Effects of MS-153 on chronic ethanol consumption and GLT1 modulation of glutamate levels in male alcohol-preferring rats

We have recently shown that upregulation of glutamate transporter 1 (GLT1) in the brain is associated in part with reduction in ethanol intake in alcohol-preferring (P) male rats. In this study, we investigated the effects of a synthetic compound, (R)-(−)-5-methyl-1-nicotinoyl-2-pyrazoline (MS-153), known to activate GLT1 on ethanol consumption as well as GLT1 expression and certain signaling pathways in P rats. P rats were given 24-hour concurrent access to 15% and 30% ethanol, water and food for five weeks. On week 6, P rats received MS-153 at a dose of 50 mg/kg (i.p.) or a vehicle (i.p.) for five consecutive days. We also tested the effect of MS-153 on daily sucrose (10%) intake. Our studies revealed a significant decrease in ethanol intake at the dose of 50 mg/kg MS-153 from Day 1 through Day 14. In addition, MS-153 at dose of 50 mg/kg did not induce any significant effect on sucrose intake. Importantly, we found that MS-153 upregulated the GLT1 level in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) but not in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). In accordance, we found upregulation of nuclear NFkB-65 level in NAc in MS-153-treated group, however, IkB was downregulated in MS-153-treated group in NAc. We did not find any changes in NFkB-65 and IkB levels in PFC. Interestingly, we revealed that p-Akt was downregulated in ethanol vehicle treated groups in the NAc; this downregulation was reversed by MS-153 treatment. We did not observe any significant differences in glutamate aspartate transporter (GLAST) expression among all groups. These findings reveal MS-153 as a GLT1 modulator that may have potential as a therapeutic drug for the treatment of alcohol dependence

Tamper Detection against Unitary Operators

We consider (Enc, Dec) schemes which are used to encode a classical/quantum message $m$ and derive an $n$-qubit quantum codeword $\psi_m$. The quantum codeword $\psi_m$ can adversarially tamper via a unitary $U \in \mathcal{U}$ from some known tampering unitary family $\mathcal{U}$, resulting in $U \psi_m U^\dagger$. Firstly, we initiate the general study of quantum tamper detection codes, which must detect that tampering occurred with high probability. In case there was no tampering, we would like to output the message $m$ with a probability of $1$. We show that quantum tamper detection codes exist for both classical messages and quantum messages for any family of unitaries $\mathcal{U}$, such that $|\mathcal{U}| < 2^{2^{\alpha n}}$ for some known constant $\alpha \in (0,1)$ and all the unitaries satisfy one additional condition : \begin{itemize} \item Far from Identity : For each $U \in \mathcal{U}$, we require that its modulus of trace value isn't too much i.e. $|Trace(U)| \leq \phi N$, where $N=2^n.$ \end{itemize} Quantum tamper-detection codes are quantum generalizations of classical tamper detection codes studied by Jafargholi et al. \cite{JW15}. Additionally for classical message $m$, if we must either output message $m$ or detect that tampering occurred and output $\perp$ with high probability, we show that it is possible without the restriction of Far from Identity condition for any family of unitaries $\mathcal{U}$, such that $|\mathcal{U} | < 2^{2^{\alpha n}}$. We also provide efficient (Enc, Dec) schemes when the family of tampering unitaries are from Pauli group $\mathcal{P}_n$, which can be thought of as a quantum version of the algebraic manipulation detection (AMD) codes of Cramer et al. \cite{CDFPW08}

The Best Laid Plans: Access to the Rajiv Aarogyasri community health insurance scheme of Andhra Pradesh

This paper is a qualitative assessment of a public health insurance scheme in the state of Andhra Pradesh, south India, called the Rajiv Aarogyasri Community Health Insurance Scheme (or Aarogyasri), using the case-study method. Focusing on inpatient hospital care and especially on surgical treatments leaves the scheme wanting in meeting the health care needs of and addressing the impoverishing health expenditure incurred by the poor, especially those living in rural areas. Though well-intentioned, people from vulnerable sections of society may find the scheme ultimately unhelpful for their needs. Through an in-depth qualitative approach, the paper highlights not just financial difficulties but also the non-financial barriers to accessing health care, despite the existence of a scheme such as Aarogyasri. Narrative evidence from poor households offers powerful insights into why even the most innovative state health insurance schemes may not achieve their goals and systemic corrections needed to address barriers to health care

Assessing the electrolyte imbalances, predisposing factors and their impact on sleep quality in chronic kidney disease patients: a hospital-based study

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) poses a significant burden on patients' health and quality of life, often accompanied by various risk factors, electrolyte disturbances and disturbances in sleep patterns. Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital inpatient general medicine department over a period of six months and recorded 120 cases. Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) was used to assess the quality of sleep and chi square test was performed as a statistical significance for the risk factors and complications and obtained the results. Results: Out of 120 cases, 68 were males and 52 were females; patients with an age group greater than 65 years are more prone to CKD (p value &lt;0.05, i.e., 0.048). Hypertension was the major risk factor, followed by diabetes, among these patients (p value &lt;0.05). Anemia, sepsis, and edema are the most common complications among CKD patients. This study confirms that the majority of the patients have long-term sleep disturbances followed by poor sleep quality. Significant decrease in glomerular filtration rate, albumin levels, serum sodium, serum calcium levels, and an increase in serum creatinine levels, blood urea nitrogen, bilirubin levels, serum potassium, serum chloride and serum phosphate levels were observed in these CKD patients. Conclusions: Study concluded that assessing sleep quality, monitoring electrolyte levels were essential for comprehensive care in CKD patients. Addressing sleep problems and managing risk factors can improve well-being, while maintaining electrolyte balance helps manage complications and prevent disease progression

Risk factors associated with reticular pseudodrusen versus large soft drusen

PURPOSE: To investigate genetic, environmental, and systemic risk factors in prospectively identified subjects with the age-related macular degeneration (AMD) phenotypes of (1) reticular pseudodrusen without large soft drusen and (2) large soft drusen without reticular pseudodrusen. DESIGN: Prospective case-case comparison. METHODS: In a clinical practice setting, patients with AMD were sequentially screened using clinical examination and scanning laser ophthalmoscopy imaging to prospectively identify subjects (n = 73) with the phenotypes of (1) reticular pseudodrusen without large soft drusen (n = 30) or (2) large soft drusen without reticular pseudodrusen (n = 43). Subjects were genotyped for 2 alleles associated with AMD, age-related maculopathy susceptibility 2 (ARMS2) and complement factor H (CFH). A questionnaire was administered to collect history of smoking, hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia, as well as personal and family history of AMD. RESULTS: The reticular pseudodrusen group was older (median age 87 vs 81 years, P = .04) and had more female subjects (83.3% vs 48.8%, P = .003), later ages of AMD onset (83 vs 70 years, P = .0005), and a greater frequency of hypertension (76.7% vs 55.8%, P = .08). No significant differences were found in the distribution of the ARMS2 risk allele (P = .4) between the reticular pseudodrusen (homozygous = 20.0%; heterozygous = 56.7%) and large soft drusen (homozygous = 19.0%; heterozygous = 42.9%) phenotypes, or in the distribution of the CHF risk allele (P = .7) between the reticular pseudodrusen (homozygous = 26.7%; heterozygous = 56.7%) and large soft drusen (homozygous = 21.4%; heterozygous = 66.7%) phenotypes. CONCLUSIONS: The reticular pseudodrusen phenotype was associated with increased age, later age of AMD onset, and female sex

SLE and Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma: A Case Series and Review of the Literature

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystem autoimmune disorder punctuated by varied multiorgan complications all along the course of its natural history. Lymphoma represents a relatively well-recognized malignant phenomenon associated with lupus. The cause and effect relationships of lymphoma in SLE have been subject to extensive scrutiny with several studies reporting on clinic-pathologic characteristics and risk factors predicting lymphoma development in SLE. However, the pathogenic role of immunosuppressives in SLE-related lymphoma still remains unclear, and indices to help guide diagnosis, prognostication, therapy, and posttreatment monitoring are yet to be established. In this review, we describe 3 SLE patients who developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma at different time points of their disease. Through a careful dissection of the aforementioned cases, we intend to apprise readers of the currently available literature surrounding risk factors, management, and prognosis in SLE-related lymphoma. We will also review and discuss the implications of immunosuppressives in SLE-related lymphoma and the role of mycophenolate mofetil in SLE-related primary CNS lymphoma development

Efficient deep learning models for Telugu handwritten text recognition

Optical character recognition (OCR) technology is indispensable for converting and analyzing text from various sources into a format that is editable and searchable. Telugu handwriting presents notable challenges due to the resemblance of characters, the extensive character set, and the need to segment overlapping characters. To segment the overlapping characters, we assess the width of small characters within a word and segment the overlapping characters accordingly. This method is well suited for the segmentation of overlapping compound characters. To address the recognition of similar characters with less training periods we have used ResNet 18 and SqueezeNet models which have achieved character recognition rates of 95% and 94% respectively

Biosorption of Cr(VI) from Aqueous Solutions Using Trametes Versicolor Polyporus

Removal of chromium(VI) from aqueous solution was studied using abundantly available trametes versicolor polyporus fungi as biosorbing medium under equilibrium and column flow conditions. Various sorption parameters such as contact time, effect of pH, concentration of Cr(VI) and amount of biomass on the adsorption capacity of the biosorbent were studied. The equilibrium adsorption data were fitted to Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption isotherm models and the model parameters are evaluated. In addition, the data were used to predict the kinetics of adsorption. The results indicated that the adsorption of Cr(VI) on fungi followed second order kinetics. The column flow adsorption data were used to predict break through curves. The fungi loaded with Cr(VI) was regenerated with 0.1 M NaOH solution and the regenerated biomass was used in the subsequent adsorptiondesorption cycles. The experimental results demonstrated that the trametes versicolor polyporus fungi could be used as sorbent for immobilizing Cr(VI)

A search for technosignatures from TRAPPIST-1, LHS 1140, and 10 planetary systems in the Kepler field with the Green Bank Telescope at 1.15-1.73 GHz

As part of our ongoing search for technosignatures, we collected over three terabytes of data in May 2017 with the L-band receiver (1.15-1.73 GHz) of the 100 m diameter Green Bank Telescope. These observations focused primarily on planetary systems in the Kepler field, but also included scans of the recently discovered TRAPPIST-1 and LHS 1140 systems. We present the results of our search for narrowband signals in this data set with techniques that are generally similar to those described by Margot et al. (2018). Our improved data processing pipeline classified over $98\%$ of the $\sim$ 6 million detected signals as anthropogenic Radio Frequency Interference (RFI). Of the remaining candidates, 30 were detected outside of densely populated frequency regions attributable to RFI. These candidates were carefully examined and determined to be of terrestrial origin. We discuss the problems associated with the common practice of ignoring frequency space around candidate detections in radio technosignature detection pipelines. These problems include inaccurate estimates of figures of merit and unreliable upper limits on the prevalence of technosignatures. We present an algorithm that mitigates these problems and improves the efficiency of the search. Specifically, our new algorithm increases the number of candidate detections by a factor of more than four compared to Margot et al. (2018).Comment: 17 pages, 9 figure