Use of Zebrafish Embryo Assay to Evaluate Toxicity and Safety of Bioreactor-Grown Exopolysaccharides and Endopolysaccharides from European Ganoderma applanatum Mycelium for Future Aquaculture Applications

Natural mycelial exopolysaccharide (EPS) and endopolysaccharide (ENS) extracted from bioreactor-cultivated European Ganoderma applanatum mushrooms are of potential high commercial value for both food and adjacent biopharmaceutical industries. In order to evaluate their potential toxicity for aquaculture application, both EPS (0.01–10 mg/mL) and ENS (0.01–10 mg/mL) extracts were tested for Zebrafish Embryo Toxicity (ZFET); early development effects on Zebrafish Embryos (ZE) were also analyzed between 24 and 120 h post-fertilization (HPF). Both EPS and ENS are considered non-toxic with LC₅₀ of 1.41 mg/mL and 0.87 mg/mL respectively. Both EPS and ENS did not delay hatching and teratogenic defect towards ZE with <1.0 mg/mL, respectively. No significant changes in the ZE heart rate were detected following treatment with the two compounds tested (EPS: 0.01–10 mg/mL: 176.44 ± 0.77 beats/min and ENS: 0.01–10 mg/mL: 148.44 ± 17.75 beats/min) compared to normal ZE (120–180 beats/min). These initial findings support future pre-clinical trials in adult fish models with view to safely using EPS and ENS as potential feed supplements for supplements for development of the aquaculture industry.     

An adaptive least squares channel estimation based on conjugate gradient approach for multipath fading CDMA systems

Multiple access interference (MAI) is the main factor affecting the performance of channel estimation techniques for code division multiple access (CDMA) systems. Although, several multi-user channel estimation algorithms have been proposed to mitigate MAI, these algorithms require high computational complexities. In this paper, we address the problem of iterative least squares (LS) mobile channel estimation at high channel efficiency that requires a short training sequence along with the spreading sequences. We employ an efficient iterative method based on conjugate gradient (CG) algorithm to reduce the computational complexity of the estimation method. Computer simulations illustrate that the proposed method performs almost identical to the exact LS estimate for reasonable training lengths.     

Vehicle routing and scheduling with dynamic travel times

The field of dynamic vehicle routing and scheduling is growing at a fast pace nowadays, due to many potential applications in courier services, emergency services, truckload and less-than-truckload trucking, and many others. In this paper, a dynamic vehicle routing and scheduling problem with time windows is described where both real-time customer requests and dynamic travel times are considered. Different reactive dispatching strategies are defined and compared through the setting of a single “tolerance” parameter. The results show that some tolerance to deviations with the current planned solution usually leads to better solutions.     

Comparison of alteplase (tissue plasminogen activator) high‐dose vs. low‐dose protocol in restoring hemodialysis catheter function: The ALTE‐DOSE study

Hemodialysis catheter (HDC) dysfunction due to thrombosis is common, and dysfunction incidence can reach up to 50% within 1 year of use. Although administration of intraluminal alteplase (tissue plasminogen activator [tPA]) is the standard of practice to pharmacologically restore HDC function, there are no evidence‐based guidelines concerning the optimal tPA dose. The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of 1.0‐mg vs. 2.0‐mg tPA dwell protocols in restoring the HDC function in thrombotic dysfunctional catheters. A retrospective, single‐center study was conducted on two independent cohorts of patients; the first (n = 129) received 2.0 mg tPA/catheter lumen, while the second (n = 108) received 1.0 mg tPA/catheter lumen. Kaplan–Meier and Cox regression analyses were performed to compare the catheter survival time between patients who received 1.0 mg tPA and those who received 2.0 mg tPA. Catheter removal occurred in 25 (19.4%) of those catheters treated with 1.0 mg tPA compared with 11 (10.2%) of catheters treated with 2.0 mg tPA (P = 0.05). The hazard ratio (HR) for catheter removal was 2.75 (95% confidence interval [^95%CI] = 1.25–6.04) for the 1.0‐mg tPA cohort compared with the 2.0‐mg tPA cohort. Correction added on 3 December 2012, after first online publication: The tPA cohort values were changed. Female gender (HR = 2.51; ^95%CI = 1.20–5.27) and age (HR = 0.96; ^95%CI = 0.94–0.98) were also associated with catheter survival. Our findings suggest that treatment of dysfunctional HDC with 2.0‐mg tPA dwells is superior to 1.0‐mg tPA dwells.     

Cultural Experience as a (Critical) Factor in Crisis Communication Planning

A key issue in crisis communication is the way people process crisis‐relevant information to minimize danger. This paper discusses the impact of previously experienced crises on the public's interpretation of warning messages. People may not have direct experience of a crisis, but they still have acquired mediated experiences of a variety of crises. The present study introduces the term cultural experience of crisis to label the synthesis of mediated crisis experiences, media and fictional narratives, collective memories of societal disasters, conversations, and immediate crisis experiences of witnesses and victims. The proposed model of cultural experience of crisis is elaborated on the basis of a qualitative text analysis derived from four qualitative interviews 16 focus groups interviews carried out in Estonia from 2008 to 2009.     

Evaluating Land Surface Changes of Makassar City Using DInSAR and Landsat Thematic Mapper Images

Urban growth has been a major issue in environmental monitoring and changes occurred on land surfaces have been monitored by applying remote sensing as well as ground measurement. Most major cities in the world have experienced land subsidence phenomena on some parts of them due to the load of development and modernization. Excessive extraction of groundwater for the needs of industry has led to the condition where the water table drops, and this can possibly trigger subsidence, as observed in Indonesian cities. In this study the authors have shown that the application of DInSAR （differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar） technique using Japanese Earth Resources Satellite-I Synthetic Aperture Radar JERS-I SAR data can reveal subsidence conditions in the studied Makassar city area. Landsat TM （thematic mapper） images were used to evaluate the change of land cover during the observation period of 1994-1999. Makassar is fiat, covered mainly by alluvium deposit that is vulnerable to the load of constructions, and volcanic formations which is porous and will easily be degraded by groundwater extraction. It is found that mostly the subsidence has occurred in the western part of the city, including the industrial district, reclamation area, trading center area and the seaport area. The ground survey has indicated that high human activity exists in every point of subsidence. It is likely that various human activities such as ground water pumping and construction work should have affected the local subsidence phenomena in Makassar, as in the case of other large-scale cities in Indonesia.     

Understanding the Corrosion Inhibition Mechanism of Mild Steel in Hydrochloric Acid by a Triazole Derivative: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Approach

Protection of Metals and Physical Chemistry of Surfaces - The effect of an heterocycle triazole, namely (1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methanol (MTM) on the corrosion of mild steel in...