Background: Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men over the age of 60 in Western countries. An estimated 241,740
new cases of prostate cancer have been diagnosed in the United States in 2012 with a death
toll of 28,170. Varieties of natural phytochemicals such as genistein and
topotecan have shown potential chemotherapeutic capacities and are being used
to inhibit the growth and proliferation of cell in prostate cancer. Purpose of Study: In this study, we aim
to determine the efficacy of Vitamin D3-Topotecan combination
compared to Genistein-Topotecan in apoptosis induction in LNCaP prostate cancer
cells. Methods: LNCaP cells were
grown in complete RPMI medium and cultured at 37°C, 5% CO2 for 23 - 48 hrs to
achieve 70% - 80% confluence. The cells were then treated with
Genistein-Topotecan, Vitamin D3-Topotecan combination and TPT alone
for 24 - 48 hours. In addition, post-treatment assayed using: Trypan Blue
exclusion and MTT for cell viability, Ethidium bromide/Acridine orange to
determine apoptosis induction, Rhodamine 123/Ethidium bromide to differentiate
between viable, apoptotic, and necrotic cells, as well as to assess possible
apoptotic mechanism, and DNA fragmentation to discriminate between apoptotic
and necrotic cell death. Results: The overall data indicated the dose-and time-dependent cell death in the LNCaP
cells and apoptosis as the major mechanism of treatment-induced cell growth
arrest. Conclusion: The
Genistein-Topotecan combination treatment was significantly more efficacious in
growth inhibition of LNCaP cells compared to Vitamin D3-Topotecan or
Topotecan alone.


The natural resources like earth, wind, water, trees are the basis of human-life. For the bright future of human beings, it is essential to use these resources with a great care. 'Environment' means the physical, chemical and biological surroundings in which an organism exists. Thus, environment is the gift of nature. Prior to 20th century, there was no major evidence of human influence on environment. Environmental degradation up to this period was mainly due to natural disasters, like cyclone, earthquake etc. Up to that period; natural resources were not used beyond their regenerative capacities. So, what was used, was regenerated. But, after the population explosion in the world, the situation started changing. Gradually, this led to serious environmental degradation behind which, the need and greed of human kind is responsible. Ever increasing pollution, demolition of forests and bio-diversity, increase in global warming, etc. have alarmed us for awareness of environmental protection. Worldwide environmental awareness was started during the 1960s. The main impetus came from the publication of a book 'Silent Spring' by Rachel Carson in 1962. This book revealed the risk of using some pesticides and their bad effects on human life and thereby showed the necessity for the protection of earth. The world summit held at Rio-de-Janeiro in 1992, had focused the attention towards environmental problems. The economists also started looking afresh to the central economic problem of resource scarcity in relation to their possible uses. After 1970, many economists started arguing that development can be made sustainable only with efficient and judicious use of natural resources. In this paper, we have described various factors responsible for environmental hazards and we have also suggested our duties regarding the protection of the earth.


This thesis deals with the influence of fire on the behaviour of steel concrete composite floors. A theory has been developed to calculate deflections during the fire and the ultimate strength ofthe composite floor under such conditions. The solution is based on the finite difference method. It takes temperature-dependent material properties into account. The method of analysis comprises two parts; the first is thermal analysis, enabling temperatures to be calculated as a fu~ction 'of fire exposure time. The second is strength analysis for calculating the strength of composite floor with material properties affected by temperature. For the heat flow analysis, the cross-section is divided into mainly rectangular elements. Sloping boundaries are approximated by triangular elements. The heat transfer from the fire to the surface is considered as well as heat conduction to the neighbouring points. At internal points, heat conduction to all the neighbouring points is considered. To calculate the deflections, the floor is divided into a two-dimensional mesh. The deflections are calculated for each mesh point based on orthotropic plate theory. The differential operators are replaced by the finite difference formulae. This reduces the governing differential equation into a system of linear algebraic equations. To calculate the plate rigidities, it is necessary to find curvatures for all mesh points in the two planes using finite difference operators. The thermal strains , are superimposed, on the mechanical strains associated with curvatures to finp the net strains, and then stresses are calculated using the non-linear temperature dependent stress-strain curves. Integrating the stresses, the internal stress resultants are calculated. The above method has been programmed in Visual Basic. To validate this method, a comparison with a number of fire tests has been carried out , for both thermal and mechanical behaviour. The temperatures at comparable points are generally close to each other. Comparisons have also been carried out for calculated mid-span deflections by this method and the published test results. The results show excellent correlation between the tests and the new method. A parametric study has carried out on floors with different boundary conditions when subjected to in-plane forces for two fixed and simple ends. Comparison of mid-span deflections between the fixed and simple end conditions has shown that fixed edges have better fire resistance than simply supported when not subjected to in-plane forces. It has found that in-plane forces had little effect on deflection rates at initial stages of the fire. These only appeared at later stages. When subjected to in-plane forces in one direction only the floor showed better response. The conclusion from the parametric study is that in-plane forces at different edges play a signific'ant role in the behaviour, as the surrounding structure provides restraint increasing the fire resistance ofthe structure within the fire compartment


In this paper we describe asprin, a general, flexible, and extensible framework for handling preferences among the stable models of a logic program. We show how complex preference relations can be specified through user-defined preference types and their arguments. We describe how preference specifications are handled internally by so-called preference programs, which are used for dominance testing. We also give algorithms for computing one, or all, optimal stable models of a logic program. Notably, our algorithms depend on the complexity of the dominance tests and make use of multi-shot answer set solving technology.


Noninvasive assessment of myocardial perfusion is important in the diagnosis and risk stratification of patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). Although single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is most commonly used, multiple modalities including myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE), positron emission tomography (PET), cardiac MRI (CMR), and cardiac computed tomography (CT) have emerged as promising techniques. This article will critically evaluate the strengths and weakness of these modalities for evaluating myocardial perfusion.

Myocardial perfusion is a highly regulated process that includes epicardial vessels, resistance vessels, and the endothelium. Endothelial dysfunction is an early manifestation of vascular disease and plays a role in the development of CAD.1 In normal coronaries, sympathetic stimulation causes a flow-mediated endothelium-dependent release of nitric oxide resulting in epicardial and arteriolar vasodilation. With endothelial dysfunction, vasoconstriction from acetylcholine predominates, resulting an attenuation or absence of the normal flow-mediated vasodilation.2 When coronary arteries are narrowed by atherosclerotic disease, coronary autoregulation attempts to normalize myocardial blood flow by reducing the resistance of distal perfusion beds to preserve adequate myocardial oxygen supply.3 A stenosis must exceed 85% to 90% of luminal diameter before significant reductions in resting blood flow occur.4 However, under vasodilator stimulus, maximal coronary flow has been shown to decrease with stenosis of >45% (Figure 1).4 This has been demonstrated clinically using quantitative PET myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI).5,6 Because perfusion is an early change in the ischemic cascade,7 stress modalities that assess coronary perfusion reserve have a higher sensitivity in detecting flow-limiting stenoses than analysis of stress-induced wall motion abnormalities or ECG changes alone.8 Abnormal coronary flow reserve with vasodilator stress in the absence of a significant coronary stenosis occurs and has been attributed to microvascular and/or endothelial dysfunction.9

Figure 1. Relationship between percent diameter stenosis and …


Within the sequence of marine and glacial sediments from the northeastern Billdjorden region, Central Spitsbergen, five glacial episodes are distinguished. Two of them are referred to the Late Pleistocene: the older, about 87 ka, which remains unnamed, and the younger, about 40-56 ka, which is named the Petuniabukta-Adolfbukta Stage and correlated with the Billefjorden Stage from the Kapp Ekholm section. The other three glacial episodes are referred to the Holocene: the oldest, about 8-9 ka (and named the Ebbadalen-ThomsondaIen Stage), the middle, probably about 2 - 3 ka, and the youngest, correlated with the Little Ice Age. The mollusk fauna (11 species) is described from the Holocene marine and glacial sediments; its composition proves Arctic and Boreal climatic conditions with Lusitanian influences.


Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) are a substantial burden to the global poultry industry. APEC cause a syndromic poultry infection known as colibacillosis, which has been previously associated with broiler chickens over 2 weeks old. We recently reported that the intestinal tract of 1-day-old broilers harbours a rich reservoir of potentially pathogenic E. coli. Prior infections of the reproductive tract of breeders, egg hygiene and transportation all contribute to early colonization of the neonatal gut. Up to one-half of all flock deaths occur in the first week of production, but few data are available describing the contribution of E. coli. In the present study, all dead birds collected on the first daily welfare walk 48 and 72 h after chick placement underwent post-mortem examination. Diseased tissues were selectively cultured for E. coli and isolates subsequently virulotyped using 10 APEC virulence-associated genes (VAGs): astA, iss, irp2, iucD, papC, tsh, vat, cvi, sitA and ibeA. Approximately 70% of birds displayed signs of colibacillosis. Thirty distinct virulence profiles were identified among 157 E. coli. Isolates carried between zero and seven VAGs; ∼30% of E. coli isolates carried five to seven VAGs, with 12.7% sharing the same VAG profile (astA, iss, irp2, iucD, tsh, cvi and sitA). Overall, this study demonstrates the significant contribution of E. coli infections to early broiler mortalities. The identification of a diverse E. coli population is unsurprising based on our previous findings. This work emphasizes the need for an effective vaccination programme and provides preliminary data for vaccine production.


Considering the diversity of the views, assigning the multiviews with different weights is important to multi-view clustering. Several multi-view clustering algorithms have been proposed to assign different weights to the views. However, the existing weighting schemes do not simultaneously consider the characteristic of multi-view clustering and the characteristic of related single-view clustering. In this paper, based on the spectral perturbation theory of spectral clustering, we propose a weighted multi-view spectral clustering algorithm which employs the spectral perturbation to model the weights of the views. The proposed weighting scheme follows the two basic principles: 1) the clustering results on each view should be close to the consensus clustering result, and 2) views with similar clustering results should be assigned similar weights. According to spectral perturbation theory, the largest canonical angle is used to measure the difference between spectral clustering results. In this way, the weighting scheme can be formulated into a standard quadratic programming problem. Experimental results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed algorithm.


Background: Few articles in the world have already correlated these two themes. The reason we wrote this paper is to suggest a pathogenic hypothesis that correlates the two diseases. Methods: We reviewed the medical literature in the MEDLINE/PubMed and LILACS/SciELO databases. We used the terms "cervical intervertebral disc displacement", "multiple sclerosis", "neuroinflammation", "pathogenesis" and its combinations. Results: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS). Spinal cord myelopathy in MS presents with neck and radicular pain, segmental weakness, hypoesthesia and diminution of tendon reflexes. All of these symptoms may also appear in myelopathy due to cervical spine compression. It is observed in the context of cervical intervertebral disc displacement (CIDD). CIDD is the most common progressive disorder in the aging cervical spine. Clinical researches have described CIDD at different levels in MS patients. However, the majority of these clinical studies were only descriptive. The correlation between the two diseases and the study of the pathogenesis of them was little studied. We hypothesized an unprecedented theory for a possible pathogenic mechanism between CIDD and MS. Can the CIDD be a trigger for the onset of spinal demyelination in MS patients? Conclusions: We believe with blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB) disruption the neutrophils invasion on CNS is facilitated. Thus local neuroinflammation on the spinal cord in patients with CIDD could be a facilitating factor for neutrophils infiltration to the CNS in MS. This cascade of neuroinflammation may be one of the triggers for the activation of demyelination in the spinal cord of MS patients. J Neurol Res. 2019;9(3):35-38 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jnr533


Abstract The recent literature dealing with the effect of the diet on the quality of milk and meat fat is reviewed. Some aspects of the rumen metabolism of lipids are dealt with: lipolysis, bio-hydrogenation, synthesis of microbial fatty acids and inhibition mechanisms on fermentation. Firstly, the influence of forage is considered. Pasture is the best forage, better if high hill pasture, as compared to hay and silage: short chain fatty acids (SCFA) (shorter than C10) are increased, medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) (C12 through C16) are decreased, oleic (OA), linoleic (LA) and linolenic (LNA) acids are increased and so are the conjugated linoleic acid pool of isomers (CLA) and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA). Secondly, the energy supplementation of diets with fats is looked at. Animal fats depress milk yield and SCFA, while OA is increased because of the enhanced activity of mammary ∆9 desaturase. Fish oil depresses milk yield as well, but promotes CLA and n-3 PUFA. If animal fats are protected against rumen bacteria, milk yield and milk fat depression are avoided. Vegetable fats are richer in unsaturated fatty acids (UFA), thus more susceptible to the rumen bio-hydrogenation. As calcium soaps or inside whole seeds, plant fats are protected and CLA is increased. CLA is an important component of fat. In ruminants it comes from the desaturation of vaccenic acid (VA) both in rumen and udder; and the yield of VA depends on the diet quality. In conclusion, simple directions are given on how to improve the quality of animal fat by dietary means, without affecting yield.


Background Fractalkine/CX3CL1, a surface chemokine, binds to CX3CR1 expressed by different lymphocyte subsets. Since CX3CL1 has been detected in the germinal centres of secondary lymphoid tissue, in this study we have investigated CX3CR1 expression and function in human naïve, germinal centre and memory B cells isolated from tonsil or peripheral blood. Methodology/Principal Findings We demonstrate unambiguously that highly purified human B cells from tonsil and peripheral blood expressed CX3CR1 at mRNA and protein levels as assessed by quantitative PCR, flow cytometry and competition binding assays. In particular, naïve, germinal centre and memory B cells expressed CX3CR1 but only germinal centre B cells were attracted by soluble CX3CL1 in a transwell assay. CX3CL1 signalling in germinal centre B cells involved PI3K, Erk1/2, p38, and Src phosphorylation, as assessed by Western blot experiments. CX3CR1+ germinal centre B cells were devoid of centroblasts and enriched for centrocytes that migrated to soluble CX3CL1. ELISA assay showed that soluble CX3CL1 was secreted constitutively by follicular dendritic cells and T follicular helper cells, two cell populations homing in the germinal centre light zone as centrocytes. At variance with that observed in humans, soluble CX3CL1 did not attract spleen B cells from wild type mice. OVA immunized CX3CR1−/− or CX3CL1−/− mice showed significantly decreased specific IgG production compared to wild type mice. Conclusion/Significance We propose a model whereby human follicular dendritic cells and T follicular helper cells release in the light zone of germinal centre soluble CX3CL1 that attracts centrocytes. The functional implications of these results warrant further investigation.


This study is about elite sports in Sweden. There are a lot of ways of studying the economic value of elite sports. In this article we use information from population data, club accounting and a questionnaire to get a picture of the economic values of elite sports. Our knowledge from earlier research concerning the economic value of elite sports is mainly based on US data. The Scandinavian model for sport is different from sports in the USA since the clubs are not owned by businesses and the goals are more or less "sport for all". This paper tries to present a picture of the process of elite sports in countries there elite sports traditionally has been a mixture between professional and amateur. The results from willingness to pay analysis for the presence of elite sports in the actual county indicate values of 350 SEK (about 35 EURO) per year and person in Sweden. Another way of calculating the value of the elite teams is by estimating how many working hours people are prepared to devote to helping the club. If these hours are translated into economic values, it runs into between 3000 to 5000 SEK (about 300 to 500 EURO) per year and person, depending on location in Sweden


Preferences about delayed rewards and preferences about risk are central to the literature on decision making. Several proposals suggest that such preferences arise from a single process and thus predict strong associations between preferences about delay and risk. Although there is a wealth of data on this association, the evidence is inconclusive; some studies have reported significant associations but many have not. Consequently, it is unclear whether the association between delay preferences and risk preferences is strong enough to support single-process theories. To further explore this question, we took a meta-analytic approach surveying 26 studies totaling 32 effect sizes. Results reveal a small to moderate association between risk preferences and delay preferences. This result provides little support for existing proposals because the observed relationship is no stronger than associations observed between either delay preferences or risk preferences and other variables. Moderating variables provide some explanation for inconsistencies across studies. Implications, including the apparent discrepancy between this literature and the conventional construct of impulsivity, are also discussed.


OBJECTIVE
The use of mindfulness-based therapy (MBT) in oncology settings has become increasingly popular, and research in the field has rapidly expanded. The objective was by means of a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the current evidence for the effect of MBT on symptoms of anxiety and depression in adult cancer patients and survivors.

METHOD
Electronic databases were searched, and researchers were contacted for further relevant studies. Twenty-two independent studies with a total of 1,403 participants were included. Studies were coded for quality (range: 0-4), and overall effect size analyses were performed separately for nonrandomized studies (K = 13, n = 448) and randomized controlled trials (RCTs; K = 9, n = 955). Effect sizes were combined using the random-effects model.

RESULTS
In the aggregated sample of nonrandomized studies (average quality score: 0.5), MBT was associated with significantly reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression from pre- to posttreatment corresponding to moderate effect sizes (Hedges\'s g) of 0.60 and 0.42, respectively. The pooled controlled effect sizes (Hedges\'s g) of RCTs (average quality score: 2.9) were 0.37 for anxiety symptoms (p < .001) and 0.44 for symptoms of depression (p < .001). These effect sizes appeared robust. Furthermore, in RCTs, MBT significantly improved mindfulness skills (Hedges\'s g = 0.39).

CONCLUSION
While the overall quality of existing clinical trials varies considerably, there appears to be some positive evidence from relatively high-quality RCTs to support the use of MBT for cancer patients and survivors with symptoms of anxiety and depression.


This publication deals with an anonymous Arabic paraphrase of Aristotle's De Anima. The paraphrase, which was translated into Persian in the thirteenth century, is to be considered as the earliest testimony of Arabo-Islamic interest in Aristotelian psychology. The first part of the book is concerned with the Arabic and Persian manuscripts and testimonies, the Greek sources of Late Antiquity, and the question of the date and identity of the author. The second part includes a critical edition with a German translation followed by a philological and philosophical commentary in the fourth part. The volume is of special interest for the historian of late antique, post-Alexandrian (Byzantine), and early Islamic philosophy as well as for Graeco-Arabic lexicography.


An apparent permeability of an idealized unidirectional reinforcement is derived for power-law fluid flow perpendicular to the fibers. The reinforcement consists of regularly ordered, parallel fibers arranged in a quadratic or hexagonal pattern. The expression is obtained starting from first principles for low Reynolds number, incompressible and isothermal flow and is expressed in terms of the radius of the fibers, the fiber volume fraction, and the power-law index. The model is successfully verified with computational fluid dynamic simulations.


Background/aim Stigma has a high incidence and adversely affects people with diabetes. In this context, patients face difficulties such as fear of losing their jobs, travel restrictions, isolation from social life, problems related to mental health, and feeling of wellness. The aim of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of the stigma assessment scale in individuals with type 2 diabetes. Materials and methods The study sample consisted of 153 diabetic individuals. The validity of language, content, and construct were examined to evaluate the validity of the type 2 diabetes stigma assessment scale. Cronbach's alpha was used to assess internal consistency reliability. Results The content validity index of 19 items which were detected as significant was found to be 0.86. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the scale is 0.92. The results of the item analysis show that all factor loads are significant (t-value > ±1.96). The coefficient of correlation between type 2 diabetes stigma assessment scale and test–retest technique was 0.82. Conclusion It was concluded that the stigma assessment scale is a valid and reliable measurement tool in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Nurses may use this tool to better understand and help relieve the prevalence and severity stigma of individuals with type 2 diabetes in Turkey.


Find books, journals and other resources for environmental health. Targets physical, chemical and biological factors and works to prevent disease and create healthy environments.


Anterior communicating artery (ACoA) aneurysm rupture can lead to an anterograde amnesia syndrome similar to that observed after damage to the hippocampus and medial temporal lobes (MT). It is currently believed that ACoA amnesia results from basal forebrain damage that disrupts hippocampal processing without direct hippocampal damage. Converging evidence from animal studies and computational modeling suggests that qualitative differences may exist in the pattern of memory impairment after basal forebrain or MT damage. For example, animals with basal forebrain but not hippocampal damage are impaired at delay eyeblink classical conditioning (EBCC). In this study, individuals with ACoA amnesia were shown to be impaired at delay EBCC compared with matched controls; this contrasts with the spared delay EBCC previously observed in MT amnesia. This finding suggests the beginning of a possible dissociation between the memory impairments in MT versus ACoA amnesia.


This paper proposes a student-oriented approach tailored to effective collaboration be- tween students using mobile phones for language learning within the life cycle of an intelligent tutoring system. For this reason, in this research, a prototype mobile application has been devel- oped for multiple language learning that incorporates intelligence in its modeling and diagnostic components. One of the primary aims of this research is the construction of student models which promote the misconception diagnosis. Furthermore, they are the key for collaboration, given that students can cooperate with their peers, discuss complex problems from various perspectives and use knowledge to answer questions and/or to solve problems. Summarizing, in this paper, a mobile tutoring framework, built up in the context of student collaboration, is presented. Collaborative student groups are created with respect to the corresponding user models. Finally, the prototype was evaluated and the results confirmed the usefulness of collaborative learning.


This paper describes a framework for integrating similarity measures and Dempster-Shafer belief functions for data integration in the context of multi agent ontology mapping. In order to incorporate uncertainty inherent to the ontology mapping process, we propose utilizing the Dempster-Shafer model for dealing with incomplete and uncertain information produced during the mapping. A novel approach is presented how assessing belief can influence the similarities originally created by both syntactic and semantic similarity algorithms. Our approach is an alternative to the classical Bayesian reasoning which has been investigated for improving the efficiency of creating ontology mappings.


Fatigued state of the Pt-PZT-Pt system is studied by means of low-temperature conduction measurements. It is shown that the conduction in the temperature interval of 100-140 degrees K is determined by the cold field emission of electrons (tunneling conduction mechanism). The Fowler-Nordheim equation describes well the observed current-voltage relations for reasonable values of the system parameters. The conduction measurements in this regime show that the strong fatigue of the switching polarization provokes a substantial increase of the cold-field-emission-controlled current. The decrease of the switching polarization from 60 to 15 mu C/cm(2) due to fatigue results in a shift of the I-V characteristic towards the lower fields by some 500 kV/cm. Partial. rejuvenation of the sample by short-time beating to 490 degrees K results in a complete restoring of the initial current-voltage characteristic. It is shown that the fatigue-induced increase of the conduction can be modeled by the charging of the interfacial layers of thickness comparable with the tunneling length. This interpretation is consistent with the fatigue scenario related to the space charge-assisted blocking of the centers of the domain nucleation suggested earlier.


Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L. has been long used as medicine, ornamental plants, and foodstuffs. The plants uses as foodstuffs have nutritional or improve the taste, while the plants used as medicine have biocytivity compounds. This article was written based on a review of vary scientific articles and books published online and offline related to the use of H. rosa-sinensis. Hibiscus rosa-sinensis is a plant originating from China and has around 300 hybrids, which structures of corolla has vary in color and shape. In the traditional medicine of H. rosa-sinensishas been used to cure of the hypertension, diabetes mellitus, wounds, menstrual disorders, and abortion. The bioessay of H. rosa-sinensis has activity as recovery of heart disolder, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, antioxidants, antifertility, anti ulceration, and kidney disorders. Keywords: Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, hypertension, antifertility, abortion.


Suicidal behavior is an understudied subject in Pakistan. A variety of social, legal, and religious factors make reporting and data collection on suicide and nonfatal suicidal behavior difficult. To study the problem, a retrospective case-note analysis was carried out in which the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of 262 female and 185 male suicidal individuals admitted to a university hospital in Karachi, Pakistan, are compared. Three quarters of the suicidal persons were under the age of 30 years. Compared to men, women were younger and more often married. Both women and men tended to use self-poisoning with benzodiazepines, but more women used organophosphate insecticides. In Pakistani society, legal, social, and economic discrimination predisposes women to psychological distress and subsequent suicidal behavior. The study highlights the need for culture-specific research on suicidal behavior in Pakistan.


Summary An in vitro digestion study, a lamb growth trial and a lamb digestion trial were conducted to evaluate the effect of different NaOH and Ca(OH)2 treatments on the energy availability of wheat straw. In vitro dry matter disappearance (IVDMD) of wheat straw was increased 29% by chemical treatment with 1% NaOH plus 3% Ca(OH)2 and by as much as 86% by a 4% NaOH plus 1% Ca(OH)2 treatment. A significant amount of hemicellulose was solubilized by chemical treatment with NaOH and Ca(OH)2, but little cellulose was solubilized. Rate and extent of both hemicellulose and cellulose digestion of treated wheat straw were increased significantly in comparison to corresponding measures for untreated wheat straw. Lambs fed chemically-treated wheat straw gained significantly faster and more efficiently and consumed more dry matter per day than those fed untreated wheat straw diets. Chemical treatment of wheat straw significantly increased dry matter, organic matter cellulose and hemicellulose digestibilities in the lamb digestion trial. Organic matter digestibility was increased from 51.3% for untreated wheat straw to 65.3% for 4% NaOH-treated wheat straw.


Doped aluminum nitride (AlN) films are considered as prospective materials for various elecroacoustic devices based on potentially stronger piezoelectric response and thermal stability of frequency. In this work, 0.1 - 3 μm thick Cr-doped AlN films were reactively sputtered on Si, Mo, and Pt substrates using an ac powered dual-target S-gun magnetron with Al-Cr alloy targets. The films exhibited single c-axis texture corresponding to hcp-AlN. Two specific features of the AlCrN films were revealed: an anomalous surface roughness that dramatically increased in thicker films and a strong tendency to high compressive stress. The film microstructure is characterized by large-dimension crystalline grains embedded within a matrix of nano-size grains. In contrast to AlN, stress control via reduced ion bombardment and increased Ar gas pressure during deposition led to inferior crystal orientation and higher roughness of the AlCrN films. A multi-step deposition process reduced stress and roughness and preserved strong texture. Preliminary assessments of AlCrN piezoelectric activity using SMR BAW and CMR devices demonstrated lower values of quality factor and electromechanical coupling coefficient, while TCF was higher compared with pure AlN films. Results may be due to both the material properties and the film structural features discovered.


The invitation to contribute to this book followed from Asbury's earlier book on Antonio Manuel, published in 2006. Since 2006, Asbury has given keynote addresses on Manuel's work on several occasions, including: Fundacao Ibere Camargo, in Porto Alegre Brazil in 2010; 'Outside the Material World: The exhibition, circulation and insertion of art beyond the market', Tate Modern in 2009; and 'Brazilian Art and the International Avant-Garde', Department of Art History, University of North Carolina, Asheville, USA, 2009. As part of the Americas Society Antonio Manuel exhibition programmme, Asbury was invited to give a paper on art and politics in Brazil during the military regime 1960s – 1970s at the Department of Art and Archaeology at Columbia University, New York in October 2011. He was invited to curate an exhibition on Antonio Manuel's work in London in 2014.

Publisher's text about this book:

Edited by Claudia Calirman, Alexandra Garcia, Gabriela Rangel. Foreword by Susan Segal. Text by Claudia Calirman, Gabriela Rangel, Judith Rodenbeck, Michael Asbury. Interview by Beverly Adams.

Antonio Manuel (born 1947) helped define the groundbreaking neo-avant-garde movement that emerged in Rio de Janeiro in the 1960s. Making his mark in 1970 at the height of Brazil's military dictatorship with "The Body is the Work" (in which he submitted his naked body to the Museu de Arte Moderna), Manuel's conceptual and performance work and manipulation of mass-media materials would expand the possibilities of experimental art as a means to political subversion and liberation. Assembled with the direct collaboration of the artist himself, Antonio Manuel: I Want to Act, Not Represent! is the first U.S. publication devoted to his work, and includes a range of never before seen images and documents, a substantive interview, and a facsimile reproduction of Phallic Weapon, a photo-novel starring Helio Oiticica, which has never been published outside of Brazil.

Gallery text about the exhibition that accompanied this publication:

Antonio Manuel (b. 1947) is one of the most important Brazilian artists of the 1960s and 1970s. Combining innovative and provocative artistic forms with a strong political undercurrent, Manuel's use of media and body art, which at the time were emerging trends on the international scene, aimed to subvert and condemn the forces of repression, as well as challenge the arbitrary rules imposed by art institutions. Antonio Manuel: I Want to Act, Not Represent! will be the artist's first solo show in the United States. The featured paintings, installations, films and photographs will highlight Manuel's significant role in performance and post medium art. In addition, the exhibition will emphasize Manuel's work as a powerful liberating force from political repression.


The current global food crisis presents a puzzle, thus raising concerns among researchers and policymakers. A number of causes have been identified. However, the relative importance of each factor is still uncertain. In this study, the link between food prices and the various interconnected factors are modelled. The study also quantifies the current and future poverty impacts of rising food and energy prices under a number of scenarios. In general, it was observed that rising food and energy prices have adverse effects on the Nigerian economy and household welfare. Thus, the need for appropriate policy responses cannot be overstressed.


Vitex agnus-castus L., known as the chaste tree, is a small deciduous tree which its fruits have been used for more than 2500 years in ancient Egypt, Greece, Iran, and Rome for a variety of gynecologic problems. It has also been used for its claimed activity in the reduction of libido. The German health authorities have approved the use of V. agnus-castus for menstrual cycle irregularities, premenstrual syndrome, mastalgia, and menopausal disorders. The German Commission E recommended 30–40 mg/day of extract of dried fruit which is standardized based on 0.6% casticin. Scientific studies confirmed several pharmaceutical effects of this medicinal plant including antioxidant, chemopreventive, immunomodulatory and cytotoxicity, tumoricidal, antimutagenic, antimicrobial, antifungal, insect repellant, larvicidal, fracture healing, osteopenic, antinociceptive, opioidergic, antiepileptic, preventing nonalcoholic fat liver disease and oxidative stress, and anti-inflammatory activities. Adverse effects following by application of this plant are mild and reversible. There are no drug interactions recognized by systematic reviews. Theoretically, chaste tree could interfere with dopaminergic antagonists. In addition, the application of V. agnus-castus is contraindicated (or should be avoided) during pregnancy due to theoretical opinions and cellular studies that exhibited progesteronic and estrogenic properties of the plant. This study provides the documentation for scientists to use the properties of V. agnus-castus as an effective herbal medicine and its safety and acceptable dosage are discussed. Advanced preclinical and clinical investigations for sufficiently assessing the safety and therapeutic efficacy of V. agnus-castus are recommended.


Water quality concerns have been very crucial because good quality water supplies in abundance and readily available for production and productivity is of great importance. Therefore, the study was conducted to assess irrigation water quality of the lowlands of Delo Menna and Berbere districts. The samples were collected from the upstream and downstream of the canals along the farms of the districts during the medium and low peaks of the rivers' flow. About 1 L of water sample was collected from each site. Likewise, the sampling date was on the 15th of designated months. Accordingly, the results reveal that the surface irrigation water has less salinity, sodium hazard and residual sodium carbonate hazard in the irrigated canals and canals along the farms. The electrical conductivity ranges from 0.17 to 0.49 ds/m at lower peak and from 0.06 to 0.24 ds/m at medium peak in Delo Menna district. Moreover, the residual sodium carbonate ranges from 1.34 to 2.57 at lower peak flow and 0.79 to 1.30 at medium peak flows; sodium concentration ranges from 0.36 to 0.46 meq/L at lower peak of the river flow and very small concentrations at the medium peak flow period in Berbere district. The salinity indicator parameters such as all cations and anions, total dissolved solid, adjusted sodium ratio, residual sodium carbonates in the irrigated rivers were low in Delo Menna and Berbere. Therefore, the rivers in both districts are normal for agricultural production of all types of crops which are grown in the low lands of Bale.

 Key words: Cation, anion, assessment, conductivity, irrigation, water quality.


Even though the question of when internal displacement ends was the subject of the UN-led standards-setting efforts and addressed in the resulting international soft-law norms, in practice, the determination of when an internally displaced person (IDP) is no longer in need of assistance and protection is still performed arbitrarily and on ad hoc basis. There are different explanations of why the rights-based criteria on the duration of displacement have not served their aim. In this paper, the authors identify another one by arguing that their ineffectiveness is caused in the first place by the essentially political nature of the matter they are supposed to regulate. The paper's aim is to serve as a preliminary investigation and set the ground for a more systematic and in-depth analysis of the relationship between the law and the politics in the process of deciding when the internal displacement is over. To this aim, the paper provides an overview of the two main international soft-law instruments regulating the status of IDPs and a short analysis of the principal humanitarian, human rights and refugee law norms from which these soft-law instruments were derived or which have otherwise directed the identification of therein contained standards. The investigation shows not only that the two main international soft-law instruments tend to be inadequate as means to regulate the process of determining when a person should no longer be considered in need of assistance and protection as an IDP, but that the international law norms restated in these instruments as such cannot offer clear guidance on the matter. The inquiry also shows, in the context of protracted displacement, that where the impasse in the negotiation and/or implementation of a peace agreement reduces the traditional triad of durable solutions to only two of them – integration in the place of displacement and resettlement to the third place - the entire edifice of the rights-based criteria collapses. Such situations, the authors argue, demonstrate that the rights-based criteria on the duration of displacement can only serve as a framework for the essentially political deliberations on the matter.


The collective and individual rights at stake in the legal protection of rights central to Australian indigenous peoples' cultural heritage and cultural practice are inseparable. Undue focus upon one set of rights may jeopardize the other. Indiscriminate exercise by indigenous and non-indigenous individuals of rights to freedom of artistic expression may be contested as cultural appropriation, or a misuse or violation of group rights. Equally, giving precedence to group rights might arguably justify cultural stagnation and the stultification of creative experiment - the cherishing of passive and protective cultural rights at the expense of ongoing cultural practice. This article will examine the degree to which international human rights law is able to negotiate these conflicts. It is argued in this article that the right of self-determination (conceived of as a broad, substantive right to the means by which choices and decisions can be made) is the best conceptual container to which to extrust the preservation and continuity of indigenous art and culture(s).


Aim: Compare the measurement of working length with three different methods manual tactile sensation, digital radiography and Mutidetector computed tomography(MDCT). Materials and Method: 40 human premolar extracted for orthodontic purpose were selected. Teeth were store in sodium chloride (0.9%) during the study. Access cavity was prepared and canal patency was seen with no 10 file in each tooth. Manually no 15 K file was inserted from access cavity until the tip was visible at the foramen, a silicon stopper was adjusted to the corresponding buccal cusp tip and the root canal length was measured. After that in each tooth with no-15 K file inserted from access cavity with stop at tip of buccal cusp until tip appear at foramen and x-ray was taken with digital radiograph (RVG,Satelac) and canal length was measured. After that all teeth are mounted in wax block,MDCT scan was done and in the scan images of teeth, root canal length is measured from buccal cusp tip to root end. After taking measurement of working length with all three methods and the data was stastically analyzed with One Way Analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Turkey's Test. Results: ANOVA and turkeys test showed that there was no significant difference in the measurements by the three procedures (p>0.05). Conclusion: Working length measurement with MDCT scan and other two conventional methods does not show significant difference in measurement. Use of newer 3D imaging technique is useful in root canal treatment for measuring working length.


Between June and September 2009, Oxford Archaeology North (OA North) completed an archaeological excavation adjacent to Old Millfield Lane, Merseyside (SJ 56110 98446). The work was commissioned by United Utilities Ltd as part of a wider scheme of archaeological investigation connected with the construction of the West-East Link Main pipeline that runs from Prescot, Merseyside, to Woodgate Hill, near Bury. The excavation was initiated following the discovery of significant below-ground remains within the pipeline easement, during an archaeological watching brief, and the work was undertaken in response to recommendations made by the Archaeological Officer, Merseyside Archaeological Service.
The excavation identified significant archaeological remains, dating from the prehistoric through to modern periods, though the majority of remains were post-medieval in date, comprising a series of pits, boundary/drainage ditches, postholes, drains, the remains of buildings, and a moderate-sized assemblage of post-medieval artefacts. Moreover, these remains included a small building, the complete ground plan of which was uncovered during the excavation, that may have functioned as a small dwelling or vernacular workshop, possibly engaged in smithing. Taken together, these remains allow the investigation of a post-medieval rural site in Merseyside.
The subsequent post-excavation assessment, which is presented in this report, examined the results of the excavation, and assessed the potential for further analysis of each category of data with regard to the project's research aims. The results obtained from the assessment indicate that there is potential for further analysis of particular classes of artefactual material and also scope for further documentary research and environmental analysis. The assessment therefore includes an updated project design and details for an appropriate programme of analysis, cataloguing, and reporting. It is recommended that, after analysis, the results are collated for publication in either an appropriate academic journal, such as Post-Medieval Archaeology, or are incorporated into a proposed OA North monograph detailing the development of rural settlement in the historic county of Lancashire.


1. Ferritin has been partially purified from the serum of patients with idiopathic haemochromatosis. 2. Incubation with neuraminidase of this partially purified serum ferritin eliminated much of the microheterogeneity of the protein so that only ferritin of isoelectric point approximately 5.8 was present. 3. There was no change in the total amount of ferritin present (measured immunologically) or in the percentage of ferritin binding to concanavalin A. 4. Incubation of liver, spleen or heart ferritin with neuraminidase did not change the isoelectric focusing patterns.


Introduction The failure of antigen-specific CD8 T cells is a well recognised feature of chronic hepatitis B (HBV) infection, however the bulk CD8 T cell population is also characterised by low expression of CD28 and poor IL-2 production and proliferation capacity (Das, Hoare et al 2008). We have previously observed a prominent CD8 T cell population in chronic HBV to be CD8blow (Walker, Kang et al) - this is most obvious in the cells which lack expression of CD161 (a molecule associated with liver homing). The relationship of these two observations has not previously been explored. Such changes may represent infection induced immune exhaustion or an acquired tolerance mechanism, which is breached during flares in disease activity. Both scenarios have important implications either for development of immunotherapy for viral clearance or treatment for prevention of disease progression. Aim The aim of this study was to further characterise the phenotypic and functional features of the bulk CD8 T cell population in chronic HBV infection and the relationship of CD28lowCD8+ and CD161-CD8blow T cell populations. Method Peripheral blood mononucleocytes were obtained from patients with eAg+ve chronic HBV (n=6), eAg−ve chronic HBV (n=12), chronic hepatitis C (HCV) genotype 1 (n=5) and healthy controls (n=8). All patients were treatment naïve and had stable disease. FACS analysis was performed on both cell surface antibody staining using a panel of activation/exhaustion markers (CD25, CD38, CD69, HLA-DR, PD-1, CD8b) and intracellular cytokine staining following PMA/ionomycin stimulation. CD8bhigh T cells were freshly isolated from health controls and sorted using magnetic beads, prior to culture in a variety of conditions and subsequent FACS analysis. Results In chronic HBV infection, regardless of eAg status, CD161-CD8blow T cells express significantly lower CD28 (eAg+ve p=0.005, eAg−ve p=0.0001) and significantly higher HLA-DR (eAg+ve p=0.002, eAg−ve p=0.009) than their CD161-CD8bhigh counterparts. The CD161-CD8blowCD28lowHLA-DRhigh population represents a mean of 38% of total CD8 T cells in chronic HBV. The CD161-CD8blowCD28lowHLA-DRhigh population produce significantly more IFN-g on stimulation with PMA/ionomycin than their CD8bhighCD28highHLA-DRhigh counterparts (p<0.0001). No difference was observed in IL-2 production. In addition we are able to demonstrate ready transition of sorted CD161-CD8bhigh to CD161-CD8blow T cells from healthy controls cultured overnight in culture media alone, which provides an insight into the potential mechanisms involved in the generation of this population and an in-vitro model for use in further study. Conclusion CD161-CD8blowCD28lowHLA-DRhigh T cells are a functionally distinct, prominent T cell population in chronic HBV infection that are likely to profoundly influence the immune environment with important implications for the development of immunotherapy and treatment. The absence of this T cell subset in chronic HCV indicates a disease-specific rather than liver-related effect.


One of the main threats to wild tigers Panthera tigris is poaching of natural prey, yet information is lacking about this threat for most of the tiger's range. For tiger conservation in the Sundarbans Reserved Forest of Bangladesh, information is needed to assess the impact of prey poaching and the effectiveness of conservation actions to reduce this threat. This study used an interview survey of people living close to the Sundarbans to estimate the scale of prey poaching, investigate factors driving prey poaching and capture information on the nature of prey consumption. Half of the households reported consuming deer meat, with mean consumption of 1.13 kg per household per year; equivalent to 11 195 deer killed. Deer meat was generally consumed for its good taste, with households closer to the forest boundary and with higher‐income levels with relatively higher levels of consumption. Although cost of deer meat was higher than other available meat, 29% of households obtained deer meat for free. Deer meat tended to be obtained from personal contacts, and consumed in private. Most respondents (91.5%) knew deer consumption was illegal, but 69.4% viewed the law as ineffective. The study findings will be used to design focused regulation and awareness activities to reduce prey consumption in the area. The approach used to evaluate prey poaching through investigation of prey consumption follows studies of wild meat consumption in Africa, and can potentially be applied to all tiger landscapes.


We constructed thermodynamic models of the formation of two types of gold-ore mineralization at the Kagan ultramafic massif in the Southern Urals (Russia). The first type of gold-mineralization is widely spread at the massif in the tectonic zones of schistose serpentinites containing typically ≤ 0.1 ppm Au. The second type of gold-ore mineralization is represented by veined massive, streaky and impregnated magnetite ores in contact with serpentinites. It contains to 5 vol.% sulfides and 0.2–1.2 ppm Au. Our thermodynamic calculations explain the formation of two types of gold-ore mineralization in the bedrocks of ultramafic massifs. Metamorphic water, which is the result of the dehydration of early serpentinites (middle Riphean) during high-temperature regional metamorphism (700 °C, 10 kbar) (late Precambrian), is considered as the source of ore-bearing fluid in the models. The metasomatic interaction of metamorphic fluid with serpentinites is responsible for the gold-poor mineralization of the 1st type at T = 450–250 °C and P = 2.5–0.5 kbar. The hydrothermal gold-rich mineralization of the 2nd type was formed during mixing of metamorphic and meteoric fluids at T = 500–400 °C and P = 2–3 kbar and discharge of mixed fluid in the open space of cracks in serpentinites. The model calculations showed that the dominant forms of gold transport in fluids with pH = 3–5 are AuCl2− complexes (≥450 °C) and, as the temperature decreases, AuHS0, or AuOH0. Mineral associations obtained in model calculations are in general similar to the observed natural types of gold mineralization.


A schwannoma of the sixth cervical spinal nerve in a 5-year-old Shetland Sheepdog was surgically excised, sparing the thoracic limb and resulting in long-term survival. The dog had been referred because of slowly progressive left thoracic limb lameness. The lesion was localized to the left suprascapular and musculocutaneous nerves or the C6 and C7 spinal nerves on the basis of neurologic examination, electrodiagnostic examination, and myelography. Surgical exploration revealed a mass, which was excised and identified histologically as a schwannoma. Three and a half years later, the dog was normal except for mild gait abnormality, focal muscle atrophy, and a focal area of decreased cutaneous sensation of the left thoracic limb.


Gulf toadfish (Opsanus &bgr;) rapidly switch to excretion of urea as their main nitrogenous waste product under several laboratory conditions, including confinement to small volumes of water. Prior evidence suggested that the activities of two key enzymes of urea synthesis exhibited potentially different modes of upregulation during this switch, with carbamoyl phosphate synthethase III (CPSase III) activated allosterically by N-acetylglutamate, and glutamine synthetase (GSase) activated by increases in the concentration of protein. The present study was undertaken to examine additional aspects of the regulation of these enzymes. The sequence for O. beta CPSase III cDNA was obtained, and it was found to be similar to that of other piscine CPSases. The sequence also allowed us to develop riboprobes for CPSase III mRNA analysis using ribonuclease protection assays (RPAs). CPSase III mRNA was expressed in liver, muscle, kidney and intestine, in agreement with prior enzymatic measurements. Levels of CPSase III mRNA increased five- to tenfold (relative to beta-actin mRNA) in liver (but not muscle) following 48 h of confinement stress. Measured by western analysis using an antibody to chicken GSase, confined O. beta GSase protein concentrations increased eightfold over control levels, in agreement with prior and present measurements of increases in GSase activity. Furthermore, RPAs of GSase mRNA levels demonstrated an increase of fivefold during confinement.


Abstract. Urban heat island is one of the most vital environmental risks in urban areas. The advent of remote sensing technology provides better visibility due to the integrated view, low-cost, fast and effective way to study and monitor environmental and humanistic changes. The aim of this study is a spatiotemporal evaluation of land use changes and the heat island in the time period of 1985-2015 for the studied area in the city of Babol. For this purpose, multi-temporal Landsat images were used in this study. For calculating the land surface temperature (LST), single-channel and maximum likelihood algorithms were used, to classify Images. Therefore, land use changes and LST were examined, and thereby the relationship between land-use changes was analyzed with the normalized LST. By using the average and standard deviation of normalized thermal images, the area was divided into five temperature categories, inter alia, very low, low, medium, high and very high and then, the heat island changes in the studied time period were investigated. The results indicate that land use changes for built-up lands increased by 92%, and a noticeable decrease was observed for agricultural lands. The Built-up land changes trend has direct relation with the trend of normalized surface temperature changes. Low and very low-temperature categories which follow a decreasing trend, are related to lands far away from the city. Also, high and very high-temperature categories whose areas increase annually, are adjacent to the city center and exit ways of the town. The results emphasize on the importance of attention of urban planners and managers to the urban heat island as an environmental risk.


By the time John Keats began to write his great mythological works, the use of the classical world in poetry had become somewhat scorned in English literary circles, after the allegorical excesses of the eighteenth century. In Keats' imagination, however, the Greco-Roman pantheon served not as a source of aesthetic embellishment but as part of a new, organic mythology of his own creation. For Keats, the self-exploration of a personal consciousness most closely approximates divinity, and such divinity depends upon interaction with the immediate, earthly space surrounding an individual. In this essay I explore Keats' use of myth to access this personal identity, which he does frequently through three poetic techniques. The first I call "mythological sense," meaning the apprehension of mythological allusions acting as a sixth sense for the narrator as he perceives his surroundings. The second is the physical boundedness that constricts mythological poems. The third is his use of embodied figures, initially anonymous mythological forms which appear first as objects in the narrator's sensual experience, their mythological identifications secondary and often revealed only after their physical significance has been explored.


The article is a comparative study of Lysistrata (411 B.C.) and Women in Parliament (391 B.C.) - comedies by Aristophanes, Feminie Parliament (ca. 1569) - work by Marcin Bielski, and Gobierno Reprezentativo y Constitucional del Bello Sexo Espanol - a liberal Spanish periodical from 1841. Those works present a literary vision of the participation of women in public life, as well as the femine desire to size power over men. The hidden main idea is criticism of the goverment exercised by men, and search for ways to improve it. The idea of admintting women to politics is not be understood as a proposal to be realized in practice, but as a humoristic warning. If men do not unite to save the state, women will start to tule them, and having a meange knowledge of politicsand diplomacy, they will bring tho state to a downfull. Everything will stand upside down then: women will take ove rmen's jobs, and men-women's. This, the studied texts have two complementary implied meanings: literal and figurative. The first one reflects an irony, and the second one a caution. Women wanted the rule through the parliament elected among them. It is worth noting that the aspiration of woman to take over the helm did not follow from their egoistic ambitions, but it was provoked by men's incompetence in the face of the really catastrophic situation of the state. The ladies become indignant with that fact, and it awakened their patriotism and feeling of responsibility for the fate of the state. as the same time , they wanted to prove that they had their own efficient ways of rulling both the state and men.


Capacitor placement/setting is one of the main means for loss reduction and voltage profile improvement in distribution systems. If capacitor placement is meant, the objective function will be the cost of energy losses besides the capacitors costs in a specified period of time. Here, reconfiguration can be used as a strategy to reform the base configuration of the distribution network in order to place the capacitors more efficiently with lower costs. On the other hand, if capacitors are already available in a network, optimum capacitors setting and network reconfiguration should be performed for power loss minimization. In this paper both power loss minimization and capacitor placement cost minimization are implemented using a modified particle swarm optimization algorithm. PSO is a robust optimization algorithm inspired by social behavior. Several simulations are performed on two conventional sample distribution networks and compared against the results of existing methods which demonstrated the advantage of this method.


The mutagenic potential of the heavy ion component of the galactic cosmic radiation of space environment is of major concern for astronauts in terms of tumor induction as radiation late effects. The recombinant
SWITCH test is based on TA1535 Salmonella typhimurium cells transformed with a bi-cistronic vector
harbouring (a) the genes for bioluminescence production from Photobacterium leiognathi under the control
of a DNA-damage inducible promoter and (b) the gene for green fluorescent protein from the jellyfish
Aequorea victoria under the control of a constitutive promoter. Suchlike genetically modified organism
report on the presence of genotoxic conditions by dose dependent increase of bioluminescence induction
and on the presence of cytotoxic conditions by dose dependent decrease in GFP fluorescence. By this, it is
possible to analyse bacterial inactivation and mutation induction by ionizing radiation in parallel in the
same cell within short time. Experiments with heavy ions have been performed with the SWITCH test at
GANIL with 75 MeV/A carbon, 95 MeV/A argon, and 29 MeV/A lead. The results obtained clearly show
that the numbers of hits (particles per cm 2 ) necessary to inactivate the bacteria (cytotoxicity) depend on
LET. The higher the ionisation capacity of the accelerated ion, the less hits resulted in the same test effect,
e.g. 37 % survival. For genotoxicity induction it can be seen, that for very high LET radiation the number
of hits required is much less then for lower LET radiation (e.g. 1.4x10 6 /cm 2 hits for lead versus
1.3x10 7 /cm 2 hits for carbon). The power of the genotoxic response seems to be inversely related to LET.
While carbon radiation results in a maximal induction of 72.6x, argon radiation leads to a 29.4x value and
lead results in only a factor of 4.8. From the experiments with 3 different ions cross sections σ were calculated.
Inactivation cross sections (σ RCP ) rise over the whole LET range under investigation. The same is
true for genotoxicity cross sections (σ RGP ). Cross sections for maximal luminescence emission (σ RGP for
peak response) differ by a factor of about 10 from cross sections for inactivation; cross sections for doubling
the response from untreated cells (σ RGP for 2x) are about 3 orders of magnitude higher.


The present investigation entitled "Chemical and sensory changes during storage study of concentrated fig (Ficus carica L.) pulp" was carried out during 2015–2016 at Post Harvest Technology Centre, Department of Horticulture, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri. The storage behaviour of concentrated fig pulp which was packed in different packaging materials (glass bottles and standy pouches) and stored at two different storage conditions (ambient temperature and cold storage) was studied. The data revealed that there was increase in TSS, total sugars, reducing sugars and titratable acidity, whereas the calcium and iron decreased during 180 days of storage in concentrated fig pulp. The sensory score viz., colour, flavour, taste and overall acceptability of concentrated fig pulp during 180 days of storage were found to be decreased in all the treatment combinations. The microbial quality viz., yeast and mould count were found to be increased during 180 days of storage in concentrated fig pulp but was found to be within acceptable level in all treatment combinations. The treatment CP1S2 i.e. concentrated fig pulp packed in glass bottles and stored in cold storage; was found to be superior in respect of chemical composition, sensory evaluation and microbial quality. The cost of production and storage of 1 kg concentrated fig pulp is Rs 158.64.


Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) is the study of how psychological, neural, and immunologic processes interact and affect human health and behavior. Although once a relatively small field, some of the most exciting discoveries in psychopathology and mental health research have recently involved ideas and methods from PNI. In reviewing this work, I first summarize the structure and function of the human immune system, focusing primarily on inflammation. Second, I describe neural and physiologic pathways that link the brain and immune system, which give neurocognitive processes the ability to regulate the immune system and immunologic processes the ability to affect neural, cognitive-emotional, and behavioral outcomes. Third, I review studies examining associations between life stress and inflammation, and inflammation and mental health. Finally, I highlight several promising avenues for future research. Overall, despite the notable impact that PNI has already had on our understanding of mental and physical health, many important questions remain unanswered.


With the era of accessible fossil fuels quickly coming to an end it is important that research is conducted into viable more sustainable future energy alternatives one of which is sustainable pumped hydro electric generation. For a sustainable future it is pertinent to investigate the feasibility of potential alternatives before significant investment is contributed to a potentially doomed project.

This project was developed to investigate the feasibility of a particular proposal, centred on sustainable pumped hydroelectricity more specifically pumped hydro powered by either solar, wind or a combination of both energy types. A three stage plan was incorporated to find the proposal with the most potential, develop a conceptual design with civil scope for this proposal and then compare it to the existing system to evaluate whether the proposed system was feasible or not.

The investigations concluded that while the proposed project was physically possible in regards to constructing foundations to overcome overturning moments and implementing the required infrastructure it was economically expensive and too impractical to be considered feasible. It is impractical to invest somewhere in the vicinity of a billion dollars to upgrade a system that will not provide any economic benefit for many years to come. Renewable energy is simply not reliable enough at the current point in time to justify such a substantial economic commitment. It would also take considerable effort to incorporate the existing infrastructure as the two systems do not mesh smoothly. While the proposed project would bring about a number of beneficial aspects such as greener more sustainable energy generation method and a more sustainable future it is currently not feasible.


Cloud computing is an upcoming, novel, realistic paradigm to host and deliver internet services. Cloud computing helps to plan accurately for provisioning of hardware or software and also eradicates the need of high-priced computing hardware and maintenance. Using virtualization, clouds handle shared collection of physical resources in a huge user base having differing requirements. Hence, clouds are substitute for grids, clusters and supercomputers, but in challenging scientific computing workloads virtualization leads to performance penalties. This paper investigates cloud performance analysis under different Virtual Machine (VM) capacity. VM parameters like RAM and processors number are varied, and resource allocation, CloudSim debt and VM percentage used are also studied.


Newborn disorders vary widely, from premature birth to a myriad of genetic disorders. Although they are commonly encountered in hospital and primary care settings, existing therapies are neither definitive nor distinct, and research is still ongoing. Such disorders of concern include premature birth, gastroesophageal reflux, cystic fibrosis, Down Syndrome, phenylketonuria, maple syrup urine disease, and galactosemia. Nutritional recommendations are critical to these infants who may not survive without specific alterations in their diet to accommodate the stress from their metabolic demand. Nutritional guidance in these patients reduces the incidence of complications and exacerbations of these disorders, which may include failure to thrive, anemia, neurocognitive deficiencies, sepsis, reflux, and diabetes. Breastfeeding has been found to reduce mortality in infants that are premature, reduce complications in gastroesophageal reflux disease, and result in better prognoses in newborns with cystic fibrosis. Supplementation of vitamins, iron, probiotics, and even salt have been beneficial in the management of these newborns. Modified infant formulas and medical foods are the mainstay of treatment for inborn errors of metabolism, as they require specific enzymes and proteins to be supplemented or avoided. Also, knowing which milks, proteins and vegetables to consume may be valuable for physicians and primary caretakers to plan the diet regimens accordingly.


During the last eight years great progress has been made in the treatment of infections of the urinary tract. The diagnostic work and the experimental and clinical observations necessary for the foundation of this progress had already been accomplished, but they had not become common knowledge. Before therapeutic advance could be made, a study of the micro-organisms commonly found in the urinary tract had to be supplemented by possible methods of treatment of sufficient value to interest the experimental workers in this field. As recently as ten years ago it was felt that patients complaining of frequency, urgency and burning on urination did so because the urine excreted by the kidneys was more acid than comfortably could be borne by the mucous membrane of the urinary tract. Soon, however, it was discovered that these patients were relieved when the acidity of the urine was increased, which appeared paradoxic. Cultures of


Introduction Noncommunicable diseases associated with obesity are relevant sources of morbidity and mortality worldwide and in Brazil. Companies, through quality of life programs, may influence workers' lifestyle positively reducing modifiable behavioural risk factors. The objective of this study is to describe a workers´ healthy weight program in a public company in Brazil. Methods An intervention study was carried out in a hydroelectric power plant in Brazil between June 2016 and May 2017 with workers that presented obesity or diabetes diagnostics registered in occupational health records. From 1232 workers, 294 were diagnosed and 158 were invited to participate in the first edition of the program. The program realised a regular interdisciplinary approach with medical, nutritional, nursing and physical education professional, and offered gym for practical exercises. The initial and final body composition of the participants who completed the program were compared by bioelectrical impedance analysis, considering weight, muscle mass and fat mass. Result From 158 invitations, 142 workers accepted and 82 (57.7%) completed the program. About the workers who completed the program: 66 (80.4%) reduced their total weight, with an average of 3.56 kg and a median of 2.6 kg; 60 (73%) reduced body fat mass, with an average of 3.8 kg and a median of 2.7 kg; 21 (25.6%) gained fat mass, with an average of 1.4 kg and a median of 0.9 kg; and 48.7% maintained or increased muscle mass. Associated with the quantitative results, the health professionals involved noticed that motivation increased among the participants to achieve a healthier lifestyle. Discussion The program contributed to weight loss and adoption of healthier habits, reducing modifiable behavioural risk factors for most participants. The quality of life programs in companies provide a friendly environment to change the workers' habits, and also stimulate their co-workers, family and friends to adopt a healthier lifestyle.


BACKGROUND
Several measures, such as the frequency, duration and ratio of quantitative communication behaviours, have been used to evaluate patient-doctor communication; however, these measures have several major problems. Therefore, we examined whether doctors' and patients' perceptions of the level of doctors' explanations provide a better measure for evaluating the quality of patient-doctor communication.

METHODS
The subjects were 630 doctor-patient pairs in Japan. One-way anova and multiple logistic regression analysis were used for the data analysis.

RESULTS
Of 190 doctors and 950 patients selected randomly, 126 doctors and 630 patients returned questionnaires (response rates, both 66.3%). We found the following. (i) With respect to the sufficiency of the doctor explanation, the 'patient-better' situation (i.e. when patients' evaluations were better than doctors' evaluations) had a more positive influence on patients' outcome measures than did other situations. (ii) The 'doctor better' situation (i.e. when doctors' evaluations were better than patients' evaluations) had the most negative influence on patient outcome measures compared with the other situations. (iii) The length of clinical experience, patient gender and guidance concerning a change in lifestyle were predictors of the doctor-better condition in the two types of doctor explanations.

CONCLUSIONS
A measure that classifies patient-doctor pairs into doctor-better and the other situations might be effective for evaluating the quality of patient-doctor communication. As this is a new approach to evaluating patient-doctor communication, more studies are necessary to verify these findings.


ABSTRACT Fosfomycin, approved in the United States only for cystitis, is an attractive alternative for oral treatment of outpatient complicated urinary tract infections (cUTIs) as it has antimicrobial activity against most common uropathogens. The study was a multicenter, randomized, open-label pragmatic superiority clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of oral fosfomycin versus oral levofloxacin strategies in cUTIs (FOCUS study). The trial compared two strategies for initial or step-down oral therapy of cUTI without bacteremia after 0–48 hours of parenteral antibiotic therapy. Subjects were assigned to 3 g of fosfomycin or 750 mg (or dose adjusted for kidney function) of levofloxacin daily for 5–7 days. Clinical and microbiological cures were assessed at the end of therapy (EOT) and test of cure (TOC) (approximately 21 days from the start of antibiotics). The trial did not meet accrual goals; thus, the results were descriptive. Only 51 subjects were included in the microbiological intention-to-treat population. The subjects were mainly females (76%), with a mean age of 46.7 years (standard deviation [SD] = 20.8) and acute pyelonephritis (88%). At the end of therapy, clinical cure remained similar (69% and 68% for fosfomycin and levofloxacin strategies, respectively), and microbiological success was 100% for both strategies. At the test of cure, clinical cure was similar (84% and 86% in the fosfomycin and levofloxacin strategies, respectively); however, a numerically lower microbiological success was observed for fosfomycin (69% compared to 84% for levofloxacin). These limited data suggest that fosfomycin could be an oral alternative as a step-down therapy for the treatment of cUTIs (registry number NCT 03697993). IMPORTANCE Concerns over resistance and safety have been identified in the current treatment regimen for complicated urinary tract infections. Fosfomycin is a drug that is routinely used for the treatment of uncomplicated cystitis. This study shows that fosfomycin could be an oral alternative as step-down therapy for the treatment of complicated urinary tract infections, with a clinical cure rate comparable to levofloxacin but a lower microbiological success rate 3 weeks from start of antibiotics. Concerns over resistance and safety have been identified in the current treatment regimen for complicated urinary tract infections. Fosfomycin is a drug that is routinely used for the treatment of uncomplicated cystitis. This study shows that fosfomycin could be an oral alternative as step-down therapy for the treatment of complicated urinary tract infections, with a clinical cure rate comparable to levofloxacin but a lower microbiological success rate 3 weeks from start of antibiotics.


From the statistics of international death rates, United States shows 169.4 per 100,000 of population death in year 2005 because of coronary heart disease (CHD). An atheroma is an accumulation and swelling an artery walls that made up of (mostly) macrophage cells, or debris, that contain lipids (cholesterol and fatty acids), calcium and a variable amount of fibrous connective tissue. It results the artery wall thickens and hardens. This is called as atherosclerosis or "hardening of the arteries". Thus, will resulting in a heart attact and ensuing debility. In this project, a Fluid – Structure Interaction analysis is done on a blood flow in an artery which suffers atherosclerosis disease. The most often atherosclerotic plaque accumulate is at the abdominnal aorta. This analysis is done on a simplified model of abdominal aorta. The conditions to be analyze is regarding to the size and the stiffness of the atheroma. The software tools that using in this research is the ANSYS Workbench, with the coupling of ANSYS and CFX analysis. The output result of structural analysis of the abdominal aorta shows that the abdominal with the size of 15% atheroma shows the highest value of the Maximum Total Mesh Displacement and Von Mises Stress. While the result of fluid analysis of the blood flow in abdominal aorta shows that the increases of size and stiffness of atherma will increases the absolute gradient for the pressure and velocity of blood flow at the point 3 in analysis. However, the increases of absolute gradient of velocity and pressure of blood flow for the increases of atheroma stiffness is lower than the increases of absolute gradient of velocity and pressure of blood flow for the increases of atheroma size. Thus, the visualization of the interaction between blood flow and artery wall in the vicinity of atheroma will help medical researchers and doctor understand atherosclerosis better.


An increasing body of experimental evidence indicates that plant disease can be suppressed by treating plant surfaces with a variety of water-based compost preparations, referred to in the literature as watery fermented compost extracts or compost teas. The terms nonaerated compost teas (NCT) and aerated compost teas (ACT) are used in this review to refer to the common production methods that diverge in the intent to actively aerate. Very little data directly compares the efficacy of NCT and ACT for plant disease suppression. A variety of foliar plant pathogens and/or diseases have been suppressed by applications of NCT while few controlled studies have examined ACT. For some diseases the level of control would be considered inadequate for conventional agriculture; organic producers with limited control options consider partial disease control to be an important improvement. For both compost tea production methods, decisions that influence pathogen suppression include choice of compost feedstocks, compost age, water ratio, fermentation time, added nutrients, temperature and pH. Application technology choices include the dilution ratio, application equipment, timing, rates, spray adjuncts and adding specific microbial antagonists. Increased understanding of compost tea microbiology and the survival and interactions of microbes on plants surfaces should make it possible to modify compost tea production practices and application technology to optimize delivery of a microflora with multiple modes of pathogen suppression. Innovative growers and practitioners are leading the development of new compost tea production methods and uses, generating many potential research opportunities. The use of compost tea as part of an integrated plant health management strategy will require much additional whole systems research by a cohesive team of farmers and experts in composting, plant pathology, phyllosphere biology, molecular microbial ecology, fermentation science, plant physiology, plant breeding, soil science, and horticulture.


Analcime and clinoptilolite are among the most abundant zeolites in nature. During recent decades natural analcimes and clinoptilolites, also synthetic modified analcimes have been investigated as potential and innovative substances, possible to use for the immobilization of radioactive waste, molecular catalysis and other purposes. However, natural analcimes like many natural rocks are contamined with various impurities (about 30 %), which significally reduces their sorption possibilities and possibilities of their using in such chemical technologies as catalysis, fractioning of hydrocarbons and other. In this article the stability of cubic analcime at the hydrothermal conditions at 180 °C temperature in solutions of various concentrations, containing Li+, Mg2+, Sr2+ and Fe3+ ions has been examined. These processes have big signification for the formation of ion-exchanged analcimes, its sorption properties and also if ions have been immobilized in analcime structure. It has been established, that as result of interaction between cubic analcime and lithium chloride solutions the formation of new compounds: lithium silicate and silinaite occurs. At the same hydrothermal conditions the interaction between cubic analcime and chloride solutions, containing Sr2+, Mg2+ and Fe3+ ions pass without formation of new compounds, and only with interposition of these ions in the structure of cubic analcime. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.19.3.1496


Identifying musical instruments in a polyphonic music recording is a difficult yet crucial problem in music information retrieval. It helps in auto-tagging of a musical piece by instrument, consequently enabling searching music databases by instrument. Other useful applications of instrument recognition are source separation, genre recognition, music transcription, and instrument specific equalizations. We review the state of the art methods for the task, including the recent Convolutional Neural Networks based approaches. These deep learning models require large quan-tities of annotated data, a problem which can be partly solved by synthetic data augmentation. We study different types of audio data transformations that can help in various audio related tasks, publishing an augmentation library in the process. We investigate the effect of using augmented data during the training process of three state of the art CNN based models. We achieved a performance improvement of 2% over the best performing model with almost half the number of trainable model parameters. We attained 6% performance improvement for the single-layer CNN architecture, and 4% for the multi-layer architecture . Also, we study the influence of each type of audio augmentation on each instrument class individually.


This paper addresses the development of post-disciplinary 'actuarial' or risk-based technologies of power. Arguing against models which focus on icreased efficiency as an evolutionary criterion for emerging technologies of power, it suggests that such technologies' place and form are largely dtermined by the nature and fortunes of political programs with which they are aligned. Thus the rise of neo-conservatism and related programs have extensively modified and curtailed programs based on risk models, and expanded those based on punishment and discipline. The paper examines the nature of situational crime prevention in the light of these ideas, and moves on to consider certain broader theoretical implications.


The thesis is about gender relations and adoption of computers and mobile phones in Uganda. The main objective of the study is to assess how gender relations relate to diffusion and adoption of ICT and women's empowerment under liberalised ICT policy. Specific objectives are to: analyse accessibility and utilisation of computer technology and mobile telephony by gender; examine the influence of gender relations on diffusion and adoption of computer technology and mobile telephony by women and men; assess how adoption of computer and mobile telephone technology influences gender relations at household and community levels; and analyse apparent benefits and opportunities of computer technology and mobile telephony to women and men. The study that eclectically draws on feminist, neoliberal economic development and diffusion of innovations theory is exploratory and cross-sectional in design. Fieldwork was conducted in two districts of Uganda namely Iganga and Mayuge using qualitative and quantitative methods. Results indicate that gender relations namely gender roles, power relations between men and women and emotional relations have a bearing on a number of aspects that relate to diffusion and adoption of computing and mobile telephony. These aspects include: the diffusion channels or ways, through which women and men access the technology; accessibility to technology which is not automatic even when women could afford to buy them; use which is mediated by considerations of safety especially for women and use which can result into desirable and undesirable outcomes at household or community levels. Findings show that existing gender structures have been dented and that patriarchy is stressed by adoption of the technologies especially mobile phones leading to transformation of gender relations to an extent. However underlying gender structures though fractured remain largely intact and limit the beneficial impact of ICT, in this case computing and mobile telephony particularly to women. The study finds a strong intersection between use of especially mobile phones and escalation of gender based violence. Further, it is noted that the overall ICT policy regime that is based on a free market ideology bears benefits to women and men as well, but these benefits are limited by the exclusion of certain sections of society particularly women engaged primarily in the agricultural sector which ostensibly is the mainstay of Uganda's economy. The overall conclusion is, therefore, that ICT diffusion and adoption and its benefits can be meaningfully enhanced if attention is paid to gender relations at family, community and policy levels. This should involve ensuring that ICT policy is gender responsive and that elements of gender relations that stand in the way of leveraging ICTs for women's empowerment are attended to by all actors including government, private companies, communities and individuals.


Numerical simulation tools are generally used in all modern engineering fields, especially those having difficulties in performing large number of practical experiments, such as biomechanics. Among the computational methods, Finite Element (FE) is an essential tool. Nowadays, the fast-growing computational techniques, from the upgrading hardware to the emerging of novel algorithm, have already enabled extensive applications in biomechanics. For applications that require fast response and/or multiple queries, Reduced Order Modelling (ROM) methods have been developed based on existing methods such as FE, and have eventually enabled real-time numerical simulation for a large variety of engineering problems.
In this thesis, several novel computational techniques are developed to explore the capability of Proper Generalised Decomposition (PGD), which is an important approach of ROM. To assess the usability of the PGD-based ROM for biomechanical applications, a real human femur bone is chosen to study its mechanical behaviour as an example. Standard image-based modelling procedure in biomechanics is performed to create an FE model which is then validated with in vitro experimental results.
As a basis of this work, the medical image processing has to be performed, in order to generate an available FE model. This model is validated according to data collected from a previously performed \textit{in vitro} experimental test. The full procedure of image-based model generation and the validation of generated model is described in Chapter 2.
As a major objective of this thesis, a non-intrusive scheme for the PGD framework is developed in Chapter 3. It is implemented using in-house developed Matlab (Mathworks, USA) code to conduct the PGD work flow, and calling Abaqus as an external solver for devised fictitious mechanical problems.
The transformation of data from computed tomography (CT) image set to FE model including inhomogeneous material properties is subjected to some physical constraints, and when applying the load, there are also geometric constraints limiting the locations where load could be applied. These constraints will lead to a constrained parameter space, which possibly has difficulty to be separated in a Cartesian fashion. Therefore, a novel strategy to separate the parameters in a collective manner is proposed in Chapter 4.
Chapter 5 details a comprehensive application in biomechanics, the methodologies proposed in Chapter 3 and 4 are applied on the practical model generated in Chapter 2. As a typical application of the PGD vademecum, a material property identification problem is discussed. Further PGD vademecum is generated using the identified material properties with variable loading locations, and with this vademecum, real-time mechanical response of the femur is available.
In addition, for the purpose of extending the methodologies to orthotropic materials, which is commonly used in biomechanics, in Chapter 6 another linear elastic model is investigated with the non-intrusive PGD scheme. Nowadays, isogeometric analysis (IGA) is a very popular tool in computational mechanics. It is appealing to take advantage of non-uniform rational B-splines (NURBS) to discretise the model. For PGD, using B-splines for the discretisation of the parameter space could improve the quality of vademecum, especially for problems involving sensitivities with respect to the parameters during the online computations.
It is important and necessary to extend the PGD framework to nonlinear solid mechanics, because most biological soft tissues have been observed nonlinear mechanical behaviours. Consequently, in Chapter 7 we have developed a PGD framework for the St.Venant-Kirchhoff constitutive model using the Picard linearisation which is consistent with the fixed-point iteration algorithm commonly used in PGD.
In Chapter 8, conclusive remarks are addressed as well as forecasts of possible future works.


Background: To evaluate visual recovery after rehabilitation with microperimetric biofeedback in patients submitted to surgery for retinal detachment. Methods: We have randomly divided 44 eyes of 44 patients after surgery for retinal detachment into two group: group A, 23 eyes, submitted to biofeedback training with microperimetry MP-1, 10 training sessions, once a week, ten minutes for each eye; group B (control group), 21 eyes, treated with common care strategy. We have compared best correct visual acuity (BCVA) of two groups at baseline, 6, 12 and 18 weeks with Student's t test. Results: At baseline the mean BCVA was 0.6 ± 0.43 logMAR in group A and 0.66 ± 0.67 logMAR in group B (p=0.74). At 6 weeks after training the mean BCVA of group A was 0.27 ± 0.29 logMAR significantly better (p=0.02) than group B (0.67 ± 0.67 logMAR). At 12 weeks the mean BCVA was 0.18 ± 0.25 logMAR in group A better than the control group in which the mean BCVA was 0.60 ± 0.66 logMAR (p=0.01). At 18 weeks visual performances were still better in biofeedback group than in group B (p=0.01) in which the mean BCVA was 0.58 ± 0.68 logMAR. Conclusions: Microperimetric biofeedback allowed a better and faster visual recovery after surgery for retinal detachment than normal condition.


Automatic differentiation (AD), a technique for constructing new programs which compute the derivative of an original program, has become ubiquitous throughout scientific computing and deep learning due to the improved performance afforded by gradient-based optimization. However, AD systems have been restricted to the subset of programs that have a continuous dependence on parameters. Programs that have discrete stochastic behaviors governed by distribution parameters, such as flipping a coin with probability $p$ of being heads, pose a challenge to these systems because the connection between the result (heads vs tails) and the parameters ($p$) is fundamentally discrete. In this paper we develop a new reparameterization-based methodology that allows for generating programs whose expectation is the derivative of the expectation of the original program. We showcase how this method gives an unbiased and low-variance estimator which is as automated as traditional AD mechanisms. We demonstrate unbiased forward-mode AD of discrete-time Markov chains, agent-based models such as Conway's Game of Life, and unbiased reverse-mode AD of a particle filter. Our code package is available at https://github.com/gaurav-arya/StochasticAD.jl.


Insulin or exercise stimulates skeletal muscle glucose transport, most likely by increasing both the number and activity of glucose transporters in the plasma membrane. Skeletal muscle glucose transport of genetically obese Zucker rats (fa/fa) displays a severe insulin resistance that results, at least in part, from a failure of net transporter translocation to the cell membrane (King, P., E. D. Horton, M. Hirshman, and E. S. Horton. J. Clin, Invest. 90: 1568-1575, 1992). The purpose of the present study was to determine if the obese rat muscle was also resistant to the action of acute exercise to increase glucose transport and, if so, to determine if the defect involved transporter translocation as seen in the resistance to insulin. The muscle glucose transport system was investigated in plasma membranes isolated from postprandial, sedentary or acutely exercised, lean and obese Zucker rats. Measurements of D- and L-glucose uptake by membrane vesicles under equilibrium exchange conditions indicated that an acute bout of exercise resulted in a threefold increase in the maximum velocity (Vmax) for lean animals (5.7 vs. 17.6 nmol.mg protein-1.min-1) and a 4.5-fold increase in the Vmax for obese rats (4.1 vs. 18.6 nmol.mg protein-1.min-1). For both lean and obese animals, this increase in transport was associated with an increase in transporter number measured by cytochalasin B binding (1.6- and 2.2-fold, respectively) and with an increase in the average carrier turnover number (1.9- and 2.0-fold, respectively). The results indicate that, unlike a maximal insulin stimulus, acute exercise of the obese Zucker rat promotes both transporter translocation and transporter activation in skeletal muscle.


Five medicinal plants, Acacia nilotica (Fabaceae), Citrus aurantifolia (Rutaceae), Mangifera indica  (Anacardiaceae) Carica papaya (Caricaceae), and Psidium guajava (Myrtaceae) used for the treatment of malaria/ fever by the Hausa people of Kano-Nigeria were selected based on their traditional claims. These were extracted using ethanol. The in vitro antiplasmodial activities of these extracts against laboratory adapted chloroquine susceptible strain of Plasmodium falciparum  (3D7) were earlier reported (Dabo et al. 2013). This study was conducted to evaluate the in vivo  antiplasmodial activity of four of these extracts using icr mice in the 4-day suppressive test against P. berghei. The extracts evaluated were: Acacia nilotica (Fabaceae) stem extract coded as ANSF1;  Citrus aurantifolia (Rutaceae) leaf extract coded as CALF1; Mangifera indica (Anacardiaceae) leaf extract coded as MILF1 and combination of C. aurantifolia, Carica papaya (Caricaceae), M. indica  and Psidium guajava (Myrtaceae) leaves extract coded as CBLF1. CALF1, ANSF1 and CBLF1 (combination) exhibited appreciable degree of suppression of 31.06%, 25.16 and %16.35% respectively. MILF1 did not exhibit any suppression against the P. berghei parasite in vivo at all. With the exception of haemoglobin content (P 0.05). Thus it can be concluded that, the apparent absence of changes in haematological profile alongside activities exhibited by CALF1 (Rutaceae), CBLF1 (a combination) and ANSF1 (Fabaceae),) suggest the bio-availability and antiplasmodial activities of the active substances in the plants evaluated. Keywords : Antimalaria; In vivo, Plants Extracts; Mus musculus ; Plasmodium berghei.


Abstract. Improving biodiversity in urban areas is widely recognised as part of sustainable smart cities development framework. Due to unprecedented urbanisation, there is a lack of adequate green spaces which has in turn affected the urban biodiversity. Green roofs are argued to enhance and support the biodiversity by systematic inclusion into the urban ecological network. However, its connection to the existing natural ecological areas and connectivity are not discussed at a city scale. Thus, in this study, we aim at identifying the connectivity of potential areas for developing green roofs in strengthening the biodiversity and ecological network in cities. Altogether, we observe that the potential roofs are in the near proximity of these zones. The zones with dry lawns and meadows like environment are quite limited and spatially far from each other. Thus, developing green roofs can help in connecting these spaces. In this paper, we mainly focused on bees as they play an important role in pollination and are also declining in the urban areas. Further research can incorporate more detailed analysis on foraging distances of other species. A methodology can be developed to select which zones can be targeted for specific species.