Санаційне управління як складова фінансового антикризового менеджменту

Метою дослідження є розробка теоретичних основ санаційного управління підприємством відповідно до типології кризи на підприємстві

Effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor treatment on plasma oxytocin and cortisol in major depressive disorder

Background: Oxytocin is known for its capacity to facilitate social bonding, reduce anxiety and for its actions on the stress hypothalamopituitary adrenal (HPA) axis. Since oxytocin can physiologically suppress activity of the HPA axis, clinical applications of this neuropeptide have been proposed in conditions where the function of the HPA axis is dysregulated. One such condition is major depressive disorder (MDD). Dysregulation of the HPA system is the most prominent endocrine change seen with MDD, and normalizing the HPA axis is one of the major targets of recent treatments. The potential clinical application of oxytocin in MDD requires improved understanding of its relationship to the symptoms and underlying pathophysiology of MDD. Previous research has investigated potential correlations between oxytocin and symptoms of MDD, including a link between oxytocin and treatment related symptom reduction. The outcomes of studies investigating whether antidepressive treatment (pharmacological and non-pharmacological) influences oxytocin concentrations in MDD, have produced conflicting outcomes. These outcomes suggest the need for an investigation of the influence of a single treatment class on oxytocin concentrations, to determine whether there is a relationship between oxytocin, the HPA axis (e.g., oxytocin and cortisol) and MDD. Our objective was to measure oxytocin and cortisol in patients with MDD before and following treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, SSRI. Method: We sampled blood from arterial plasma. Patients with MDD were studied at the same time twice; pre- and post- 12 weeks treatment, in an unblinded sequential design (clinicaltrials.govNCT00168493). Results: Results did not reveal differences in oxytocin or cortisol concentrations before relative to following SSRI treatment, and there were no significant relationships between oxytocin and cortisol, or these two physiological variables and psychological symptom scores, before or after treatment. Conclusions: These outcomes demonstrate that symptoms of MDD were reduced following effective treatment with an SSRI, and further, stress physiology was unlikely to be a key factor in this outcome. Further research is required to discriminate potential differences in underlying stress physiology for individuals with MDD who respond to antidepressant treatment, relative to those who experience treatment resistance.Charlotte Keating, Tye Dawood, David A Barton, Gavin W Lambert and Alan J Tilbroo

Differential Transfer Ionization Cross Sections for 50175-keV Proton-Helium Collisions

We have measured coincidences between neutralized projectiles and He recoil ions for 50175-keV proton-helium collisions. From the data we obtained transfer ionization (TI) cross sections differential in the projectile scattering angle. Laboratory scattering angles range from 0 to 2.0 mrad. The experimental method allowed separation of the postcollision charge states of the target atoms. The ratio of the cross sections for TI to the sum of TI and single capture, F, is presented as a function of projectile scattering angle. Comparison is made to previous measurements of this ratio where data is available. The differential cross sections are compared to dynamical classical trajectory Monte Carlo (dCTMC) calculations. Agreement in the shape of the differential cross sections is good between the theory and measurement over the entire energy range

Simple methodology for the quantitative analysis of fatty acids in human red blood cells

In the last years, there has been an increasing interest in evaluating possible relations between fatty acid (FA) patterns and the risk for chronic diseases. Due to the long life span (120 days) of red blood cells (RBCs), their FA profile reflects a longer term dietary intake and was recently suggested to be used as an appropriate biomarker to investigate correlations between FA metabolism and diseases. Therefore, the aim of this work was to develop and validate a simple and fast methodology for the quantification of a broad range of FAs in RBCs using gas chromatography with flame ionization detector, as a more common and affordable equipment suitable for biomedical and nutritional studies including a large number of samples. For this purpose, different sample preparation protocols were tested and compared, including a classic two-step method (Folch method) with modifications and different one-step methods, in which lipid extraction and derivatization were performed simultaneously. For the one-step methods, different methylation periods and the inclusion of a saponification reaction were evaluated. Differences in absolute FA concentrations were observed among the tested methods, in particular for some metabolically relevant FAs such as trans elaidic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid. The one-step method with saponification and 60 min of methylation time was selected since it allowed the identification of a higher number of FAs, and was further submitted to in-house validation. The proposed methodology provides a simple, fast and accurate tool to quantitatively analyse FAs in human RBCs, useful for clinical and nutritional studies.This work received financial support from the European Union (FEDER funds through COMPETE) and National Funds (FCT, Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) through project PTDC/SAU-ENB/116929/2010 and EXPL/EMS-SIS/2215/2013. ROR acknowledges PhD scholarship SFRH/BD/97658/2013 attributed by FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Effect of polymer-entwined reduced graphene oxide laminates on the performance and stability of forward osmosis membranes for water desalination

Layered graphene oxide (GO) membranes have been widely employed for water desalination in forward osmosis (FO) systems, however, the balance between performance and long-term stability of membranes is still a trade-off in the practical application. A newly developed laminar GO-based FO membrane was prepared by a two-step protocol, including acid treatment of GO before crosslinking and reduction of GO by hyperbranched polyethylenimine (HPEI), and followed by coating HPEI-reduced graphene oxide (HPEI:rGO) laminates by polyethylene glycol (PEG). It is suggested that the long-chain and amino-enrichment HPEI polymer can be covalently bonded with the acid-treated GO at elevated temperatures. This chemical process partially removed oxygen-containing functional groups of GO and formed a nanocomposite structure with tuned interlaminar spacing for better selectivity of NaCl ions. Subsequently, the infiltration of PEG molecules through the HPEI-rGO structure improved the hydrophilicity, and hence the water permeability across the PEI60k:rGO/PEG membrane. In this study, the resultant membrane exhibited water flux of 7.7 LMH, salt rejection efficiency of 97.9 %, and low reverse solute flux of 0.56 gMH in an FO filtration process. Also, synergistic effects of the double-polymer modification reinforced enhancement of dimensional integrity and durability of the membrane structure in both ionic and harsh conditions

Comparisons of different suction control techniques by water retention curves:theoretical and experimental studies

The axis-translation (ATT), osmotic (OMT) and vapour equilibrium (VET) techniques are widely used suction control techniques for investigating hydraulic and mechanical behavior of unsaturated soils in the vadose zone. Yet there is still debate in the literature regarding their validity and consistency. In this study, four purposely designed experiments have been carried out to measure the water retention curves (WRCs) of a compacted silty sand at different densities using the ATT and OMT. The four WRCs obtained from this study together with extensive existing data published in the literature are then analysed using newly derived thermodynamic equations. The aim and novelty of this study are to apply the thermodynamic theory to verify and explain the validity and consistency of WRCs obtained by the three commonly used experimental techniques. By allowing for some possible experimental errors, analysed results reveal that the WRCs obtained from the three techniques are remarkably consistent. These consistent results can be explained by the derived thermodynamic equations, which illustrate that the final soil water content at the thermodynamic equilibrium state must be the same regardless of the suction control technique used, even though the techniques involve different processes of moisture exchange