Seasonal variations and distribution of sea grass associated macrofauna in Uppanar estuary, southeast coast of India

The occurrence of sea grass in relation to the distribution, relative abundance and seasonal variations along with the Physio-chemical parameters influencing the growth and distribution of associated fauna in Uppanar estuary, have been studied for a period of one year from April 2005 to March 2006. Totally three species of sea grass were collected. The sea grass showed definite levels of zonation. They also showed seasonal changes in growth pattern in relation to the changes in Physio-chemical parameters. Totally about three major groups of organisms i.e. Polychaetes, Crustaceans and Molluscs were recorded. The Molluscans were the most dominant organisms amounting to 41% and between  this, Polychaetes above contributed to the tune of 37%. Crustaceans 19% and others 3%. The study area water quality parameters are favorable for juvenile and existence of different biotic communities in the estuary

The impact of corporate social responsibility on financial performance: Evidence from insurance firms

The field of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been growing very exponentially over the past decade. There are continuous opposing views of the role of the firms in society and disagreements as to whether wealth maximization should be the sole goal of any corporations out there. With Insurance companies facing and fulfilling in the intense demand of diverse stakeholders, this study explores the impact of CSR disclosures on Financial Performance among the listed domestic-owned companies in Malaysian insurance sector. Although CSR is a hot topic in Malaysia and throughout various industries, no detailed study has been conducted to ascertain whether Malaysian insurance companies derive any benefits therefrom. The study examines the impact of CSR on financial performance using an extensive content analysis method on annual reports from 13 domestic-owned Malaysian insurance companies over the past 9 years (2008-2017). The content analysis data is further transformed into GRI CSR Disclosure Index table before matching the findings against the Financial Performance indicators (return on assets (ROA), return on equities (ROE) and earnings per share (EPS)). The relationship between CSR and ROA, ROE and EPS is tested using correlation analysis. The results indicate significant relationship between CSR disclosure and Financial Performance; designates CSR has significant impact on ROA; whereas relationship between CSR and ROE & EPS is found to be insignificant. The study suggests and indicates that insurance companies in Malaysia ought to carry out efforts continually in a bigger scale so that their CSR activities are more aligned with the reporting regulatory standards as well as to bring a positive impact in the current prospect. In addition, the remedial action proposed by Bursa Malaysia from year 2016 is expected to improve the findings of this study and bring a tremendous improvement to the exiting regulatory guidelines

The impact of corporate social responsibility on financial performance: Evidence from Insurance firms

The field of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been growing very exponentially over the past decade. There are continuous opposing views of the role of the firms in society and disagree-ments as to whether wealth maximization should be the sole goal of any corporations out there. With Insurance companies facing and fulfilling in the intense demand of diverse stakeholders, this study explores the impact of CSR disclosures on Financial Performance among the listed domestic-owned companies in Malaysian insurance sector. Although CSR is a hot topic in Malaysia and throughout various industries, no detailed study has been conducted to ascertain whether Malaysian insurance companies derive any benefits therefrom. The study examines the impact of CSR on financial performance using an extensive content analysis method on annual reports from 13 domestic-owned Malaysian insurance companies over the past 9 years (2008-2017). The content analysis data is further transformed into GRI CSR Disclosure Index table before matching the findings against the Financial Performance indicators (return on assets (ROA), return on equities (ROE) and earnings per share (EPS)). The relationship between CSR and ROA, ROE and EPS is tested using correlation analysis. The results indicate significant relationship between CSR disclosure and Financial Performance; designates CSR has significant impact on ROA; whereas relationship between CSR and ROE & EPS is found to be insignificant. The study suggests and indicates that insurance companies in Malaysia ought to carry out efforts continually in a bigger scale so that their CSR activities are more aligned with the reporting regulatory standards as well as to bring a positive impact in the current prospect. In addition, the remedial action proposed by Bursa Malaysia from year 2016 is expected to improve the findings of this study and bring a tremendous improvement to the exiting regulatory guidelines

Bacteriological studies of blood, tissue fluid, lymph and lymph nodes in patients with acute dermatolymphangioadenitis (DLA) in course of ‘filarial’ lymphedema

Filarial lymphedema is complicated by frequent episodes of dermatolymphangioadenitis (DLA). Severe systemic symptoms during attacks of DLA resemble those of septicemia. The question we asked was whether bacterial isolates can be found in the peripheral blood of patients during the episodes of DLA. Out of 100 patients referred to us with ‘filarial’ lymphedema 14 displayed acute and five subacute symptoms of DLA. All were on admission blood microfilariae negative but had a positive test in the past. Blood bacterial isolates were found in nine cases, four acute (21%) and five subacute (26%). In 10 acute cases blood cultures were found negative. Six blood isolates belonged to Bacilli, four to Cocci and one was Sarcina. To identify the sites of origin of bacterial dissemination, swabs taken from the calf skin biopsy wounds and tissue fluid, lymph and lymph node specimens were cultured. Swabs from the calf skin biopsy wound contained isolates in nine (47%) cases. They were Bacilli in nine, Cocci in three, Acinetobacter and Erwinia in two cases. Tissue fluid was collected from 10 patients and contained Bacilli in four (40%) and Staphylococci in three (30%). Lymph was drained in four patients and contained isolates in all samples (100%). They were Staphylococcus epidermis, xylosus and aureus, Acinetobacter, Bacillus subtilis and Sarcina. Three lymph nodes were biopsied and contained Staphylococcus chromogenes, xylosus, Enterococcus and Bacillus cereus. In six cases the same phenotypically defined species of bacteria were found in blood and limb tissues or fluids. In the ‘control’ group of patients with lymphedema without acute or subacute changes all blood cultures were negative. Interestingly, swabs from biopsy wound of these patients contained isolates in 80%, tissue fluid in 68%, lymph in 70% and lymph nodes in 58% of cases. In healthy controls, tissue fluid did not contain bacteria, and lymph isolates were found only in 12% of cases. This study demonstrates that patients with acute episodes of DLA reveal bacteriemia in a high percentage of cases. Diversity of blood and tissue bacterial isolates in these patients points to a breakdown of the skin immune barrier in lymphedema and subsequently indiscriminate bacterial colonization of deep tissues and spread to an blood circulation. © 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

Actively Controlling Buffet-Induced Excitations

High performance aircraft, especially those with twin vertical tails, encounter unsteady buffet loads when flying at high angles of attack. These loads result in significant random stresses, which may cause fatigue damage leading to restricted capabilities and availability of the aircraft. An international collaborative research activity among Australia, Canada and the United States, conducted under the auspices of The Technical Cooperation Program (TTCP) contributed resources toward a program that coalesced a broad range of technical knowledge and expertise into a single investigation to demonstrate the enhanced performance and capability of the advanced active BLA control system in preparation for a flight test demonstration. The research team investigated the use of active structural control to alleviate the damaging structural response to these loads by applying advanced directional piezoelectric actuators, the aircraft rudder, switch mode amplifiers, and advanced control strategies on an F/A-18 aircraft empennage. Some results of the full-scale investigation are presented herein

Controlling Buffeting Loads by Rudder and Piezo-Actuation

High performance aircraft, especially those with twin vertical tails, encounter unsteady buffet loads when flying at high angles of attack. These stochastic loads result in significant stresses, which may cause fatigue damage leading to restricted capabilities and availability of the aircraft. An international collaborative research activity among Australia, Canada and the United States, conducted under the auspices of The Technical Cooperation Program (TTCP) contributed resources toward a program that coalesced a broad range of technical knowledge and expertise into a single investigation to demonstrate the enhanced performance and capability of the advanced active Buffet Load Alleviation ( ) control system in preparation for a flight test demonstration. The research team investigated the use of active structural control to alleviate the damaging structural response to these loads by applying advanced directional piezoelectric actuators, the aircraft rudder, switch mode amplifiers, and advanced control strategies on an F/A-18 aircraft empennage. Some results of the full-scale investigation are presented herein

<i>In Vitro</i> Activity of Two Cefepime-Based Novel Combinations, Cefepime/Taniborbactam and Cefepime/Zidebactam, against Carbapenemase-Expressing <i>Enterobacterales </i>Collected in India

In recent times, discovery efforts for novel antibiotics have mostly targeted carbapenemase-producing Gram-negative organisms. Two different combination approaches are pertinent: b-lactam-b-lactamase inhibitor (BL/BLI) or b-lactam-b-lactam enhancer (BL/ BLE). Cefepime combined with a BLI, taniborbactam, or with a BLE, zidebactam, has been shown to be promising. In this study, we determined the in vitro activity of both these agents along with comparators against multicentric carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE). Nonduplicate CPE isolates of Escherichia coli (n = 270) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (n = 300), collected from nine different tertiary-care hospitals across India during 2019 to 2021, were included in the study. Carbapenemases in these isolates were detected by PCR. E. coli isolates were also screened for the presence of the 4-Amino-Acid insert in penicillin binding protein 3 (PBP3). MICs were determined by reference broth microdilution. Higher MICs of cefepime/taniborbactam (.8 mg/L) were linked to NDM, both in K. pneumoniae and in E. coli. In particular, such higher MICs were observed in 88 to 90% of E. coli isolates producing NDM and OXA-48-like or NDM alone. On the other hand, OXA-48-like-producing E. coli or K. pneumoniae isolates were nearly 100% susceptible to cefepime/taniborbactam. Regardless of the carbapenemase types and the pathogens, cefepime/ zidebactam showed potent activity (.99% inhibited at#8mg/L). It seems that the 4-amino-Acid insert in PBP3 (present universally in the study E. coli isolates) along with NDM adversely impact the activity of cefepime/taniborbactam. Thus, the limitations of the BL/BLI approach in tackling the complex interplay of enzymatic and nonenzymatic resistance mechanisms were better revealed in whole-cell studies where the activity observed was a net effect of b-lactamase inhibition, cellular uptake, and target affinity of the combination. IMPORTANCE The study revealed the differential ability of cefepime/taniborbactam and cefepime/zidebactam in tackling carbapenemase-producing Indian clinical isolates that also harbored additional mechanisms of resistance. NDM-expressing E. coli with 4-Amino-Acid insert in PBP3 are predominately resistant to cefepime/taniborbactam, while the b-lactam enhancer mechanism-based cefepime/zidebactam showed consistent activity against single-or dual-carbapenemase-producing isolates including E. coli with PBP3 inserts.</p

Temporal, spatial, and structural patterns of adult trembling aspen and white spruce mortality in Quebec's boreal forest

Temporal, spatial, and structural patterns of adult trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) and white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) mortality were studied in intact 150-year-old stands in the southwestern boreal forest of Quebec. For both species, mortality decreases (number of dead trees/total number of trees) with distance from the lake edge until 100-150 m, from which point it slightly increases. Strong peaks in mortality were found for 40- to 60-year-old aspen mainly between 1974 and 1992. Such mortality in relatively young aspen is likely related to competition for light from the dominant canopy trees. Also, the recruitment of this young aspen cohort is presumably the result of a stand breakup that occurred when the initial aspen-dominated stand was between 90 and 110 years old. For spruce, strong peaks in mortality were found in 110- to 150-year-old trees and they occurred mainly after 1980. No clear explanation could be found for these peaks, but we suggest that they may be related to senescence or weakening of the trees following the last spruce budworm outbreak. Suppressed and codominant aspen had a much higher mortality ratio than spruce in the same height class, while more surprisingly, no difference in mortality rate was found between dominant trees of the two species. Most spruce trees were found as standing dead, which leads us to reject the hypothesis that windthrow is an important cause of mortality for spruce in our forests