Mineralogical and Chemical Characteristics of the Most Important Minerals in the Volcanic Rocks of the Kratovo - Zletovo Volcanic Area

The Kriltovo-Zletovo volcanic aren, which is interesting from the aspect of its Te11iary magmatism, occupies the mid portions of the Lece-Halkidi metallogenic zone (CepacjmMoBcKH, 1990). Numerous deposits and occurrences of metallic and non-metallic mineral raw materi,lls nre spatinlly and paragenetically related t~ that magmatism. The paper presents the latest understanding on mineralogical and chemical characteristics of rocks and minerals in the volcnnic area. The results of the petrochemical studies point out pronounced calc-alkali mngmatism present :IS volcanic rocks such as dacite-andesite, andesite, latites, andesite-d:lcites etc. Study of individual mineralogical phases indicated that plagioclases are of the order of oligoclases, undesites, labrador, bitovnite, and anorthochtse. The study of potassium of feldspars indicated that they belong to the sanidine group. The clinopyroxenes are of the diopside whereas augite and biotites belong to the phlogopite-anitite series with slightly pronounced nature of phlogopite component

Quantitative Mass Spectrometry Evaluation of Human Retinol Binding Protein 4 and Related Variants

Background: Retinol Binding Protein 4 (RBP4) is an exciting new biomarker for the determination of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. It is known that circulating RBP4 resides in multiple variants which may provide enhanced clinical utility, but conventional immunoassay methods are blind to such differences. A Mass Spectrometric immunoassay (MSIA) technology that can quantitate total RBP4 as well as individual isoforms may provide an enhanced analysis for this biomarker. Methods: RBP4 was isolated and detected from 0.5 uL of human plasma using MSIA technology, for the simultaneous quantification and differentiation of endogenous human RBP4 and its variants. Results: The linear range of the assay was 7.81–500 ug/mL, and the limit of detection and limit of quantification were 3.36 ug/mL and 6.52 ug/mL, respectively. The intra-assay CVs were determined to be 5.1 % and the inter-assay CVs were 9.6%. The percent recovery of the RBP4-MSIA ranged from 95 – 105%. Method comparison of the RBP4 MSIA vs the Immun Diagnostik ELISA yielded a Passing & Bablok fit of MSIA = 1.056 ELISA – 3.09, while the Cusum linearity p-value was.0.1 and the mean bias determined by the Altman Bland test was 1.2%. Conclusion: The novel RBP4 MSIA provided a fast, accurate and precise quantitative protein measurement as compared to the standard commercially available ELISA. Moreover, this method also allowed for the detection of RBP4 variants that are present in each sample, which may in the future provide a new dimension in the clinical utility of this biomarker

Assessment of Android Network Positioning as an Alternative Source of Navigation for Drone Operations

Applications of drones have increased significantly in the past decade for both indoor and outdoor operations. In order to assist autonomous drone navigation, there are numerous sensors installed onboard the vehicles. These include Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) chipsets, inertial sensors, barometer, lidar, radar and vision sensors. The two sensors used most often by drone autopilot controllers for absolute positioning are the GNSS chipsets and barometer. Although, for most outdoor operations, these sensors provide accurate and reliable position information, their accuracy, availability, and integrity deteriorate for indoor applications and in the presence of radio frequency interference (RFI), such as GNSS spoofing and jamming. Therefore, it is possible to derive network-based locations from Wi-Fi and cellular transmission. Although there have been many theoretical studies on network positioning, limited resources are available for the expected quantitative performance of these positioning methodologies. In this paper, the authors investigate both the horizontal and vertical accuracy of the Android network location engines under rural, suburban, and urban environments. The paper determines the horizontal location accuracy to be approximately 1637 m, 38 m, and 32 m in terms of 68% circular error probable (CEP) for rural, suburban, and urban environments, respectively, and the vertical accuracy to be 1.2 m and 4.6 m in terms of 68% CEP for suburban and urban environments, respectively. In addition, the availability and latency of the location engines are explored. Furthermore, the paper assesses the accuracy of the Android network location accuracy indicator for various drone operation environments. The assessed accuracies of the network locations provide a deeper insight into their potential for drone navigation. View Full-Text</div

Potentials of Senior Age

Potenziale des Alters werden sowohl vom Standpunkt der Lebensentwürfe und Lebensformen des Individuums oder der Gesellschaft betrachtet, als auch mit Blick auf die zu deren Realisierung zur Verfügung stehenden Ressourcen. Aus Sicht des Individuums steht in erster Linie die Verwirklichung persönlicher Ziel- und Wertvorstellungen im Vordergrund, aus Sicht der Gesellschaft ist es interessant, inwieweit Ältere auf Leistungen der Gemeinschaft angewiesen und inwiefern sie in der Lage sind, einen Beitrag zum Wohl der Gemeinschaft zu leisten. Die Potenziale des Alters verweisen also aus gesellschaftlicher Perspektive auf die Möglichkeit, durch soziale, kulturelle und institutionelle Rahmenbedingungen dazu beizutragen, dass der wachsende Anteil älterer Menschen möglichst lange ein mitverantwortliches, selbstständiges und selbstverantwortliches Leben führt. Im Rahmen eines interkulturellen Lehr-Forschungs-Projektes der Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena und der Eötvös-Loránd-Universität Budapest wurde in einer in beiden Ländern geführten empirischen Parallelstudie untersucht, wie das Potenzial älterer Menschen erhalten werden kann und welche Anstrengungen unternommen werden müssen, damit Senioren weiterhin an gesellschaftlicher Entwicklung teilhaben und sich für andere und die Gemeinschaft engagieren. Dabei liegt der Fokus darauf, ob, wann und wie Senioren selbst Bildungsangebote unterbreiten und realisieren und welche Rahmenbedingungen gegeben sein müssen, um durch Senioren getragene Bildungsarbeit zu unterstützen. Weitere von anderen Gruppen in diesem Zwei-Länder-Projekt untersuchte Fragestellungen waren: o Bildungsferne Gruppen in Deutschland und Ungarn (http://www.db-thueringen.de/servlets/DocumentServlet?id=9750) o Fremdsprachenerwerb in der Erwachsenenbildung (http://www.db-thueringen.de/servlets/DocumentServlet?id=9894) ******************************Potentials of older people are regarded from two perspectives: on the one hand from the scripts and ways of life of the individual and on the other hand from the resources available for the realization of these. From the individual’s point of view the realization of personal targets and values are essential, from the society’s point of view it is of main interest, in how far seniors depend on benefits from the community and to which extend they are able to make a contribution for the collective good. Therefore the potentials of older people refer to the possibility that, by establishing adequate social, cultural and institutional conditions, a contribution can be made to the realization of the aim that older people can lead a co-responsible, independent and autonomously life as long as possible. In the context of an intercultural research project, which was realized by the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena and the Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest, it was examined, with the help of an empirical parallel survey that was conducted in both countries, in which ways the potential of older people can be maintained and which efforts should be taken that seniors are able to stay an active part of society. Thereby the focus of the survey is on the problem if at all, at which age and in which way seniors could offer and realize courses/ educational opportunities and which general conditions need to exist on order to support educational work carried out by seniors. Further questions considered throughout this intercultural research project were: o Groups with Distance to Learning in Germany und Hungary (http://www.db-thueringen.de/servlets/DocumentServlet?id=9750) o How can adults learn foreign languages? (http://www.db-thueringen.de/servlets/DocumentServlet?id=9894) *****************************

Effects of an exogenous enzyme preparation extracted from a mixed culture of Aspergillus spp. on lactational performance, metabolism, and digestibility in primiparous and multiparous cows

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of an exogenous enzyme preparation from As-pergillus oryzae and Aspergillus niger on lactational performance of dairy cows. Forty-eight Holstein cows (32 primiparous and 16 multiparous) averaging (+/- SD) 36.3 +/- 8.7 kg/d milk yield and 141 +/- 52 d in milk were enrolled in a 10-wk randomized complete block design experiment (total of 24 blocks) and assigned to 1 of 2 treatments: basal diet, no enzyme supplementation (CON) or the basal diet supplemented with 4.2 g/kg dry matter intake (DMI) of an exogenous enzyme prep-aration containing amylolytic and fibrolytic activities (ENZ). After a 2-wk covariate period, premixes with the enzyme preparation or control were top-dressed daily by mixing with approximately 500 g of total mixed ra-tion. Production data were collected daily and averaged by week. Milk samples were collected every other week, and milk composition was averaged by week. Blood, fe-cal, and urine samples were collected over 2 consecutive days at 0, 4, 8, 12, and 36 h after feeding during the last week of the experiment. Compared with CON, cows fed ENZ tended to increase DMI and had increased milk concentrations of true protein, lactose, and other solids. Milk fat content tended to be higher in CON cows. A treatment x parity interaction was found for some of the production variables. Primiparous cows receiv-ing ENZ had greater yields of milk, energy-corrected milk, milk true protein, and lactose compared with CON primiparous cows; these production variables did not differ between treatments for multiparous cows. Intake and total-tract digestibility of nutrients did not differ between treatments. Concentrations of blood glucose and total fatty acids were not affected by ENZ supplementation, but 0-hydroxybutyrate concentration tended to be greater in ENZ cows. Overall, the exog-enous enzyme preparation used in this study increased milk protein and lactose concentrations in all cows, and milk production in primiparous but not multiparous cows. The differential production response between pri-miparous and multiparous cows was likely a result of a greater increase in DMI with ENZ supplementation in the younger animals.Peer reviewe

In silico assessment of intestinal precipitation: Case study of a poorly soluble, weakly basic compound

Precipitation of a drug substance in the small intestine is a phenomenon relevant to weak bases due to their pH- dependent solubility. Because of the low solubility at higher pH, upon entry in the small intestine, a weak base may get into a supersaturated state, which is thermodynamically unstable and tends to precipitate (Makitalo, 2019). Consequently, precipitation in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract may significantly limit oral bioavailability (BA) of poorly soluble, weak bases. Several in vitro and in silico tools are available for assessing the precipitation kinetics of weakly basic compounds (Kou et al., 2018). The dynamic nature of physiologically based in silico models and their ability to treat drug dissolution and precipitation as variables affecting concomitant drug bioperformance make in silico models a powerful tool to assess the impact of these variables on drug absorption. The aim of this work was to in silico evaluate the influence of possible variations in the values of GI physiological parameters on the potential precipitation and absorption of a weakly basic, poorly soluble and highly permeable compound. ...14th Central European Symposium on Pharmaceutical Technology, 28th - 30th September, Ohrid, N. Macedonia, 202

EFFECTS OF VITASIL ON PROXIMATE COMPOSITION AND SOME BIOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS OF COMMON CARP (Cyprinus carpio L.)

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of VitaSil medicine on meat and some biochemical parameters of common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.). Two hundred and forty carp were randomly allocated into three groups A, B and C. Fish were induced obesity by feeding with high fat diet for 9 months. Simultaneously fish were treated with VitaSil medicine in dose 50g/kg. Blood samples were taken at the 3rd month and 9th month in order to evaluate cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations. At the end of study six fish from each of the groups were slaughtered and proximate composition of meat were determined. The results suggest thatVitaSil administration able to decrease the degree of obesity and fatty liver diseases