Assessing Business Risks of Natural Gas Trading Companies: Evidence from GET Baltic

The aim of this research is to distinguish business risks that affect natural gas trading companies operating in the liberalized natural gas market and to assess them according to the potential impact on the aforementioned gas trading companies. To achieve this, a study of international scientific literature and empirical research was conducted, as well as the methods of expert survey, Analytical Hierarchy Process with different measurement scales and logical investigation. The research of the business risks of natural gas trading companies reflected that natural gas trading companies in the liberalized market distinguish in significantly different business risks’ portfolios from those that operate under monopoly conditions. It was also found that it is difficult to evaluate the business risks’ importance for the natural gas trading companies acting in liberalized markets because they characterize in a hierarchical structure, which means that they are prone to cascading effects

Soil Preparation, Running Highbush Blueberry (<em>Vaccinium corymbosum</em> L.) Plantation and Biological Properties of Fruits

Due to the pro-health properties of highbush blueberry fruit, the interest in cultivation of this species has been growing significantly, which is evidenced by the current increase in world fruit production. Therefore, the aim of our review study is to present the impact of soil and climatic conditions and cultivation methods of Vaccinium corymbosum L. on fruit yield and quality in Central and Eastern Europe. In this region, one of the most important abiotic factors determining the yield level is the minimum temperature of the winter period and short-term increases in temperature, which are conducive to the damage to flower buds. Another factor determining the success of cultivation is soil. In addition, highbush blueberry has specific soil requirements, which result from its characteristic root structure. The adverse impact of soil factors can be mitigated to a certain extent by the use of mycorrhizal fungi. In this chapter, besides the cultivation conditions of V. corymbosum, the pro-health properties of fruits resulting from the presence of bioactive compounds such as polyphenolic compounds, flavonoids, especially anthocyanins, will be presented. Besides, factors, such as environmental conditions, degree of ripeness and variety, affect the content of bioactive substances

Wyzwania dla poprawy resilencji w rolnictwie w kontekście zrównoważonego rozwoju i rozwoju obszarów wiejskich

Research on economic resilience in agriculture is quite complicated due to the interdisciplinary nature of the notion. In agricultural, climate change, sustainability and food security research it appears as an endogenous phenomenon rather as the main one. This study aims to contribute to conceptualization of economic resilience in agriculture, revealing current and identifying future research directions. Bibliometric analysis supplemented with a literature overview serve this purpose. Results confirm the ambiguity and immaturity of economic resilience concept and its secondary position within overall agricultural resilience research framework.Badania resilencji ekonomicznej w rolnictwie są dość skomplikowane ze względu na interdyscyplinarny charakter tego pojęcia. W badaniach dotyczących rolnictwa, zmian klimatycznych, zrównoważonego rozwoju i bezpieczeństwa żywności wydaje się, że jest to zjawisko endogeniczne, a nie główne. Niniejsze opracowanie ma na celu przyczynienie się do konceptualizacji resilencji ekonomicznej w rolnictwie, wskazując na obecne i identyfikując przyszłe kierunki badawcze. Służy temu analiza bibliometryczna uzupełniona przeglądem literatury. Wyniki potwierdzają niejednoznaczność i niedojrzałość koncepcji resilencji ekonomicznej oraz jej drugorzędną pozycję w ogólnych ramach badań resilencji rolnictwa

Study on the cyclization of 6-arylethynylpyrimidine-5-carbaldehydes with tert-butylamine: microwave versus thermal preparation of pyrido[4,3-d]pyrimidines

Thermal and microwave initiated cyclization of 2,4-disubstituted 6-arylethynylpyrimidine-5-carbalde hydes with tert-butylamine has been studied. A novel high-yielding preparation of 2,4-disubstituted 7- arylpyrido[4,3-d]pyrimidines has been developed. The intermediate compounds were isolated and possible mechanism of the reactions is discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Report of the interlaboratory comparison organized by the Community Reference Laboratory Food Contact Material: Plasticisers in Gaskets and Oil

The Institute for Health and Consumer Protection (IHCP) of the European Commission¿s Directorate-General Joint Research Centre hosts the Community Reference Laboratory for Food Contact Materials (CRL-FCM). One of its core tasks is to organize interlaboratory comparisons (ILCs) among appointed National Reference Laboratories (NRLs). This report presents the results of the first ILC of the CRL-FCM which focused on the determination of Plasticisers content in PVC Gasket and in Oil matrix. The test materials used in this exercise were virgin gasket lids coming from industrial sources for the proficiency exercise part A. For the second part of the exercise an industrial source of sunflower oil was used and spiked with several plasticisers by the CRL-FCM. There were 41 participants to whom samples were dispatched 34 of which submitted results for at least 1 analyte-material. 21 laboratories reported results for more than 10 analyte-material combination out of 14 required. The homogeneity studies were performed by the CRL-FCM laboratory. The assigned value and its uncertainty for part A, virgin gaskets, were obtained after applying the robust statistics to the results obtained from the participants. The assigned values for part B, oil samples, were those obtained based on formulation, from the gravimetric measurements used to spike the material. The uncertainty of the assigned values for oil samples was calculated combining the uncertainty of the spiking procedure with a contribution for the between-bottle homogeneity. Participants were invited to report four replicates measurements. This was done by most of the participants. Laboratory results were rated with z and z¿ scores in accordance with ISO 13528 [1] Standard deviations for proficiency assessment (also called target standard deviations) were set based on Horwitz equation for substances in the two oil samples. For the plasticisers in the two gasket samples the target standard deviation was set by the organizers to 15% in order to fulfil the required criteria for sufficient homogeneity of the sample within the lots.JRC.I.2-Chemical assessment and testin

Discovery of an inhibitor of the production of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence factor pyocyanin in wild-type cells.

Pyocyanin is a small molecule produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa that plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of infections by this notorious opportunistic pathogen. The inhibition of pyocyanin production has been identified as an attractive antivirulence strategy for the treatment of P. aeruginosa infections. Herein, we report the discovery of an inhibitor of pyocyanin production in cultures of wild-type P. aeruginosa which is based around a 4-alkylquinolin-2(1H)-one scaffold. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported example of pyocyanin inhibition by a compound based around this molecular framework. The compound may therefore be representative of a new structural sub-class of pyocyanin inhibitors, which could potentially be exploited in in a therapeutic context for the development of critically needed new antipseudomonal agents. In this context, the use of wild-type cells in this study is notable, since the data obtained are of direct relevance to native situations. The compound could also be of value in better elucidating the role of pyocyanin in P. aeruginosa infections. Evidence suggests that the active compound reduces the level of pyocyanin production by inhibiting the cell-cell signalling mechanism known as quorum sensing. This could have interesting implications; quorum sensing regulates a range of additional elements associated with the pathogenicity of P. aeruginosa and there is a wide range of other potential applications where the inhibition of quorum sensing is desirable.The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013)/ERC grant agreement no [279337/DOS]. In addition, the group research was supported by grants from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Medical Research Council and Welcome Trust. Y.S.T. was supported by an A*STAR Graduate Scholarship

Patient Safety and Pro Re Nata Prescription and Administration: A Systematic Review

PRN is the acronym for ‘pro re nata,’ written against prescriptions whose administration shouldbe based on patients’ needs, rather than at set times. The aim of this systematic review was to exploresafety issues and adverse events arising from PRN prescription and administration. Electronic databasesincluding Scopus, PubMed [including Medline], Embase, Cinahl, Web of Science and ProQuest weresystematically searched to retrieve articles published from 2005 to 2017. Selection criteria: we included allrandomized controlled trials (RCTs) and studies with comparison groups, comparing PRN prescriptionand administration with scheduled administration, where safety issues and adverse events were reported.The authors independently assessed titles, abstracts and full-texts of retrieved studies based on inclusioncriteria and risk of bias. Results were summarised narratively. The search identified 7699 articles.Title, abstract and full-text appraisals yielded 5 articles. The included studies were RCTs with oneexception, a pre-test post-test experimental design. Patient populations, interventions and outcomesvaried. Studies compared patient-controlled or routine administration with PRN and one trial assessed theeffect of a practice guideline on implementation of PRN administration. More analgesia was administeredin the patient-controlled than the PRN arms but pain reduction was similar. However, there was littledifference in administration of psychotropic medicines. No differences between patient-controlled andPRN groups were reported for adverse events. The PRN practice guideline improved PRN patienteducation but non-documentation of PRN administration increased. This systematic review suggests thatPRN safety issues and adverse events are an under-researched area of healthcare practice. Variations inthe interventions, outcomes and clinical areas make it difficult to judge the overall quality of theevidence. Well-designed RCTs are needed to identify any safety issues and adverse events associatedwith PRN administration. Available from: ttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/327286136_Patient_Safety_and_Pro_Re_Nata_Prescription_and_Administration_A_Systematic_Review/stats [accessed Aug 30 2018]

Cross-talk interactions of exogenous nitric oxide and sucrose modulates phenylpropanoid metabolism in yellow lupine embryo axes infected with Fusarium oxysporum

AbstractThe aim of the study was to examine cross-talk of exogenous nitric oxide (NO) and sucrose in the mechanisms of synthesis and accumulation of isoflavonoids in embryo axes of Lupinus luteus L. cv. Juno. It was verified whether the interaction of these molecules can modulate the defense response of axes to infection and development of the pathogenic fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lupini. Sucrose alone strongly stimulated a high level of genistein glucoside in axes pretreated with exogenous nitric oxide (SNP or GSNO) and non-pretreated axes. As a result of amplification of the signal coming from sucrose and GSNO, high isoflavonoids accumulation was observed (+Sn+GSNO). It needs to be stressed that infection in tissues pretreated with SNP/GSNO and cultured on the medium with sucrose (+Si+SNP/+Si+GSNO) very strongly enhances the accumulation of free isoflavone aglycones. In +Si+SNP axes phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity was high up to 72h. As early as at 12h in +Si+SNP axes an increase was recorded in gene expression level of the specific isoflavonoid synthesis pathway. At 24h in +Si+SNP axes a very high total antioxidant capacity dependent on the pool of fast antioxidants was noted. Post-infection generation of semiquinone radicals was lower in axes with a high level of sucrose than with a deficit