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Multivariate techniques better fit the anatomy of complex neuropsychiatric disorders which are characterized not by alterations in a single region, but rather by variations across distributed brain networks. Here, we used principal component analysis (PCA) to identify patterns of covariance across brain regions and relate them to clinical and demographic variables in a large generalizable dataset of individuals with bipolar disorders and controls. We then compared performance of PCA and clustering on identical sample to identify which methodology was better in capturing links between brain and clinical measures. Using data from the ENIGMA-BD working group, we investigated T1-weighted structural MRI data from 2436 participants with BD and healthy controls, and applied PCA to cortical thickness and surface area measures. We then studied the association of principal components with clinical and demographic variables using mixed regression models. We compared the PCA model with our prior clustering analyses of the same data and also tested it in a replication sample of 327 participants with BD or schizophrenia and healthy controls. The first principal component, which indexed a greater cortical thickness across all 68 cortical regions, was negatively associated with BD, BMI, antipsychotic medications, and age and was positively associated with Li treatment. PCA demonstrated superior goodness of fit to clustering when predicting diagnosis and BMI. Moreover, applying the PCA model to the replication sample yielded significant differences in cortical thickness between healthy controls and individuals with BD or schizophrenia. Cortical thickness in the same widespread regional network as determined by PCA was negatively associated with different clinical and demographic variables, including diagnosis, age, BMI, and treatment with antipsychotic medications or lithium. PCA outperformed clustering and provided an easy-to-use and interpret method to study multivariate associations between brain structure and system-level variables. PRACTITIONER POINTS: In this study of 2770 Individuals, we confirmed that cortical thickness in widespread regional networks as determined by principal component analysis (PCA) was negatively associated with relevant clinical and demographic variables, including diagnosis, age, BMI, and treatment with antipsychotic medications or lithium. Significant associations of many different system-level variables with the same brain network suggest a lack of one-to-one mapping of individual clinical and demographic factors to specific patterns of brain changes. PCA outperformed clustering analysis in the same data set when predicting group or BMI, providing a superior method for studying multivariate associations between brain structure and system-level variables.

The possibilities of using an inexpensive sorbent for dyes removal from waste waters after textile dyeing were investigated in this work. Ashes from city heating plant that arise as a by-product in the burning process during the city central heating operated were sorbent. After chemical modification of the ashes it were transformed to the efficient sorbent. Based on the results from this paper, it can be said that the sorbent produced from ashes has potential for the textile dyes removal from aqueous solutions and emission reduction of toxic dyes. A metal complex textile dye was used and the adsorption thermodynamics were studied. On the basis of obtained results, it can be concluded that the natural sorbent is an efficient sorbent for metal complex removal dye from aqueous solution and has a potential for use on an industrial scale. Characterization of other similar, solid waste materials can help explain adsorbate–sorbent interactions in order to optimize and increase efficiency of adsorption process as an environmentally acceptable process. Negative values of free energy change indicate a spontaneous nature of adsorption, negative values of free enthalpy change indicate an exothermic adsorption process and negative values of free entropy change indicate a decrease of disordered system at solid – liquid interface during adsorption. Based on adsorption, kinetic and thermodynamic parameters it can be concluded that chemisorption of the dye on the sorbent is also present together with physical adsorption.

Adolescence is a period of radical normative changes and increased risk for substance use, mood disorders, and physical injury. Researchers have proposed that increases in reward sensitivity (i.e., sensitivity of the behavioral approach system [BAS]) and/or increases in reactivity to all emotional stimuli (i.e., reward and threat sensitivities) lead to these phenomena. The present study is the first longitudinal investigation of changes in reward (i.e., BAS) sensitivity in 9- to 23-year-olds across a 2-year follow-up. Support was found for increased reward sensitivity from early to late adolescence, and evidence was found for decline in the early 20s. This decline is combined with a decrease in left nucleus accumbens (Nacc) volume, a key structure for reward processing, from the late teens into the early 20s. Furthermore, we found longitudinal increases in sensitivity to reward to be predicted by individual differences in the Nacc and medial orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) volumes at baseline in this developmental sample. Similarly, increases in sensitivity to threat (i.e., behavioral inhibition system sensitivity) were qualified by sex, with only females participants experiencing this increase, and predicted by individual differences in lateral OFC volumes at baseline. (Contains 4 tables, 2 figures, and 1 footnote.)

In dyeing process, the object is to transport or diffuse dyes and chemicals into the fibre. Various novel processes, including ultrasound, are being introduced and studied as more environmentally friendly alternatives. Encouraging results have been reported for the use of ultrasound energy in dyeing processes of micro-viscose. The recent studies revealed major ultrasound applications advances: savings of processing time, energy, chemicals, as well as environmental protection. Influence of various ultrasound frequencies (40, 200 and 400 kHz) on dyeing of micro-viscose knitted fabrics, by a reactive dye has been reported in this work. A method of reflection spectrophotometry has been employed to record reemission curves of the colored compounds. A software packet has been employed to calculate CIELab colored coordinates. Then, a comparison has been made with samples colored by conventional procedure according to CIELab76 and CMC (2:1) criteria. The use ultrasound in textile dyeing processing offers many potential advantages. The results prove better dye exhaustion by ultrasound and consequently the better fixing. The exhaustion for the bifunctional dye (containing two vinylsulphone groups) reaches 71.75 % without ultrasound, and 83.69 % with 400 kHz ultrasound. The 40 kHz, 150 W ultrasound causes a cavitation of higher intensity, compared to 200 and 400 kHz ultrasounds. In this particular case, destruction of cavitation bubbles is very intensive. That is why a large amount of cavitation energy is being transformed into a heat, yielding the additional bath heating. The ultrasounds with higher frequencies (200 and 400 kHz) cannot use such a strong power. The applied powering this case reaches 0.6 W. The cavitation bubbles are now smaller the cavitation disintegration is not so strong, and the energy loss is much smaller, i.e. a smaller amount of energy has been transformed into a heat. An ultrasound of an equal power, but of higher frequency contributes to the somewhat higher exhaustion and fixing. The ultrasound dyeing produces much obscured colours, compared the standard. The differences are evident and not negligible. The comparison of the samples treated ultrasound of different frequencies during dyeing revealed the higher coulours intensities with the increase of ultrasound frequencies of the equal power (200 and 400 kHz). However, the increase is not so expressed.

The dyeing of knitted fabrics made from 100 % cellulose using on-line procedure vinyl sulfonic reactive dye, with or without ultrasound energy, is carried out in this paper. The impact of temperature has been observed. The dye exhaustion is monitored using the method of absorption spectrophotometry, and the quality control of the coloration is monitored using color measurements. The acting of ultrasound on coloration consistency, as well as on some mechanical characteristics has also been examined. All examples of the ultrasound dyeing process show greater dye exhaustion in comparison to the conventional procedure. In addition, all the samples, which have been dyed with the ultrasound energy at 40°C, are significantly darker and have deeper color in comparison with the referent sample. The temperature has a great influence on kinetic energy of the dye molecules, and therefore on the diffusion processes in the dyeing system. The exhaustion chart indicates that when the temperature is lower the exhaustion degree drops. However, all the samples dyed with the ultrasound energy have bigger exhaustion. Besides that, ultrasound energy contributes to warming up the processing environment, so the additional warm up with the electricity is unnecessary, unlike the conventional way of dyeing. Since the reactive dyes chemically connect themselves with the cellulose substrate and in that way form covalent connection, the dyed fabrics have good washing consistency. Analysis results indicate that the consistencies are identical regardless the applied dyeing procedure. In other words, the dyeing method using the ultrasound energy produces the dyed fabric of the same quality. After analyzing the results of breaking force and elongation at break of knitted fabrics, it is noticeable that there is no degradation of previously mentioned knitted fabrics features (horizontally and vertically) during the ultrasound wave’s activity.

The extent to which stress generation occurs in bipolar spectrum disorders (BSD) is not well understood. The present study examined whether 75 BSD participants experienced elevated rates of behaviordependent life events, as compared with 38 normal control participants. Within the BSD group, we also examined whether depressive or hypomanic symptoms prospectively predicted increases in various types of negative and positive life events. Results indicated that BSD participants experienced overall increases in behavior-dependent events over the follow-up, as compared with normal controls. At the symptom level, the event generation process occurred in more specific event domains. Results suggest that the stress generation theory of unipolar depression can be extended to BSD and that the type of generated events may be polarity-specific. Keywords: bipolar spectrum disorder; stress generation; life events; hypomania; depression DOI: 10.1002/jclp.20705

Research indicates that life events involving goal attainment and goal striving trigger hypomania/mania and that negative life events trigger bipolar depression. These findings are consistent with the behavioral approach system (BAS) dysregulation model of bipolar disorders, which suggests that individuals with bipolar disorders are hypersensitive to cues signaling opportunity for reward and cues signaling failure and loss of rewards. However, no studies to date have investigated whether individuals with bipolar spectrum disorders experience increased rates of these BAS-relevant life events, which would place them at double risk for developing bipolar episodes. The present study found that individuals with bipolar II disorder and cyclothymia experience increased rates of BAS-activating and BAS-deactivating, but not goal-attainment, life events. Finally, for bipolar spectrum individuals only, BAS-activating events predicted BAS-deactivating events' rates. Keywords: behavioral approach system, bipolar disorder, life events DOI: 10.1037/a0019533

The authors examined concurrent and prospective associations of behavioral approach system (BAS)--relevant and non-BAS-relevant cognitive styles with bipolar spectrum disorders. Controlling for depressive and hypomanic/manic symptoms, 195 individuals with bipolar spectrum disorders scored higher than 194 demographically similar normal controls on BAS sensitivity and BAS-relevant cognitive dimensions of performance concerns, autonomy, and self-criticism, but not on behavioral inhibition system sensitivity and non-BAS-relevant dimensions of approval seeking, sociotropy, and dependency. Moreover, group differences on autonomy fully mediated the association between higher BAS sensitivity and bipolar status. In addition, only BAS-related cognitive dimensions predicted the likelihood of onset of depressive and hypomanic/manic episodes among the bipolar individuals over a 3.2-year follow-up, controlling for initial symptoms and past history of mood episodes. Higher autonomy and self-criticism predicted a greater likelihood of hypomanic/manic episodes, and higher autonomy predicted a lower likelihood of major depressive episodes. In addition, autonomy mediated the associations between BAS sensitivity and prospective hypomanic/manic episodes. These findings suggest that individuals with bipolar spectrum disorders may exhibit a unique profile of BAS-relevant cognitive styles that influence the course of their mood episodes. Keywords: bipolar spectrum disorder, behavioral approach system (BAS), cognitive styles

Rural development is one of the most important elements of the overall economic development. The level of entrepreneurship development, which is closely related to the available human capital of a certain area, has a particularly great impact on the speed and structure of the rural economic growth, along with outdoor amenities of rural areas. The paper provides an overview of foreign and domestic academic literature which deals with the issue of rural development and indicates the necessity and importance of achieving a stronger connection between rural outdoor amenities and the socio-economic development of rural areas. The paper also presents the results of the research aimed at the formulation of the relevant models of economic growth of rural areas in the 21st century. The aim of this paper is to point out the importance and possibility of implementing successful models of rural economic growth in Serbia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the results of an international research on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) conducted in post-transitional countries in Europe. The aim was to investigate the recognition level of the efforts in companies toward CSR activities by employees and their influence on perception and identification with those activities. It was expected that employees with a higher level of CSR awareness would show a greater level of loyalty and identification with the company and, therefore, perform their activities better. A number of significant issues were investigated, i.e. the purpose of CSR implementation, CSR activities in companies, barriers for CSR implementation, employee loyalty, and the performance of companies, along with how these factors are interconnected. CSR was accessed from the point of view of employees through a questionnaire, after which the proposed conceptual model and hypothesis were tested using SEM methodology. The results point out that a clearly defined purpose of implementing CSR can contribute positively to appropriate CSR activities and overcoming the barriers that can occur during implementation. In addition, statistical evidence was gathered showing that CSR activities significantly influence employee loyalty, thus more commitment from employees to the company. Finally, the findings indicate that the greater the loyalty of employees, the greater the performance and competitiveness of the company. The presented results can be very significant for decision-makers and researchers, as they highlight the specificity of CSR and can be used for creating appropriate business strategies that introduce and implement CSR in business operations in order to increase competitiveness and overall company results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The possibilities of using an inexpensive sorbent for dyes removal from waste waters after textile dyeing were investigated in this work. Ashes from city heating plant that arise as a by-product in the burning process during the city central heating operated were sorbent. After chemical modification of the ashes it were transformed to the efficient sorbent. Based on the results from this paper, it can be said that the sorbent produced from ashes has potential for the textile dyes removal from aqueous solutions and emission reduction of toxic dyes. A metal complex textile dye was used and the adsorption thermodynamics were studied. On the basis of obtained results, it can be concluded that the natural sorbent is an efficient sorbent for metal complex removal dye from aqueous solution and has a potential for use on an industrial scale. Characterization of other similar, solid waste materials can help explain adsorbate-sorbent interactions in order to optimize and increase efficiency of adsorption process as an environmentally acceptable process. Negative values of free energy change indicate a spontaneous nature of adsorption, negative values of free enthalpy change indicate an exothermic adsorption process and negative values of free entropy change indicate a decrease of disordered system at solid - liquid interface during adsorption. Based on adsorption, kinetic and thermodynamic parameters it can be concluded that chemisorption of the dye on the sorbent is also present together with physical adsorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The goal of this manuscript is to provide an efficient approach to the process of the recruitment and selection of candidates in the mining industry. The proposed approach is based on the use of MCDM models for personnel selection in the mining industry; the approach will provide an MCDM model for the personnel selection based on the SWARA ant the MULTIMOORA methods. The efficiency and usability of the proposed approach are considered on the numerical example of the selection of a candidate for the position of the mining engineer for underground mining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One-bath dyeing procedures of wool fabric using aqueous extracts of plants - hibiscus, St. John's wort and marigold were investigated. On the basis of results obtained, it could be concluded that applied plant extracts have good reasons for commercial dyeing of wool fabrics designed for clothing that would not be a potential allergen during use, i.e. when in contact with human skin. The applied wool dyeing processes with plant flowers water extracts give a chance of commercialization of small plants for lesser batches, such as single examples and the like. The spectral characteristics lead to the conclusion that the dyeing occurs, with changes in shade, hue, and saturation of the dye. The dye exhaustion from the dyeing bath is slightly less (max 61%), which can be solved by using smaller baths and by addition of certain exhaustion improving agents. Spectral distribution of reflection curves are in correlation with the type of extracts and the mordant used as is indicated both by different spectral K/S values and CIEL*a*b* system parameters. At the same time, very good fastness characteristics of wool fabric dyeing are achieved. From environmental view-point it is a suitable replacement of synthetic dyes with "natural products", which may provide not only a strategy for reducing risks and pollutants but also opportunities for new markets and jobs developed by involving ecology in market policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]