Evaluation of the efficacy of d-penicillamine and trientine as copper chelators using an in vitro technique involving ovine red blood cells

An in vitro technique for haemolysing ovine red blood cells with copper sulphate was standardized to induce c 50% haemolysis with 0,5 mM CuSO₄ after incubation for 14 h at 38°C. This technique was then applied to test the efficacy of trientine and d-penicillamine in preventing haemolysis. Trientine concentrations of 0,5; 1,0 and 1,5 mM were found to be the most effective (P<0,05) in reducing copper-induced haemolysis. One and 1,5 mM concentrations of d-penicillamine were also effective (P< 0,05), but in this experiment a 0,5 mM concentration failed to protect the erythrocytes.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.Palabora Mining Company.mn201

The Intentional Use of Service Recovery Strategies to Influence Consumer Emotion, Cognition and Behaviour

Service recovery strategies have been identified as a critical factor in the success of. service organizations. This study develops a conceptual frame work to investigate how specific service recovery strategies influence the emotional, cognitive and negative behavioural responses of . consumers., as well as how emotion and cognition influence negative behavior. Understanding the impact of specific service recovery strategies will allow service providers' to more deliberately and intentionally engage in strategies that result in positive organizational outcomes. This study was conducted using a 2 x 2 between-subjects quasi-experimental design. The results suggest that service recovery has a significant impact on emotion, cognition and negative behavior. Similarly, satisfaction, negative emotion and positive emotion all influence negative behavior but distributive justice has no effect

FOREIGN CAPITAL AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

This paper examines the economic implications of institutional arrangements by which foreign investors are required to reinvest a certain percentage of their capital within the host country. Our analysis shows that foreign capital inflow can produce long-lasting economic benefits to the host country only when the foreign capital reinvestment rate is sufficiently greater than the host country's saving rate. In this case, the economy evolves into a unique steady state equilibrium, which is also asymptotically stable. The paper also presents several comparative static results regarding the responses of steady state capital-labour ratio and the proportion of foreign capital in total capital to changes in the population growth rate, the rate of capital depreciation, the host country's saving rate and the foreign capital reinvestment rate. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd/University of Adelaide and Flinders University of South Australia 2004.

Molasses as a possible cause of an ''endocrine disruptive syndrome'' in calves

During the mid 1990s a potentially serious, chronic syndrome was reported in well-managed beef and dairy herds from unrelated parts of South Africa. Farmers reported that it manifested as various combinations of decreased production, decreased weaning masses, apparent immune breakdown in previously immunocompetent animals, increased reproductive disorders, various mineral imbalances in non-deficient areas and goitre, noticeable as enlarged thyroid glands. The farmers associated this syndrome with certain batches of sugar cane molasses and molasses-based products. The syndrome was reminiscent of an “endocrine disruptive syndrome”. The objective of this study was to evaluate the suspected endocrine disruptive effect of molasses included in cattle feed. Using existing in vitro assays, four batches of molasses syrup were screened for possible inclusion in a calf feeding trial. Two batches were selected for the trial. Thirty-two, 4- to 6-week-old, weaned Holstein bull calves were included in the single phase, three treatment, parallel design experiment. In two of the groups of calves, two different batches of molasses were included in their rations respectively. The control group was fed a ration to which no molasses was added, but which was balanced for energy and mineral content. The mass gain of the calves was recorded over the 6-month study period. The calves were clinically examined every week and clinical pathology parameters, immune responses and endocrine effects were regularly evaluated. Even though endocrine disrupting effects were detected with the in vitro screening assays, these could not be reproduced in the calves in the experiment. The two batches of molasses utilized in the calf feeding trial did not induce major differences in any of the parameters measured, with the exception of a lower mass gain in one of the molasses-fed groups (Group 1), which tended towards significance. The results of the study indicate that the two batches of molasses had no endocrine disruptive or immunosuppressive effects in calves

Konvergenz- und Wachstumseffekte der europäischen Regionalpolitik in Deutschland

This article analyses the impact of EU structural policy on the economic development of German regions between 1995 and 2004. In this period East-German regions have converged, while regional disparities have been increasing in West-Germany. In addition East-German Landkreise have caught up with poor western regions. However the overall gap between rich and poor Landkreise has risen. Economic theory describes a trade-off between regional convergence and aggregate growth. Our empirical findings support this hypothesis. It is shown that the EU's regional transfers speed up convergence, but have a negative impact on long-run aggregate growth. Copyright 2007 die Autoren Journal compilation 2007, Verein für Socialpolitik und Blackwell Publishing Ltd.