, have become hostile territories? The economic crisis does not explain everything; It is only a symptom that the basis on which we were building the future were not as firm. It is true that the crisis has brought to bare the obscenity of speculative financial capitalism. It is also true that this crisis can be the great opportunity to build the world on a human and sustainable economic basis, i.e.,just the opposite of the current submission to the dictatorship of the financial markets. But the contemporary crisis has deep and extensive roots. I will refer to other crises, as important or more than the economic one, because to glimpse the future it is essential to carefully track the present and discover the "weak signals" the latent opportunities that await we become them realities.

A global algorithm for estimating Absolute Salinity

Science.gov (United States)

McDougall, T. J.; Jackett, D. R.; Millero, F. J.; Pawlowicz, R.; Barker, P. M.

2012-12-01

The International Thermodynamic Equation of Seawater - 2010 has defined the thermodynamic properties of seawater in terms of a new salinity variable, Absolute Salinity, which takes into account the spatial variation of the composition of seawater. Absolute Salinity more accurately reflects the effects of the dissolved material in seawater on the thermodynamic properties (particularly density) than does Practical Salinity. When a seawater sample has standard composition (i.e. the ratios of the constituents of sea salt are the same as those of surface water of the North Atlantic), Practical Salinity can be used to accurately evaluate the thermodynamic properties of seawater. When seawater is not of standard composition, Practical Salinity alone is not sufficient and the Absolute Salinity Anomaly needs to be estimated; this anomaly is as large as 0.025 g kg-1 in the northernmost North Pacific. Here we provide an algorithm for estimating Absolute Salinity Anomaly for any location (x, y, p) in the world ocean. To develop this algorithm, we used the Absolute Salinity Anomaly that is found by comparing the density calculated from Practical Salinity to the density measured in the laboratory. These estimates of Absolute Salinity Anomaly however are limited to the number of available observations (namely 811). In order to provide a practical method that can be used at any location in the world ocean, we take advantage of approximate relationships between Absolute Salinity Anomaly and silicate concentrations (which are available globally).

Crisis phenomena and sources of instability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ball, D.; Bethe, H.A.; Blair, B.G.; Bracken, P.; Carter, A.B.; Dickinson, H.; Garwin, R.L.; Holloway, D.; Kendall, H.W.

1988-01-01

What are the most likely paths that might carry a crisis to nuclear war between the superpowers? Are those paths marked by critical junctures or patterns that recur and are amenable to analysis? These questions form the crux of this study, but history provides a meager data base for answering them. Only once, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, did nuclear war appear to be a conceivable consequence of steps already taken or under serious consideration. To prepare a springboard for that extrapolation, we must first examine the settings in which leaders have coped with crises, and identify features that are likely to recur in future confrontations. These features include the environment that in the past has differentiated crisis from peace and war; the dominant factors that have been (or should have been) assessed either at the outbreak of crisis or as events unfolded; the human dimension of crisis; domestic and alliance politics; intelligence; and the trade-offs between diplomacy and military measures that have chronically perplexed leaders during a crisis. The authors of this paper consider confrontations of an intensity with which the world has no experience: direct conflict, either conventional or nuclear, between the superpowers

etat du magnesium dans quelques sols sales du sud et du centre

African Journals Online (AJOL)

AISA

Jackson M. L. 1976. Analisis químico de suelos. Ediciones Omega, S. A. Barcelona, 662 p. Kovda V. 1973. Irrigation/Drainage and Salinity. International source book FAO/UNESCO,. 123 p. Laribi A. 2002. Status and Behavior of Magnesium in saline soils of Iraq. MSc thesis. College of Agriculture. Baghdad University, 107 p.

Organisational socialisation in a crisis context.

Science.gov (United States)

Lalonde, Carole

2010-04-01

The objective of this paper is to highlight the dimensions characterising the socialisation process in a crisis context. Based on the definition of organisational socialisation advanced by Van Maanen and Schein (1979) and employed later by Jones (1986), a crisis is presented as a passage from a 'normal' situation to an 'exceptional' situation. A crisis represents a socialisation context in the sense that it is a novel state in which actors must develop a different way of mobilising their knowledge, utilising their skills, and practicing their trade or profession. The paper discusses certain findings that have emerged from the literature on organisational socialisation, as well as from the testimony of actors who participated in efforts to manage the Quebec ice-storm crisis of early 1998. It is hoped that this exploratory study's data will give rise to fruitful interaction between the field of organisational socialisation and that of crisis management.

Crisis management: Planning for the inevitable

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niyaz Aboudzadeh

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to identify important factors influencing organizational readiness to deal with the crisis in business organizations. The study designs a questionnaire in Likert scale and distributes it among some experts who work for Mapna company in Iran. The study uses the method developed by Mitroff (2005 [Mitroff, I. I. (2005. Why some companies emerge stronger and better from a crisis: 7 essential lessons for surviving disaster. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn.], which investigates the effects of four factors including job satisfaction, increase in income, cost reduction and change in strategies on crisis management. Using Pearson correlation ratio, the study has confirmed a positive and meaningful relationship between crisis management and three factors including increase in income, cost reduction and change in strategies. However, the study did not find any evidence to support the relationship between job satisfaction and crisis management.

Effect of Salinity on Germination and Its Relationship with Vegetative growth in Bromus danthoniae Genotypes from Saline and Non-Saline Areas of Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Rezaei

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Bromus danthoniae Trin. is an annual grass species that is well adapted to harsh climates and could be considered as an important genetic resources for tolerance to environmental stresses such as salinity. In this study, 24 genotypes collected from Ilam, Kurdistan, Kermanshah (non-saline areas and West Azerbaijan (saline area: shores of Uremia Salt Lake provinces of Iran were investigated at the germination stage under salt treatments with concentrations of 0, 60, 120, 180, 240 and 300 mM sodium chloride. Germination percentage, germination rate index, seed vigor, root length, shoot length and seedling fresh and dry weights were measured. In addition, the relationship between the percentage of germination in 300 mM sodium chloride and the survival rate (% after four weeks in 350 mM sodium chloride at the vegetative stage was evaluated. The results of analysis of variance showed that salinity treatments caused significant reductions in all the studied traits. Genotypic variation and the interaction of genotype × salt treatments were also significant. Genotypes USLN3 and KER4 were found to be the most tolerant and sensitive genotypes to salinity stress, with 13% and 98% reduction in germination percentage at 300 mM NaCl, respectively. Cluster analysis divided the genotypes into three groups, with one group containing only tolerant genotypes from Uremia Salt Lake, another one comprising only sensitive genotypes from non-saline regions, and the third one containing genotypes from both regions. The correlation between the germination percentage and the survival rate at the vegetative stage was not significant, indicating that different mechanisms are, perhaps, responsible for salinity tolerance at the germination and vegetative stages in B. danthoniae.

Raccontare la storia al tempo delle crisi

OpenAIRE

La Valle, Paolo

2015-01-01

La ricerca analizza il tema della relazione tra storia e narrazione nella letteratura degli ultimi quindici anni in tre contesti nazionali: Italia, Spagna e Portogalo. Per indagare un campo così vasto si sono identificate tre direttrici principali connesse tra loro, coincidenti con tre "crisi": la crisi del rapporto tra letteratura e mercato, la crisi del concetto di verità e la crisi dello stato nazione. Attraverso le riflessioni sul postmoderno (Lyotard, Jameson Hutcheon) e l’analisi di...

The 2008 Financial Crisis and Taxation Policy

OpenAIRE

Thomas Hemmelgarn; Gaetan Nicodeme

2010-01-01

The 2008 financial crisis is the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of 1929. It has been characterised by a housing bubble in a context of rapid credit expansion, high risk-taking and exacerbated financial leverage, ending into deleveraging and credit crunch when the bubble burst. This paper discusses the interactions between tax policy and the financial crisis. In particular, it reviews the existing evidence on the links between taxes and many characteristics of the crisis. Fin...

CO{sub 2} storage in saline aquifers; Stockage du CO{sub 2} dans les aquiferes salins

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bentham, M.; Kirby, G. [British Geological Survey (BGS), Kingsley Dunham Centre, Keyworth, Nottingham (United Kingdom)

2005-06-01

Saline aquifers represent a promising way for CO{sub 2} sequestration. Storage capacities of saline aquifers are very important around the world. The Sleipner site in the North Sea is currently the single case world-wide of CO{sub 2} storage in a saline aquifer. A general review is given on the specific risks for CO{sub 2} storage in saline aquifer. The regional distribution of CO{sub 2} storage potential is presented. Finally, the knowledge gaps and the future research in this field are defined. (authors)

[Changes between pre-crisis and crisis period in socioeconomic inequalities in health and stimulant use in Netherlands].

Science.gov (United States)

Buggink, J W; de Goeij, M C M; Otten, F W J; Kunst, A

2016-01-01

International research suggests an impact of economic crises on population health, with different effects among different socioeconomic groups. Since the end of 2008 the Netherlands experienced a period of economic crisis. Our study explores how inequalities in perceived general and mental health, and alcohol and tobacco use changed after the recession started. Cross-sectional study using routinely collected data from surveys of the Dutch population. We used data from the Dutch Health Interview Surveys: 2006-2008 (pre-crisis period) and 2009-2013 (crisis period). Respondents aged 25-64 were divided into socioeconomic groups based on labour status, income level and income change. Inequalities in health and stimulant use among these socioeconomic groups were described by period and changes between the pre-crisis and crisis period were investigated using logistic regression models. Most inequalities did not change, with some exceptions. For perceived general health, inequalities between employed persons and persons not in the labour force were larger in the crisis-period (unfavourable trends for those not in the labour force). For smoking, inequalities between unemployed and employed persons were larger in the crisis period (decreasing smoking rates only for those employed), as did inequalities between persons with low and high income levels (decreasing smoking rates for those with higher income levels). Excessive drinking decreased among employed persons and persons with a decrease in income, while it remained stable among persons not in the labour force and among persons with an increase in income. The widening of some socioeconomic inequalities in health and stimulant use might suggest an enhanced vulnerability of lower socioeconomic groups to the post-2008 crisis.

Changes between pre-crisis and crisis period in socioeconomic inequalities in health and stimulant use in Netherlands.

Science.gov (United States)

Bruggink, Jan-Willem; de Goeij, Moniek C M; Otten, Ferdy; Kunst, Anton E

2016-10-01

International research suggests an impact of economic crises on population health, with different effects among different socioeconomic groups. Since the end of 2008 the Netherlands experienced a period of economic crisis. Our study explores how inequalities in perceived general and mental health, and alcohol and tobacco use changed after the recession started. We used data from the Dutch Health Interview Surveys: 2006-2008 (pre-crisis period) and 2009-2013 (crisis period). Respondents aged 25-64 were divided into socioeconomic groups based on labour status, income level and income change. Inequalities in health and stimulant use among these socioeconomic groups were described by period and changes between the pre-crisis and crisis period were investigated using logistic regression models. Most inequalities did not change, with some exceptions. For perceived general health, inequalities between employed persons and persons not in the labour force were larger in the crisis period (unfavourable trends for those not in the labour force). For smoking, inequalities between unemployed and employed persons were larger in the crisis period (decreasing smoking rates only for those employed), as did inequalities between persons with low and high income levels (decreasing smoking rates for those with higher income levels). Excessive drinking decreased among employed persons and persons with a decrease in income, while it remained stable among persons not in the labour force and among persons with an increase in income. The widening of some socioeconomic inequalities in health and stimulant use might suggest an enhanced vulnerability of lower socioeconomic groups to the post-2008 crisis. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Helping Crisis Managers Protect Reputational Assets: Initial Tests of the Situational Crisis Communication Theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Coombs, W. Timothy; Holladay, Sherry J.

2002-01-01

Explains a comprehensive, prescriptive, situational approach for responding to crises and protecting organizational reputation: the situational crisis communication theory (SCCT). Notes undergraduate students read two crisis case studies from a set of 13 cases and responded to questions following the case. Validates a key assumption in SCCT and…

Bank Restructuring in Asia: Crisis management in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis and prospects for crisis prevention -Malaysia-

OpenAIRE

ITO Takatoshi; HASHIMOTO Yuko

2007-01-01

This paper analyzes the bank restructuring process in Malaysia from the currency crisis of 1997 to present. Even though the banking sector in Malaysia had relatively lower NPLs compared to other Asian countries, financial sector suffered financial crisis and various problems emerged. This paper covers topics such as setting up financial restructuring agencies, a scheme of capital injection to weak banks, and a corporate restructuring process conducted by the Malaysian government. Plans of Mer...

40 CFR 166.45 - Duration of crisis exemption.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 23 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Duration of crisis exemption. 166.45... EXEMPTION OF FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES FOR USE OF PESTICIDES UNDER EMERGENCY CONDITIONS Crisis Exemptions § 166.45 Duration of crisis exemption. A crisis exemption may be authorized for: (a) Only as long as is...

ANALYSIS OF CRISIS LEVEL IN REGIONS OF UKRAINE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irina Abramova

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the paper is to identify the crisis level in regions of Ukraine in 2013–2015. The article also determines features, causes, and development of crisis situations in the regions of Ukraine and proposes measures to prevent the emergence and development of crisis situations or their disposal. Methodology. The basis for assessing the level of crisis in the socio-economic development of the region is to determine the level of deviation of actual indicators from the threshold values of socio-economic security. Such an assessment needs justification for the deviation of the actual indicators from the threshold values of socioeconomic security, which will correspond to a certain state of the depth of the crisis. The non-crisis zone characterizes the region as a powerful territorial centre of the country in the social and economic aspects. Actual indicators of the socio-economic development of this region are higher than the threshold values. Given the slowdown in the region’s development, the lack of innovative mechanisms for increasing economic potential, and the expansion of social programs for the population, this region may become a pre-crisis zone. A quantitative indicator of the zone of pre-crisis state, its threshold is numerical measurements, characterized by a 25-percent deviation from the threshold level of the non-crisis zone, which corresponds to the limits of indicators from 1.0 to 0.75. The growth of the same pace of socio-economic development, the implementation of effective measures of crisis management will lead to the transition of the region into a non-crisis zone. With a further fall in the level of socio-economic development, the region will fall into a zone of moderate crisis. In order to return to a precrisis state, regional authorities should develop a reactive anti-crisis strategy and effective rehabilitation programs. A quantitative indicator of this zone, its threshold is numerical measurements, which

Are you ready? Crisis leadership in a hyper-VUCA environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Alkhaldi, Khaldoon H; Austin, Meredith L; Cura, Boris A; Dantzler, Darrell; Holland, Leslie; Maples, David L; Quarrelles, Jamie C; Weinkle, Robert K; Marcus, Leonard J

The current hyper-volatile, -uncertain, -complex, and -ambiguous (VUCA) threat environment demands a more cohesive support structure for crisis leaders who may be faced with crises of increasing magnitude and frequency and, in some instances, multiple crisis events simultaneously. The project team investigates the perceptions of crisis leaders regarding establishing a crisis leader advisor position for crisis leaders to benefit from their experience while prosecuting crisis response activities. The team linked hyper-VUCA crises, crisis response frameworks, meta-leadership, crisis leader attributes, and advisor attributes. The overall goal of the project is to increase the ability of the crisis leaders to more effectively and efficiently navigate crisis events resulting in more efficient and effective response and recovery. Three research questions were developed to assess the following: thoughts of integrating a crisis leader advisor position; development of a crisis leader advisor certification program; and attributes of crisis leader advisors. A qualitative research methodology using a phenomenological approach was employed. Forty-one participants were purposefully selected and administered a short, on-line survey consisting of 11 questions. Data were analyzed using percentage analysis,weighted sums, and inductive thematic analysis. The project team found an overwhelming support for the crisis leader advisor position and the crisis leader advisor certification program. Additionally, experience and trustworthiness ranked among the top sought after attributes of a crisis leader advisor. The team recommendations included (1) implement a crisis leaders advisor guide/framework; (2) create a formal crisis leader advisor position in national incident management system; (3) implement a crisis leader advisor certification framework; (4) benchmark established advisor programs; and (5) implement a framework to match leaders and advisors.

LESSONS FROM THE CRISIS – TURKISH BANKING CRISIS OF 2000-2001

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriela PICIU

2015-04-01

Full Text Available In the past two decades or so the Turkish banking system has experienced many changes especially with the liberalization of the financial markets, financial inovations, inovations in the information technology and the increase in the number of financial transactions. With consolidations, competition has grown among banks and they are now competing for smaller profit margins. With all these changes, there has also been a change in the type of risks to which banks are now exposed. If the banking system in Turkey is following the right path as the authorities in Turkey claim then how did the country get into the grip of the banking crisis of 2000-2001? What went wrong and why bank loans turned into bad debts must be examined. The Turkish Experience resulting from the financial crisis of 2000-2001 shows that the country has learned the lesson. The financial crisis of 2008 hadn't an impact so great in Turkey compared with other countries.

A global algorithm for estimating Absolute Salinity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. J. McDougall

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The International Thermodynamic Equation of Seawater – 2010 has defined the thermodynamic properties of seawater in terms of a new salinity variable, Absolute Salinity, which takes into account the spatial variation of the composition of seawater. Absolute Salinity more accurately reflects the effects of the dissolved material in seawater on the thermodynamic properties (particularly density than does Practical Salinity.

When a seawater sample has standard composition (i.e. the ratios of the constituents of sea salt are the same as those of surface water of the North Atlantic, Practical Salinity can be used to accurately evaluate the thermodynamic properties of seawater. When seawater is not of standard composition, Practical Salinity alone is not sufficient and the Absolute Salinity Anomaly needs to be estimated; this anomaly is as large as 0.025 g kg⁻¹ in the northernmost North Pacific. Here we provide an algorithm for estimating Absolute Salinity Anomaly for any location (x, y, p in the world ocean.

To develop this algorithm, we used the Absolute Salinity Anomaly that is found by comparing the density calculated from Practical Salinity to the density measured in the laboratory. These estimates of Absolute Salinity Anomaly however are limited to the number of available observations (namely 811. In order to provide a practical method that can be used at any location in the world ocean, we take advantage of approximate relationships between Absolute Salinity Anomaly and silicate concentrations (which are available globally.

SUBPRIME CRISIS AND FINANCIAL CONTAGION: EVIDENCE FROM TUNISIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mongi GHARSELLAOUI

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to study the subprime crisis while focusing on the phenomenon of financial contagion. Subprime crisis is a crisis that has hit the U.S. mortgage sector and helped to trigger the financial crisis of 2007-2009. In the context of this study, we are interested in exposing the subprime crisis and the contagion first point. The second point will be reserved for the transmission channels of contagion and the third point; we will try to assess the impact of liquidity on the capital market returns. This study shows that the Tunisian financial market does not seem to be very influenced by the subprime crisis. This can be explained by the intrinsic characteristics of the Tunisian market, an underdeveloped market and elemental thing that can make him more or less immune to that crisis.

Media and the Economic Crisis of the EU: The ‘Culturalization’ of a Systemic Crisis and Bild-Zeitung’s Framing of Greece

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yiannis Mylonas

2012-07-01

Full Text Available This article critically studies the hegemonic discursive construction of the EU’s current (2012 economic crisis, as it is articulated by political and economic elites and by mass media. The study focuses on the political economy of the particular crisis and through the critical concept of reification, the study emphasizes the hegemonic naturalization of the economic crisis by the “free market” economistic ideology. The article problematizes the positioning of Greece as the “crisis epicentre” in Europe, understanding Greece as a scapegoat and as a laboratory where political strategies of capitalist restructuring of the EU are performed. Through the frame analysis of Bild-zeitung’s headlines on the coverage of crisis-struck Greece, the article discusses a the “culturalization” of the crisis and the diversion from a structural public debate on the global economic crisis b the disciplinary function of crisis’ publicity, related to social control and the production of new, neoliberal social subjectivities c the alienating effect of the culturalist crisis discourses to transnational publics, resulting to the misrecognition of the ideological and structural reasons of the given crisis, the misrecognition of the effects of the crisis and crisis-politics in people’s lives, the misrecognition of popular socio-political struggles in countries worse struck by crisis politics, and the eclipse of transnational solidarity and identification to the common issues that European people in particular are facing.

A new method for analyzing fluid-structure interaction using MSC/NASTRAN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MacNeal, R.H.; Citerley, R.; Chargin, M.

1979-01-01

A popular method for analyzing compressible fluids in flexible containers is to represent the fluid by a three-dimensional finite element model in which the pressure is the unknown nodal point variable, and to represent the structure by another finite element model in which displacement components are the unknown nodal point variables. This method has the computational drawback that the matrix terms coupling the fluid to the structure are unsymmetric. This paper shows that symmetric fluid-structure coupling can be achieved if either the fluid or the structure is represented by its uncoupled vibrational modes, and if additional auxiliary variables are defined. The resulting system equations can be solved efficiently for the coupled vibration modes and for the coupled dynamic response by a general purpose finite element program, such as MSC/NASTRAN. (orig.)

Communicating through Crisis: A Strategy for Organizational Survival.

Science.gov (United States)

Sturges, David L.

1994-01-01

Suggests that crisis communication should be a part of the larger issues of communication policy and strategy. Builds a case for the need to consider crisis communication in a larger context. Proposes a model of crisis communication content that may serve as a framework for research into the efficacy of communication during crisis episodes. (RS)

Agrofuels, Food Sovereignty, and the Contemporary Food Crisis

Science.gov (United States)

Rosset, Peter

2009-01-01

In this article, agrofuels are examined in the context of the world food price crisis and the "food sovereignty" proposal for addressing the crisis. Both short- and long-term causes of the crisis are examined, and while agrofuels are presently not a prime causal factor they are clearly contraindicated by the crisis. Food sovereignty,…

Glomerular function in sickle cell disease patients during crisis.

Science.gov (United States)

Aderibigbe, A; Arije, A; Akinkugbe, O O

1994-06-01

An 8 month prospective study was carried out in 20 adult sickle cell disease (SCD) patients 16 sickle cell anaemia (Hbss) and 4 sickle cell Hbc disease (Hbsc); who had vaso-occlusive crises within the study period to determine the extent of the effect of sickle cell crisis on glomerular function in SCD patients during crisis. The male: female ratio was 1:57 and their mean age was 21.1 +/- 7.9 years. Creatinine clearance (CCr), as an index of glomerular function, was determined at the pre-crisis, crisis, 2 and 4 weeks post-crisis and at the end of the study period. The mean values of their CCr dropped from 113.37 +/- 33.80mls/min at pre-crisis stage to 96.39 +/- 30.13mls/min during crisis (p pre-crisis stage (p > 0.05). It is concluded that glomerular dysfunction in SCD patients during crisis is potentially reversible.

School Crisis Management Manual: Guidelines for Administrators. Second Edition.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Judie

This three-part manual is intended for principals and other administrators responsible for developing and managing school crisis plans. Part 1, preparation for a school crisis, includes sections on the selection and training of members of the school crisis team, steps in developing a school crisis plan, and four crisis scenarios to train team…

A CLEAR Plan for School Crisis Management.

Science.gov (United States)

Moriarty, Anthony; And Others

1993-01-01

Although many school formulas for crisis management are well coordinated internally, many are also shortsighted in recognizing when a school crisis falls simultaneously into law enforcement's domain. An Illinois high school has devised CLEAR, a crisis management plan delineating cognizance of personnel, the linkages they establish, accountability…

Digging deeper: crisis management in the coal industry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miller, B.M.; Horsley, J.S. [Elon University, Elon, NC (United States)

2009-07-01

This study explores crisis management/communication practices within the coal industry through the lens of high reliability organization (HRO) concepts and sensemaking theory. In-depth interviews with industry executives and an analysis of an emergency procedures manual were used to provide an exploratory examination of the status of crisis management within this industry, a context in which crisis management/communication may be viewed as an opportunity to improve existing negative perceptions or generate more favorable attitudes among stakeholders. Findings suggest that although companies place great emphasis on the technical response to a crisis, the lack of crisis communication components in overall planning strategies prevents some companies from being able to adequately respond to a crisis situation.

Research on crisis communication of nuclear and radiation safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cao Yali; Zhang Ying

2013-01-01

Insufficient public cognition of nuclear and radiation safety and absence of effective method to handle crisis lead to common crisis events of nuclear and radiation safety, which brings about unfavorable impact on the sound development of nuclear energy exploring and application of nuclear technology. This paper, based on crisis communication theory, analyzed the effect of current situation on nuclear and radiation safety crisis, discussed how to handle crisis, and tried to explore the effective strategies for nuclear and radiation safety crisis handling. (authors)

Millennial changes of the Baltic Sea salinity. Studies of the sensitivity of the salinity to climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gustafsson, Bo G.

2004-05-01

An important question for safety assessments of nuclear waste repositories is the salinity of the Baltic Sea under different conditions. The salinity affects the potential recipient ecosystems, the water turnover along the coast and the hydrology as well as the groundwater chemistry. In this report a model that enables computation of the Baltic Sea salinity for different sea level positions and freshwater supplies is presented. The model is used to compute the salinities in Baltic proper, Bothnian Sea and Bothnian Bay for all combinations of global sea level changes from -10 m to 10 m and freshwater supplies from 0 to 60,000 m 3 /s. The results are presented in a series of graphs that enables the reader to make an assessment of the impact of a given climatic change. The model is also used to compute the decrease of the salinity in Bothnian Sea and Bothnian Bay during the next few millennia due to the postglacial uplift. The results show that modest changes in global sea level, say ±1 m, give a salinity change of the order of 1 psu in southern Baltic proper. Changing the freshwater supply with about 2,000 m 3 /s (approximately 10%) gives a similar salinity change. Further, a sea level drop of about 5 m or an increase of the freshwater supply by a factor of 3 is needed to reduce the salinity in southern Baltic proper below 1 psu. In this limit large parts of the Baltic would be limnic. A 50% decrease of the freshwater supply increase the salinity in the southern Baltic proper by a factor of 2 to some 15 psu, but the effect is even more drastic in Bothnian Sea and Bothnian Bay where the salinity increase to 13 and 10 psu, respectively. A less windy climate might have a significant effect in lowering the Baltic salinity due to a combined effect of lowered mixing in Kattegat and lowered exchange between Kattegat and the Baltic. A windier climate will not have such strong effect since increased mixing does not affect the Baltic as much. Most probably the shoreline

Millennial changes of the Baltic Sea salinity. Studies of the sensitivity of the salinity to climate change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gustafsson, Bo G. [Oceanus Havsundersoekningar, Goeteborg (Sweden)

2004-05-01

An important question for safety assessments of nuclear waste repositories is the salinity of the Baltic Sea under different conditions. The salinity affects the potential recipient ecosystems, the water turnover along the coast and the hydrology as well as the groundwater chemistry. In this report a model that enables computation of the Baltic Sea salinity for different sea level positions and freshwater supplies is presented. The model is used to compute the salinities in Baltic proper, Bothnian Sea and Bothnian Bay for all combinations of global sea level changes from -10 m to 10 m and freshwater supplies from 0 to 60,000 m{sup 3}/s. The results are presented in a series of graphs that enables the reader to make an assessment of the impact of a given climatic change. The model is also used to compute the decrease of the salinity in Bothnian Sea and Bothnian Bay during the next few millennia due to the postglacial uplift. The results show that modest changes in global sea level, say {+-}1 m, give a salinity change of the order of 1 psu in southern Baltic proper. Changing the freshwater supply with about 2,000 m{sup 3}/s (approximately 10%) gives a similar salinity change. Further, a sea level drop of about 5 m or an increase of the freshwater supply by a factor of 3 is needed to reduce the salinity in southern Baltic proper below 1 psu. In this limit large parts of the Baltic would be limnic. A 50% decrease of the freshwater supply increase the salinity in the southern Baltic proper by a factor of 2 to some 15 psu, but the effect is even more drastic in Bothnian Sea and Bothnian Bay where the salinity increase to 13 and 10 psu, respectively. A less windy climate might have a significant effect in lowering the Baltic salinity due to a combined effect of lowered mixing in Kattegat and lowered exchange between Kattegat and the Baltic. A windier climate will not have such strong effect since increased mixing does not affect the Baltic as much. Most probably the

Exploratory study of a crisis commander’s perspectives on the role and value of public relations in crisis management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mat Tazin Saidathul Nizah

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This is an exploratory study into understanding the dominant coalition perspectives on role and values of public relations in crisis management in an energy company in Malaysia. In this study, the senior public relations of the energy company reports directly to the crisis commander (CC in times of crisis thus, the CC was chosen as a sample where an in-depth interview was conducted. Notably, the CC perceptions represents the dominant coalition with the power to shape organisation policies and provide directions to public relations practice in managing media and communication in crisis management. Theory of excellence within the outlook of public relations empowerment was examined. The findings of this study have significantly confirmed that the patterns of the CC perceptions on role and values of public relations in crisis management are similar to other dominant coalition literature across the globe. This phenomenon needs changes to drive public relations to strive harder to be a problem solver and a strategic thinker in crisis management. This study is a significant attempt to understand the perception of the dominant coalition on public relations in crisis management and can be replicated in other sectors in Malaysia.

Crisis interventions in online psychological counseling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juliana Amaral Medeiros da Silva

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The world's population is often assailed by crises of various orders. Disasters caused by nature and by humans themselves also impact on people's mental health. Psychological crises, such as suicide attempts, represent a growing problem in mental health. When faced with such scenarios, specific strategies of crisis intervention are both appropriate and necessary. Objective: To conduct a systematic review of the literature dealing with online psychological crisis intervention, describing and discussing their operational design, specific characteristics and applications. Method: A systematic review of literature indexed on the PubMed, PsycINFO, and SciELO databases identified by searches conducted from January to June of 2014. Results: The searches identified 17 empirical studies about online crisis interventions which were reviewed. Three crisis contexts emerged: 1 disasters, 2 risk/prevention of suicide, and 3 trauma. Eleven different intervention programs were described and the predominant treatment approach was cognitive behavioral therapy. The results showed that research into online psychological crisis intervention has been conducted in several different countries, especially the Netherlands and Australia, and that the users of these tools benefit from them. Conclusion: Online crisis interventions have been developed and researched in many countries around the world. In Brazil, there is still a lack of investment and research in this area.

Older Adults and Mental Health

Science.gov (United States)

... counselor at a crisis center in your area 24/7. Disaster Distress Helpline : People affected by natural or ... MSC 9663 Bethesda, MD 20892-9663 Follow Us Facebook Twitter YouTube Google Plus NIMH Newsletter NIMH RSS ...

La crisis económica en España : la crisis del sistema bancario

OpenAIRE

Pachón Gallegos, Ana Luna

2014-01-01

El trabajo profundiza en los factores determinantes que favorecieron la aparición de la crisis economica en España, haciendo una especial mención al desarrollo de dicha crisis en el sistema bancario nacional. Departamento de Economía Aplicada Grado en Marketing e Investigación de Mercados

Saline water irrigation for crop production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khan, A R [Directorate of Water Management Research, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Walmi Complex, P.O. - Phulwari Sharif, Patna (India); [Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste (Italy); Singh, S S; Singh, S R [Directorate of Water Management Research, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Walmi Complex, P.O. - Phulwari Sharif, Patna (India)

2001-05-01

Salinity is one of agriculture's most complex production problems. Excessive salts from irrigation water or high water tables can severely limit crop production. Years of saline water irrigation on poorly drained soils can eventually make economic crop production impossible. About 10% of all land are affected by salinity problems. They occur in every continent in different proportions, more frequently in arid and semi-arid areas. This paper discusses a range of problems related to use of saline water for crop irrigation.

Saline water irrigation for crop production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

2001-05-01

Salinity is one of agriculture's most complex production problems. Excessive salts from irrigation water or high water tables can severely limit crop production. Years of saline water irrigation on poorly drained soils can eventually make economic crop production impossible. About 10% of all land are affected by salinity problems. They occur in every continent in different proportions, more frequently in arid and semi-arid areas. This paper discusses a range of problems related to use of saline water for crop irrigation

40 CFR 230.25 - Salinity gradients.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 24 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Salinity gradients. 230.25 Section 230.25 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) OCEAN DUMPING SECTION 404(b... Physical and Chemical Characteristics of the Aquatic Ecosystem § 230.25 Salinity gradients. (a) Salinity...

International Cooperation and Energy/Environment crisis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clo, A.

2009-01-01

A combination of old and new tensions led to a new energy crisis. This crisis is very difficult to solve due to the multiple interests and the global and sovranational nature of its interdependent dimensions (economic, political and environmental). In a deep global economic crisis context, the challenges posed to the modern world by energy and the environment have to be faced with the international cooperation and dialogue, as it was in the past. [it

Strategic Management in Times of Crisis

OpenAIRE

Groh, Maximilian

2014-01-01

This aim of this article is to identify unusual strategic-management matters in times of crisis. The research scope is strategic management processes, the characteristics of the processes and methods of strategic crisis management. The study reports research on the contemporary state of strategic crisis-management problems and provides an analysis of some theoretical and methodological principles. The analysis includes a classification of the main problems which must be solved for efficient, ...

Organizational Learning and Crisis Management

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jia

2007-01-01

The impact of crises on organizations has been stronger than ever. This article explores the role of organizational learning in crisis management, an area that has received little attention from HRD community. Recognizing the dynamics and interconnectedness of crisis management, organizational learning, and organizational change, the article…

Varieties of capitalism in crisis?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bruff, Ian; Horn, Laura

2012-01-01

In this introduction to the special issue, we provide a brief overview of the two distinct but connected meanings of the phrase ‘varieties of capitalism in crisis’: (1) the crisis of empirical political economies under conditions of capitalist diversity; and (2) the crisis of the institutionalist...

Regulating Finance After the Crisis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Moschella, Manuela; Tsingou, Eleni

2013-01-01

It is now widely recognized that regulatory failures contributed to the onset of the global financial crisis. Redressing such failures has, thus, been a key policy priority in the post-crisis reform agenda at both the domestic and international levels. This special issue investigates the process ...

Religious existentialists about the phenomenon of the crisis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. H. Karpova

2014-04-01

M. Buber distinguishes sociological nature of the crisis and the crisis of the spirit. It focuses attention on the relationship «loneliness – a crisis». Analyzing contemporary anthropological crisis, he associates it with the theme of technological progress and decline of spirituality. So the philosopher comes to clarify three areas of human life, which manifests itself through the crisis of the human soul. There is such area of life: technology, economy and political practice. They, said M. Buber, formed in the human soul loneliness and emptiness. Marcel and Jaspers also drew attention to the problem of the relationship of «man – machinery». They noted the influence of the existence of such a relationship crisis and decline in spirituality.

A pre-crisis vs. crisis analysis of peripheral EU stock markets by means of wavelet transform and a nonlinear causality test

Science.gov (United States)

Polanco-Martínez, J. M.; Fernández-Macho, J.; Neumann, M. B.; Faria, S. H.

2018-01-01

This paper presents an analysis of EU peripheral (so-called PIIGS) stock market indices and the S&P Europe 350 index (SPEURO), as a European benchmark market, over the pre-crisis (2004-2007) and crisis (2008-2011) periods. We computed a rolling-window wavelet correlation for the market returns and applied a non-linear Granger causality test to the wavelet decomposition coefficients of these stock market returns. Our results show that the correlation is stronger for the crisis than for the pre-crisis period. The stock market indices from Portugal, Italy and Spain were more interconnected among themselves during the crisis than with the SPEURO. The stock market from Portugal is the most sensitive and vulnerable PIIGS member, whereas the stock market from Greece tends to move away from the European benchmark market since the 2008 financial crisis till 2011. The non-linear causality test indicates that in the first three wavelet scales (intraweek, weekly and fortnightly) the number of uni-directional and bi-directional causalities is greater during the crisis than in the pre-crisis period, because of financial contagion. Furthermore, the causality analysis shows that the direction of the Granger cause-effect for the pre-crisis and crisis periods is not invariant in the considered time-scales, and that the causality directions among the studied stock markets do not seem to have a preferential direction. These results are relevant to better understand the behaviour of vulnerable stock markets, especially for investors and policymakers.

Impact of Global Financial Crisis on Nigerian Stock Market | Onuoha ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Impact of Global Financial Crisis on Nigerian Stock Market. ... that the global financial crisis measured by currency crisis, credit crisis, liquidity crisis, ... relevant regulatory authorities should use the financial stress index (FSI) as proposed by ...

Lunar phases and crisis center telephone calls.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, J E; Tobacyk, J J

1990-02-01

The lunar hypothesis, that is, the notion that lunar phases can directly affect human behavior, was tested by time-series analysis of 4,575 crisis center telephone calls (all calls recorded for a 6-month interval). As expected, the lunar hypothesis was not supported. The 28-day lunar cycle accounted for less than 1% of the variance of the frequency of crisis center calls. Also, as hypothesized from an attribution theory framework, crisis center workers reported significantly greater belief in lunar effects than a non-crisis-center-worker comparison group.

Communication crisis and its solution through crises management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicoleta DĂNESCU

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Crises are never convenient as they are destructive. Any institution or organization may face a crisis situation, able to endanger its normal activity and reputation. Some crises are predictable and can be prevented, others cannot be grasped and thus prevented. Experience proved that, despite all technical, economical, financial or educational cautions taken to stop or control a crisis, it can get out of control and develop. In these circumstances, the crisis can bring serious prejudices to the organization if not properly managed from all points of view. Communication during crisis is extremely important, aiming at generating changes and taking action against the crisis. Above all, crises management consists in interpersonal relations. Management activity in crises situations develops a constant and complex communication process with the aid of which, the manager, the crisis cell, the entire staff interact in order to find the optimal strategies to survive the crisis situation.

DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF A CRIMPING DEVICE WITH MULTIPLE CAMS USING MSC ADAMS II

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gheorghe Popescu

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Through the present paper, the author presents the results of the dynamic analysis with MSC ADAMS of the mechanism with a crimping device with 12 tightening cams, designed and used in the technological process of assembly of the indigenous electrical detonators. In this sense, the mechanism with multiple cams is considered a mechanical system and is treated as an assembly of rigid bodies connected by mechanical connections and elastic elements. For shaping and simulation of the mechanism with multiple cams using ADAMS program, the author got through the following stages: construction of the pattern, its testing and simulation, validation, finishing, parametrization, optimization of the pattern.

2030 the ecological crisis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferone, G.

2008-01-01

The ecological crisis will happen on 2030. A combination of climatic change, energy problems, increase in population, will mix up. The author debates about true questions on the economy: how to get quickly towards renewable energies use, how much will it cost, must we generalize the carbon tax, what about economic giant as India and China, what about the technology development to solve the crisis? (A.L.B.)

Crisis and Employment: The Case of Korea

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Dongchul; Shin, Sukha

2012-01-01

This paper examines Korea's employment dynamics and analyzes how adverse impacts could be mitigated during the recent economic crisis in comparison with the 1997 to 1998 Asian crisis. A clear lesson is that policies to mitigate adverse impacts of financial crisis on the macroeconomic level should be given priority for preserving employment. In…

Nuclear crisis management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamburg, D.A.; George, A.L.

1984-01-01

Renewed interest in crisis management is caused by a growing recognition that a failure of communication between the superpowers in the face of a crisis provoked by some third party could issue in a nuclear war, other causes of this renewed interest are the fear of miscalculation and runaway escalation if the US and Soviet Union are drawn into a regional war in which each had vital interests and a concern that a missile might be fired on either side by accident or without proper authorization despite precautions. The authors, stating that crisis prevention should be viewed as an objective, not as a strategy, support the establishment of a joint US-Soviet nuclear risk control center designed to carry out four functions: (1) to facilitate communications between the two countries, (2) to avert nuclear confrontations during periods of accelerating tension, (3) to serve as an exchange of confidence building information during normal periods, and (4) to serve as a joint management center to plan for responses to terrorist or other third party group

Crisis of Youth or Youth in Crisis? Education, Employment and Legitimation Crisis

Science.gov (United States)

Simmons, Robin; Smyth, John

2016-01-01

This paper uses the Habermasian concept of legitimation crisis to critique the relationship between post-compulsory education and training and the chronic levels of youth unemployment and under-employment which now characterise post-industrial Western economies, such as the UK. It draws on data from an ethnographic study of the lives of young…

Substantiation of Strategic Problem Concept in Anti-Crisis Management

OpenAIRE

Inna Irtyshcheva; Svitlana Minakova

2014-01-01

The article is devoted to the definition of the essence, objectives and characteristics of strategic crisis management. The interrelation of rank anti-crisis strategy in the hierarchy of the company strategies, depending on the identity of the company local, systemic or strategic crisis is analysed. The anti-crisis strategies are defined on the grounds of common characteristics. The types of tactics in crisis management are defined.

The debt crisis: a re-appraisal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Alberto Cinquetti

2005-09-01

Full Text Available The 1980s' debt crisis is a landmark in developing economies' growth and stabilization. According to the most quoted empirical articles, external shocks and vicissitudes gave rise to crisis just because of delays in stabilization policies, engendered by internal conflicts and institutional immaturity. I review some of these papers, and find out some problems - in the measurement of shocks and foreign indebtedness, namely - whose corrections lead to opposite results: external shocks and foreign indebtedness explain that crisis regardless of domestic policies. At the same time, the strong correlation of income distribution to terms of trade changes and foreign indebtedness suggest that inequality may have contributed differently to that crisis: either through an economic channel, or through a political channel based on delays in reforms.

Functioning of the IPSN Crisis Technical Center (CTC) inside the Crisis National Organisation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cernes, A.

1995-01-01

A forethought about the organization and counter-actions to follow in case of reactor accident crisis has been carried out by the French nuclear partners (operators and public authorities). This forethought has led to the creation of a Crisis National Organization which determines the responsibilities and missions of each partner. Inside this organization, the IPSN (Institute for Nuclear Protection and Safety) plays the role of technical support and expert for the Safety Authority. To carry out these missions, a Crisis Technical Center has been installed for ten years in Fontenay-aux-Roses CEA center. This document is a presentation of the CTC activities and evolutions in the framework of the existing National Organization. The main axes along which this activity will evolve in the future are summarized. (J.S.). 3 figs

Values of financial services professionals and the global financial crisis as a crisis of ethics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoorn, André van

2013-01-01

Many attribute the global financial crisis (GFC) to the ethical values of the people involved, financial services professionals (FSPs) such as stockbrokers or fund managers. The crisis-of-ethics debate is important, concerning one of the main policy challenges of our times, but is based on popular

Resolving the International Monetary Fund's Legitimacy Crisis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Seabrooke, Leonard

2006-01-01

Since the Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998 the International Monetary Fund (the Fund) has been embroiled in an international crisis of legitimacy. Assertions of a crisis are premised on the notions that the Fund's voting system is unfair, and that the Fund enforces homogenous policies onto...... borrowing member states and that loan programs tend to fail. Seen this way, poor institutional and policy design has led to a loss of legitimacy. But institutionalised inequalities or policy failure is not in itself sufficient to constitute an international crisis of legitimacy. This article provides...... a conceptually-driven discussion of the sources of the Fund's international crisis of legitimacy by investigating how its formal "foreground" institutional relations with its member states have become strained, and how informal "background" political and economic relationships are expanding in a way...

Leadership during Crisis: Threat Identifcation and Solution Proposal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lukáš Mazánek

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose of the article: In the current dynamic market environment, companies are vulnerable to many problems of different character, which could result into a real business crisis. The submitted study summarizes possible approaches to leading through crisis situation. Therefore proposal of solutions which tools leader could use during crisis was made. Purpose of this study is to create theoretical background for the future research, in the field of application right leadership concept during crisis. Methodology/methods: For the purpose of the illustration possible threats which can lead to a business crisis was chosen the Ishikawa diagram. Next up review of scientific publication focused on leadership during crisis was made. With emphasis especially on research studies published in last 10 years in the Leadership Quarterly Journal. These results was precisely analyzed and then the most useful informations synthesized into proposed solutions. Scientific aim: The aim of this study, is to identify possible threats which could be a source of corporate crises. Subsequently propose solutions within the competence of corporate leader, how to prevent those threats or lower the intensity of crisis which already occur Findings: Proposed solutions was found in the field of HR leadership, crisis communication, leader´s behavior connected with leadership style used during crisis and increasing effectivity of leading crisis team. The application of mentioned approaches, contribute to preparedness on the possible negative future development and reduce the intensity of crisis, which has already af-fected the corporation. Conclusions: The contribution of this study is creation of synoptic overview of corporate threats and proposal of corresponding solutions of those. The implication is to summarize results from previous empirical studies to create enough theoretic foundation for the future research.

Electrocapillary Phenomena at Edible Oil/Saline Interfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Nishimura, Satoshi; Ohzono, Takuya; Shoji, Kohei; Yagihara, Shin; Hayashi, Masafumi; Tanaka, Hisao

2017-03-01

Interfacial tension between edible oil and saline was measured under applied electric fields to understand the electrocapillary phenomena at the edible oil/saline interfaces. The electric responses of saline droplets in edible oil were also observed microscopically to examine the relationship between the electrocapillary phenomena and interfacial polarization. When sodium oleate (SO) was added to edible oil (SO-oil), the interfacial tension between SO-oil and saline decreased. However, no decrease was observed for additive-free oil or oleic acid (OA)-added oil (OA-oil). Microscopic observations suggested that the magnitude of interfacial polarization increased in the order of additive-free oil oil oil. The difference in electrocapillary phenomena between OA- and SO-oils was closely related to the polarization magnitude. In the case of SO-oil, the decrease in interfacial tension was remarkably larger for saline (pH 5.4~5.6) than that for phosphate-buffered saline (PBS, pH 7.2~7.4). However, no difference was observed between the electric responses of PBS and saline droplets in SO-oil. The difference in electrocapillary phenomena for PBS and saline could not be simply explained in terms of polarization magnitude. The ratio of ionized and non-ionized OA at the interfaces changed with the saline pH, possibly leading to the above difference.

Quando gli investimenti rappresentano un vincolo. Contributo alla discussione sulla crisi italiana nella crisi internazionale.(When investments represent a constraint. A note on the discussion on Italy’s crisis within the international crisis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefano Lucarelli

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The article continues the debate on the "crisis within the crisis" that characterises Italy's economy. The authors argue that while the international and specifically the European crisis greatly contributed to the deterioration of Italy's economic prospects, the country is affected by longer term issues of its own. To analyse such problems, the article focuses on the growing inability of the Italian private sector to innovate. It does so by analysing in a comparative perspective private sector expenditure for fixed investments and for research and development. The policy conclusions are surprising in so far as a surge of investments would seriously risk to negatively contribute to Italy's current account, thus further aggravating.    

Crisis in Context Theory: An Ecological Model

Science.gov (United States)

Myer, Rick A.; Moore, Holly B.

2006-01-01

This article outlines a theory for understanding the impact of a crisis on individuals and organizations. Crisis in context theory (CCT) is grounded in an ecological model and based on literature in the field of crisis intervention and on personal experiences of the authors. A graphic representation denotes key components and premises of CCT,…

Crisis management teams in health organisations.

Science.gov (United States)

Canyon, Deon V

2012-01-01

Crisis management teams (CMT) are necessary to ensure adequate and appropriate crisis management planning and response to unforeseen, adverse events. This study investigated the existence of CMTs, the membership of CMTs, and the degree of training received by CMTs in Australian health and allied health organisations. This cross-sectional study draws on data provided by executive decision makers in a broad selection of health and allied health organisations. Crisis management teams were found in 44.2 per cent of the health-related organisations surveyed, which is ten per cent lower than the figure for business organisations. Membership of these CMTs was not ideal and did not conform to standard CMT membership profiles. Similarly, the extent of crisis management training in health-related organisations is 20 per cent lower than the figure for business organisations. If organisations do not become pro-active in their crisis management practices, the onus is on government to improve the situation through regulation and the provision of more physical, monetary and skill resources to ensure that the health services of Australia are sufficiently prepared to respond to adverse events.

FEATURES OF CRISIS MANAGEMENT IN ENTERPRISES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. D. Busygin

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The article considers the value of preventive management in modern conditions. The global fi nancial and economic crisis of 2008-2010. sharpened interest in the problems of crisis management. This interest is manifested at the level of individual businesses, and at the level of the economy as a whole. At the same time revealed a signifi cant drawback: the development of crisis management theory lags behind practice. Non-compliance of the existing theory to modern requirements leads to the fact that the known approaches are not based on theoretical positions and empirical evidence and best practices, and, consequently, do not diff er systematically, because of this requires further research in this direction. The analysis shows that crisis management is a complex control system, which has its own specifi c features. Feature development solutions in crisis situations caused by the fact that they can only wear improving change with the obligatory account the limiting parameters of sustainable livelihoods enterprise (structure funds, personnel, activity profi le, the main products, and others.

The Economic Crisis and Several Effects on Global Economy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Florina BRAN

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The main mechanism of profit making is not production according to the outcomes of several analyses of the current economic crisis. This mechanism is circulation and exchange. Starting with this observation the paper goes through a number of aspects regarding the relation between crisis and economy at global level. These aspects consist in the recent financial turmoil; who pays for the crisis; stabilizing the financial sector; recession and the financial crisis; the internationalization of the crisis; commodities and the ecological crisis; an end to neo-liberalism; what should socialists demand. We notice and comment on how important current development in the wake of the banking crisis is for the transmission of that crisis to the rest of the economy and its interaction with the more general economic crisis now emerging. It was concluded that there are good chances that the current economic order to be broken. The future shape of the order will depend more on vision of managers than on the influence of the so called objective factors.

Crisis Management in the Health Sector: Qualities and characteristics of health crisis managers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manwlidou Zacharoula

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The rapidly evolving nature of today’s health systems and the need to adapt to modern demands,require that these systems are staffed with skilled health crisis managers. Based on that scenario, crisis managerswith good knowledge and training, adequate experience, as well as virtues of excellent organizational skills,operational planning, mental power and social sensitivity, can play a key role in dealing successfully with crisesin the health sector.

COMPARATIVE EFFICACY OF HYPERTONIC SALINE AND NORMAL SALINE SOLUTIONS IN EXPERIMENTALLY INDUCED ENDOTOXIC SHOCK IN DOGS

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M. A. ZAFAR, G. MUHAMMAD, M. H. HUSSAIN, T. AHMAD, A. YOUSAF AND I. SARFARAZ

2009-07-01

Full Text Available This study was contemplated to determine the comparative beneficial effects of hypertonic saline solution and sterile saline solution in induced endotoxic shock in dogs. For this purpose, 12 healthy Mongrel dogs were randomly divided into two equal groups (A and B. All the animals were induced endotoxaemia by slow intravenous administration of Escherichia coli endotoxins 0111:B4. Group A was treated with normal saline solution @ 90 ml/kg BW, while group B was given hypertonic saline solution @ 4 ml/kg BW, followed by normal saline solution @ 10 ml/kg BW. Different parameters were observed for evaluation of these fluids including clinical and haematological parameters, serum electrolytes, mean arterial pressure, and blood gases at different time intervals up to 24 hours post treatments. After infusion of respective fluids, all parameters returned to baseline values in both the groups but group B showed better results than group A except bicarbonates, which better recovered in group A. Thus, it was concluded that a small-volume of hypertonic saline solution could be effectively used in reversing the endotoxaemia. Moreover, it provides a rapid and inexpensive resuscitation from endotoxic shock.

Conceptual framework for proactive crisis enterprise management

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G. S. Merzlikina

2017-01-01

Full Text Available There has been a significant increase in requests for recognition of the debtor insolvent, this situation actualize proactive crisis management in combination with low rehabilitation potential of the institution of bankruptcy since 2014. The crisеs in the development of enterprises are inevitable, moreover it can have positive aspects, for example, increase the company's susceptibility to progress and prevention of more serious crises, so the main objective of proactive crisis management isn`t the avoidance of crisis but optimization of the crisis process. Optimization of process involves the correlation of the costs of implementation of preventive measures and available resources to allocated resources are sufficient for implementation of all phases of proactive crisis solutions, but at the same time, the company has not incurred unreasonably high costs. The authors conducted a comparative analysis of definitions of “proactivecrisis management” and specified the content of this concept. The adoptionprocess of proactive crisis solutions should be clearly structured, so the authors highlighted and discussed in detail the process of adoption of proactivecrisis solutions, which includes 4 stages: obtaining information about the internal and external enterprise environment, the stage of processing the gathered information and taking necessary proactive crisis decisions, the implementation of the adopted decisions and control their implementation.Modern tools of proactivecrisis management are varied and take into account the specifics of modern Russian system of market relations, because they include analysis of internal and external enterprise environment, quantitative and qualitative indicators. The authors suggest to consider innovation as one of the possible instruments of preventive crisis management.

FINANCIAL CRISIS FROM THE MACROECONOMIC LEVEL TO THE MICROECONOMIC LEVEL

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SANDA GHEORGHE GABRIEL

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The current economic and financial crisis, beyond the problems it generates both at micro and macro level, should determine an adaptation of the mechanisms, institutions and monetary / financial policies to the real economy we are facing. The issue of financial crises is extremely complex, including a series of quantitative and qualitative factors, financial, economic, social, ethical, technological and human, which can intervene and influence the financial operations in a country or several countries simultaneously. We believe that it is difficult to appreciate that a traditional model might explain a financial crisis, given that every context of occurrence, conditions of development and crisis settlement programs are unique and unrepeatable. Every crisis has in its structure certain issues that may be capitalized and can lead to success. Perhaps more obvious are the ways that can lead to total failure of the organization. Finding and capitalizing the potential success is the essence of the crisis management. The essence of the mismanagement of the crisis is to worse situation. The successful management of a crisis involves admitting that you are facing a crisis, taking reasonable measures to remedy the situation, to be seen taking them and heard saying the right words. The issue at this stage of crisis management is that perception becomes true reality. Crisis management is a set of factors designed to combat the crisis and reduce the damage caused by the crisis. In other words, crisis management attempts to prevent or reduce the negative effects of the crisis and protect the organization, the public involved and the specific field by the possible damages. The effective management of the crisis includes crisis communication. This is an essential component through which the organization faced with the difficult situation can rehabilitate it’s publicly image or even to improve it. The crisis communication occurs between the organization and

The World Financial Crisis

OpenAIRE

F. Gerard Adams

2009-01-01

The world financial crisis of 2008 is a consequence of new financial technologies, new accounting methods and new international linkages. These developments have come at a time when governments have returned to an old-fashioned freemarket philosophy. This paper links the systemic financial/economic crisis of 2008 to the new economy developments, globalisation and policy philosophy perspectives of recent decades. It raises the question of how to re-establish confidence once traditional thinkin...

Korea's Post-Crisis Monetary Policy Reforms

OpenAIRE

Donghyun Park; Junggun Oh

2005-01-01

Korea's financial crisis of 1997–1998 was brought about by the unsustainable combination of large capital inflows and an inefficient financial system. The Bank of Korea contributed to the crisis primarily through its failures as the regulator of the financial system rather than as the conductor of monetary policy. Our paper explores the role of the two major monetary policy reforms Korea has implemented in response to the crisis — the establishment of a new financial regulator and the adoptio...

Crisis, Resilience and Communication in Organizations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Simonsen, Daniel Morten

2012-01-01

A significant part of modern crises management and crisis communication research is based on a normative research tradition aiming at anticipating future crises and developing crisis management plans that fit the scenarios (cf. Johansen & Frandsen, 2007; Coombs, 2007). In recognition...... of the limitations of this approach and the organizations' inability to foresee all potential crises in a world of constant change, the concept of resilience is starting to gain ground in crisis studies (cf. Weick & Sutcliff, 2007; Somers, 2009; Powley, 2009). This ncreased interest in resilience can be traced back...... to a discussion initiated by Wildavsky (1988), concerning whether organizational crises is best handled proactively by anticipating and planning in relation to potential crises, or whether to work with the organization reactive abilities when the crisis has manifested itself. This discussion has not diminished...

The Euro Crisis in Online Media

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Uldam, Julie; Kaun, Anne

2013-01-01

While Scandinavian countries may be coping with the Euro crisis relatively better than most other European countries, they are far from unaffected. Nonetheless, the mainstream media have represented Scandinavia and Sweden as prime examples of resilience at a governmental level (i.e. the ability...... of a national economy to withstand, adapt and overcome the financial crisis), disregarding the consequences of growing inequalities and the dismantling of welfare state. Consequently, reports on resilience at the civil society level (i.e. the ability of citizens and communities to withstand, adapt and overcome...... the financial crisis) remain largely absent from mainstream media reports. Instead, civil society initiatives that respond to the consequences of the crisis have to rely on self-representation and sharing of resources in online media. One example is the Swedish grassroots organisation, Megafonen....

THE INDONESIAN STOCK MARKET PERFORMANCE DURING ASIAN ECONOMIC CRISIS AND GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MARIA PRAPTININGSIH

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Volatility in the stock market had strongly affected by the movement of publicly or even inside information. The movements of this information will generate the perspectives and expectations of investors in decision-making. How strong is the level of market efficiency in determining the movement of stock market, especially to achieve stability in the stock market during the economic crisis? How effective are the policies of central banks in controlling the movement of the stock market? This study aims to measure the factors that influence changes in the movement of stock price in Indonesian stock market in terms of market efficiency hypothesis. This research also aims to investigate the effectiveness of central bank policy in controlling and stabilizing the movement of stocks in Indonesia. The research will focus on the economic crisis in 1997 and the global crisis in 2008 as case studies. Thepaperutilizesthe vector error-correction model, impulse responses and variance decomposition in measuring the contribution of the factors that affect the movement of stock and determine the effectiveness of central bank policy. The findings are beneficialto central banks, governments, companies and investors in strengthening the Indonesian Stock Market particularly in facing the threat of financial crisis.

Theoretical Grounds of Enterprise Anti-crisis Financial Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Berest Maryna M.

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The goal of the article lies in specification and deepening of the essence and theoretical grounds of the enterprise anti-crisis financial management (EAFM. The article analyses and generalises literature, devoted to anti-crisis management problems, marks out and characterises main structural elements of the enterprise anti-crisis financial management: goal, task, object and subject. It shows that tasks of the enterprise anti-crisis financial management should show its essence in the context of preventive, stabilising and anti-crisis components. The article groups and clarifies the concept of functions and principles of the enterprise anti-crisis financial management. It marks basic, specific and integration functions and provides their description. It also marks out and characterises individual principles, which identify the EAFM process, justify development and realisation of anti-crisis solutions and measures and also characterise EAFM organisation at an enterprise. Prospects of further developments in this direction are overview, analysis and improvement of methodical instruments of realisation of the specified EAFM tasks on the basis of the considered theoretical aspects.

CRISIS COMMUNICATION: A STUDY OF MALAYSIA AIRLINES' RESPONSE TO THE MH17 CRISIS

OpenAIRE

King, Laura Holdt; Kitchen, Nikolaj Howard; Misimovic, Elvin; Rasmussen, Anne H.W.; Andersen, Kamilla Haugaard

2015-01-01

This project investigates Malaysia Airlines communicative efforts in the MH17-crisis. The theoretical frame consists of W. Timothy Coombs’ Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) and Image Restoration Theory by William L. Benoit. The Coombs’ analysis entails looking at the contextual factors to develop relevant strategies. Benoit is used as a framework in the textual analysis to explore which strategies MAS employed - scrutinising press releases from the first 48 hours. We compare the ...

Measuring a leader's ability to identify and avert crisis

OpenAIRE

Jamie Brownlee-Turgeon

2017-01-01

Leaders often have influence over the impact of pending crises by either preventing or minimizing the crisis (Pearson and Mitroff, 1993; Bonvillian, 2013). With crisis looming just around the corner, a leader’s ability to identify, avert, and manage a crisis has become a fundamental element in organizational sustainability. Yet, most literature on crisis is focused in the field of communication or crisis management during the actual event. Wooten and James (2008) provide a conceptual model...

The current international financial crisis: how much is new?

OpenAIRE

Steven B. Kamin

1999-01-01

The paper surveys a broad array of data to compare the scope and impact of three emerging-market financial crises: the debt crisis of the 1980s, the Mexican financial crisis of 1994-95, and the current international financial crisis. While certain conventional views regarding the three episodes are supported by the data examined in this paper, we find that in several respects, the current crisis is more similar to prior emerging-market crisis episodes than is commonly believed.

Education and Our Ecological Crisis

Science.gov (United States)

Klimas, John

1970-01-01

Discusses causes of our ecological crisis and suggests that in order to overcome the crisis we have to sprinkle our teaching with a sense of wonder, impress upon the youth that there is nothing difficult or mysterious about the ecological viewpoint, give youth an awareness of the diversity of things in our environment, stress interrelationships…

Supervision Experiences of Professional Counselors Providing Crisis Counseling

Science.gov (United States)

Dupre, Madeleine; Echterling, Lennis G.; Meixner, Cara; Anderson, Robin; Kielty, Michele

2014-01-01

In this phenomenological study, the authors explored supervision experiences of 13 licensed professional counselors in situations requiring crisis counseling. Five themes concerning crisis and supervision were identified from individual interviews. Findings support intensive, immediate crisis supervision and postlicensure clinical supervision.

Last Glacial Maximum Salinity Reconstruction

Science.gov (United States)

Homola, K.; Spivack, A. J.

2016-12-01

It has been previously demonstrated that salinity can be reconstructed from sediment porewater. The goal of our study is to reconstruct high precision salinity during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Salinity is usually determined at high precision via conductivity, which requires a larger volume of water than can be extracted from a sediment core, or via chloride titration, which yields lower than ideal precision. It has been demonstrated for water column samples that high precision density measurements can be used to determine salinity at the precision of a conductivity measurement using the equation of state of seawater. However, water column seawater has a relatively constant composition, in contrast to porewater, where variations from standard seawater composition occur. These deviations, which affect the equation of state, must be corrected for through precise measurements of each ion's concentration and knowledge of apparent partial molar density in seawater. We have developed a density-based method for determining porewater salinity that requires only 5 mL of sample, achieving density precisions of 10-6 g/mL. We have applied this method to porewater samples extracted from long cores collected along a N-S transect across the western North Atlantic (R/V Knorr cruise KN223). Density was determined to a precision of 2.3x10-6 g/mL, which translates to salinity uncertainty of 0.002 gms/kg if the effect of differences in composition is well constrained. Concentrations of anions (Cl-, and SO4-2) and cations (Na+, Mg+, Ca+2, and K+) were measured. To correct salinities at the precision required to unravel LGM Meridional Overturning Circulation, our ion precisions must be better than 0.1% for SO4-/Cl- and Mg+/Na+, and 0.4% for Ca+/Na+, and K+/Na+. Alkalinity, pH and Dissolved Inorganic Carbon of the porewater were determined to precisions better than 4% when ratioed to Cl-, and used to calculate HCO3-, and CO3-2. Apparent partial molar densities in seawater were

Crisis Situations in Engineering Product Development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Muenzberg, Christopher; Hammer, Jens; Brem, Alexander

2016-01-01

approaches reduce the problem identification time and increase the efficiency of crisis management. The goal of this research is to identify methods which are able to support the crisis management process successfully. Therefore, a literature-based analysis of developing methods, especially TRIZ is conducted......Crisis situations are special situations during the development process. They are characterized by time and handling pressure. Therefore, it is necessary to identify and apply a methodical problem solving approach to overcome these situations. Due to their prescriptive character, problem solving...

Presentation of MSc in Higher Education Dissertation School Meeting : What are the key dimensions of the personal tutor role for nurse education today?,

OpenAIRE

Leddington, Susan

2012-01-01

Presentation of MSc in Higher Education Dissertation School Meeting : What are the key dimensions of the personal tutor role for nurse education today?, A literature review, Missenden Abbey, June 2009, presentation

Crisis and Regional Integration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dosenrode, Søren

, Tunisia, Egypt …. ), where the crisis referred to could be humanitarian, environmental, economic, political … Europe, too, has also according to mass media, been a victim of a crisis, the financial one. Could ‘crisis’ be a beginning of enhanced regional integration? This paper will try to look...... at the processes of regional integration in relation to ‘crisis’ in Africa and Europe. First, this paper will look at the concept of ‘crisis’, before it moves on to discuss ‘regional integration’ and the correlation between the two, emphasizing the approaches of neo-functionalism and federal theory....... This is the basis for two short case studies of African and European regional integration. The paper tentative answers to the question: will the crisis in Africa and Europe respectively further or block regional integration? With a ‘that depends’. But the use of Federalism theory and neo-functionalism is seen...

[The crisis of medicine or the antimedicine crisis].

Science.gov (United States)

Foucault, M

1976-01-01

In this lecture, Professor Michel Foucault makes an in-depth study of the problems currently afflicting medical institutions and the medical practice. He deals with the thesis set forth by Ivan Illich in his book Medical Nemesis--The expropriation of Health, as well as the 1942 Beveridge Plan, but goes even further back in history to discover the origin of the medical crisis common throughout the world--back to the XVIII century roots of the social practice of medicine. He also describes the phases through which medical activity has passed from then until now and deals with what he calls the political economy of medicine. Finally, he reaches the conclusion that what matters is not so much the present crisis of medicine, which he considers to be a false concept, but the discipline's historical model dating from the XVIII century and serving to determine to what extent it can be modified.

Neo-liberalism, Crisis and the Contradictions of Depoliticisation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Burnham

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This paper develops a political economy analysis of depoliticisation in the context of the crisis of neo-liberalism in Western Europe. Following a discussion of the theoretical foundations of the concept, it emphases that whilst depoliticisation strategies are often associated with neo-liberalism, such strategies have a longer trajectory existing even within Keynesian regimes. The paper then details the many forms taken by depoliticisation within neo-liberal governing regimes focusing on the reorganisation of civil society and the state from the late 1970s to the present primarily with examples from the UK. It suggests, contrary to much popular discussion, that there is a significant degree of continuity in the form of economic manage-ment followed before, during and after the recent financial crisis of 2008/09. Both in terms of ideology and practice, many governments have maintained and even deepened their commitment to depoliticised gov-erning principles. However it seems clear that attempts to depoliticise neo-liberal economic policy have not enabled state managers to avoid the emergence of crisis at the level of the state. Contrary to accounts which argue in simplistic fashion that `economic’ crisis produces `political’ crisis, this paper suggests that crisis is best understood as expressed simultaneously in both economic and political forms. Crisis at the level of the state precipitated in part by the entrenchment of depoliticised governing strategies is not simply the result of economic crisis but is an aspect of that crisis contributing to its depth and apparent insolubility. In this way the paper challenges some critiques of depoliticisation which have suggested (Hay 2014, 303 that the concept is in part both fatalistic and functionalist removing much of the political contingency of the moment of crisis itself.

Currency Crisis in Sudan in 2012: An Econometric Analysis

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Alamedin Bannaga, Dr.

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The Sudan currency crisis in 2012 occurred when the Sudanese pound lost 66 percent of its value against the US dollar. In this article we adopt statistical methods such as the signal approach and econometric methods such as the Probit Model for identifying and evaluating the currency crisis. We utilize some economic indicators that have the ability to predict the crisis. We examined the capability of these indicators in generating an early warning system for Sudan currency crisis. The study confirms that the incidence of currency crisis in Sudan increases by increase in inflation rate, increase in import percentage of GDP, rise in claims against the central government, reduction in external reserves and existence of political crisis. Moreover, the study finds that the most important predictor of currency crisis in Sudan is decline in external reserves.

The Greek crisis: Causes and implications

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Vlamis Prodromos

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents and critically discusses the origins and causes of the Greek fiscal crisis and its implications for the euro currency as well as the SEE economies. In the aftermath of the 2007-2009 financial crisis the enormous increase in sovereign debt has emerged as an important negative outcome, since public debt was dramatically increased in an effort by the US and the European governments to reduce the accumulated growth of private debt in the years preceding the recent financial turmoil. Although Greece is the country member of the eurozone that has been in the middle of this ongoing debt crisis, since November 2009 when it was made clear that its budget deficit and mainly its public debt were not sustainable, Greece’s fiscal crisis is not directly linked to the 2007 US subprime mortgage loan market crisis. As a result of this negative downturn the Greek government happily accepted a rescue plan of 110 billion euros designed and financed by the European Union and the IMF. A lengthy austerity programme and a fiscal consolidation plan have been put forward and are to be implemented in the next three years.

Evaluating physiological responses of plants to salinity stress

KAUST Repository

Negrão, Sónia

2016-10-06

Background Because soil salinity is a major abiotic constraint affecting crop yield, much research has been conducted to develop plants with improved salinity tolerance. Salinity stress impacts many aspects of a plant’s physiology, making it difficult to study in toto. Instead, it is more tractable to dissect the plant’s response into traits that are hypothesized to be involved in the overall tolerance of the plant to salinity. Scope and conclusions We discuss how to quantify the impact of salinity on different traits, such as relative growth rate, water relations, transpiration, transpiration use efficiency, ionic relations, photosynthesis, senescence, yield and yield components. We also suggest some guidelines to assist with the selection of appropriate experimental systems, imposition of salinity stress, and obtaining and analysing relevant physiological data using appropriate indices. We illustrate how these indices can be used to identify relationships amongst the proposed traits to identify which traits are the most important contributors to salinity tolerance. Salinity tolerance is complex and involves many genes, but progress has been made in studying the mechanisms underlying a plant’s response to salinity. Nevertheless, several previous studies on salinity tolerance could have benefited from improved experimental design. We hope that this paper will provide pertinent information to researchers on performing proficient assays and interpreting results from salinity tolerance experiments.

Solar architecture and energy policies in France: from the oil crisis to the solar crisis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chauvin-Michel, Marion

2013-01-01

In 1973, the oil crisis creates a focus on energy efficiency policy. Public institutions implement studies on solar architecture and launch experiments and training campaigns to promote the solar equipment. But the presidential election of 1981 leads to a change in energy policy, plunging the solar sector in crisis, causing the disappearance of solar architecture

CRISIS IMPACT UPON THE ROMANIAN COMPANIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marius GUST

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The paper aims at investigating the economic and financial crisis impact which has occurred in the Romanian economy, upon the Romanian companies since 2008. Specifically, its effects are taken into account regarding the number of economic players, the labor force, and the results of business performance: enterprise turnover or gross outcomes. Additionally, this research paper aims at assessing the crisis consequences on corporate behavior in the insecure environment of the crisis regarding the investment process and the value rendered by enterprises. The investigation is made exclusively on the secondary and tertiary sectors of the Romanian economy: industry, construction, trade and services, both from an overall and a sectoral perspective. The analysis also envisages the correlation of progress per the aforementioned economic segments with the overall development of the Romanian economy in terms of economic and financial crisis.

Crisis exercises with simulated media pressure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bouchot, E.; Robin, M.

2016-01-01

Communication in a nuclear crisis presents always a certain degree of psychic tension due to collective stress, a multiplicity of the actors, the complexity of the situation, and a lot of requests from media, NGO or local elected officials. A bad communication in a crisis situation can jeopardize the trust in the authorities and discourage population to follow sanitary recommendations and the efficiency of the protective measures can then be threatened. So training in crisis communication has become a necessity and is now fully integrated in crisis exercises. Simulated media pressure (SMP) is wielded by a specialized agency that will test the clarity, consistency and the relevancy of the pieces of information released by the communication cells through interviews, press statements, official releases or messages to social networks. A feedback analysis is always made to point out the weaknesses. (A.C.)

Use of MSC/NASTRAN for the thermal analysis of the Space Shuttle Orbiter braking system

Science.gov (United States)

Shu, James; Mccann, David

1987-01-01

A description is given of the thermal modeling and analysis effort being conducted to investigate the transient temperature and thermal stress characteristics of the Space Shuttle Orbiter brake components and subsystems. Models are constructed of the brake stator as well as of the entire brake assembly to analyze the temperature distribution and thermal stress during the landing and braking process. These investigations are carried out on a UNIVAC computer system with MSC/NASTRAN Version 63. Analytical results and solution methods are presented and comparisons are made with SINDA results.

FRAGMENTATION OF CRISIS MANAGEMENT IN AN ENTERPRISE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jarema Batorski

2011-11-01

Full Text Available The communiqué presents some methodological assumptions of research into organizational crisismanagement. The subject of research, both theoretical and empirical, is crisis management in anenterprise from the point of view of organizational learning. There are some paradoxes in crises andin using common practices during a crisis. These paradoxes constitute the research field forrecomposition of various models of crisis management in enterprises.

Microstrip Patch Sensor for Salinity Determination.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kibae; Hassan, Arshad; Lee, Chong Hyun; Bae, Jinho

2017-12-18

In this paper, a compact microstrip feed inset patch sensor is proposed for measuring the salinities in seawater. The working principle of the proposed sensor depends on the fact that different salinities in liquid have different relative permittivities and cause different resonance frequencies. The proposed sensor can obtain better sensitivity to salinity changes than common sensors using conductivity change, since the relative permittivity change to salinity is 2.5 times more sensitive than the conductivity change. The patch and ground plane of the proposed sensor are fabricated by conductive copper spray coating on the masks made by 3D printer. The fabricated patch and the ground plane are bonded to a commercial silicon substrate and then attached to 5 mm-high chamber made by 3D printer so that it contains only 1 mL seawater. For easy fabrication and testing, the maximum resonance frequency was selected under 3 GHz and to cover salinities in real seawater, it was assumed that the salinity changes from 20 to 35 ppt. The sensor was designed by the finite element method-based ANSYS high-frequency structure simulator (HFSS), and it can detect the salinity with 0.01 ppt resolution. The designed sensor has a resonance frequency separation of 37.9 kHz and reflection coefficients under -20 dB at the resonant frequencies. The fabricated sensor showed better performance with average frequency separation of 48 kHz and maximum reflection coefficient of -35 dB. By comparing with the existing sensors, the proposed compact and low-cost sensor showed a better detection capability. Therefore, the proposed patch sensor can be utilized in radio frequency (RF) tunable sensors for salinity determination.

Post-crisis financial intermediation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ilie MIHAI

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The recent financial crisis that begun in 2007 in the US, which then swept around the world, has left deep scars on the already wrinkled face of the global economy. Some national and regional economies, which had money for expensive makeup, or created money[1], managed to blur or hide the scars left by the crisis, others are still facing difficulties in overcoming the effects of this. The rapacity of banks, their greed and risk ignorance, were the origin of the outbreak of the last major economic and financial crisis but unfortunately those who were responsible or, rather, irresponsible, paid little or nothing at all for the burden of their bad loan portfolio. This cost has been supported by the population, either directly by paying high interest and fees [Mihai I., 2007], or indirectly, through the use of public budgets to cover the losses of banks, most of which had private capital. In this context, we intend to examine the state of financial intermediation in Romania in the post-crisis period, and to primarily follow: (i The structure and evolution of the banking system; (ii Non-government credit situation; (iii The level of savings; (iiii Loan-deposit ratio; (v The degree of financial intermediation and disintegration phenomenon etc., and to articulate some conclusions and suggestions on the matters that have been explored.

Hurricane-induced failure of low salinity wetlands

Science.gov (United States)

Howes, Nick C.; FitzGerald, Duncan M.; Hughes, Zoe J.; Georgiou, Ioannis Y.; Kulp, Mark A.; Miner, Michael D.; Smith, Jane M.; Barras, John A.

2010-01-01

During the 2005 hurricane season, the storm surge and wave field associated with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita eroded 527 km2 of wetlands within the Louisiana coastal plain. Low salinity wetlands were preferentially eroded, while higher salinity wetlands remained robust and largely unchanged. Here we highlight geotechnical differences between the soil profiles of high and low salinity regimes, which are controlled by vegetation and result in differential erosion. In low salinity wetlands, a weak zone (shear strength 500–1450 Pa) was observed ∼30 cm below the marsh surface, coinciding with the base of rooting. High salinity wetlands had no such zone (shear strengths > 4500 Pa) and contained deeper rooting. Storm waves during Hurricane Katrina produced shear stresses between 425–3600 Pa, sufficient to cause widespread erosion of the low salinity wetlands. Vegetation in low salinity marshes is subject to shallower rooting and is susceptible to erosion during large magnitude storms; these conditions may be exacerbated by low inorganic sediment content and high nutrient inputs. The dramatic difference in resiliency of fresh versus more saline marshes suggests that the introduction of freshwater to marshes as part of restoration efforts may therefore weaken existing wetlands rendering them vulnerable to hurricanes. PMID:20660777

University crisis and social responsibility

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Camilo dos Santos Filho

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to investigate the repercussion of the recent crisis of the university on its mission and responsibility and, from this reflection, to propose ways for the consolidation of this responsibility. The three main crisis faced by the university  from the middle of the XXth century identified by Boaventura Souza Santos as crisis of hegemony, of legitimacy and institutional, constituted the framework of discussion of the problem of social responsibility of the university. Although true for the universities of the advanced countries, the loss of hegemony in the area of research still does not occur in Brazilian university. To overcome the crisis of legitimacy, the creation of advanced academic and professional training institutions for the cultivation of the intellectual and professional elite of the country, as well as of non university institutions of mass higher education for the cultural and technological formation of the youth is justified. To make possible the access to these institutions by discriminated socioeconomic segments of society, the adoption of the policy of affirmative action in the form of quotas is justified.  The overcoming of the institutional crisis will be achieved when the State respect the specificity of the universities and when the evaluation criteria of her functions be adequate to her specific nature and the titularity of the evaluation belong to the institutions themselves assuring the external evaluation by effective pairs and not by pairs coopted by the State.

Crisis y Derecho del Trabajo: viejos conocidos

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oscar Ermida Uriarte

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Buenas noches: Mi papel aquí es el de hacer una presentación general del tema que sirva de introducción a lo que luego profundizarán los Profesores Rosenbaun y Loustaunau, tanto en lo que tiene que ver con la negociación colectiva, como en lo relacionado con las experiencias concretas que se han dado en nuestro país.Para hacer ese planteamiento panorámico inicial, vamos a tratar cinco puntos: Primeramente, abordaremos la crisis y el Derecho del trabajo como una relación que de algún modo es vieja y conocida, aunque cada vez se plantea con alguna novedad. En segundo lugar haremos referencia a algunas particularidades de la crisis actual. En tercer lugar, señalaremos los efectos específicos de las crisis económicas sobre el Derecho del trabajo. En cuarto término, intentaremos introducir una sistematización de los instrumentos laborales de enfrentamiento a la crisis, respondiendo a la pregunta ¿qué instrumentos tiene el Derecho del trabajo para enfrentar la crisis? Y en quintolugar, nos referiremos a las medidas extra laborales de enfrentamiento de la crisis, es decir, aquello que se puede hacer para enfrentar las crisis, no solo desde el Derecho del trabajo, sino desde fuera del Derecho del Trabajo.

Optimal Advertising When Envisioning a Product-Harm Crisis

OpenAIRE

Olivier Rubel; Prasad A. Naik; Shuba Srinivasan

2011-01-01

How should forward-looking managers plan advertising if they envision a product-harm crisis in the future? To address this question, we propose a dynamic model of brand advertising in which, at each instant, a nonzero probability exists for the occurrence of a crisis event that damages the brand's baseline sales and may enhance or erode marketing effectiveness when the crisis occurs. Because managers do not know when the crisis will occur, its random time of occurrence induces a stochastic co...

A Study of Crisis Management Based on Stakeholders Analysis Model

Science.gov (United States)

Qingchun, Yue

2017-11-01

From the view of stakeholder theory, not only the enterprises should provide services to shareholders, but also take care of the demands of stakeholders. Stakeholders for the enterprise crisis are the organizations and individuals, which cause crisis, respond to the crisis and affected by the enterprise crisis. In this paper, first of all, to comb the development of stakeholder theory systematically; secondly, with the help of the enterprise crisis stakeholder analysis model, analyze the concept of stakeholders for the enterprise crisis and membership, and with the example of Shuanghui Group for further analysis; finally, we put forward relevant proposals for the enterprise crisis from the view of stakeholders.

Thailand: Post-Crisis Rebalancing

OpenAIRE

Chalongphob Sussangkarn; Deunden Nikomborirak

2012-01-01

Since the Asian financial crisis in 1997, Thailand has become highly dependent on exports as the main engine of economic growth. In 2008, the ratio of export to GDP was about 76.5 percent. The global economic crisis triggered by the sub-prime loans debacle in the United States has prompted Thailand to rethink its high dependence on export. This paper examines the options for external and internal economic rebalancing strategies for Thailand. External rebalancing will require Thailand to rely ...

¿Crisis internacional o crisis del capitalismo?.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Hawkins.

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The present global recession that sprung out of the US banking and Real Estate sectors in 2007 has its roots in the massive State and financial upheavals implemented in the face of the 1970s crisis of over accumulation. These transformations had as their objective the reneging of the Keynesian, tripartite model of regulation and its association with the ‘Welfare State’. As such, the post-1970 neo-liberal financial order can be best seen as a ‘class project’ to reassert the dominance of grand capital, especially financial capital, both in the political and economic fields. Examining the intricate links between the present crisis and the structural governance changes enacted over the past 30 years, principally in the United States, the fallacies of ultra-growth and the speculative model become obvious as do their class dimensions and impact. However, despite the seeming ideological death of neo-liberalism, on close inspection, the policies so far enacted by the Obama administration make no concerted move out of the past era of financial sector hegemony.

ECONOMIC CRISIS AND ECONOMIC DISPARITIES IN EUROPEAN UNION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodica CRUDU

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The impact of the economic and financial crisis is still being felt. It started as an acute crisis of the banking system, but then quickly affected the real economy, causing a substantial slump in business investment, household demand and output. The current economic crisis has affected almost all European countries but the countries of the European south and the former eastern socialist republics have suffered the most. The objective in this paper is to quantify economic disparities as expressed by several growth indicators, such as GDP per capita, employment/unemployment rates, labour productivity rates and use them to compare the economic performances before and after the crisis. EU took several measures to recover from the economic crisis. Nevertheless, its ability to adjust to widely diverse national and local contexts that have been impacted differently by the effects of the crisis, and to support the different patterns of economic growth that will result from it, is yet to be seen.

[Social crisis, spontaneous groups and group order].

Science.gov (United States)

Edelman, Lucila; Kordon, Diana

2002-12-01

Argentina has gone through very difficult times during the last years and, in particularly, new kinds of social practices have emerged in order to cope with the crisis. This situation demands and urges a new type of reflection upon the double role of groups, as tools to transform reality and as a way to elaborate those processes regarding subjectivity. In this paper we analyse some topics regarding the groupal field (considering spontaneous groups as well as groupal devices that allow to elaborate the crisis). We consider social bond to be the condition of possibility for the existence of the psyche and of time continuity, and that it also makes possible personal and social elaboration of trauma, crisis and social catastrophe. We develop some aspects of an specific device (the reflection group), which we have already depicted in another moment, showing it's usefulness to cope with social crisis and to promote the subjective elaboration of crisis.

Financial Crisis and the Central Bank System

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RICHARD POSPISIL

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The financial crisis that began in 2008 gradually developed into a global economic crisis and continues to this day. There is a lot of causes standing behind the creation, depth and process of the crisis, which is the deepest since the thirties of last centrury. One of the reasons can be found in the risky behavior of commercial banks, especially in the excessive lending of credits and mortgages. Its share on the financial crisis have central banks and their failure as the financial supervisory authority. But there is a lot of another causes of failures in the commercial banking system. And some of the causes lies outside the banking system and monetary policy. Its share of the blame has also become from state and its expenditure on the social policy.This article analyzes the role of the commercial banking system and the central banks on the financial crisis including prevention options and measures.

FINANCIAL CRISIS AND THE CENTRAL BANK SYSTEM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard POSPISIL

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The financial crisis that began in 2008 gradually developed into a global economic crisis and continues to this day. There is a lot of causes standing behind the creation, depth and process of the crisis, which is the deepest since the thirties of last centrury. One of the reasons can be found in the risky behavior of commercial banks, especially in the excessive lending of credits and mortgages. Its share on the financial crisis have central banks and their failure as the financial supervisory authority. But there is a lot of another causes of failures in the commercial banking system. And some of the causes lies outside the banking system and monetary policy. Its share of the blame has also become from state and its expenditure on the social policy.This article analyzes the role of the commercial banking system and the central banks on the financial crisis including prevention options and measures.

Holonic Crisis Handling Model for Corporate Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Levente Bakos

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The new approaches of risk and crisis management of organizations point to corporate responsibility and corporate sustainability. In the ‘Internet of Everything’ era, when the new media and social networks create the possibility to ruin in a few seconds the reputation of a company built in decades, it is important to afford the maximum attention to risk management and crisis communication. Long-term sustainability requires a transparent, trustful communication in due time. In our study, we propose a crisis management model that leads to sustainable corporate behaviour. We consider organizations as complex systems, and we use the holonic multiagent modelling concept to depict the emergent behaviour of these systems. This theoretical paper has as its main result a crisis communication model, based on the adaptability feature of holons. In our non-linear approach for unpredictable situations we merged some findings of sustainability theory, corporate social responsibility (CSR management, crisis communication, the holonic manufacturing concept and the latest security standards in computer communication.

Mobilization of the south against food crisis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laurent Delcourt

2009-06-01

Full Text Available “Creemos que a esta crisis alimentaria hay que darle un nombre más exacto. Todavía no damos con ese nombre. Pero no es una crisis de alimentos,es una crisis de valores en las empresas transnacionales, en los gobiernos y en la cooperación internacional”, Sinforiano Cáceres, presidente de la Federación nacional de cooperativas, Nicaragua (Envío, 2008.

The role of national security culture in crisis management : the case of Kardak crisis

OpenAIRE

Savaş, Özlem

2008-01-01

Ankara : The Department of International Relations, Bilkent University, 2008. Thesis (Master's) -- Bilkent University, 2008. Includes bibliographical references leaves 94-103. This thesis analyzes the role of national security culture in crisis management. The use and significance of national security culture in the management of a crisis is the main concern discussed throughout this study. It is assumed that national security culture serves as the main guideline of states d...

Crisis management and crisis prevention

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wallensteen, P.

1988-01-01

This paper reports that many proposals have come forth to ease the tension between East and West. Some focus on arms developments, others take up diplomatic issues. In addition, some have raised the question of crisis management and crisis prevention. Can crises be prevented even before they have taken place? The Palme Commission on Disarmament and Security suggested, in its 1982 report, ways of restraining superpower involvement in Third World conflicts. Such conflicts, it was argued, could escalate and ultimately result in nuclear confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. Certainly, the commission also paid attention to conflicts over issues in Europe and to problems in Eastern or in Western Europe. However, the commission raised a question that lately has received increasing attention: the dangers of superpower confrontation over Third World issues. In his statement to the United Nations on 24 October 1985, President Regan pointed to the need for settling regional conflicts as they play a large role in building suspicions and tensions. Regan's initiative explicitly concerned Afghanistan, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Angola and Nicaragua. It included negotiations with the Soviet Union over Afghanistan, and, at a later stage, also over other issues. The goal, he the, was not to force a settlement on the parties. The initiative concerned issues that have for the American public, justified armaments and reduced Soviet credibility

Household debt and consumption during the financial crisis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Asger Lau; Duus, Charlotte; Jensen, Thais Lærkholm

2014-01-01

We use data for nearly 800,000 Danish families to examine whether high household leverage prior to the financial crisis may have amplified the reduction in household spending over the course of the crisis. We find a strong negative correlation between pre-crisis leverage and the change in non...

Оrganization of anti-crisis personnel management in agricultural enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mylyar T.S.

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The research deals with the basic principles of the use of anti-crisis personnel management in enterprises of agriculture. The paper theoretically proves the implementation efficiency of anti-crisis personnel management in enterprises of agriculture. Nowadays many enterprises are constantly faced with the impact of crises of different nature. HR management is urgent and a priority to improve the efficiency of the administrative process for all organizations. The actual basis for the introduction of anti-crisis management in enterprises is timely detection and correct response to crisis situations by human resources. The basis of anti-crisis personnel management is an organization work with the staff, aimed at creating conditions for the effective activity planning at the company, the selection of strategies for implementation, development of anti-crisis program, selection of appropriate instruments to use. However, it is important to take into account the human factor, based on the psychological readiness of skilled company personnel to work in conditions of stress and crisis. Much attention is paid to the overview of main factors that are necessary for personnel in the organization of anti-crisis management. The principles of anti-crisis personnel management are systematized. It should be noted that the principles can be individual, that is specific to the crisis in the enterprises, as the staff in this case is in serious social and psychological environment. It is determined that anti-crisis management has specific characteristics. The article studies the place of the personnel policy in the anti-crisis management system. The paper gives the valuable information on the way of improving the effectiveness of anti-crisis management, which is the implementation of the internal anti-crisis control group, and the functions of the group are the ability to anticipate crises in the future and provide everything necessary to prevent their appearance.

Crisis homes for adult psychiatric patients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aagaard, Jørgen; Freiesleben, Michael; Foldager, Leslie

2008-01-01

INTRODUCTION: Inspired by the Crisis Home programme in Madison, we have adapted and evaluated the programme at the Community Mental Health (CMH) Centre in Tønder, Denmark. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Procedures and schedules from the Crisis Home programme were applied in this open trial. Questionnaire...... data concerning satisfaction with the stay and registration data concerning the admissions and bed days two years before and two years after the first stay were obtained. RESULTS: During four years, 52 different patients had a total of 187 stays in a crisis home. Twenty (38.5%) of the patients were...... attached to the ACT team. The average duration of the stays was 4.0 days. The number of readmissions and bed days after the first stay showed a significant downward tendency for the subgroup of patients with a more severe mental disorder, but not for the whole group. The patients, the crisis homes families...

An Identity Crisis of Architectural Critique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kostas Tsiambaos

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Over the last three years Greece has been facing one of its worst crises since the 1950s, a crisis which most understand to be a financial one. The word crisis (from the Greek κρίσις has a double meaning in the Greek language. Its first meaning indicates a radical — usually negative — change in the sum of conditions or flow of events, while its second refers to an opinion, a theory, a personal judgment or point of view towards a specific subject. I will argue that the current crisis is not just financial, but deeply cultural. An examination of the history of architectural discourse in Greece will help us better understand the cultural identity of the recent crisis by illuminating its core: the ambivalent relationship between Greece and Europe, from the establishment of the Greek state until today.

The Refugee Crisis as a European Democratic Crisis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chryssoula Kapartziani

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The institutional European Union is facing two types of crisis. On the one hand, it needs to manage the current refugee’s influx efficiently and on the other hand it needs to deal with the democratic deficit that emerged by Europe’s incapacity to make the required decisions and gain the justification of its actions from its own people. This article aims firstly to highlight the legal framework (rule of law that governs the asylum and migration procedures as well as the democratic gap that these provisions created in the different member states, as a crystal clear example of how a national competence became supranational. Furthermore, it illustrates the refugee profile, as a human being with acquired human rights through the theories of H. Arendt and the U. Beck. Lastly, the cosmopolitan approach is suggested in order to overcome the refugee crisis but a well-established integration should be the long term goal of Europe.

Estuarine turbidity, flushing, salinity, and circulation

Science.gov (United States)

Pritchard, D. W.

1972-01-01

The effects of estuarine turbidity, flushing, salinity, and circulation on the ecology of the Chesapeake Bay are discussed. The sources of fresh water, the variations in salinity, and the circulation patterns created by temperature and salinity changes are analyzed. The application of remote sensors for long term observation of water temperatures is described. The sources of sediment and the biological effects resulting from increased sediments and siltation are identified.

Microstrip Patch Sensor for Salinity Determination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kibae Lee

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a compact microstrip feed inset patch sensor is proposed for measuring the salinities in seawater. The working principle of the proposed sensor depends on the fact that different salinities in liquid have different relative permittivities and cause different resonance frequencies. The proposed sensor can obtain better sensitivity to salinity changes than common sensors using conductivity change, since the relative permittivity change to salinity is 2.5 times more sensitive than the conductivity change. The patch and ground plane of the proposed sensor are fabricated by conductive copper spray coating on the masks made by 3D printer. The fabricated patch and the ground plane are bonded to a commercial silicon substrate and then attached to 5 mm-high chamber made by 3D printer so that it contains only 1 mL seawater. For easy fabrication and testing, the maximum resonance frequency was selected under 3 GHz and to cover salinities in real seawater, it was assumed that the salinity changes from 20 to 35 ppt. The sensor was designed by the finite element method-based ANSYS high-frequency structure simulator (HFSS, and it can detect the salinity with 0.01 ppt resolution. The designed sensor has a resonance frequency separation of 37.9 kHz and reflection coefficients under −20 dB at the resonant frequencies. The fabricated sensor showed better performance with average frequency separation of 48 kHz and maximum reflection coefficient of −35 dB. By comparing with the existing sensors, the proposed compact and low-cost sensor showed a better detection capability. Therefore, the proposed patch sensor can be utilized in radio frequency (RF tunable sensors for salinity determination.

Crisis meeting

CERN Multimedia

Staff Association

2015-01-01

To all CERN staff: your rights are at risk! We invite you to come to a crisis meeting on Thursday 7th May 2015 at 9 a.m., Auditorium, Main Building, Meyrin site. Your presence is crucial, we are ALL concerned!

Evaluation of the Aqua‎Crop Model to Simulate Maize Yiled Response under Salinity Stress

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aida Mehrazar

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Limited water resources and its salinity uptrend has caused reducing water and soil quality and consequently reducing the crop production. Thus, use of saline water is the management strategies to decrease drought and water crisis. Furthermore, simulation models are valuable tools for improving on-farm water management and study about the effects of water quality and quantity on crop yield.. The AquaCrop model has recently been developed by the FAO which has the ability to check the production process under different propositions. The initial version of the model was introduced for simulation of crop yield and soil water movement in 2007, that the effect of salinity on crop yield was not considered. Version 4 of the model was released in 2012 in which also considered the effects of salinity on crop yield and simulation of solute Transmission in soil profile. Material and methods: In this project, evaluation of the AquaCrop model and its accuracy was studied in the simulating yield of maize under salt stress. This experiment was conducted in Karaj, on maize hybrid (Zea ma ys L in a sandy soil for investigation of salinity stress on maize yield in 2011-2012. This experiment was conducted in form of randomized complete block design in four replications and five levels of salinity treatments including 0, 4.53, 9.06, 13.59 and 18.13 dS/m at the two times sampling. To evaluate the effect of different levels of salinity on the yield of maize was used Version 4 AquaCrop model and SAS ver 9.1 software .The model calibration was performed by comparing the results of the field studies and the results of simulations in the model. In calculating the yield under different scenarios of salt stress by using AquaCrop, the model needs climate data, soil data, vegetation data and information related to farm management. The effects of salinity on yield and some agronomic and physiological traits of hybrid maize (Shoot length, root length, dry weight

Salinity tolerance of the South African endemic amphipod ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Salinities were prepared using natural seawater and synthetic sea salt. Grandidierella lignorum tolerated all salinities, but showed highest survival at salinities of 7–42. Salinity tolerance was modified by temperature, with highest survival occurring between 10 and 25 °C. These represent the range of conditions at which ...

Attribution Theory and Crisis Intervention Therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Skilbeck, William M.

It was proposed that existing therapeutic procedures may influence attributions about emotional states. Therefore an attributional analysis of crisis intervention, a model of community-based, short-term consultation, was presented. This analysis suggested that crisis intervention provides attributionally-relevant information about both the source…

NOAA Average Annual Salinity (3-Zone)

Data.gov (United States)

California Natural Resource Agency — The 3-Zone Average Annual Salinity Digital Geography is a digital spatial framework developed using geographic information system (GIS) technology. These salinity...

OPINIONS ON INTERNATIONAL RESERVES MANAGEMENT - POST CRISIS

OpenAIRE

MERCEA (HANDRO) PATRICIA AMALIA

2017-01-01

The recent crisis demonstrated once again the importance of maintaining an adequate level of the international reserves as part of the defense of a country against the shocks internationally transmitted. Liquidity buffers aided the good functioning of financial systems, and allowed countries to cope with sudden foreign capital stops or to manage massive outflows without facing a costly crisis. This logic has been strengthened in the context of the crisis from 2008, when countries ...

Access to Credit of SMEs in the Czech Republic During the Financial Crisis and in the Post-crisis Period

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petr Koráb

2015-01-01

Full Text Available We investigate the impact of the financial crisis on the access of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Czech Republic to external financing. We apply the non-parametric kernel density estimation on a firm-level measure of financing constraints and evaluate its distribution on a balanced panel of SMEs. We focus on financing constraints related to financial health of companies since they determine the commercial banks’ lending behaviour. Our results reveal that firms were more constrained during the crisis and their financing constraints did not largely improve after the end of financial crisis. We argue that enterprises were financially constrained during the crisis because of reduced cash-flow and cash holdings.

Economic crisis and nursing in Spain.

Science.gov (United States)

Zabalegui, Adelaida; Cabrera, Esther

2010-07-01

The purpose of the present study is to describe the economic context in Spain and its impact on the health care sector and in nursing schools. The global economic crisis is affecting nursing in Spain. This study analyses and compares indicators related to health care and nursing schools among European countries. Some new strategies to cope with the challenges arising from the health care crisis are suggested. Health care costs are increasing as a result of the ageing of the Spanish population, immigration, chronicity of health problems and new medical technology. Nursing education has changed in 2010 from a 3-year diploma programme to a 4-year University degree in Nursing. This change requires new resources involving staff, facilities and equipment, all of which are lacking because of the economic crisis in Spain. The worldwide economic crisis has affected Spain more than it has other European Union (EU) countries. This global crisis has an impact on the health care sector as well on nursing schools. It is essential for nursing management to develop creative approaches to maintain cost effective patient care. New programmes and technology must be carefully evaluated in terms of cost effectiveness before being implemented. All health care professionals should be well informed and have a solid understanding of this situation.

Intervention among Suicidal Men: Future Directions for Telephone Crisis Support Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Hunt, Tara; Wilson, Coralie J; Woodward, Alan; Caputi, Peter; Wilson, Ian

2018-01-01

Telephone crisis support is a confidential, accessible, and immediate service that is uniquely set up to reduce male suicide deaths through crisis intervention. However, research focusing on telephone crisis support with suicidal men is currently limited. To highlight the need to address service delivery for men experiencing suicidal crisis, this perspective article identifies key challenges facing current telephone crisis support research and proposes that understanding of the role of telephone crisis helplines in supporting suicidal men may be strengthened by careful examination of the context of telephone crisis support, together with the impact this has on help-provision for male suicidal callers. In particular, the impact of the time- and information-poor context of telephone crisis support on crisis-line staff's identification of, and response to, male callers with thoughts of suicide is examined. Future directions for research in the provision of telephone crisis support for suicidal men are discussed.

Crisis? What Crisis? The Normality of the Current Food Crisis

OpenAIRE

Lang, T.

2010-01-01

The 2005–8 food crisis was a shock to political elites, but in some respects the situation was normal. Food policies are failing to respond adequately to the squeeze on land, people, health and environment. Strong evidence of systems failure and stress, termed here New Fundamentals, ought to reframe twenty-first century food politics and effort. Yet so far, international discourse is too often narrow and technical. The paper suggests that 2005–8 reinforced how the dominant twentieth century p...

The Alboran volcanic arc archipelago isolated the Mediterranean during the Messinian salinity crisis forming the land bridge for biota dispersal across the western Mediterranean

Science.gov (United States)

Booth-Rea, Guillermo; Ranero, Cesar R.; Grevemeyer, Ingo

2017-04-01

The Mediterranean Sea desiccation during isolation from the world oceans created the well-known Messinian salinity crisis but also landbridges that permitted the exchange of terrestrial biota between Africa and Iberia contributing to the present biodiversity of the Mediterranean region. The hypotheses for the cause chocking the Mediterranean have typically sought to explain geological features, particularly the giant salt deposits, but the implications of the faunal changes occurring around that time remain inadequately integrated by current geological models. We present wide-angle seismic data that constrain for the first time the 16-18 km thick crust structure of a volcanic arc formed mostly between 10 to 6 Ma across the eastern region of the Alboran basin. The crustal structure supports that the arc created an archipelago forming a land bridge across the basin that largely isolated the Mediterranean. After the cessation of volcanic activity, the archipelago progressively submerged by thermal subsidence and accompanying sediment loading, having emerged islands that persisted into the Pleistocene time and shallow straits forming sills during the early Pliocene. The presence of an archipelago in the eastern region of the basin may explain a number of puzzling observations previously inexplicable by the proposed barriers closing the Gibraltar arc west of Alboran. The progressive volcanic build up of the archipelago together with the closure of the Betic and Rifean marine corridors would explain the initial isolation of the Mediterranean since 7.1 Ma and the exchange of terrestrial biota since 6.2 Ma, i.e. before desiccation, which diversified radiating from SE Iberia and the opposite segment of the eastern Rif. In addition, an eastern barrier agrees with the continuous Messinian-age open marine sediments drilled at ODP site 976 in the western Alboran basin, which may have been the refuge of typical Mediterranean taxa that rapidly repopulated the Mediterranean in the

Introduction to the theory and practice of crisis intervention

OpenAIRE

Poal, Pilar

1990-01-01

En los años transcurridos desde que Lindemann publicó su estudio clásico sobre las reacciones de duelo, la teoría de las crisis emocionales y las formas de intervención psicológica en situaciones de crisis se han desarrollado de forma significativa. En este trabajo se analiza la contribución de varios autores al desarrollo de una teoría de las crisis emocionales y se describen los tipos, elementos y etapas de una crisis. Se revisa la relación entre la teoría de las crisis emocionales y la int...

Crisis meeting

CERN Multimedia

Staff Association

2014-01-01

  To all CERN staff: your rights are at risk ! We invite you to come to a crisis meeting on Wednesday 2nd April at 10:30 a.m., Auditorium, Main Building, Meyrin site. Your presence is crucial, we are ALL concerned !

The Crisis Management Practices of Australian Construction Companies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M Loosemore

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Recent world events in the international relations arena and the subsequent knock-on affect on the insurance industry, have sent shock-waves through Australia’s business community,elevating crisis management to the top of the managerial agenda. This paperpresents the findings of exploratory research, which investigated the crisis managementpractices of construction companies. Using a diagnostic model of crisis preparednesswhich has been developed and tested across a broad range of industries, it concludes thatif the sample surveyed is typical, then crisis planning is rudimentary and undertaken in aninsular, informal, fragmented fashion, supported by few resources and little strategicguidance. Consequently, many construction companies will have an inadequate understandingof their crisis exposure, of how to cope with crises when they happen and of howto learn and recover from their aftermath.

Aftershocks : Economic Crisis and Institutional Choice

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hemerijck, Anton; Knapen, Ben; Doorne, van Ellen

2009-01-01

Aftershocks werd geschreven op het hoogtepunt van de grootste economische crisis sinds de grote depressie. Hoewel het voorbarig zou zijn aan te nemen dat de gevolgen van de crisis al in volle omvang duidelijk zijn, is het overduidelijk dat zij ingrijpende effecten zal hebben op politiek, economisch

Corruption and political crisis in Ukraine

OpenAIRE

Ivanov, Alexei; Bogun, Ivan

2014-01-01

The article reviews issues of corruption and political crisis in Ukraine in the context of international organisations reports that estimate corruption levels and entrepreneurial climate worldwide. The article examines countries of the European Union and member states of the Customs Union, asseses the political crisis in Ukraine.

Salinity: Electrical conductivity and total dissolved solids

Science.gov (United States)

The measurement of soil salinity is a quantification of the total salts present in the liquid portion of the soil. Soil salinity is important in agriculture because salinity reduces crop yields by reducing the osmotic potential making it more difficult for the plant to extract water, by causing spe...

Iran. Nuclear crisis: towards an overrun?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cherief, Hamza

2012-01-01

In this article, the author first shows that the Iranian crisis is a failure of the struggle against nuclear proliferation as Iran seems to possess the technical and scientific abilities to produce nuclear weapons on a medium term. He also notices that this crisis is characterised by a deadlock of legal mechanisms of control of the Iranian nuclear programme: despite UN resolutions and sanctions, the IAEA will not be able able to visit Iranian facilities until Iran decides to enter negotiations again, and the decision by the UN of military actions seems not very likely, at least because of the opposition of China and Russia. In the second part, the author analyses the strategic and geopolitical stakes of the Iranian crisis: the will of Iran to become a regional leader and to counterbalance the Israeli nuclear deterrence, differences of regional interests between western countries, domestic evolutions in Iran. According to the author, both parties share a common interest in a smooth crisis recovery

SALINE WATER RESOURCES IN CLUJ-NAPOCA SURROUNDINGS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. CZELLECZ

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Saline waters are usually researched in those places where it is used for balneotherapy or other industrial purposes. The aim of this study is to describe the saline water sources from less known areas, as they are an important natural mineral water resource. Twenty nine water samples were analyzed from Cojocna-Pata-Sopor region, thirteen of them can be considered saline waters. The visited locations are 21, 15 and 3 km far from Cluj-Napoca. Highly concentrated springs are to be found in the old mine area from Pata village and in the slough from Cojocna. Beside the well known saline lakes from Cojocna, five other saline lakes were identified; most of them are having artificial origin.

Ischemic stroke risk factors during Greek economic crisis.

Science.gov (United States)

Katsanos, Aristeidis H; Fiolaki, Aidonio; Markou, Sofia; Markoula, Sofia; Kosmidou, Maria; Kyritsis, Athanassios P; Giannopoulos, Sotirios

2016-02-01

The impact of Greece's economic crisis on healthcare is of great concern. The aim of the present study was to assess the impact of economic crisis on the prevention of cerebral ischemic events. Retrospective analysis of patients with ischemic stroke (IS) or transient ischemic attack (TIA) admitted to a tertiary neurological department in northwestern Greece during the period 2008-2014. Using 2011 as the transitional year IS/TIA patients were dichotomized according to their admission date in two subgroups: the "before economic crisis" subgroup and the "after economic crisis" subgroup. Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify predictor variables of statin/antihypertensive pretreatment. Patients admitted after the economic crisis outbreak (mean age: 57.6 ± 13.5 years) were found to have lower waist periphery measurements (p = 0.001), lower incidence of diabetes (p = 0.028), hyperlipidemia (p = 0.002) and metabolic syndrome(p crisis (mean age: 59.6 ± 11.1 years). However, between the two subgroups were no significant differences in the rates of untreated patients with hyperlipidemia (p = 0.189) and/or hypertension (p = 0.313). Even though statin pretreatment prior to stroke onset was found to be reduced during economic crisis compared to the period before the crisis, (OR = 0.58, 95%CI: 0.34-0.95, p = 0.032), this association did not retain statistical significance in the multivariate logistic regression analysis (OR = 1.69, 95%CI = 0.83-3.42, p = 0.143). Our study supports that at present financial crisis has not significantly affected the prevention of cerebrovascular events in the citizens of a provincial city area. Data from other regions and time-periods are needed for the final verdict. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exploring Crisis Management in U.S. Small Businesses

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Jon

As a critical infrastructure, the US electricity grid supplies electricity to 340 million people within eight separate regions. The power infrastructure is vulnerable to many types of disasters capable of severing supplies of electricity. The impact on the employees and communities when small- and medium-size enterprises are shut down due to disasters can be severe. The purpose of the quantitative comparative study was to explore small- and medium-size enterprises crisis management strategies in the case of power infrastructure vulnerabilities. Perceptions of small business leaders were probed about crisis management planning relevant to three secondary factors: prior experience of crises, threat perceptions, and planning self-efficacy. Participants completed an adapted questionnaire instrument based on a five-point Likert scale for six sub-factors including resilience through planning, financial impact, operational crisis management, the perfect storm, the aftermath of survival, and atrophy. The instrument also measured three additional factors to include, prior experience of crises, threat perceptions, and planning self-efficacy, across seven types of crises. The results of this study indicated that of the 276 respondents, 104 had no crisis plans, but 172 did have crisis plans. Of those who had implemented crisis plans, 19% had specific provisions to address power outages or attacks on the electrical grid. Of the respondents who had not planned for power outages nor experienced significant losses of power, a statistically significant number acknowledged an external threat to their business. The majority of respondents indicated that long-term planning was related to resilience; however, the migration of crisis understanding into the planning process or implementation was not implemented. This heightened awareness of potential crises without the corresponding development and implementation of mitigation crisis plans requires additional research to understand

Soil salinity decreases global soil organic carbon stocks.

Science.gov (United States)

Setia, Raj; Gottschalk, Pia; Smith, Pete; Marschner, Petra; Baldock, Jeff; Setia, Deepika; Smith, Jo

2013-11-01

Saline soils cover 3.1% (397 million hectare) of the total land area of the world. The stock of soil organic carbon (SOC) reflects the balance between carbon (C) inputs from plants, and losses through decomposition, leaching and erosion. Soil salinity decreases plant productivity and hence C inputs to the soil, but also microbial activity and therefore SOC decomposition rates. Using a modified Rothamsted Carbon model (RothC) with a newly introduced salinity decomposition rate modifier and a plant input modifier we estimate that, historically, world soils that are currently saline have lost an average of 3.47 tSOC ha(-1) since they became saline. With the extent of saline soils predicted to increase in the future, our modelling suggests that world soils may lose 6.8 Pg SOC due to salinity by the year 2100. Our findings suggest that current models overestimate future global SOC stocks and underestimate net CO2 emissions from the soil-plant system by not taking salinity effects into account. From the perspective of enhancing soil C stocks, however, given the lower SOC decomposition rate in saline soils, salt tolerant plants could be used to sequester C in salt-affected areas. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Crisis of Transient Chaos

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

王文秀; 陆云清; 陈贺胜; 马明全; 竹有章; 何大韧

2002-01-01

A new kind of crisis, which is marked by a sudden change of a strange repeller, is observed in an electronicrelaxation oscillator. Firstly, by its simplified piecewise linear model, we show analytically that a strange repellerappears after a hole-induced crisis, and that the fractal dimension of the strange repeller and the average lifetimeof the iterations in the region occupied by the original attractor suddenly change at the critical parameter valuewhen the repeller disappears. Our numerical investigation convinces us that the corresponding phenomenon canbe found in the original electronic relaxation oscillator.

Teaching Method in Situational Crisis Communication Theory: A Literature Review

OpenAIRE

Proud Arunrangsiwed

2016-01-01

Crisis management strategies could be found in various curriculums, not only in schools of business, but also schools of communication. Young students, such as freshmen and sophomores of undergraduate schools, may not care about learning crisis management strategies. Moreover, crisis management strategies are not a topic art students are familiar with. The current paper discusses a way to adapt entertainment media into a crisis management lesson, and the importance of learning crisis manageme...

Utilization of medical care following the Three Mile Island crisis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Houts, P.S.; Hu, T.W.; Henderson, R.A.; Cleary, P.D.; Tokuhata, G.

1984-01-01

Four studies are reported on how utilization of primary health care was affected by the Three Mile Island (TMI) crisis and subsequent distress experienced by persons living in the vicinity of the plant. The studies concerned: 1) Blue Cross-Blue Shield records of claims by primary care physicians in the vicinity of TMI; 2) utilization rates in a family practice located near the facility; 3) interviews with persons living within five miles of TMI following the crisis; and 4) responses to a questionnaire by primary care physicians practicing within 25 miles of TMI. All four studies indicated only slight increases in utilization rates during the year following the crisis. One study found that persons who were upset during the crisis tended to be high practice utilizers both before and after the crisis. These results suggest that, while patterns of physician utilization prior to the TMI crisis predicted emotional response during the crisis, the impact of the TMI crisis on subsequent physician utilization was small

Utilization of medical care following the Three Mile Island crisis.

Science.gov (United States)

Houts, P S; Hu, T W; Henderson, R A; Cleary, P D; Tokuhata, G

1984-02-01

Four studies are reported on how utilization of primary health care was affected by the Three Mile Island (TMI) crisis and subsequent distress experienced by persons living in the vicinity of the plant. The studies concerned: 1) Blue Cross-Blue Shield records of claims by primary care physicians in the vicinity of TMI; 2) utilization rates in a family practice located near the facility; 3) interviews with persons living within five miles of TMI following the crisis; and 4) responses to a questionnaire by primary care physicians practicing within 25 miles of TMI. All four studies indicated only slight increases in utilization rates during the year following the crisis. One study found that persons who were upset during the crisis tended to be high practice utilizers both before and after the crisis. These results suggest that, while patterns of physician utilization prior to the TMI crisis predicted emotional response during the crisis, the impact of the TMI crisis on subsequent physician utilization was small.

Global financial crisis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MSc. Jusuf Qarkaxhija

2011-03-01

Full Text Available The most recent developments in economy are a clear indicator of many changes, which are a result of this high rate pacing, which also demonstrates as such. Market economy processes occur as a result of intertwining of many potential technological and human factors, thereby creating a system of numerous diver-gences and turbulences. Economics, a social science, is characteri-sed with movements from a system to another system, and is har-monized with elements or components which have impacted the development and application of economic policies as a result. This example can be illustrated with the passing from a commanded system (centralized to a self-governing (decentrali-zed system, while the movement from a system to another is known as transi-tion. Such transition in its own nature bears a number of problems of almost any kind (political, economic, social, etc., and is charac-terised with differences from a country to another. Financial crisis is a phenomenon consisting of a perception of economic policies and creation of an economic and financial stabi-lity in regional and global structures. From this, one may assume that each system has its own changes in its nature, and as a result of these changes, we have the crisis of such a system. Even in the economic field, if we look closely, we have such a problem, where development trends both in human and technological fields have created a large gap between older times and today, thereby crea-ting dynamics with a high intensity of action. If we dwell on the problem, and enter into the financial world, we can see that the so-called industrialized countries have made giant leaps in deve-lopment, while countries in transition have stalled in many fields, as a result of a high rate of corruption and unemployment in these countries, and obviously these indicators are directly connected, thereby stroking the financial system in these countries. Corruption is an element, which directly and indirectly

Veterans Crisis Line: Videos About Reaching out for Help

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... Crisis Centers About Be There Show You Care Find Resources Graphic Generator Toolkit Signs of Crisis Identifying ... or a Veteran you know is in crisis, find a facility near you. Spread the Word Download ...

Veterans Crisis Line: Videos About Reaching out for Help

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... About About the Veterans Crisis Line FAQs Veteran Suicide Spread the Word Videos Homeless Resources Additional Information ... About About the Veterans Crisis Line FAQs Veteran Suicide The Veterans Crisis Line text-messaging service does ...

Being PREPaREd for Crisis in Northern Colorado

Science.gov (United States)

Hancock, Kathy; Malvey, Michelle; Rastatter, Dennis

2010-01-01

The Thompson School District recognized after the Columbine incident in the spring of 1999 that it was lacking an adequate plan for crisis response. Colorado legislation led to a mandate for having a crisis response plan so the district purchased a "canned" crisis response plan that served the needs of response in a very immediate but…

Evaluation of different Project Based Learning designs in an MSc degree

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmen García Berdonés

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The design and implementation of different Project Based Learning (PBL approaches are presented in this paper. All of them were carried out in the framework of the MSc degree in Electronic Systems for Smart Environments from the University of Malaga. Four subjects were developed using different values of the three main parameters of PBL: teamwork, self-guided learning and project complexity. During two academic years, several indicators were used to evaluate these experiences: compliance with subject time schedules, scores obtained for the students, interaction of each student in his team and satisfaction of students with the experiences. Our results encourage the use of PBL in bachelor degrees but, at the same time, confirm that PBL implementation is not a trivial task when projects are complex or when a high level of autonomous learning is required from students. Teamwork difficulties have also been found. So, we discuss the need of reaching a minimum level of proficiency in some key competencies before using PBL.

Veterans Crisis Line: Videos About Reaching out for Help

Science.gov (United States)

Veterans Crisis Line Skip to Main Content SuicidePreventionLifeline.org Get Help Materials Get Involved Crisis Centers About Be There ... see more videos from Veterans Health Administration Veterans Crisis Line -- After the Call see more videos from ...

Effects of Global Economic Crisis on Travel Agencies and Crisis Management Practices in Turkey

OpenAIRE

AVCI, Nilgün; KÜÇÜKUSTA, Deniz

2014-01-01

AbstractCrisis management has become a requirement for businesses particularly in tourism industry. In spite of the limited studies carried out in this field in Turkey, the survey of the subject has significance in practices undergone by travel agencies, which are the backbones of the tourism industry. In this context we aim to analyze the measures and practices adopted by travel agencies during periods of crisis; determine the frequency of utilization of these measures and practices during p...

Effects of Global Economic Crisis on Travel Agencies and Crisis Management Practices in Turkey

OpenAIRE

AVCI, Nilgün; KÜÇÜKUSTA, Deniz

2015-01-01

AbstractCrisis management has become a requirement for businesses particularly in tourism industry. In spite of the limited studies carried out in this field in Turkey, the survey of the subject has significance in practices undergone by travel agencies, which are the backbones of the tourism industry. In this context we aim to analyze the measures and practices adopted by travel agencies during periods of crisis; determine the frequency of utilization of these measures and practices during p...

THE EVOLUTION OF ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION DURING THE CURRENT GLOBAL CRISIS

OpenAIRE

Sabina Tuca

2013-01-01

The current economic crisis constitutes a serious test for the process of globalization. The purpose of this study is to analyze the influence of the current global crisis on economic globalization. To assess the impact of the current crisis on economic globalization, this paper examines the KOF Index of Globalization, before and during the crisis. The findings generally support the idea that economic globalization has been, in fact, weakened, after the onset of the current crisis. However, t...

IMPACT OF ECONOMIC CRISIS ON FDI

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena V. CHIRILA DONCIU

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The economic crisis has had a severe impact on the economy worldwide. The investment activity has strongly felt the crisis and caused dramatic changes in the hierarchy of large investors. The financial system did not have availability for credits and funding from companies' own resources was extremely limited in terms of reducing profits. The purpose of the paper is the analysis of global foreign direct investment under the effect of the largest financial and economic crisis. The research results show a dramatic decline in foreign direct investments flows perceived and generated in 2009, and the fact that since 2010 there has been an easy comeback.

Civil–military cooperation in crisis management in Africa

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olsen, Gorm Rye

2011-01-01

Cooperation between civilian and military actors has become a catchphrase in international crisis management and development policy in the 21st century. This paper examines the crisis management policies adopted in Africa by the United States and the European Union (EU), respectively....... It is hypothesised that both actors’ crisis management policies are likely to be path dependent, despite recent significant changes in policy preferences. It is shown that the priority combining civilian and military resources in American crisis management is only implemented to a limited degree. It is consistent...... with the persistent predominance of the Pentagon and of the military instruments in US Africa policy. It illustrates the conspicuous institutional path dependency of US Africa policy, which by some is described as ‘militarised’. The EU has been able to apply both civilian and military instruments in crisis management...

LENR/"Cold Fusion" and Modern Physics: A Crisis Within a Crisis

Science.gov (United States)

Mallove, Eugene F. E.

2004-03-01

The primary theorists in the field of Cold Fusion/LENR have generally assumed that the excess heat phenomena is commensurate with nuclear ash (such as helium), whether already identified or presumed to be present but not yet found, and moreover that it can be explained by hydrided metal lattice structures acting coherently. Though this was an excellent initial hypothesis, the commensurate nuclear ash hypothesis has not been proved, and appears to be approximately correct in only a few experiments. At the same time, compelling evidence has also emerged for other microphysical sources of energy that were unexpected by accepted physics. The exemplars have been the work Dr. Randell Mills and his colleagues at BlackLight Power Corporation and Dr. Paulo and Alexandra Correa in Canada.This has led to a crisis within a crisis: Neither "cold fusion" nor "Modern Physics" will be able to explain the full range of experimental data now available---not even the data within "mainstream" cold fusion/LENR per se--- by insisting that the fundamental paradigms of Modern Physics are without significant flaw. The present crisis is of magnitude comparable to the Copernican Revolution. Neither Modern Physics nor Cold Fusion/LENR will survive in their present forms when this long delayed revolution has run its course.

Acceleration of wound healing with stem cell-derived growth factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Tamari, Masayuki; Nishino, Yudai; Yamamoto, Noriyuki; Ueda, Minoru

2013-01-01

Recently, it has been revealed that bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) accelerate the healing of skin wounds. Although the proliferative capacity of MSCs decreases with age, MSCs secrete many growth factors. The present study examined the effect of mesenchymal stem cell-conditioned medium (MSC-CM) on wound healing. The wound-healing process was observed macroscopically and histologically using an excisional wound-splinting mouse model, and the expression level of hyaluronic acid related to the wound healing process was observed to evaluate the wound-healing effects of MSC, MSC-CM, and control (phosphate-buffered saline). The MSC and MSC-CM treatments accelerated wound healing versus the control group. At 7 days after administration, epithelialization was accelerated, thick connective tissue had formed in the skin defect area, and the wound area was reduced in the MSC and MSC-CM groups versus the control group. At 14 days, infiltration of inflammatory cells was decreased versus 7 days, and the wounds were closed in the MSC and MSC-CM groups, while a portion of epithelium was observed in the control group. At 7 and 14 days, the MSC and MSC-CM groups expressed significantly higher levels of hyaluronic acid versus the control group (P wound healing versus the control group to a similar degree. Accordingly, it is suggested that the MSC-CM contains growth factor derived from stem cells, is able to accelerate wound healing as well as stem cell transplantation, and may become a new therapeutic method for wound healing in the future.

Research on the crisis of public relation in library

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Shanyong

2010-01-01

In modem society, a variety of organizations including libraries will inevitably encounter all kinds of crises. Organizations can pull through and create good impression if they deal with correctly the crisis of public relation. The article defines the crisis, the crisis of public relation, and analyzes the characteristics and types of the crises in library. Finally the article emphasizes the contents and six strategies of the crisis of public relation in library. (authors)

THE EFFECTS OF CULTURE ON KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT PRACTICE: A QUALITATIVE CASE STUDY OF MSC STATUS COMPANIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charmaine Ryan

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Knowledge is recognised as being an important asset in organisations these days. Despite this, many organisations are not doing enough to effectively manage this important asset for its competitive advantage. In response to this, knowledge management which is defined as a process that effectively creates, captures, shares and uses organisation-wide knowledge to improve the organisation’s performance was conceived and has since gained widespread acceptance the world over. Despite its widespread acceptance, little is known about the current levels of knowledge management within the Malaysian context, in particular amongst the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC status companies in Malaysia. Furthermore, the extent to which cultural factors impact upon knowledge management practice in these companies is not known. This study investigated the various cultural factors (collaboration, mutual trust, leadership and incentives/rewards using a multiple case study approach operating within a critical realism research paradigm and found that these factors have impact on the level of knowledge management practice. The study also established that cultural factors do play an important role in facilitating knowledge management practice in these MSC status companies in Malaysia. It was found that collaboration, mutual trust, leadership, kiasu-ism and incentives/rewards have significant impact on the level of knowledge management practice. In view of the findings of this study, it is suggested that the relevant authorities pay adequate attention on these cultural factors to ensure that the knowledge management initiatives undertaken by Malaysian companies are effectively deployed.

14 Review Oncocerciasis Wani MG MBchB, MMed (ophth), MSc ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Angel_D

E-mail wanimena@mweb.co.zw. Abstract .... in clinical picture which may be related to pathogen city of Oncocerca volvulus, vector biting habits ... nerve. The first sign of ocular involvement is the inversion of the anterior segment ... immediately to a drop of normal saline or distilled water on a microscope slide and examined ...