Objective: To investigate whether poor antidepressant tolerability is associated with functional brain changes in children and adolescents of parents with bipolar I disorder (at-risk youth). Methods: Seventy-three at-risk youth (ages 9-20 years old) who participated in a prospective study and had an available baseline functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan were included. Research records were reviewed for the incidence of adverse reactions related to antidepressant exposure during follow-up. The sample was divided among at-risk youth without antidepressant exposure (n=21), at-risk youth with antidepressant exposure and no adverse reaction (n=12), at-risk youth with antidepressant-related adverse reaction (n=21), and healthy controls (n=20). The fMRI task was a continuous performance test with emotional distracters. Region-of-interest mean activation in brain areas of the fronto-limbic emotional circuit was compared among groups. Results: Right amygdala activation in response to emotional distracters significantly differed among groups (F3,66 = 3.1, p = 0.03). At-risk youth with an antidepressant-related adverse reaction had the lowest amygdala activation, while at-risk youth without antidepressant exposure had the highest activation (p = 0.004). Conclusions: Decreased right amygdala activation in response to emotional distracters is associated with experiencing an antidepressant-related adverse reaction in at-risk youth. Further studies to determine whether amygdala activation is a useful biomarker for antidepressant-related adverse events are needed.

ABSTRACT: Bovine brucellosis is caused by Brucella abortus. The bacterial pathogen causes economic losses because it induces abortion in cattle. Vaccination of calves with live B. abortus strain 19 induces a certain level of protection but induces persistent antibodies against cell envelope lipopolysaccharide that make it difficult to Distinguish Infected from Vaccinated Animals (DIVA). Live vaccine B. abortus strain RB51 was developed to elimínate such interfering antibodies and therefore, facilitate the differentiation of infected from vaccinated animals and help in the eradication of the disease. Vaccination with strain RB51 induces levels of protection similar to strain 19 but neither of the two vaccines give complete protection. We have been working to enhance protection induced by strain RB51 vaccine. Protective Brucella antigens can be over-expressed in strain RB51 by introducing a plasmid containing the leuB gene and the genes encoding such antigens. To avoid the expression of antibiotic resistance genes, we produced a leuB deficient strain RB51 and introduced a plasmid containing the leuB gene and the genes to be over-expressed. This new strain maintains the plasmid and has induced significantly high protection levels in mice. In addition, it allowed the construction of an RB51 vaccine strain able to express Mycobacterium bovis protective antigens so that the vaccine could protect against brucellosis and tuberculosis simultaneously.

Fullerene is considered to be the third carbon allotrope after diamond and graphite. The study of fullerene derivatives has been growing due to their exceptional electron affinity. This work proposes th study of three different fullerene derivatives, being phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), oligo {(phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester)-alt-[1,4-bis(bromomethyl)-2,5-bis(octyloxy)benzene]} (OPCBMMB) and poly {[bispyrrolidino(phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester)]-alt-[2,5-bis(octyloxy)benzene]} (PPCBMB), and their application as NH3 sensors. Experimental results showed that these materials have a reproducible response to NH3, with PCBM resulting in the highest observed current peak, followed by OPCBMMB and PPCBMB. These results imply that PCBM, OPCBMMB and PPCBMB can be used to produce NH3 sensors.

Objectives: To prospectively investigate whether baseline clinical characteristics and medication exposure predict development of major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder in offspring of parents with bipolar disorder. Methods: Youth aged 9-20 years with at least one biological parent with bipolar disorder and no prior history of mood or psychotic episodes (n=93) were prospectively evaluated and treated naturalistically during the study. Participants were divided into two groups: converters, defined as those who met DSM-IV criteria for a mood episode during follow-up (n=19); or non-converters (n=74). Logistic regression models were used to investigate associations between baseline clinical variables and medication exposure during follow-up and risk of developing a first mood episode (conversion). Results: Multivariate regression analyses showed that baseline anxiety disorders and subsyndromal mood disorders were associated with increased risk of conversion during follow-up. Adding medication exposure to the multivariate model showed that exposure to antidepressants during follow-up was associated with increased risk of conversion. Conclusions: Caution should be used when treating bipolar offspring with anxiety and/or emerging depressive symptoms using antidepressant agents, given the increased risk of developing a major mood disorder.

BACKGROUND: The study explored and analysed patterns in active and passive information behaviour of the professoriate in different information sources in teaching and research context. Exploring patterns in human information behaviour fills the knowledge gaps in this under-researched area, besides having practical significance. OBJECTIVES: The study explored the patterns in active and passive information behaviour in different information sources used by the professoriate in the social sciences and humanities in three federal universities in Nigeria. METHODS: The study used a descriptive survey to explore the active and passive information behaviour of the professoriate. The sample consisted of 246 professors from the social sciences and humanities departments at three federal universities in Nigeria. Data were collected using an adapted questionnaire and analysed descriptively using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. RESULTS: The patterns that emerged across electronic resources, media, print sources, interpersonal and academic gathering, in three usage categories, showed both consistent and divergent results. A broad pattern in frequently-used sources revealed that the more active information seeking takes place in an information source, the more chances of passive encounters, and vice versa. This pattern is, however, consistent in electronic resources, print sources, and academic gathering, but differs in media and interpersonal sources. Media has more instances of passive encounters than active usage whilst in interpersonal sources, information encountered in active engagements with professional colleagues did not yield significant result. CONCLUSION: Exploring patterns in human information behaviour is still evolving, with the benefit of advancing a better understanding of active and passive information behaviour at a micro level.

This article attempts to reconstruct an early history of the Norwegian Pentecostal Mission's (NPM) work in Kenya. The Free Pentecostal Church (FPC), known as the Free Pentecostal Fellowship in Kenya (FPFK) until April 2018, was born out of a 1984 merger between the Swedish Free Mission and the NPM. The Norwegians came earlier in 1955, whereas their Scandinavian counterparts arrived in 1960. The article contests that during the period under review, the first 29 years of NPM's presence in Kenya, the NPM was characterised by a fast-growing enthusiasm in establishing mission stations and local churches through evangelism and social work activities in education, medical care, orphanages, midwifery and compassionate handouts of commodities to villagers. These would be overtaken by the efforts to merge Swedish and Norwegian interests and establishments into one denomination in 1976 and the move towards nationalising the FPFK by handing over church leadership to the Kenyans by 1997. The article contests that the zeal and successes of the missionaries and local church workers in sowing the seeds of the gospel were checked by cultural and socio-economic setbacks in Kenya's colonial context as well as the nationalisation process. The increased presence of Norwegian missionaries in Kenya during the 1960s were largely motivated by, among other factors, the channelling of Norwegian government aid monies to foreign development regions through missionary agencies and the imminent independence of the East African state.

Malware threats have become increasingly dynamic and complex, and, accordingly, artificial intelligence techniques have become the focal point for cybersecurity, as they are viewed as being more suited to tackling modern malware incidents. Specifically, neural networks, with their strong generalisation performance capability, are able to address a wide range of cyber threats. This article outlines the development and testing of a neural network ensemble approach to malware detection, based on a hybrid search mechanism. In this mechanism, the optimising of individual networks is done by an adaptive memetic algorithm with tabu search, which is also used to improve hidden neurons and weights of neural networks. The adaptive memetic algorithm combines global and local search optimisation techniques in order to overcome premature convergence and obtain an optimal search outcome. The results from the testing prove that the proposed method is strongly adaptive and efficient in its detection of a range of malware threats, and that it generates better results than other existing methods.

The purpose of the study is to assess paradigm shifts in society and their implications for Library and Information Science (LIS) education and training systems in Zimbabwe. The study was informed by the postpositivist paradigm which allows for methodological pluralism. Qualitative and quantitative methodologies were used to inform both the research design and data collection processes. The qualitative methodology was dominant, complemented by the quantitative. The strategy of inquiry combined case study with survey research designs. Respondents in the five study cases were surveyed using questionnaires and in-depth interviews. Documentary review was used to collect data on LIS curricula in Zimbabwe. The findings of the study show that the dictum of success of the industrial era is no longer valid in the era of knowledge. The shift of focus from capital to knowledge has created different educational needs that require different educational systems. The study also found that although LIS scholars bemoan the perceived decline of LIS education and argue for improvements, only superficial changes have thus far been observed. This lack of positive development has been attributed to conservatism, inertia and the favouring of vested interests. The study provides policy makers with evidence-based research critical for analysis, advocacy, forecasting and strategic planning of an effective transformation of LIS education and training in Zimbabwe. Further research needs to be done concerning the reasons why LIS faculty staff members resist making revolutionary changes.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of hot water extraction process on the dimensional stability of oriented strand composites. Aspen wood strands were extracted using various severity factor levels. Phenol formaldehyde and polymethylene diphenyl diisocyanate resins were used for production of the oriented strandboard panels. Six panel groups were produced from the extracted or unextracted aspen wood strands. The dimensional stability of the material was evaluated by measures of equilibrium moisture content and thickness swell and water absorption after soaking in water for 2 hours and 24 hours. Results obtained in this study showed that thickness swell and water absorption values significantly decreased with the hot water extraction process, with the thickness swell of phenol formaldehyde bonded panels decreasing 70% after 2 hours soaking. The panels with polymethylene diphenyl diisocyanate resin exhibited lower thickness swell and water absorption relative to the panels prepared with phenol formaldehyde resin. Equilibrium moisture content values of the panels bonded with both phenol formaldehyde and polymethylene diphenyl diisocyanate resin decreased with the extraction process. The findings of this work indicate that hot water extraction process could be effectively used to produce oriented strand composites having an enhanced dimensional stability property.

THE OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY: The main objective of this study is to determine the factors that influence manufacturing small, medium and micro-sized enterprises' (SMMEs) borrowing from banks. PROBLEM STATEMENT: This article examines factors that affect SMMEs' ability to borrow money from commercial banks. Empirical evidence was collected from manufacturing SMMEs. MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDY: There is a scarcity of studies on factors influencing borrowing among Botswana manufacturing SMMEs. METHODOLOGY: The study employed both qualitative and quantitative research designs. The random stratified sampling technique was used to draw a sample of 100 manufacturing SMMEs from a population of 329 registered manufacturing SMMEs in Botswana. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. Furthermore, multivariate logistic regression estimation was used to obtain the main objective. MAIN FINDINGS: The empirical results showed that longevity in position and annual turnover have positive impact on getting access to bank loans, while marital status has a negative effect on access to bank loans. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: An understanding of factors influencing borrowing can increase chances of an SMME gaining financing from commercial banks, thus solving the challenge of access to finance. CONTRIBUTIONS: The results are significant to SMMEs, policymakers, the banking sector and other researchers. Furthermore, this study increases literature on SMME challenges and financing logistics.

Abstract: Objective: To evaluate the relative importance of selfmanagement (SM) and quality of care (QoC) inpredicting glycaemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes. Materials and methods: A longitudinal cohort study was conducted in 204 adults diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Self-management and quality of care were measured at baseline. HbA1c was measured at baseline and at six-month follow-up. Results: None of the measures of self-management were significantly associated with HbA1c.Treatment intensification (TI) (a proxy for quality of care) resulted in lower HbA1c at follow-up. Other variables were associated with HbA1c at follow-up: HbA1c at baseline, age, diabetes duration, and combination of oral glucose-lowering medications. An exploratory analysis showed that patients who did not receive treatment intensification but performed more self-management behaviours had lower HbA1c levels at follow-up. Conclusion: Treatment intensification might be more important for glycaemic control than self-management but the interaction between treatment intensification and self-management needs further research.

Resumen: Objetivo: Evaluar la importancia relativa del autocuidado (AU) y calidad de la atención (CA) para predecir control glucémico en diabetes mellitus tipo 2 (DM2). Material y métodos: Estudio longitudinal en 204 adultos con DM2. AU y CA evaluados en la medición basal. HbA1c evaluada en la medición basal y a los seis meses. Resultados: A los seis meses, ninguna de las mediciones de AU se asoció significativamente con HbA1c. La intensificación en el tratamiento (IT) (proxy de CA) se asoció con disminución de HbA1c. Otras variables asociadas con HbA1c: HbA1c en medición basal, edad, duración de diabetes, y combinación de anti-hiperglucemiantes. En un análisis exploratorio, los participantes que no recibieron IT pero desempeñaron más conductas de AU tuvieron niveles más bajos de HbA1c. Conclusión: IT parece ser más importante para el control glucémico que AU, pero la interacción entre IT y conductas de AU se deben estudiar con más profundidad.

Abstract: Objective: To evaluate the relative importance of selfmanagement (SM) and quality of care (QoC) inpredicting glycaemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes. Materials and methods: A longitudinal cohort study was conducted in 204 adults diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Self-management and quality of care were measured at baseline. HbA1c was measured at baseline and at six-month follow-up. Results: None of the measures of self-management were significantly associated with HbA1c.Treatment intensification (TI) (a proxy for quality of care) resulted in lower HbA1c at follow-up. Other variables were associated with HbA1c at follow-up: HbA1c at baseline, age, diabetes duration, and combination of oral glucose-lowering medications. An exploratory analysis showed that patients who did not receive treatment intensification but performed more self-management behaviours had lower HbA1c levels at follow-up. Conclusion: Treatment intensification might be more important for glycaemic control than self-management but the interaction between treatment intensification and self-management needs further research.

Resumen: Objetivo: Evaluar la importancia relativa del autocuidado (AU) y calidad de la atención (CA) para predecir control glucémico en diabetes mellitus tipo 2 (DM2). Material y métodos: Estudio longitudinal en 204 adultos con DM2. AU y CA evaluados en la medición basal. HbA1c evaluada en la medición basal y a los seis meses. Resultados: A los seis meses, ninguna de las mediciones de AU se asoció significativamente con HbA1c. La intensificación en el tratamiento (IT) (proxy de CA) se asoció con disminución de HbA1c. Otras variables asociadas con HbA1c: HbA1c en medición basal, edad, duración de diabetes, y combinación de anti-hiperglucemiantes. En un análisis exploratorio, los participantes que no recibieron IT pero desempeñaron más conductas de AU tuvieron niveles más bajos de HbA1c. Conclusión: IT parece ser más importante para el control glucémico que AU, pero la interacción entre IT y conductas de AU se deben estudiar con más profundidad.

Introdução: Para o desenvolvimento de terapêuticas celulares para o tratamento da degeneração do disco intervertebral é necessário o conhecimento detalhado das células que o constituem e das vias moleculares que levam à sua diferenciação. O núcleo pulposo (NP) embrionário, fetal e dos primeiros anos de vida é formado por células grandes e vacuoladas da notocorda; no entanto, com a maturidade esquelética, as células da notocorda desaparecem e são substituídas por células menores, semelhantes a condrócitos. Estudos animais e in vitro demonstraram que as células da notocorda exercem efeitos anabólicos e protetores sobre o disco intervertebral, pelo que o seu desaparecimento do NP humano tem sido implicado na patogénese da degeneração discal. Deste modo, o estudo destas células e dos seus mecanismos de regulação poderá identificar fatores envolvidos na homeostasia do disco intervertebral e ajudar no desenvolvimento de terapêuticas celulares para regenerar ou substituir as células do disco intervertebral degenerado. No entanto, o estudo de células da notocorda humana tem sido dificultado por restrições éticas, logísticas e técnicas, o que constitui uma importante limitação para o avanço científico nesta área. Este estudo foi realizado com o objetivo de isolar células da notocorda (precursoras do NP) das do esclerótomo (precursoras do anel fibroso (AF) e das vértebras) a partir de embriões e fetos humanos e caracterizar o seu fenótipo e os mecanismos ou moléculas reguladores da sua função no disco intervertebral. Métodos: Embriões e fetos humanos (3.5 a 12 semanas pósconceção) foram dissecados e caracterizados morfologicamente para confirmar a presença de células da notocorda na coluna vertebral em desenvolvimento. Uma vez que nesta altura do desenvolvimento humano não existe uma demarcação óbvia dos limites entre o NP, o AF e o corpo vertebral, foi desenvolvida uma estratégia baseada na identificação de um marcador celular específico para as células da notocorda e na sua utilização para as separar das células do esclerótomo. Para identificar esse marcador realizou-se uma pesquisa da literatura; seguidamente, os potenciais marcadores foram testados por imunohistoquímica em secções embrionárias e fetais contendo células da notocorda. Após identificação do marcador a usar, e uma vez que esse tinha localização intracelular, foi desenvolvida uma metodologia que permitisse extrair RNA a partir de um número limitado de células fixadas, permeabilizadas, marcadas com um anticorpo fluorescente e separadas por citometria de fluxo. O método desenvolvido foi então utilizado para separar e extrair RNA a partir de células da notocorda e esclerótomo fetais. A precisão da separação foi confirmada pela quantificação por reação em cadeia da polimerase em tempo real (qRT-PCR) da expressão de genes da notocorda nos dois tipos celulares separados. Posteriormente, microarrays foram utilizados para identificar o fenótipo e o software interactive pathway analysis (IPA®) foi utilizado para identificar moléculas e fatores reguladores da função das células da notocorda. Resultados: A coluna vertebral fetal humana foi validada como uma fonte adequada para obtenção de células da notocorda. A pesquisa da literatura identificou 16 potenciais marcadores específicos destas células e a validação de um grupo deles identificou as moléculas KRT8, KRT18 e KRT19 como sendo específicas para as células da notocorda da coluna vertebral fetal humana. Verificou-se que uma metodologia consistindo na fixação e permeabilização de células com 95% etanol/ 5% ácido acético, marcação com um anticorpo fluorescente anti-KRT18 e separação por citometria de fluxo permitia obter RNA de elevada qualidade. Esse método foi utilizado para separar células extraídas enzimaticamente da coluna fetal humana e separar as células da notocorda (precursoras do NP e KRT18-positivas) das células do esclerótomo (precursoras do AF e das vértebras e KRT18-negativas). A maior expressão diferencial dos genes da notocorda KRT18, KRT19, brachyury, Galectin 3, CTGF e FOXA2 pelas células KRT18-positivas confirmou a precisão da separação. A análise dos dois tipos celulares por microarrays identificou 782 genes regulados positivamente e 678 regulados negativamente pelas células da notocorda. A análise IPA identificou 30 moléculas reguladoras dos genes expressos pelas células da notocorda. Destas, o hepatocyte growth fator (HGF) foi identificado como o principal fator de crescimento a montante das células da notocorda ativando genes importantes para a sua função no disco intervertebral. Discussão: Este estudo isolou pela primeira vez células da notocorda humana. Para o realizar foi desenvolvida uma metodologia complexa, cujas aplicações se estendem para lá desta área de investigação. A análise por microarrays identificou marcadores fenotípicos das células da notocorda, alguns dos quais potencialmente responsáveis pelos seus efeitos protetores no disco intervertebral. O fator de crescimento HGF foi identificado como um regulador destas células, podendo ser responsável por algumas das funções que lhes são atribuídas.

Introduction: For the development of cell-based therapies targeting intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration a thorough understanding of its cells and the molecular pathways leading to their differentiation is required. The embryonic, foetal and juvenile nucleus pulposus (NP) is populated by large vacuolated notochordal cells that with skeletal maturity become replaced by smaller chondrocyte-like cells. Since animal and in vitro studies have shown that notochordal cells display protective and anabolic roles in the IVD, their loss in humans has often been suggested to initiate the degenerative process. As such, a detailed understanding of these cells and their regulatory pathways may help to identify factors involved in IVD homeostasis and the development of novel cell-based therapies targeting disc degeneration. The study of human notochordal cells has however been hindered by ethical, logistical and technical restrictions in obtaining suitable samples, which constitutes a major limitation to the field. This study was conducted with the objective of isolating notochordal cells (precursors of the NP) from their adjacent sclerotomal tissues (precursors of the annulus fibrosus (AF) and vertebrae) from human embryonic and foetal spines and to identify their phenotype and potential factors involved in their function in the IVD. Methods: Human embryonic and foetal spines (3.5-12 weeks post-conception) were dissected and characterised morphologically to confirm their suitability as sources of notochordal cells. Then, and since there was no visible demarcation between the NP, AF and vertebral regions, a strategy involving the identification of a notochord-specific marker to label and sort notochordal cells was devised. To identify a notochordspecific marker, a literature search was performed followed by the validation of identified putative markers in the human foetal spine using immunohistochemistry. Subsequently, and as the identified marker had an intracellular location, a novel methodology was developed to allow for the extraction of high quality RNA from limited numbers of fixed, permeabilised, labelled with a fluorescent antibody and sorted cells. Using the optimised methodology, RNA was extracted from notochordal and sclerotomal cells. Separation accuracy was validated using real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) for known notochordal markers. Microarrays were then used to identify differentially expressed genes between notochordal and sclerotomal cells and interactive pathway analysis (IPA) was used to identify notochordal cell regulators. Results: The human foetal spine was validated as a suitable source of notochordal cells. The literature search identified 16 putative markers and the validation of a panel of these identified KRT8, KRT18 and KRT19 as human notochord-specific markers. A methodology involving cell fixation and permeabilisation using 95% ethanol/ 5% acetic acid, followed by incubation with a directly conjugated KRT18 antibody and separation by fluorescence activated cell sorting was found to have no detrimental effect on the RNA quality. This method was therefore used to separate enzymatically obtained human foetal notochordal cells (NP precursors and KRT18-positive) from sclerotomal cells (AF and vertebrae precursors and KRT18-negative). qRT-PCR analysis validated the cell separation methodology by confirming that notochordal cells had higher differential expression of the notochordal markers KRT18, KRT19, brachyury, Galectin 3, CTGF and FOXA2. Array analysis identified 782 upregulated and 678 downregulated genes. IPA analysis identified 30 upstream regulators of notochordal cell genes. Of these, hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) was the top growth factor and was predicted to be activating a number of relevant notochordal genes. Discussion: This study isolated, for the first time, human notochordal cells. To do so, a complex labelling methodology was devised that is applicable to different areas of research. Microarray analysis identified a list of notochordal cell markers, some of which may be important in notochordal cell function within the IVD. Importantly, HGF was identified as an upstream regulator of notochordal cells that may be involved in some of the biological functions attributed to them.

Bovine tuberculosis is an important zoonosis and accurate diagnosis is important for its surveillance. Post-mortem diagnosis may, however, be compromised by lesions caused by other pathogens. In an investigation on its prevalence in slaughter cattle in Kenya, Mycobacterium bovis and dimorphic fungi were inadvertently identified separately or concurrently in tuberculous lesions. Beef carcasses were inspected for lesions in two abattoirs in Nairobi. Tissues with lesions were collected and transported to the laboratory. Smears of lesions were stained by acid-fast procedure and examined microscopically. Lesions were cultured in Löwenstein-Jensen (LJ) and in BBL™ Mycobacterium growth indicator tubes (MGIT) media. Mycobacteria isolates in LJ medium were identified by DNA typing. Smears of BBL TM MGIT cultures were acid-fast stained and examined microscopically. Tissue sections were stained with periodic acid-Schiff reagent before examination. Of the 929 carcasses examined, 176 had granulomatous lesions. Dimorphic fungi were detected as acid-fast negative cells in 58 (32.9; 33.5%) of the lesion smears, either alone (29.0; 16.4%) or concurrently with acid-fast bacilli (29.0; 16.4%). The fungi were also detected in some BBL TM MGIT-culture smears and lesioned tissue sections. The fungi were identified, by means of cellular morphology, as Paracoccidioides brasiliensis and Blastomyces dermatitidis. A total of 64 isolates of mycobacteria were recovered in LJ medium, 19 of which were identified as M. bovis. The present report documents native P. brasiliensis infections outside the presumed endemic region and B. dermatitidis infections in a livestock animal. The findings further indicate the importance of dimorphic fungi as a differential diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis in the region.