Search results for: emerging pathogens

Authors: C. A Osunla, A. I. Okoh

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Treated wastewater effluent has been found to encompass high levels of pollutants, including disease-causing bacteria such as Vibrio pathogens. The current study was designed to evaluate the physicochemical qualities and prevalence of Vibrio pathogens in treated effluents of two wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa over the period of six months. Parameters measured include pH, temperature, electrical conductivity, salinity, turbidity, total dissolved solid (TDS), dissolved oxygen (DO), and free chlorine; and these parameters were simultaneously monitored in the treated final effluents of the two wastewater treatment plants using standard methods. The ranges of values for the physicochemical are: pH (7.0–8.6), total dissolved solids (286.3–916.5 mg/L), electrical conductivity (572.57–1704.5 mS/m), temperature (10.3–28.6 °C), turbidity (4.02–43.20 NTU), free chlorine (0.00–0.19 mg/L), dissolve oxygen (2.06–6.32 mg/L) and biochemical oxygen demand (0.1–9.0 mg/L). The microbiological assessment for both WWTPs revealed the presence of Vibrio counts ranging between 0 and 8.76×104 CFU/100 mL. The obtained values of the measured parameters and Vibrio loads of the treated wastewater effluents were found outside the compliance levels of the South African guidelines and World Health Organization tolerance limits for effluents intended to be discharged into receiving waterbodies. Hence, we conclude that these WWTPs are important point sources of pollution in surface water with potential public health and ecological risks.

Keywords: effluents, public health, South Africa, Vibrio, wastewater

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Authors: Nimet Yildirim Tirgil, Ahmed Busnaina, April Z. Gu

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Environmental waters are monitored worldwide to protect people from infectious diseases primarily caused by enteric pathogens. All long, Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a good indicator for potential enteric pathogens in waters. Thus, a rapid and simple detection method for E. coli is very important to predict the pathogen contamination. In this study, to the best of our knowledge, as the first time we developed a rapid, direct and reusable SWCNTs (single walled carbon nanotubes) based biosensor system for sensitive and selective E. coli detection in water samples. We use a novel and newly developed flexible biosensor device which was fabricated by high-rate nanoscale offset printing process using directed assembly and transfer of SWCNTs. By simple directed assembly and non-covalent functionalization, aptamer (biorecognition element that specifically distinguish the E. coli O157:H7 strain from other pathogens) based SWCNTs biosensor system was designed and was further evaluated for environmental applications with simple and cost-effective steps. The two gold electrode terminals and SWCNTs-bridge between them allow continuous resistance response monitoring for the E. coli detection. The detection procedure is based on competitive mode detection. A known concentration of aptamer and E. coli cells were mixed and after a certain time filtered. The rest of free aptamers injected to the system. With hybridization of the free aptamers and their SWCNTs surface immobilized probe DNA (complementary-DNA for E. coli aptamer), we can monitor the resistance difference which is proportional to the amount of the E. coli. Thus, we can detect the E. coli without injecting it directly onto the sensing surface, and we could protect the electrode surface from the aggregation of target bacteria or other pollutants that may come from real wastewater samples. After optimization experiments, the linear detection range was determined from 2 cfu/ml to 10⁵ cfu/ml with higher than 0.98 R² value. The system was regenerated successfully with 5 % SDS solution over 100 times without any significant deterioration of the sensor performance. The developed system had high specificity towards E. coli (less than 20 % signal with other pathogens), and it could be applied to real water samples with 86 to 101 % recovery and 3 to 18 % cv values (n=3).

Keywords: aptamer, E. coli, environmental detection, nanobiosensor, SWCTs

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Authors: Marina Sofia, Alexios Giannakopoulos, Antonia Touloudi, Dimitris C Chatzopoulos, Zoi Athanasakopoulou, Vassiliki Spyrou, Charalambos Billinis

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Fertility of dairy cattle can be affected by heat stress when the ambient temperature increases above 30°C and the relative humidity ranges from 35% to 50%. The present study was conducted on dairy cattle farms during summer months in Greece and aimed to identify the serological profile against pathogens that could affect fertility and to associate the positive serological results at herd level with temperature factors. A total of 323 serum samples were collected from clinically healthy dairy cows of 8 herds, located in Central and Northern Greece. ELISA tests were performed to detect antibodies against selected pathogens that affect fertility, namely Chlamydophila abortus, Coxiella burnetii, Neospora caninum, Toxoplasma gondii and Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis Virus (IBRV). Eleven climatic variables were derived from the WorldClim version 1.4. and ArcGIS V.10.1 software was used for analysis of the spatial information. Five different MaxEnt models were applied to associate the temperature variables with the locations of seropositive Chl. abortus, C. burnetii, N. caninum, T. gondii and IBRV herds (one for each pathogen). The logistic outputs were used for the interpretation of the results. ROC analyses were performed to evaluate the goodness of fit of the models’ predictions. Jackknife tests were used to identify the variables with a substantial contribution to each model. The seropositivity rates of pathogens varied among the 8 herds (0.85-4.76% for Chl. abortus, 4.76-62.71% for N. caninum, 3.8-43.47% for C. burnetii, 4.76-39.28% for T. gondii and 47.83-78.57% for IBRV). The variables of annual temperature range, mean diurnal range and maximum temperature of the warmest month gave a contribution to all five models. The regularized training gains, the training AUCs and the unregularized training gains were estimated. The mean diurnal range gave the highest gain when used in isolation and decreased the gain the most when it was omitted in the two models for seropositive Chl.abortus and IBRV herds. The annual temperature range increased the gain when used alone and decreased the gain the most when it was omitted in the models for seropositive C. burnetii, N. caninum and T. gondii herds. In conclusion, antibodies against Chl. abortus, C. burnetii, N. caninum, T. gondii and IBRV were detected in most herds suggesting circulation of pathogens that could cause infertility. The results of the spatial analyses demonstrated that the annual temperature range, mean diurnal range and maximum temperature of the warmest month could affect positively the possible pathogens’ presence. Acknowledgment: This research has been co‐financed by the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union and Greek national funds through the Operational Program Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, under the call RESEARCH–CREATE–INNOVATE (project code: T1EDK-01078).

Keywords: dairy cows, seropositivity, spatial analysis, temperature factors

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Authors: Maha Ben Salem

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The transformative aspect of emerging adulthood brings about a development of self-processes, including changes in self-esteem and personal goals. Success in this life stage entails the emotional growth necessary to navigate the demands and challenges of college life. Understanding the concept of self-awareness within this particular age group sheds light on emerging adults’ internal world and the transformative aspect of their emotional growth. Uncovering the thoughts' processes that foster or hinder self-awareness is important to the understanding of how emerging adults learn to make themselves positive or negative. However, existing research in self-awareness has explored this phenomenon mostly using quantitative research methodology or through tying an individual’s level of self-awareness to specific actions or outcomes. Little is known about the process of how college students emerging adults notice and monitor their inner thoughts and emotions. Methodology and theoretical orientation: A grounded theory study using in-depth semi-structured interview was utilized. Nine interviews have been conducted. A constructionist framework was employed to generate a theory as for how self-awareness facilitates specific patterns of thinking in emerging adults. The choice of grounded theory emanates from a lack of knowledge regarding underlying thinking procedures and internal states that emerging adult college students navigate in an attempt to make meaning out of the new academic experience and life stage. Findings: Initial data analysis generated the following categories of the theory: (a) a non-judgmental perception of negative thinking and negative emotions that allow for a better understanding of the self; (b) negative state of mind is easy to overcome when it is accepted and acknowledged; (c) knowledge of the actual and desired self-generates an intentional decision to shift to a positive mindset. Preliminary findings indicate that college academic and social environment foster a new understanding of the self that yield a change in mindset and in self-knowledge.

Keywords: college environment, emergent adults, grounded theory, positive mindset, self-awareness

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Authors: Bandi Aruna

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The increase of multidrug-resistant pathogens and the restriction on the use of antibiotics due to its side effects have drawn attention to the search for possible alternatives. Bacteriocins are ribosomally synthesized antimicrobial peptides that are active against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The bacteriocins from lactic acid bacteria represent an important application of these peptides as clinical drugs or as food biopreservatives. The present study describes the isolation of bacteriocin producing lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from fermented batter of green gram and bengal gram using Man, Rogosa and Sharpe (MRS) media. The bacteriocin produced by these organisms inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella species, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, The isolates G1, G2 were isolated from green gram; B1 and B2 were isolated from fermented bengal gram batter. G1 and G2 were identified as Lactobacillus casie and B1 and B2 were identified as Streptococcus species. Antimicrobial activity of the bacteriocin produced by these strains was studied by agar well diffusion method. Bacteriocins produced by the Lactobacillus casie and Streptococcus secies retained their antagonistic property at pH of 5 and pH of 7. Exposure of bacteriocin to UV light for 4 min showed antibacterial activity. The antagonistic property was observed even at 100°C demonstrating stability at higher temperatures of the bacteriocin. The bacteriocins were stable for a period of 15 days at 27°C. The bacteriocins of G1, G2, and B2 exhibited highest antagonistic activity at pH of 5 and B1 at pH of 7. Therefore, the bacteriocins of the isolates may find important application in controlling the food-borne pathogens.

Keywords: Keywords: Antibacterial activity, Lactic acid bacteria, Bacteriocin

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Authors: Sikander Ali

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English is being used as linguafranca in most of the formal and informal situations of Pakistan. This extensive use has been rapidly replacing the identity of national language of Pakistani.e. Urdu. The nature of syntactic representation has always been the matter of confusion among linguists. Being unaware of the correct plural forms the non-natives commit mistakes while making plurals. But the situation is reverse when non-natives of English irrespective of knowing the right plurals make wrong plurals usually talking in their native language. The observation method was opted to check this hypothesis. Along with it, a checklist has been made in which these certain occurrences have been mentioned, where this flouting of the norms is a normal routine. The result confirms that Pakistani commit this mistake, i.e. ‘tablian’ the plural of tables, ‘filain’ the plural of files, though this is done by them on unconscious level. This emerging trend of unconscious mistake is leading Pakistani bilinguals towards a diglossic situation where they are coining portmanteau.

Keywords: bilinguals, emerging trend, portmanteau, trends

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Authors: Farhan Ali

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Use of wastewater for growing vegetables has become a common practice around big cities. Wastewater contains organic material and inorganic elements essential for plant growth but also contain heavy metals, which may be lethal for animals and humans if their concentration increases than permissible limit. To monitor this situation, a survey was conducted to ascertain the addition of heavy metals into agricultural fields through wastewater irrigation and their translocation in to the edible parts of the vegetables. The study highlighted that there is a large accumulation of heavy metals in the soil, which is irrigated with industrial wastewater Laden and people consume vegetables grown in soil irrigated with sewage water to absorb a large amount of these metals. This accumulation of heavy metals in food cause possible health risks for the consumer. Regular monitoring of the levels of pathogens and heavy metals from the waste water drain which effluent are used for growing vegetables and other foodstuffs is essential to monitor excessive accumulation of these metals in the food chain.

Keywords: pathogens, wastewater, concentration, effluent

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Authors: Anna M. Pretorius

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The emerging markets category for portfolio investment was introduced in 1986 in an attempt to promote capital market development in less developed countries. Investors traditionally diversified their portfolios by investing in different developed markets. However, high growth opportunities forced investors to consider emerging markets as well. Examples include the rapid growth of the “Asian Tigers” during the 1980s, growth in Latin America during the 1990s and the increased interest in emerging markets during the global financial crisis. As such, portfolio flows to emerging markets have increased substantially. In 2002 7% of all equity allocations from advanced economies went to emerging markets; this increased to 20% in 2012. The stronger links between advanced and emerging markets led to increased synchronization of asset price movements. This increased level of stock market integration for emerging markets is confirmed by various empirical studies. Against the background of increased interest in emerging market assets and the increasing level of integration of emerging markets, this paper focuses on the determinants of stock market integration of emerging market countries. Various studies have linked the level of financial market integration with specific economic variables. These variables include: economic growth, local inflation, trade openness, local investment, budget surplus/ deficit, market capitalization, domestic bank credit, domestic institutional and legal environment and world interest rates. The aim of this study is to empirically investigate to what extent trade-related determinants have an impact on stock market integration. The panel data sample include data of 16 emerging market countries: Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Hungary, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russian Federation, South Africa, Thailand and Turkey for the period 1998-2011. The integration variable for each emerging stock market is calculated as the explanatory power of a multi-factor model. These factors are extracted from a large panel of global stock market returns. Trade related explanatory variables include: exports as percentage of GDP, imports as percentage of GDP and total trade as percentage of GDP. Other macroeconomic indicators – such as market capitalisation, the size of the budget deficit and the effectiveness of the regulation of the securities exchange – are included in the regressions as control variables. An initial analysis on a sample of developed stock markets could not identify any significant determinants of stock market integration. Thus the macroeconomic variables identified in the literature are much more significant in explaining stock market integration of emerging markets than stock market integration of developed markets. The three trade variables are all statistically significant at a 5% level. The market capitalisation variable is also significant while the regulation variable is only marginally significant. The global financial crisis has highlighted the urgency to better understand the link between the financial and real sectors of the economy. This paper comes to the important finding that, apart from the level of market capitalisation (as financial indicator), trade (representative of the real economy) is a significant determinant of stock market integration of countries not yet classified as developed economies.

Keywords: emerging markets, financial market integration, panel data, trade

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Authors: Nesrine Bouzaher, Okba Necira

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The financial aspect of the Algerian economy is part of all sectors that have undergone great changes these two last decades; the goal is to enable economic mechanisms for real growth. Insurance is an indispensable tool for stabilizing these mechanisms. Therefore the national economy needs to develop the insurance market in order to support the investments, externally and internally; it turns out that reinsurance is one of the area which could prove their performance in several markets mainly emerging ones. The expansion of reinsurance in the domestic market is the preoccupation of this work, focusing on factors that could enhance the demand of reinsurance in the Algerian market. This work will be based on an analytical research of the economic contribution of the reinsurance and it’s collusion with insurance; market, then it will be necessary to provide an overview of the product in the national emerging market, finally we will try to investigate on the factors that could enhance the demand in the national reinsurance market so as to determine the potential of Algeria in this area.

Keywords: Algerian reinsurance data, demand trend of Algerian reinsurance, reinsurance, reinsurance market

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Authors: Sreevalli Bokka

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The process of reducing the intensity of the carbon from a process or stream into the atmosphere is termed Decarbonization. Of the various technologies that are emerging to capture or reduce carbon intensity, membranes are emerging as a key player in separating carbon from a gas stream, such as industrial effluent air and others. Due to the advantage of high surface area and low flow resistance, fiber membranes are emerging widely for gas separation applications. A fiber membrane is a semipermeable barrier that is increasingly used for filtration and separation applications needing high packing density. A few of the many applications are in water desalination, medical applications, bioreactors, and gas separations applications. Only a few polymeric membranes were studied for fabricating fiber membranes such as cellulose acetate, Polysulfone, and Polyvinylidene fluoride. A few of the challenges of using fiber membranes are fouling and weak mechanical properties, leading to the breakage of membranes. In this work, the growth of fiber membranes and challenges for future developments in the filtration and gas separation applications are presented.

Keywords: membranes, filtration, separations, polymers, carbon capture

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Authors: Necira Okba, Nesrine Bouzaher

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The financial aspect of the Algerian economy is part of all sectors that have undergone great changes these two last decades; the goal is to enable economic mechanisms for real growth. Insurance is an indispensable tool for stabilizing these mechanisms. Therefore, the national economy needs to develop the insurance market in order to support the investments, externally and intern ally; it turns out that reinsurance is one of the area which could prove their performance in several markets mainly emerging ones. The expansion of reinsurance in the domestic market is the preoccupation of this work, focusing on factors that could enhance the demand of reinsurance in the Algerian market. This work will be based on an analytical research of the economic contribution of the reinsurance and it’s collusion with insurance market, then it will be necessary to provide an overview of the product in the national emerging market, finally we will try to investigate on the factors that could enhance the demand in the national reinsurance market so as to determine the potential of Algeria in this area.

Keywords: Algerian reinsurance data, demand trend of Algerian reinsurance, reinsurance, reinsurance market

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Authors: Lissette Alejandra Lara, Mario Gomez, Jose Carlos Rodriguez

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ransnational corporations (TNCs) as units in which it is possible technology and knowledge transfer across borders and the potential for generating innovation and contributing in economic development both in home and host countries have been widely acknowledged in the foreign direct investment (FDI) literature. Particularly, the accelerated expansion of emerging countries TNCs in the last decades has guided an uprising research stream that measure the presence of reverse technology transfer, defined as the extent to which emerging countries’ TNCs use outward FDI in a host country through certain mechanisms to absorb and transfer knowledge thus improving its technological capabilities in the home country. The objective of this paper is to test empirically the presence of reverse technology transfer and its impact on the innovation capabilities in Mexican transnational corporations (MXTNCs) as a part of the emerging countries TNCs that have successfully entered to industrialized markets. Using a panel dataset of 22 MXTNCs over the period 1994-2015, the results of the econometric model demonstrate that the amount of Mexican outward FDI and the research and development (R&D) expenditure in host developed countries had a positive impact on the innovation capabilities at the firm and industry level. There is also evidence that management of acquired brands and the organizational structure of Mexican subsidiaries improved these capabilities. Implications for internationalization strategies of emerging countries corporations and future research guidelines are discussed.

Keywords: emerging countries, foreign direct investment, innovation capabilities, Mexican transnational corporations, reverse technology transfer

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Authors: Adilla Anggraeni

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The purpose of the paper is to investigate the effects of religiosity and subjective knowledge towards initial trust that a consumer has towards a product manufacturer. Since globalization enters the point of no return, it should be acknowledged that further exploration of country of origin image, its influences and possible limiting factors is imperative. This model aims to broaden COO-related research, especially related to different product categories based on the perception of consumers in emerging markets. The study employs quantitative method, aiming to involve 200 Indonesian respondents to evaluate different product categories (food/apparel). Relationships between variables are evaluated using structural equation modeling. It is expected that subjective knowledge will have significant influence towards initial trust that an individual possesses towards food products. A major contribution of this study will be the inclusion of religiosity and subjective knowledge in the country of origin study’s body of knowledge. Companies are also expected to benefit from the study as the acceleration of globalization may again repose the question of whether companies should market their product using similar strategies across different countries or different ones. Religiosity dimension is expected to add values to international marketing literature concerning emerging economies in particular, as many companies view the emerging economies as promising markets.

Keywords: country of origin, subjective knowledge, initial trust, emerging economy, Indonesia

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Authors: Frank Boris Feutmba Keutchou, Saurelle Fabienne Bieghan Same, Verelle Elsa Fogang Pokam, Charles Ursula Metapi Meikeu, Angel Marilyne Messop Nzomo, Ousman Tamgue

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Infectious diseases are one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. These diseases are caused by micro-pathogenic organisms, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi. Heritable changes in gene expression that do not involve changes to the underlying DNA sequence are referred to as epigenetics. Emerging evidence suggests that epigenetic mechanisms are important in the emergence and progression of infectious diseases. Pathogens can manipulate host epigenetic machinery to promote their own replication and evade immune responses. The Human Genome Project has provided new opportunities for developing better tools for the diagnosis and identification of target genes. Several epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation, histone modifications, and non-coding RNA expression, have been shown to influence infectious disease outcomes. Understanding the epigenetic mechanisms underlying infectious diseases may result in the progression of new therapeutic approaches focusing on host-pathogen interactions. The goal of this study is to show how different infectious agents interact with host cells after infection.

Keywords: epigenetic, infectious disease, micro-pathogenic organism, phenotype

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Authors: Sadie Namani, Lindita Ajazaj, Arjeta Zogaj, Vera Berisha, Bahrije Halili, Luljeta Hasani, Ajete Aliu

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Background: The outcome of bacterial meningitis is strongly related to the resistance of bacterial pathogens to the initial antimicrobial therapy. The objective of the study was to analyze the initial antimicrobial therapy, the resistance of meningeal pathogens and the outcome of adults bacterial meningitis cases. Materials/methods: This prospective study enrolled 46 adults older than 16 years of age, treated for bacterial meningitis during the years 2009 and 2010 at the infectious diseases clinic in Prishtinë. Patients are categorized into specific age groups: > 16-26 years of age (10 patients), > 26-60 years of age (25 patients) and > 60 years of age (11 patients). All p-values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Data were analyzed using Stata 7.1 and SPSS 13. Results: During the two year study period 46 patients (28 males) were treated for bacterial meningitis. 33 patients (72%) had a confirmed bacterial etiology; 13 meningococci, 11 pneumococci, 7 gram-negative bacilli (Ps. aeruginosa 2, Proteus sp. 2, Acinetobacter sp. 2 and Klebsiella sp. 1 case) and 2 staphylococci isolates were found. Neurological complications developed in 17 patients (37%) and the overall mortality rate was 13% (6 deaths). Neurological complications observed were: cerebral abscess (7/46; 15.2%), cerebral edema (4/46; 8.7%); haemiparesis (3/46; 6.5%); recurrent seizures (2/46; 4.3%), and single cases of thrombosis sinus cavernosus, facial nerve palsy and decerebration (1/46; 2.1%). The most common meningeal pathogens were meningococcus in the youngest age group, gram negative-bacilli in second age group and pneumococcus in eldery age group. Initial single-agent antibiotic therapy (ceftriaxone) was used in 17 patients (37%): in 60% of patients in the youngest age group and in 44% of cases in the second age group. 29 patients (63%) were treated with initial dual-agent antibiotic therapy; ceftriaxone in combination with vancomycin or ampicillin. Ceftriaxone and ampicillin were the most commonly used antibiotics for the initial empirical therapy in adults > 50 years of age. All adults > 60 years of age were treated with the initial dual-agent antibiotic therapy as in this age group was recorded the highest mortality rate (M=27%) and adverse outcome (64%). Resistance of pathogens to antimicrobics was recorded in cases caused by gram-negative bacilli and was associated with greater risk for developing neurological complications (p=0.09). None of the gram-negative bacilli were resistant to carbapenems; all were resistant to ampicillin while 5/7 isolates were resistant to cefalosporins. Resistance of meningococci and pneumococci to beta-lactams was not recorded. There were no statistical differences in the occurrence of neurological complications (p > 0.05), resistance of meningeal pathogens to antimicrobics (p > 0.05) and the inital antimicrobial therapy (one vs. two antibiotics) concerning group-ages in adults. Conclusions: The initial antibiotic therapy with ceftriaxone alone or in combination with vancomycin or ampicillin did not cover cases caused by gram-negative bacilli.

Keywords: adults, bacterial meningitis, outcomes, therapy

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Authors: Mohammed Agbali, Claudia Trillo, Yusuf Arayici, Terrence Fernando

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The wide-spread adoption of the Smart City concept has introduced a new era of computing paradigm with opportunities for city administrators and stakeholders in various sectors to re-think the concept of urbanization and development of healthy cities. With the world population rapidly becoming urban-centric especially amongst the emerging economies, social innovation will assist greatly in deploying emerging technologies to address the development challenges in core sectors of the future cities. In this context, sustainable health-care delivery and improved quality of life of the people is considered at the heart of the healthy city agenda. This paper examines the Boston innovation landscape from the perspective of smart services and innovation ecosystem for sustainable development, especially in transportation and healthcare. It investigates the policy implementation process of the Healthy City agenda and eHealth economy innovation based on the experience of Massachusetts’s City of Boston initiatives. For this purpose, three emerging areas are emphasized, namely the eHealth concept, the innovation hubs, and the emerging technologies that drive innovation. This was carried out through empirical analysis on results of public sector and industry-wide interviews/survey about Boston’s current initiatives and the enabling environment. The paper highlights few potential research directions for service integration and social innovation for deploying emerging technologies in the healthy city agenda. The study therefore suggests the need to prioritize social innovation as an overarching strategy to build sustainable Smart Cities in order to avoid technology lock-in. Finally, it concludes that the Boston example of innovation economy is unique in view of the existing platforms for innovation and proper understanding of its dynamics, which is imperative in building smart and healthy cities where quality of life of the citizenry can be improved.

Keywords: computing paradigm, emerging technologies, equitable healthcare, healthy cities, open data, smart city, social innovation

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Authors: Shadreck Muchaku, Grey Magaiza, Jerit Dube

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The high insolvency rate of female-led emerging enterprises in the Southern African mountain region reflects the various vulnerabilities that exist. Although this is the case, there is a limited understanding of how these vulnerabilities influence entrepreneurship failure. This paper focuses on female entrepreneurs because of their role in economic development. Emerging female entrepreneurs in this region often operate in uncertain environments, which makes it difficult for them to thrive. The form and nature of entrepreneurial opportunities rural women of the Afro Montane region engage in are largely unsustainable as a lot of women struggle with confidence, and they need help with understanding their skills. However, there is still a gap in the existing literature on women entrepreneurship resilience and vulnerability reduction in the Afromontane. Furthermore, a major problem is the lack of empirical studies on this matter and limited studies indicating a general profile of emerging female entrepreneurs in this region. This systematic literature review attempts to fill in the gap of knowledge on entrepreneurship resilience and vulnerability reduction of emerging female entrepreneurs in the Afromontane regions and other similar precarious environments. In this review, we focus much on highlighting the nexus between entrepreneurship resilience and vulnerability reduction of emerging female entrepreneurs in academic literature through a chronological dispersal of publications in developing countries. This review adopts an ATLAS ti.22 software-based thematic analysis to analyze results obtained from reviewed academic journal articles. As research on entrepreneurship resilience and vulnerability reduction is still developing in the Sothern African mountain region, the results of this review will contribute to the body of literature and provide recommendations and a foundation for future research. This systematic review paper provides valuable insights and methodological approaches to scholarship in a nascent area of emerging female entrepreneurs in the Afromontane.

Keywords: entrepreneurship resiliency, vulnerability reduction, female entrepreneurs, mountain regions

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Authors: Heeyeul Kwon, Yongtae Park

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Despite the highly touted benefits, emerging technologies have unleashed pervasive concerns regarding unintended and unforeseen social impacts. Thus, those wishing to create safe and socially acceptable products need to identify such side effects and mitigate them prior to the market proliferation. Various methodologies in the field of technology assessment (TA), namely Delphi, impact assessment, and scenario planning, have been widely incorporated in such a circumstance. However, literatures face a major limitation in terms of sole reliance on participatory workshop activities. They unfortunately missed out the availability of a massive untapped data source of futuristic information flooding through the Internet. This research thus seeks to gain insights into utilization of futuristic data, future-oriented documents from the Internet, as a supplementary method to generate social impact scenarios whilst capturing perspectives of experts from a wide variety of disciplines. To this end, network analysis is conducted based on the social keywords extracted from the futuristic documents by text mining, which is then used as a guide to produce a comprehensive set of detailed scenarios. Our proposed approach facilitates harmonized depictions of possible hazardous consequences of emerging technologies and thereby makes decision makers more aware of, and responsive to, broad qualitative uncertainties.

Keywords: emerging technologies, futuristic data, scenario, text mining

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Authors: Włodzimierz Przewodowski, Agnieszka Przewodowska

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Colloidal metal nanoparticles have drawn increasing attention in the field of phytopathology because of their unique properties and possibilities of applications. Their antibacterial activity, no induction of the development of pathogen resistance and the ability to penetrate most of biological barriers make them potentially useful in the fighting against dangerous pathogens. These properties are very important in the case of protection of strategic crops in the world, like potato - fourth crop in the world - which is host to numerous pathogenic microorganisms causing serious diseases, significantly affecting yield and causing the economic losses. One of the most important and difficult to reduce pathogen of potato plant is quarantine bacterium Clavibacter michiganensis ssp. sepedonicus (Cms) responsible for ring rot disease. Control and detection of these pathogens is very complicated. Application of healthy, certified seed material as well as hygiene in potato production and storage are the most efficient ways of preventing of ring rot disease. Currently used disinfectants and pesticides, have many disadvantages, such as toxicity, low efficiency, selectivity, corrosiveness, and the inability to eliminate the pathogens in potato tissue. In this situation, it becomes important to search for new formulations based on components harmful to health, yet efficient, stable during prolonged period of time and a with wide range of biocide activity. Such capabilities are offered by the latest generation of biocidal nanoparticles such as colloidal metals. Therefore the aim of the presented research was to develop newly antibacterial preparation based on colloidal metal nanoparticles and checking their influence on the Cms bacteria. Our preliminary results confirmed high efficacy of the nano-colloids in controlling the this selected pathogen.

Keywords: clavibacter michiganensis ssp. sepedonicus, colloidal metal nanoparticles, phytopathology, bacteria

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Authors: Fatih Özogul, Esmeray Kuley Boga, Ferhat Kuley, Yesim Özogul

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The impact of diethyl ether extract of spices (sumac, cumin, black pepper and red pepper) on growth of Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella Paratyphi A, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterococcus faecalis, Camplylobacter jejuni, Aeromonas hydrophila, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Yersinia enterocolitica and their biogenic amine production were investigated in tyrosine decarboxylase broth. Sumac extract generally had the highest activity to inhibit bacterial growth compared to other extracts, although antimicrobial effect of extracts used varied depending on bacterial strains. Sumac extract resulted in 3.34 and 2.54 log reduction for Y. enterocolitica and Camp. jejuni growth, whilst red pepper extract induced 0.65, 0.41 and 0.34 log reduction for growth of Y. enterocolitica, S. Paratyphi A and Staph. aureus, respectively. Spice extracts significantly inhibited ammonia production by bacteria (P < 0.05). Eleven and nine fold reduction on ammonia production by S. Paratyphi A and Staph. aureus were observed in the presence of sumac extract. Dopamine, agmatine, tyramine, serotonin and TMA were main amines produced by bacteria. Tyramine production by food-borne-pathogens was more than 10 mg/L, whereas histamine accumulated below 52 mg/L. The effect of spice extracts on biogenic amine production varied depending on amino acid decarboxylase broth, spice type, bacterial strains and specific amine, although cumin extract generally increased biogenic amine production by bacteria.

Keywords: antimicrobials, biogenic amines, food-borne pathogens, spice extracts

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Authors: Bahaa Eldin Kornah

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The organism profile for peri-prosthetic joint infection caused by hematogenous seeding or direct inoculations is changing. The organisms that cause prosthetic joint infections range from normal skin colonizers to highly virulent pathogens. The pathogens continue to evolve. While Staphylococcus aureus continues to be the leading organism, gram-negative bacilli account for approximately 7% of cases and that incidence is increasing. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus(MRSA) accounts for approximately 10% of all infections occurring in the community setting and 20% of those in the health care setting. The list of organisms causing PJI has expanded in recent years. It is important to have an understanding of which organisms may be causing a periprosthetic joint infection based on where the patient contracted it and their recent medical history. Also, recent technology has expanded rapidly and new methods to detect the pathogen and why we failed in detecting it. There are a number of explanations for the latter finding, perhaps the most important reason being the liberal use of antibiotics that interferes with the isolation of the infective organism.

Keywords: infection, periprosthetic, hip, organism profile, joint infection, joint infection

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Authors: Liqiang Chen

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This study investigates the effects of political connections on the association between firms’ business strategy and their tax aggressiveness in an emerging economy such as China. By studying all public Chinese firms in the period from 2011 to 2017, we find that firms adopting innovative business strategy are more tax aggressive overall, but innovative firms with political connections are less tax aggressive compared to those without political connections. Moreover, we document several channels through which political connections affect the association between innovative business strategy and tax aggressiveness. In particular, we show that the mitigation effect of political connections on tax aggressiveness is stronger for innovative firms located in areas with a lower marketization index and for innovative firms with a lower leverage level or with less earnings management. Our results are robust to an instrumental variable approach to account for possible endogenous bias. Our study contributes to the understanding of firms’ tax behaviors in an emerging economy setting and suggests that there are costs associated with political connections, such as foregone tax saving opportunities, which are understudied in the prior literature.

Keywords: tax aggressiveness, business strategy, political connections, emerging economy

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Authors: Shimayali Kaushal, Nitesh Priyadarshi, Nitin Kumar Singhal

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Food borne bacterial species have been identified as major pathogens in most of the severe pathogen-related diseases among humans which result in great loss to human health and food industry. Conventional methods like plating and enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA) are time-consuming, laborious and require specialized instruments. Nanotechnology has emerged as a great field in case of rapid detection of pathogens in recent years. The AuNRs material has good electro-optical properties due to its larger light absorption band and scattering in surface plasmon resonance wavelength regions. By exploiting the sugar-based adhesion properties of microorganism, we can use the glycoconjugates capped gold nanorods as a potential nanobiosensor to detect the foodborne pathogen. In the present study, polyethylene glycol (PEG) coated gold nanorods (AuNRs) were prepared and functionalized with different types of carbohydrates and further characterized by UV-Visible spectrophotometry, dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The reactivity of above said nano-biosensor was probed by lectin binding assay and also by different strains of foodborne bacteria by using spectrophotometric and microscopic techniques. Due to the specific interaction of probe with foodborne bacteria (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa), our nanoprobe has shown significant and selective ablation of targeted bacteria. Our findings suggest that our nanoprobe can be an ideal candidate for selective optical detection of food pathogens and can reduce loss to the food industry.

Keywords: glyco-conjugates, gold nanorods, nanobiosensor, nanoprobe

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Authors: Raana Babadi Fathipour

Abstract:

Biofilms, those intricate structures of microbial aggregation that emerge as microorganisms adhere to animate or inanimate surfaces, possess an innate capacity to shield their inhabitants from adversities within the environment whilst fortifying their endurance against antimicrobial agents. This remarkable aspect facilitates the persistence and virulence of said microorganisms, establishing biofilm formation as an integral component of bacterial survival mechanisms. However, should foodborne pathogens adopt this mode of existence, the potentiality for foodborne disease infections becomes alarmingly intensified—an alarming prospect that harbors significant public health hazards and engenders deleterious economic ramifications. Thus, due to these consequences lurking on the horizon, extensive research concentrating upon comprehending biofilms and devising efficacious removal strategies assumes a position imbued with paramount importance within the realm of the food industry. The problem of food waste resulting from spoilage in the food industry continues to present a widespread challenge to both environmental sustainability and the security of our food supplies. In this comprehensive analysis, we delve into the formation of bacterial biofilms, highlighting the specific issues they pose within the realm of food production. Additionally, we provide an overview of various types of common foodborne pathogens that tend to thrive in these biofilms. Furthermore, we summarize existing strategies aimed at tackling or managing detrimental bacterial biofilm growth. We also introduce contemporary approaches that show promise in terms of controlling this issue and highlight their potential for further advancement. Ultimately, our focus lies on outlining prospects for future development as they pertain specifically to combatting bacterial biofilms within the field.

Keywords: foodborne pathogens, food safety, biofilm, resistance, quorum-sensing

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Authors: Aleksandar M. Radojković, Jovana M. Ćirković, Sanja Z. Perać, Jelena N. Jovanović, Zorica M. Branković, Slobodan D. Milanović, Ivan Lj. Milenković, Jovan N. Dobrosavljević, Nemanja V. Simović, Vanja M. Tadić, Ana R. Žugić, Goran O. Branković

Abstract:

In many parts of the world, various Phytophthora species pose a serious threat to forests and crops. With the rapidly growing international trade in plants and the ongoing impacts of climate change, the harmful effects of plant pathogens of the genus Phytophthora are increasing, damaging the biodiversity and sustainability of forest ecosystems. This genus is one of the most destructive plant pathogens, causing the majority of fine root (66%) and collar rot diseases (90%) of woody plant species worldwide. Eco-friendly biopesticides, based on plant-derived products, such as essential oils (EOs), are one of the promising solutions to this problem. In this study, among three different EOs investigated (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana (A. Murr.) Parl., Thuja plicata Donn ex D.Don and Juniperus communis L.), western red cedar (Thuja plicata) essential oil almost completely inhibited the growth of three Phytophthora species (P. plurivora Jung and Burgess, P. quercina Jung, and P. ×cambivora (Petri) Buisman) during seven days of exposure for the EO concentrations of 0.1% and 0.5% (v/v). To prolong the inhibiting effect, Thuja plicata EO was encapsulated into a biopolymer matrix consisting of a chitosan-gelatin mixture to form a water-in-oil emulsion. This approach allowed the prolonged effect of the essential oil by its slow release from the biopolymer matrix and protection of the active components from atmospheric influences. Thus, it was demonstrated that encapsulated Thuja plicata EO consisting of sustainable bioproducts is efficient in controlling of Phytophthora species and can be considered a means of protection in natural and semi-natural ecosystems.

Keywords: emulsions, essential oils, phytophthora, thuja plicata

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Authors: Kamel A. Abd-Elsalam, Alexei R. Khokhlov

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Studies on bioefficacy (in vitro and in vivo) and mode of action of the nanocides against the most important plant diseases in Egypt and Russia might assist in the goal of sustainable agriculture. To our knowledge, few researchers have evaluated the combined antimicrobial effect of inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) with bioorganic pesticides for controlling plant pathogens in the greenhouse and open field, decontrol investigated synergistic effect. In the current project, we will develop eco-friendly alternative management strategies including the use of heavy nanometal-tolerant Trichoderma strains and the main effective material in conventional fungicides (curpic, sulfur, phosphorus and zinc) for controlling plant diseases. Studies on bioefficacy and the mechanism of the nanocides against the most important plant diseases in Egypt were evaluated. There is a growing need to establish mechanisms of action for nano bio and/or fungicides to assist the design of new compounds or combinations of compounds, in order to understand resistance mechanisms and to provide a focus for toxicological attention. Nanofungicides represent an emerging technological development that could offer a range of benefits including increased efficacy, durability, and a reduction in the amounts of active ingredients that need to be used.

Keywords: biohybrids, biocides, bioagent, plant pathogenic fungi

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Authors: Tayaba Dastgeer, Farhan Rasheed, Muhammad Saeed, Maqsood Ahmad, Zia Ashraf, Abdul Waheed, Muhammad Kamran, Mohsin Khurshid

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Objectives: The study aimed to determine the efficacy of linezolid against clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the microbiology department of Allama Iqbal Medical College Lahore from August 2017 to September 2019. Isolates were confirmed as MRSA via the presence of the mec-A gene. Confirmed MRSA isolates were processed for susceptibility testing against different antimicrobials, especially linezolid, via the disc diffusion method. Zone sizes were interpreted according to CLSI guidelines. Results: Various types of clinical samples were included in the study; however, the highest frequency of MRSA isolates was found in pus samples, followed by other clinical samples. Among hospitalized patients, most MRSA isolates were obtained from patients in the surgical ward. Of 243 mec-A gene detected isolates, Vancomycin and linezolid showed 100% susceptibility, chloramphenicol showed declining resistance 78 (32.09%), and emerging sensitivity 165 (67.90%) against MRSA. Conclusion: Linezolid is a very efficient drug against MRSA, but the use of this novel drug must be conserved for vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or when more resistant pathogens are suspected.

Keywords: MRSA, chloramphenicol, linezolid, nosocomial infections

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Authors: Marah El-Beeli, Abdullah Balkhair, Zakaryia Al Muharmi, Samir Al Adawi, Mansoor Al-Jabri, Abdullah Al Rawahi, Hazaa Al Yahyae, Eman Al Balushi, Yahya M. Al-Farsi

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The health care service and the anticancer chemotherapeutics has changed the natural history of cancer into manageable chronic disease and improve the cancer patient’s lifestyle and increase the survival time. Despite that, still, infection is the major dilemma opposing the cancer patient either because of the clinical presentation of the cancer type and impaired immune system or as a consequence of anticancer therapy. This study has been conducted to1) track changes in the epidemiology of hospital-acquired bloodstream infections among patients with malignancies in the last five years. 2) To explore the causative pathogens and 3) the outcome of HA-BSIs in patients with a different types of malignancies. An ampi-directional study (retrospective and prospective follow up) of patients with malignancies admitted at Sultan Qaboos University hospital (570-bed tertiary hospital) during the study period (from January 2015 to December 2019). The cumulative frequency and prevalence rates of HA-BSIs by patients and isolates were calculated. In addition, the cumulative frequency of participants with single versus mixed infections and types of causative micro-organisms of HA-BSIs were obtained. A total of 1246 event of HA-BSIs has occurred during the study period. Nearly the third (30.25%) of the HA-BSI events was identified among 288 patients with malignancies. About 20% of cases were mixed infections (more than one isolate). Staphylococcus spp were the predominant isolated pathogen (24.7%), followed by Klebsiella spp (15.8%), Escherichia spp (13%), and Pseudomonas spp (9.3%). About half (51%) of cases died in the same year, and (64%) of the deaths occur within two weeks after the infection. According to the observations, no changes in the trends of epidemiology, causative pathogens, morbidity, and mortality rates in the last five years.

Keywords: epidemiology, haematological malignancies, hospital acquired bloodstream infections, solid malignancies

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Authors: Luis A. Paipa-Galeano, Yavar Jarrah-Nezhad, César A. Bernal-Torres

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This paper presents a case study of four companies in an emerging economy to identify the key success factors and barriers to sustaining continuous improvement practices. The study analyzes the empirical evidence and compares it to the literature review to provide insights for companies looking to increase their maturity level in this area. The five success factors identified are the availability of resources, commitment and support from management, participation of employees in identifying tasks to improve, clear and realistic objectives for continuous improvement, and the existence of a leader or responsible for continuous improvement. The major barriers to success are a lack of alignment between the organization’s strategic objectives and continuous improvement objectives, a lack of motivation in the team, and resistance to change. The paper concludes with recommendations for companies to reduce the risk of improvement failure and increase their maturity level in continuous improvement.

Keywords: emerging economies, Kaizen, continuous improvement sustainability, maturity model

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Authors: Abdelkarim Mahdhi, Fdhila Kais, Faouzi Lamari, Zeineb Hmila, Fathi Kamoun, Maria Ángeles Esteban, Amina Bakhrouf

Abstract:

Pathogenic bacteria are considered to be responsible for several infectious diseases in aquaculture. To overcome diseases in fish culture, the use of antimicrobial drugs as strategy, have been adopted. The use of probiotic was a promising approach to avoid the risk associated to pathogenic bacteria. To find a biological control treatment against pathogens, we undertook this investigation to study the maintain of the probiotic properties of Bacillus sp., such as viability, adhesive ability to abiotic surface, antibacterial activity and pathogenicity/toxicity, under marine starvation conditions. Our data revealed that the tested strains maintained their capacity to inhibit pathogens in vivo and in vitro conditions. These strains maintain their adhesive capacity to polystyrene and do not demonstrate the pathogenic or toxic effect to the host. The obtained results give insight about the effect of starvation conditions on the physiological responses of these Bacillus strains that can be considered as a potential candidate’s probiotic.

Keywords: bacillus, probiotic, cell viability, starvation conditions

Procedia PDF Downloads 379