Sustaining soil and water resources for improved agricultural production requires improved capacity of relevant stakeholders. The study aimed to ascertain this capacity in terms of perceived knowledge and importance of selected soil and water conservation (SWC) practices amongst farmers and extension agents (EAs) in the Eastern region of Nigeria. Data were collected from 101 farmers and 66 EAs using questionnaire instruments and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results showed that both EAs and farmers were knowledgeable in most of the SWC studied as well as perceived the practices as very important. However, the EAs had more knowledge and perceived these practices as more important than farmers. Farmers did not adopt some SWC practices which were capital intensive or which they were not knowledgeable in. There were significant differences in the perceived knowledge and perceived importance of SWC practices between farmers and EAs in few SWC practices that were studied. Based on the key findings from the study, it was recommended that farmers need to be regularly trained by EAs using integrated methods in order to increase their capabilities in SWC practices. On the other hand, EAs also need to update their own skills through short courses and training in extension methods.

 Key words: Soil and water conservation, practices, farmers, extension agents, Eastern Nigeria.


A family of CMOS operational transconductance amplifiers (OTAs) has been designed for very small G/sub m/'s (of the order of nanoamperes per volt) with transistors operating in moderate inversion. Several OTA design schemes such as conventional, using current division, floating-gate, and bulk-driven techniques are discussed. A detailed comparison has also been made among these schemes in terms of performance characteristics such as power consumption, active silicon area, and signal-to-noise ratio. The transconductance amplifiers have been fabricated in a 1.2-/spl mu/m n-well CMOS process and operate at a power supply of 2.7 V. Chip test results are in good agreement with theoretical results.


The aspiration to make Tel Aviv a great metropolis of world-renown and the awareness of its provincialism have figured prominently in the city's public discourse and cultural history. The paper explores the cultural positioning of Tel Aviv as a city of distinction and fame in different scales of center–periphery dualisms and through successive phases of its history. The analysis is divided into four parts. The first focuses on the 'First Hebrew City' phase, which lasted from its founding in 1909 through the 1950s, when the notion of Tel Aviv as a unique Zionist creation reigned supreme. The second part deals with the 1960s and the 1970s, when Dizengoff Street epitomized the reputation of Tel Aviv as a large and modern city. The third is devoted to the 1980s and the 1990s, when the celebration of Tel Aviv as a 'Nonstop City', a vibrant cosmopolis on a par with New York. The fourth addresses the 'White City' as a contemporary expression of the distinction of Tel Aviv in terms of the built heritage of its International Style architecture.


Over 25 000 doctors are registered in South Africa, and they serve a population of about 40 million. The doctor to population ratio in South Africa is higher than that in countries like Mozambique, Nigeria, and Chile but lower than that in other countries like Brazil, Greece, and Britain (table 1). The number of doctors who are actually in practice is probably fewer because of emigration. The exact number of doctors who have left South Africa is not known. Dr David Green, director of Profession Development for the Medical Association of South Africa, said that doctors who leave the country continue to be members of the association and often provide another South African address, making it difficult for the association to know if they have left. Some data are available for the period before 1989.1 In 1986, the number of doctors registered with the South African Medical and Dental Council dropped from 20477 to 20229, largely because of migration, and in 1987, 72 family practitioners and 21 specialists migrated.

View this table:

TABLE I
Doctors per 1000 population (1988–92)

White men dominate the profession, but this is changing. Data available for 1985 show that 94% of specialists and 83% of non-specialists were men, and that 88% of all doctors were white.1 The number of non-white students admitted to medical colleges has increased in the last few years. Professor J R van Dellen, dean of the faculty of medicine of the University of Natal, and Professor J P de V van Niekerk, dean of the University of Cape Town Medical School, provided data that show a definite increase in the numbers of non-white students admitted to their colleges (fig 1,2).

Fig 1
Graduates from University of Natal Medical School, 1957-92

Fig 2
New admissions, University of Cape Town Medical School, 1981-94

The distribution of doctors is skewed …


This two-year ethnographic case study critically examines the language educators use to describe students with disabilities who are considered to present challenging behaviors in one classroom. Focusing on the language and practices used by one special education teacher and three teaching assistants, this paper explores how educators respond to students' behaviors by analyzing educators' utterances and the implication of such use for the education of the students. Using critical discourse analysis, this paper highlights how educators' language in the classroom reflects a discourse of expectations that is based on various social standards and pressures that educators have to juggle. Educators expressed academic and behavioral standards by comparing students' performance to the expected norm as well as through comparisons between students. Based on such comparisons, some students were constructed as always lacking and ultimately defined by the adjectives originally used to describe them. Students were perceived to embody defiance or smartness, the characteristics by which they were defined.


The CCI invited public comments on a proposed amendment to the Combination Regulations relating to the acquisition of shares pursuant to a public bid or on a stock exchange. At present, such an…


Expression of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), as measured by immunohistochemistry, is routinely used to guide appropriate therapy in breast cancer. HER2 targeted therapy is used to treat HER2 overexpressing patients and endocrine therapy is used to treat ER+ or PR+ patients. However, therapeutic options are limited for patients who are triple negative, relapsed HER2 overexpressed patients, and ER+ or PR+ patients who are refractory to endocrine therapy. For these breast cancer patients, immunotherapy has the potential to improve survival by targeting cancer cells. Although, the role of immune response in breast cancer is not fully understood, studies have observed high number of natural killer (NK) cells, B cells, and cytotoxic T cells suppress tumor growth while high number of macrophages, and regulatory T cells (Treg) promote tumor growth. The purpose of this study is to measure levels of immune cells infiltration (cytotoxic, helper, and regulatory T cells, NK cells, & macrophages) between different ER, PR, and HER2 IHC subtypes. Tissue microarrays were constructed from 106 breast cancer patients consisting of 36 triple negatives, 11 HER2 overexpressed (ER-/PR-), 7 ER+/PR-/HER2-, 24 ER+/PR+/HER2-, 8 ER+/PR-/HER2+, and 20 ER+/PR+/HER2+ assessed by a pathologist based on immunohistochemical stains. Utilizing the constructed TMAs, MultiOmyx hyperplexed immunofluorescence assay was performed on IHC4 (HER2, ER, PR, Ki67), and immune (CD3, CD4, CD8, CD45RO, CD56, CD68, FOXP3) markers. MultiOmyx technology enables visualization and characterization of multiple biomarkers from a single 4 micron formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue section. PanCK marker was used to differentiate between tumor and stromal regions. A representative tumor was assessed for immune infiltration in each of the following subtypes: ER+/PR+/HER2-, ER+/PR+/HER2+, ER+/PR-/HER2-, ER+/PR-/HER2+, HER2 overexpressed ER-/PR-, and triple negative. Level of immune cells infiltration is defined as a percentage of positive immune cells relative to the total number of stromal cells. Percentage of immune cells infiltration in each IHC subtypes is 5.6% (ER+/PR+/HER2-), 14.7% (ER+/PR+/HER2+), 33% (ER+/PR-/HER2-), 9% (ER+/PR-/HER2+), 58% (HER2 overexpressed ER-/PR-), and 16% in triple negative. Comprehensive analysis of all 106 breast cancer patients will be reported. Differences in the levels of immune cells infiltration across different ER, PR, and HER2 IHC subtypes suggests that some subtypes may benefit from immunotherapy targeting immune checkpoints (anti-PD-L1, anti-CTLA-4) while other subtypes may benefit from immune activation (adoptive T cell therapy). Citation Format: Pinky Tripathi, Nam Tran, Raghavkrishna Padmanabhan, Richard Hartsfield, Edward J. Moler, Nicholas Hoe, Kenneth Bloom. Measurement of immune infiltration in ER, PR, and HER2 IHC subtypes reveals populations that may benefit from immunotherapy. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR Inaugural International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival; September 16-19, 2015; New York, NY. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2016;4(1 Suppl):Abstract nr A131.


We investigate jointly the importance of contemporary country-level institutional structures and local ethnicity-specific pre-colonial institutions in shaping comparative regional development in Africa. We utilize information on the spatial distribution of African ethnicities before colonization and exploit within ethnicity (across countries) and within-country (across ethnicities) regional variation in economic performance, as proxied by satellite light density at night. The fact that political boundaries across the African landscape partitioned ethnic groups in different countries, thus subjecting identical cultures to different country-level institutions, offers a regression discontinuity framework. After identifying the partitioned ethnicities we document a positive cross-sectional association between national institutions and regional economic development. However, our ethnicity fixed-effects specifications show that differences in countrywide institutional arrangements do not explain differences in regional economic performance within ethnic groups. In contrast, we document that local ethnic traits proxied by tribal pre-colonial political institutions and class stratification exert even today a significant effect on regional development. The positive within country effect of pre-colonial institutions also obtains in regions of partitioned ethnicities along the national boundaries.


Abstract Research suggests that innovative and engaging professional development is instrumental in supporting teachers in developing their competence and confidence in teaching sustainability. An international initiative was developed to explore whether a competencies-oriented Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) professional development model was transferable across three different international contexts (Ireland, Germany and Mexico). This paper reports on the adaptation of this model within the Irish context, through the development of an innovative professional development programme for primary teachers. Through a mixed-methods approach which gathered data via pre- and post-programme surveys, teachers' reflective journals and post-programme group interviews, the paper explores Irish primary school teachers' experiences of, and attitudes towards, teaching sustainability through science education after participation in a professional development programme. The findings suggest that this programme, structured around the existing evidence for effective professional development in science education and ESD, positively influences teachers' self-efficacy, supports teachers' critical engagement with sustainability competencies and promotes the development of transformative pedagogies for sustainability through Inquiry-Based Science Education.


ABSTRACT Objectives The Pittsburgh Fatigability Scale (PFS) is a self-administered 10-item tool to measure physical and mental fatigability in older adults. The aim of the current study was to validate the psychometric properties of the traditional Chinese version of PFS (TC-PFS). Methods We recruited 114 community-dwellingolder adults, where 35 were diagnosed with late-life depression (LLD), 26 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 53 were cognitively normal (CN) from a larger community study of older adults. Statistical analyses were done separately for TC-PFS Physical and Mental subscales. Factor analysis was used for reliability, Cronbach's alpha for internal consistency, Pearson's correlation for construct validity, and group comparison for discriminative validity. Results Factor analysis revealed a two-factor structure for both the TC-PFS Physical and Mental subscales with high reliability (α = 0.89 and 0.89, respectively). Patients with LLD had the highest PFS scores, with 80.0% and 82.9% classified as having greater physical and mental fatigability. For concurrent validity, we found moderate associations with the vitality and physical functioning subscales of the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey. For convergent validity, TC-PFS showed moderate association with emotional-related psychometrics, particularly for the Physical subscale in those with LLD. In contrast, TC-PFS Mental subscale showed correlations with cognitive function, particularly in the MCI group. Conclusions Our results indicate that the TC-PFS is a valid instrument to measure perceived physical and mental fatigability in older Taiwanese adults. Clinical implications: Perceived fatigability reflects the underlying physical, mental or cognitive function in older adults with or without depression.


ABSTRACTS This dissertation is divided into four parts: Part I. A highly effective regio- and stereoselective palladium-catalyzed allylic substitution of 2,3-unsaturated derivatives of N-acetyl neuraminic acid (Neu5Ac2en) has been developed. We show that the efficiency of the allylation reaction depends on suitable protecting groups on the starting material and that, with sodium malonate anion as a nucleophile, regioselectivity can be fine tuned by the nature of the ligands associated with the palladium complex. The reaction was also applied to other nucleophiles for constructing C-C, C-N and C-O bonds and led to the major formation of the C-4 regioisomers. The selective transformation of some of the substitution products provided easy entry to a variety of modified sialic acid derivatives. Part II. Preparation of α-glycosyl chloride derived from glycosyl hemiacetals (1-hydroxy sugars) can be performed by treatment of Vilsmeier-Haack complex generated from stoichimetric 2,4,6-trichloro-1,3,5-triazine (TCT) and N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) to afford the corresponding chloride in excellent yields. This mild condition has been approved being compatible with acid-labile functionalities. In addition, this protocol can be applied to the synthesis of N-acetylneuraminic acid glycal in one-pot manner. Part III. DMF-mediated α−selective glycosylation has been systematically investigated in aspects of mechanistic understanding, the applicable scope and experimental manipulation. We found the several distinguished features:1. Only stoichiometric DMF is required; 2. Better α−selectivity is usually obtained at the low temperature; 3. Pre-activation of glycosyl chlorides with DMF is for the first time proved feasible. 4. Plausible IAD mechanism may be contributed to stereoselectivity. This Applications by using DMF as an additive could be practical in glycol-assembly. . Part IV. A tetrasaccharide containing the core structure of a glycoglycerolipid isolated from Meiothermus taiwanensis ATCC BAA-400 has been efficiently synthesized by using the convergent [2+2] glycoyslation strategy. DMF-mediated α−selective and low-concentration 1,2-trans β−selective glycosylation strategy are for the first time applied to construct the specific α− or β−linkage in oligosaccharide synthesis.


The article discusses some of the paradoxes of minority accommodation in Eastern Europe 30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. In the course of doing so, it focuses on four specific issues: volatility, sequencing, a shift from nationalism (group) to social conservatism (grid), and on the radicalisation of mainstream parties. Volatility is tied to the ebb and flow of shifts in the status quo associated with minority accommodation, which elucidates both why radical right mobilisation accelerates and why it loses steam. The expansion of minority rights leads to political 'extreme reactions'. Sequencing matters since minority accommodation coincided with democratisation in Eastern Europe, so the struggle over minority rights is confounded with a concurrent regime change. Shifts from group to grid refer to the recent rise in socially conservative issues as sources of polarisation. Finally, extremist parties can threaten democratic pluralism. Nevertheless, large radicalised mainstream parties that control parliaments, not small extremist parties, subvert the institutions of democratic oversight. The threat originates from the mainstream and is exacerbated by the fact that liberal democracy has not 'locked in' in most of Eastern Europe.


This paper contributes to the existing literature on carbon leakage by using a range of different publically available datasets in order to develop a systematic approach for identifying whether products are potentially at risk of carbon leakage. The scope of this paper focuses on the cement and aluminium sectors at different levels of product aggregation to demonstrate the variation in trade patterns that exist over time. The evolution of EU-28 trade flows with third countries for these sectors between 2000 and 2016 enables the selection of key third countries that could warrant further investigation via more quantitative techniques in order to determine the impact of carbon pricing on trade patterns. This systematic approach could be replicated for additional sectors in further research as part of a more regular assessment to provide evidence of carbon leakage for European industry. No evidence of carbon leakage is found in this paper for clinker and cement, while there is no conclusive evidence for unwrought non-alloyed aluminium and aluminium products.


Abstract:This article examines Living with Pride: Ruth C. Ellis @ 100 (1999) by Yvonne Welbon, an independent documentary film centered on the life of African American lesbian centenarian Ruth Ellis to advance a queer of color theory of longevity. The analysis closely considers Ruth Ellis's assertion in the film that she: ". . . wasn't in—What you call it? . . . Closet. Never." Although Ellis explicitly disavows "the closet" declaring instead that she was never in it, both in the film and commonly she is often referred to as "out." The article addresses the ways in which "out," along with Ellis's declarations of "never" and "wasn't in," examined together as "never in," render Ellis's living legible within black sexuality studies and LGBTQ cultural politics. Ellis advises at the end of the film that cultivating "atmosphere" interpersonally in daily life engenders longevity. Living with Pride puts forth a model of longevity that is personally and collectively grounded in black sexual difference and queer of color resistant social practices that trouble public health life expectancy discourses. Drawing on queer of color critique, black sexuality studies, and visual cultural studies, the article engages Ellis's formulation of black queer atmosphere as a site of imagining that advances the livability of racialized sexual difference.


Aims: To examine the effects of the neurotoxins rotenone, paraquat and manganese on human circulating lymphocytes. Methods: Lymphocytes were isolated by density-gradient centrifugation from peripheral venous blood. Cell viability, proliferation, interferon (IFN)-γ and interleukin (IL)-4 production, proteasome 20S and caspase 3 and 9 activity were measured in cells at rest and after stimulation with anti-CD3/anti-CD28 antibodies. Results: Rotenone and manganese concentration-dependently reduced anti-CD3/anti-CD28-induced cell proliferation and IFN-γ production. Manganese also inhibited IL-4 production while paraquat had no major effect on proliferation or on IFN-γ or IL-4 production. Proteasome 20S activity was reduced by paraquat and manganese but not by rotenone, while caspase 9 activity was extensively inhibited by rotenone and manganese and only slightly affected by paraquat, and caspase 3 activity was not affected by any of the neurotoxins tested. Conclusions: Rotenone is widely used in animal models of neurodegeneration and its immune effects should be therefore further assessed in vivo. In addition, circulating lymphocytes warrant further evaluation as early markers of manganese exposure.


The increasing availability of affect-rich multimedia resources has bolstered interest in understanding sentiment and emotions in and from visual content. Adjective-noun pairs (ANP) are a popular mid-level semantic construct for capturing affect via visually detectable concepts such as "cute dog" or "beautiful landscape". Current state-of-the-art methods approach ANP prediction by considering each of these compound concepts as individual tokens, ignoring the underlying relationships in ANPs. This work aims at disentangling the contributions of the »adjectives» and »nouns» in the visual prediction of ANPs. Two specialised classifiers, one trained for detecting adjectives and another for nouns, are fused to predict 553 different ANPs. The resulting ANP prediction model is more interpretable as it allows us to study contributions of the adjective and noun components.


The impacts of expected advances in crop biotechnology in the Northern Plains Region of Texas are estimated by optimizing the risk/return trade-off for representative farms. Historical yield distributions are used to derive baseline optimal solutions for the representative farms. Expected advances in crop biotechnology are incorporated into the representative farm models using yield distributions from a panel of biological experts. The results indicate that such advances could significantly increase producers' revenues and generally decrease the associated risks.


Abstract We studied the sexual dimorphism in body size and shape of Beal's eyed turtle, Sacalia bealei, by measuring 15 morphological characteristics of 68 adult individuals (40 females, 28 males) collected from Fujian Province, China. Females were slightly larger than males in carapace length with a sexual dimorphism index of 0.09. This translated into greater absolute values of females for all the traits we measured except for tail length, preanal tail length, and analia to supracaudal junction length. Comparisons between the sexes of size-corrected morphological traits indicated that females exhibited a longer plastron and higher carapace relative to carapace length, thereby providing a larger internal volume. Females also exhibited relatively wider heads. In males, the plastron was smaller and more indented than in females and the openings between the plastron and the carapace were also more developed. Overall, females were larger in size and displayed a more voluminous shell than did males while males had longer tails and larger spaces available to move the legs, head, and tail.


We study the effects of interparticle interactions and power-law tunneling couplings on quantum walks executed by both a single one and a pair of hard-core bosons moving in clean and disordered one-dimensional lattices. For this purpose, we perform exact diagonalization to explicitly evaluate the short and long time probabilities of finding the walkers within a surveillance area. Our main conclusions, summarized in phase diagrams in the disorder-power-law and interaction-disorder spaces, allowed us to discern two different scenarios for the single and two quantum walkers dynamics. While in the single particle case the transition to localized and extended regimes is identified for well defined values of the disorder amplitude and power law hopping, those frontiers are replaced by diffuse contours in the interacting two particle case. In fact, counterintuitive transport regimes as diffusion enhanced by disorder, and space constrained dynamics assisted by both interactions and short tunneling range are found. Our results are of direct relevance for quantum systems with long-range interactions that are currently realized in the laboratory.


In this paper, we address the inefficient handling of traditional security functions in Zero Trust ( ZT ) networks. For this reason, we propose a novel network security concept that combines the ideas of ZT and Service Function Chaining (SFC). This allows us to efficiently decide which security functions to apply to which packets and when.


Introduction Patients diagnosed with epilepsy and receiving antiepileptic drug therapy can have very different responses to treatment, as well as variable risk of side effects. This variability might be partially determined by the polymorphisms of genes coding the drug-metabolizing enzymes.The CYP2C subfamily of cytochrome P450 comprises 4 members: CYP2C8, CYP2C9, CYP2C18 and CYP2C19. The genes encoding these enzymes are polymorphic. CYP2C9 hydroxylates about 15% of drugs in current clinical use. Several variants of the CYP2C9 gene have been described, but the most prevalent and most frequently studied variants are the CYP2C9*2 and CYP2C9*3 polymorphisms (Kim et al. 2004). From a clinical perspective, therapy with low therapeutic index drugs such as antivitamin K, antidiabetic sulfonamides and phenytoin can be influenced by the reduction in CYP2C9 metabolic activity, causing problems in determining the dosage or determining toxic effects (Militaru et al 2012a, b). CYP2C19 is important in the biotransformation of some anticonvulsants (S-mephenytoin and diazepam) (Ono et al 1996) but also for other important drugs, such as proton pump inhibitors, clopidogrel and antidepressants (tricyclic antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors)(Gardiner & Begg 2006). The estimated fraction of responsibility for drug metabolism in phase 1 reactions for CYP2C19 is 5%. Seven variants (*2–*8) in the CYP2C19 gene have been associated with reduced enzyme activity in vivo, largely due to production of inactive enzyme protein (Ingelman-Sundberg et al 2005). The most common variants are *2 and *3. However, the CYP2C19*17 variant is associated with an ultrarapid metabolism phenotype (Sim et al 2006). This study is designed to determine the distribution of CYP2C9 and CYP2C19 polymorphisms in a Romanian epileptic population and to make a comparison between the population with epilepsy and a healthy population, regarding the distribution of the major mutant alleles that determine the poor-metabolizer status.


International studies have demonstrated associations between exposure to air pollutants and deaths and hospitalizations due to stroke. However, the profile of these associations is not known in Brazil. This study aims to estimate the association between exposure to air pollutants and hospital admissions due to stroke in individuals who live in a medium-sized city, Sorocaba, Sao Paulo, Brazil. This was ecological time-series study using hospitalization data relating to the diagnosis of stroke (ICD-10 I.60-I.64) in persons 50 years of age or older who resided in the city of Sorocaba between January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2011. The pollutants studied were particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and nitrogen oxide, controlled by apparent temperature. The generalized additive model using Poisson regression for the day of hospitalization and for up to five days of lag was used for the analysis. It was not possible to estimate the association between exposure to daily levels of particulate matter, ozone and nitrogen oxide and hospitalizations for strokes, but it was possible to identify an association between exposure to nitrogen dioxide and hospitalization for stroke (RR = 1.004, 95% CI 1.000-1.008) for the third one-day lag. An increase of 10 mg m-³ in concentrations of this pollutant represented an increase of 4 percentage points in the risk of hospitalization. Thus, it was established that the nitrogen dioxide is associated with hospitalization for stroke in a medium-sized city, i.e., Sorocaba.


The potential energy profile for the F+(H2 O)3 →HF+(H2 O)2 OH reaction has been investigated using the "gold standard" CCSD(T) method with correlation-consistent basis sets up to cc-pVQZ. Four different reaction pathways have been found and these are related, both geometrically and energetically. The entrance complexes F⋅⋅⋅(H2 O)3 for all four reaction pathways are found lying ca. 7 kcal mol(-1) below the separated reactants F+(H2 O)3 . The four reaction barriers on their respective reaction coordinates lie ca. 4 kcal mol(-1) below the reactants. There are also corresponding exit complexes HF⋅⋅⋅(H2 O)2 OH, lying about 13 kcal mol(-1) below the separated products HF+(H2 O)2 OH. Compared with analogous F+(H2 O)2 and F+H2 O reactions, the F+(H2 O)3 reaction is somewhat similar to the former but qualitatively different from the latter. It may be reasonable to predict that the reactions between atomic fluorine and water tetramer (or even larger water clusters) may be similar to the F+(H2 O)3 reaction.


The effect of different cooking treatments and extracting solvents on the antioxidant activity of M. charantia was assessed by measuring total phenol content (TPC), total flavonoids, tannin content and carotenoid content and the antioxidant activity using different assays. A densitometric HPTLC analysis was performed for the analysis of phenolic acids and flavonoids. In general, the recovery of TPC and antioxidant activity was highest in methanolic extract. The most of cooking treatments exerted the decreasing effect on antioxidant activity. Correlation studies indicated that the phenols were mainly responsible for ferric reducing power (r = 0.872, P < 0.01). However, the flavonoids were responsible for radical scavenging activity (r = 0.857, P < 0.01). HPTLC analysis of the methanolic extracts revealed the prominent presence of caffeic acid, vanillic acid, quercetin, catechin, etc., in the native form and destruction, transformation and formation of new phenolics was observed after the cooking treatments.

Practical Applications
In the present study, three cooking treatments such as pressure cooking, microwave cooking and frying were compared in respect to the retention of antioxidant potential of Momordica charantia fruit. The findings of the present study suggested that pressure cooking and frying could be developed as effective heat processing techniques to retain the maximum antioxidant potential of M. charantia fruit. This report can also serve as a database giving information about retention of polyphenolic compounds after cooking which may help in the establishment of recommended daily allowance value of polyphenolic compounds particularly for the population relying heavily on the consumption of M. charantia. Since, the beneficial health effects of consumption of M. charantia are well established in the Indian Ayurveda, this study can be instrumental in adding new scientific dimension in understanding the beneficial health aspects of M. charantia.


The aim of this paper is to identify competencies for occupational risk management and to track their long-term development, from initial apprenticeship to more than five years of work experience. We consider the idea that work experience is an important factor in the development of competencies, though it is insufficient in itself. This study is carried out in the field of electrical systems maintenance.
On the basis of accidents analysis, we identified a core task: the power-cutting operation. This operation plays an important role in risk management in this field and can constitute a major problem, both for novices and experienced operators. In this study, we transposed the common characteristics of accident situations to a simulated situation?-?a latent connection error (abnormal situation) which causes the failure of normal power-cutting operations. In our simulated situation, technical diagrams have not been updated. Our analysis of the use of safety rules and diagnostic strategies (i.e., the identification of the danger caused by the connection error and the identification of ?the right way? to disconnect) enabled us to infer the different dimensions of various competencies: schemes, instruments, pragmatic concepts and knowledge of normal and abnormal situations. We identified links between these dimensions: operators activate a multi-instrumented disconnecting scheme that contributes to danger identification. Such a scheme comprises material as well as symbolic instruments, such as safety rules. Instrument functions for risk management are complementary. This scheme is articulated through two pragmatic concepts. For experienced operators, the scheme draws on a greater diversity of instruments. This accounts for operators? representations of abnormal situation characteristics, particularly where the operators? experience has been acquired in one specific post. The combined economy and effectiveness of the scheme enables operators to identify danger with greater precision. For the more experienced operators, diagnostic strategies bring into play these same pragmatic concepts and knowledge of normal and abnormal situations. Operators who have experience both in the trade and in a specific post activate diagnostic strategies that are based on a more precise knowledge of abnormal situations than workers who have acquired trade experience but little experience in one particular post.


The aim of this thesis is to explain the existence and coexistence of diverse hired labour arrangements in two contrasting localities in rural West Bengal (India). Hired labour arrangements for seasonal migrants are included in the analysis, the methods for which are drawn from a review of the contractual arrangements literature. One study locality, in Bardhaman District, was characterised by double-cropping of paddy facilitated by groundwater irrigation, the other, in Purulia District, by rainfed paddy cultivation. The structure of landownership was skewed - more so in the Bardhaman locality. Daily employment records were kept by ninety-two sampled households over two seasons. In each locality six different indigenous types of hired labour arrangement were identified. Analysis of the rationales for the existence and coexistence of these labour arrangements and of the variation within each type confirmed the embeddedness of the terms and conditions of labour hire (including those for migrant labour) in the land-holding structure, in ideologies of gender and caste, and in party political allegiances. Possibilities for and constraints on hiring out labour in particular arrangements are explained in part by the logic of deployment of household labour to unwaged reproductive and productive work, which is also socially embedded in the same way. The thesis thus sets a new agenda for research. It questions the received wisdom on rural labour exchange in India: i) that villages tend to have just one wage rate for 'casual' labour determined by supply and demand alone, ii) that stylised labour arrangements (eg 'casual' and 'attached') are appropriate occupational classifications for individuals and households, and iii) that rural labour is immobile. If the coexistence of diverse labour arrangements is to be explained, more, careful microstudies are required, so that a typology of socio-economic, political and agro-ecological contexts can be developed.


Extracting features from the colonoscopic images is essential for getting the quantitative parameters, which characterizes the properties of the colon. The features are employed in the computer-assisted diagnosis of colonoscopic images to assist the physician in detecting the colon status. Present methods mostly use manual approaches. A novel scheme is developed to extract new texture-based quantitative features from the texture spectra in the chromatic and achromatic domains of colonoscopic images. The texture spectra are obtained from the texture unit numbers, which contain local and global texture information of the image. These features are evaluated using supervisory Backpropagation Neural Network (BPNN) with various training algorithms, viz., resilient propagation (RPROP), scaled conjugate gradient (SCG), and Marquardt algorithms. The evaluation is based on training time, training epoch, and accuracy on classifying the colon status. The preliminary results obtained by the proposed approach support the feasibility of the technique.


We present a measurement of the time-dependent CP-violating asymmetries in neutral B decays to the {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -} CP eigenstate, and an updated measurement of the charge asymmetry in B{sup 0} {yields} K{sup +} {pi}{sup -} decays. In a sample of 33 million {Upsilon}(4S) {yields} B{bar B} decays collected with the BABAR detector at the SLAC PEP-II asymmetric B Factory, we find 65{sub -11}{sup +12} {pi}{sup +} {pi}{sup -} and 217 {+-} 18 K{sup +}{pi}{sup -} candidates and measure the asymmetry parameters S{sub {pi}{pi}} = 0.03{sub -0.56}{sup +0.53} {+-} 0.11, C{sub {pi}{pi}} = -0.25{sub -0.47}{sup +0.45} {+-} 0.14, and {Alpha}{sub K{pi}} = -0.07 {+-} 0.08 {+-} 0.02, where the first error is statistical and the second is systematic.


About two dozen lubricating fluids were tested for use on electrical contacts on card edge or pin-and-socket connectors. The lubricants selected for screening represented a cross section of thewide variety of natural and synthetic materials available on the market. Among them were polyphenyl ethers, natural and synthetic hydrocarbons, several types of esters, polygiycols, some fluorinated materials, a few silicones, and some proprietary formulations. Lubricants were evaluated on the basis of volatility and their ability to prevent fretting corrosion on tin-to-solder contacts. Limited tests were also done on their spreading characteristics, their thermal degradation properties, and their effect on contact resistance. The objective of the work was to develop guidelines in the selection of contact lubricants for field testing. The lubricants were ranked on the basis of weight loss from thin deposits of the samples on solder foil coupons at 65°C. Fretting experiments were done by forcibly moving a printed circuit card finger between a pair of spring contacts cut from actual cards and connectors. The time required for contact resistance to increase from a few milliohms to 2 \Omeg was determined as a function of the amount of lubricant present.


Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of remotely delivered telemedicine dietary advice on monitoring of blood glucose levels and weight gain of women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Methods Women with GDM were recruited and randomly allocated into two groups: a Tele-GDM group that received a telemonitoring device, and a control group that was followed-up traditionally. A telemonitoring service calculated the ratio of reaching or exceeding the pregnancy weight gain target (according to pre-pregnancy weight), following Institute of Medicine guidelines for healthy pregnancy weight gain. Results The sample comprised 27 women in the Tele-GDM group and 30 in the control group. At the end of pregnancy, the Tele-GDM group showed significantly lower 2-hour postprandial glucose levels than the control group. Most women in the Tele-GDM group reached their recommended range of weight gain at the end of pregnancy. Additionally, the Tele-GDM group showed significantly lower weight gain than the control group. Conclusions Telemonitoring can facilitate close monitoring of women with GDM and motivate patients to adopt a healthy lifestyle.


OBJECTIVE
To explore the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of co-stimulatory molecule B7-H3 gene in blood cells of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) through the in vitro sequencing method and analyze the correlation between the SNPs and the susceptibility of RA.

METHODS
We sequenced directly B7-H3 gene in 86 cases of RA patients and 73 cases of health controls, and then sequence specific primer-PCR (SSP-PCR) genotyping method was carried out in 377 cases of RA patients and 321 health controls for 6 sites of SNPs.

RESULTS
Six sites of SNPs 19 589[chr.73 992 036, 19 630(chr.73 992 077), 19 948(chr. 73 992 394), 19 956(chr. 73 992 602), 20 214(chr. 73 992 660), 28 969(chr. 73 993 889)] were found in the CDS region and some introns of B7-H3 gene. Apart from 28 969 site (chr. 73 993 889), the others had significant differences in the genotypic frequency and allelic frequency between RA patients and health controls (P<0.05).

CONCLUSION
Six sites of B7-H3 gene have SNP variations and five sites are related to the pathogenesis of RA in Han populations.


Use of vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) has been suggested to reduce the risk of prostate cancer. We conducted a nested case–control study using Danish demographic and health data registries and summarized existing evidence in a meta‐analysis. The case–control study included all Danish men aged 40–85 years with incident histologically verified prostate adenocarcinoma between 2005 and 2015 (cases). For each case, we selected 10 age–matched controls. We used conditional logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for prostate cancer associated with long–term VKA use adjusted for concomitant drug use, medical history and socioeconomic status. Among 38,832 prostate cancer cases, 1,089 (2.8%) had used VKAs for 3 or more years compared to 10,803 (2.8%) controls yielding a crude OR of 1.01 (95% CI, 0.95–1.08). Multivariable adjustment for covariates had limited influence on the association (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.97–1.10). We observed no dose–response relationship (e.g. OR for 5–10 years of use, 1.06 95% CI, 0.97–1.16). We included 8 studies in the meta–analysis reporting effect estimates from 0.51 (95% CI, 0.23–1.13) to 1.10 (95% CI, 0.94–1.40). Using random effect methods, a pooled effect estimate of 0.86 (95% CI, 0.70–1.05) was obtained; however, there was considerable across–study heterogeneity (I2: 93.9%). In conclusion, we did not observe a reduced risk of prostate cancer associated with VKA use in this nationwide study and, taken together with previous study findings, a major protective effect of VKAs against prostate cancer seems unlikely.


The cooperative collective effects of strain-induced martensitic variant accommodation in nano- and micrograined polycrystalline TiNi shape memory alloys were discovered to form macroscopic strain-induced shearing bands—the Luders-like deformation bands. We use the in situ electron backscattered diffraction technique and the single surface trace analysis method to unambiguously elucidate the formation and propagation of shearing bands derived from the chain effect of intergrain selective martensite habit plane variants. The macroscopic characteristics of shearing bands can be well interpreted by mesoscale crystallographic features using phenomenological crystallographic theory and Schmid's law with a strong correlation to texture. It was also discovered that the nonlinear elastic feature in the stress-strain curve prior to the stress-strain plateau correlates to lattice/grain rotations other than martensitic variant reorientation.


Most of the fascinating phenomena studied in cell biology emerge from interactions among highly organized multimolecular structures embedded into complex and frequently dynamic cellular morphologies. For the exploration of such systems, computer simulation has proved to be an invaluable tool, and many researchers in this field have developed sophisticated computational models for application to specific cell biological questions. However, it is often difficult to reconcile conflicting computational results that use different approaches to describe the same phenomenon. To address this issue systematically, we have defined a series of computational test cases ranging from very simple to moderately complex, varying key features of dimensionality, reaction type, reaction speed, crowding, and cell size. We then quantified how explicit spatial and/or stochastic implementations alter outcomes, even when all methods use the same reaction network, rates, and concentrations. For simple cases, we generally find minor differences in solutions of the same problem. However, we observe increasing discordance as the effects of localization, dimensionality reduction, and irreversible enzymatic reactions are combined. We discuss the strengths and limitations of commonly used computational approaches for exploring cell biological questions and provide a framework for decision making by researchers developing new models. As computational power and speed continue to increase at a remarkable rate, the dream of a fully comprehensive computational model of a living cell may be drawing closer to reality, but our analysis demonstrates that it will be crucial to evaluate the accuracy of such models critically and systematically.


Abstract Inventory control models which provide coordinated control (or joint replenishment) of families of items are very useful in practice. An important component of these models is the algorithm for allocating a total reorder quantity among the items in the family. In this paper the allocation algorithm from a new class of coordinated control models is discussed. Inventory position is modelled as a diffusion process, and both continuous review and periodic review situations are considered. This new class of coordinated control models has been shown to outperform existing models (IBM's IMPACT Inventory Control Package).


Background: In paediatric clinical practice treatment is often adjusted in relation to body size, for example the calculation of pharmacological and dialysis dosages. In addition to use of body weight, for some purposes total body water (TBW) and surface area are estimated from anthropometry using equations developed several decades previously. Whether such equations remain valid in contemporary populations is not known. Methods: Total body water was measured using deuterium dilution in 672 subjects (265 infants aged <1 year; 407 children and adolescents aged 1–19 years) during the period 1990–2003. TBW was predicted (a) using published equations, and (b) directly from data on age, sex, weight, and height. Results: Previously published equations, based on data obtained before 1970, significantly overestimated TBW, with average biases ranging from 4% to 11%. For all equations, the overestimation of TBW was greatest in infancy. New equations were generated. The best equation, incorporating log weight, log height, age, and sex, had a standard error of the estimate of 7.8%. Conclusions: Secular trends in the nutritional status of infants and children are altering the relation between age or weight and TBW. Equations developed in previous decades significantly overestimate TBW in all age groups, especially infancy; however, the relation between TBW and weight may continue to change. This scenario is predicted to apply more generally to many aspects of paediatric clinical practice in which dosages are calculated on the basis of anthropometric data collected in previous decades.


A rapid shifting perceived from traditional content to digital media due to increasing advantages in every step of the information life cycle: create, collect, organize, store, access, deliver & use. Along with the advantages, digital content transactions are more likely prone to effects through IPR issues. Copyright and intellectual property rights (IPR) have been established and extended over hundreds of years, but implementing the same in the digital environment faces huge challenges. This article started by introducing digital rights & digital rights management (DRM), its architectural framework & techniques, and associated IPR issues. The perception of the LIS community about the role & responsibility of users & library professionals to solve these problems are the main focus of the latter part. A short survey is conducted using Google form questionnaire (N=238) and targeted all four categories, namely, LIS students (100 or 40%), LIS research scholars (25 or 10%), LIS faculties (18 or 85) & Library professionals (95 or 32%); to get the perception of the LIS community. The targeted experimental documents are categories of digital contents by their origin (i.e. Born, Turn & Gain digital documents). The geographical scope of the study extends beyond India to include some international viewpoints as well. In responses, no of the female respondent (131 or 55%) is slightly higher than male respondents (107 or 45%), while the majority of responses came from the Punjab state (42 or 19.72%). The survey findings suggested that Online materials (113 or 50.90%) Turn digital documents (168 or 75.68%) are more likely prone to IPR issues. Among users' responsibilities, "Use of proper acknowledgement, referencing & citation" is the most preferred one (221 or 99.55%) and "Arrange orientation & outreach programme regarding IPR issues" is indicated as the major responsibility (212 or 95.50%) of the library professionals.


This paper provides a review of a selection of recent papers, most of which derive from presentations given at the 4th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Control or the 6th International Conference on Product Safety Research, both of which took place in Amsterdam in May 1998. What all the accidents studied in these papers have in common is the absence of professional supervision. Everyone immediately involved in the incident--whether as injured party, unintended cause or informal supervisor is an 'amateur'. It is proposed that the term 'domestic and personal accidents' should be used to describe this group of accidents, the study of which has been neglected in comparison to transport and occupational injuries. It is argued that domestic and personal activities are more heterogeneous than ones with an element of professional supervision and are therefore more difficult to prevent. Nevertheless examples are given of where 'horizontal' approaches to analysis and prevention of these accidents have proved possible.


Memory profiling is the process of characterizing a program's memory behavior by observing and recording its response to specific input sets. Relevant aspects of the program's memory behavior may then be used to guide memory optimizations in an aggressively optimizing compiler. In general, memory access behavior has eluded meaningful characterization because of confounding artifacts from memory allocators, linker data layout, and OS memory management. Since these artifacts may change from run to run, memory access patterns may appear different in each run even for the same input set. Worse, regular memory access behavior such as linked list traversals appear to have no structure. We present object-relative translation and decomposition techniques to eliminate these artifacts and to expose previously obscured memory access patterns. To demonstrate the potential of these ideas, we implement two different memory profilers targeted at different sets of applications. These profilers outperform the existing ones in terms of profile size and useful information per byte of data. The first profiler is a lossless profiler, called WHOMP, which uses object-relativity to achieve a 22% better compression than the previously best known scheme. The second profiler, called LEAP, uses lossy compression to get highly compact profiles while providing useful information to the targeted applications. LEAP correctly characterizes the memory alias rates for 56% more instruction pairs than the previously best known scheme with a practical running time.


INTRODUCTION Fenwick1was the first to demonstrate the occurrence of gastric achylia in pernicious anemia; he thought that this might be the cause of the anemia, but emphasized the atrophy of the gastric mucosa. The discussion which followed, therefore, dealt mainly with this atrophy, and when it was found that achylia might be present without atrophy Fenwick's hypothesis lost ground and both anemia and achylia were generally considered coordinated phenomena due to some toxic influence. At the International Congress of Medicine in London (1913) one of us (K. F.) again put forward the hypothesis that the anemia frequently found with achylia gastrica was a secondary phenomenon produced by the lack of gastric secretion even though no atrophy could be demonstrated. In support of this theory he described three cases of pernicious anemia, in which achylia and normal hemoglobin had been found from three to nine years before the onset of


The widespread application of mobile crowdsourcing modes provides new ideas for generating indoor maps. By collecting and analyzing the trajectory datas of users properly, we can obtain the location information of indoor paths.  Unfortunately, currently studies usually rely heavily on a satellite location, which restricts their indoor application. In this paper, a simple and  practical method of generating indoor maps on Andriod platform is presented, and this method  is able to correct deviation duly. User's datas collected by several bulit-in sensors are preprocessed utilizing Gaussian filter, after which we adopt feature recognition to confirming one's  walking track based on multiple experiment datas. In order to integrate tracks generated by different persons, we then propose a new data structure based on a transition probability that can be updated online to store track information. In addition, we minimize possible deviations by testing the signal power launched by four Bluetooth base stations.  Discrete tracks are finally integrated into a complete indoor map using a graph_based model. We then propose a novel encryption scheme exploiting chaos in a nonlinear digital filter, where secure key generation methods are discussed in detail. The secure key scheme includes: 1)channel measurement 2)a decorrelation transform 3)multibit adaptive quantization and encoding. Experiments are conducted in   rectangle fields of 8m*8m, 44m*44m, respectively, and the results show our method can attain a maximum error of 5.94%.


Youth are an increasingly compelling subject for study in Africa, entering into political space in highly complex ways. To pay attention to youth is to pay close attention to the topology of the social landscape—to power and agency; public, national, and domestic spaces and identities, and their articulation and disjunctures; memory, history, and sense of change; globalization and governance; gender and class. In this introduction to the articles in Part 1 (this issue) and Part 2 (October issue), I draw attention to how youth is constructed as a problematic category and how it acts as a "social shifter" engaging the social imagination, to how youth contributes to generational debates and constructions, and to how consideration of youth challenges our thinking about agency.


We examine an M/G/1 queue with several queueing disciplines. After reviewing some background material in probability theory, we consider a first-come first-served queue. Next, we examine an absolute priority queue, where high priority customers are always selected for service over lower priority customers, regardless of how long the latter have been waiting. We also review a method for calculating the expected waiting times for a variety of queueing disciplines, particularly an accumulating priority queue, where a customers priority is proportional to the time they have spent waiting. We then consider a newer method for determining the full waiting time distribution of an accumulating priority queue. Each of these distributions are given as functional relations for their Laplace-Stieltjes transforms, which in generally cannot be solved analytically. Thus, we conclude by demonstrating how to numerically invert these transforms, showing the waiting time distribution of an accumulating priority queue.


The non·abelian gauge field theory is formulated under a gauge fixing condition of non· differential form. The condition is characterized by two properties: (i) Time· like components of gauge fields are completely determined by the other components and source fields, as in the radiation gauge. (ii) Gauge functions are timely constant arbitrary functions, and then independent of field operators. The theory is proved to be "form-invariant" under local gauge transformations. Our formulation can be regarded as a legitimate formulation of an expedience in the radiation gauge formulation, where the field operator dependence of gauge functions is completely disregarded. Property (ii) makes our formulation deviate from the radiation gauge formulation to a large extent.


This research aims at the process of three-dimensional(3D) reconstruction from medical body data using VRML and VC++, JavaScript language and focuses on the application of VRML for 3D reconstruction of medical digital images. The 2D medical digital images firstly are modified in VC++ language. Then, the images are manipulated by mould built in VRML and modified in JavaScript language. Finally, the 3D reconstruction of body internal organs can be formed in high quality near to those got in traditional methods. Furthermore, VRML browser can offer better windows of man-computer interaction in real time environment. As a new method and tool quite different from traditional ways of 3D reconstruction, VRML is useful for the visualization of medical 3D reconstruction based on 2D images and has a promising prospect in the field of medical image.


Under Mediterranean context, continuous human occupation is attested in the Amik Basin (southern Turkey) since 6000-7000 BC. The Basin also is crossed by The Dead Sea Fault (DSF), a major neotectonic structure in the Middle East extending from the Red Sea in the south to the East Anatolian Fault Zone in the north. The study focuses on the mineralogy and clay mineralogy record of the Amik Lake occupying the central part of the Basin. Our objective is to constrain major mineralogical and clay minerals evolution in the area over the last 4000 years and assess changes that would be related to the different land uses during the different Bronze, Roman, Ottoman and Modern civilizations. Sediments were collected at 1 to 2 cm intervals in core sediments up to a depth of 6 meters in the clay deposits. Geochemistry (XRF), mineralogy (XRD) and clay mineralogy are applied to study the sediment records. The age of the record is constrained combining radionuclide and radiocarbon dating. Chemical and mineralogical composition of sediments is quite diversified reflecting the significant geological variation of drainage basins. Abundant mixed-layer and partly disordered minerals characterize the different sedimentary levels recorded in those cores. Levels relatively rich in chlorite, illite and quartz are interpreted as corresponding to relatively dry periods, while more humid periods lead to more intensive weathering and consequently to the dominance of clay minerals more advanced in the relative stability scale, such as kaolinite. Smectite is taken to indicate a climate with contrasting seasons and a pronounced dry season. The sedimentary record clearly shows two periods indicating strong soil erosion in the Lake catchment. The most recent erosion phase is modern. The oldest one would have started during the late Bronze period and lasted until the late Roman Period. The first and older period is attributed to a strong aggradation linked to major increase in erosion. Our study shows that this episode has specific characteristics: mixed-layer clay mineral, high percent in Ni, Cr and Mg coupled with significant amount of organic matter of terrestrial origin. Ni and Mg most probably come from the Amanos Mountains an ophiolitic belt indicating an intensive upland cultivation and possible exploitation of its mineral resource. The second period is attributed to the modern period. The signature of the increase in erosion is different, because most of the soil cover has already been eroded. Only a patchy thin and unmature soil cover exists since the Late Roman time. Erosion is associated with a marked increase of smectite-illite interstratified clay, goethite and hematite found in deep soil horizons. Moreover, a marked increase in Cr is showed and is probably related to an enhanced exploitation of its mineral resource and to a renew land exploitation of the Amanos Mountain Range.


This paper examined cognitive, affective social-integrative and tension-release needs as predictors of WhatsApp 'consumption' among undergraduate students of Economics in Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma. The population covered all the 808 undergraduate students in the Department of Economics from 100 to 400level in the 2014/2015 academic session. Proportionate sampling technique was used to draw. Out of 404 distributed questionnaires, 382 copies were duly filled and used for the analysis. The bi-variate correlation technique was used to establish the relationship between the variables on a correlation matrix table. Result showed that the correlation coefficient on the relationship between WhatsApp usage and the variables: cognitive (r=0.287); affective (r=0.751); socio-integrative (r=0.743); and tension-release needs (r=0.291) are all statistically significant (p <0.01). The magnitude of the correlation coefficient for affective (r =0.751) and socio-integrative (r=0.743) needs showed that respondents mostly used WhatsApp for meeting their affective needs (chatting and keeping in touch with friends loved ones) and socio-integrative needs (building social network ties). It was recommended that students of the institution should harness WhatsApp as a communication platform for more educative purposes as against meeting their affective and social-integrative needs. Keywords: Cognitive needs, Affective needs, Social-integrative needs, Tension-release needs


Second place winner of oral presentations in the Natural Science/Engineering section at the 12th Annual Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Forum (URCAF) held at the Rhatigan Student Center , Wichita State University, April 3, 2012


In Reply.—
 Until objective guidelines are established, I would be opposed to a more aggressive approach to the adolescent varicocele because not all of these children are at risk for future problems. At the present time, we are primarily concerned about individuals with a large varicocele, particularly when there is volume loss of the testis ipsilateral to the varicocele.
 Surgical ligation of a large varicocele is routinely performed as a brief outpatient procedure with the aid of optical magnification to facilitate ligation of the multiple venous collaterals so often found in individuals with a large vanicocele.


OBJECTIVE
To analyse the induction of apoptosis and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in human skin fibroblast by ultraviolet A (UVA).

METHODS
Human skin fibroblasts were irradiated with UVA, apoptosis was determined with flowcytometry and fluorescent microscopy, the intracellular ROS production was measured with a spectrofluorometer, and the free radicals were determined with electron spin resonance.

RESULTS
A significant increase of apoptosis was observed in human skin fibroblast after exposure to UVA with a dosage at 110-120 kJ.m-2, mannitol could counteract apoptosis; a higher level of intracellular ROS and the hydroxyl free radical was detected in the irradiated samples.

CONCLUSION
A lower dose of irradiation of UVA(0.6 mW.cm-2) can induce apoptosis in human skin fibroblast, and ROS might play a role in the induction of apoptosis.


Sediment erosion by water movement affects turbidity and thus benthic communities in numerous aquatic systems. This aspect has been widely studied in coastal habitats and estuaries, but less studied in freshwater systems such as shallow lakes. Here we present a simple device to study the effects of biota on the resistance of aquatic sediments to erosion by water movement. Circular 75 l tanks are used to incubate selected sediments with microbial communities. The tank size allows addition of organisms such as small fish, invertebrates and aquatic plants. Effects are studied by gradually increasing water movement by means of a rotor and continuously monitoring the increase of suspended solids. The water speed needed for resuspension is a measure of sediment erosion resistance. With this device we found a linear increment of erosion resistance over time if sediments are left undisturbed, and a significant reduction of erosion resistance with small holes punched randomly in the top layer of sediment (to mimic the effect of benthivorous fish foraging behaviour). Fish biotic perturbation was indicated by a reduction of sediment resistance associated with benthivorous fish presence. However, three spined stickleback did not create the same effect. Measurements with this simple device are reasonably precise and suggest that the set-up can be used to study effects of numerous factors that may affect sediment erosion resistance. For example, sediment consolidation associated with light, temperature, and microbial and plant colonization, along with sediment perturbation related to big invertebrates and fish behaviour.


New awareness of re-thinking childhood in the emergent field of childhood studies inspires production of new discourse on social construction of childhood in literature. This paper looks at contemporary children's literature in the Philippines from this perspective and within the context of the globalization and transnationalization of care giving. Its interrogation of selected children's books and literature for young adult reveals that the traditional concept of childhood is now being challenged and resisted. Cognizant of the need to sustain this direction of literary production, this paper posits that children's literature in the country should mainstream this new thinking so that it can become a meaningful venue for Filipino children's socialization and construction in light of the increasingly complex world that children need to deal with.


Trimetazidine, a metabolic agent that is opening the way to a new class of 3-ketoacyl coenzymeA thiolase inhibitors, has been shown to improve exercise tolerance and increase the ischaemic threshold in patients with effort angina, both in monotherapy or in combination with other anti-anginal drugs. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of oral trimetazidine on the ischaemic threshold and left ventricular dysfunction of patients with coronary artery disease. Dobutamine stress echocardiography was used, a technique that allows direct visualisation of localised left ventricular dysfunction that occurs as a result of ischaemia. Dobutamine increases heart rate and contractility thus augmenting oxygen demand. In coronary artery disease, this increased demand leads to metabolic changes responsible for decreased wall thickness and abnormal wall motion.


Introduction: This prospective study examined association between circulating plasma DNA, microsatellite alterations (MA), p53 mutations with time to relapse and survival in surgically treated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients (pts). Methods: Plasma samples, adjacent lung tissue, and lung tumor tissue specimens were collected from consecutive patients with stage I–III NSCLC. Blood samples of 66 matched healthy donors with positive smoking history were collected as controls. The plasma DNA amount was determined by real-time PCR. The analysis of MA at loci D3S1300, D3S1289, D3S1266, and D3S2338 on chromosome 3p was performed by radiolabeled PCR. p53 Mutations (exons 5, 6, 7, and 8) were detected by PCR-single-strand conformational polymorphism assay. Results: There were 76 patients, 65 men; median age was 68 years (range, 42–86), 20 had stage I, 40 stage II, and 16 stage III, the majority of pts (48.7%) had squamous-cell histology. Sixty-nine (91%) were smokers and most had good Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (0/1:72/4). Mean circulating DNA of all pts was 60 ng/ml versus 5 ng/ml in smoker-matched controls (p < 0.0001). In pts without recurrence, mean circulating DNA was 48.5 ng/ml at baseline, 32.8 ng/ml at 3rd month, and 20.6 ng/ml at 12th month after surgery. In pts with recurrence, mean circulating DNA at baseline was 97.1 ng/ml. At 3rd month after surgery, mean DNA concentration was significantly lower in disease-free pts than in patients with recurrent disease (32.8 versus 292.7 ng/ml; p = 0.0016). MA in at least one locus was found in 39.5% of NSCLC tumors. p53 Genomic mutations were observed in 54.0% of tumor samples. Statistically significant associations were observed between MA and squamous-cell histotype (p = 0.007) and between p53 mutations and lymph node involvement (p = 0.012). MA and p53 mutations were found to be significantly associated with recurrence of disease (p = 0.033 and 0.026, respectively). Conclusion: Our results suggest that MA and p53 mutations in tumor DNA have a potential prognostic role for disease recurrence in NSCLC patients, and elevated levels of plasma circulating DNA identify patients with possible systemic disease at diagnosis. This might be proposed as an early detection test of disease recurrence.


The simple control interface protocol for experimenters (SCIPE) used at Sector 5 of the Advanced Photon Source is presented. This interface provides a generic method for data-acquisition programs to control generic actuators and detectors on a synchrotron beamline. The implementation used by the DuPont-Northwestern-Dow Collaborative Access Team, based on readily available hardware, is also described.


Reflecting potential non-linearities of converter-based systems, especially frequency and sequence couplings, is an ongoing challenge for linearized multi-frequency models. Besides, design details are required to develop such models, which either are the intellectual property of manufacturers or require experimental tests. The generic multi-frequency modelling method has been proposed to fill this gap; however, it is only developed for converter-connected systems, e.g., Type 4 Wind Turbines (WT). This paper proposes to extend the application of the generic multi-frequency modelling method for Type 3 WTs. In this way, a theory for patterns of the couplings in Type 3 WTs is proposed. Accordingly, a group of emissions and couplings are Rotor-Speed-Dependent (RSD). The RSD emissions and couplings are particular characteristics of Type 3 WTs, which should be addressed in the generic multi-frequency models. The proposed theory is verified by unique-worldwide experimental perturbation tests on a 2 MVA Type 3 WT using a 7 MVA grid emulator. Accordingly, a limited number of RSD couplings and emissions are observed in the test results, mainly in low frequencies (below 1 kHz). Therefore, addressing the RSD couplings is practical and important to extend the generic multi-frequency modelling for Type 3 WTs.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: On MR imaging, white matter hyperintensities (WMH) on T2-weighted images are generally considered as a surrogate marker of ischemic small vessel disease in elderly subjects. Pulsed arterial spin-labeling (PASL) is a noninvasive MR perfusion-weighted technique. We hypothesized that elderly subjects with diffuse confluent WMH should have lower cerebral blood flow (CBF) measurements than subjects with punctiform or beginning confluent WMH. MATERIALS AND METHODS: MR images of 21 subjects (13 women; mean age, 76 years; SD, 5), stratified for the degree of WMH, from a single center within the multinational Leukoaraiosis and Disability (LADIS) study, were investigated. CBF images were obtained by means of quantitative imaging of perfusion by using a single-subtraction second version, with thin-section TI periodic saturation PASL. Values of cortical gray matter, subcortical (including white matter and deep gray matter), and global CBF were calculated. CBF measurements of subjects with diffuse confluent WMH (n = 7) were compared with those of subjects with punctiform or beginning confluent WMH (n = 14). RESULTS: Subjects with diffuse confluent WMH were found to have approximately 20% lower mean global CBF (43.5 mL/100 mL/min; SD, 6.3) than subjects with punctiform or beginning confluent WMH (57.9 mL/100 mL/min; SD, 8.6; P < .01), as well as approximately 20% lower mean subcortical (P < .01) and cortical gray matter CBF (P < .05). CONCLUSION: PASL revealed a significant reduction of CBF measurements in elderly subjects with diffuse confluent WMH.


This study was done to demonstrate the histological changes in gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) before and after proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy as well as, to evaluate the efficacy of PPI in patients with GERD and to find out the healing rate of erosion in erosive reflux disease after PPI therapy. This hospital based prospective study was conducted among 57 patients suffering from gastroesophageal reflux disease who were recruited from the outpatient department of gastroenterology of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University. It was carried out from May 2008 to December 2008. Most of the GERD patients had non erosive disease (63.2% vs 36.8%). PPI was effective to relieve the major symptoms of GERD. In erosive group (n=21), at the end of 28th day, heartburn was present in 3(14.3%) patients. In non-erosive group (n=36), at the end of 28th day heartburn was present in 6(16.7%) patients. Changes in histological parameters were also found to be significant before and after therapy. GERD patients had characteristic histologic changes in lower esophagus and after 4 weeks of treatment with PPI, there was significant improvement of symptoms, endoscopic and histological features of reflux disease. Bangladesh Med J. 2015 Sep; 44 (3): 121-124


The UC Davis Campus Travel Survey (CTS) is administered annually to a sample of students, faculty, and staff. Because the authors survey only a sample of the campus population and because some groups are more likely to respond to the survey than other groups, it is necessary to apply "expansion factors" and "weights" to the sample to achieve an accurate estimate of the responses for the entire campus population. In effect, the authors use the expansion factors and weights to make the sample of around 4,000 respondents look like the population of around 45,000. The calculation of the expansion factors and weights requires an estimate of the campus population by role group and gender, as explained in more detail below. The campus population is a difficult number to pin down, as it varies over the year and depends on whether and how different categories of people are counted. For the 2016-17 Campus Travel Survey, a new protocol was used to estimate the campus population, as explained in the posted report In reviewing the report, campus officials noticed that the new population protocol produced an underestimate of students living on campus, which significantly changed the estimated mode split and other results. A third protocol was devised to correct the problem, and the authors re-analyzed results from the 2015-16 and 2016-17 surveys using population estimates based on this new protocol.This addendum explains the procedure for expansion factors and weights, describes the new population estimation protocol, and presents the revised results for selected tables from the CTS reports.


ABSTRACT

The Country wife is one of Wycherley's plays that talks about marriage of convenience. The researcher has formulated three research questions as follows: (1) How is marriage of convenience represented in William Wycherley's The Country Wife? (2) How is the society's view towards marriage of convenience in the Restoration age of England as represented in The Country Wife? (3) How does William Wycherley view marriage of convenience as represented in The Country Wife?
 In order to answer the questions, the researcher uses Genetic Structuralism approach by Lucien Goldmann to analyze The Country Wife, because genetic structuralism is used to find the worldview of the author toward his work. There are three aspects to be correlated in genetic structuralism, i.e. the play itself, biography of the playwright, and the social condition when the work is created. There are three findings in this research: First, marriage of convenience commonly exists in the upper classes society. The couple whose marriage is a marriage of convenience made up their unhappiness in their marriage life by having pleasures outside.
 Second, the researcher identifies there are two categories of people related to marriage of convenience. First, the upper classes society who agreed on and performed marriage of convenience. Marriage is only a way to get wealth and social status. Second, the lower classes society who believes that marriage should be based upon love, and that social status and wealth were considered unimportant.
Third, the researcher finds that William Wycherley presented marriage of convenience as the marriage type of the upper classes. Wycherley agrees on marriage of convenience, although he thinks marriage of convenience was a similar form of prostitution featuring by the parents. He performs the couple whose marriage was a marriage of convenience could not be broken by everything. It may be noted from the play that Wycherley also concerned on woman's limited space in marriage and in the society where she belongs.


Anxiety in primigravida mothers can arise in the third trimester and can harm pregnant women and their babies by leading to stunted fetal growth, weakening of uterine muscle contractions, increased risk of giving birth to premature babies, and affecting the growth and development of children. High levels of anxiety in pregnant women can be caused by several factors including the characteristics of the mother. Midwives must know the causal factors and how to overcome them. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of anxiety in primigravida mothers in the third trimester in the face of childbirth and the factors that influence this. An analytic observational design was used with a cross-sectional approach. The sample included 35 pregnant women in the third trimester, recruited by consecutive sampling. Data were collected by questionnaires. The univariate data analysis looked at the frequency distribution and the bivariate analysis used the Chi-square test. The results showed that 60.0% of the women had mild anxiety and 40.0% had moderate anxiety. There was a significant relationship between the characteristics of age (p = 0.001; OR: 3.672; 95% CI: 0.20-0.85), education (p = 0.005; OR: 2.552; 95% CI: 0.30-0.75) and economic status (p = 0.003; OR: 1.552; 95% CI: 0.56-3.75) with anxiety of primigravida pregnant women in facing childbirth. It is recommended that pregnant women routinely carry out prenatal check-ups at health facilities to help mothers obtain information related to their pregnancy, so they can control the anxiety that arises during their pregnancy.
Keywords: maternal characteristics, anxiety, primigravida


AMONG at least the last 10,000 adult surgical patients admitted to the Nonga Base Hospital, there has not been a single suspected or proven case of pulmonary embolism. The other side of the coin is that wounds in the natives of New Guinea tend to bleed excessively, and sometimes alarmingly. The likelihood of reactionary heemorrhage after the incision ot abscesses is so great that these are invariably packed for 48 hours. Thyroidectomy wounds frequently develop hmmatomas despite the greatest care. However, prostatectomy stands out as the operation with the greatest risk of serious post-operative hmmorrhage here, and management is particularly dimcult because urological operations are infrequent, and the nursing management of the catheter is perforce inexpert. Before the introduction of the present operation, described by Pender (1961), prostatectomy in this hospital was a hazardous procedure. This small series of 18 cases is reported in the hope that other occasional prostatectomists, operating without skilled assistance or expert urological nursing facilities, will find it useful. We no longer have clot retention, we usually require no blood, and it is frequently possible for the whole drainage assembly to remain untouched until the catheter is removed.


In this paper we are demonstrating application of the Systemic Structural Activity Theory (SSAT) to the design of the WEB pages. These days every company has a WEB presence. The Websites come in all shapes and sizes.In order to demonstrate how SSAT theory and methods can be utilized in the design of WEB pages we choose two websites of similar businesses in order to compare them and show how application of SSAT makes it easy to identify which version is a better choice for its users. The advantage of the SSAT methods is that they are formalized and allow to perform the step-by-step task analysis at the design stage. One of such methods is the probabilistic event tree. It allows to analyze the task and determine if the task flow leads to the successful outcome or failure. And in the latter scenario the user has to start over.The other SSAT method is to create the human algorithm of the task. Such algorithm provides the performance time and the task flow and demonstrates the probabilities of various versions of the task. This information is then utilized to determine complexity of the task performance. The higher the complexity of the task is the higher is the probability of the human errors. The preferable design of any website is the one that is the least complex for the users and allows the easy access to the most commonly used relative sources of information. The main objective of this paper is presenting the analytical methods of SSAT and their application to WEB design. The existing methods outside of SSAT consist mostly of observation and experiments. However, observation and experiments are not always available and efficient, especially for new design. Such methods are not sufficient for prediction of the efficiency of the end product. The concept of design is substituted in ergonomics by experimentation which reduces the external validity of the task analysis. Website users are dealing with tasks that include numerous decisions and are exceedingly variable. So, cognitive components of activity are extremely important. Streamlining of web design and improving the user experience is vital considering that such users come in all ages and have various levels of web user experience. This paper will show the way to minimize abandoned actions and improve the user experience when they are in a process of looking up information on the company website or are trying to place an order. We will show how the well-designed application saves customers time and benefit the company by saving the resources and attract the customer that are looking for the fast and easy access to what they are looking for.


Silicon is today the main material used in electronics. It is a very advanced and mature technology. It is therefore clear that new technological concepts and materials should be introduced through the integration on the silicon platform. III-V semiconductors, such as GaAs and InAs, are high performance semiconductors, with direct bandgap and high carrier mobility, what makes them very prominent candidates for future electronics and optoelectronics. Lattice, thermal and polarity mismatch have been for decades limiting their integration on Si in the form of thin film technology. The nanowire geometry brings new prospects in this direction by reducing the contact area between mismatched materials,. Now, while growth of defect-free III-V structures on silicon is important, use in applications requires the nanostructures to be placed deterministically following a certain design/order. In this thesis we have studied different mechanisms to obtain ordered nanostructures on a silicon substrate, with the goal of increasing its functionality. The core part of this work was dedicated to the integration of III-V nanowires on Si in the formof ordered arrays. We have considered both GaAs and InAs nanowires. This process has several requirements: substrate fabrication and the growth process should be CMOS compatible, nanowires within the arrays should be grown vertically with a yield close to 100% and nanowires should be clones-looking and performing the same. An additional point to consider is that the fabrication process should be compatible with large scale techniques. The substrate requirements for obtaining ordered arrays of Ga-assisted GaAs nanowires on silicon were identified. In particular, we focused on the initial stages of growth, that turned to be key for achieving a high yield in the arrays. We found that the positioning of the Ga droplet within the predefined holes on the substrate determined whether the nanowire would grow perpendicularly to the substrate. Our HRTEMstudies on the titled nanowires show that the initial nanowire seeds seem to nucleate at the corner of the nanoscale holes. Instead, the crystal seeds of vertical nanowires occupy homogeneously the nanoscale holes. Achieving high yield in the growth of GaAs arrays on silicon also allowed us to study their evolution in time. We demonstrated that there is an incubation time for nanowires to start growing. This incubation time is different from NW to NWand leads to a relatively broad length distribution. We proposed a solution and showed how an increase in the supersaturation in the Ga droplet leads to the formation of homogeneous arrays. Growth of InAs nanowires in ordered arrays on silicon was based on the concept of guided growth. We used a SiO2 nanotube templates to promote vertical growth. Due to the directionality of MBE, achieving growth inside a nanotube was especially challenging. Our results provided new insights on the role of different pathways of the In and As4 adatoms during growth. In this part, large scale patterning by phase shift photolithography was demonstrated as an alternative to the conventionally used electron beam lithography. Stain etching method for producing porous silicon was applied on top-bottom fabricated Si micropillars. This led to geometrically driven electrochemical dissolution of silicon trough the center of the microstructure forming microtubes. The optical properties were also studied and used to produce functional 3D LED.


In recent years, standardized treatment based on the risk stratification has been applied to clinical diagnosis and treatment of leukemia, which significantly improves the remission rate of ALL. However, relapse after remission remains an important challenge for long term efficacy. Chromosomal karyotype analysis is often used clinically to study the genetic features of ALL. As leukemia-specific markers, the cytogenetic and molecular genetic abnormalities can be used to evaluate prognosis and make an effective and optimal therapy. Furthermore, they are also used to track minimal residual disease. Therefore, the cytogenetic and molecular genetic abnormalities may become a monitor and a new target for the treatment of leukemia. This review briefly introduces the structure and physiological function of B-ALL associated cytogenetic and molecular genetic abnormalities, focusing on their prognostic effect on B-ALL.


We propose the use of a superconducting transmission line formed from an array of direct-current superconducting quantum interference devices for investigating analogue Hawking radiation. Biasing the array with a space-time varying flux modifies the propagation velocity of the transmission line, leading to an effective metric with a horizon. Being a fundamentally quantum mechanical device, this setup allows for investigations of quantum effects such as backreaction and analogue space-time fluctuations on the Hawking process.


The problem of optimal sampling design for parameter estimation when data are generated by linear models is addressed. The measurements are assumed to be corrupted by unknown-but-bounded additive noise. The sampling design assumes that the samples number is free and no replication is allowed. Two main results are shown: 1) for particular classes of linear models, the optimal measurements number is equal to the parameters number, as in the statistical context; 2) the parameters uncertainty intervals of an actual realization are bounded from above by quantities that can be computed a priori, knowing only the model and the error structure.


The current confluence of energy needs, enhanced environmental awareness and technical developments has led vigorous global efforts toward making wind power a key component of renewable and sustainable energy resources. This paper presents development in IPM type wind generator. Characteristic of generator is changed by various factors. Especially, characteristic of output power is considered significantly. This paper analyzes variation of coil inductance by change of design parameter. And, this paper shows optimization model about development of output power.


Objective: The present study was conducted to identify the phytosterols from petroleum ether and methanol extracts of medicinally and economically useful leaves of Holoptelea integrifolia (Roxb.) Planch using high-performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) technique. Materials and Methods: Preliminary phytochemical screening was done and HPTLC studies were carried out. Camag HPTLC system equipped with Linomat V applicator (Switzerland). Densitometric scanning was performed with Camag thin layer chromatography scanner IV in the reflectance absorbance mode at 540 nm and operated by Win CATS software (1.4.6 Camag) with the help of tungsten lamp. Results: Preliminary phytochemical screening of petroleum ether extract of H. integrifolia showed the presence of steroids, terpenoids, alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids, proteins, tannins, and carbohydrates while methanolic extract of H. integrifolia showed the presence of steroids, alkaloids, flavonoids, proteins, and carbohydrates. HPTLC fingerprinting of phytosterols of petroleum ether extract of leaf revealed five polyvalent phytoconstituents (5 peaks) and corresponding ascending order of Rf values in the range of 0.11-0.45. While methanol extract of leaf showed four polyvalent phytoconstituents (4 peaks) and corresponding ascending order of Rf values in the range of 0.13-0.48. Conclusions: With the results of preliminary phytochemical analysis and above Rf values, we have concluded the presence of phytosterols in both the extracts. Keywords: High-performance thin layer chromatography fingerprinting, Holoptelea integrifolia (Roxb.) planch leaf, Phytochemical screening, Phytosterol.


The La Rosa formation, Miocene consists of three facies: basal sand, the Santa Barbara, a middle shale, and the upper La Rosa Sand. The sands are variably productive. Paleontologic studies by others have shown the La Rosa Formation to be of marine origin. The shape of the SP curve of the Santa Barbara in bell shaped, caused by fining upward of the sand. This shape is typical with a beach deposit formed during transgression. The shale, because of its lithology and fossil content, represents shallow marine origin. The wine glass shape of the SP of the La Rosa sand is a beach sand, the result of a coarsening upward grain size during regression. An isopach of the La Rosa Formation and isoliths of the two sand units show a thickening trend from northeast to southwest. The thickest area trends diagonally across the center of the Basin. The study shows that the Miocene sea entered the basin from the northeast, transgressed southwesterly depositing the Santa Barbara sand on top of the unconformity as it went. The movement was constricted by the highlands on three sides of the basin. The shale was then deposited in the resulting shallow marine environment. As themore » highlands gradually rose, the sea regressed to the northeast depositing the La Rosa sand as it went.« less


Background Insufficient cerebral perfusion is suggested to play a role in the development of AD. We investigated the effect of chronic cerebral hypoperfusion on AD-related pathology, including β-amyloid (Aβ) deposition and brain atrophy in humans. Methods We enrolled 10 cognitively normal patients (median age: 64 years old) with unilateral chronic cerebral hypoperfusion. Volumes of interest (VOIs) and regions of interest (ROIs) with the most pronounced hypoperfusion changes were created in the hypoperfused region, and were then mirrored into the contralateral hemisphere to create a control region with normal perfusion respectively.11C-Pittsburgh compound-PET (PiB-PET) imaging standard uptake ratios (SUVRs) and several brain atrophy indices from the CT images of each patient were calculated. Results We found that there were no differences in SUVRs of PiB-PET imaging and brain atrophy indices between the hypoperfused regions and contralateral normally-perfused regions. Conclusion Our findings suggest that chronic hypoperfusion may not directly induce cerebral Aβ deposition and neurodegeneration in humans.


This study sheds light on various drugs of plant origin which have shown action on thyroid and its functioning as well as on the various factors associated with thyroid dysfunction. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the activity of the aqueous extracts of Fucus vesiculosus, Coleus forskohlii, Curcuma longa L., Rosmarinus officinalis L., Camellia sinensis L. and Melissa officinalis L. in regulation of thyroid hormones in serum taken from rats. Fifty-seven female albino rats were divided into 19 groups, each group with 3 rats, and treated orally with an aqueous plant extract in three different doses, except the control group which was treated with normal saline only. Also, a histological study was conducted on the thyroid gland after short-term treatment with different doses of these extracts. The results demonstrated that 5mg/kg of Curcuma longa was the most powerful extract which increased T3 level in a rats serum by 25% compared with the control treatment. Also, the most effective dose which increased T4 level was 1000mg/kg of Coleus forskohlii, which increased the hormone level by 7% compared with the control. Meanwhile, 1000mg/kg of Coleus forskohlii was the effective extract which reduced TSH level by 61% compared with the control. While, the extract of Rosmarinus officinalis 220mg/kg reduced T3 and T4 levels in the serum of rats by 56% and 17% respectively. However, oral administration with Camellia sinensis 1.25mg/kg increased TSH level by 10% compared with the control. The obtained data demonstrated that Curcuma longa and Coleus forskohlii, at low doses, can be very effective for completely treating hypothyroidism in rats.The findings of this study propose that the extracts may have the property to regulate thyroid levels in rats.


Introduction For many urological procedures the open approach is being replaced by the laparoscopic approach. Laparoscopy technique requires special training conditions. A well-designed, step-by step training program is significantly important for shortening the learning curve. Aim The purpose of the study was to evaluate urology residents' (UR) experience in laparoscopic procedures, training patterns and facilities available in departments of urology in Poland. Material and methods The survey developed by the authors included 18 questions concerning laparoscopy training and was distributed among UR who participated in 2 courses in laparoscopic surgery for UR in Poland in 2017. The survey consisted of questions regarding the number of laparoscopic procedures, acquired laparoscopic experience, laparoscopic simulation training and motivation for further learning. Results Of the 2017 invited UR in Poland, 108 (34%) completed the survey. Seventy-two (78%) UR from the study group have access to laparoscopic surgery in their department. Only 20 (25%) of urology departments are equipped with a laparoscopy box and a small number of UR perform regular training. As a primary operator basic (varicocele repair) and advanced (e.g. radical nephrectomy, radical prostatectomy, nephron-sparing surgery) laparoscopic procedures are performed respectively by 55 (71%) UR and 8 (10%) UR. Most residents evaluated their laparoscopic skills as poor (15, 19%), very poor (31, 40%) or absent (10, 13%), while only 22 (28%) evaluated them as at least satisfactory. Conclusions Laparoscopic technique is available in most Polish training centers. However, the majority of UR consider their skills unsatisfactory. Additionally, a large number of Polish UR do not have access to intensive training. UR considered that their availability of training courses and fellowships is low. Surgical exposure among Polish UR comprises mainly minor laparoscopic procedures.


Cancer vaccines targeting non small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have been studied for decades; clinical trials, for the most part, have focused on the use of autologous and allogeneic whole-tumor cell vaccines. Recent advances in molecular biology and immunology, however, have allowed the identification of many tumor antigens involved in the generation of immunity to NSCLC. Although small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is commonly thought of as an immunogenic tumor, it is now clear that NSCLC is also capable of eliciting an endogenous immune response in patients with the disease and, in fact, has a natural history that may make NSCLC more amenable to vaccine therapy as an adjuvant treatment strategy. This review will high-light the major components of the immune system that may potentially interact with tumor-associated proteins as well as outline the immunologic similarities and differences between SCLC and NSCLC. Tumor antigens that elicit immune responses in patients with NSCLC will be discussed. Finally, clinical trials of whole-tumor cell vaccines, both autologous and allogeneic, and tumor antigen-specific vaccines will also be discussed.