Influence of Islam on smoking among Muslims

Smoking prevalence is generally high among Muslims. An awareness of their religious beliefs and rulings might increase the effectiveness of antismoking campaign

Linear and nonlinear photothermal spectroscopy and hyperspectral imaging with a fiber laser probe

Recent years have seen a push to provide a fast, sensitive, and quantitative diagnostic tool for biomedical applications. A search for new methods that can perform label-free and bond-specific determination of tissue and disease types with high spatial resolution is much desired. To address these needs, we have developed a mid-infrared photothermal system for sensitive and non-destructive characterization of samples. Our system utilizes a mid-infrared pump with a near-infrared probe for label-free spectroscopy and high spatial resolution imaging. In particular, this research focuses on optimization of the photothermal system, exploration of novel nonlinear photothermal phenomena, and development of a sub-diffraction limited mid-infrared imaging system. Photothermal spectroscopy is a pump-probe technique that utilizes a thermal lens effect in the sample for contrast. With the use of a high brightness mid-infrared pump laser, we extend photothermal spectroscopy into the mid-infrared regime for sensitive detection with high signal contrast. Targeting vibrational modes intrinsic to the sample allows for label-free characterization. Use of a fiber laser probe provides improved spatial resolution and takes advantage of the well-developed detector technology at near-infrared wavelengths. The research presented will be divided into three parts: optimization of the photothermal system, investigation of novel nonlinear photothermal phenomena, and photothermal spectroscopy and imaging for biomedical applications. Optimization of fiber laser design and experimental setup results in >100x increase in signal strength and over an order of magnitude improvement in signal contrast. With an optimized system, linear and nonlinear mid-infrared photothermal spectroscopy of a liquid crystal sample is demonstrated. For the first time, multiple bifurcations are reported in the nonlinear regime, shedding insight on the photothermal laser-matter interaction across phase transitions of a liquid crystal sample. Using a raster-scanning approach, sub-diffraction limited mid-infrared imaging is demonstrated. With this technique, various tissue types within the brain can be distinguished from one another, including differentiation between healthy and tumor tissue. Hyperspectral imaging of biological tissues demonstrates the potential of this technique to combine both spectral and spatial information for sample characterization. We present a photothermal system with the potential to meet the demands in drug and food safety, environmental monitoring, biomedicine, and security.2018-11-02T00:00:00

Access to dementia diagnosis and support in a diverse South Asian community:a qualitative study

Although members of the United Kingdom (UK) South Asian population appear to have an elevated risk of developing dementia, this population accesses dementia services less frequently, compared with the majority white population. The disparity between the prevalence of people with dementia and the reported incidence of dementia, especially among South Asian populations (the UK‟s largest ethnic minority), is of concern to public health service providers. This study aimed to identify the socio-cultural issues in accessing dementia services in the population living in Blackburn with Darwen [BwD], in the Northwest of England. This qualitative study explores how members of the BwD South Asian Indian and Pakistani population perceive dementia, and how their family members engage with local dementia care services and with healthcare professionals providing dementia services. Data collection included: three focus groups with thirteen people involved in a community project; two interviews with people living with dementia and their family members; and eight interviews with nine dementia services healthcare professionals [HCPs]. The data was analysed using thematic analysis. The findings suggest that members of the South Asian population are under-represented in dementia diagnostic services. Firstly, this appears to be due to a lack of knowledge in the Muslim South Asian Indian and Pakistani community about the nature of dementia. Various negative perceptions of dementia, influenced by cultural beliefs, were also identified which lead to people with dementia being stigmatised and hidden from public view by their families. This may explain why health professionals report that this population seeks help at a later stage of the illness, and thus there is an argument for public health services to develop culturally relevant outreach programmes

Analysis of protein-protein interactions linked to the formation of a bacterial cytoskeleton in Mycoplasma pneumoniae

Mycoplasma pneumoniae has a cytoskeleton-like structure. Based on genetic evidence, it was proposed that the 1818 amino acids long protein HMW2 plays a central role in both formation of the cytoskeleton-like structure and adherence to its host cell (cytadherence). As gene products of the hmw2 gene (MPN310), two proteins were identified, the full-length protein HMW2 with a molar mass of 216 kDa and a smaller one (HMW2-s) with only 25 kDa. HMW2-s was considered to be the processing product of HMW2, but it could be shown by determining the N-terminus of HMW2-s and by expression studies with an artifical hmw2-s gene in M. pneumoniae that HMW2-s was synthesized by a new internal start within the hmw2 gene but in the same raster as HMW2. This internal expression unit also ensures the transcription of the two genes, MPN311 and MPN312, located immediately downstream. To characterize HMW2, it was expressed in Escherichia coli under various condition and with alternative E. coli strains, but, it was poorly expressed and degraded rapidly independent of the applied conditions. Therefore, it was impossible to isolate enough soluble full-length protein to do biochemical and structural analyses. The proposed function of HMW2 requires its interaction with other proteins of M. pneumoniae. Pilot experiments with the two-hybrid system suggested several candidates. By applying the “pairwise tests”, an internal fragment of HMW2 was found to interact with the C-terminal fragment of HMW1 (MPN447) and with the MPN297 encoded 17-kDa protein. The latter one has not yet been implicated in cytoskeleton formation. In addition, the interaction between the main adhesin P1 with HMW1 and the gene product of MPN297 was established linking indirectly HMW2 to the P1 adhesion complex consisting of at least three proteins: P1, P40 and P90. Further evidence for the interaction between HMW2 and the P1 adhesin (complex) derived from comparative protein analyses of M. pneumoniae WT and the mutant M. pneumoniae A3 (hmw2−). Western blot analyses showed that in M. pneumoniae A3 the turnover rate of the proteins of the P1 complex was significantly higher. This was interpreted as a consequence of the missing binding partner, because without HMW2, the P1 complex can not be formed and inserted properly in the membrane, making those proteins useless for the bacterium. First attempts to isolate protein complexes containing HMW2, to which a TAP tag was fused, were succesful. Twelve genes/ proteins were identified from the purified complexes: MPN015, MPN140 (ORF4 gene product), MPN141 (P1), MPN142 (P90), MPN160, MPN297, MPN392 (PdhB), MPN426 (P115), MPN430 (GAPDH), MPN447 (HMW1), MPN573 (GroEL), MPN665 (EF-Tu). These results confirm the two-hybrid analyses of proteins interacting with HMW2. Eight of them (P1, P90, PdhB, GAPDH, HMW1, GroEL, EF-tu and the gene product of MPN297) were also found in the Triton X-100 insoluble fraction, which contains almost all of the known cytoskeletal proteins including HMW2. Furthermore, the interaction of HMW2 with EF-Tu (elongation factor Tu) and PdhB (pyruvate dehydrogenase E1-beta subunit), of which a subfraction was reported to be surface exposed, provide evidence, that HMW2 might also have an important function in organizing other proteins than cytoskeletal proteins. Finally, a new antiserum against the N-terminal part of HMW2 was generated, which improved the immunocytochemistry and allowed to co-localize HMW2 with the rod structure (co-operation with Dr. Hegermann), which is one of the predominant structures seen in thin sections of M. pneumoniae

Compulsive gambling in the financial markets: Evidence from two investor surveys

This study shows that a group of individual investors in the financial markets displays symptoms of compulsive gambling, or an addiction to trading, based on a standard diagnostic checklist from the American Psychiatric Association. In a representative sample of Dutch retail investors, we find that 4.4% of the investors meet the criteria for compulsive gambling in the financial markets. Another 3.6% meet the criteria for problem gambling, which is a less severe form of gambl

Interlocutors and Interactions: Examining the Interactions Between Students With Complex Communication Needs, Teachers, and Eye-Gaze Technology

This study analyzes the role of the machine as a communicative partner for children with complex communication needs as they use eye-tracking technology to communicate. We ask: to what extent do eye-tracking devices serve as functional communications systems for children with complex communication needs? We followed 12 children with profound physical disabilities in a special education classroom over 3 months. An eye-tracking system was used to collect data from software that assisted the children in facial recognition, task identification, and vocabulary building. Results show that eye gaze served as a functional communication system for the majority of the children. We found voice affect to be a strong determinant of communicative success between students and both of their communicative partners: the teachers (humans) and the technologies (machines)

Integrated pest management in vegetable production: a guide for extension workers in West Africa

Indigenous and exotic vegetables are central to most nutrition, food security and poverty reduction programmes around the world. However, in most of West Africa, the economic opportunities offered by vegetables are often undermined by production and trade constraints (i.e. pest damage, inappropriate pesticide usage, absence of environmental safeguard policies and/or stringent food safety standards). Extension workers and, in places, farmers groups and local community organizations, are working towards helping farmers to increase their yields in sustainable ways that create wealth and reduce the risks to productivity. All too often, extension workers do not know the cause of common pest problems in the crops they work with. Pest problems usually arise when the biological, ecological and sociological processes which underpin agriculture are disrupted. This guide helps to fill that information gap. It is one of many responses by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) which enables such workers to develop and use technologies. It focuses on accurate identification and better understanding of biodiversity in the development and application of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) options against vegetable pests. IPM is a knowledge-intensive approach to enhance profitability of agricultural systems, while minimizing threats to human health and the environment. The technical knowledge and skills in this guide can be used to look for, develop and apply effective vegetable IPM options. The IPM options outlined here are in harmony with the environment, sustainable, simple to apply, and cheap to maintain. The guide addresses IITA’s strategic aim of increasing the quality and usefulness of IPM research in support of reducing food security and poverty. It draws heavily on IITA’s experiences in Africa, with a particular emphasis on vegetable agroecosystems in Benin. Given the substantial economic costs of pest infestations in vegetable agroecosystems, the use of this guide in Africa is expected to improve incomes and overall agricultural productivity in the long-term. Peter Hartmann Director General International Institute of Tropical Agriculture March 2010 ForewordThis guide has been produced by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and Institut National des Recherches Agricoles du Bénin (INRAB), Cotonou, Benin, with support from the CGIAR Systemwide Program on Integrated Pest Management (SP-IPM), to improve the quality and usefulness of pest management research. This publication was part funded by the ACP-EU Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA)

Insecticide resistance profiles of Anopheles gambiae s.l. in Togo and genetic mechanisms involved, during 3-year survey: Is there any need for resistance management?

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.Background Malaria, one of the world’s greatest public health challenges, is an endemic disease with stable transmission in Togo. Combating malaria requires an effective vector control. This study provides temporal data on insecticide resistance status in the major malaria vector Anopheles gambiae sensu lato (s.l.) from Togo. Methods Two to 5 days old females of An. gambiae s.l., originating from three localities (Baguida, Kovié, Kolokopé) were subjected to insecticide-impregnated papers during 3 years (2012, 2013, 2016) as follows: organochlorides (4% DDT), pyrethroids (0.05% deltamethrin, 0.75% permethrin, 0.05% lambdacyhalothrin), carbamates (0.4% bendiocarb and 0.1% propoxur), and organophosphates (5% malathion, 0.4% chlorpyrifos methyl, 1% fenitrothion) following the WHO standard protocol. Dead and surviving mosquitoes were stored separately in Eppendorf tubes containing silica gel for DNA extraction, species identification, and kdr and ace-1 genotyping. Results Knockdown times (KDT50 and KDT95) were high in An. gambiae s.l. The lowest KDTs were recorded at Baguida in 2013 for deltamethrin (KDT50 = 24.7, CI [22.4–27.12] and KDT95 = 90.78, CI [76.35–113.49]). No KDTs were recorded for DDT and in some instances for permethrin. In general, An. gambiae s.l. was resistant to most of the four classes of insecticides during the survey periods regardless of locality and year, except to chlorpyrifos methyl. In some instances, mosquitoes were fully susceptible to fenitrothion (Kolokopé: 100% and Kovié: 98.05%, CI [95.82–100.26]) and malathion (100% at both Kolokopé and Kovié) in 2013, and malathion only (Kolokopé; 100%) in 2016. Anopheles coluzzii, An. gambiae and Anopheles arabiensis were the three sibling species identified at the three localities with some hybrids at Baguida (2013), and Kovié (2012 and 2016), respectively. Anopheles gambiae was relatively dominant (61.6%). The kdr 1014F allele frequency was > 0.9 in most of the cases, except at Kolokopé (f (1014F) = 0.63, CI [0.55–0.71]) in 2013. The kdr 1014S allele frequency was below 0.02. The highest ace-1 frequencies were identified in An. gambiae at Baguida (2012: 0.52, CI [0.34–0.69] and 2013: 0.66, CI [0.46–0.86]). Conclusion The resistance status is worrying in Togo and should be considered in future malaria vector resistance management programmes by decision-makers.Organization for Women in Science for the Developing Worl

Gestion intégrée des nuisibles en production maraîchère : Guide pour les agents de vulgarisation en Afrique de l'Ouest

Les parasites se manifestent généralement en cas de bouleversement des processus biologiques, écologiques et sociologiques qui sous-tendent l'agriculture. En plus d'apporter des informations sur la gestion durable des menaces biotiques portées à une production végétale saine, ce guide suggère également des manières d'enseigner et de diffuser des pratiques de lutte antiparasitaire intégrée auprès d'un public plus large. Exceptionnellement bien illustré par des illustrations, tableaux et photos, cet ouvrage se promet d'être une référence précieuse pour les professionnels sur le terrain, les agents de vulgarisation, les techniciens, les étudiants et les scientifiques