Molecular and behavioral mechanisms mediating paclitaxel-induced changes in affect-like behavior in mice

The antineoplastic paclitaxel is associated with negative affective outcomes, such as depression, anxiety, and decreased quality of life during treatment and convalescence. With the Baby Boomer population approaching peak cancer age, it is dire that the mechanisms behind paclitaxel-induced changes in mood are uncovered. Cancer-free male and female C57BL/6J mice were treated with one set of four injections of vehicle or paclitaxel (32mg/kg cumulative), or two sets of four injections of vehicle or paclitaxel (64mg/kg cumulative), and periodically assessed for depression-like behaviors. Paclitaxel caused significant, time-dependent deficits in sucrose preference and operant responding for palatable food. Because there is growing evidence to support the role of kappa opioid receptors (KORs) in stress-mediated depression and reward dysfunction, we investigated KOR signaling as a putative mechanism of paclitaxel-induced depression-like behaviors. The selective KOR antagonist norbinaltorphimine (norBNI) reversed paclitaxel-induced attenuation of sucrose preference. At the molecular level, paclitaxel time-dependently induced an increase in the expression of Prodynorphin mRNA, the precursor for endogenous KOR agonists, in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Using the [35S]GTPγS assay, we discovered that a history of paclitaxel time-dependently attenuated activation of dopamine D2 receptors (D2R) and KORs in the NAc but not caudate putamen. These data suggest that paclitaxel-induced changes in affect-like behavior may be due to time- and region-dependent dysregulation of KOR and D2R signaling. These observations help to establish the roles of KOR and D2R systems in paclitaxel-induced disruption of behavioral reward, thus revealing potential neurochemical targets for therapeutic intervention in cancer survivors with treatment-resistant depression.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/gradposters/1038/thumbnail.jp

Understanding the Key Determinants of Retail Success

Retailers are finding it increasingly difficult to survive and thrive in today’s cut-throat competitive environment. Singh et al. (2006, p. 457) summarize this phenomenon by stating the following: “Rapid growth of alternative retail formats, in the form of mass discounters, wholesale clubs, and supercenters, has transformed not only the competitive structure of the industry, but also the way in which consumers shop.” Despite this increased competitive intensity, few studies have identified the keys to retail success. My dissertation fills this gap by (1) explaining how retail advantage is built and (2) documenting the effects of competitive overlap between retail players. My first essay uses an inductive-based approach to identify the sources of retail advantage. I review pertinent literature, interview qualified retail managers, and use archival records to identify twelve capabilities vital to retail success. I find that durable retail advantage is driven by deploying systems of interdependent capabilities and appreciating capabilities’ differential importance. I synthesize this research into a framework to provide managers with additional insights as they develop company resources. My second essay is an empirical piece which studies the differential effectiveness of emulation and differentiation as competitive strategies. Strategic direction is seen as a continuum, a relationship I capture by introducing the notion of “strategic service orientation (SSO).” I examine how a firm’s SSO impacts its sales after new competitors arrive and the effects of pertinent SSO moderators. Results show that emulation-based services best protect incumbents from both new Wal-Marts and new upscale stores. However, as the number of competitors near the new entrant increases, differentiation-based services become more important. Importantly, the incumbent’s format impacts its ability to compete and how it should compete. Taken together, my dissertation provides unique and valuable insights into retail competition. It is hoped that my research not only has unparalleled pragmatic implications, but theoretical ones as well. These implications will come clearer in the following sections

Assessment of early-maturing maize hybrids and testing sites using GGE biplot analysis

Article Purchased; Published: 7 Sept. 2017Identification of outstanding maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids for target environments is complicated by genotype × environment interactions. Thirty-two early-maturity maize hybrids were evaluated at eight locations in Nigeria and six locations in Ghana for 2 yr to (i) identify high-yielding, stable hybrids across locations and/or hybrids specifically adapted to different locations, and (ii) identify ideal test sites for selection of superior hybrids in the two countries. Genotype, country, year, location (country), and their interactive effects were significant (P < 0·01) for grain yield, days to anthesis and silking, anthesis-silking interval, plant and ear aspects, and ears per plant. Mean grain yield of the hybrids ranged from 3177 kg ha−1 for EWH-5 to 4596 kg ha−1 for EWH-29. The genotype main effects plus genotype × environment interaction (GGE) biplot analysis revealed that EWH-29, EWH-8, and EWH-30 did not differ significantly in grain yield and were the most stable hybrids in both countries, whereas EWH-26 and EWH-32 were the most stable hybrids only in Ghana. The GGE biplot analysis identified Samaru, Kafin Soli, and Minjibir in Nigeria and Nyankpala, Damongo, and Fumesua in Ghana as the most discriminating locations. Minjibir (Nigeria) and Nyankpala (Ghana), being most discriminating and representative locations, were considered the ideal testing sites for the respective countries. The type of cultivars evaluated determined the most suitable locations for multilocation testing within Ghana and Nigeria. Whereas hybrids EWH-29, EWH-8, and EWH-30 should be suitable for production in Nigeria, EWH-26 and EWH-32 should be promoted for production in Ghana

Isothermal Recombinase Polymerase amplification (RPA) of Schistosoma haematobium DNA and oligochromatographic lateral flow detection

© 2015 Rosser et al. Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. The attached file is the published version of the article

Allergic Rhinitis and its Associated Co-Morbidities at Bugando Medical Centre in Northwestern Tanzania; A Prospective Review of 190 Cases.

Allergic rhinitis is one of the commonest atopic diseases which contribute to significant morbidity world wide while its epidemiology in Tanzania remains sparse. There was paucity of information regarding allergic rhinitis in our setting; therefore it was important to conduct this study to describe our experience on allergic rhinitis, associated co-morbidities and treatment outcome in patients attending Bugando Medical Centre. This was descriptive cross-sectional study involving all patients with a clinical diagnosis of allergic rhinitis at Bugando Medical Centre over a three-month period between June 2011 and August 2011. Data was collected using a pre-tested coded questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS statistical computer software version 17.0. A total of 190 patients were studied giving the prevalence of allergic rhinitis 14.7%. The median age of the patients was 8.5 years. The male to female ratio was 1:1. Adenoid hypertrophy, tonsillitis, hypertrophy of inferior turbinate, nasal polyps, otitis media and sinusitis were the most common co-morbidities affecting 92.6% of cases and were the major reason for attending hospital services. Sleep disturbance was common in children with adenoids hypertrophy (χ2 = 28.691, P = 0.000). Allergic conjunctivitis was found in 51.9%. The most common identified triggers were dust, strong perfume odors and cold weather (P < 0.05). Strong perfume odors affect female than males (χ2 = 4.583, P = 0.032). In this study family history of allergic rhinitis was not a significant risk factor (P =0.423). The majority of patients (68.8%) were treated surgically for allergic rhinitis co morbidities. Post operative complication and mortality rates were 2.9% and 1.6% respectively. The overall median duration of hospital stay of in-patients was 3 days (2 - 28 days). Most patients (98.4%) had satisfactory results at discharge. The study shows that allergic rhinitis is common in our settings representing 14.7% of all otorhinolaryngology and commonly affecting children and adolescent. Sufferers seek medical services due to co-morbidities of which combination of surgical and medical treatment was needed. High index of suspicions in diagnosing allergic rhinitis and early treatment is recommended

SOLAR DRYER WITH BIOMASS BACKUP HEATER FOR DRYING FRUITS: DEVELOPMENT AND PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS

Most solar dryers rely on only solar energy as the heat source. This condition limits its use in off -sunny periods such as cloudy, rainy seasons and after sunset. The objectives of this study were to: develop a solar dryer with biomass backup heater for drying fruits; analyze its performance; and carry out comparative analysis of the dryer with and without biomass backup heater. An indirect solar dryer was designed, constructed and analysed using 4mm slices of pineapples and mangoes. Temperature, humidity and ambient air temperature were measured using Tinytag data loggers, EasyLog – USB 2 and HI 91610C Thermo-hygrometer. A 300g weight of charcoal, costing GHC 0.5 (US$0.16)was fed into the backup heater every 1-2 hours with a running cost of US$ 1-2.88/day. The results showed that the moisture content (MC) of the pineapples reduced from 87% to 16%(wb) and that of mangoes reduced from 85% to 15.5% (wb). On average, solardrying with backup took 14-18 sunshine hours to attain the desired MC, while that without backup took 20-27 sunshine hours. With biomass backup heater the drying rates were: pineapples (32.5g/h) and mangoes (19.3g/h), while without backup the drying rates were: pineapples (23.7g/h) and mangoes (15.5g/h). Better performance was obtained when the dryer was with a biomass backup heater.Keywords: Moisture; dryer; temperature; solar; biomas

Democracy, Globalization and Private Investment in Ghana

The article examines the effects of democracy and globalization on private investment in Ghana for the period 1980–2012, using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds test for cointegration and the error correction model (ECM). Two models are used. In Model 1, democracy is proxy by an index for institutional quality (Polity 2), while Model 2 uses an index for civil liberties as proxy for democracy. The results for Model 1 show globalization and public investment increase private investment, while exchange rate volatility and trade openness decrease private investment in both the long and short run. In addition, national income and interest rate reduce private investment in the short run. In the case of Model 2, credit to the private sector and public investment increase private investment, while exchange rate volatility and trade openness decrease private investment in both the long and short run. Finally, national income and interest rate reduce private investment in the short run. The findings and policy recommendations of the article provide vital information for policy implementation in Ghana

Yield gains in extra-early maize cultivars of three breeding eras under multiple environments

Open Access JournalAvailability of extra-early maize cultivars has facilitated the expansion of maize production into savannas of West and Central Africa (WCA). Fifty-six extra-early maize cultivars of three breeding eras;1995 to 2000, 2001 to 2006, and 2007 to 2012 were evaluated for 2 yr under 24 multiple-stress and 28 non-stress environments in WCA. Objectives of the study were to determine genetic improvement in grain yield of cultivars developed during the breeding eras, and identify high-yielding and s multiple-stress and non-stress environments. Yield gains from era 1 to era 3 under multiple stresses was associated with increased days to anthesis, reduced stalk lodging, and improved husk cover. Cultivars 2004 TZEE-Y Pop STR C4, TZEE-W Pop STR QPM C0, and TZEE-W Pop STR BC2 C0 of era 2; and TZEE-W STR 107 BC1, TZEE-W Pop STR C5, and 2012 TZEE-Y DT STR C5 of era 3 were high-yielding and stable across multiple-stress environments while 98 Syn EE-W from era 1, FERKE TZEE-W STR, TZEE-W Pop STR C3, and TZEE-Y Pop STR QPM C0 from era 2, and TZEE-W Pop STR C5, 2009 TZEE-OR2 STR QPM, 2009 TZEE-W STR, TZEE-Y STR 106, and TZEE-W DT C0 STR C5 from era 3 were outstanding across non-stress environments and should be tested extensively and commercialized. Considerable improvement has been made in breeding for multiple-stress tolerant extra-early maize cultivars

Justice in solar energy development.

To achieve national energy and climate targets across the world, there is a key focus on solar energy development. It is clear from literature that many countries have enormous, under-utilised potentials for solar energy, which can significantly change their energy mix and contribute to the low-carbon ambitions they signed up to under the 2015 Paris Agreement. Our research highlights that there are benefits to solar energy development from a law and economic perspective that are still underexplored. These benefits centre on justice and on how solar energy increases justice within the energy system. From a legal perspective, we review 72 countries and their introduction of energy law with respect to solar energy development. Our analysis illustrates that in some developing countries (new) legislation was not associated with a significant increase in the share of solar energy in the energy mix. We then highlight how to achieve solar energy development through law that can provide certainty for investment. Furthermore, we stress the importance of flexibility that allows the full potential of solar energy to be realised within the energy system. The corresponding form of flexibility justice, combining law and economics, can contribute to increased economic welfare based on market reforms that centre on new market design and market access, while ensuring that it keeps pace with ongoing developments in technology, cost, and ownership

Multi-site investigation of strategies for the clinical implementation of CYP2D6 genotyping to guide drug prescribing

PURPOSE: A number of institutions have clinically implemented CYP2D6 genotyping to guide drug prescribing. We compared implementation strategies of early adopters of CYP2D6 testing, barriers faced by both early adopters and institutions in the process of implementing CYP2D6 testing, and approaches taken to overcome these barriers. METHODS: We surveyed eight early adopters of CYP2D6 genotyping and eight institutions in the process of adoption. Data were collected on testing approaches, return of results procedures, applications of genotype results, challenges faced, and lessons learned. RESULTS: Among early adopters, CYP2D6 testing was most commonly ordered to assist with opioid and antidepressant prescribing. Key differences among programs included test ordering and genotyping approaches, result reporting, and clinical decision support. However, all sites tested for copy-number variation and nine common variants, and reported results in the medical record. Most sites provided automatic consultation and had designated personnel to assist with genotype-informed therapy recommendations. Primary challenges were related to stakeholder support, CYP2D6 gene complexity, phenotype assignment, and sustainability. CONCLUSION: There are specific challenges unique to CYP2D6 testing given the complexity of the gene and its relevance to multiple medications. Consensus lessons learned may guide those interested in pursuing similar clinical pharmacogenetic programs