Urban air quality estimation study, phase 1

Possibilities are explored for applying estimation theory to the analysis, interpretation, and use of air quality measurements in conjunction with simulation models to provide a cost effective method of obtaining reliable air quality estimates for wide urban areas. The physical phenomenology of real atmospheric plumes from elevated localized sources is discussed. A fluctuating plume dispersion model is derived. Individual plume parameter formulations are developed along with associated a priori information. Individual measurement models are developed

A Mixed-Integer Programming Model for Optimal Allocation of COVID-19 Vaccines in Davao City

With the emergence of COVID-19 in Davao City, the need to acquire herd immunity through vaccination is paramount in averting the further spread of the disease in addition to complying with health and safety protocols. This study presents a reformulation of Smalley et al.’s (2015) oral cholera vaccine—mixed-integer programming model (OCV-MIP) to fit the context of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in the city for 5 years, with consideration of the possible need for annual revaccination, given limited supply and budget resources, to minimize COVID-19 cases further. The population is divided into subgroups with associated incidence rates serving as the basis for the optimal allocation of vaccines. Different ways of population stratification by some combinations of risk areas and age group divisions were explored. The results revealed that it is optimal to prioritize the vaccination of subgroups with the highest incidence rates. Keywords: forecasting · COVID-19 · Davao City · LINGO · Mixed-Integer Programming · Optimization · Philippines · SARS-CoV-2 · Vaccine

Single cell analysis reveals immune cell-adipocyte crosstalk regulating the transcription of thermogenic adipocytes.

Immune cells are vital constituents of the adipose microenvironment that influence both local and systemic lipid metabolism. Mice lacking IL10 have enhanced thermogenesis, but the roles of specific cell types in the metabolic response to IL10 remain to be defined. We demonstrate here that selective loss of IL10 receptor α in adipocytes recapitulates the beneficial effects of global IL10 deletion, and that local crosstalk between IL10-producing immune cells and adipocytes is a determinant of thermogenesis and systemic energy balance. Single Nuclei Adipocyte RNA-sequencing (SNAP-seq) of subcutaneous adipose tissue defined a metabolically-active mature adipocyte subtype characterized by robust expression of genes involved in thermogenesis whose transcriptome was selectively responsive to IL10Rα deletion. Furthermore, single-cell transcriptomic analysis of adipose stromal populations identified lymphocytes as a key source of IL10 production in response to thermogenic stimuli. These findings implicate adaptive immune cell-adipocyte communication in the maintenance of adipose subtype identity and function

Produção de capim-elefante em vertissolo sob diferentes doses de efluentes de fossa séptica biodigestora.

Objetivou-se com a execução deste trabalho avaliar a produção de capim-elefante (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach cv. Botucatu) em Vertissolo sob diferentes doses de efluentes produzidos em fossa séptica biodigestora instalada em região de águas salobras. O experimento foi conduzido em casa de vegetação na Embrapa Pantanal, situada em Corumbá, Mato Grosso do Sul, entre agosto de 2009 e março de 2010. Foi avaliado o efeito de quatro doses de efluentes e duas épocas de corte sobre as produções de matéria seca de folhas (F), de hastes (H) e total (F+H), a participação dessas frações na massa seca total (F% e H%) e a relação F/H. A fertirrigação realizada com o efluente líquido da fossa séptica biodigestora resultou em maior produção de matéria seca do capim-elefante nas duas épocas avaliadas. Todavia, os resultados indicam que o uso contínuo das duas maiores doses de efluentes resultam em menor desenvolvimento de folhas em relação às hastes, o que é indesejável, pois pode reduzir o valor nutritivo da planta para uso como forrageira.Disponível também em: Cadernos de Agroecologia, V. 5, n.1, 2010

Isolated colostomy site recurrence in rectal cancer-two cases with review of literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Colostomy site carcinomas are rare with only eight cases reported in the world literature. Various etiological factors like adenoma-cancer sequence, bile acids, recurrent and persistent physical damage at the colostomy site by faecal matter due to associated stomal stenosis have been considered responsible. Two such cases are being reported and in both cases there was no evidence of any local recurrence in the pelvis or liver and distant metastasis. Both patients had received adjuvant chemotherapy following surgery.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>First case was a 30-year-old male that had reported with large bowel obstruction due to an obstructing ulcero-proliferative growth (poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma) at the colostomy site after abdomino-perineal resection, performed for low rectal cancer six years previously. Wide local excision with microscopically free margins was performed with a satisfactory outcome. Four years later he presented with massive malignant ascites, cachexia and multiple liver metastasis and succumbed to his disease.</p> <p>Second case was a 47-year-old male that presented with acute large bowel obstruction due to an annular growth (well differentiated adenocarcinoma) in the upper rectum. He was managed by Hartmann's operation and the sigmoid colostomy was closed six months later. Five years following closure of colostomy, he presented with two parietal masses at the previous colostomy site scar, which, on fine needle aspiration cytology were found to be well-differentiated adenocarcinomas of colorectal type. Surgery in the form of wide local resection with free margins was performed. He presented again after five years with recurrence along the previous surgery scar and an incisional hernia and was managed by wide local excision along with hernioplasty. Follow-up of nine years following first surgery is satisfactory.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Colostomy site/scar recurrence of rectal carcinoma is rare and could be due to various etiological factors, although the exact causative mechanism is not known. Surgery with microscopically free margins is recommended in the absence of metastatic disease. Stenosis of the stoma is considered as one of the most important contributory factors and should be followed carefully.</p

Produção de capim-elefante sob diferentes doses de efluentes de fossa séptica biodigestora em região de águas salobras.

Objetivou-se com o presente trabalho avaliar a produção de capim elefante (Penisetum purpureaum Schumach cv. Botucatu) sob diferentes doses de efluentes Produzidos em fossa séptica biodigestora instalada em região de águas salobras. O experimento foi conduzido em casa de vegetação na Embrapa Pantanal, situada em Corumbá, Mato Grosso do Sul, entre agosto de 2009 e março de 2010. Foi avaliado o efeito de quatro doses de efluentes e duas épocas de corte sob as produções de matéria seca a 105oC (MS) de folhas (F), de hastes (H) e total (F+H), a participação da fração folha na massa seca total (F%) e a relação F/H. A aplicação de doses crescentes de efluentes da fossa séptica biodigestora instalada em região de águas salobras resultou em maior produção do capim-elefante nas duas épocas avaliadas e favoreceu, no primeiro período de avaliação, maior participação da fração folha das plantas, fato que indica efeito positivo do uso deste tipo efluente sobre o valor nutritivo da forrageira cultivada na região

Entrepreneurial growth and ownership under market socialism in China: a longitudinal case study of small business growth

How firms grow is still a mystery and a definitive explanation remains elusive. This is especially the case for emerging economies, where the development of research into business growth has been notably slow whilst emerging business ventures are developing at hyper speed. Since most empirical studies have focused on the quantitative differences in growth across firms, this paper adopts a longitudinal case study approach to explore the qualitative differences in terms of how various types of firm achieve their growth outcomes in the organisational development process over a prolonged period of time. Through a theoretical lens which focuses on growth process approaches, this study not only demonstrates that entrepreneurial processes take different forms and dimensions in different contexts, but it also provides insights into the interactions of various organisational factors underpinning the strategies and changes that lead to contrasting growth outcomes. Case study findings assert that the ownership factor is a key contingent factor that shapes management structure and resources which, in turn, affect particular entrepreneurial outcomes. Furthermore, a combination of leadership style and the approach to knowledge management also play critical roles in the learning process which, tends to determine the strategy choice of either high or low value added product strategy. The findings of this research are that small firms with a low value product strategy can improve their survival chances and growth through the vertical broadening of a product portfolio in synchrony with increasing production and technology advancement. The case study companies show a tendency to reinforce their industry position by adopting contrasting choices for growth. The paper addresses the challenges and managerial implications for Western company managers in different growth contexts

Media representations of mining discourse in the Philippines: A critical discourse analysis

Drawing on critical discourse analysis, this study described the linguistic features, discursive strategies, and macro-themes of Philippine mining discourse in media texts. Taking a diachronic perspective, the corpus of the study consisted of 224 news articles spanning five-year coverage from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2017. Textual data were supplemented by peripheral discourses obtained through interviews with the local “symbolic elites” in the identified mining communities. Analysis of linguistic features used in discursively constructing the social actors revealed that reference with their unique identities through nomination strategies highly manifests in the mining news reports. Among the strategies particularly employed were formalization and honorification, which are consistent with the linguistic features of news genre, putting premium on specificity, accuracy, formality, and brevity. Categorization or discursively classifying social actors in terms of identities they share with others along with other strategies conveying informal and personal tones were hardly found in the data, an indication of their peculiarity in news genre. Analysis of themes reflected in the headlines and leads of mining news reports had disclosed converging and diverging patterns. On the one hand, the national media gave priority to government actions, economic phenomenon and political actors, while the local media put primacy on the actions of government agencies, mining companies, and non-governmental organizations. Both print media allotted a much lesser spatio-temporal space for environment and Indigenous Peoples’ cause. In view of the findings, the researcher concluded that the more socially prominent a social actor is in the industry and beyond, the more he or she is provided spatio-temporal space in the news report; the marginalized such as the mine workers or the small-scale investors tend to be highlighted only when unusual incidents occurred such as involvement in mining mishaps or illegal activities. Philippine mining discourse manifests as highly political and economic discourse rather than environmental or ecological. This means that mining discourse is a hybrid discourse, which permeates to various discourse plains (e.g., economic, political) making it intricate, convoluted and complicated; hence, it calls for a more systematic and methodical linguistic investigation. Keywords: referential strategies, discourse strategies, discourse themes