Retrospective analysis of plagiaristic practices within a cinematic industry in india – a tip in the ocean of icebergs

Music plagiarism is defined as using tune, or melody that would closely imitate with another author’s music without proper attributions. It may occur either by stealing a musical idea (a melody or motif) or sampling (a portion of one sound, or tune is copied into a different song). Unlike the traditional music, the Indian cinematic music is extremely popular amongst the public. Since the expectations of the public for songs that are enjoyable are high, many music directors are seeking elsewhere to “borrow” tunes. Whilst a vast majority of Indian cinemagoers may not have noticed these plagiarised tunes, some journalists and vigilant music lovers have noticed these activities. This study has taken the initiative to investigate the extent of plagiaristic activities within one Indian cinematic music industry. A list of plagiarised songs was produced by using YouTube® searches for “comparative videos” made by the vigilant music lovers about accused/detected music plagiarism. Some of these individuals were also interviewed to understand their views on this. During the investigation, it was possible to identify a vast number of plagiarised tunes, snippets, or even the full songs. In fact, some of these examples’ dates to 1954, during the era when no one would have noticed plagiarism. The paper would highlight the similarities of these music files. It will also show some examples of the excuses/denial given by the composers and would try to highlight the attitudes of general public towards these types of activities.N/

Antireflection silicon structures with hydrophobic property fabricated by three-beam laser interference

This paper demonstrates antireflective structures on silicon wafer surfaces with hydrophobic property fabricated by three-beam laser interference. In this work, a three-beam laser interference system was set up to generate periodic micro-nano hole structures with hexagonal distributions. Compared with the existing technologies, the array of hexagonally-distributed hole structures fabricated by three-beam laser interference reveals a design guideline to achieve considerably low solar-weighted reflectance (SWR) in the wavelength range of 300-780 nm. The resulting periodic hexagonally-distributed hole structures have shown extremely low SWR (1.86%) and relatively large contact angle (140°) providing with a self-cleaning capability on the solar cell surface

Critical current degradation in HTS wires due to cyclic mechanical strain

HTS wires, which may be used in many devices such as magnets and rotating machines, may be subjected to mechanical strains from electromagnetic, thermal and centripetal forces. In some applications these strains will be repeated several thousand times during the lifetime of the device. We have measured critical current degradation due to repeated strain cycles for both compressive and tensile strains. Results for BSCCO-2223 HTS conductor samples are presented for strain values up to 0.5% and cycle numbers up to and beyond 10/sup 4/

Doxorubicin resistant choriocarcinoma cell line derived spheroidal cells exhibit stem cell markers but reduced invasion

Cell cycle-specifc cancer chemotherapy is based on the ability of a drug to halt, minimise or destroy rapidly dividing cells. However, their efcacy is limited by the emergence of a self-renewing cell pool called “cancer stem cells” (CSC). Choriocarcinoma is a tumour of trophoblastic tissue. We, in this study, analysed whether spheroids generated from doxorubicintreated and non-treated choriocarcinoma cell lines exhibit markers of stem cells. Two choriocarcinoma cell lines, namely JEG-3 and BeWo, were used in this study. Spheroids were generated from doxorubicin-treated cells and the non-treated cells under non-adherent condition, followed by analysis of stem-cell markers’ expression, namely NANOG, OCT4 and SOX2. Immunofuorescence analysis suggested a general increase in the markers’ concentration in spheroids relative to the parental cells. RT-qPCR and immunoblots showed an increase in the stem-cell marker expression in spheroids generated from doxorubicin-treated when compared to non-treated cells. In spheroids, Sox2 was signifcantly upregulated in doxorubicintreated spheroids, whereas Nanog and Oct4 were generally downregulated when compared to non-treated spheroids. Both 2D and 3D invasion assays showed that the spheroids treated with doxorubicin exhibited reduced invasion. Our data suggest that choriocarcinoma cell lines may have the potential to produce spheroidal cells, yet the drug-treatment afected the invasion potential of spheroids

Unethical practices within medical research and publication – An exploratory study

The data produced by the scientific community impacts on academia, clinicians, and the general public; therefore, the scientific community and other regulatory bodies have been focussing on ethical codes of conduct. Despite the measures taken by several research councils, unethical research, publishing and/or reviewing behaviours still take place. This exploratory study considers some of the current unethical practices and the reasons behind them and explores the ways to discourage these within research and other professional disciplinary bodies. These interviews/discussions with PhD students, technicians, and academics/principal investigators (PIs) (N=110) were conducted mostly in European higher education institutions including UK, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, Czech Republic and Netherlands. Through collegiate discussions, sharing experiences and by examining previously published/reported information, authors have identified several less reported behaviours. Some of these practices are mainly influenced either by the undue institutional expectations of research esteem or by changes in the journal review process. These malpractices can be divided in two categories relating to (a) methodological malpractices including data management, and (b) those that contravene publishing ethics. The former is mostly related to “committed bias”, by which the author selectively uses the data to suit their own hypothesis, methodological malpractice relates to selection of out-dated protocols that are not suited to the intended work. Although these are usually unintentional, incidences of intentional manipulations have been reported to authors of this study. For example, carrying out investigations without positive (or negative) controls; but including these from a previous study. Other methodological malpractices include unfair repetitions to gain statistical significance, or retrospective ethical approvals. In contrast, the publication related malpractices such as authorship malpractices, ethical clearance irregularities have also been reported. The findings also suggest a globalised approach with clear punitive measures for offenders is needed to tackle this problem

Racial and cultural minority experiences and perceptions of health care provision in a mid-western region

© 2018 The Author(s). Background: Disparities across a number of health indicators between the general population and particular racial and cultural minority groups including African Americans, Native Americans and Latino/a Americans have been well documented. Some evidence suggests that particular groups may receive poorer standards of care due to biased beliefs or attitudes held by health professionals. Less research has been conducted in specifically non-urban areas with smaller minority populations. Methods: This study explored the self-reported health care experiences for 117 racial and cultural minority Americans residing in a Mid-Western jurisdiction. Prior health care experiences (including perceived discrimination), attitudes towards cultural competence and satisfaction with health care interactions were ascertained and compared across for four sub-groups (African-American, Native American, Latino/a American, Asian American). A series of multiple regression models then explored relationships between a concert of independent variables (cultural strength, prior experiences of discrimination, education level) and health care service preferences and outcomes. Results: Overall, racial/cultural minority groups (African Americans, Native Americans, Latino/a Americans, and Asian Americans) reported general satisfaction with current healthcare providers, low levels of both health care provider racism and poor treatment, high levels of cultural strength and good access to health care services. Native American participants however, reported more frequent episodes of poor treatment compared to other groups. Incidentally, poor treatment predicted lower levels of treatment satisfaction and racist experiences predicted being afraid of attending conventional health care services. Cultural strength predicted a preference for consulting a health care professional from the same cultural background. Conclusions: This study provided a rare insight into minority health care expectations and experiences in a region with comparatively lower proportions of racial and cultural minorities. Additionally, the study explored the impact of cultural strength on health care interactions and outcomes. While the bulk of the sample reported satisfaction with treatment, the notable minority of participants reporting poor treatment is still of some concern. Cultural strength did not appear to impact health care behaviours although it predicted a desire for cultural matching. Implications for culturally competent health care provision are discussed within

Is peer review fit for purpose? Enhancing integrity and professional standards in publications

Peer review is crucial for academic research, when checking manuscripts for publishing, considering proposals for research funding, and deciding which submitted contributions to include in conference programmes. Peer reviewers are tasked with assessing readability, scientific merit, accuracy, reliability, novelty, relevance, completeness and focus. Conscientious, experienced peer reviewers add considerable value to scientific manuscripts by working with authors, especially Early Career Researchers (ECRs), to help them achieve the required standards set by editors and publishers. Given the centrality of peer review to academia, it is easy to forget that peer review is often voluntary and unpaid, requiring considerable time and resources. Without peer reviewers, editors and publishers, and conference organisers, many of whom are also voluntary and unpaid, would be tasked with reviewing submissions. This would require considerable time and diverse knowledge and skills, even when the scope of topics for submissions is narrow. The recent substantial rise in the number of journal article retractions, affecting both large and small publishers, raises questions about why the traditional checks and balances put in place by the publishers, especially peer review, do not uncover the problems. This paper will explore both the merits of effective peer review and root causes of problems currently being experienced, with consideration of how peer review could be improved to serve future requirements

A comprehensive toxicological analysis of panel of unregulated e-cigarettes to human health

Electronic cigarettes, commonly referred to as e-cigarettes have gained popularity over recent years especially among young individuals. In the light of the escalating prevalence of the use of these products and their potential for long-term health effects, in this study as the first of its kind a comprehensive toxicological profiling of the liquid from a panel of unregulated e-cigarettes seized in the UK was undertaken using an in vitro co-culture model of the upper airways. The data showed that e-cigarettes caused a dose dependent increase in cell death and inflammation manifested by enhanced release of IL1ß and IL6. Furthermore, the e-cigarettes induced oxidative stress as demonstrated by a reduction of intracellular glutathione and an increase in generation of reactive oxygen species. Moreover, the assessment of genotoxicity showed significant DNA strand breaks (following exposure to Tigerblood flavoured e-cigarette). Moreover, relevant to the toxicological observations, was the detection of varying and frequently high levels of hazardous metals including cadmium, copper, nickel and lead. This study highlights the importance of active and ongoing collaborations between academia, governmental organisations and policy makers (Trading standards, Public Health) and national health service in tackling vape addiction and better informing the general public regarding the risks associated with e-cigarette usage

Changes in Scottish suicide rates during the Second World War

BACKGROUND: It is believed that total reported suicide rates tend to decrease during wartime. However, analysis of suicide rates during recent conflicts suggests a more complex picture, with increases in some age groups and changes in method choice. As few age and gender specific analyses of more distant conflicts have been conducted, it is not clear if these findings reflect a change in the epidemiology of suicide in wartime. Therefore, we examined suicide rates in Scotland before, during and after the Second World War to see if similar features were present. METHODS: Data on deaths in Scotland recorded as suicide during the period 1931 – 1952, and population estimates for each of these years, were obtained from the General Register Office for Scotland. Using computer spreadsheets, suicide rates by gender, age and method were calculated. Forward stepwise logistic regression was used to assess the effect of gender, war and year on suicide rates using SAS V8.2. RESULTS: The all-age suicide rate among both men and women declined during the period studied. However, when this long-term decline is taken into account, the likelihood of suicide during the Second World War was higher than during both the pre-War and post-War periods. Suicide rates among men aged 15–24 years rose during the Second World War, peaking at 148 per million (41 deaths) during 1942 before declining to 39 per million (10 deaths) by 1945, while the rate among men aged 25–34 years reached 199 per million (43 deaths) during 1943 before falling to 66 per million (23 deaths) by 1946. This was accompanied by an increase in male suicides attributable to firearms and explosives during the War years which decreased following its conclusion. CONCLUSION: All age male and female suicide rates decreased in Scotland during World War II. However, once the general background decrease in suicide rates over the whole period is accounted for, the likelihood of suicide among the entire Scottish population during the Second World War was elevated. The overall decrease in suicide rates concealed large increases in younger male age groups during the War years, and an increase in male suicides recorded as due to the use of firearms. We conclude that the effects of war on younger people, reported in recent conflicts in Central Europe, were also seen in Scotland during the Second World War. The results support the findings of studies of recent conflicts which have found a heterogeneous picture with respect to age specific suicide rates during wartime