Improvement in Organogenesis and the Development of a Transformation Procedure for Cucumber and Muskmelon

A comprehensive study was carried out to optimise and improve a direct shoot organogenesis system to facilitate the transfer of reporter genes (GUSINT and nptII into cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) and muskmelon (C. melo L.) plants. The studies carried out were: (i) a comparative study on direct and indirect shoot regeneration (ii) the improvement of a direct shoot regeneration system by using an ethylene action inhibitor, silver nitrate and an ethylene biosynthesis inhibitor, cobalt chloride (iii) identification of suitable strains of Agrobacterium tumefaciens and A. rhizogenes that are able to infect cucumber and muskmelon plants (iv) development of an intron containing gene transformation system for both cucurbit species through A. tumefaciens and (v) analysis of transformants. For the comparative study of direct and indirect shoot regeneration, four different types of explants from five elite commercial cucumber cultivars namely Spring Swallow, Suyo Cross, Suyo Long, Tasty Glory. Tasty Green and one muskmelon cultivar called Birdie were used. Explants from both species were cultured onto Murashige and Skoog medium containing different concentrations of 6-benzylaminopurine alone and in combination with either 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid or naphthalene acetic acid. 6-benzylaminopurine alone at 1.0 or 2.0 mg/L significantly (p<0.05) induced shoot primordia from the largest number of proximal cotyledon and hypocotyl explants of all cucumber cultivars and muskmelon explants tested. However, the addition of either 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid or naphthalene acetic acid to 6-benzylaminopurine, resulted in a reduction of the shoot primordia induction rate. Higher number of shoots induced from ex plants as well as high numbers of morphological normal shoots were obtained when explants were cultured on. medium containing 6-benzylaminopurine alone. Specific concentrations of indole-butyric acid and naphthalene acetic acid significantly (p<0.05) contributed to root initiation from the largest number of cucumber and muskmelon shoots, respectively. Dark treatment was sufficient to significantly induce root formation from the non-rooting cucumber and muskmelon shoots. The addition of either silver nitrate or cobalt chloride to the seed germination medium or shoot primordia induction medium caused a significant (p<0.05) enhancement of shoot regeneration rate from cucumber cv. SS and TG explants compared to the control. The regeneration rate was further enhanced when these two ethylene inhibitors were added to both SGM and SPI media. Furthermore, the number of shoots induced from explants of both Spring Swallow and Tasty Green cultivars was also enhanced upon the same treatment. However, muskmelon shoot induction and regeneration were reduced when the same treatment was employed

RESIDUES OF SOME ORGANOCHLORINE PESTICIDES IN HUMAN BLOOD IN THE FADASI AREA, SUDAN

&nbsp;Introduction: For many years, organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) have been of interest, because of their toxicity and high persistence .In developing countries, (OCPs) were used in large quantities to control agricultural pests and vectors of endemic diseases. In Sudan (OCPs) were restricted to public health purposes in 1981.&nbsp; Objective: This study was conducted to asses the residue levels in the human blood. Methodology: A randomized population sample from Fadasi Village, which is located in a rural area where pesticides have been used for over 35 years were examined.&nbsp;&nbsp; Result and Discusion: Analysis of human blood revealed the presence of&nbsp; HCH, aldrin, heptachlor epoxide and DDE in varying concentrations. Statistical correlation was found to exist between the pesticide concentration and age, weight and duration of exposure. DDE was present in high concentrations, ranging between 0.38&nbsp; 6.88 ppm

Density functional theory study of molecular structure, Electronic properties, UV–Vis spectra on coumarin102.

The various properties of the ground and excited electronic states of coumarins 102 using density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) was calculated by the B3LYP density functional model with 6-31G(d,p) basis set by Gaussian 09 W program. Spectral characteristics of coumarin102 have been probed into by methods of experimental UV-visible, and quantum chemistry. The UV spectrum was measured in methanol. The optimized structures, total energies, electronic states (HOMO- LUMO), energy gap, ionization potentials, electron affinities, chemical potential, global hardness, softness, global electrophilictity, and dipole moment were measured. We find good agreement between experimental data of UV spectrum and TDDFT excitationenergies

Spontaneous resolution of nitrofurantoin-induced chronic pulmonary toxicity presenting with respiratory failure

Nitrofurantoin is one of the most common drugs implicated in drug-induced pulmonary toxicities, the manifestations of which range from dose-independent acute self-limiting reactions to chronic dose-dependent pathologies. The severity of these pulmonary adverse effects may range from trivial hypersensitivity reactions to extensive and irreversible lung fibrosis leading to respiratory failure and death. Symptomatic and supportive treatment in addition to discontinuation of the drug usually suffices for the management of mild reactions. Corticosteroids have been traditionally used to relieve the symptoms and hasten the resolution of pulmonary lesions in case of severe toxicities. However conclusive evidence in the form of controlled studies in favor of this routine use is lacking. We report a case of an elderly lady who presented to us in respiratory failure due to nitrofurantoin induced chronic lung disease. The patient’s symptoms and blood gas abnormalities resolved spontaneously over the course of 6 months after stopping the drug. Radiological lesions including those suggestive of apparently permanent fibrosis also resolved during this time. Corticosteroids, inhalational or systemic, were not used. Spontaneous normalization of clinico-radiological features in nitrofurantoin induced chronic lung disease presenting with respiratory failure has rarely been reported previously. The related literature is also reviewed

Similarity Analyzer for Semantic Interoperability of Electronic Health Records Using Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The introduction of Electronic Health Records (EHR) has opened possibilities for solving interoperability issues within the healthcare sector. However, even with the introduction of EHRs, healthcare systems like hospitals and pharmacies remain isolated with no sharing of EHRs due to semantic interoperability issues. This paper extends our previous work in which we proposed a framework that dealt with semantic interoperability and security of EHR. The extension is the proposal of a cloud-based similarity analyzer for data structuring, data mapping, data modeling and conflict removal using Word2vec Artificial Intelligence (AI) technique. Different types of conflicts are removed from data in order to model data into common data types which can be interpreted by different stakeholder

Deep COLA: A Deep COmpetitive Learning Algorithm for Future Home Energy Management Systems

A smart grid ecosystem requires intelligent Home Energy Management Systems (HEMSs) that allow the adequate monitoring and control of appliance-level energy consumption in a given household. They should be able to: i) profile highly non-stationary and non-linear measurements and ii) conduct correlations of such measurements with diverse inputs (e.g. environmental factors) in order to improve the end-user experience, as well as to aid the overall demand-response optimisation process. However, traditional approaches in HEMS lack the ability to capture diverse variations in appliance-level energy consumption due to unpredictable human behaviour and also require high computation to process large datasets. In this paper, we go beyond current profiling schemes by proposing Deep COLA; a novel Deep COmpetitive Learning Algorithm that addresses the limitations of existing work in terms of high dimensional data and enables more efficient and accurate clustering of appliancelevel energy consumption. The proposed approach reduces human intervention by automatically selecting load profiles and models variations and uncertainty in human behaviour during appliance usage. We demonstrate that our proposed scheme is far more computationally efficient and scalable data-wise than three popular conventional clustering approaches namely, K-Means, DBSCAN and SOM, using real household datasets. Moreover, we exhibit that Deep COLA identifies per-household behavioral associations that could aid future HEMSs

Management of diabetes and arthritis –A systematic review

Purpose: Diabetes is a metabolic syndrome with reported musculoskeletal  effects. This systemic review aimed to identify a relationship between  diabetes and arthritis; disease-related risk factors, the effect of diet in disease management and the effect of anti-arthritic drugs on diabetes  treatment.Methods: This study analysed 20 articles identified and selected according to the study criteria. PRISMA guidelines were used for identification and screening of literature. Data search covered several primary databases, including Pubmed, Wiley library, Scopus, Clinical Trial Registry, etc.Results: The study findings suggest a significant correlation between  diabetes and arthritis. Obesity, impaired glucose tolerance (MS  components), vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1) hypertension and dyslipidemia are the most common risk factors leading to disease progression. Omega -3-fatty acid showed no protective effect on disease condition.Conclusion: The findings indicate that anti-tumor necrosis factor (Tnf)-α, disease modifying antirheumatic drugs, and Interleukin receptors  antagonist improved the efficacy of diabetic medication and maintained blood sugar levels. However, Tnf-α reduced glucose intolerance, and therefore, its therapeutic use in conjunction with diabetic medications should be limited.Keywords: Diabetes, Arthritis, Risk factors, Diet, Pathogenesis, Disease progression, Medicatio

Assessment of hospital pharmacists' clinical knowledge and practical skill levels for pharmaceutical care in Madinah, Saudi Arabia

Purpose: To evaluate hospital pharmacists’ clinical knowledge and practical skill levels for pharmaceutical care.Methods: A quasi-experimental prospective longitudinal study design was used to evaluate the level of clinical skills with problem-based learning (PBL) sessions. Pharmacists’ in three different government hospitals in Madinah, Saudi Arabia recorded their responses or assessments in their work manuals for preparing reports. Instructors encouraged interactive learning by presenting case studies, in which pharmacists had to interpret medical history and clinical assessments of various body systems. Course learning design also focused on drug use evaluation, monitoring plans, and reaching clinical evidencebased decision-making.Results: A total of two hundred and fifty-five (255) hospital pharmacists participated in the study. The study sample was comprised of 128 (50.9 %) males and 127 (49.1 %) females. A significant (p &lt; 0.01) difference was noticed between genders (male: 47.91 ± 7.15, female: 50.31 ± 4.88) for total mean scores of clinical skills. Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient for case data recitation was 0.91, while clinical assessment skills coefficient was 0.89. Overall, pharmacists reported that they “agree” (4.01 ± 0.67) that they acquired the ability to use case data recitation taught in the PBL; they also reported a positive evaluation (4.48 ± 0.58) of their ability to perform clinical data assessment.Conclusion: The findings indicate that pharmacist’s self-confidence to perform clinical assessment activities is low. Lack of confidence remains a critical education issue among pharmacists in the study setting.Keywords: Clinical pharmacy, Problem-based learning, Clinical skills, Pharmacist focus group, Therapeutics, Pharmaceutical car

CARIOTIPO DE ADENOSCOLEX OREINI: PRIMER DATO CITOGENÉTICO DEL ORDEN CARYOPHYLLIDEA (CESTODA) DE ESPECIES DE SCHIZOTHORAX DEL VALLE DE KASHMIR, INDIA

Un cariotipo de Adenoscolex oreini Fotedar, 1958 (Capingentidae), un parásito céstodo de carpas, Kashir Gaad, Schizothorax niger (Cypriniformes) ha sido estudiado por primera vez. Consiste en un conjunto de cromosomas de 20 pares de cromosomas metacéntricos, submetacéntricos y acrocéntricos (2n = 20; n = 8m+1sm+1a). Todos los pares son pequeños, miden 1,86-7,22 μm. Parece que el número de cromosomas de A. oreini es mayor en comparación con la de los miembros de la familia Caryophyllaeidae. La variación en el tamaño de los más pequeños bivalentes y otros bivalentes indican que los cromosomas somáticos mostrarán una marcada variación en la longitud del cromosoma más largo y más corto en A. oreini. Hasta ahora nadie ha emprendido los estudios citológicos de este parásito y en la presente investigación se está divulgando su número cromosómico por primera vez