City of Bridgeport: Seeding Southend Commercial Infrastructure

The city of Bridgeport has suffered economically throughout the last 20-30 years. Much of this struggle can be traced to the loss of 19th and 20th century manufacturers coupled with poor fiscal management. In addition to Federal job development programs the State of Connecticut has actively pursued and offered a variety of tax-focused incentive programs to attract business to the state as well as it’s major cities. Despite these programs the City of Bridgeport remains reluctant to pursue these option or to create city specific programs. As a result other similar Connecticut cities are benefiting. The study identified a need for the city to implement a tax relief program for companies with less than 50 employees to encourage location into Bridgeport’s Enterprise Zone

Synthesis and antifungal activity investigation of a novel clotrimazole derivative

Azole antifungal agents disrupt fungal ergosterol synthesis that is essential for the formation of fungal cell membrane by preventing 14-α-demethylase enzyme from binding to its substrate. Clotrimazole is one of the first generations of azole antifungal agents. To discover a novel azole antifungal agent, biphenyl derivative was synthesised together with clotrimazole by multistep linear synthesis. Structures of synthesised azole agents have been validated by spectral analysis and potential antifungal activity of both compounds was determined on an yeast, E.coli and M.luteus by using a disk diffusion method. Clotrimazole and its biphenyl derivative were active against yeast but a novel compound resulted less activity than clotrimazole. Antibacterial effect was not observed for either azole agents. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5564/mjc.v14i0.194 Mongolian Journal of Chemistry 14 (40), 2013, p28-3

Frame to frame interpolation for high-dimensional data visualisation using the woylier package

The woylier package implements tour interpolation paths between frames using Givens rotations. This provides an alternative to the geodesic interpolation between planes currently available in the tourr package. Tours are used to visualise high-dimensional data and models, to detect clustering, anomalies and non-linear relationships. Frame-to-frame interpolation can be useful for projection pursuit guided tours when the index is not rotationally invariant. It also provides a way to specifically reach a given target frame. We demonstrate the method for exploring non-linear relationships between currency cross-rates

Magneto Static Analysis Of Adhesion Force For The Wall Climbing Robot

This paper describes the analysis and results of the magneto static adhesion force which required for the climbing robot to climb the high walls when additional loads are need to be carried such as scanning devices for the non-destructive testing inspection of nuclear plants or high rise wind towers. Magneto-static simulations and experiments have been carried out for the investigation of the parameters of magnetic adhesion system and the static analysis of a climbing robot is performed with regard to anti-slipping forces and antioverturning moments. The results from both simulations and experiments show that the adhesion mechanism with just two N52 magnets has enough adhesion capacity to carry a payload exceeding 300N. The prototype wheeled locomotion robot is built and magnetic adhesion mechanism has been mounted on the belly of a robot. The simulation and experimental results are compared. The experiment has been carried out in the robotic laboratory on the vertical surface and the result from the prototype show that the adhesion mechanism provides enough adhesion force for the prototype designed robot

Spatial and Temporal Variations in Waterfowl Assemblage Structures in Mongolian Lakes and the Changes Linked to the Gradient of Lake Surface Areas

Lakes and wetlands provide top-priority hotspots that play a key role in maintaining and protecting threatened and migratory waterfowl. Identifying seasonal and spatial variations in aquatic bird communities and their responses to environmental factors is vital conservation efforts. However, there is a lack of information on waterfowl in Mongolian lakes and their associated wetlands. The purpose of this study was to investigate the spatial–seasonal changes in waterfowl assemblage structures in Mongolian lakes, as well as to determine how they respond to various environmental factors (lake surface area, elevation, and geographical distribution). Statistical analyses were performed using seasonal data (May, July, and September) for 28 waterfowl collected from 54 lakes across the country between 2016 and 2018. Seasonal heterogeneity in species richness and abundance was observed in lakes in each geographical region (Eastern, Central, and Western Mongolia). The composition of waterfowl in the lake was also relatively similar between May and September compared to July. This was due to the overlapping migration seasons in spring and autumn. Regionally, the number of waterfowl was much higher in the Eastern Mongolian lakes, followed by Central Mongolian lakes and then Western Mongolian lakes. This is likely due to differences in habitat availability and water levels between the regions. Eastern Mongolian lakes tend to have more wetlands and shallow water habitats, while Central and Western Mongolian lakes tend to have deeper open-water habitats. These differences in habitat types could contribute to the observed differences in waterfowl abundance among the regions. Additionally, some small lakes and the group of small lakes supported a greater abundance and diversity of waterfowl compared to some medium-sized and large lakes, suggesting that they are important for conservation. Indices of diversity (H’) and species dominance (D’) showed positive and negative correlations with lake surface area, respectively. Perhaps the increased surface area of the lake decreases the habitat overlap for designated waterfowl due to habitat heterogeneity. Accordingly, the indices (H’ and EH) increased as the waterfowl species composition became relatively equivalent in large lakes. Overall, spatial variations among the lakes were primarily attributable to the individual features of the lakes (shallowness, small lake groupings, and surface area), and seasonal variation in the lakes depended majorly on the compositional changes of the waterfowl due to migration

Marquage métabolique des isoprénoïdes bactériens produits par la voie du méthylérythritol phosphate : un point de départ vers un nouvel inhibiteur

Isoprenoids, present in all living organisms, are synthesised according to two routes: the Mevalonate and the Methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathways. The MEP pathway, absent in humans, is extensively investigated as it is a target for the development of new antimicrobials. ME-N3 an azide tagged analogue of methylerythritol was synthesised and utilised for metabolic labelling studies of the MEP pathway using bioorthogonal ligation followed by LC-MS analysis. Interestingly, we found that MEP-N3, an analogue of MEP, inhibits E.coli IspD (3rd enzyme of the MEP pathway). Further inhibition kinetic studies revealed that MEP-N3 possesses the highest inhibitory activity on E.coli ispD when compared to known inhibitors. In addition, the mechanism of inhibition of E.coli ispD by MEP-N3 was found to be best described using a mixed type model. Moreover, determination of the IspD reaction mechanism has been carried out for the first time, by virtue of a bisubstrate steady state kinetic analysis.Les isoprénoïdes, présents dans tous les organismes vivants, sont synthétisés selon deux processus: la voie du Mevalonate et la voie Méthylérythritol phosphate (MEP). Cette dernière, absente chez l’humain, est très étudiée car elle représente une cible pour le développement de nouveaux antimicrobiens. Le ME-N3, un analogue du méthylérythritol portant un azoture, a été synthétisé et exploité dans des expériences de marquage métabolique de la voie MEP en utilisant un couplage bioorthogonale suivi d’une analyse par LC/MS. De façon intéressante, nous avons découvert que le MEP-N3, un analogue du MEP, inhibe l'enzyme IspD d’ E. coli (3ème enzyme de la voie MEP). Les études cinétiques ont révélé que le MEP-N3 possède la meilleure activité inhibitrice sur IspD d’ E.coli en comparaison avec les inhibiteurs connus, et que le mécanisme d'inhibition est de type mixte. Une étude détaillée du mécanisme de la réaction catalysée par IspD a été réalisée pour la première fois, en utilisant une analyse cinétique à deux substrats

A survey of canine echinococcosis in Gobi Altai Province of Mongolia by coproantigen detection

Few studies have been carried out for the prevalence of canine echinococcosis in Mongolia. This study was designed to elucidate a preliminary information of the prevalence from feces collected in the field. Sixty-seven fecal samples from dogs and 2 red foxes in Altai town were collected and examined for Echinococcus coproantigen and eggs. Coproantigen detection was performed by a sandwich ELISA using a monoclonal antibody EmA9 raised against Echinococcus multilocularis somatic antigen. Of the dog samples examined, 17 (25.4%) were positive by the ELISA. One out of two foxes was positive, too. Taeniid egg-positive feces were recognized in 12 dog feces. Only 6 samples were both coproantigen and egg positive. Eggs of Ancylostoma sp., Trichuris sp., and Capillaria sp.; were also registered

Contributing factors to perceived educational quality in Mongolia: Developing instruments using principal component analysis

AbstractEducational quality is perceived differently as it is embedded in its social, cultural, political, and economic circumstances. The current study identified the factors contributing to perceived educational quality in Mongolia and attempted to develop an instrument to measure educational quality using principal component analysis. Using qualitative and quantitative approaches, the analysis yielded 71 items contributing to educational quality in six themes: school environment, school administration, students, parents, curriculum, and teachers. Each theme yielded one to four components as measurable instruments. The study suggests that school conditions should be prioritized to improve educational quality in Mongolia

Magneto Static Analysis Of Adhesion Force For The Wall Climbing Robot

This paper describes the analysis and results of the magneto static adhesion force which required for the climbing robot to climb the high walls when additional loads are need to be carried such as scanning devices for the non-destructive testing inspection of nuclear plants or high rise wind towers. Magneto-static simulations and experiments have been carried out for the investigation of the parameters of magnetic adhesion system and the static analysis of a climbing robot is performed with regard to anti-slipping forces and antioverturning moments. The results from both simulations and experiments show that the adhesion mechanism with just two N52 magnets has enough adhesion capacity to carry a payload exceeding 300N. The prototype wheeled locomotion robot is built and magnetic adhesion mechanism has been mounted on the belly of a robot. The simulation and experimental results are compared. The experiment has been carried out in the robotic laboratory on the vertical surface and the result from the prototype show that the adhesion mechanism provides enough adhesion force for the prototype designed robot