Fermions in odd space-time dimensions: back to basics

It is a well known feature of odd space-time dimensions $d$ that there exist two inequivalent fundamental representations $A$ and $B$ of the Dirac gamma matrices. Moreover, the parity transformation swaps the fermion fields living in $A$ and $B$. As a consequence, a parity invariant Lagrangian can only be constructed by incorporating both the representations. Based upon these ideas and contrary to long held belief, we show that in addition to a discrete exchange symmetry for the massless case, we can also define chiral symmetry provided the Lagrangian contains fields corresponding to both the inequivalent representations. We also study the transformation properties of the corresponding chiral currents under parity and charge conjugation operations. We work explicitly in 2+1 dimensions and later show how some of these ideas generalize to an arbitrary number of odd dimensions.Comment: 8 pages, no figure

In vitro propagation of some promising genotypes of jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis)

Nodal segments (1.5 - 3.0 cm long) of six promising jojoba genotypes were cultured in vitro on solidified MS medium supplemented with BA in combination with different concentrations of NAA, IAA or IBA forshoot formation. The plant growth regulators combination of 5.55 ìM BA + 7.1 ìM IAA proved the best for shoot initiation and subsequent growth. Some explants of the jojoba genotypes, PKJ-3 and PKJ-6,developed thick rootlets when BA (5.55 ìM) was used in combination with IBA (6.1 ìM) or NAA (6.7 ìM). Many explants developed callus on the medium containing BA (11.1 ìM) in combination with NAA (13.4ìM), IAA (14.3 ìM) or IBA (12.2 ìM). In vitro derived shoots were rooted by culturing on solidified MS medium containing IBA (6.1 ìM), IAA (7.1 ìM) or NAA (6.7 ìM). The plantlets which developed roots inresponse to IBA had the maximum survival percentage (63.33) during acclimatization in greenhouse. However, survival of the plantlets in field conditions was independent of the genotypes and the time ofplanting. Among the genotypes, PKJ-3 performed the best in all the parameters studied

Seed-borne mycoflora of local and improved wheat (Triticum sativum L.) cultivars in Kano, Nigeria

Three varieties each of local and improved wheat (Triticum sativum) cultivars were investigated for seed-borne pathogenic mycoflora using the plate technique and laid on completely randomized design. A total 99 fungal isolate grouped into five fungal species namely; Rhizopus nigricans, Mucor spp, Penillium jenseni, Aspergillus niger, and Fusarium moloniformes were isolated with Rhizopus nigricans, and Fusarium moloniformes (30.30 % and 35.40%, respectively) being the most frequently occurring fungal species and Penillium jenseni (7.0 %) being the least abundant. Results of the studyhave also indicated that local wheat cultivars were more contaminated than the improved varieties. It is therefore apparent that both improved and local wheat varieties are contaminated by fungal mycoflora.Keywords; wheat, seed-borne fungi, plate techniqu

Investigating the role of environmental taxes and regulations for renewable energy consumption: evidence from developed economies

The current study aims to explore the role of environmental taxes and regulations for the renewable energy consumption, focusing on reporting policy suggestions to overcome climate change issues and achieve environmental sustainability. The main objective of this paper is to examine the relation between renewable energy, environmental taxes, environmental technologies, and environmental regulations in 29 OECD countries during 1996–2018. More precisely, we inspect the impact of the environmental regulations and environmental technologies on the renewable energy consumption. The authors employ CIPS and CADF unit root tests, panel Westerlund co-integration test, FMOLS, and Quantile regression methods for the econometric analysis. The econometric analysis suggests that the environmental regulations impede the renewable energy consumption in OECD economies. The study suggests that environmental policy initiatives should focus on implementing environmental strategies to inspire cohesiveness between environmental regulations and the development of environmental technologies in order to promote the renewables industry in the developed countries

Association between Knowledge and Drug Adherence in Patients with Hypertension in Quetta, Pakistan

Purpose: To evaluate the association between patient’s knowledge of hypertension management and medication adherence.Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken with 385 hypertensive patients who visited outpatient departments in two public hospitals in Quetta City, Pakistan. Besides demographic and disease-relatedquestions, two validated questionnaires (Hypertension Fact Questionnaire and Drug Attitude Inventory) were used for data collection. Descriptive statistics were to determine the demographic and diseasecharacteristics of the patients while Spearman rank correlation was employed to measure the association between knowledge and drug adherence.Results: Out of 385 patients, 236 (61.3 %) of the patients had average knowledge about hypertension while 249 (64.7 %) were categorized as poor adherent. No patient was considered as good adherent in the study. Correlation coefficient between total score of knowledge and total adherence was – 0.170 (p < 0.001), indicating an inverse association between knowledge scores and adherence level.Conclusion: Although the level of knowledge was average, patients were unsure of the benefits of continuous medication use which resulted in non-adherence to regimens. Educating patients about the benefits of medications and clarifying doubts regarding medication use should result in better control of hypertension

THE IN VITRO AND EX VIVO EFFECT OF PHYLLANTHUS NIRURI METHANOL EXTRACT ON HEPATIC GLUTATHIONE S-TRANSFERASE ACTIVITY IN STZ-INDUCED DIABETIC SPRAGUE DAWLEY RATS

ABSTRACTObjective: The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro and ex vivo (acute and sub-chronic doses) effect of Phyllanthus niruri methanol extract (PNME) on the activity of cytosolic glutathione S-transferase (GST) in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic young female Sprague Dawley (SD) rats.Methods: Young female SD rats were induced type I diabetes mellitus using STZ (60 mg/kg i.v.). The in vitro study was performed on cytosolic fraction of diabetic rat livers using PNME in concentrations of 0.01, 1 and 10 µg/ml. Meanwhile, ex vivo studies were performed on diabetic rats using PNME in doses of 500, 1000, 2000 and 5000 mg/kg p.o. for acute study (1 day) and 100, 500 and 2000 mg/kg/day p.o. for sub-chronic study (14 days). The GST activity in the cytosolic liver fraction was measured using spectrophotometric analysis.Results: The in vitro study showed that, there is no significant effect of the three concentrations of PNME versus control on GST activity in cytosolic fraction of diabetic young female SD rat livers, while for ex vivo study, there is a significant dose independent induction effect on GST enzyme activity at all doses used in acute study. Meanwhile, sub-chronic study showed significant dose-independent induction effect at doses 500 and 2000 mg/kg.Conclusion: This study suggests that Phyllanthus niruri may increase the clearance of drugs that are metabolized by GST enzyme in phase II metabolism when given concomitantly with this plant extract.Key words: Phyllanthus niruri, GST, diabetic rats, cytosolic liver fraction, phase II metabolismÂ

Health promotion, disease prevention and periodic health checks: perceptions and practice among family physicians in eastern Mediterranean region

Introduction: The aim of this study was to identify the current practices and perceptions of family physicians regarding health promotion, disease prevention including periodic screening and health checks in Eastern Mediterranean Region. Methods: A multi-country cross-sectional study was conducted in six countries of EMR, from September 2014 to March 2015. Family Physicians who were currently practicing in different countries of EMR were invited to participate in the study through email. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Data was entered and analyzed on SPSS 19 and logistic regression analysis was performed. Results: A total of 100 physicians data was included in the final analysis. The majority were female physicians (76%): 63% were 25 to 35 years of age. Approximately 53% of Family physicians always recommend periodic screening and health checks to their patients. The common screening question asked to patients in medical history was related to their blood pressure (86%). Almost all (99%) of the Family physicians believe they should conduct periodic health checks. Those who had postgraduate training in Family Medicine (OR: 0.5; 95% CI: 0.39-1.67) and attended CME sessions regularly (OR: 0.11; 95% CI: 0.01-0.93), are more likely to recommend periodic screening and health checks to their patients. Conclusion: Periodic screening and health check is an important strategy to prevent disease and maintain health. It is an underutilized practice and a great need exists for its implementation in family practice

WLAN aware cognitive medium access control protocol for IoT applications

© 2020 by the authors. Internet of Things (IoT)-based devices consist of wireless sensor nodes that are battery-powered; thus, energy efficiency is a major issue. IEEE 802.15.4-compliant IoT devices operate in the unlicensed Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band of 2.4 GHz and are subject to interference caused by high-powered IEEE 802.11-compliant Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) users. This interference causes frequent packet drop and energy loss for IoT users. In this work, we propose a WLAN Aware Cognitive Medium Access Control (WAC-MAC) protocol for IoT users that uses techniques, such as energy detection based sensing, adaptive wake-up scheduling, and adaptive backoff, to reduce interference with the WSN and improve network lifetime of the IoT users. Results show that the proposedWAC-MAC achieves a higher packet reception rate and reduces the energy consumption of IoT nodes

On how Unsupervised Machine Learning Can Shape Minds: a Brief Overview

This paper briefly examines the relationship between unsupervised machine learning models, the learning affordances that such models offer, and the mental models of those who use them. We consider the unsupervised models as learning affordances. We use a case study involving unsupervised modelling via commonly used methods such as clustering, to argue that unsupervised models can be used as learning affordances, bychanging participants’ mental models, precisely because the models are unsupervised, and thus potentially lead to learning from unexpected or inexplicit patterns

Development and in-vitro Evaluation of Once Daily Tablet Dosage Form of Loxoprofen Sodium

Purpose: To formulate and characterize once daily controlled release tablet of loxoprofen sodium.Methods: Eudragit RS-100, hydroxylpropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and pectin were used as release retarding polymers. All the formulations were prepared by direct compression method. Various precompression studies were carried out to determine Hausner’s ratio, Carr’s index, angle of repose, bulk density and tapped density Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies and also post-compression studies to evaluate hardness, friability, weight variation, drug content, in-vitro drug release were conducted on the tablets. The drug release data were subjected to kinetic models, including zero order, first order, Hixon Crowell, Higuchi and Korsmeyer-Peppas.Results: Compressibility index (7.6 ± 1.32 - 12.5 ± 1.43%), Hausner’s ratio (1.08 ± 0.04 - 1.14 ± 0.03), angle of repose (27.78 ± 0.47 - 30.49 ± 0.46°), hardness (6.25 ± 0.27 - 7.21±0.21 kg/cm2), friability (0.14 ± 0.06 - 0.28 ± 0.0 %), weight variation (249.5 ± 2.09 - 251.35 ± 2.41 mg) and drug content  (97.30 ± 0.28 - 103.70 ± 0.31 %) were within generally accepted limits for the pre-and post-compression formulations, respectively. The tablets having the maximum amount of among the three polymers tested as matrix materials, HPMC, represented by F3 tablets, exerted better sustained release properties after 12 h. Release pattern was more of Fickian diffusion followed by Higuchi mechanism.Conclusion: The release of the loxoprofen sodium was optimized up to 12 h.Keywords: Loxoprofen, Sustained release, hydroxypropyl methylcelluose, Pectin, Eudragit, Matrix tablet