White-Light-Activated Antibacterial Surfaces Generated by Synergy between Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles and Crystal Violet

The prevalence of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria is a growing public health concern worldwide. Herein, a facile, easily scalable technique is reported to fabricate white-light-activated bactericidal surfaces by incorporating zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles and crystal violet (CV) dye into poly(dimethylsiloxane). The effect of ZnO concentration on photobactericidal activity of CV is investigated, and we show that there is synergy between ZnO and CV. These materials showed highly significant antibacterial activity when tested against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli under white light conditions. These surfaces have potential to be used in healthcare environments to decrease the impact of HAIs

The Conflict Resolution and Counterterrorism Dilemma: Turkey Faces its Kurdish Question

Cataloged from PDF version of article.This article considers the relationship between two processes-conflict resolution and counterterrorism-which conceptually share many common points, yet in practice do not necessarily proceed together easily towards a common goal. Considering particular cases of ethnic conflict in which terrorist factions exist, the article argues that while neither conflict resolution nor counterterrorism alone can adequately address the problem, simultaneously conducting both must keep in mind the processes' inherent differences and avoid excessive prioritizing of one over the other. By exploring recent Turkish governmental initiatives to address the Kurdish question, the article attempts to provide an outline for how to successfully cope with the two processes simultaneously. © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Exercise training and detraining process affects plasma adiponectin level in healthy and spontaneously hypertensive rats

BACKGROUND: Adiponectin levels with long-term swimming exercise have been never investigated in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). OBJECTIVE: This study was aimed to investigate the effects of exercise and detraining process on the adiponectin plasma levels of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and healthy Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The rats in the exercise groups were swimming for 10 weeks, 5 days/week, one hour in a day. The detraining rats were left to be sedentary in their cages for 5 weeks after 10 weeks of exercise period. RESULTS: The plasma adiponectin levels decreased in E and SHRE groups compared to the SC and the SHR groups, respectively. In addition, blood pressure was decreased in the exercise groups vs their controls. The adiponectin level was not found to be significantly different in ED and SHRED groups compared to their controls. The blood pressure did not differ between SDC and ED groups, although in the SHRED group it was found to be lower than in SHRSD group rats. CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that exercise reduced plasma levels of adiponectin in healthy and spontaneously hypertensive rats. However, this difference disappeared at the end of the training processes. Our results suggest, that changes in plasma adiponectin levels are not responsible for changes in blood pressure

Redefining the Organizational Resilience Construct using a Frame Based Methodology : A New Perspective from the Ecology Based Approach

Open Access via the Elsevier AgreementPeer reviewedPostprin

Tree Growth Yield and Fruit Quality of Different Apple Cultivars Trained as Super Spindle

This study was carried out on Topaz, Cooper 39 and Muscat apple cultivars grafted on M27 rootstocks under Tokat ecological conditions during 2008 - 2010. The trees planted in 2.0 m x 0.5 m row spacing (10,000 trees ha-1) and trained to super spindle (SS) training system. The vegetative development, yield and fruit quality performances of the trees supported by wire – pole combination were observed for three years. At the end of the experiment, it was determined that Cooper 39 had a higher trunk cross sectional area (TCA) than Topaz and Muscat. While cumulative yield (CY) per tree and cumulative yield efficiency (CYE) were determined to be the highest in Cooper 39, these values were found to be the lowest in Topaz. CY per hectare over the first three crop year was found to be the highest in Cooper 39 and the yield reached to 142.9 t.ha1. The lowest CY per hectare (69.6 ton ha-1) was determined in Topa

X-ray Spectral Variations of U Gem from Quiescence to Outburst

In this paper we report the discovery of a high energy component of the X-ray spectra of U Gem, which can be observed while the source is in outburst. We used Chandra and XMM-Newton observations to compare the quiescence and outburst X-ray spectra of the source. The additional component may be the result of the reflection of X-rays emitted from an optically thin plasma close to the white dwarf, from the optically thick boundary layer during the outburst. Another possible explanation is that some magnetically channeled accretion may occur onto the equatorial belt of the primary causing shocks similar to the ones in the intermediate polars as it was suggested by \citep{w2002}. We have also found a timing structure at about 73 mHz ($\sim$13.7 s.) in the RXTE observation, resembling dwarf novae oscillations (DNOs).Comment: accepted by MNRAS, figure 1 replaced with a newer on

Applying Imidacloprid Via a Precision Banding System to Control Striped Cucumber Beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in Cucurbits

The striped cucumber beetle, Acalymma vittatum (F.) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), is a key pest of cucurbit crops throughout its range. A novel precision band applicator was designed to inject a solid stream of imidacloprid solution in-furrow directly over the seed during planting to reduce beetle leaf feeding on pumpkin, zucchini, and cucumber crops. In 2004 and 2005, bioassays at the cotyledon through fifth leaf were conducted on striped cucumber beetles using seedling leaf tissue grown from seeds treated using both continuous and precision banded in-furrow imidacloprid solution applications. In 2004, 80% of bioassay trials had treatments with beetle mortality significantly higher than the check, whereas 70% of the bioassay trials showed no significant difference in mortality between continuous in-furrow and precision banded treatments. In 2005, 79% of bioassay trials had treatments with beetle mortality significantly higher than the check, whereas 100% of the bioassays showed no significant difference in beetle mortality between continuous in-furrow and precision banded treatments at the same insecticide rate. The environmental savings of precision banded treatments compared with continuous in-furrow treatment reduced imidacloprid up to 84.5% on a per hectare basis for all cucurbits tested in 2004 and 2005, translating into an economic savings up to 030215/ha. In separate bioassay trials conducted in 2005 on pumpkin, where insecticide band length and injection volume were manipulated independently, several treatments had significantly higher beetle mortality than the check. There was a trend of increased beetle mortality in treatments using shorter band lengths combined with higher insecticide solution volumes

The prospects of zero-packaging grocery stores to improve the social and environmental impacts of the food supply chain

Increasing consumer awareness of the environmental and social externalities of food supply chains in developed countries instigates the opening of grocery stores that renounce the use of disposable plastic packaging for their entire product range. The opportunities these novel stores offer in moving to an alternative, more sustainable retail system are currently not well understood. Semi-structured interviews with representatives of seven stores across Europe and six food supply chain experts were conducted in order to address this gap. Findings suggest that these stores may induce more resource-efficient behaviour in suppliers and consumers due to the reduction of packaging and food waste. Social benefits range from the support of small, regional farmers, to higher transparency along the supply chain and better informed consumers. However, these benefits come at the expense of consumer convenience due to slower shopping operations and limited product variety. A wider adoption of zero packaging will require influencing consumer behaviour, convincing suppliers to change their packaging practices, and solving the dependency of food logistics on packaging. In order to achieve wide-ranging, significant environmental and social benefits, zero-packaging stores will ultimately have to offer service levels that are comparable to conventional supermarkets. Potential pathways illustrating how zero-packaging could overcome current market limitations are presented