This research paper aimed to examine the antibacterial activity of lactoferrin (LF) as a potential natural alternative in the dairy sector, by measuring its minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against a number of common food-borne pathogens as well as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, one of the major dairy product spoiling microorganisms. Additionally, a viability experiment was applied to laboratory-manufactured set yoghurt to assess its impact on the activity of starter culture, sensory properties and STEC survivability. The findings demonstrated that LF exhibited significant antimicrobial activity, particularly against E. coli and S. typhimurium with MIC values of 0.0001 and 0.01 mg/ml, respectively. However, P. aeruginosa and B. cereus were quite resistant to LF requiring higher concentrations for MIC (2.5 mg/ml). By the third day of storage, LF at 0.0001 and 0.001 mg/ml significantly reduced the survivability of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli STEC by 70 and 91.6%, respectively, in the lab-manufactured yoghurt. Furthermore, LF enhanced the sensory properties of fortified yoghurt with a statistically significant difference in comparison to the control yoghurt group. There was no interference with the activity of the starter culture throughout the manufacturing process and the storage period. In conclusion, the potent antimicrobial effect of LF opens a new avenue for the dairy industry's potential applications of LF as a natural preservative without negatively influencing the sensory properties and starter culture activity of fermented products.

Since the third wave of democracy, term limits have become a popular fixture of most constitutions intended to constrain the executive. Yet, recent constitutional reforms around the world show that presidents seeking re-election sometimes overturn the entire constitutional order to extend their power. What is the impact of these constitutional manipulations on the longevity of the executive in office? Using survival analysis of all political leaders and national constitutions from 1875 to 2015, this article demonstrates, for the first time, that when ‘authoritarian-aspiring’ presidents remove constitutional term limits, they increase their stay in office by more than 40%. Our findings contrast with a widely held position in the comparative authoritarian literature suggesting that dictators survive longer under institutional constraints. On the contrary, we argue that by removing constitutional barriers, rulers consolidate more power at the expense of their most ambitious allies and can stay in power longer.

We present the second-order necessary and sufficient conditions for quasiconvex and pseudoconvex functions in terms of their second-order regular subdifferentials.

This article assesses the interconnected nature of Southeast Asia around 1900, the transnational entertainment scene in Southeast Asia, and the role of Singapore as a hub for commerce, shipping, and entertainment. The global and regional development of transportation and communications technology and networks facilitated the movement of people, goods, ideas, and amusement forms. The article is based primarily on archival research from colonial newspapers in the region. It surveys and maps more than one hundred itinerant entertainment companies that travelled throughout Southeast Asia around the turn of the century, thereby creating and visualising a circuit of entertainment.

Background: We retrospectively review benign peripheral nerve sheath tumours (BPNST) managed surgically at the Toronto Western Hospital. The incidence of BPNST is classified by anatomic location and predisposition syndrome. Independent predictors of tumour recurrence and symptom resolution are identified. Methods: 175 patients with 201 tumours were eligible for analysis. Data was collected on patient age, gender, diagnosis of neurofibromatosis (NF), tumour histopathology, tumour location, tumour volume, and extent of resection. Postoperative motor, sensory and pain outcomes were dichotomized as stable/improved or worse than preoperative scores. Relationships between tumour recurrence, or symptom resolution, and predictor variables were assessed with univariate and multiple logistic regression models. Results: Among Schwannomas, subtotal resection, a diagnosis of Schwannomatosis, and larger tumour volume were associated with recurrence (p=0.012, p=0.048, p=0.049, respectively); for neurofibromas, subtotal resection and a diagnosis of NF1 were associated with recurrence (p=0.036, p=0.022, respectively). Multivariate analyses revealed subtotal resection as an independent predictor of recurrence for BPNSTs (p=0.007, OR=13.16, 95%-CI 2.34-52.63). Gross-total resection (p=0.023, OR=4.01, 95%-CI 1.21-13.22) and presence of a preoperative motor deficit (p=0.038, OR=8.06, 95%-CI 4.65-90.91) were independent predictors of stable/improved postoperative motor function for BPNSTs. Conclusions: Gross-total resection is associated with both reduced recurrence and improved postoperative motor function, and should be attempted for all eligible BPNSTs.

Présents dans notre environnement les rayonnements électromagnétiques (EM) suscitent de multiples questions quant à leurs effets potentiels pour les porteurs de dispositifs médicaux actifs implantés (DMAI). Le nombre croissant de porteurs d’implants médicaux, y compris dans la population active, a entraîné un questionnement quant à leur comportement en présence d’un champ EM. L’interaction entre le corps humain et les champs EM reste complexe et dépend de multiples facteurs tels que la fréquence, la puissance et la modulation des champs. Nous présentons ici une revue de cette problématique dans le cas des champs EM basse fréquence.

Field experiments were conducted to study the differential responses of a wheat crop to water stress during different stages of its growth. Evidence was produced to show that both the flowering phase and the stage of grain filling and maturation were more sensitive to drought than the vegetative period of growth. Yield of wheat was not reduced when the crop suffered from cycles of water stress induced during the vegetative period, if the crop received favourable water regimes thereafter. Efficiency of water utilization from different water treatments was assessed. There was no relation between the protein and starch contents of the grain and the type of water treatment.

The effects of different water treatments on crop development and on components of yield were studied.

Equal volumes of irrigation water, applied in different ways to a crop of haricot beans in two seasons, showed that the best practice was 60 mm. irrigation every ten days.

The effects of three irrigation regimes on growth, yield and quality of cotton were investigated for two seasons in relation to earliness, quality and water-use efficiency, expressed as m. of water/kg. cotton produced. Light irrigations of cotton, at 75 mm. per irrigation every ten days, were economically better than the traditionally-accepted practice of irrigating every 14 days, and markedly better than prolonging the irrigation cycle to 20 days, mainly due to increased market value of the crop. The results also showed that irrigation intervals of 20 days, besides depressing yield, had a deleterious effect on fibre strength, though the different water regimes did not seem to affect other quality tests.

A simple but reliable type of drainage lysimeter was used to measure evaporation rates from lucerne and wheat and these were compared with calculated estimates of evaporation. Plant height was found to have an important effect on the amount of water lost from a plant cover, which also varied between two different species of crop of similar heights. Using two different soil types, maintained at a high moisture status, the rate of water loss was not influenced by the type of soil in which the plants were grown.

Four sesame varieties were tested at three plant populations to study varietal and population effects on some attributes of vegetative growth. Significant differences between varieties were detected and planting density was found to modify both areas and dry weights of leaves.