Extension Of Scope Research Articles

Mr. Gilbert's World Tour: Rethinking Disabled Veterans Across British Imperial Spaces.

This article provides a comparative analysis of the treatment of disabled First World War veterans in 1920s Britain and the simultaneous care of Imperial Pensioners residing in Australia and South Africa via the detailed administrative reports of a British civil servant, G.F. Gilbert. Imperial Pensioners were disabled veteran migrants of the British Army residing overseas. A study of these veteran populations in Australia and South Africa provides two primary insights into the broader historiography of disabled veterans. Firstly, a comparative case study helps to show the way in which cultural notions of disability were part of broader ideas of nation-building overseas. Secondly, the specific disability diagnosis category chosen as a more in-depth case study can further complicate and contradict broader assessments of national responses. This article attempts to build upon recent transnational histories of veterans by transcending national boundaries and homogenous veteran profiles with an extension in methodological scope by providing an intra-national case study via the Imperial Pensioner.

How the training pathways and capacity of rural physicians inform their scope of practice: A qualitative study examining the experiences of Australian and international medical graduates in South-East New South Wales, Australia.

Current strategies to address shortages of rural doctors focus on developing a pipeline for rural generalist practice. Limited research has explored how doctors' professional journey engenders the skills required to practice rurally. This paper analyses how rural general practitioners' clinical pathway informs their scope of practice and future retention. Qualitative thematic analysis using semi-structured telephone interviews. Twenty-one general practitioners appointed in their local health district of Murrumbidgee and Southern New South Wales, Australia, within the past 10 years. Participants comprised 10 Australian medical graduates (AMG) and 11 international medical graduates (IMG). AMGs and IMGs contrasted how their pathway into rural practice, and capacity to work rurally, informed their scope of practice. Australian medical graduates' familiarity with rural areas was consolidated through congruous experiences, including at rural clinical schools. Paradoxically, the fluency of their training limited the amount of unsupervised experience and confidence AMGs gained. Together with a focus on work-life balance, this limited many to providing mainstream general practice, precluding extending their scope of practice. International medical graduates described disseminated experiences, often unsupervised in high-volume contexts. However, a lack of professional opportunities prevented them from extending their scope of practice. IMG and AMG motivation and pathway for working rurally differ. Respective cohorts have concerns regarding requisite skills and knowledge for rural practice, which incorporates opportunity and recognition. Entry points for training should be variable to allow consideration of life stage, prior skill development and extension of scope of practice. Doctors' scope of practice is informed by their pathways into rural practice. Australian medical graduates may not gain adequate competence during expedited training programs to confidently undertake extended clinical activities. International medical graduates, however lacked the opportunities and support, to utilise their expertise in rural practice. Complementarily utilising the expertise and commitment of both AMGs and IMGs may synergistically address workforce shortages.

Thermodynamic evaluations of the acceptorless dehydrogenation and hydrogenation of pre-aromatic and aromatic N-heterocycles in acetonitrile.

N-heterocycles are important chemical hydrogen-storage materials, and the acceptorless dehydrogenation and hydrogenation of N-heterocycles as organic hydrogen carriers have been widely studied, with the main focus on the catalyst synthesis and design, investigation of the redox mechanisms, and extension of substrate scope. In this work, the Gibbs free energies of the dehydrogenation of pre-aromatic N-heterocycles (YH2) and the hydrogenation of aromatic N-heterocycles (Y), i.e., ΔGH2R(YH2) and ΔGH2A(Y), were derived by constructing thermodynamic cycles using Hess' law. The thermodynamic abilities for the acceptorless dehydrogenation and hydrogenation of 78 pre-aromatic N-heterocycles (YH2) and related 78 aromatic N-heterocycles (Y) were well evaluated and discussed in acetonitrile. Moreover, the applications of the two thermodynamic parameters in identifying pre-aromatic N-heterocycles possessing reversible dehydrogenation and hydrogenation properties and the selection of the pre-aromatic N-heterocyclic hydrogen reductants in catalytic hydrogenation were considered and are discussed in detail. Undoubtedly, this work focuses on two new thermodynamic parameters of pre-aromatic and aromatic N-heterocycles, namely ΔGH2R(YH2) and ΔGH2A(Y), which are important supplements to our previous work to offer precise insights into the chemical hydrogen storage and hydrogenation reactions of pre-aromatic and aromatic N-heterocycles.

Absolwenci uczelni lubelskich na stanowiskach sędziów Sądu Najwyższego w okresie Polski Ludowej

The article presents graduates from Lublin higher education institutions who, in the course of their legal professional careers, assumed Supreme Court judge positions in the period of the Polish People's Republic. The chronological framework of the study covers the period from the Supreme Court resuming operation in 1945 until the end of the last, sixth term of the Supreme Court in 1990, although nominations of KUL (Catholic University of Lublin) and UMCS (Maria Curie-Skłodowska University) graduates as "regular" judges of the Supreme Court concern the very period of the Polish People's Republic. The extension of temporal scope has resulted in presenting the profiles of two judges, pre-war KUL graduates, who were acting judges of the Supreme Court from 1948 to 1949 at the off-site adjudication centre of the Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court in Lublin. It was 1959 when two KUL graduates were appointed judges of the Supreme Court under the procedure set out in the Law on the System of Common Courts. From 1962 onwards, the Supreme Court used to be staffed through an appointment of Supreme Court judges for five-year terms by the Council of State according to the Act on the Supreme Court. These included five post-war KUL graduates, three of whom had started their studies before the outbreak of war. The end of provision of legal education at KUL (the last graduation ceremony took place in 1952) and the launch of legal studies at UMCS in 1949 resulted in as many as seven UMCS graduates holding the Supreme Court judge positions in the 1970s and especially in the 1980s. The first of them was elected in 1972 for the 3rd term of the Supreme Court. When the Supreme Court closed its operation on 30 June 1990 (as a result of shortening the 6th term due to serious changes made in the system of government) it was composed by two KUL graduates and six UMCS graduates.

A cross-sectional study quantifies the independent contribution of nurses and midwives in child health outcomes.

As the largest profession within the healthcare industry, nursing and midwifery workforce (NMW) provides comprehensive healthcare to children and their families. This study quantified the independent role of NMW in reducing under-5 mortality rate (U5MR) worldwide. A retrospective, observational and correlational study to examine the independent role of NMW in protecting against U5MR. Within 266 "countries", the cross-sectional correlations between NMW and U5MR were examined with scatter plots, Pearson's r, nonparametric, partial correlation and multiple regression. The affluence, education and urban advantages were considered as the potential competing factors for the NMW-U5MR relationship. The NMW-U5MR correlations in both developing and developed countries were explored and compared. Bivariate correlations revealed that NMW negatively and significantly correlated to U5MR worldwide. When the contributing effects of economic affluence, urbanization and education were removed, the independent NMW role in reducing U5MR remained significant. NMW independently explained 9.36% U5MR variance. Multilinear regression selected NMW as a significant factor contributing an extra 3% of explanation to U5MR variance when NMW, affluence, education and urban advantage were incorporated as the predicting variables. NMW correlated with U5MR significantly more strongly in developing countries than in developed countries. NMW, indexing nursing and midwifery service, was a significant factor for reducing U5MR worldwide. This beneficial effect explained 9.36% of U5MR variance which was independent of economic affluence, urbanization and education. The NMW may be a more significant risk factor for protecting children from dying under 5 years old in developing countries. As a strategic response to the advocacy of the United Nations to reduce child mortality, it is worthy for health authorities to consider a further extension of nurses and midwives' practice scope to enable communities to have more access to NMW healthcare services.

The training of midwives to perform obstetric ultrasound scan in Africa for task shifting and extension of scope of practice: a scoping review

IntroductionUltrasound scan is one of the essential assessments that is crucial in the early identification of health risks during antenatal care. Its accessibility to women in low-and middle-income countries remains a serious challenge because ultrasound scans are not within the scope of practice for midwives. However, task shifting and extension of scope of practice aim to train midwives to assess pregnant women through an ultrasound scan. This paper aims to report the findings of a scoping review on the training of midwives to perform obstetric ultrasound scans in Africa.MethodsThe 6-step iterative framework for scoping reviews by Arksey and O’Malley was used to determine the extent of qualitative and quantitative evidence available on the training of midwives on obstetric ultrasound scans, which includes specifying the research question, identifying relevant studies, selecting studies, extracting and charting data, collating, summarising, and synthesising and reporting findings.ResultsA total of 12 articles from eight African countries were included in this scoping review. Three main themes and 13 sub-themes emerged and they are: obstetric ultrasound scan training, challenges experienced by midwives from task shifting and extension of scope of practice regarding obstetric ultrasound scan, and the value of task shifting and extension of scope of practice regarding obstetric ultrasound scan to midwives.DiscussionDespite the available evidence that the training of midwives on obstetric ultrasound scans is essential to ensure the accessibility of quality antenatal health services, the training of midwives on obstetric ultrasound scans in some African countries remains a serious challenge. It is evident from this scoping review results that there is a need for African countries to incorporate obstetric ultrasound scans as part of the scope of practice of midwives. Task shifting necessitates prioritising the training of midwives on the use of obstetric ultrasound scans as one of the steps towards the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number 3 targets by 2030.

Acupoint compatibility effect: increasing "effect value" and expanding "effect domain".

By summarizing and exploring the theoretic connotation, key of functions and effect mechanism of acupoint compatibility, the effect of acupoint compatibility is concluded as the increase of "effect value" and the expansion of "effect domain". The increase of "effect value" is the concrete embodiment by the value of medical assessment scale, the value of objective index detection in clinical trial and the value of index detection in experiment research. The expansion of "effect domain" is the increase of effect target and the extension of effect scope. The paper interprets the scientific connotation of acupoint compatibility therapy from a new perspective, and emphasizes the innovative approaches to research while bringing forth new ideas on the research method. It is anticipated that a novel breakthrough can be achieved in the study of acupoint compatibility and the improvement of acupuncture-moxibustion efficacy.

PROBLEM AREA DIFFERENCES IN THE CONCEPTS OF CUSTOMER CENTRICITY AND CUSTOMER ORIENTATION

In recent years, business literature has shifted its focus from customer focus to customer centricity, which is positioned as a fundamentally new concept, a paradigm of doing business. The purpose of this article is to understand the correlation of these concepts for the correct interpretation of the latter. A review of the scientific literature using the built-in analysis option of SCOPUS.com showed that the main components of this concept (definition, genesis, prerequisites, consequences, differences from other concepts, positives, barriers, etc.) were developed long ago - at the beginning of the 21st century. The To increase the validity and remove bias in the interpretation of the distinctive features of the concept, a conceptual computer analysis of 2 arrays of information was carried out: titles and abstracts of 270 scientific publications published in the SCOPUS scientometric database with the keyword "customer focus" and 460 scientific publications with the keyword "customer centricity". The sample comprised 5,856 publications with one of the possible terms describing the attitude towards the client (orientation, focus, focus) in the title or abstract. The text arrays were processed using WordStat 2023.0.1, a special text analysis module developed by Provalis Research (Canada). The computer analysis conducted with the help of the WordStat software allowed to establish a list of words that are most often found in scientific periodicals (articles and abstracts) included in the relevant sample; a list of phrases that are most often found in scientific periodicals (articles and abstracts) included in the relevant sample; leading topics that are considered within the formed samples (6 topics that characterise the problem field of customer focus research and 10 leading topics of publications on customer centricity). The objective data obtained proves that while at the level of words there is an identity of concepts, at the level of phrases and top topics there is a clear shift in focus from marketing issues (customer focus, customer satisfaction, customer relations, customer requirements, customer-centric service, customer-centric experience, customer relationship management, etc.). In addition to the traditional aspects (customer centricity, customer relations), the leading aspects described in the literature on customer centricity are making the right decisions in all links of the supply chain, the problems of developing appropriate information systems and technologies, creating and using social networks, developing tools for empathy with the customer, and predicting his or her behaviour - as the basis for real customer centricity. It was also found that customer centricity is recognised as a priority for the development of products and services in such new areas as energy saving and electric vehicles. Thus, the conceptual computer analysis conducted with the help of the WordStat software product allows to interpret customer centricity as a qualitatively new level of development of the customer orientation concept, which implies the extension of the concept's scope to all components and processes of the business model, the acquisition by organisations of a new status of "customer-oriented"; recognition of the customer as the most important, central figure and driving force of business development.

One‐shot 13C15N‐metabolic flux analysis for simultaneous quantification of carbon and nitrogen flux

Metabolic flux is the final output of cellular regulation and has been extensively studied for carbon but much less is known about nitrogen, which is another important building block for living organisms. For the tuberculosis pathogen, this is particularly important in informing the development of effective drugs targeting the pathogen's metabolism. Here we performed 13C15N dual isotopic labeling of Mycobacterium bovis BCG steady state cultures, quantified intracellular carbon and nitrogen fluxes and inferred reaction bidirectionalities. This was achieved by model scope extension and refinement, implemented in a multi‐atom transition model, within the statistical framework of Bayesian model averaging (BMA). Using BMA‐based 13C15N‐metabolic flux analysis, we jointly resolve carbon and nitrogen fluxes quantitatively. We provide the first nitrogen flux distributions for amino acid and nucleotide biosynthesis in mycobacteria and establish glutamate as the central node for nitrogen metabolism. We improved resolution of the notoriously elusive anaplerotic node in central carbon metabolism and revealed possible operation modes. Our study provides a powerful and statistically rigorous platform to simultaneously infer carbon and nitrogen metabolism in any biological system.

Conceptual framework and system of the Model law of the Commonwealth of Independent States “On Protection of Consumers”

The article substantiates the need to improve the model consumer legislation of the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which has become brewing in connection with fundamental transformational changes in social life, development of electronic commerce, the development of new standards upon sale of goods, works, services to consumers. The paper draws attention to the differences in processes of approximation (harmonisation) of the national legislations of the EU member states and approximation of laws of the CIS member states, notes the specifics of international cooperation within the CIS. Before proceeding to the presentation of one of the possible alternate for improving the CIS model law on protection of consumers, authors analyze the state of modern legal regulation in the European Union, solitary states of the Western Europe, the CIS member states. As a result, it is concluded that it is possible to take into account the achievements of foreign lawmaking in the development of regulatory decisions in a number of areas of consumer protection: extension of scope of consumer’s legislation, formulating additional guarantees for protecting consumer rights in the field of e-commerce, developing a system of cross-border consumer’s disputes, and others. The structure of the act of consumer’s legislation proposed by the authors is based on the focus of the Russian Federation on the codification of consumer’s legislation, as well as on the modern needs for a uniform complex normative legal act that conflate both general issues of regulation of consumer’s relations and special provisions relating to the protection of consumer rights in certain areas of social relations (electronic commerce, sale of food, pharmaceutical products, housing and communal services, tourism services) or consumers belonging to socially vulnerable groups of the population (minors, the elderly, the disabled).

Intensifiers and epistemic adverbials – On the history of German echt ‘really, lit. real/genuine’

Adverbials of truth or reality such as really (en.), wirklich (de.), verdaderamente (sp.) are cross-linguistically assumed to be a rich source for intensifiers (degree words) as in: (i) Peter is really nice. The epistemic adverbial is reanalysed as a modifier of a predicative adjective in a syntactically ambiguous sentence as in (i). At the same time the emphasis on the truth of the proposition invites the inference that the property in question is amply present. This view on the emergence of intensifiers from adverbials of truth is challenged by the German intensifier echt ‘really, lit. genuine/real’ as in: (ii) Peter ist echt nett ‘Peter is really nice’. In contemporary German echt is very popular as an intensifier, a proposition modifier, a speech-act modifier and a response particle. However, a diachronic analysis of the use of echt as an adverbial in New High German reveals that the intensifier reading develops much earlier than the reading as a proposition modifier, i.e. an epistemic adverbial. The article offers a discussion of the development of echt which sheds a somewhat different light on the relation between intensifiers and epistemic adverbials, and it suggests a unified analysis of the uses of echt in contemporary German which supports Traugott’s view of grammaticalisation as also encompassing an extension of structural scope.

In-Situ Inspection for Robotic Polishing of Complex Optics

Abstract: With rapid development of modern optical manufacturing technologies, industrial robot polishing has a wide range of application scenarios and broad development potential in the field of optical manufacturing. The integration of in-situ inspection is a key to improving the reliability and efficiency of precision manufacturing. Deflectometry is a promising in-situ measuring method due to its large dynamic range and structural flexibility. The measurement principles, calibration methods, phase retrieval, surface reconstruction, scope extension etc are presented systematically. The key problems of height-slope ambiguity and position-angle uncertainty are analyzed in details. High-precision measurement of complex optical elements is realized, which is of great significance to the intelligent manufacturing of key optical components.

An overview of Internal Medicine Point-of-Care Ultrasound rotations in Canada

BackgroundPoint-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is a growing part of internal medicine training programs. Dedicated POCUS rotations are emerging as a particularly effective tool in POCUS training, allowing for longitudinal learning and emphasizing both psychomotor skills and the nuances of clinical integration. In this descriptive paper, we set out to review the state of POCUS rotations in Canadian Internal Medicine training programs.ResultsWe identify five programs currently offering a POCUS rotation. These rotations are offered over two to thirteen blocks each year, run over one to four weeks and support one to four learners. Across all programs, these rotations are set up as a consultative service that offers POCUS consultation to general internal medicine inpatients, with some extension of scope to the hospitalist service or surgical subspecialties. The funding model for the preceptors of these rotations is predominantly fee-for-service using consultation codes, in addition to concomitant clinical work to supplement income. All but one program has access to hospital-based archiving of POCUS exams. Preceptors dedicate ten to fifty hours to the rotation each week and ensure that all trainee exams are reviewed and documented in the patient’s medical records in the form of a consultation note. Two of the five programs also support a POCUS fellowship. Only two out of five programs have established learner policies. All programs rely on In-Training Evaluation Reports to provide trainee feedback on their performance during the rotation.ConclusionsWe describe the different elements of the POCUS rotations currently offered in Canadian Internal Medicine training programs. We share some lessons learned around the elements necessary for a sustainable rotation that meets high educational standards. We also identify areas for future growth, which include the expansion of learner policies, as well as the evolution of trainee assessment in the era of competency-based medical education. Our results will help educators that are endeavoring setting up POCUS rotations achieve success.

An avenue to Chan-Lam N-arylation by Cu(0) nanoparticles immobilized graphitic carbon-nitride oxide surface

We report the immobilization of Cu(0) nanoparticles (NPs) with an average size of 7–8 nm on a template-free carbon-nitride oxide surface (g-C3N4O) in water medium. The heterogeneous surface containing Cu(0) NPs offers Lewis basic sites, which facilitate Chan-Lam N-arylation of anilines, azoles and indoles with phenylboronic acids. Good to moderate yields (55–93 %) of synthetically important N-arylanilines, N-aryl-1H-imidazoles, N-aryl-1H-benzimidazoles and N-aryl-1H-indoles are obtained, all of which have wide pharmaceutical applications. The reaction takes place under heterogeneous catalysis and the catalyst can be reused up to five catalytic cycles of the reaction. The stability of Cu(0) on the g-C3N4O surface, utilization of greener solvents for syntheses and extension of scope of Chan-Lam cross-coupling reaction through the introduction of Cu(0) catalysis are some of the significant achievements of this work.

About Two Families of Cross-Cultural Communication Models

In this article, the authors try to draw and substantiate the distinction between intercultural communications carried out in people’s civilizational and cultural modes of existence. We attempt to objectify the meanings of the concepts of civilization and culture — to express the senses in the meanings of terms, and to convert the meanings of these concepts (primary intentions) into the content of concepts (secondary intentions), which clearly outlines the scope (extensions) of concepts. As a result, the authors concluded that the term “civilization” indicates an interobjective mode of human existence, and the term “culture” indicates an intersubjective mode of existence. Any place of activity and habitation of people is the place of deployment of two ontologies of the social — one based on interobjectivity (civilization) and the other on intersubjectivity (culture). Accordingly, cross-cultural communication can be carried out in both interobjective and intersubjective modes of existence. Since the concepts of civilization and culture, even when objectified, do not lose the character of “narrative substances”, their extensionals are not classes or types. Using the term of L. Wittgenstein, they form “families of meanings”. Therefore, the authors point to families of cross-cultural communications and describe the differences between these families.

Extension of libraries resources, services and scope in Covid-19 pandemic

Many countries is affecting with COVID 19 pandemic, the institution, industry and public domain has been affected with the coronavirus i.e. human to human transfer disease it can cause respiratory illness in humans. In this pandemic situation companies and government adopting ‘work for home’ and ‘work from anywhere’ policies.so that additional dispensations to enhance flexibility for the industry and in government department. The potential of our talented youth by making India as a prefered destination for information and knowledge outsourcing industry and would further the mission of ‘Atma Nibha Bharat’. In this crucial situation libraries have been the best gateway for the user of getting relevant information and knowledge for conducting research and development on the related subject areas. The library and information users are increasing in this pandemic situation so that the user will get the best resources and service from all over the world and share the data or information with each other for further processing of their work. Technology is also by providing researchers the opportunity to explore dataset from database availability in library resources and on the basis of artificial intelligence this pandemic situation may in control. The author suggest that information and communication technology should be adopted in libraries and its library professionals should be technically trained or friendly with upcoming technology for extension and promotion of library resources and its services for the users view.

모호한 언어 표현에 대한 국어교육 방향 탐색

This study proposed a change in the direction of Korean language education on vagueness in terms of viewing vagueness as a natural language attribute and communication strategy. The point of the proposal is that the various semantic functions of vagueness should be incorporated into the educational content. Chapter 2 sets the foundation for educational discussion by clarifying the conceptual domain of vagueness and describing its core semantic functions. We discussed that vagueness is a dynamic concept that occurs in communication situations, and that its fundamental function is ‘extension of interpretable scope’. In addition, it was emphasized that ‘expanding the interpretable range’ plays a role in leading communication to various forms by influencing the establishment of relationships between expressors and receptors, the main agents of communication. Chapter 3 reflected on the current status of Korean language education on vagueness and proposed that the contents of education limited to the “accuracy” layer should be expanded to the “appropriateness and validity” level. Chapter 4 presents various semantic functions in which vagueness is expressed in conjunction with the context of communication, focusing on the syntax of dependent noun ‘Deung’, and presents detailed goals that Korean language education can take in each aspect. The above discussion is significant in that it pointed out the limitations of traditional Korean language education, which has beendealing only with vagueness as a negative factor that impairs ‘accuracy’, and proposed a more extended educational perspective.

A Method Scope Extension for the Simultaneous Analysis of POPs, Current-Use and Banned Pesticides, Rodenticides, and Pharmaceuticals in Liver. Application to Food Safety and Biomonitoring.

The screening of hundreds of substances belonging to multiple chemical classes in liver is required in areas such as food safety or biomonitoring. We adapted a previous QuEChERS-based method in blood to the liver matrix and applied to these fields of study. The validation of the method allowed the inclusion of 351 contaminants, 80% with a LOQ < 2 ng/g. In the analysis of 42 consumer liver samples, we detected trace levels of 29 different contaminants. The most frequent and concentrated was 4,4’-DDE. POPs accounted for 66% of the compounds detected. In no case was the MRL reached for any of the contaminants detected. We also applied the method to 151 livers of wild birds to perform a biomonitoring pilot study in the Canary Islands. We detected 52 contaminants in 15 bird species. These were also mostly POPs, although high frequencies and concentrations of anticoagulant rodenticides (AR) and some other agricultural pesticides also stand out. POPs and AR contamination levels were significantly higher in terrestrial birds, raptors and particularly in nocturnal birds. Pesticide contamination levels were also higher in terrestrial birds, as well as in non-raptors and diurnal birds. The validated method is simple, robust, and sensitive and performs well in a variety of practical scenarios, where it can be carried out relatively quickly and inexpensively.

Fluorescence-based screening for engineered aldo-keto reductase KmAKR with improved catalytic performance and extended substrate scope.

Aldo-keto reductases-catalyzed transformations of ketones to chiral alcohols have become an established biocatalytic process step in the pharmaceutical industry. Previously, we have discovered an aldo-keto reductase (AKR) from Kluyveromyces marxianus that is active to the aliphatic tert-butyl 6-substituted (5R/S)-hydroxy-3-oxohexanoates, but it is inactive to aromatic ketones. In order to acquire an excellent KmAKRmutant for ensuring the simultaneous improvement of activity-thermostability toward tert-butyl 6-cyano-(5R)-hydroxy-3-oxohexanoate ((5R)-1) and broadening the universal application prospects toward more substrates covering both aliphatic and aromatic ketones, a fluorescence-based high-throughput (HT) screening technique was established. The directed evolution of KmAKR variant M5 (KmAKR-W297H/Y296W/K29H/Y28A/T63M) produced the "best" variant M5-Q213A/T23V. It exhibited enhanced activity-thermostability toward (5R)-1, improved activity toward all 18 test substrates and strict R-stereoselectivity toward 10 substrates in comparison to M5. The enhancement of enzymatic activity and the extension of substrate scope covering aromatic ketones are proposed to be largely attributed to pushing the binding pocket of M5-Q213A/T23V to the enzyme surface, decreasing the steric hindrance at the entrance and enhancing the flexibility of loops surrounding the active center. In addition, combined with 0.94g dry cell weight (DCW) L-1 glucose dehydrogenase from Exiguobacterium sibiricum (EsGDH) for NADPH regeneration, 2.81g DCW L-1 M5-Q213A/T23V completely converted (5R)-1 of up to 450g L-1 at 120g g-1 substrates/catalysts (S/C), yielding the corresponding optically pure tert-butyl 6-cyano-(3R,5R)-dihydroxyhexanoate ((3R,5R)-2,>99.5% d.e.p ) with a space-time yield (STY) of 1.08kg L-1 day-1 . A fluorescence-based HT screening system was developed to tailor KmAKR's activity, thermostability and substrate scope. The "best" variant M5-Q213A/T23V holds great potential application for the synthesis of aliphatic/aromatic R-configuration alcohols.

Validation of a Method Scope Extension for the Analysis of POPs in Soil and Verification in Organic and Conventional Farms of the Canary Islands.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are among the most relevant and dangerous contaminants in soil, from where they can be transferred to crops. Additionally, livestock animals may inadvertently consume relatively high amounts of soil attached to the roots of the vegetables while grazing, leading to indirect exposure to humans. Therefore, periodic monitoring of soils is crucial; thus, simple, robust, and powerful methods are needed. In this study, we have tested and validated an easy QuEChERS-based method for the extraction of 49 POPs (8 PBDEs, 12 OCPs, 11 PAHs, and 18 PCBs) in soils and their analysis by GC-MS/MS. The method was validated in terms of linearity, precision, and accuracy, and a matrix effect study was performed. The limits of detection (LOD) were established between 0.048 and 3.125 ng g−1 and the limits of quantification (LOQ) were between 0.5 and 20 ng g−1, except for naphthalene (50 ng g−1). Then, to verify the applicability of the validated method, we applied it to a series of 81 soil samples from farms dedicated to mixed vegetable cultivation and vineyards in the Canary Islands, both from two modes of production (organic vs. conventional) where residues of OCPs, PCBs, and PAHs were found.