Tamsulosin � turn a round

Tamsulosin is a sulfamoylphen-ethylamine derivative, a potent and a selective antagonist of Alpha-1A adrenoceptor. It�s approved in the treatment of LUTS in BPH disease, being a specific Alpha -1A blocker it does not interfere much with the cardiovascular system. Though an age old molecule but still it�s a friendly drug to most of the physicians. Even the recent studies found its as efficacious to some of the newer molecules in the group

Shelling the Voronoi interface of protein-protein complexes predicts residue activity and conservation

The accurate description of protein-protein interfaces remains a challenging task. Traditional criteria, based on atomic contacts or changes in solvent accessibility, tend to over or underpredict the interface itself and cannot discriminate active from less relevant parts. A recent simulation study by Mihalek and co-authors (2007, JMB 369, 584-95) concluded that active residues tend to be `dry', that is, insulated from water fluctuations. We show that patterns of `dry' residues can, to a large extent, be predicted by a fast, parameter-free and purely geometric analysis of protein interfaces. We introduce the shelling order of Voronoi facets as a straightforward quantitative measure of an atom's depth inside an interface. We analyze the correlation between Voronoi shelling order, dryness, and conservation on a set of 54 protein-protein complexes. Residues with high shelling order tend to be dry; evolutionary conservation also correlates with dryness and shelling order but, perhaps not surprisingly, is a much less accurate predictor of either property. Voronoi shelling order thus seems a meaningful and efficient descriptor of protein interfaces. Moreover, the strong correlation with dryness suggests that water dynamics within protein interfaces may, in first approximation, be described by simple diffusion models

Effect of obesity on autonomic nervous system

The present study was carried out on 100 volunteers of which 50 subjects with BMI > 30kg/m2 were included in study group and 50 subjects with BMI < 30kg/m2 (non obese) were included in control group. The functioning of Autonomic nervous system was evaluated by six non-invasive tests- four of which were based mainly on parasympathetic control (30:15 ratio, standing to lying ratio (S/L ratio), expiration/inspiration ratio (E/I ratio) and valsalva maneuver) and two on sympathetic control (Blood pressure response to standing and cold pressor test). The results of the present study showed significantly low (p=0.001) S/L ratio in study group (1.04 ± 0.12) when compared to controls (1.12 ± 0.11) indicating impaired parasympathetic function. The mean change in sytolic blood pressure before and after cold pressor test (CPT) was less in study group (7.12 ± 5.28) as compared to control group (10.38 ± 6.35) and this was statistically significant (p=0.006) indicating impaired sympatheitc function. Thus ,in obese both division of ANS are affected which may be the cause of various cardiovascular complications

A Study on Ajuga bracteosa wall ex. Benth for analgesic activity

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Ajuga bracteosa wall ex. Benth (Labiatae) is traditionally used medicine in the treatment of malaria and gout. The plant is substitute of cinchona. Its allied species Ajuga Parviflora is also found sporadically. In Ayurvedic prepration the aqueous extract of the leaves part showed diuretic activity. Aim of the study: The present study was carried out to investigate analgesic activity of Ajuga bracteosa wall ex. Benth aerial part extracts. Materials and methods: A. bracteosa, a widespread medicinal plant traditionally used in the disease, was collected from Hamirpur district of Himachal Pradesh. Aerial part was extracted with petroleum ether, chloroform, methanol, ethanol and water. Analgesic activity of these extracts was assessed in swiss albino mice with acetic acid-induced writhing test and tail immersion test. Results: At the doses used (200 and 400 mg/kg, i.p.) chloroform and water extracts showed significant and dose-dependent analgesic effects.\ud Conclusion: Our results indicate that extracts Ajuga bracteosa wall ex. Benth obtained from demonstrate an analgesic effect probably mediated by opioid receptors.\u

Convergence in Income Inequality: the Case of Brazilian Municipalities

This paper investigates income inequality convergence among 5507 Brazilian municipalities. Two periods are used, 1991 and 2000, and inequality is measured by the Gini index. For the country as a whole, the results suggest that the Brazilian municipalities are converging to an inequality level greater than the current (year 2000) level. However, when regional differences are controlled for, the South region converges to a lower inequality level while the other four regions remain converging to a higher level.

Viral Hepatitis And Enzyme Study

The present study was undertaken in sixty patients of viral hepatitis of both sexes ranging 20 to 60 yrs. of age to compare serum levels or 5’Nucleotidase, Alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase & serum bilirubin. Forty of clinically healthy subjects were taken as control group. These were patient’s attendants without any evidence of liver disease so as to equlibriate the socioeconomic status and age. The study group patients were either admitted to Rajindra Hospital, Patiala, or attending the OPD. A detailed clinical examination was carried out in all as per plan mentioned in materials & methods. Diagnosis of these patients was based on clinical findings. Endeavour was to find out a single enzyme marker which is most specific and sensitive parameter out of all above. It was later concluded that value of 5’ NT was highly significant as compared to ALP. A positive correlation was observed between AST, ALT & serum bilirubin level. But 5’ NT showed no correlation with aminotransferases

Modeling the spatio-temporal distribution of M and S molecular forms of Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles funestus in south Benin

Species and ecotypes of malaria vectors adopt different strategies to avoid vector control intervention based on residual insecticides. Mapping their distributions would be useful to improve vector control and to reach objectives of malaria elimination. Here, we analyzed the spatio-temporal distribution of An. funestus (AF) and both M and S molecular forms of An. gambiae s.s. (AGM and AGS) that are sympatric in south Benin. Presence-absence data of AGM, AGS and AF from 1-year human-landing collections in 28 villages were assessed using binomial mixed-effects (BME) models with a set of environmental covariates. Temperatures, rainfall and NDVI were derived from satellite images. Landscape metrics based on an object-oriented classification of land-use were computed in a buffer area around each village. A breeding sites inventory was performed in the perimeter of each village. The vector control interventions implemented in the villages were also introduced in the models. After 8-fold cross-validations of the models, predictive maps of presence of AGM, AGS and AF were computed. BME models showed that presence of AGM and AGS were positively associated with the presence of domestic breeding sites positive for Anopheles larvae, market gardening, hydromorphic soils and the cumulated rainfall during the 15 days preceding the caught. Nocturnal temperatures were positively correlated with the presence of AGS and negatively with AGM. The opposite was found with NDVI. Presence of AF was highly correlated with the land-cover evenness, nocturnal temperatures, cumulated rainfalls and the presence of surface freshwater. Model validations showed the AF, AGM and AGS models provided respectively an excellent (AUC&gt;0.9), a good (AUC&gt;0.8) and an acceptable (AUC&gt;0.7) level of prediction. These results showed that available remote sensing data could help to predict the presence of several species of malaria vectors at a village level. These models could be used to map species-dependant parameters like biting behaviour or mechanisms of resistance to vector control. (Texte intégral

Kontroversi Produk Rekayasa Genetika Yang Dikonsumsi Masyarakat

Genetic engineering is a transplant of one gene to an other gene both between genesand gene cross to produce a useful product for living organisms. At first, geneticengineering was only conducted on plant to solve the food\u27s lack for world population,and it does not only apply to the plants and animals are similar in its development, but ithas evolved in humans and cross types. The basic principle of genetic engineeringtechnology is manipulating the composition changes of the nucleic acid of DNA ortucking new genes into the DNA structure of the recipient organisms, this means thatinserted genes on a recipient organism can be derived from the other organisms. Today,the deployment and use of genetically modified organisms have been inviting society\u27scontroversy, therefore this paper aims to review the controversy for genetically modifiedorganism (GMO) on several aspects of community life

Gestion Intégrée des ressources en eau à l’échelle locale: l’expérience des CLE au Burkina Faso

Le Burkina Faso s’est engagé depuis une quinzaine d’années à mettre en place un mécanisme de gestion intégrée des ressources matérialisé par l’adoption d’un plan d’action GIRE (PAGIRE) et la mise en place d’une trentaine de Comité Local de l’Eau (CLE). Le CLE apparait alors comme le maillon principal de cette réforme du cadre de gestion locale de l’eau. Dans le cadre de cette étude, le CLE est considéré comme une institution chargée de gérer un territoire vu comme « un système complexe de relations et d’échanges avant d’être un espace géographique délimité ». La mise en œuvre de la GIRE au Burkina Faso appelle ainsi à l’analyse du passage d’une gouvernance coutumière à une gouvernance « publique » et une gouvernance multi-acteurs. qui suppose l’intervention d’acteurs variés avec une délégation auprès d’associations ou d’opérateurs privé