1,338 research outputs found

    Development of a real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay for the detection of congenital human cytomegalovirus infection in urine samples

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    A TaqMan real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR), based on amplification of HCMV UL54 gene specific sequence, was developed and compared with shell vial viral culture assay, the gold standard technique for the diagnosis of congenital HCMV infection, using urine samples collected from 110 newborns. The results indicate that this qPCR is slightly more sensitive than shell vial assay suggesting that qPCR may be considered a useful alternative for diagnosing congenital HCMV infection

    The ethical and moral-based dimension of leadership in CSR-oriented strategies and sustainable entrepreneurship

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    This chapter addresses the theme of leadership and its influence on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability-oriented strategies. Specifically, it aims to analyse, through a deductive and literature-based approach, the relevance of the ethical and moral leadership models with respect to the diffusion of CSR and sustainable entrepreneurship. Linking ethical and moral-based leadership to the CSR and sustainable entrepreneurship discourse allows us to point out the relevance of an authentic orientation in supporting change and fostering sustainable entrepreneurship The theoretical construct of responsible and sustainable leadership derives from the intersection of the moral-based leadership concepts with those of CSR and sustainable entrepreneurship..Drawing from these premises, this chapter seeks to identify leadership models and attributes consistent with (and necessary to develop) an authentic CSR-oriented strategy and able to foster sustainable entrepreneurship. Accordingly, in this chapter, we argue that leadership represents a key aspect that warrants more research within both CSR and sustainable entrepreneurship studies. The research questions that orients this study can be summarised as follows: Which leadership models favour authentic CSR practices? Are moral, ethical-based and virtues-based models of leadership effective in developing CSR and fostering sustainable entrepreneurship? These questions guide the critical review of the different leadership approaches, bringing attention to the models that are most coherent in regard to the actual socio-economic context which requires managers and entrepreneurs to govern the internal and external complexity and actively contribute to sustainability. The methodological approach is mainly based on a literature review that surveys critical points in current literature that is relevant to the topic. The work is structured as follows. First, we offer an analysis of the leadership theoretical framework in the context of the CSR debate. We begin with a brief methodological note, followed by an analysis of the antecedents of CSR and sustainable entrepreneurship in terms of values and virtues. Second, a review of relevant literature on leadership approaches and models consistent with the CSR and sustainable entrepreneurship discourse is presented, emphasising the relationship between transformational, moral and virtues-based leadership and CSR-oriented strategies and sustainable entrepreneurship. Drawing from the analysis, four main propositions are introduced. The final sections illustrate the propositions and summarise the implications and limitations of the study

    Da G.A. Scopoli a R.Tomaselli: le Serre dell’Orto Botanico di Pavia.

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    Vengono presentati la storia e le collezioni delle serre dell'Orto Botanico dell'Università di Pavia

    Raymond Queneau’s Œuvres complètes de Sally Mara

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    This chapter follows the development of Raymond Queneau’s works published under the pseudonym (or auteur supposé) of Sally Mara, including her journal intime, at a time when diary-writing and the writing subject itself were out of favour with the literary avant-garde. A novel published in 1947 attributed to Sally Mara, followed by her Journal intime (1950) and her Œuvres complètes (1962), draw on Gide’s experiments with diary-writing, but comically expose the formal processes by which an author-figure and literary œuvre are constructed. This is often done by creating conflict between the several authorial figures involved (Queneau, Mara, and the fictional editor Michel Presle), and by processes of metalepsis (the transgresssion of boundaries in a narrative framework). Yet the works do not reduce the author-figure to an entirely textual, discursive phenomenon, disconnected from reality, and they tend to endorse a reader’s curiosity about the ‘real’ author.</p

    A study on fire evacuation awareness at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) / Norshafiqah Elina Mohd Mustafa

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    This thesis is about fire evacuation awareness at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). In this study, there are three campus of Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) which from branch Shah Alam, Selangor, Puncak Alam, Selangor and Seri Iskandar, Perak. Respondents from the 3 branch of Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) are the key to succeed this study where the questionnaire are distributed to the staff and students who are occupied in that building, and there has an interview session between the author and the person who is in charge in this studies. The issues that are arise in the Campus of Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) branch Shah Alam, Selangor is there are no assembly point because this campus are crowded with buildings. Because of the issues, it brings to the making of this study. The author decided to study about the fire evacuation on the campus with different situation, which are the old campus are longer, new campus, and small capacity campus. This study was conducted to study about fire evacuation system in all the different campuses. Not all the campuses are using the same system. They used conventional system, full addressable system and semi addressable system. By studying the system, the author know what are the problems on the buildings that the fire drill are not conducted for their building occupants. Fire drill is important to increase the level of awareness of building occupants. The study also highlight suggestions from the Facility Department to improve their current system, as well as suggestions from the respondents to improve their self-awareness

    Humans reshape wetlands: Unveiling the last 100 years of morphological changes of the Mara Wetland, Tanzania

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    The Lower Mara River and Wetland, Tanzania, is an important ecosystem and unique water resource for a vast semi-arid area. The river, an affluent of Lake Victoria, and the wetland are experiencing morphological and vegetation changes resulting in channel avulsions and wetland expansion. This study analyses the changes over the last 100 years and investigates natural and anthropogenic behaviors to explain the increase of the Mara Wetland area. We collated historical topographic maps and satellite images. We conducted two field surveys in low and high flow condition with an unmanned aerial vehicle, a sonar and an ADCP. We mapped selected areas as well as the bed topography in some stretches of the river, measured discharges, and collected river bed and suspended sediment samples. The analysis of the sediments shows that the wetland system, dominated by papyrus sp., is very efficient in trapping sediment, releasing clear water to the Lake Victoria. The historical reconstruction using topographic maps, satellite images and a multivariable analysis including hydrology and land cover, shows that 4 major avulsions occurred in the last 70 years due to a combination of natural behaviors, hydrological fluctuations and anthropogenic factors such as basin deforestation, farming and grazing along the river banks and in the wetland. Each avulsion led to substantial expansion of the wetland. Combined, they increased the wetland area by a factor of 3.6. Describing the Lower Mara River dynamic behavior, this work provides relevant information for sustainable future water and sediment management in order to preserve wetland habitats and natural resources.Accepted Author ManuscriptEnvironmental Fluid MechanicsWater Resource

    Investigating morphological responses to sediment flux alterations and land use changes in the Mara Wetland, Tanzania

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    The Mara River is the only perennial river of a vast semi-arid area, including the Mara Serengeti ecoregion in Kenya and Tanzania. The river sustains more than one million inhabitants and millions of wild animals. In its lower reaches, the Mara River forms a wide wetland before flowing into Lake Victoria. The wetland represents a rich ecosystem providing essential services, but it is being threaten by increasing human activities. Farming, grazing, fishing and deforestation to produce charcoal and open new crops have deeply modified the riparian vegetation spatial distribution and the habitat morphology. Additionally, the construction of a new dam is planned immediately upstream of the wetland for irrigation purposes and hydropower.This work is undertaken to set up a hydro-morphodynamic model to predict the short- and long-term effects of human activities on the Mara Wetland habitat. The model will be a tool to evaluate strategies to mitigate the negative effects of the activities.The Lower Mara River is poorly gauged and only a few scattered data and observations are available. Therefore, in October - November 2017 (dry period) and May 2018 (wet period) multidisciplinary field work was conducted along a 130 km stretch of the river. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was used to produce high resolution orthophoto mosaics and digital elevation models of selected areas. The UAV gave topography and ground observations on vegetation type, size and distribution, and other features of unattainable areas. A sonar was used to map the bathymetry of some stretches of river and wetland. River discharge was measured on 4 locations. Bed sediments and water samples were collected from 8 spots to analyse sediment granulometry and suspended sediment concentration. Results suggest that, at wetland inlet, the river is particularly rich in suspended sediment, with measured averaged concentrations of the order of 500 mg L-1 and peaks of 2700 mg L-1. The wetland, thanks to its extent and dense vegetation cover, traps the 90% of the suspended sediments and releases clear waters to the Lake Victoria. The future placement of the dam may have a strong influence: without an adequate management, the dam solid and liquid discharge regulation may further trigger morphological changes and jeopardize the wetland ecosystem.Abstract B43I-2963 presented at 2018 Fall Meeting, AGU, Washington, D.C., 10-14 Dec. Session: B43I The Resilience of Wetland Ecosystems to Multiscale Environmental Changes PostersEnvironmental Fluid MechanicsWater Resource

    Comparative tense and aspect in the Mara Bantu languages : towards a linguistic history

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    Through the elicitation of 91 Swahili sentences and the collection of one oral text, this research compares the TAM systems of several Mara Bantu languages (Tanzania/Kenya) with the aim of finding any shared "individual-­identifying" innovations (Nichols 1996) that can either affirm Mara as a coherent genetic linguistic sub-group (Schoenbrun 1990) or point toward a different historical scenario. A secondary goal is to provide a preliminary linguistic description of the TAM systems of five Mara languages: Ikizu (JE402, [ikz]), Ikoma (JE45, [ntk]), Kabwa (JE405, [cwa]), Simbiti (JE431, [ssc]), and Zanaki (JE44, [zak]). The research concludes that there is sufficient "individual-identifying" evidence from TAM systems to validate both a North Mara and a South Mara sub­group (Schoenbrun 1990). There is not, on the other hand, a sufficient base of shared "individual-­identifying" innovations to propose a unique proto-Mara TAM system uniting North Mara and South Mara at a post-proto-Great Lakes phase of development

    Language enrichment activities for preparatory English / Ho Chui Chui

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    This article deals with the use of language enrichment activities for students taking the Preparatory English course in Universiti Teknotogi MARA. The author shares her ideas to make the teaching and learning of fft/s course a more pleasant and appealing process
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