Immobilization of urease on copper chelated EC-Tri beads and reversible adsorption

In the present study, Eupergit C® macroporous beads were functionalized with amino triazole and characterized by FTIR-ATR and SEM. Cu2+ ions were chelated on the triazole modified Eupergit C® (EC®), and then the metal chelated beads were used in the adsorption of urease. Maximum reaction rate (Vmax) and Michaelis-Menten constant (km) were determined for the free and immobilized enzymes. Various characteristics of immobilized urease such as the temperature activity curve, thermal stability, operational stability and storage stability were evaluated. The results demonstrated that triazole functionalized Eupergit C® beads can be applied to metal sorption and enzyme immobilization.Key words: Urease, immobilization, Eupergit C®, triazole, chelating beads

A low-complexity time-domain MMSE channel estimator for space-time/frequency block-coded OFDM systems

Focusing on transmit diversity orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) transmission through frequency-selective channels, this paper pursues a channel estimation approach in time domain for both space-frequency OFDM (SF-OFDM) and space-time OFDM(ST-OFDM) systems based on AR channel modelling. The paper proposes a computationally efficient, pilot-aided linear minimum mean-square-error (MMSE) time-domain channel estimation algorithm for OFDM systems with transmitter diversity in unknown wireless fading channels. The proposed approach employs a convenient representation of the channel impulse responses based on the Karhunen-Loeve (KL) orthogonal expansion and finds MMSE estimates of the uncorrelated KL series expansion coefficients. Based on such an expansion, no matrix inversion is required in the proposed MMSE estimator. Subsequently, optimal rank reduction is applied to obtain significant taps resulting in a smaller computational load on the proposed estimation algorithm. The performance of the proposed approach is studied through the analytical results and computer simulations. In order to explore the performance, the closed-form expression for the average symbol error rate (SER)probability is derived for the maximum ratio receive combiner(MRRC). We then consider the stochastic Cramer-Rao lower bound(CRLB) and derive the closed-form expression for the random KL coefficients, and consequently exploit the performance of the MMSE channel estimator based on the evaluation of minimum Bayesian MSE. We also analyze the effect of a modelling mismatch on the estimator performance. Simulation results confirm our theoretical analysis and illustrate that the proposed algorithms are capable of tracking fast fading and improving overall performance. Copyright © 2006 Hindawi Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved

Placement, porosity and randomness of cube and Cubipod armor layers

Although little attention is usually given to the armor porosity and armor randomness of randomly placed concrete armor units in mound breakwaters, significant model effects may occur if armor porosity and randomness are different for prototype and small-scale models. Armor randomness and porosity are easier to control in small-scale models because they are generally constructed by hand in dry and perfect viewing conditions; equipment and environmental constraints make control at prototype scale more difficult. Results from three-dimensional small-scale placement tests are analyzed when cube and Cubipod units are placed with a small-scale crawler crane and pressure clamps. Armor porosity was not workable below 37% for cubes and 35% for Cubipods; placement grids were obtained for feasible armor porosities, considering row settlements during construction as well. Amethodology to measure armor randomness using high-precision laser scanning, similar to terrestrial LIDAR, was tested with small-scale cube and Cubipod armor. Three armor randomness indexes (ARIs) measured the randomness of cube and Cubipod armor; the values for ARIs were higher for Cubipod armor than for cube armor. (C) 2014 American Society of Civil EngineersThe authors would like to acknowledge the financial support received from the CDTI (CUBIPOD and CLIOMAR Projects), SATO-OHL Group (CLIOMAR Project), and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Grant BIA2012-33967). The third author was financially supported through the FPU program (Formacion del Profesorado Universitario) funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education (Ministerio de Educacion, Cultura y Deporte). The authors thank Tomas J. Perez for assisting with the 3D placement tests and processing the laser-scanner data, and Debra Westall for revising the manuscript.Pardo De Gregorio, V.; Herrera Gamboa, MP.; Molines Llodra, J.; Medina Folgado, JR. (2014). Placement, porosity and randomness of cube and Cubipod armor layers. Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering. 140(5). doi:10.1061/(ASCE)WW.1943-5460.0000245S140

Improving HPV vaccine uptake in children, adolescents,and young adults - An umbrella review of interventions

HPV causes about 5% of all cancers worldwide. The most common of these cancers is cervical but the virus is also implicated in cancers of the vagina, vulva, anus, penis, head and neck. A significant proportion of the cancers caused by HPV in Europe are in men. The World Health Organization now has a global strategy for the elimination of cervical cancer. Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, published by the European Commission in 2021, contains a ‘flagship’ commitment to HPV vaccination. Both strategies share the goal of a 90% vaccination uptake for girls and the Beating Cancer Plan also wants to see an increasing number of boys vaccinated through gender-neutral programmes in every member state. But vaccination rates in Europe, and elsewhere, currently vary widely. Data for the European region shows that only two countries achieved a 90% uptake of girls receiving all their vaccine doses. While several managed over 70% uptake, other countries had coverage rates of below 50% and at least two currently vaccinate fewer than 10% of girls. An important part of the explanation for sub-optimal vaccination rates is low vaccine confidence among parents and carers as well as young people themselves. This can be caused by insufficient information, a lack of trust in health authorities and vaccine manufacturers, and concerns about vaccine safety. But we know that vaccine confidence can be improved, and vaccine uptake increased if the right policies and programmes are put in place. That is why the European Cancer Organisation’s HPV Action Network commissioned this important review of published evidence. Our expert research team took a detailed look at the existing evidence base, by means of an umbrella review (essentially a systematic review of systematic reviews) and identified a range of interventions that have been shown to make a difference in terms of intention to be vaccinated, and uptake rates for HPV vaccination. Compared to many other cancer prevention strategies – such as tobacco control, reducing alcohol consumption, increasing physical activity or tackling obesity – HPV vaccination is easy-todeliver, has an immediate positive health impact and is highly efficacious. In fact, it is probably the single most effective means of cancer prevention in the medical arsenal. We will therefore share these findings widely and encourage HPV vaccination programmes in Europe and beyond to make the best possible use of this evidence. If we can achieve a 90% vaccination rate across Europe, we know we will succeed in eliminating HPV cancers as a public health problem in the region

Archaeogenetic analysis of Neolithic sheep from Anatolia suggests a complex demographic history since domestication

Sheep were among the first domesticated animals, but their demographic history is little understood. Here we analyzed nuclear polymorphism and mitochondrial data (mtDNA) from ancient central and west Anatolian sheep dating from Epipaleolithic to late Neolithic, comparatively with modern-day breeds and central Asian Neolithic/Bronze Age sheep (OBI). Analyzing ancient nuclear data, we found that Anatolian Neolithic sheep (ANS) are genetically closest to present-day European breeds relative to Asian breeds, a conclusion supported by mtDNA haplogroup frequencies. In contrast, OBI showed higher genetic affinity to present-day Asian breeds. These results suggest that the east-west genetic structure observed in present-day breeds had already emerged by 6000 BCE, hinting at multiple sheep domestication episodes or early wild introgression in southwest Asia. Furthermore, we found that ANS are genetically distinct from all modern breeds. Our results suggest that European and Anatolian domestic sheep gene pools have been strongly remolded since the Neolithic

An institutional theory of informal entrepreneurship: some lessons from FYR Macedonia

In recent years, a new institutionalist theory has emerged to explain the prevalence of informal sector entrepreneurship. This argues that formal institutional failures lead to the emergence of an asymmetry between the formal rules (laws and regulations) and the norms, values and beliefs of entrepreneurs regarding the acceptability of participating in the informal sector, which in turn leads to the prevalence of informal entrepreneurship. The aim of this paper is to evaluate this social actor approach by reporting evidence from 453 face-to-face interviews with a nationally representative sample of entrepreneurs in FYR Macedonia. This reveals not only a significant association between participation in the informal economy and the non-alignment of entrepreneurs' views with the formal rules, but specific formal institutional failings that are significantly associated with the acceptability of informal entrepreneurship, namely poor quality public services, a lack of tax fairness, corruption and instability in the formal institutions. The theoretical and policy implications are then discussed

Ancient goat genomes reveal mosaic domestication in the Fertile Crescent.

Current genetic data are equivocal as to whether goat domestication occurred multiple times or was a singular process. We generated genomic data from 83 ancient goats (51 with genome-wide coverage) from Paleolithic to Medieval contexts throughout the Near East. Our findings demonstrate that multiple divergent ancient wild goat sources were domesticated in a dispersed process that resulted in genetically and geographically distinct Neolithic goat populations, echoing contemporaneous human divergence across the region. These early goat populations contributed differently to modern goats in Asia, Africa, and Europe. We also detect early selection for pigmentation, stature, reproduction, milking, and response to dietary change, providing 8000-year-old evidence for human agency in molding genome variation within a partner species