Sustaining Sustainability in Marine Terminals: A Strategic Framework

Sustainability initiatives in maritime industry, despite their global need and relevance, are often riddled with strategic and implementation issues. Here we examine “green” initiatives of top-five global marine terminal operators. We classify their initiatives as technology-centric, process-centric and relationship-centric, and develop a core-competency-driven framework for these initiatives. Our findings indicate that technological initiatives are easy to adopt and yield quicker impact in reducing emissions and increasing ROI. On the other hand, process-centric and relationship-centric initiatives are more difficult to deploy, take longer to yield benefits, but are difficult to imitate. We argue that terminal operators should recognize the value of long-term initiatives that are difficult to replicate, to build competency

Uporaba mikrosatelitskih biljega za utvrđivanje genetske varijabilnosti kod dugotrajno selekcioniranih linija crvenih rodajland kokoši

Genetic improvement needs the existence and precise estimation of genetic variability, and microsatellites are a molecular marker of choice for its assessment. Rhode Island Red (RIR) is a brown-egger chicken breed. A RIR population, selected on the basis of 40-week part-period egg production for 30 generations, maintained as a closed flock to develop multi-colored strains for backyard farming, were studied to determine genetic variability and heterozygosity using microsatellite markers. Genomic DNA from 76 randomly selected birds was analyzed at 10 microsatellite loci, alleles were separated on 3.4% MetaPhor Agarose, sized using Quantity-One software and analyzed by POPGENE v1.32. Nine loci demonstrated polymorphism resolving 30 alleles, the average number of alleles/ locus being 3.00 ± 1.41. Allele numbers varied from two to six and size ranged from 102 to 320bp. The average polymorphic information content and Nei’s heterozygosity were 0.3134 ± 0.064 and 0.4119 ± 0.2575, respectively, suggesting these loci to be moderately polymorphic and informative. The observed (Na) and effective number (Ne) of alleles and Shannon’s index averaged 3.0000 ± 1.4142, 2.0324 ± 0.9416 and 0.7342 ± 0.4649, respectively. Ne was less than Na at most loci, indicating the prevalence of heterozygosity at these loci. Mean expected heterozygosity was higher than mean observed heterozygosity at most loci, indicating that the population was not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium but was under the influence of some forces such as selection, etc. The same was also demonstrated by Chi-square and G-square tests. It may be inferred that long-term selection for 40-week part-period egg production has resulted in Hardy-Weinberg disequilibrium at the studied microsatellite loci, thereby suggesting a probable association between these microsatellite loci and layer economic traits in RIR chicken, and this might be useful in marker assisted selection for egg production in future.Genetsko poboljšanje traži postojanu i preciznu procjenu genetske varijabilnosti. S tom svrhom moguće je koristiti mikrosatelite kao molekularne biljege. Crveni rodajland je pasmina kokoši koja nese smeđa jaja, a ovo je istraživanje provedeno u populaciji koja je kroz 30 generacija selekcionirana na osnovi 40-tjedne proizvodnje jaja. Populacija je održavana kao zatvoreno jato namijenjeno za razvoj višebojnih linija koje bi se držale u dvorišnom tipu uzgoja. Cilj istraživanja bio je utvrditi genetsku varijabilnost i heterozigotnost primjenom mikrosatelitskih biljega. Genomska DNA od 76 slučajno odabranih kokoši analizirana je na 10 mikrosatelitskih lokusa. Aleli su razlučeni na 3,4 % MetaPhor agarozi, a njihova veličina i analiza određeni su pomoću Quantity-One i POPGENE v1.32 računalnih programa. Devet lokusa bilo je polimorfno pokazujući 30 alela, pri čemu je prosječni broj alela/lokusu iznosio 3,00 ± 1,41. Broj alela kretao se od 2 do 6, a veličina u rasponu 102 do 320 bp. Prosječna informativnost polimorfizma i Neieva heterozigotnost iznosili su 0,3134 ± 0,064 te 0,4119 ± 0,2575, što pokazuje da su promatrani lokusi umjereno polimorfni i informativni. Opaženi (Na) i efektivni broj (Ne) alela te Shannonov indeks imali su prosječne vrijednosti 3,0000 ± 1,4142, zatim 2,0324 ± 0,9416 i 0,7342 ± 0,4649. Ne je bio manji od Na na većini lokusa upujući na prevalenciju heterozigotnosti na tim lokusima. Na većini lokusa srednja očekivana heterozigotnost bila je veća u odnosu na srednju opaženu heterozigotnost, što je pokazalo da populacija nije bila u Hardy-Weinbergovoj ravnoteži već je bila pod utjecajem nekih sila kao npr. selekcije ili drugo. Isto je potvrđeno Hi-kvadrat i G-kvadrat testovima. Može se zaključiti da je dugotrajna selekcija s obzirom na 40-tjednu proizvodnju jaja rezultirala Hardy-Weinbergovom neravnotežom na istraženim mikrosatelitskim lokusima što upućuje na moguću povezanost između tih mikrosatelitskih lokusa i gospodarski važnih obilježja nesivosti kod kokoši crvenog rodajlanda. Navedeno bi moglo biti korisno u budućoj selekciji potpomognutoj s biljezima za proizvodnju jaja

Hypothermia for moderate or severe neonatal encephalopathy in low-income and middle-income countries (HELIX): a randomised controlled trial in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh

Background: Although therapeutic hypothermia reduces death or disability after neonatal encephalopathy in high-income countries, its safety and efficacy in low-income and middle-income countries is unclear. We aimed to examine whether therapeutic hypothermia alongside optimal supportive intensive care reduces death or moderate or severe disability after neonatal encephalopathy in south Asia. Methods: We did a multicountry open-label, randomised controlled trial in seven tertiary neonatal intensive care units in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. We enrolled infants born at or after 36 weeks of gestation with moderate or severe neonatal encephalopathy and a need for continued resuscitation at 5 min of age or an Apgar score of less than 6 at 5 min of age (for babies born in a hospital), or both, or an absence of crying by 5 min of age (for babies born at home). Using a web-based randomisation system, we allocated infants into a group receiving whole body hypothermia (33·5°C) for 72 h using a servo-controlled cooling device, or to usual care (control group), within 6 h of birth. All recruiting sites had facilities for invasive ventilation, cardiovascular support, and access to 3 Tesla MRI scanners and spectroscopy. Masking of the intervention was not possible, but those involved in the magnetic resonance biomarker analysis and neurodevelopmental outcome assessments were masked to the allocation. The primary outcome was a combined endpoint of death or moderate or severe disability at 18–22 months, assessed by the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (third edition) and a detailed neurological examination. Analysis was by intention to treat. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02387385. Findings: We screened 2296 infants between Aug 15, 2015, and Feb 15, 2019, of whom 576 infants were eligible for inclusion. After exclusions, we recruited 408 eligible infants and we assigned 202 to the hypothermia group and 206 to the control group. Primary outcome data were available for 195 (97%) of the 202 infants in the hypothermia group and 199 (97%) of the 206 control group infants. 98 (50%) infants in the hypothermia group and 94 (47%) infants in the control group died or had a moderate or severe disability (risk ratio 1·06; 95% CI 0·87–1·30; p=0·55). 84 infants (42%) in the hypothermia group and 63 (31%; p=0·022) infants in the control group died, of whom 72 (36%) and 49 (24%; p=0·0087) died during neonatal hospitalisation. Five serious adverse events were reported: three in the hypothermia group (one hospital readmission relating to pneumonia, one septic arthritis, and one suspected venous thrombosis), and two in the control group (one related to desaturations during MRI and other because of endotracheal tube displacement during transport for MRI). No adverse events were considered causally related to the study intervention. Interpretation: Therapeutic hypothermia did not reduce the combined outcome of death or disability at 18 months after neonatal encephalopathy in low-income and middle-income countries, but significantly increased death alone. Therapeutic hypothermia should not be offered as treatment for neonatal encephalopathy in low-income and middle-income countries, even when tertiary neonatal intensive care facilities are available. Funding: National Institute for Health Research, Garfield Weston Foundation, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Translations: For the Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Singhalese, Tamil, Marathi and Bangla translations of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section

Nations within a nation: variations in epidemiological transition across the states of India, 1990–2016 in the Global Burden of Disease Study

18% of the world's population lives in India, and many states of India have populations similar to those of large countries. Action to effectively improve population health in India requires availability of reliable and comprehensive state-level estimates of disease burden and risk factors over time. Such comprehensive estimates have not been available so far for all major diseases and risk factors. Thus, we aimed to estimate the disease burden and risk factors in every state of India as part of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2016

Sustaining Sustainability in Marine Terminals: A Strategic Framework

Sustainability initiatives in maritime industry, despite their global need and relevance, are often riddled with strategic and implementation issues. Here we examine “green” initiatives of top-five global marine terminal operators. We classify their initiatives as technology-centric, process-centric and relationship-centric, and develop a core-competency-driven framework for these initiatives. Our findings indicate that technological initiatives are easy to adopt and yield quicker impact in reducing emissions and increasing ROI. On the other hand, process-centric and relationship-centric initiatives are more difficult to deploy, take longer to yield benefits, but are difficult to imitate. We argue that terminal operators should recognize the value of long-term initiatives that are difficult to replicate, to build competency

Effect of sintering parameters on the microstructure and properties of strontium modified PZT ceramics prepared using spray-dried powders

PZT powders of the composition Pb0.94Sr0.06 (Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3, prepared by spray drying and calcining techniques, were processed to sintered ceramics by conventional cold pressing and sintering at various temperatures and periods between 1000 to 1250°C for 0.5 to 12h. Sintered ceramics were evaluated for their microstructure and electromechanical properties. Highly dense ceramics having bulk density of the order of 97% of the theoretical value could be obtained after sintering at a considerably lower temperature of 1000°C in comparison to the 1300°C generally required for powders prepared by conventional ceramic processing. However, the increase in sintering temperature of reactive spray-dried powders causes the entrapment of closed pores as a result of exaggerated grain growth and subsequent pore coarsening thereby leading to a decrease in the bulk density of the ceramics. It has been observed that minor variations in the sintering parameters influence the porosity, grain size and electromechanical properties. Values of the dielectric constant, piezoelectric strain coefficient and electromechanic coupling factor increase with the increase in grain size and decrease with the increase in porosity of the sintered ceramic whereas the dielectric dissipation factor decreases with the increase in sintering temperature

Nerve damage in leprosy: An electrophysiological evaluation of ulnar and median nerves in patients with clinical neural deficits: A pilot study

Background : Leprosy involves peripheral nerves sooner or later in the course of the disease leading to gross deformities and disabilities. Sadly, by the time it becomes clinically apparent, the nerve damage is already quite advanced. However, if the preclinical damage is detected early in the course of disease, it can be prevented to a large extent. Materials and Methods: We conducted an electrophysiological pilot study on 10 patients with clinically manifest leprosy, in the Dermatology Department of Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Sewagram. This study was done to assess the nerve conduction velocity, amplitude and latency of ulnar and median nerves. Results and Conclusion: We found reduced conduction velocities besides changes in latency and amplitude in the affected nerves. Changes in sensory nerve conduction were more pronounced. Also, sensory latencies and amplitude changes were more severe than motor latencies and amplitude in those presenting with muscle palsies. However, further studies are going on to identify parameters to detect early nerve damage in leprosy