In this paper, the author describes the process of converting from a microfinance institution (MFI) to a regulated bank in Haiti. The literature was helpful as far as some of the procedures were concerned, and the MFI was able to use the recommendations. However there were major omissions in those recommendations from an infrastructure perspective. Using a VPN was a major saving for the MFI in ...

A Mo-modified H-MFI zeolite (Mo/H-MFI) catalyst is one of a typical catalyst for direct GTL (Gas to liquid), because it shows high activity for dehydroaromatization of methane in absence of oxygen. In this reaction, reduction of Mo species is brought about in contact with methane in initial step, and reduced Mo ions react methane to form carbide and/or oxycarbide species in next step. It has be...

In order to investigate the effects leading strong magnetoelectric coupling in type II multiferroic $\mathrm{Tb}\mathrm{Mn}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ we have studied thermal properties and temperature dependence of lattice vibrations ${\mathrm{TbMn}}^{16}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ its isotopically substituted counterpart ${\mathrm{TbMn}}^{18}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$. Heat capacity measurements on powder samples reveale...

We report on the first Raman data of Cu substituted La1−ySryMn1−xCuxO3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.10 and 0.17 ≤ y ≤ 0.3, accordingly in order to have the same Mn/[Mn+Mn] ratio), collected in the frequency range 100-900 cm and at room temperature, with parallel (ei ‖ es) and crossed (ei ⊥ es) polarizations of the incident (ei) and scattered (es) light. Spectra were fitted with a Drude-Lorentz model, and peaks a...

OBJECTIVES Familial haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (FHL) is a disorder characterized by deficient cytotoxic T-cell function and activated macrophages, owing to a defect in the perforin gene and absent perforin expression. Because symptoms of patients with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) are sometimes clinically very similar to those with FHL, we studied whether perforin expre...

We synthesized 16 novel red-emitting Mn(IV)-substituted phosphors of the compositions MgGeF6 : Mn, MgPbF6 CaMF6 Mn (M=Ge, Sn, Pb, Zr, Hf), SrSnF6 “SrTiF6 Mn”, BaPbF6 ZnMF6 (M=Sn, and CdMF6 (M=Pb, Hf) using a dry-chemical fluorination process completely avoiding hydrofluoric acid. In comparison with commonly used red-emitter K2SiF6 (KSF) its emission maximum at 630.8 nm, all above Ca Sr compound...

STUDY DESIGN Retrospective study of prospectively collected data. OBJECTIVE To analyze the modified frailty index (mFI) as a predictor of adverse postoperative events following posterior lumbar fusion. METHODS The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) database including all adult patients undergoing posterior lumbar interbody fusion or transf...

IMPORTANCE The increasing number of elderly and comorbid patients undergoing surgical procedures raises interest in better identifying patients at increased risk of morbidity and mortality, independent of age. Frailty has been identified as a predictor of surgical complications. OBJECTIVE To establish the implications of frailty as a predictor of morbidity and mortality in inpatient otolaryng...

Naturally occurring manganese (Mn(iii/iv)) oxides are ubiquitous in a wide range of environmental settings and play a key role in numerous biogeochemical cycles. In addition, Mn(iii/iv) oxides are powerful oxidants that are capable of oxidizing a wide range of compounds. This review critically assesses the reactivity of Mn oxides with organic contaminants. Initial work with organic reductants e...

We analyzed the apoptosis and anti-tumour activities of several Mn(III)-salen and -salphen complexes (1-14) towards three different cultured human cancer and non-cancer cells. We demonstrated that most of the Mn(III)-salen and -salphen complexes affect cell viability and induce apoptosis in MCF7 cells. Biochemically active Mn(III)-salen and -salphen complexes induced nuclear fragmentation and r...