Uplift of Himalaya and it’s implications on the evolution of Indian monsoon

Abstract HKT-ISTP 2013 A

A novel, cost effective escharotomy simulator and trainee assessment

Over the last two decades, virtual reality, haptics, simulators, robotics, and other "advanced technologies" have emerged as important innovations in medical learning and practice. In the 21st century, however, it is important to continue to develop simple teaching aids which are available to large audiences in low and middle-income countries. We present a simple 'escharotomy simulator' which has been well received, resulting in an increase in knowledge, and an increase in confidence to carry out the procedure

Recurrent Modification of a Conserved Cis-Regulatory Element Underlies Fruit Fly Pigmentation Diversity

The development of morphological traits occurs through the collective action of networks of genes connected at the level of gene expression. As any node in a network may be a target of evolutionary change, the recurrent targeting of the same node would indicate that the path of evolution is biased for the relevant trait and network. Although examples of parallel evolution have implicated recurrent modification of the same gene and cis-regulatory element (CRE), little is known about the mutational and molecular paths of parallel CRE evolution. In Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies, the Bric-à-brac (Bab) transcription factors control the development of a suite of sexually dimorphic traits on the posterior abdomen. Female-specific Bab expression is regulated by the dimorphic element, a CRE that possesses direct inputs from body plan (ABD-B) and sex-determination (DSX) transcription factors. Here, we find that the recurrent evolutionary modification of this CRE underlies both intraspecific and interspecific variation in female pigmentation in the melanogaster species group. By reconstructing the sequence and regulatory activity of the ancestral Drosophila melanogaster dimorphic element, we demonstrate that a handful of mutations were sufficient to create independent CRE alleles with differing activities. Moreover, intraspecific and interspecific dimorphic element evolution proceeded with little to no alterations to the known body plan and sex-determination regulatory linkages. Collectively, our findings represent an example where the paths of evolution appear biased to a specific CRE, and drastic changes in function were accompanied by deep conservation of key regulatory linkages. © 2013 Rogers et al

Colossal dielectric constants in transition-metal oxides

Many transition-metal oxides show very large ("colossal") magnitudes of the dielectric constant and thus have immense potential for applications in modern microelectronics and for the development of new capacitance-based energy-storage devices. In the present work, we thoroughly discuss the mechanisms that can lead to colossal values of the dielectric constant, especially emphasising effects generated by external and internal interfaces, including electronic phase separation. In addition, we provide a detailed overview and discussion of the dielectric properties of CaCu3Ti4O12 and related systems, which is today's most investigated material with colossal dielectric constant. Also a variety of further transition-metal oxides with large dielectric constants are treated in detail, among them the system La2-xSrxNiO4 where electronic phase separation may play a role in the generation of a colossal dielectric constant.Comment: 31 pages, 18 figures, submitted to Eur. Phys. J. for publication in the Special Topics volume "Cooperative Phenomena in Solids: Metal-Insulator Transitions and Ordering of Microscopic Degrees of Freedom

Second Quantization and Interaction of Electromagnetic Fields for Non Zero Mass System in Angular Momentum Basis : II

The study of interaction and second quantization of electromagnetic fields for non-zero mass system has boon undertaken in angular momentum basis and the selection rules for omission and absorption of a massive particle are derived. Reducton of real transverse electromagnetic vector potential for non-zero mass system has been derived in terms of irreducible representations of proper, ortho-chronous, inhomogeneous Lorentz group in angular momentum basi

Production of electrospun fast-dissolving drug delivery systems with therapeutic eutectic systems encapsulated in gelatin

Fast-dissolving delivery systems (FDDS) have received increasing attention in the last years. Oral drug delivery is still the preferred route for the administration of pharmaceutical ingredients. Nevertheless, some patients, e.g. children or elderly people, have difficulties in swallowing solid tablets. In this work, gelatin membranes were produced by electrospinning, containing an encapsulated therapeutic deep-eutectic solvent (THEDES) composed by choline chloride/mandelic acid, in a 1:2 molar ratio. A gelatin solution (30% w/ v) with 2% (v/v) of THEDES was used to produce electrospun fibers and the experimental parameters were optimized. Due to the high surface area of polymer fibers, this type of construct has wide applicability. With no cytotoxicity effect, and showing a fast-dissolving release profile in PBS, the gelatin fibers with encapsulated THEDES seem to have promising applications in the development of new drug delivery systems.The research leading to these results has received funding from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) through the projects ENIGMA - PTDC/EQU-EPR/ 121491/2010 and UID/CTM/50025/2013, LAQVREQUIMTE: UID/QUI/50006/2013, UCIBIO-REQUIMTE: UID/Multi/04378/2013 (co-financed by the ERDF under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement [POCI-01-0145-FEDER- 007728]) and by FEDER through the COMPETE 2020 Programme. Marta Martins is grateful for financial support from FCT through the grant BIM/PTDC/EQUEPR/121491/ 2010/ENIGMA. This research has also received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/ 2007-2013) under grant agreement number REGPOTCT2012-316331-POLARIS and from the project BNovel smart and biomimetic materials for innovative regenerative medicine approaches^ RL1 - ABMR - NORTE-01-0124- FEDER-000016) co-financed by North Portugal Regional Operational Programme (ON.2 – O Novo Norte), under the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF), through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Assessment of malnutrition in patients with liver cirrhosis using protein calorie malnutrition (PCM) score verses bio-electrical impedance analysis (BIA)

Objective: Malnutrition is a common problem in patients with liver cirrhosis and tools for nutritional assessment are under debate. We conducted this study to assess prevalence of malnutrition in cirrhotic patients using PCM score and BIA. Additionally we compared BIA to PCM score for detecting malnutrition in this patient population. Results: This was a cross sectional study conducted in two tertiary care hospitals of Karachi Pakistan on adults with liver cirrhosis. Malnutrition was assessed by PCM score using anthropometric measurements and biological specimens and (ii) Body cell mass was assessed using BIA. Malnutrition as estimated by the PCM score was present in 122 (73%) of patients in which most patients had mild malnutrition (n = 72 (45%)), followed by 34 (21%) with moderate malnutrition and 3 (1.9%) with severe malnutrition. Malnutrition according to BIA estimated through body cell mass could detect it in 98 (61%) of patients. There was optimal correlation of PCM score with body call mass (Pearson correlation coefficient = 0.3 (p value 0.001)). We conclude that majority of the patients with liver cirrhosis had malnutrition as determined by PCM score. BIA underscored the malnutrition in this patient population

Efficacy of modified co-synch plus protocol with or without progesterone device for estrus induction and conception rate in Murrah buffaloes under field conditions during summer season

The aim of present study was to evaluate efficacy of Modified Co-Synch Plus Protocol with or without progesterone device for estrus induction, progesterone concentration and conception rate in Murrah buffaloes under field conditions during summer season. The study was conducted using 30 postpartum anestrus Murrah buffaloes divided in two groups. In Group 1 (n=15), the buffaloes were administered with PMSG 400 IU on -3 day, Buserelin acetate 10 μg, on day 0, cloprostenol 500 μg, on day 7, and on day 9 h CG 2000 IU. Thereafter, timed artificial insemination (TAI) was done at the time of h CG injection and 24 h later once again. In Group 2 (n=15), the buffaloes were treated with same protocol as Group 1, in addition to progesterone device, which was placed in vagina on day 0 and was removed on day 7 of the protocol. Thereafter, TAI was done as in Group 1. Plasma Progesterone concentration was estimated during the different days (-3, 0, 7, 9 and 10 day) of protocol. The estrus induction rate was 86.6% and 100% in Group 1 and Group 2 respectively showing very good estrus (46%), good estrus (30.7%) and poor estrus (23.07%) in Group 1 while very good estrus (46.6%), good estrus (40%) and poor estrus (13.4%) in Group 2. The conception rates in Group 1 and 2, at FTAI and overall including subsequent estrus were 46.2% and 61.53% and 53.33% and 73.33% respectively. The plasma progesterone concentrations were higher (P<0.05) on day 7 in Group 2 than Group 1 (4.16±0.32 vs 2.30±0.24 ng/ml). Both two protocol treatment during non breeding season resulted in very good estrus induction and acceptable conception rate in anestrous buffaloes