Left ventricular function after ultra-distance triathlon : response is dependent on the cardiac loading conditions

The purpose of this thesis is to establish if there is any evidence to support the hypothesis that altered ventricular loading conditions after the cessation of exercise may cause "cardiac fatigue". The studies that have shown post-exercise "cardiac fatigue" have not controlled for either preload or afterload or both, before and after exercise. These studies may rather have identified the effects of alterations in peripheral vascular function on left ventricular function after prolonged exercise. The research study in this thesis is to evaluate if the loading conditions of the heart affect the echocardiographic measurements after exercise that may be misinterpreted as "cardiac fatigue". Echocardiography as a tool of cardiac evaluation cannot be done during exercise because of the technical difficulty of doing a cardiac ultrasound on a human being in motion. The studies that have investigated post exercise "cardiac fatigue" have therefore measured cardiac function after exercise and retrospectively assumed that the cardiac dysfunction was present during exercise since the cardiac demands are at their peak during exercise. However, the post exercise period may be associated with altered loading conditions that may cause changes in the echocardiographic measurements that are similar to cardiac abnormalities

Root Associated Bacillus sp. Improves Growth, Yield and Zinc Translocation for Basmati Rice (Oryza sativa) Varieties

Plant associated rhizobacteria prevailing in different agro-ecosystems exhibit multiple traits which could be utilized in various aspect of sustainable agriculture. Two hundred thirty four isolates were obtained from the roots of basmati-385 and basmati super rice varieties growing in clay loam and saline soil at different locations of Punjab (Pakistan). Out of 234 isolates, 27 were able to solubilize zinc (Zn) from different Zn ores like zinc phosphate [Zn3 (PO4)2], zinc carbonate (ZnCO3) and zinc oxide (ZnO). The strain SH-10 with maximum Zn solubilization zone of 24 mm on Zn3 (PO4)2 ore and strain SH-17 with maximum Zn solubilization zone of 14-15 mm on ZnO and ZnCO3 ores were selected for further studies. These two strains solubilized phosphorous (P) and potassium (K) in vitro with a solubilization zone of 38-46 mm and 47-55 mm respectively. The strains also suppressed economically important rice pathogens Pyricularia oryzae and Fusarium moniliforme by 22-29 % and produced various biocontrol determinants in vitro. The strains enhanced Zn translocation towards grains and increased yield of basmati-385 and super basmati rice varieties by 22-49 % and 18-47 % respectively. The Zn solubilizing strains were identified as Bacillus sp and Bacillus cereus by 16S rRNA gene analysis

Analysis of Heavy Metals Found in Vegetables From Some Irrigated Gardens in Katsina, Daura and Funtua Metropolis, Katsina State, Nigeria.

This study was conducted to determine the concentration of heavy metals cadmium (Cd)) chromium (Cr) (copper (Cu), iron (Fe) manganese (Mn) zinc (Zn), lead (Pb) and in five vegetables viz;  (Bitter-leaf),  Cabbage, Cucumber, Lettuce and Spinach and soil collected from selected farm and market sites in industrial, residential and commercial areas of Lagos state. The heavy metals present in the vegetables were analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). The results reveal that all the heavy metals were detected in all the vegetables from the various sites. Most of the concentrations are below the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) safe limit of 0.1 mg/kg, 0.1 mg/kg, 40 mg/kg, 1.3 mg/kg, 1.5 mg/kg, 6.61 mg/kg, 3 mg/kg, 60 mg/kg for cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co)   (Cu), chromium (Cr), iron (Fe), lead (Pb) and  zinc (Zn), and respectively in the vegetables. However the concentration of cobalt in spinach and lead in cabbage from Katsina are above the WHO and FAO safe limits. There is a significant differences in the concentration of Cd in the vegetables from the sampling sites (P<0.05), while there is no significant difference in the concentration of Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Zn  in the vegetables from the sampling sites (P>0.05). If the practice of treating the soils in the irrigation gardens with contaminated waters is not controlled, it may lead to health hazard on the part of consumers of the vegetables on the long term. Therefore, there is the need to continually monitor, control and take necessary policy decisions so as to limit and ultimately prevent these avoidable problems. Keywords: Irrigation, Vegetables, Heavy metals, Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS), Garden

A matrix-free quasi-Newton method for solving large-scale nonlinear systems.

One of the widely used methods for solving a nonlinear system of equations is the quasi-Newton method. The basic idea underlining this type of method is to approximate the solution of Newton’s equation by means of approximating the Jacobian matrix via quasi-Newton update. Application of quasi-Newton methods for large scale problems requires, in principle, vast computational resource to form and store an approximation to the Jacobian matrix of the underlying problem. Hence, this paper proposes an approximation for Newton-step based on the update of approximation requiring a computational effort similar to that of matrix-free settings. It is made possible by approximating the Jacobian into a diagonal matrix using the least-change secant updating strategy, commonly employed in the development of quasi-Newton methods. Under suitable assumptions, local convergence of the proposed method is proved for nonsingular systems. Numerical experiments on popular test problems confirm the effectiveness of the approach in comparison with Newton’s, Chord Newton’s and Broyden’s methods

THE INTERCONNECTIONS OF GREEN MOTIVES AND CORPORATE SOCIAL PERFORMANCE: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF GREEN PRACTICES

This research aims to explore the impact of green motives (GM) on Corporate Social Performance (CSP) through green practices (GP) in the hotel industry. Data was collected from the 250 executives and other members of senior management who were involved in the management decision making directly or indirectly. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique was applied through Smart-PLS version 3.2.8. Subsequently, results proved that green motives have a positive association with green practices and CSP. Green practices mediated the relationship between green motive and CSP.  This research isolates itself from the previous ones in this area by integrating the literature of green motives and corporate social performance that how green practices intercede this relationship in the context of the hotel industry. In the hotel industry, owners/managers should focus on green motives and must consider them to keep their stakeholders interested and motivated. This study guides management in practice that how to satisfy their customers timely through the green process and build a strong foundation for CSP. This is quantitative research based on cross-sectional data and has been conducted in Pakistan

Islamic Religious Identity in Contemporary Kyrgyzstan

This paper assesses the state of Islam in Post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan. It examines the challenges Islam faces due to the diversity of ideologies bequeathed by the Soviet Union. Although Islam emerged as a dominant religious belief in post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan, due to the internal elements of secularism, Tengrism, and other indigenous ideologies, and the interpretation of Islamic lore coupled with the Soviet ideology of atheism, Islam remains syncretic with some loose extremism fuelled by home-grown socio-political factors and imported fundamentalism. It, therefore, concludes that the challenge to Islam and Islamic religious identity in contemporary Kyrgyzstan is a sort of ‘Muslimo-phobia’ rather than ‘Islamo-phobia’ because the challenge to Islam is clearly unleashed by the Muslims themselves and not the minority non-Muslim population

Isolation and characterization of some flavonoids from the leaf of Tapinanthus globiferus growing on Acacia nilotica

Tapinanthus globiferus is used ethnomedicinally for the treatment of bacterial infections, inflammation, stomach pain, ulcers among others. The aim of the study was to isolate bioactive compounds from the leaf of T. globiferus growing on Acacia nilotica. The powdered plant material was extracted with 90 % methanol using cold maceration and the resulting crude methanol leaf extract was partitioned into n-hexane, chloroform, ethylacetate and n-butanol fractions. The ethylacetate fraction was chromatographed on a silica gel, sephadex LH-20 column and preparative thin-layer chromatography. (-)-Epicatechin and Quercetin 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside were isolated and characterized by means of physiochemical and spectroscopic (1D and 2D-NMR) analyses for the first time from T. globiferus growing on A. nilotica. Keywords:  Tapinanthus globiferus; Flavonoids; Isolation; NM

Fatal melioidosis in a captive elephant trunk snake (Acrochordus javanicus) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

An adult female Elephant Trunk Snake (Acrochordus javanicus) was reported to have been weak and inappetent for five days. The following morning the snake found dead, while in the process of shedding its skin. On post mortem examination, there were multiple circumscribed caseous nodules of various sizes distributed all over the liver, along the respiratory tract and on the lungs. Bacteriological analysis of the lungs and liver swab samples yielded Burkholderia pseudomallei, which was confirmed by PCR amplification of specific 16S rRNA. The condition was diagnosed as melioidosis and the organism was genotypically characterized as sequence type 51, a genotype that has been previously characterized in humans in Malaysia. Antibiotic susceptibility by both Disc diffusion or Kirby Bauer and E-test minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) showed that the organism exhibited susceptibility to meropenem, imipenem, ceftazidime, cotrimoxazole and co-amoxyclav; the antibiotics recommended in the treatment of melioidosis