Influential Article Review - Entrepreneurship and Career Opportunities for Unemployed Young Professionals

This paper examines entrepreneurship. We present insights from a highly influential paper. Here are the highlights from this paper: This research paper is on youth employment and entrepreneurship. It has investigated a total of 3591 youths in two different geographical areas of Ethiopia. Entirely, it has taken three specific villages: Melka Jebdu, Gedenser (eastern Ethiopia), and Wereda 10 (Addis Ketema, central Ethiopia). The core objective of the study was to assess issues related to youth unemployment and entrepreneurship in major cities of Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa. Some of the specific objectives set were to determine unemployment rate for male and female youth in the selected Kebele/Sub city, determine the magnitude/proportion of the unemployed across population subgroups (by specific age bracket, by sex, and by urbanity), and similarly identify major bottlenecks for the female youth and male youth to start up own business in the selected two areas. As a springboard for conclusion, the following hypotheses were set: the level of female youth unemployment exceeds male youth unemployment, financial constraint is the most critical bottleneck to start up a new business in the selected sites, the youth is suffering from unfair competition and corruptive employment actions, and youth in the area lack training related to starting their own venture. As a tool of descriptive data analysis and presentation, in this study, frequency tables have been utilized in depth. Moreover, binary logistic regression predicting and analysis tool has been used to check the prospect of youth self-employment in the study sites. The census finding shows that youth unemployment rate is at 11.39% aggregately for the two project sites. Specifically, the study site at Addis Ababa prevails youth unemployment rate of 10.06%. Contrastly, the two sites in Dire Dawa sites Melka Jebdu and Gedenser have youth unemployment rate of 12.87 and 20.34% consecutively. In addition, it has found that the major cause of youth not to engage in self-employed job is related to capital financing. The research has also tried to determine how unemployment is reflected gender wise. Accordingly, the aggregate data shows hypothesizing that unemployment are highly prevail on female than on male in the localities is totally false. Generally, this paper has investigated issues like factors affecting youth prospect to be self-employed in overall study sites, the involvement of youth in multiple jobs (employments); it also indicates the degree of influence of various factors on youth to be self-employed. Finally, this study has provided vital conclusions and policy recommendations to handle youth’s employment/unemployment and entrepreneurship issue specific to the study areas.For our overseas readers, we then present the insights from this paper in Spanish, French, Portuguese, and German

USP compendial methods for analysis of heparin: chromatographic determination of molecular weight distributions for heparin sodium

Heparin is a polysaccharide product isolated from glycosaminoglycans of porcine mucosa (or occasionally other tissues and species). It is a linear non-uniform polymer consisting of alternating glucosamine and uronic acid monosaccharide residues and is highly sulfated. Heparin sodium drug product (HP) used in medicine consists of chains with molecular weight (MW) ranging from under 5,000 to over 50,000. Although HP has been used as an injectable antithrombotic medicine for more than 70 years, many aspects of its structure and purity, including its MW, have not been specified by public standards until recent years. In 2008, a number of HP lots associated with severe adverse effects, including fatalities, were found to have been contaminated with oversulfated chondroitin sulfate. This incident led to thorough revision of compendial standards worldwide. In the USA, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) encouraged the inclusion of enhanced standards for purity and identity in the relevant monographs of the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) including acceptance criteria for MW distribution

Automated dry thawing of cryopreserved haematopoietic cells is not adversely influenced by cryostorage time, patient age or gender.

Cell therapies are becoming increasingly widely used, and their production and cryopreservation should take place under tightly controlled GMP conditions, with minimal batch-to-batch variation. One potential source of variation is in the thawing of cryopreserved samples, typically carried out in water baths. This study looks at an alternative, dry thawing, to minimise variability in the thawing of a cryopreserved cell therapy, and compares the cellular outcome on thaw. Factors such as storage time, patient age, and gender are considered in terms of cryopreservation and thawing outcomes. Cryopreserved leukapheresis samples from 41 donors, frozen by the same protocol and stored for up to 17 years, have been thawed using automated, water-free equipment and by conventional wet thawing using a water bath. Post-thaw viability, assessed by both trypan blue and flow cytometry, showed no significant differences between the techniques. Similarly, there was no negative effect of the duration of frozen storage, donor age at sample collection or donor gender on post-thaw viability using either thawing method. The implication of these results is that the cryopreservation protocol chosen initially remains robust and appropriate for use with a wide range of donors. The positive response of the samples to water-free thawing offers potential benefits for clinical situations by removing the subjective element inherent in water bath thawing and eliminating possible contamination issues

Environmental pH and a Glu364 to Gln mutation in the chlorophyll-binding CP47 protein affect redox-active TyrD and charge recombination in Photosystem II

In Photosystem II, loop E of the chlorophyll-binding CP47 protein is located near a redox-active tyrosine, Y-D, forming a symmetrical analog to loop E in CP43, which provides a ligand to the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC). A Glu364 to Gln substitution in CP47, near Y-D, does not affect growth in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803; however, deletion of the extrinsic protein PsbV in this mutant leads to a strain displaying a pH-sensitive phenotype. Using thermoluminescence, chlorophyll fluorescence, and flash-induced oxygen evolution analyses, we demonstrate that Glu364 influences the stability of Y-D and the redox state of the OEC, and highlight the effects of external pH on photosynthetic electron transfer in intact cyanobacterial cells

Velocity, oxygen uptake and metabolic cost of pull, kick and whole body swimming

Purpose: The contributions of the limbs to velocity and metabolic parameters in front-crawl swimming at different intensities have not been identified considering both stroke and kick rate. Consequently, velocity, oxygen uptake (VO2), and metabolic cost of swimming with the whole body (swim), the upper limbs only (pull), and lower limbs only (kick) were compared with stroke and kick rate controlled. Methods: Twenty elite swimmers completed six 200-m trials: 2 swim, 2 pull, and 2 kick. Swim trials were guided by underwater lights at paces equivalent to 65% +/- 3% and 78% +/- 3% of participants' 200-m-freestyle personal-best pace; paces were described as low and moderate, respectively. In the pull and kick trials, swimmers aimed to match the stroke and kick rates, respectively, recorded during the swim trials. (V)over dot O-2 was measured continuously, with velocity and metabolic cost calculated for each 200-m effort. Results: The velocity contribution of the upper limbs (mean +/- SD; low 63.9% +/- 6.2%, moderate 59.6% +/- 4.2%) was greater than that of the lower limbs to a large extent at both intensities (low ES = 4.40, moderate ES = 4.60). The (V) over dot O-2 used by the upper limbs differed between the intensities (low 55.5% +/- 6.9%, moderate 51.4% +/- 4.0%; ES = 0.74). The lower limbs were responsible for a greater percentage of the metabolic cost than the upper limbs at both intensities (low 56.1% +/- 9.5%, ES = 1.30; moderate 55.1% +/- 6.6%, ES = 1.55). Conclusions: Implementation of this testing protocol before and after a pull-or kick-training block will enable sport scientists to determine how the velocity contributions and/or metabolic cost of the upper-and lower-limb actions have responded to the training program

Effectiveness of biomarker-based exclusion of ventilator-acquired pneumonia to reduce antibiotic use (VAPrapid-2): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Ventilator-acquired pneumonia (VAP) is a common reason for antimicrobial therapy in the intensive care unit (ICU). Biomarker-based diagnostics could improve antimicrobial stewardship through rapid exclusion of VAP. Bronchoalveloar lavage (BAL) fluid biomarkers have previously been shown to allow the exclusion of VAP with high confidence. METHODS/DESIGN: This is a prospective, multi-centre, randomised, controlled trial to determine whether a rapid biomarker-based exclusion of VAP results in fewer antibiotics and improved antimicrobial management. Patients with clinically suspected VAP undergo BAL, and VAP is confirmed by growth of a potential pathogen at [≥] 10(4) colony-forming units per millilitre (CFU/ml). Patients are randomised 1:1, to either a 'biomarker-guided recommendation on antibiotics' in which BAL fluid is tested for IL-1β and IL-8 in addition to routine microbiology testing, or to 'routine use of antibiotics' in which BAL undergoes routine microbiology testing only. Clinical teams are blinded to intervention until 6 hours after randomisation, when biomarker results are reported to the clinician. The primary outcome is a change in the frequency distribution of antibiotic-free days (AFD) in the 7 days following BAL. Secondary outcome measures include antibiotic use at 14 and 28 days; ventilator-free days; 28-day mortality and ICU mortality; sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) at days 3, 7 and 14; duration of stay in critical care and the hospital; antibiotic-associated infections; and antibiotic-resistant pathogen cultures up to hospital discharge, death or 56 days. A healthcare-resource-utilisation analysis will be calculated from the duration of critical care and hospital stay. In addition, safety data will be collected with respect to performing BAL. A sample size of 210 will be required to detect a clinically significant shift in the distribution of AFD towards more patients having fewer antibiotics and therefore more AFD. DISCUSSION: This trial will test whether a rapid biomarker-based exclusion of VAP results in rapid discontinuation of antibiotics and therefore improves antibiotic management in patients with suspected VAP. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN65937227 . Registered on 22 August 2013. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01972425 . Registered on 24 October 2013

Association of Accelerometry-Measured Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Events in Mobility-Limited Older Adults: The LIFE (Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders) Study.

BACKGROUND:Data are sparse regarding the value of physical activity (PA) surveillance among older adults-particularly among those with mobility limitations. The objective of this study was to examine longitudinal associations between objectively measured daily PA and the incidence of cardiovascular events among older adults in the LIFE (Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders) study. METHODS AND RESULTS:Cardiovascular events were adjudicated based on medical records review, and cardiovascular risk factors were controlled for in the analysis. Home-based activity data were collected by hip-worn accelerometers at baseline and at 6, 12, and 24 months postrandomization to either a physical activity or health education intervention. LIFE study participants (n=1590; age 78.9±5.2 [SD] years; 67.2% women) at baseline had an 11% lower incidence of experiencing a subsequent cardiovascular event per 500 steps taken per day based on activity data (hazard ratio, 0.89; 95% confidence interval, 0.84-0.96; P=0.001). At baseline, every 30 minutes spent performing activities ≥500 counts per minute (hazard ratio, 0.75; confidence interval, 0.65-0.89 [P=0.001]) were also associated with a lower incidence of cardiovascular events. Throughout follow-up (6, 12, and 24 months), both the number of steps per day (per 500 steps; hazard ratio, 0.90, confidence interval, 0.85-0.96 [P=0.001]) and duration of activity ≥500 counts per minute (per 30 minutes; hazard ratio, 0.76; confidence interval, 0.63-0.90 [P=0.002]) were significantly associated with lower cardiovascular event rates. CONCLUSIONS:Objective measurements of physical activity via accelerometry were associated with cardiovascular events among older adults with limited mobility (summary score >10 on the Short Physical Performance Battery) both using baseline and longitudinal data. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION:URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01072500

Clinical predictors of response to cognitive-behavioral therapy in pediatric anxiety disorders: the genes for treatment (GxT) study.

OBJECTIVE The Genes for Treatment study is an international, multisite collaboration exploring the role of genetic, demographic, and clinical predictors in response to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in pediatric anxiety disorders. The current article, the first from the study, examined demographic and clinical predictors of response to CBT. We hypothesized that the child's gender, type of anxiety disorder, initial severity and comorbidity, and parents' psychopathology would significantly predict outcome. METHOD A sample of 1,519 children 5 to 18 years of age with a primary anxiety diagnosis received CBT across 11 sites. Outcome was defined as response (change in diagnostic severity) and remission (absence of the primary diagnosis) at each time point (posttreatment, 3-, 6-, and/or 12-month follow-up) and analyzed using linear and logistic mixed models. Separate analyses were conducted using data from posttreatment and follow-up assessments to explore the relative importance of predictors at these time points. RESULTS Individuals with social anxiety disorder (SoAD) had significantly poorer outcomes (poorer response and lower rates of remission) than those with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Although individuals with specific phobia (SP) also had poorer outcomes than those with GAD at posttreatment, these differences were not maintained at follow-up. Both comorbid mood and externalizing disorders significantly predicted poorer outcomes at posttreatment and follow-up, whereas self-reported parental psychopathology had little effect on posttreatment outcomes but significantly predicted response (although not remission) at follow-up. CONCLUSION SoAD, nonanxiety comorbidity, and parental psychopathology were associated with poorer outcomes after CBT. The results highlight the need for enhanced treatments for children at risk for poorer outcomes

Sixty-five common genetic variants and prediction of type 2 diabetes.

We developed a 65 type 2 diabetes (T2D) variant-weighted gene score to examine the impact on T2D risk assessment in a U.K.-based consortium of prospective studies, with subjects initially free from T2D (N = 13,294; 37.3% women; mean age 58.5 [38-99] years). We compared the performance of the gene score with the phenotypically derived Framingham Offspring Study T2D risk model and then the two in combination. Over the median 10 years of follow-up, 804 participants developed T2D. The odds ratio for T2D (top vs. bottom quintiles of gene score) was 2.70 (95% CI 2.12-3.43). With a 10% false-positive rate, the genetic score alone detected 19.9% incident cases, the Framingham risk model 30.7%, and together 37.3%. The respective area under the receiver operator characteristic curves were 0.60 (95% CI 0.58-0.62), 0.75 (95% CI 0.73 to 0.77), and 0.76 (95% CI 0.75 to 0.78). The combined risk score net reclassification improvement (NRI) was 8.1% (5.0 to 11.2; P = 3.31 × 10(-7)). While BMI stratification into tertiles influenced the NRI (BMI ≤24.5 kg/m(2), 27.6% [95% CI 17.7-37.5], P = 4.82 × 10(-8); 24.5-27.5 kg/m(2), 11.6% [95% CI 5.8-17.4], P = 9.88 × 10(-5); >27.5 kg/m(2), 2.6% [95% CI -1.4 to 6.6], P = 0.20), age categories did not. The addition of the gene score to a phenotypic risk model leads to a potentially clinically important improvement in discrimination of incident T2D