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In this pilot study, we aim to determine differences in pathogenetic pathways between interstitial pneumonia with autoimmune features (IPAF), connective-tissue-disease-associated interstitial lung diseases (CTD-ILDs), and idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIPs). Forty participants were recruited: 9 with IPAF, 15 with CTD-ILDs, and 16 with IIPs. Concentration of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β1), surfactant proteins A and D (SP-A, SP-D), interleukin 8 (IL-8), and chemokine 1 (CXCL1) were assessed with ELISA assay in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid. We revealed that IL-8 and TGF-β1 concentrations were significantly lower in the IPAF group than in the CTD-ILD group (p = 0.008 and p = 0.019, respectively), but similar to the concentrations in the IIP group. There were significant correlations of IL-8 (rs = 0.46; p = 0.003) and CXCL1 (rs = 0.52; p = 0.001) and BAL total cell count (TCC). A multivariate regression model revealed that IL-8 (β = 0.32; p = 0.037) and CXCL1 (β = 0.45; p = 0.004) are significant predictors of BAL TCC. We revealed that IL-8 and TGF-β1 BAL concentrations vary in patients with different ILDs and found that IL-8 is a predictor of BAL TCC in IPAF. However, this needs to be confirmed in a multicenter cooperative study (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03870828). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methylmercury (MeHg) is one of the most toxic organic mercury compounds found in the environment. The continuous exposure of human beings to this highly toxic compound may damage their nervous system. The present work reports the development and application of a novel electrochemical sensing technique for the quantification of MeHg using a modified carbon paste electrode with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) combined with ion imprinted polymer, which is highly selective toward MeHg (CPE/MWCNTs/IIP-MeHg) detection. The ion imprinted polymer was synthesized using 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT), acrylic acid (AA) and MeHg employed as ligand, functional monomer and template ion, respectively, and the synthesized material was characterized by Raman spectroscopy and SEM-EDX. Both the proposed and control sensors were characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The electrochemical measurements were carried out using differential pulse stripping voltammetry (DPSV), and a well-defined anodic peak observed at about +0.138 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) was recorded for MeHg. The application of the CPE/MWCNTs/IIP-MeHg sensor (which increased the charge transfer on the electrode surface) under the DPSV-based electrochemical method (which enhanced the signal intensity) made the detection technique highly sensitive and selective for the quantification of methylmercury. Under optimum experimental conditions, the proposed sensor exhibited a linear response range of 560–610 µg L−1 and a detection limit of 0.538 µg L−1, with acceptable relative error values ≤1% when applied for the detection of MeHg in real water samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methylmercury (MeHg) is one of the most toxic organic mercury compounds found in the environment. The continuous exposure of human beings to this highly toxic compound may damage their nervous system. The present work reports the development and application of a novel electrochemical sensing technique for the quantification of MeHg using a modified carbon paste electrode with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) combined with ion imprinted polymer, which is highly selective toward MeHg (CPE/MWCNTs/IIP-MeHg) detection. The ion imprinted polymer was synthesized using 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT), acrylic acid (AA) and MeHg employed as ligand, functional monomer and template ion, respectively, and the synthesized material was characterized by Raman spectroscopy and SEM-EDX. Both the proposed and control sensors were characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The electrochemical measurements were carried out using differential pulse stripping voltammetry (DPSV), and a well-defined anodic peak observed at about +0.138 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) was recorded for MeHg. The application of the CPE/MWCNTs/IIP-MeHg sensor (which increased the charge transfer on the electrode surface) under the DPSV-based electrochemical method (which enhanced the signal intensity) made the detection technique highly sensitive and selective for the quantification of methylmercury. Under optimum experimental conditions, the proposed sensor exhibited a linear response range of 560–610 µg L−1 and a detection limit of 0.538 µg L−1, with acceptable relative error values ≤1% when applied for the detection of MeHg in real water samples.

The world boundaries are broken with the advancement of technology and the emergence of digitized industries where economies are connected in the cloud. As a result, effective management of information internally and externally is needed to cope with the quick changes in markets and to enhance business processes. Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERPS) have been used for this purpose for a long time and they provide many benefits to businesses if implemented right. However, an alarming 70% of ERPS' implementations fail. Previous research which considered the critical success factors which appear in the implementation of an ERPS focused on analysing them from various perspectives. Until now, there are no studies for the Middle East countries which analyse the aspect simultaneously from the perspective of various stakeholders. The aim of this paper is to discuss the critical success factors in ERPS implementation in Lebanon from the employees, management, consultants and vendors perspectives. Surveys were conducted with 60 ERPS project participants including senior managers, employees and vendors. A regression analysis was made to investigate the relationship between the success of ERPS implementation (dependent variable) and the employees', management', consultants' and vendors' positive contributions (independent variables). The study shows that there exists a positive relationship between management support, employees' motivation, training, management, vision, skilled vendors, professional consultants and successful ERPS implementation. The study will aid managers and ERPS participants to identify the major success factors that must be implemented as a coherent body for having a successful ERPS project. This paper will also help managers and guide them towards a successful ERPS implementation. Dėl technologijų pažangos ir skaitmeninių pramonės šakų, dėl ekonomikos debesijoje atsiradimo išsitrynė tam tikros ribos. Norint suspėti su sparčiais rinkos pokyčiais ir stiprinti verslo procesus, reikia gebėti veiksmingai valdyti informaciją. Dėl to ilgą laiką buvo naudojamos įmonės išteklių planavimo sistemos (ĮIPS). JĮgyvendinamos sistemos įmonėms buvo naudingos. Tačiau nerimą kelia tai, kad įgyvendinat ĮIPS, net 70% atvejų būna nesėkmingi. Ankstesni tyrimai, kuriuose buvo nagrinėjami kritiniai sėkmės veiksniai, atsirandantys įgyvendinant ĮIPS, buvo skirti analizuoti juos iš įvairių perspektyvų. Iki šiol nėra tyrinėjimų, susijusių su Artimųjų Rytų šalimis, kuriuose būtų išanalizuotas aspektas vienu metu iš įvairių suinteresuotų šalių perspektyvos. Šio darbo tikslas - aptarti kritinius sėkmės veiksnius, susijusius su darbuotojų, vadovų, konsultantų ir pardavėjų perspektyvomis Libane. Apklausos buvo atliktos su 60 ĮIPS projekto dalyvių, taip pat apklausti vyresni vadovai, darbuotojai ir pardavėjai. Siekiant ištirti ryšį tarp sėkmingo ĮIPS įgyvendinimo (priklausomas kintamasis) ir darbuotojų, vadovų, konsultantų ir pardavėjų teigiamo indėlio (nepriklausomi kintamieji), buvo atlikta regresinė analizė. Tyrimas parodė, kad yra teigiamas ryšys tarp vadovų teikiamos, darbuotojų motyvacijos, mokymo, valdymo, vizijos, kvalifikuotų pardavėjų, profesionalių konsultantų ir sėkmingo ĮIPS įgyvendinimo. Tyrimo rezultatai padės vadovams ir ĮIPS dalyviams nustatyti svarbiausius sėkmės veiksnius ir įgyvendinti nuoseklų ĮIPS projekto planą. Tyrimo rezultatai taip pat padės vadovams ir leis jiems sėkmingai įgyvendinti ĮIPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the legal framework of the EU, the Member States have remained competent to regulate who qualifies as a national. As nationals of a Member State are simultaneously EU citizens and enjoy the right to intra-EU mobility, it is the Member States who, through their Nationality Laws, determine who is to be classed as an EU citizen and who enjoys the right to intra-EU mobility. This article explores whether Member State competence to regulate nationality matters has been affected by the introduction of EU citizenship and/or developments in intra-EU mobility rights, the contents of which are determined primarily by the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel nickel ion imprinted polymers (IIPs) based on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were synthesized inverse emulsion system, using chitosan(CS) and acrylic acid as the functional monomers, Ni (II) as the template, and N' N-methylene bis-acrylamide as the cross-linker. The chemical structure and morphological feature of the IIPs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Thermogravimetry (TG), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR). The studies indicated that the gel layer was well grafted on the surface of MWCNTs. Studies on the adsorption ability of the IIPs, by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, demonstrated that IIPs possessed excellent adsorption and selective ability towards Ni (II), fitting to pseudo second-order kinetic isotherms and with a maximum capacity of 19.86 mg/g, and selectivity factor of 13.09 and 4.42. The electrochemical performance of ion imprinting carbon paste electrode (CPE/IIPs) was characterized by Cyclic voltammetry (CV). Studies have shown that CPE/IIPs showed excellent electrochemical performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Plasmodium falciparum causes the most severe form of malaria and affects 3.2 million people annually. Due to the increasing incidence of resistance to existing drugs, there is a growing need to discover new and more effective drugs against malaria. Despite the global importance of P. falciparum, vast majority of its proteins are uncharacterized experimentally. Application of newer approaches using several "omics" data has become successful for exploring the biological interactions underlying cellular processes. Till date not many system level study has been published using P. falciparum protein protein interaction. Hence, the purpose of this study is to develop a standardized pipeline for structural, functional, and topographical analysis of large scale protein protein interaction network (PPIN) in order to identify proteins important for network topology and integrity. Here, P. falciparum PPIN has been utilized as a model for better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of survival and pathogenesis of malaria parasite. Methods: Various graph theoretical approaches were implemented to identify highly interacting hub and central proteins that are crucial for network integrity. Further, potential network perturbing proteins via an in-silico knock-out (KO) analysis to isolate important interacting proteins (IIPs), which in principle, can elicit significant impact on the global and local environments of the P. falciparum interaction network. Results: 177 hubs and 132 central proteins were identified from the malarial (proteins: 1607; interactions: 4750) PPI networks. Using the in-silico knock-out exercise 131 and 99 global and local network perturbing proteins were also identified. Finally, 271 proteins from P. falciparum were shortlisted as important interacting proteins (IIPs), which not only play crucial role in intra-pathogen network integrity, stage specificity but also interact with various human proteins involved in multiple metabolic pathways within the host cell. These IIPs could be used as potential drug targets in malarial research. Conclusion: Graph theoretical analysis of PPIN can be a very useful approach to identify proteins that are important for regulation of the interactions required for an organism's survival. Important interacting proteins (IIPs) identified using P. falciparum PPIN provides a useful dataset containing probable candidates for future drug target analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A non-invasive test to facilitate the diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is still not available and represents an important goal. Forty-eight patients with stage I NSCLC, 45 with IPF, 30 with other idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIPs) including idiopathic non-specific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) and chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP), 35 with diffuse non-malignant disease and 30 healthy donors were enrolled onto the study. Free circulating (fc)DNA and MMP-7 levels were evaluated by Real Time PCR and ELISA, respectively. Median fcDNA levels were similar in NSCLC (127 ng/mL, range 23.6-345 ng/mL) and IPF (106 ng/mL, range 22-224 ng/mL) patients, and significantly lower in IIPs patients, in individuals with other diseases and in healthy donors (p < 0.05). Conversely, median MMP-7 values were significantly higher in IPF patients (9.10 ng/mL, range 3.88-19.72 ng/mL) than in those with NSCLC (6.31 ng/mL, range 3.38-16.36 ng/mL; p < 0.0001), NSIP (6.50 ng/mL, range 1.50-22.47 ng/mL; p = 0.007), other diseases (5.41 ng/mL, range 1.78-15.91, p < 0.0001) or healthy donors (4.35 ng/mL, range 2.45-7.23; p < 0.0001). Serum MMP-7 levels seem to be capable of distinguishing IPF patients from those with any other lung disease fcDNA levels were similar in NSCLC and IPF patients, confirming its potential role as a biomarker, albeit non-specific, for the differential diagnosis of NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adenosine (ADO) is a retaliatory metabolite that is expressed in conditions of injury or stress. During these conditions ATP is released at the extracellular level and is metabolized to adenosine. For this reason, adenosine is defined as a "danger signal" for cells and organs, in addition to its important role as homeostatic regulator. Its physiological functions are mediated through interaction with four specific transmembrane receptors called ADORA1, ADORA2A, ADORA2B and ADORA3. In the lungs of mice and humans all four adenosine receptors are expressed with different roles, having pro- and anti-inflammatory roles, determining bronchoconstriction and regulating lung inflammation and airway remodeling. Adenosine receptors can also promote differentiation of lung fibroblasts into myofibroblasts, typical of the fibrotic event. This last function suggests a potential involvement of adenosine in the fibrotic lung disease processes, which are characterized by different degrees of inflammation and fibrosis. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is the pathology with the highest degree of fibrosis and is of unknown etiology and burdened by lack of effective treatments in humans., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)