Journal articles on the topic 'Global market screening'
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1
Faseli, Omid. "Screening for light crude oil and market comovements." International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147- 4478) 9, no. 7 (December 12, 2020): 123–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.20525/ijrbs.v9i7.949.
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This study aimed to perform a screening for economic interrelationships among market participants from the stock market, global stock indices, and commodities from fossil energy, agricultural, and the metals sector. Particular focus was put on the comovements of the light crude oil benchmarks West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude oil. In finance research and the crude oil markets, identifying novel groupings and interactions is a fundamental requirement due to the extended impact of crude oil price fluctuations on economic growth and inflation. Thus, it is of high interest for investors to identify market players and interactions that appear sensitive to crude oil price volatility triggers. The price development of 14 stocks, 25 leading global indices, and 13 commodity prices, including WTI and Brent, were analyzed via data mining applying the hierarchical correlation cluster mapping technique. All price data comprised the period from January 2012 – December 2018 and were based on daily returns. The technique identifies and visualizes existing hierarchical clusters and correlation patterns emphasizing comovements that indicate positively correlated processes. The method successfully identified clustering patterns and a series of relevant and partly unexpected novel comovements in all investigated economic sectors. Although additional research is required to reveal the causative factors, the study offers an insight into in-depth market interrelationships.
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Qizam, Ibnu, Abdul Qoyum, and Misnen Ardiansyah. "Global Financial Crisis and Islamic Capital Market Integration among 5-ASEAN Countries." Global Review of Islamic Economics and Business 2, no. 3 (February 6, 2015): 207. http://dx.doi.org/10.14421/grieb.2015.023-04.
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Islamic Capital Market is important part of Financial System in ASEAN countries especially in the context of AEC. The objective of this paper is to investigate interconnection long run equilibrium of Islamic Capital Market in ASEAN Countries. Using daily closing price for from September 2007 to October 2012, this study examine five Islamic Capital markets in ASEAN namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. This study examines on Integration among these Islamic Capital markets by relies a simple correlation test, Granger causality test and co-integration test using error correction model. This research documents some interesting finding. First, Using Johansen estimation technique, there is co-integration between the considered Islamic indices namely; Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Second, Since the co-integration exists, granger causality test shows that there is three bi-directional causalities namely; between Malaysia Islamic Capital Market and Singapore Islamic Capital Market; between Thailand Islamic Capital Market and Singapore Islamic Capital Market; and between Singapore Islamic Capital Market and Philippines Islamic Capital Market. However, there is a unidirectional between Indonesia Islamic Market (MCIINA) and Malaysia Islamic Market (MCIMY), MCIINA and Philippines Islamic Market (MCIPhil), MCIINA and Thailand Islamic Market (MCITHAI), it implies that MCIINA affects MCIMY, MCIPhil, and MCIThai but not vice versa. Third, based on VECM suggest that all Islamic indexes are inter-related in the long run that can be explained due to the similarity of structure bring about by its stock as required by shariah in the process stock screening.
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Kumar, A. Vinay, and Mohinder N. Kaura. "Venture Capitalists' Screening Criteria." Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers 28, no. 2 (April 2003): 49–59. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0256090920030204.
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Indian venture capital industry is one of the predominant players among South Asian countries. New funds have opened their shop here and are continuing to bring in more funds. The industry has undergone a major shift in focus. India is not a country which offers lower-cost production alternatives but is a high-tech and global outsourcing centre. The present study reports four factors which are used by the venture capitalists to screen new venture proposals. Using Kendall's tau-c analysis, the study brings out strong association between several variable pairs. Broadly, the analysis finds that: Successful venture teams put in sustained efforts on identified target markets. They are highly meticulous while attending to the details. These teams are adept at dealing with risk because of their impeccable past experience. Indian venture capitalists do not seem to be much enamoured of technology venturing; at least some of the successful ventures funded by them do not seem to show signs of being hi-tech. The study brings out four important variables which are highly unique to successful venture in India. They are: ability to evaluate and react to risk attention to details market share profits. Evaluating risk seems to be an area where unsuccessful ventures fail. Since successful teams focus on established markets and meticulously pursue these markets to gain market share, they achieve desired profits. The future research may explore the process of screening and evaluation by investigating the same through other means such as qualitative technique and techniques from cognitive psychology. The aspect of accuracy of venture capitalists' introspection would be an interesting area to study. Unless more research is conducted in the cognitive process of venture capitalists' decision-making, our understanding would remain insufficient.
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Bagloee, Saeed Asadi, Mohsen Asadi, and Cyrus Mohebbi. "A Model for Screening Vulnerability in the Loan Market in the Context of Credit Rationing." International Journal of Strategic Decision Sciences 5, no. 1 (January 2014): 59–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/ijsds.2014010104.
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The loan market has contributed to the success and failure of economies. Examples of such failures are the US subprime mortgage crisis as well as the global economic meltdown that followed. Many factors influence the loan market, making it volatile and vulnerable. As such, it is important to understand the extent of its vulnerability. Such uncertainties emerge from asymmetric information in the loan market that may lead to credit rationing. Many studies have been devoted to exploring theoretical aspects of the credit market. However, before delving into the theory, it is important to understand and analyze empirical data. Having said that, the literature has yet to provide reliable methodologies for analyzing the empirical data of the loan market. Therefore, given an empirical survey, this study provides a model describing borrowers' behavior in the loan markets. Borrowers are faced with a variety of loan contracts with different terms and conditions from different banks. Logit models can be used to capture the borrowers' choice of bank. Credit is not easily available rather it is rationed and borrowers compete to obtain their required credit via best suited banks offers. The competition is guaranteed by developing a mathematical programming formulation (an objective function subject to constraints) integrated with the logit models for which a solution algorithm using Successive Coordinate Descent was developed. Numerical results of the methodology are presented. Loan terms and conditions as well the borrowers characteristics and preferences are captured in the logit models as explanatory variables. The methodology allows sensitivity analysis on the explanatory variables demonstrating the fluctuation and vulnerability of credit flow.
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Ho, Catherine S. F. "International comparison of Shari’ah compliance screening standards." International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management 8, no. 2 (June 15, 2015): 222–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/imefm-07-2014-0065.
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Purpose – This paper aims to review the Shari’ah investment screening methodologies of 34 prominent global Islamic finance users, including index providers, Shari’ah service providers, Islamic banks, a regulator, an association body and fund managers. Design/methodology/approach – A comparative analysis is performed to highlight the variances of the Shari’ah-compliant methods and principles practiced by these renowned institutions with the latest compiled data. Findings – The two sets of business screens and financial screens are profiled separately to clearly examine the similarities and differences between the different methodologies. Some of these practitioners are more specific in their listing of Shari’ah-impermissible activities, while some are more general in allowing more businesses to be included as permissible. The majority of these users practice a two-tier method of screening: qualitative and quantitative. Under quantitative screen, the range of allowable threshold ratios on non-permissible criteria differs slightly between them. Research limitations/implications – With the wide divergence in screening methodologies applied by practitioners, there is a general consensus in the acceptance of compliant assets from various countries and practice. Standardization is, therefore, seen as a need not only to make understanding of Shari’ah investments clear to investors but also to discourage misunderstandings between scholars and investors. Practical implications – The suggestion, therefore, is to set globally acceptable universal Shari’ah standard methodologies which are applicable by the world Islamic financial market. These standards which are relevant and logical to global ethical investing would further stimulate investments in Islamic finance. Social implications – With Shari’ah-compliant asset growing exponentially relative to the world’s financial assets, it is alleged that greater harmonization of the global screening methods would prevent misunderstanding and provide a clearer insight on Shari’ah investing, which could further accelerate growth of the Islamic finance sector worldwide. Originality/value – To provide a more transparent regulatory environment and build local and regional regulatory framework through establishment of standards, there should be more consistency with minimum barriers that prevent the industry from achieving its full potential. The paper also contributes to existing literature by documenting and analyzing the qualitative and quantitative screening procedures as practiced by a comprehensive set of global Islamic finance users. It is, therefore, important to share this knowledge as an effort toward greater understanding and harmonization of the practices at the global level to accelerate growth in the industry.
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Wang, Ming-Kuen, and Kevin P. Hwang. "Using FAHP Methods Evaluation and Screening of Intellectual Property Rights Managers in Taiwan." Asia-Pacific Journal of Operational Research 31, no. 06 (December 2014): 1450048. http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/s0217595914500481.
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This research uses the fuzzy Delphi and Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) to analyze the key factors involved in evaluating and screening industry managers of intellectual property (IP) rights within Taiwan. Firms can utilize the key factors of human resource management to provide self-growth opportunities and obtain competitive advantage opportunities that can expand their global market share. This study summarizes the evaluation and screening criteria used for IP rights managers via a questionnaire distributed to 29 management experts, from the governmental departments related to IP rights body, and scholars with backgrounds in IP rights related teaching, who had actually participated in IP rights managers' specialty decisions, and who had employed fuzzy Delphi screening criteria, uses Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) calculate relative weight. The findings include five key competency factors: Evaluating IP rights, locating the core patent group, calculating the chance that patents will be granted, deciding the best time to patent, and deciding whether to apply for patents inland or overseas.
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Qiu, Judy, Hormoz Movassaghi, and Alka Bramhandkar. "Socially conscious investing: do good deeds get punished?" Social Responsibility Journal 14, no. 3 (August 6, 2018): 619–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/srj-03-2017-0058.
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Purpose This paper aims to examine the performance of select “socially conscious” (SC) mutual funds and a control group of conventional funds during recent bullish and bearish financial markets. It aims at exploring the interface of these funds’ historical returns and selectivity of their investment screening. Design/methodology/approach The authors’ data come from Morningstar Direct and focuses on “equity” funds/class A shares only. The authors controlled for age, expense ratio, size and management turnover in comparing SC and mutual funds’ returns. Findings SC funds underperformed conventional funds in both expansionary and recessionary periods and in short and long term. Paradoxically, SC funds’ return generally improved with the number of social screens adopted. The gap in returns between SC, conventional funds and indices of market return narrowed as investment horizon became longer and also during boom market conditions, suggesting that doing good need not come at the expense of doing well. Research limitations/implications The authors’ study focused on class A shares only. Practical implications In choosing SC funds, investors need to focus on expense ratio and management turnover which seem to influence returns more. Neither age nor size of SC funds seem to have affected returns in systematic and statistically significant way. Originality/value This paper provides the most recent scorecard of SC funds’ performance, compared to similar conventional funds and market return, since the 2007 global financial crisis.
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Chiappini, Helen, Gianfranco Vento, and Leonardo De Palma. "The Impact of COVID-19 Lockdowns on Sustainable Indexes." Sustainability 13, no. 4 (February 8, 2021): 1846. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su13041846.
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This paper analyzes the response of sustainable indexes to the pandemic lockdown orders in Europe and the USA, contributing to both the research on the effects of the global pandemic outbreak and the resiliency of sustainable investments under market distress. Our results demonstrate that sustainable indexes were negatively impacted by lockdown orders; however, they did not show statistically significant different abnormal returns compared to traditional indexes. Similarly, our empirical results confirm that sustainable screening strategies (negative, positive, best in class) did not have an influence during such announcements. These results are robust across several model specifications and robustness tests, including nonparametric tests, generalized autoregressive conditionally heteroskedastic (GARCH) estimation of abnormal returns, and alternative events. The findings suggest that investors do not have to pay the price for the investments in sustainable assets when a bear market occurs; consequently, ceteris paribus, these investments appear suitable for financial-first investors. Such results have relevant practical consequences in terms of sustainable investment attractiveness and market growth.
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Hartz Pinto, Dimas, Celso Funcia Lemme, and Ricardo Pereira Câmara Leal. "Socially responsible stock funds in Brazil." International Journal of Managerial Finance 10, no. 4 (August 26, 2014): 432–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ijmf-10-2013-0107.
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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the risk-adjusted performance of Brazilian SRI stock funds. Design/methodology/approach – Risk-adjusted performance of 11 Brazilian socially responsible investment (SRI) funds relative to local index funds and matched pairs of funds. Findings – SRI funds performed as well as portfolios representing the broad market on a risk-adjusted basis, both before and during the global financial crisis. Independent investment houses are not interested in SRI funds. Large financial conglomerates may see these funds as part of their corporate social responsibility image strategy. Research limitations/implications – Brazilian SRI funds are a very small niche in the stock mutual fund universe of the country, thus, the small sample (universe) of SRI funds, as far as the author's knew. One cannot say that independent asset managers do not include SRI screening in their stock selection criteria. The use of SRI screening by the most prominent independent asset managers is a potential topic for future research. Practical implications – Brazilian SRI funds did not represent an extra screening filter cost to their investors. The majority of asset managers do not consider this strategy important enough to deserve an exclusive vehicle. Social implications – As SRI funds did not posit an extra screening cost, they may deserve a greater share of the mutual fund market, stimulating more SRI. Originality/value – The performance of Brazilian SRI stock funds had not been examined in the international literature. Brazil has vast natural resources, a very large economy and the fourth largest mutual fund industry in the world, but was overlooked.
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Kor, Laura, Katherine Homewood, Terence P. Dawson, and Mauricio Diazgranados. "Sustainability of wild plant use in the Andean Community of South America." Ambio 50, no. 9 (April 16, 2021): 1681–97. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13280-021-01529-7.
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AbstractOverexploitation is the second biggest driver of global plant extinction. Meanwhile, useful plant species are vital to livelihoods across the world, with global conservation efforts increasingly applying the concept of ‘conservation-through-use.’ However, successfully balancing conservation and biodiversity use remains challenging. We reviewed literature on the sustainability of wild-collected plant use across the countries of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia—a region of global importance for its biological and cultural richness. After applying defined search terms and a two-stage screening process, 68 articles were reviewed. The numbers which reported sustainable, unsustainable, or context-dependent outcomes were relatively even, but national differences emerged. Through narrative synthesis, we identified five key, reoccurring themes: plant biology; land tenure; knowledge, resource, and capacity; economics and market pressures; and institutional structures, policy, and legislation. Our results show the need for flexible, context-specific approaches and the importance of collaboration, with bottom-up management and conservation methods involving local communities and traditional ecological knowledge often proving most effective.
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BinMahfouz, Saeed, and M. Kabir Hassan. "Sustainable and socially responsible investing." Humanomics 29, no. 3 (August 23, 2013): 164–86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/h-07-2013-0043.
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PurposeThere is a great deal of research that has been done to investigate the investment characteristics of conventional socially responsible investment portfolios compared to their broader conventional counterparts. However, the impact of incorporating sustainability criteria into the traditional Sharia screening process has not so far been investigated. Therefore, the study aims to give empirical evidence as to whether or not incorporating sustainability socially responsible criteria in the traditional Sharia screening process has a significant impact on the investment characteristics of the Islamic investment portfolio.Design/methodology/approachThe paper examines the investment characteristics of four groups of investment portfolios mainly, Dow Jones Global Index, Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, Dow Jones Islamic Market World Index and Dow Jones Islamic Market Sustainability Index. To improve the robustness of the study, the analysis was carried out at different levels. First, absolute mean return and t‐test were used to examine whether the difference between the different groups of investments is statistically significant or not. Second, risk adjusted equilibrium models, both single‐index and Fama and French multi‐index, were employed. This is to control for different risk exposure and investment style bias associated with different investment portfolios examined.FindingsThe paper finds that neither the Sharia nor the sustainability screening process seems to have an adverse impact on the performance and systematic risk of the investment portfolios compared to their unrestricted conventional counterparts. Therefore, Muslim as well as socially responsible investors can choose investments that are consistent with their value systems and beliefs without being forced to sacrifice performance or expose to higher systematic risk.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the existing literature by giving new evidence on the impact of incorporating sustainability criteria into the traditional Sharia screening process that has not so far been investigated.
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Zhang, Haiping, Yang Yang, Junxin Li, Min Wang, Konda Mani Saravanan, Jinli Wei, Justin Tze-Yang Ng, et al. "A novel virtual screening procedure identifies Pralatrexate as inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 RdRp and it reduces viral replication in vitro." PLOS Computational Biology 16, no. 12 (December 31, 2020): e1008489. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008489.
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The spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus poses serious threats to the global public health and leads to worldwide crisis. No effective drug or vaccine is readily available. The viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) is a promising therapeutic target. A hybrid drug screening procedure was proposed and applied to identify potential drug candidates targeting RdRp from 1906 approved drugs. Among the four selected market available drug candidates, Pralatrexate and Azithromycin were confirmed to effectively inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication in vitro with EC50 values of 0.008μM and 9.453 μM, respectively. For the first time, our study discovered that Pralatrexate is able to potently inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication with a stronger inhibitory activity than Remdesivir within the same experimental conditions. The paper demonstrates the feasibility of fast and accurate anti-viral drug screening for inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 and provides potential therapeutic agents against COVID-19.
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El Khatib, Ahmed Sameer, and Nahor Plácido Lisboa. "RELIGION AND FINANCE." REUNIR Revista de Administração Contabilidade e Sustentabilidade 9, no. 1 (July 16, 2019): 73–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.18696/reunir.v9i1.900.
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Despite the increasing attention to ethical investments, the empirical studies on Islamic indices are scarce. The principles of Islamic indices are similar to those of other ethical indices in terms of the screening process; both of them are also characterized by their short histories. So, after Islamic indices were introduced in the late nineties, many financial markets and index providers launched their own Islamic indices for investors looking for investment opportunities without compromising their beliefs. Analysing the financial performance of Islamic equity indices from all relevant providers, we document these indices to outperform their conventional benchmarks on a global and developed market level after controlling for investment styles and a potential back-testing bias. To explain this outperformance puzzle, we investigate fundamental (i.e., risk factors), behavioural (i.e., Ramadan) and research design (i.e., sample length) related explanations but the overall results persist. When eliminating the effect of the financial services industry from conventional benchmarks, however, the outperformance of all indices except the Dow Jones Islamic Market (DJIM) world index disappears. This implies that Islamic equity indices have outperformed due to their critical position towards risk-free interest and the financial services industry. We conclude that they represent a viable alternative for risk-averse passive investors, especially during periods of high uncertainty around financial services. Further research is needed to fully understand the abnormally good performance of the DJIM.
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Sokullu, Esen, Marie-Soleil Gauthier, and Benoit Coulombe. "Discovery of Antivirals Using Phage Display." Viruses 13, no. 6 (June 10, 2021): 1120. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/v13061120.
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The latest coronavirus disease outbreak, COVID-19, has brought attention to viral infections which have posed serious health threats to humankind throughout history. The rapid global spread of COVID-19 is attributed to the increased human mobility of today’s world, yet the threat of viral infections to global public health is expected to increase continuously in part due to increasing human–animal interface. Development of antiviral agents is crucial to combat both existing and novel viral infections. Recently, there is a growing interest in peptide/protein-based drug molecules. Antibodies are becoming especially predominant in the drug market. Indeed, in a remarkably short period, four antibody therapeutics were authorized for emergency use in COVID-19 treatment in the US, Russia, and India as of November 2020. Phage display has been one of the most widely used screening methods for peptide/antibody drug discovery. Several phage display-derived biologics are already in the market, and the expiration of intellectual property rights of phage-display antibody discovery platforms suggests an increment in antibody drugs in the near future. This review summarizes the most common phage display libraries used in antiviral discovery, highlights the approaches employed to enhance the antiviral potency of selected peptides/antibody fragments, and finally provides a discussion about the present status of the developed antivirals in clinic.
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Hussain, Hafezali Iqbal, Janusz Grabara, Mohd Shahril Ahmad Razimi, and Saeed Pahlevan Sharif. "Sustainability of Leverage Levels in Response to Shocks in Equity Prices: Islamic Finance as a Socially Responsible Investment." Sustainability 11, no. 12 (June 13, 2019): 3260. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su11123260.
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This study looks at how firms react to shocks in equity prices based on a classification which arises from social pressures rather than the financial objective of maximizing shareholders’ wealth. In order to meet the objective of the study, a sample of Malaysian firms from the period of 2003 to 2018 was utilized to evaluate the relationship between market and book debt ratios based on a social distinction. The study is based on the theoretical expectation that managers are inclined to adjust book debt ratios to converge with market debt values which arise from changes in equity values over time. We introduce a unique institutional setting into the relationship which is readily observable in the Malaysian capital market given the existence of Shari’ah and non-Shari’ah compliant company classifications on the stock exchange (Bursa Malaysia), as screened by the Securities Commission. The classification forms the basis for distinguishing Socially Responsible Investment options for investors. The findings reveal the existence of asymmetries in how both categories of firms adjust towards shocks in equity prices. The findings document that both compliant and non-compliant firms decrease book debt ratios in line with increases in firms’ equity values. Compliant firms, on the other hand, are more likely to increase book debt ratios during periods of decreases in equity values. Non-compliant firms do not significantly alter book debt ratios during periods of declining equity prices. The findings indicate that whilst firms tend to decrease debt levels in the presence of future growth potential, the response is asymmetric during periods of suppression of share prices. Thus, the screening of compliant versus non-compliant firms allows investors to distinguish sustainable firms in the long run, which further allows diversification when holding socially responsible investment portfolios. Our conclusions have wide reaching implications on a global scale for the development of sustainable capital markets.
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Pan, Si Yuan, Shan Pan, Zhi-Ling Yu, Dik-Lung Ma, Si-Bao Chen, Wang-Fun Fong, Yi-Fan Han, and Kam-Ming Ko. "New Perspectives on Innovative Drug Discovery: An Overview." Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences 13, no. 3 (November 8, 2010): 450. http://dx.doi.org/10.18433/j39w2g.
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Despite advances in technology, drug discovery is still a lengthy, expensive, difficult, and inefficient process, with a low rate of success. Today, advances in biomedical science have brought about great strides in therapeutic interventions for a wide spectrum of diseases. The advent of biochemical techniques and cutting-edge bio/chemical technologies has made available a plethora of practical approaches to drug screening and design. In 2010, the total sales of the global pharmaceutical market will reach 600 billion US dollars and expand to over 975 billion dollars by 2013. The aim of this review is to summarize available information on contemporary approaches and strategies in the discovery of novel therapeutic agents, especially from the complementary and alternative medicines, including natural products and traditional remedies such as Chinese herbal medicine.
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Schapiro, Mark. "New Power for “Old Europe”." International Journal of Health Services 35, no. 3 (July 2005): 551–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.2190/gyrm-92vr-h6m4-6hdq.
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The European Union's growing political clout is leading to new paradigms of environmental and health regulation. The E.U. is putting teeth behind new guidelines governing the toxicity of chemicals in consumer products, cosmetics, and automobiles that are forcing American companies to reconsider longstanding production practices. While U.S. government oversight over environmental and health concerns is being weakened, the E.U.'s strengthened governance over these and other arenas is rapidly, through the leverage of international trade, setting the stage for a new global standard. Europe's new standards present a historic choice to U.S. manufacturers: either conform to the E.U.'s preemptive screening for toxicity, or risk sacrificing the 450-million strong European market. The author explores the American response, and how the United States is slipping to the lower rungs of a double standard for protecting the health of citizens.
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Razumnova, L. L., and T. E. Migaleva. "New Regulation of Direct Foreign Investment Screening in the European Union and Interests of Russia." Vestnik of the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, no. 3 (May 13, 2020): 166–86. http://dx.doi.org/10.21686/2413-2829-2020-3-166-186.
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The article deals with adoption of a new framework regulation of direct foreign investment (DFI) of the European Union in condition of shaping a polycentric system of international relations and re-balancing of global players’ forces, which is accompanied by weakening the positions of the EU on global market and strengthening China as a new superpower. In this situation the EU tries to reinforce economic security and raise competitiveness of economy by protecting the sphere of critical infrastructure and high technologies against external control. The authors provide a brief analysis of geopolitical, economic and political factors, which determined specific features of new EU investment legislation. The scale and structure of Chinese DFI in EU economy were estimated and specificity of the process of mutual outsourcing of EU and China political values was identified. According to the analysis, China that increases its presence in the EU, apart from big finance possibilities uses differentiation of priorities in foreign and home policy of member-states and internal European contradictions and fragmentation of EU legislation. By using the text of the framework Regulation 2019/452 key elements and procedures were described and contradictions in the mechanism of investment selection being designed were found. It is proved that these contradictions, including numerous different agreements and institutional units involved in the process, keeping national priorities in making final decisions in the absence of necessary for DFI screening function system elements and others hinder the creation of the efficiently functioning supranational system of European DFI control. A conclusion was drawn that introduction of the Regulation can have a negative effect on the inflow of Russian investment to Europe. At the same time Russia cannot affect designing of this screening mechanism, as its role is limited by the frameworks of European policy of partial communication isolation. In the long-term the toughness of using investment regulation in the EU will depend on the outline of the US – EU – Russia confrontation.
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Imambachri, Sapto Hadi. "ANALISA STRATEGI PEMASARAN INTERNASIONAL PT. MUSTIKA RATU TBK DI SAUDI ARABIA." SEKRETARI 4, no. 1 (September 14, 2017): 24. http://dx.doi.org/10.32493/skr.v4i1.604.
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ABSTRAKPenelitian yang berjudul Analisa Strategi Pemasaran Internasional PT. Mustika Ratu Tbk, bertujuan untuk menganalisa strategi pemasaran Internasional di Saudi Arabia, dalam penelitian ini ada empat variabel yang menjadi perhatian, yaitu: Market screening technique yang digunakan sejauh mana Global entry strategy berpengaruh terhadap pemasaran Internasional, faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi pemasaran internasional PT. Mustika Ratu, dan perilaku konsumen. Penelitian deskriptif kualitatif ini dilaksanakan dengan menggunakan kuesioner terhadap 30 responden dan dapat disimpulkan bahwa strategi pemasaran internasional PT. Mustika Ratu belum dilaksanakan dengan baik karena dari hasil penelitian hanya sekitar 60 % - 80 % dari strategi pemasaran internasional yang seharusnya dilakukan. Analisa SWOT dilakukan dengan pembobotan yang didapat dari kuesioner yang disebarkan, kemudian diambil proporsinya, sedangkan score didapat dari rata-rata kumulatif setiap pertanyaan kemudian diterjemahkan dengan menggunakan diagram kartesius, maka dapat terlihat elemen strength: tidak terlalu kuat tetapi pada elemen opportunity: masih terbuka lebar, sehingga strategi progresif adalah strategi yang tepat untuk dilaksanakan dalam pengembangan penjualan di Saudi Arabia. Kata Kunci : Analisa Strategi Pemasaran, Analisa SWOT
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Razumnova, Lyudmila L., and Tatyana E. Migaleva. "The Rise of China's Political and Economic Influence in the Modern World: Pluralism of Opinions." International Trade and Trade Policy, no. 4 (January 3, 2020): 42–64. http://dx.doi.org/10.21686/2410-7395-2019-4-42-64.
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The increasing political and economic influence of China on the international economic relations, whilst remaining the relative closeness of its economy and reluctance to provide reciprocal access to the national market, is becoming an important topic for discussion among Western and Russian researchers. The purpose of the study is to analyze the modern scientific view on growing influence of the PRC worldwide as a new political player, as well as to identify contradictions arising in the world economy. The methodological basis consists of general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis, generalization and comparison methods, historical and logical approaches to the examined phenomena, which allow to identify contradictions and problems that Russia could face due to China's global economic expansion. The authors substantiate the need for Russian to use the experience of other country in protecting its national interests throw creating mechanisms for foreign investments screening, as those investment can have negative impact on the recipient economy and its integration partners. The article provides recommendations for Russia on how to develop the mutually beneficial and effective investment cooperation with China.
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Dr. Bhoomi Gupta and Vandana Choudhary, Prerna Gupta. "Video Analytics Solution for COVID-19." International Journal for Modern Trends in Science and Technology 6, no. 12 (December 4, 2020): 141–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.46501/ijmtst061227.
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Amid the global crisis of the Corona virus pandemic, new demands have emerged in the market which uses Video Analytics for finding solutions to halt the transmission of the Virus. The COVID - 19 pandemic is devastating mankind irrespective of caste, creed, gender, and religion. Until a vaccine is discovered, we should do our bit to constrain the expanse of the corona virus. Using a face mask can undoubtedly help in managing the spread of the virus. The face mask detector, a video analytic solution uses MobileNetV2 model, deep learning techniques to successfully test whether a person is wearing a face mask or not. The face mask identifier is least complex in structure and gives quick results and hence can be used in CCTV footage to detect whether a person is wearing a mask perfectly so that he does not pose any danger to others. Mass screening is possible with video analytics and hence can be used in crowded places like Airports, Hospitals Entrance Exam Centers, Schools and Colleges.
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Asim, Iram, Hafsa Rehman, Rabeea Anwar, and Humaira Yasmeen. "A Review of Novel Coronavirus: Cross-Disciplinal Perspective." Journal of Bioresource Management 8, no. 3 (August 2, 2021): 14–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.35691/jbm.1202.0191.
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The whole world is under the influence of coronavirus after its first report from Wuhan, China in December 2019. The virus is from coronaviridae family which has zoonotic viruses that can spread from animals to humans. The coronavirus like other viruses of this family produces mild flu-like symptoms within 2-14 days in the human host which progresses to death in severe cases. Unlikely coronavirus spread fast among humans-infectious diseases. Up till now (27/04/2020) around 2.97M cases and 207K deaths have been reported. The presence of a virus in respiratory secretions is diagnosed through molecular methods and chest scans. For this method, published articles on COVID-19 up to April 19, 2020, were screened. Keywords used were “Covid-19,” “novel coronavirus,” “SARS-CoV-2,” “2019-nCoV,” “Wuhan coronavirus,” and “Wuhan seafood market pneumonia virus.” After the cautious screening, published articles with confirmed cases were acknowledged and included. It has not only affecting physical health but has negatively affecting mental health. Vaccination has been introduced but global impact of this pandemic is still uncertain.
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Srinivasan, Balaji, Julia L. Finkelstein, David Erickson, and Saurabh Mehta. "Point-of-Care Quantification of Serum Alpha-Fetoprotein for Screening Birth Defects in Resource-Limited Settings: Proof-of-Concept Study." JMIR Biomedical Engineering 6, no. 1 (March 3, 2021): e23527. http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/23527.
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Background Maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MSAFP) concentration typically increases during pregnancy and is routinely measured during the second trimester as a part of screening for fetal neural tube defects and Down syndrome. However, most pregnancy screening tests are not available in the settings they are needed the most. A mobile device–enabled technology based on MSAFP for screening birth defects could enable the rapid screening and triage of high-risk pregnancies, especially where maternal serum screening and fetal ultrasound scan facilities are not easily accessible. Shifting the approach from clinic- and laboratory-dependent care to a mobile platform based on our point-of-care approach will enable translation to resource-limited settings and the global health care market. Objective The objective of this study is to develop and perform proof-of-concept testing of a lateral flow immunoassay on a mobile platform for rapid, point-of-care quantification of serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels, from a drop of human serum, within a few minutes. Methods The development of the immunoassay involved the selection of commercially available antibodies and optimization of their concentrations by an iterative method to achieve the required detection limits. We compared the performance of our method with that of commercially obtained human serum samples, with known AFP concentrations quantified by the Abbott ARCHITECT chemiluminescent magnetic microparticle immunoassay (CMIA). Results We tested commercially obtained serum samples (N=20) with concentrations ranging from 2.2 to 446 ng/mL to compare the results of our point-of-care assay with results from the Abbott ARCHITECT CMIA. A correlation of 0.98 (P<.001) was observed on preliminary testing and comparison with the CMIA. The detection range of our point-of-care assay covers the range of maternal serum AFP levels observed during pregnancy. Conclusions The preliminary test results from the AFP test on the mobile platform performed in this study represent a proof of concept that will pave the way for our future work focused on developing a mobile device–enabled quad-screen point-of-care testing with the potential to enable the screening of high-risk pregnancies in various settings. The AFP test on the mobile platform can be applied to enable screening for high-risk pregnancies, within a few minutes, at the point of care even in remote areas where maternal serum tests and fetal ultrasound scans are not easily accessible; assessment of whether clinical follow-up and diagnostic testing may be needed after a positive initial screening evaluation; and development of surveillance tools for birth defects.
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Shawky, Eman, and Dina Selim. "Rapid Authentication and Quality Evaluation of Cinnamomum verum Powder Using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy and Multivariate Analyses." Planta Medica 84, no. 18 (August 1, 2018): 1380–87. http://dx.doi.org/10.1055/a-0654-5468.
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AbstractParallel to the growing global interest in alternative medical therapies, high measures of counterfeit pharmaceuticals enter the global market and, therefore, detection of such marketed products is essential. This article throws an illuminating spot on the adulteration of Cinnamomum verum (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) with Cinnamomum cassia and exhaustively extracted C. verum. A speedy and nondestructive near-infrared method in conjunction with the mathematical tools of chemometrics was used to distinguish between genuine cinnamon and its common adulterants. The principal component analysis and the hierarchical cluster analysis models successfully discriminated between unadulterated and adulterated samples. In the second part of the work, soft independent modeling of class analogy was implemented to construct a chemometric model to authenticate C. verum samples. The constructed model could successfully predict and judge the quality of C. verum powder without any misleading predictions. Finally, partial least squares regression was approached to establish the correlation for adulterated samples regarding their cassia and exhausted cinnamon content. The R2 of calibration and validation were all higher than 0.9, while the root mean square errors were all lower than 0.05, indicating that the established models were successful. Overall, the developed models were shown to have significant potential as time-saving and accurate methods for identification of true cinnamon powder, which can help guarantee both quality aspects of identity and purity of the herbal drug by avoiding its adulteration and could be implemented as a routine screening in its quality control with no need for any sample preparation.
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Choi, Ryan, Mowei Zhou, Roger Shek, Jesse W. Wilson, Logan Tillery, Justin K. Craig, Indraneel A. Salukhe, et al. "High-throughput screening of the ReFRAME, Pandemic Box, and COVID Box drug repurposing libraries against SARS-CoV-2 nsp15 endoribonuclease to identify small-molecule inhibitors of viral activity." PLOS ONE 16, no. 4 (April 22, 2021): e0250019. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0250019.
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SARS-CoV-2 has caused a global pandemic, and has taken over 1.7 million lives as of mid-December, 2020. Although great progress has been made in the development of effective countermeasures, with several pharmaceutical companies approved or poised to deliver vaccines to market, there is still an unmet need of essential antiviral drugs with therapeutic impact for the treatment of moderate-to-severe COVID-19. Towards this goal, a high-throughput assay was used to screen SARS-CoV-2 nsp15 uracil-dependent endonuclease (endoU) function against 13 thousand compounds from drug and lead repurposing compound libraries. While over 80% of initial hit compounds were pan-assay inhibitory compounds, three hits were confirmed as nsp15 endoU inhibitors in the 1–20 μM range in vitro. Furthermore, Exebryl-1, a ß-amyloid anti-aggregation molecule for Alzheimer’s therapy, was shown to have antiviral activity between 10 to 66 μM, in Vero 76, Caco-2, and Calu-3 cells. Although the inhibitory concentrations determined for Exebryl-1 exceed those recommended for therapeutic intervention, our findings show great promise for further optimization of Exebryl-1 as an nsp15 endoU inhibitor and as a SARS-CoV-2 antiviral.
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Chaika, Natalia, Matar Mazen, Oleh Koshovyi, Ganna Kravchenko, Olga Goryacha, Igor Kireyev, Sergiy Kovalenko, and Roman Darmograi. "Research in phytochemical composition and hypoglycemic activity screening of the dry extracts from bearberry leaves." ScienceRise: Pharmaceutical Science, no. 3(31) (June 30, 2021): 42–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.15587/2519-4852.2021.235939.
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Diabetes mellitus is a global medical and social issue. In the developed countries of the world, from 5 to 12% of the population are diagnosed with diabetes mellitus and, according to WHO prognosis, the level of this disease may increase to 30-35%. Type 2 diabetes is a disease that progresses over time, but the rational and systematic use of hypoglycemic synthetic drugs and phytopreparations can significantly delay the onset of insulin therapy. A promising source of BAS with a hypoglycemic effect is the raw material of plants of the Heather family, namely, bearberry leaves. However, on the Ukrainian market there are no domestic galenic and novo-galenic preparations based on biologically active substances of this raw material, which indicates the prospects for the development of new drugs, including those with hypoglycemic action. The aim. The aim of the study was to study the phytochemical composition and to carry out a screening of the hypoglycemic activity of dry extracts from bearberry leaves modified with various amino acids to identify promising substances with hypoglycemic action. Materials and methods. The objects of the study were 11 dry extracts from bearberry leaves, 10 of which were modified with various amino acids. The study of the phenolic compounds of the extracts was carried out by TLC, HPLC, and spectrophotometry. To assess the hypoglycemic activity of the extracts, two experiments were carried out - primary screening and oral glucose tolerance test. Results. Using TLC and HPLC, in the extracts obtained arbutin, gallic acid, 5 flavonoids were identified, among which hyperoside was dominant, 4 hydroxycinnamic acids, among which chlorogenic and caffeic acids were dominant, and their content was established. In the extracts obtained, main groups of phenolic compounds were quantified using a spectrophotometric method. Dry extracts from bearberry leaves, modified with cysteine, arginine and glutamic acid, showed the strongest hypoglycemic activity. Conclusions. The chemical composition of phenolic compounds and the hypoglycemic activity of dry extracts from bearberry leaves modified with 10 different amino acids were determined. The most promising substances turned out to be extracts modified with cysteine, arginine and glutamic acid; therefore, they are promising agents for the development of new drugs.
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Talapko, Jasminka, Tomislav Meštrović, Emina Pustijanac, and Ivana Škrlec. "Towards the Improved Accuracy of Hepatitis E Diagnosis in Vulnerable and Target Groups: A Global Perspective on the Current State of Knowledge and the Implications for Practice." Healthcare 9, no. 2 (January 29, 2021): 133. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9020133.
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The hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a positive single-stranded, icosahedral, quasi-enveloped RNA virus in the genus Orthohepevirus of the family Hepeviridae. Orthohepevirus A is the most numerous species of the genus Orthohepevirus and consists of eight different HEV genotypes that can cause infection in humans. HEV is a pathogen transmitted via the fecal–oral route, most commonly by consuming fecally contaminated water. A particular danger is the HEV-1 genotype, which poses a very high risk of vertical transmission from the mother to the fetus. Several outbreaks caused by this genotype have been reported, resulting in many premature births, abortions, and also neonatal and maternal deaths. Genotype 3 is more prevalent in Europe; however, due to the openness of the market, i.e., trade-in animals which represent a natural reservoir of HEV (such as pigs), there is a possibility of spreading HEV infections outside endemic areas. This problem is indeed global and requires increased hygiene measures in endemic areas, which entails special care for pregnant women in both endemic and non-endemic regions. As already highlighted, pregnant women could have significant health consequences due to the untimely diagnosis of HEV infection; hence, this is a population that should be targeted with a specific combination of testing approaches to ensure optimal specificity and sensitivity. Until we advance from predominantly supportive treatment in pregnancy and appraise the safety and efficacy of a HEV vaccine in this population, such screening approaches represent the mainstay of our public health endeavors.
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Singhvi, Shreyans D., Preksha T. Singh, Gautam Bhandari, and Rafe M. Khan. "D-dimer, a biomarker for detecting severity of SARS-CoV2: a systematic review." International Journal of Advances in Medicine 7, no. 9 (August 25, 2020): 1451. http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2349-3933.ijam20203614.
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A global pandemic of the novel corona virus has impacted the world on severe terms. Not only it has raised an impact on the health care systems as well as the economic and mental health of individuals. SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory virus- corona virus 2), the outbreak is associated to have likely started as a zoonotic transmission with a seafood market, it has now become clear of the person to person transmission of it. Currently, the virus has been called a global pandemic and has infected 8.72 million people worldwide (dated 21st June 2020). Since, the pandemic has affected multiple countries, our aim of the study is to study d-dimer a biomarker, that may reflect severity of the cases affected by the virus. The search was done based on preferred reporting system for meta-analysis and systemic review (PRISMA) guideline. All the scientific database like Pubmed central, NIH, NCBI, embrase, mediline, Cochrane and google scholar were used to research articles with keywords: ‘d-dimer, ‘SARS-CoV2’, ’severe cases’. All the published peer reviewed articles till date 17th June 2020 were studied. 9 articles were selected in the review and they depicted a higher value of d-dimer can be related to severity of the case of SARS-CoV2. Our study concludes that, for early severe case detection, an early detection of d-dimer levels can be done and treatment to reduce the value in the early cases may provide intervention to the prognosis of the disease. As, the number of cases leading to a severe case and requiring an ICU facility will decline, the mortality rate might drastically decline as well as earlier screening of a severe case of SARS-CoV-2 would help in faster intervention for the same.
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Kumar, Utsang, Shailja Singhal, Rekha Khandia, and Ashok Munjal. "CURRENT SCENARIO OF THE PANDEMIC COVID-19: AN OVERVIEW." Journal of Experimental Biology and Agricultural Sciences 8, Spl-1-SARS-CoV-2 (October 31, 2020): S158—S175. http://dx.doi.org/10.18006/2020.8(spl-1-sars-cov-2).s158.s175.
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The novel coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) caused by the SARS-CoV-2 is an emerging disease with deadly consequences, extended its stride over the globe commenced from the epicenter, Wuhan wet market, China led to declare globally as pandemic disease. Several non-specific features of the disease like prolonged incubation period, asymptomatic yet contagious, longer illness duration, and conveyance post clinical recovery feature makes prevention difficult and is the key reason for its rapid spread across the world. Covid-19 shows varied manifestations with the majority of reported cases having mild or even no symptoms. However, the infection led to a destructive footprint in the pulmonary system, specifically, lungs are most prone to damage, making them incapable of conducting respiratory functions and thus, resulting in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), multi-organ dysfunction, and loss of life. Up to the present, there is no worldwide-approved treatment for COVID-19 and only repurposed drugs are employed for the hospitalized patient, necessitating an urgent need to develop effective therapeutics. Hence, effective control of disease spread through screening and isolation of contacts is crucial in the community. The contagion effect of the COVID-19 outbreak has brought major challenges to health systems as well as global economy worldwide. Development of rapid diagnostic test and effective vaccine as well as minimizing the exposure of the human population to possible animal reservoirs is measures needed to curb future impact. The outbreak of SARS-CoV in 2003 followed by MERS-CoV within a decade, indicates the threat of novel infectious diseases resulting from RNA viruses, will continue to present a serious global health threat, as epitomized by COVID-19. Therefore, this review is attempting to provide an overview of the current scenario of COVID-19 in terms of epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment, especially focusing on public health impact.
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Lee, Jimmy, Tom Hughes, Mei-Ho Lee, Hume Field, Jeffrine Japning Rovie-Ryan, Frankie Thomas Sitam, Symphorosa Sipangkui, et al. "No Evidence of Coronaviruses or Other Potentially Zoonotic Viruses in Sunda pangolins (Manis javanica) Entering the Wildlife Trade via Malaysia." EcoHealth 17, no. 3 (September 2020): 406–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10393-020-01503-x.
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AbstractThe legal and illegal trade in wildlife for food, medicine and other products is a globally significant threat to biodiversity that is also responsible for the emergence of pathogens that threaten human and livestock health and our global economy. Trade in wildlife likely played a role in the origin of COVID-19, and viruses closely related to SARS-CoV-2 have been identified in bats and pangolins, both traded widely. To investigate the possible role of pangolins as a source of potential zoonoses, we collected throat and rectal swabs from 334 Sunda pangolins (Manis javanica) confiscated in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah between August 2009 and March 2019. Total nucleic acid was extracted for viral molecular screening using conventional PCR protocols used to routinely identify known and novel viruses in extensive prior sampling (> 50,000 mammals). No sample yielded a positive PCR result for any of the targeted viral families—Coronaviridae, Filoviridae, Flaviviridae, Orthomyxoviridae and Paramyxoviridae. In the light of recent reports of coronaviruses including a SARS-CoV-2-related virus in Sunda pangolins in China, the lack of any coronavirus detection in our ‘upstream’ market chain samples suggests that these detections in ‘downstream’ animals more plausibly reflect exposure to infected humans, wildlife or other animals within the wildlife trade network. While confirmatory serologic studies are needed, it is likely that Sunda pangolins are incidental hosts of coronaviruses. Our findings further support the importance of ending the trade in wildlife globally.
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Ortiz, Luz, Héctor Tillerias, Christian Chimbo, and Veronica Toaza. "Impact on the video game industry during the COVID-19 pandemic." Athenea 1, no. 1 (September 25, 2020): 5–13. http://dx.doi.org/10.47460/athenea.v1i1.1.
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This work presents trends and comparisons that show a change in the consumption and production of video games in times of confinement due to the health emergency. The video game industry has modified its philosophy and adapted its products to the new requirements and trends of consumers who see in this activity a way to appease the psychological and social impact due to quarantine and isolation. There is evidence of a 65% increase in the use of online video games, which has broken a world record. Products that have new aspects and considerations never before proposed by this great industry have been developed and offered, such as thematic games related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keywords: Video game, pandemic, online games, confinement.
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Даулет, Г. Д., Л. К. Бактыбаева, А. С. Соколенко, А. К. Кыдырбаева, and А. С. Катчибаева. "STUDY OF THE REGULATION OF MYELOPOESIS WITH NEWSYNTHESIZED COMPOUNDS." Vestnik, no. 1 (June 17, 2021): 215–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.53065/kaznmu.2021.18.24.045.
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В настоящее время спрос на иммуностимуляторы и иммуномодуляторы на фармацевтическом рынке растет из-за влияния различных факторов окружающей среды, неблагоприятных экологических и стрессовых факторов при лечении пациентов в сфере онкологии. А цель современной иммунофармакологии - разработать глобальные иммуностимуляторы, не оказывающие вредного воздействия. Цель исследования - изучить регуляцию миелопоэза с помощью новых синтезированных соединений. Таким образом, будет оправдан скрининг новых синтетических иммуностимуляторов. Для определения миелостимулирующей активности использовали экспериментальных белых крыс массой 210-280 г. Для изучения миелостимулирующей активности и острой токсичности под шифром БИВ были получены 4 новых синтезированных соединения: БИВ-151, БИВ-172, БИВ-175, БИВ-176. Все испытанные соединения показали уровни острой токсичности 500 мг / кг и выше, что указывает на их низкую токсичность. Currently, the demand for immunostimulants and immunomodulators in the pharmaceutical market is growing due to the influence of various environmental factors, adverse environmental and stress factors in the treatment of patients in the field of oncology. The goal of modern immunopharmacology is to develop global immunostimulants that do not have harmful effects. The aim of the study is to study the regulation of myelopoiesis with the help of new synthesized compounds. Thus, screening of new synthetic immunostimulants will be justified. To determine the myelostimulating activity, experimental white rats weighing 210-280 g were used. To study the myelostimulating activity and acute toxicity, 4 new synthesized compounds were obtained under the code BIS: BIS-151, BIS-172, BIS-175, BIS-176. All tested compounds showed acute toxicity levels of 500 mg / kg or higher, indicating low toxicity.
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Menzato, Federica, Luca Bosa, Armando Sifna, Luisa Da Silva, Elena Gasperoni, Maddalena Martella, Mamadu Saliu Sanha, et al. "Successful Simultaneous Screening of Sickle Cell Disease, HIV and Tuberculosis in Rural Guinea Bissau, West Africa through Rapid Tests and a Standardized Clinical Questionnaire: An Outreach Program Due to a Public-Private Partnership." Blood 132, Supplement 1 (November 29, 2018): 4715. http://dx.doi.org/10.1182/blood-2018-99-119006.
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Abstract Introduction: Previous studies demonstrated that sickle cell disease (SCD), HIV and Tuberculosis (TB) represent high, yet under recognized health issues in Guinea Bissau, West Africa. A public National Reference Center for TB, Hospital Raoul Follereau (HRF) managed by the Italian NGO AHEAD is present in the capital city of Bissau with specialized local health staff capable of managing HIV and TB; the hospital has a SCD Clinic. Access to health services for rural population is limited and in some villages basic health care and routine screening are also seldom available due to lack of resources, specialized staff or diagnostic capacity. Therefore, people are not diagnosed or diagnosed late for SCD, HIV, TB. Nevertheless, rapid tests for both HIV and SCD are available on the market and one for TB is being developed. Simultaneous screening of three big diseases at the point of care (POC) in rural areas would allow saving of time and resources, while identifying people in need of further specialized diagnostic or follow up. Objectives: To evaluate the feasibility of simultaneous screening of HIV, SCD and TB at the POC in a rural area of Guinea Bissau through rapid tests for HIV and SCD and a standardized clinical questionnaire (Figure 1) with clinical examination for TB. To identify patients with HIV, SCD or both and enroll them in appropriate follow up programs; to identify suspects of TB eligible for in depth diagnostic screening. Methods: During the first phase of the project a temporary outreach health post was organized for 10 days in March 2018 in the village of Fanhè, by the NGO AGB already operating in the village. 1) The chiefs of the rural community village informed all the households through collective meetings and home visits regarding the objectives and modalities of the health project after accepting the proposal made by the NGOs and the HRF staff (February-March 2018); 2) the local chiefs organized a schedule of visits according to households; 3) 3 nurses and 2 physicians from the HRF in Bissau, linguistically competent for Creole and local dialects, administered the standardized questionnaire and the physical examination respectively; 3) 2 pediatric residents from Italy aided in clinical examination, a nurse and 2 other physicians in performing the rapid tests for HIV (Determine®) and SCD (Sickle Scan, Biomedomics) after informed consent; patients with Sickle Scan positive results were immediately collected another blood sample on Guthrie card for molecular analysis confirmation to be performed in Italy at the Azienda Ospedaliera Università di Padova. During the second phase of the project (April-May 2018) subjects with suspect of TB and/or HIV received free transportation to the HRF for TB diagnostic evaluation according to the national protocol and second HIV confirmatory test. Results: All 898 inhabitants (32 families) accepted the screening and performed clinical examination with clinical questionnaire; all performed the finger prick for HIV and SCD rapid test. At SickleScan 16 were HbSA (children 9/16); none were HbAC or HbSS. All received information on the carrier state. At Determine 61 were HIV positive (children 9/61). 93 presented clinical suspect of TB (children 33/93). 12 had a suspected of TB and were HIV positive(children: 2/12). For subjects with a suspect of TB or who were HIV positive free transportation was arranged to the HRF for complete TB diagnostic workup and second HIV confirmatory Rapid Test. All HIV positive tests were confirmed and patients enrolled in clinical care in a nearby village; 30% of patients with TB suspect had the diagnosis confirmed by Xray/sputum smear examination and were enrolled in appropriate care programss. All 16 Sicklescan positive HbSA samples underwent molecular analysis and the results were confirmed. Conclusions: This pilot study demonstrate the feasibility of a simultaneous population screening at the POC in rural areas for three "big diseases" (SCD, HIV and TB) through a temporary outreach clinic organized by local specialized staff in collaboration with local communities and international Academic Institutions and NGOs. The simultaneous screening with rapid test and standardized clinical examination is a model that could replicated in other rural settings in low resource countries. A further pilot study which will include a rapid test for TB, HIV and SCD is currently being planned. Figure. Figure. Disclosures Colombatti: NOVARTIS: Consultancy; Global Blood Therapeutics: Consultancy; BlueBirdBio: Consultancy; ADDMEDICA: Consultancy.
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Kahya, Evrim Hilal, Hüseyin Yiğit Ersen, Cumhur Ekinci, Oktay Taş, and Koray D. Simsek. "Determinants of capital structure for firms in an Islamic equity index: comparing developed and developing countries." Journal of Capital Markets Studies 4, no. 2 (November 9, 2020): 167–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jcms-07-2020-0023.
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PurposeThe paper aims to identify the differences between developed and developing country firms with respect to firm-specific and country-level determinants of their capital structure. For this purpose, all constituent firms in one of the oldest Islamic equity indices, Dow Jones Islamic Market World Index (DJIM), are considered and the Muslim-majority status of each firm's domicile country is recognized.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs Hausman–Taylor random effects regression with endogenous covariates to explain the debt ratios of firms in DJIM by separating them into developed and developing country subsamples in an unbalanced panel data setting. Developing country subsample is further split into two based on the Muslim-majority status of each firm's domicile country.FindingsConsistent with the previous literature, this study finds that firm-specific characteristics are the main determinants of their capital structure. Additionally, the paper shows that country-level characteristics have an impact on the debt ratio, however, the types of factors vary across developed and developing countries. Debt ratios in developing country firms are lower than those in developed country firms, largely due to the significantly smaller leverage ratios of firms in Muslim-majority countries. Although the debt ratios of DJIM firms are higher in “non-Muslim” countries, the set of firm-level capital structure determinants are not statistically explained by operating in a “Muslim” country. The study also documents that, before the global financial crisis of 2008, companies in developing countries have gradually become less leveraged worldwide.Originality/valueThis paper provides a new perspective into the differences between developed and developing country firms' capital structures by focusing on a relatively homogeneous data set restricted by leverage screening rules of an Islamic equity index and recognizing the Muslim-majority status of each firm's domicile country.
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Silva, Luciana Maines da, Claudia Cristina Bitencourt, Kadígia Faccin, and Tatiana Iakovleva. "The Role of Stakeholders in the Context of Responsible Innovation: A Meta-Synthesis." Sustainability 11, no. 6 (March 23, 2019): 1766. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su11061766.
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This paper contributes to the sustainability debate by analyzing the inclusion dimension in the responsible research and innovation (RRI) process. RRI is claimed to be an important tool for addressing global challenges and achieving sustainable development goals. While stakeholder involvement is considered to be imperative for the RRI process, there is little empirical evidence on (1) who the stakeholders participating in the RRI process are; (2) when stakeholders participate; (3) how stakeholders’ inclusion contributes to the sustainable innovation process; and (4) who the agents are who orchestrate stakeholders’ inclusion. This paper addresses the issue of stakeholder involvement through the lens of innovation management literature by attempting to link the innovation process to the responsibility concept. We employed a meta-synthesis of empirical studies of RRI to develop a deep understanding of stakeholder inclusion. After screening 139 articles, we identified seven empirical papers highlighting RRI process, mainly from projects nested in academic contexts. The findings indicate that multiple stakeholders are included at a late stage of the innovation process—during the market launch. To some extent, this allows for the adaptation of the solution, but such adaptations are limited in nature. This study also identifies the agents who stimulate stakeholder inclusion as being mainly academic researchers and researchers linked to multi-institutional projects. Our findings indicate that innovation management thinking is rarely applied in the governance of research and innovation projects ‘born’ in academia. We suggest enhancing RRI theoretical development by incorporating elements of innovation management such as early inclusion of users in the innovation process. For practitioners, this means an extension of the design space to allow early stakeholder inclusion in the innovation process to ensure responsible outcomes. We also identified avenues for future research. There is a need to systematically investigate which tools and frameworks for deliberate stakeholder inclusion are relevant at the various stages of the innovation and development process.
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Ghosh, Piya, Ajay Jha, and RRK Sharma. "Managing carbon footprint for a sustainable supply chain: a systematic literature review." Modern Supply Chain Research and Applications 2, no. 3 (August 7, 2020): 123–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/mscra-06-2020-0016.
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PurposeThe carbon emissions due to industrial production and market consumption activities are the major contributors to global warming. With the signing of UN Paris Accord 2016 on climate change, the world's major countries are devising measures to combat climate change and attain a sustainable, low-carbon future. Globalization demands companies not only to adopt greener manufacturing practices internally for reduced carbon footprint (CFP) but beyond its boundaries (i.e. its supply chain). This study aims to discuss the relationship between CFP and sustainable supply chain, as evident in the current literature and industry practices. It provides a total comprehension of past, present and future headings in the CFP area and its contribution to a sustainable supply chain.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review and analysis have been undertaken in supply chain sustainability and CFP. A bibliometric approach is adopted for this investigation, and one of the biggest computerized databases, “Scopus,” has been picked. In total, 37 articles have been zeroed in after a careful and watchful screening of firmly related topics.FindingsMost researchers gave predominance to environmental impact among the three pillars of sustainability (economy, society and the environment) for a sustainable supply chain environment. Only a few researchers were motivated to cover social development and social responsibility aspects. This review highlights how managing a CFP is one of the significant attributes of sustainable development. Existing literature in the field of CFP and sustainability have been written on actual industry cases. Food, electricity and energy are some significant industries where supply chain sustainability successfully reduces carbon emission.Originality/valueThe theory-building strategy with recommendations on the conceptualization of a sustainable supply chain is limited in the literature. This study gives broad ideas on how organizations modified and redeveloped different tools and technologies to make their supply chain more sustainable. The strategic role of different carbon policies, environmental rules and regulations in the domain of CFP is also recognized in this work. This study highlights the biases of most of the researches toward applications than policy interventions. This study discusses the theoretical perspective about how CFP affects supply chain management and helps organizations and researchers develop a new set of approaches in handling CFP and other sustainability aspects.
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Nahata, Rajarishi, Sonali Hazarika, and Kishore Tandon. "Success in Global Venture Capital Investing: Do Institutional and Cultural Differences Matter?" Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 49, no. 4 (August 2014): 1039–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022109014000568.
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AbstractWe analyze the impact of institutional and cultural differences on success in global venture capital (VC) investing. In both developed and emerging economies, superior legal rights (and enforcement) and better developed stock markets significantly enhance VC performance. Remarkably, cultural distance between countries of the portfolio company and its lead investorpositivelyaffects VC success. Further analysis reveals that cultural differences create incentives for rigorous ex ante screening, improving VC performance. Finally, local VC participation enhances success and mitigates foreign VCs’ “liability of foreignness,” albeit only in developed economies. Our findings follow from analyzing VC investments in nearly 10,000 companies across 30 countries.
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SURENDRARAJ, ALAGARSAMY, NIRMALA THAMPURAN, and TOMS C. JOSEPH. "Molecular Screening, Isolation, and Characterization of Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 from Retail Shrimp." Journal of Food Protection 73, no. 1 (January 1, 2010): 97–103. http://dx.doi.org/10.4315/0362-028x-73.1.97.
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Foodborne outbreaks attributed to the contamination of foods with enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7 are a growing global concern. Fish and shrimp samples obtained from different retail fish markets in Cochin, India, were screened by direct PCR assays targeting three important virulence markers of EHEC, the intimin protein (eaeA gene), enterohemolysin (hlyA gene), and Shiga toxin (stx gene). One shrimp (Fenneropenaeus indicus) sample was positive for all these virulence markers, and seven typical E. coli O157:H7 isolates were recovered from the marker-positive shrimp sample. This is the first report of recovery of typical E. coli O157:H7 from fish or shellfish in India. All the typical EHEC isolates had a characteristic reaction in eosin methylene blue agar and belonged to IMViC (indole, methyl red, Voges Proskauer, Simmons citrate reactions) biotype I. These isolates also were negative for sorbitol and methylumbelliferyl-β -glucuronide and exhibited β-hemolytic activity. One isolate showed self-agglutination for E. coli O157 antisera and produced a false-positive reaction with CHROMagar O157. These typical EHEC isolates belonged to a restricted biotype group and had a very low multiple antibiotic resistance index. Isolation of E. coli O157:H7 in fish and shellfish indicates that strict adherence to hygienic handling methods and proper cooking or processing is needed before consumption of these products.
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Jámbor, Attila, Péter Czine, and Péter Balogh. "The Impact of the Coronavirus on Agriculture: First Evidence Based on Global Newspapers." Sustainability 12, no. 11 (June 3, 2020): 4535. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su12114535.
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Since late 2019, an outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has rapidly spread all over the world, challenging the sustainability of global agri-food markets. Although its full impact on agricultural and food markets is not yet evident, we have some early evidence on the different impacts. The aim of this article is to summarize the early evidence by screening global newspaper articles and sites written on the topic until 10 April 2020. The most read English-based newspaper articles were downloaded and accessed together with a Google search on specific keywords in order to have a complete picture of the topic. Results suggest that agriculture-related pandemic effects can be grouped into supply, demand, labour, food security, food safety, trade and other effects. It is also evident that the first impacts are not one-sided: what helped some hurt others. This article can serve as a basis for future research on the topic by identifying and highlighting the key topics as well as summarizing the earliest evidence available.
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Benjamin, Emelia J., Alan S. Go, Patrice Desvigne-Nickens, Christopher D. Anderson, Barbara Casadei, Lin Y. Chen, Harry J. G. M. Crijns, et al. "Research Priorities in Atrial Fibrillation Screening." Circulation 143, no. 4 (January 26, 2021): 372–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1161/circulationaha.120.047633.
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Clinically recognized atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with higher risk of complications, including ischemic stroke, cognitive decline, heart failure, myocardial infarction, and death. It is increasingly recognized that AF frequently is undetected until complications such as stroke or heart failure occur. Hence, the public and clinicians have an intense interest in detecting AF earlier. However, the most appropriate strategies to detect undiagnosed AF (sometimes referred to as subclinical AF) and the prognostic and therapeutic implications of AF detected by screening are uncertain. Our report summarizes the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s virtual workshop focused on identifying key research priorities related to AF screening. Global experts reviewed major knowledge gaps and identified critical research priorities in the following areas: (1) role of opportunistic screening; (2) AF as a risk factor, risk marker, or both; (3) relationship between AF burden detected with long-term monitoring and outcomes/treatments; (4) designs of potential randomized trials of systematic AF screening with clinically relevant outcomes; and (5) role of AF screening after ischemic stroke. Our report aims to inform and catalyze AF screening research that will advance innovative, resource-efficient, and clinically relevant studies in diverse populations to improve the diagnosis, management, and prognosis of patients with undiagnosed AF.
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Sobstyl, Małgorzata, Paulina Niedźwiedzka-Rystwej, Rafał Hrynkiewicz, Dominika Bębnowska, Izabela Korona-Głowniak, Marcin Pasiarski, Barbara Sosnowska-Pasiarska, et al. "Toll-like Receptor 2 as a Marker Molecule of Advanced Ovarian Cancer." Biomolecules 11, no. 8 (August 13, 2021): 1205. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biom11081205.
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Ovarian cancer is a global problem that affects women of all ages. Due to the lack of effective screening tests and the usually asymptomatic course of the disease in the early stages, the diagnosis is too late, with the result that less than half of the patients diagnosed with ovarian cancer (OC) survive more than five years after their diagnosis. In this study, we examined the expression of TLR2 in the peripheral blood of 50 previously untreated patients with newly diagnosed OC at various stages of the disease using flow cytometry. The studies aimed at demonstrating the usefulness of TLR2 as a biomarker in the advanced stage of ovarian cancer. In this study, we showed that TLR2 expression levels were significantly higher in women with more advanced OC than in women in the control group. Our research sheds light on the prognostic potential of TLR2 in developing new diagnostic approaches and thus in increasing survival in patients with confirmed ovarian cancer.
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Crager, Sara E., Ethan Guillen, and Matt Price. "University Contributions to the HPV Vaccine and Implications for Access to Vaccines in Developing Countries: Addressing Materials and Know-How in University Technology Transfer Policy." American Journal of Law & Medicine 35, no. 2-3 (June 2009): 253–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/009885880903500202.
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AbstractHuman Papillomavirus (HPV) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with most of the disease burden concentrated in developing countries. Over 90 percent of cervical cancer deaths, almost all of which are caused by HPV, occur in low- and middle-income countries where access to goods and services for prevention and treatment pose major barriers to intervention. In resource-poor settings lacking the capacity for routine screening for cervical cancer, the HPV vaccines developed by Merck and GlaxoSmithKline are desperately needed to help prevent these unnecessary deaths. The initial development of currently available HPV vaccines took place at a number of universities and other publicly funded institutions, yet there is little low-cost access to the vaccine in developing countries where access would be most critical. This is the rule rather than the exception with most university-discovered medicines. Universities and other publicly-funded institutions can adopt a number of licensing methods to ensure that vaccines discovered on their campuses are available at low-cost in developing countries. Universities Allied for Essential Medicines has proposed that universities adopt Global Access Licensing policies to implement these changes by enabling generic or low-cost production of the end product in developing countries. Generic competition is a critical market force that has, for instance, driven down the price of HIV/AIDS treatments from more than $10,000 to less than $99 per patient per year today. While the central barrier to creation of small molecule generics is patent-protection, there are multiple additional barriers that need to be addressed in order to ensure the efficient production of cost-effective generic vaccines and other biologics. While certain biologics may require generic producers to perform additional clinical trials, vaccines are in a somewhat unique situation with respect to both safety and efficacy. With access to appropriate patents, materials and knowledge, vaccines have the potential to be evaluated efficiently and cost-effectively via a pathway parallel to establishing bioequivalence for generic small molecule drugs. A new paradigm is needed that addresses the additional barriers that exist, outside of simply patent protection, to the generic production of vaccines and other biologics. One possible framework, which builds upon previous work on prize funds and patent pools, is discussed here: a Patents, Materials, and Know-how Pool (PMK Pool), based on the patent pool model such as those outlined in the Essential Medical Inventions Licensing Agency and proposals recently put forth by the governments of Barbados and Bolivia. University approaches to licensing vaccines and other biologics need to ensure access not only to patents, knowledge, and materials covered by intellectual property, but must also address the problem of access to materials and know-how that are often proprietary trade secrets. Universities should actively participate in the creation of this and other novel mechanisms, and in the meantime use currently available technology transfer mechanisms to ensure low-cost access to medicines in developing countries.
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Åkerman, S., J. Tammisola, S. P. Lapinjoki, H. Söderlund, V. Kauppinen, A. Viherä-Aarnio, M. Regina, and R. Hagqvist. "RAPD markers in parentage confirmation of a valuable breeding progeny of European white birch." Canadian Journal of Forest Research 25, no. 7 (July 1, 1995): 1070–76. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/x95-118.
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The general applicability of RAPDs (random amplified polymorphic DNAs) as genetic molecular markers for Betulapendula Roth was evaluated. On average 2.5 clear, potentially useful marker bands were generated per primer from the DNA of a randomly selected birch tree using a set of 60 commercial 10-mer primers. The resulting fragments were typically between 200 and 700 base pairs in length. A novel pooled-progeny analysis of parentage was applied for a posteriori confirmation of parents of an old breeding experiment. The method that saves labour in several laboratory steps is regarded as useful for screening possible errors in breeding. The present work dealt with a case in which one parent was known and there were two candidates for the other. The correct parent was independently confirmed using nine different RAPD loci. The validity of the pooled-progeny application was confirmed by conventional segregation analysis. In this connection, segregation of RAPD alleles at additional loci in the B. pendula cross was also studied.
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Fanton, Christie P., Michael W. Rowe, Edward J. Moler, Marjorie Ison-Dugenny, Susan K. De Long, Katherine Rendahl, Yi Shao, Trina Slabiak, Thomas G. Gesner, and Mary Lee MacKichan. "Development of a Screening Assay for Surrogate Markers of Chk1 Inhibitor-Induced Cell Cycle Release." Journal of Biomolecular Screening 11, no. 7 (September 14, 2006): 792–806. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1087057106289808.
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Chk1 is a key regulator of the S and G2/M checkpoints and is activated following DNA damage by agents such as the topoisomerase I inhibitor camptothecin (CPT). It has been proposed that Chk1 inhibitors used in combination with such a DNA damaging agent to treat tumors would potentiate cytotoxicity and increase the therapeutic index, particularly in tumors lacking functional p53. The aim of this study was to determine whether gene expression analysis could be used to inform lead optimization of a novel series of Chk1 inhibitors. The candidate small-molecule Chk1 inhibitors were used in combination with CPT to identify potential markers of functional Chk1 inhibition, as well as resulting cell cycle progression, using cDNA-based microarrays. Differential expression of several of these putative marker genes was further validated by RT-PCR for use as a medium-throughput assay. In the presence of DNA damage, Chk1 inhibitors altered CPT-dependent effects on the expression of cell cycle and DNA repair genes in a manner consistent with a Chk1-specific mechanism of action. Furthermore, differential expression of selected marker genes, cyclin E2, EGR1, and DDIT3, was dose dependent for Chk1 inhibition. RT-PCR results for these genes following treatment with a panel of Chk1 inhibitors showed a strong correlation between marker gene response and the ability of each compound to abrogate cell cycle arrest in situ following CPT-induced DNA damage. These results demonstrate the utility of global expression analysis to identify surrogate markers, providing an alternative method for rapid compound characterization to support advancement decisions in early drug discovery.
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Martínez, Antón L., José Brea, Xavier Monroy, Manuel Merlos, Javier Burgueño, and María Isabel Loza. "A New Model of Sensorial Neuron-Like Cells for HTS of Novel Analgesics for Neuropathic Pain." SLAS DISCOVERY: Advancing the Science of Drug Discovery 24, no. 2 (November 1, 2018): 158–68. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2472555218810323.
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In this study we developed a new translational phenotypic in vitro model for high-throughput screening (HTS) of novel analgesics for treating neuropathic pain, in order to address the poor translation of traditional recombinant models. The immortalized dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neuron-like F11 cell line was selected based on its phenotype after differentiation. The acquisition of neuronal characteristics was evaluated by measuring the expression of TrkA as a DRG neuron marker ( p < 0.01) as well as by measuring the global neurite length ( p < 0.001). The response of F11 cells to ATP and KCl was obtained by measuring intracellular calcium concentration, dynamic mass redistribution, and membrane potential. A KCl-induced increase of intracellular calcium levels was chosen as the readout because of the better signal quality, higher reproducibility, and greater compatibility with HTS assay requirements compared with other methods. The response to KCl differed significantly between differentiated and undifferentiated cells ( p < 0.05), with an EC50 value of 5 mM in differentiated cells. The model was validated by screening the Prestwick Chemical Library. Five hits already proposed for neuropathic-related pain were identified, with IC50 values between 1 and 7 µM. This cell model provides a new tool for screening novel analgesics for the relief of neuropathic pain.
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Pipatchartlearnwong, Kwanjai, Piyada Juntawong, Passorn Wonnapinij, Somsak Apisitwanich, and Supachai Vuttipongchaikij. "Towards sex identification of Asian Palmyra palm (Borassus flabelliferL.) by DNA fingerprinting, suppression subtractive hybridization andde novotranscriptome sequencing." PeerJ 7 (July 10, 2019): e7268. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7268.
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BackgroundAsian Palmyra palm, the source of palm-sugar, is dioecious with a long juvenile period requiring at least 12 years to reach its maturity. To date, there is no reliable molecular marker for identifying sexes before the first bloom, limiting crop designs and utilization. We aimed to identify sex-linked markers for this palm using PCR-based DNA fingerprinting, suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) and transcriptome sequencing.MethodsDNA fingerprints were generated between males and females based on RAPD, AFLP, SCoT, modified SCoT, ILP, and SSR techniques. Large-scale cloning and screening of SSH libraries andde novotranscriptome sequencing of male and female cDNA from inflorescences were performed to identify sex-specific genes for developing sex-linked markers.ResultsThrough extensive screening and re-testing of the DNA fingerprints (up to 1,204 primer pairs) and transcripts from SSH (>10,000 clones) and transcriptome data, however, no sex-linked marker was identified. Althoughde novotranscriptome sequencing of male and female inflorescences provided ∼32 million reads and 187,083 assembled transcripts, PCR analysis of selected sex-highly represented transcripts did not yield any sex-linked marker. This result may suggest the complexity and small sex-determining region of the Asian Palmyra palm. To this end, we provide the first global transcripts of male and female inflorescences of Asian Palmyra palm. Interestingly, sequence annotation revealed a large proportion of transcripts related to sucrose metabolism, which corresponds to the sucrose-rich sap produced in the inflorescences, and these transcripts will be useful for further understanding of sucrose production in sugar crop plants. Provided lists of sex-specific and differential-expressed transcripts would be beneficial to the further study of sexual development and sex-linked markers in palms and related species.
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Hardick, Justin, Trevor A. Crowell, Kara Lombardi, Akindiran Akintunde, Sunday Odeyemi, Andrew Ivo, George Eluwa, et al. "Molecular screening for Neisseria gonorrhoeae antimicrobial resistance markers in Nigerian men who have sex with men and transgender women." International Journal of STD & AIDS 29, no. 13 (July 4, 2018): 1273–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0956462418780050.
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Antimicrobial-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) is a global public health issue that threatens effectiveness of current treatments of NG. Increased use of nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) in lieu of cultures makes obtaining clinical isolates for susceptibility testing difficult and samples collected in commercial transport buffer for NAATs do not preserve viable organism, while molecular methods of assessing antibiotic susceptibility do not require viable organism. We evaluated 243 NG-positive samples in Aptima transport media including urine, oral, and rectal swabs from Nigerian men who have sex with men for markers to penicillinase-producing NG, ciprofloxacin ( GyrA and ParC mutations), and extended spectrum cephalosporins (ESCs, PenA mosaic [allele X], PonA, mtrR, PorB mutations) by real-time PCR. NG DNA was recovered in 75% (183/243) of samples. Of these, 93% (171/183) were positive for at least one resistance marker. We observed a prevalence of dual resistance markers to penicillin and ciprofloxacin at 46.2% (79/171). Six percent of samples (10/171) tested positive for the PenA mosaic (allele X) ESC marker. These data indicate that antibiotic-resistant NG is common in Nigeria. Laboratory and clinical capacity building in Nigeria should include development of methods to culture NG and determine antimicrobial susceptibility.
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Petrova, Marjana, Hosen Kiat, Alex Gavino, and Craig S. McLachlan. "Carotid Ultrasound Screening Programs in Rural Communities: A Systematic Review." Journal of Personalized Medicine 11, no. 9 (September 8, 2021): 897. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jpm11090897.
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Carotid atherosclerosis assessments inform about stroke and cardiovascular risk. It is known that stroke and cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevalence is higher in rural communities than in urban communities. We aimed to conduct a systematic review of rural carotid ultrasound screening programs to define carotid atherosclerosis using traditional and emerging imaging biomarkers, prevalence, and risk factors. We searched Ovid/MEDLINE, Ovid/EMBASE, SCOPUS and CINAHL from inception to 3 April 2020 for rural population studies that utilized carotid ultrasound screening for adults ≥40 years of age and free of known cerebrovascular disease. Studies were included if participants received a bilateral ultrasound scanning of the carotid arteries and reported at least one marker of carotid atherosclerosis pathology. A random effect meta-analyses calculated the estimated prevalence of carotid plaque. In total, 22/3461 articles that met all of the inclusion criteria were included. Studies reported increased intima media thickness (IMT), carotid plaque presence and carotid artery stenosis. There were no studies reporting on novel imaging markers, such as carotid stiffness, carotid plaque morphology or neovascularization. The overall random effect pooled prevalence of carotid plaque was 34.1% (95% CI, 33.6–35.0); the prevalence of increased IMT was 11.2–41.5%, and the prevalence of carotid artery stenosis was 0.4–16.0%. There is an absence of data necessary to understand the carotid atherosclerosis prevalence across global rural populations. Represented studies have focused on East Asian countries where a high burden of rural carotid artery disease has been reported. There is no rural evidence to guide the use of novel ultrasound carotid biomarkers such as stiffness or neovascularization.
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Pickler, Carolyne, Edmundo Gurza Fausto, Hugo Beltrami, Jean-Claude Mareschal, Francisco Suárez, Arlette Chacon-Oecklers, Nicole Blin, et al. "Recent climate variations in Chile: constraints from borehole temperature profiles." Climate of the Past 14, no. 4 (April 26, 2018): 559–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-559-2018.
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Abstract. We have compiled, collected, and analyzed 31 temperature–depth profiles from boreholes in the Atacama Desert in central and northern Chile. After screening these profiles, we found that only nine profiles at four different sites were suitable to invert for ground temperature history. For all the sites, no surface temperature variations could be resolved for the period 1500–1800. In the northern coastal region of Chile, there is no perceptible temperature variation at all from 1500 to present. In the northern central Chile region, between 26 and 28∘ S, the data suggest a cooling from ≈ 1850 to ≈ 1980 followed by a 1.9 K warming starting ≈ 20–40 years BP. This result is consistent with the ground surface temperature histories for Peru and the semiarid regions of South America. The duration of the cooling trend is poorly resolved and it may coincide with a marked short cooling interval in the 1960s that is found in meteorological records. The total warming is greater than that inferred from proxy climate reconstructions for central Chile and southern South America, and by the PMIP3-CMIP5 surface temperature simulations for the north-central Chile grid points. The differences among different climate reconstructions, meteorological records, and models are likely due to differences in spatial and temporal resolution among the various data sets and the models.
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Márquez, Diego Francisco, Gema Ruiz-Hurtado, Julian Segura, and Luis Ruilope. "Microalbuminuria and cardiorenal risk: old and new evidence in different populations." F1000Research 8 (September 19, 2019): 1659. http://dx.doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.17212.1.
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Since the association of microalbuminuria (MAU) with cardiovascular (CV) risk was described, a huge number of reports have emerged. MAU is a specific integrated marker of CV risk and targets organ damage in patients with hypertension, chronic kidney disease (CKD), and diabetes and its recognition is important for identifying patients at a high or very high global CV risk. The gold standard for diagnosis is albumin measured in 24-hour urine collection (normal values of less than 30 mg/day, MAU of 30 to 300 mg/day, macroalbuminuria of more than 300 mg/day) or, more practically, the determination of urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio in a urine morning sample (30 to 300 mg/g). MAU screening is mandatory in individuals at risk of developing or presenting elevated global CV risk. Evidence has shown that intensive treatment could turn MAU into normoalbuminuria. Intensive treatment with the administration of an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or an angiotensin receptor blocker, in combination with other anti-hypertensive drugs and drugs covering other aspects of CV risk, such as mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists, new anti-diabetic drugs, and statins, can diminish the risk accompanying albuminuria in hypertensive patients with or without CKD and diabetes.