Victim Assistance: Response from a Socio-Economic Perspective

World Vision International has been helping the disabled in Cambodia since the early 1970s. The author emphasizes that a focus on a socio-economic approach to victim assistance is important to ensure successful rehabilitation of the disabled

Comparison of Conventional and Ultrasound Assisted Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extraction of Curcumin from Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.)

Recently, ultrasound assisted supercritical fluid is used for extraction the valuable compounds from a number of plant materials as an alternative to conventional method because it can enhance the extraction rate and yield. Curcumin is an important component of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) with many useful functions to human health. The objective of this study is using ultrasonic assisted supercritical carbon dioxide (USC-CO2) to extract curcumin from turmeric and compared to conventional method. The effect of operating conditions on extraction, including temperature (40 - 60oC), pressure (15 - 25 MPa), extraction time (30 - 120 min), CO2 flow rate (2 - 4 mL/min) and percentage of cosolvent (10 - 20% v/v) were also studied. The result shows that the high extraction yield of 7.17% w/w and curcumin content of 1.69% w/w were achieved at temperature of 50oC, pressure of 25 MPa, extraction time of 90 min, CO2 flow rate of 3 mL/min with 10% cosolvent. Compared to conventional method, USC-CO2 could provide higher curcumin content in extraction yield in a shorter extraction time. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermal gravity (TG), and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to analyse turmeric undergoing USC-CO2 and conventional extraction and showed that ultrasound could break down the cell walls and remove some functional groups from plant materials, resulting an increase the selectivity of compounds in extraction yield

Predicting Precedent: A Psycholinguistic Artificial Intelligence in the Supreme Court

Since the proliferation of analytic methodologies and ‘big data’ in the 1980s, there have been multiple studies claiming to offer consistent predictions for Supreme Court behavior. Political scientists focus on analyzing the ideology of judges, with prediction accuracy as high as 70%. Institutionalists, such as Kaufmann (2019), seek to make predictions on verdicts based on a thorough, qualitative analysis of rules and structures, with predictive accuracy as high as 75%. We argue that a psycholinguistic model utilizing machine learning (SCOTUS_AI) can best predict Court outcomes. Extracting sentiment features from parsed briefs through the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC), our results indicate SCOTUS_AI (AUC = .8087; Top K=.9144) outcompetes traditional analysis in both class-controlled accuracy and range of possible, specific outcomes. Moreover, unlike traditional models, SCOTUS_AI can also predict the procedural outcome of the case as one-hot encoded by remand (AUC=.76). Our findings support a psycholinguistic paradigm of case analysis, suggesting that the framing of arguments is a relatively strong predictor of case results. Finally, we cast predictions for the Supreme Court docket, demonstrating that SCOTUS_AI can be practically deployed in the field for individual cases

Diversity in rest-activity patterns among Lake Malawi cichlid fishes suggests a novel axis of habitat partitioning

Animals display remarkable diversity in rest and activity patterns that are regulated by endogenous foraging strategies, social behaviors and predator avoidance. Alteration in the circadian timing of activity or the duration of rest–wake cycles provide a central mechanism for animals to exploit novel niches. The diversity of the \u3e3000 cichlid species throughout the world provides a unique opportunity to examine variation in locomotor activity and rest. Lake Malawi alone is home to over 500 species of cichlids that display divergent behaviors and inhabit well-defined niches throughout the lake. These species are presumed to be diurnal, though this has never been tested systematically. Here, we measured locomotor activity across the circadian cycle in 11 Lake Malawi cichlid species. We documented surprising variability in the circadian time of locomotor activity and the duration of rest. In particular, we identified a single species, Tropheops sp. ‘red cheek’, that is nocturnal. Nocturnal behavior was maintained when fish were provided shelter, but not under constant darkness, suggesting that it results from acute response to light rather than an endogenous circadian rhythm. Finally, we showed that nocturnality is associated with increased eye size after correcting for evolutionary history, suggesting a link between visual processing and nighttime activity. Together, these findings identify diversity of locomotor behavior in Lake Malawi cichlids and provide a system for investigating the molecular and neural basis underlying variation in nocturnal activity

Lipids from Vitellaria paradoxa Gaertn Seeds by Supercritical CO2: Extraction and Optimization of Parameters by Response Surface Methodology

Supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) was employed to extract lipids from Vitellaria paradoxa Gaertn seeds in semi–batch process at various operating conditions to optimize extraction process. The extraction processes were carried out at 40 – 60 oC and 20 – 40 MPa with 2 – 4 ml min–1 CO2 flow rates. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) with 33 factorial design combined with statistical was used to optimize variables in the process of Vitellaria paradoxa Gaertn seeds lipids extraction with supercritical CO2. The FT–IR spectra indicated that the Vitellaria paradoxa Gaertn seeds components were extracted by supercritical CO2. The SEM images also indicated that the physical changes in the surface of the Vitellaria paradoxa Gaertn seeds occurred after supercritical CO2 extraction treatment. The maximum of extracted lipids was 0.47 g/g–sample when the extraction was conducted at a temperature of 80 oC and pressure of 40 MPa with CO2 flow rate of 3 ml min–1. The GC–MS analysis showed that the extracted lipids mainly composed of palmitic acid (C16:0), stearic acid (C18:0), oleic acid (C18:1), and linoleic acid (C18:2). The analysis of experimental design demonstrated that pressure and temperature were the influential variables on the lipids extraction

Contribution of Somatic Ras/Raf/Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Variants in the Hippocampus in Drug-Resistant Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Importance: Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) is the most common focal epilepsy subtype and is often refractory to antiseizure medications. While most patients with MTLE do not have pathogenic germline genetic variants, the contribution of postzygotic (ie, somatic) variants in the brain is unknown. Objective: To test the association between pathogenic somatic variants in the hippocampus and MTLE. Design, Setting, and Participants: This case-control genetic association study analyzed the DNA derived from hippocampal tissue of neurosurgically treated patients with MTLE and age-matched and sex-matched neurotypical controls. Participants treated at level 4 epilepsy centers were enrolled from 1988 through 2019, and clinical data were collected retrospectively. Whole-exome and gene-panel sequencing (each genomic region sequenced more than 500 times on average) were used to identify candidate pathogenic somatic variants. A subset of novel variants was functionally evaluated using cellular and molecular assays. Patients with nonlesional and lesional (mesial temporal sclerosis, focal cortical dysplasia, and low-grade epilepsy-associated tumors) drug-resistant MTLE who underwent anterior medial temporal lobectomy were eligible. All patients with available frozen tissue and appropriate consents were included. Control brain tissue was obtained from neurotypical donors at brain banks. Data were analyzed from June 2020 to August 2022. Exposures: Drug-resistant MTLE. Main Outcomes and Measures: Presence and abundance of pathogenic somatic variants in the hippocampus vs the unaffected temporal neocortex. Results: Of 105 included patients with MTLE, 53 (50.5%) were female, and the median (IQR) age was 32 (26-44) years; of 30 neurotypical controls, 11 (36.7%) were female, and the median (IQR) age was 37 (18-53) years. Eleven pathogenic somatic variants enriched in the hippocampus relative to the unaffected temporal neocortex (median [IQR] variant allele frequency, 1.92 [1.5-2.7] vs 0.3 [0-0.9]; P =.01) were detected in patients with MTLE but not in controls. Ten of these variants were in PTPN11, SOS1, KRAS, BRAF, and NF1, all predicted to constitutively activate Ras/Raf/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling. Immunohistochemical studies of variant-positive hippocampal tissue demonstrated increased Erk1/2 phosphorylation, indicative of Ras/Raf/MAPK activation, predominantly in glial cells. Molecular assays showed abnormal liquid-liquid phase separation for the PTPN11 variants as a possible dominant gain-of-function mechanism. Conclusions and Relevance: Hippocampal somatic variants, particularly those activating Ras/Raf/MAPK signaling, may contribute to the pathogenesis of sporadic, drug-resistant MTLE. These findings may provide a novel genetic mechanism and highlight new therapeutic targets for this common indication for epilepsy surgery

Extraction of bioactive compounds from Garcinia Mangostana pericarp using supercritical carbon dioxide with hydrothermal process

Supercritical carbon dioxide with hydrothermal extraction is efficient method of extracting valuable compounds from natural products. In this study, supercritical carbon dioxide with hydrothermal process was used to extract bioactive compounds from Garcinia mangostana pericarp. The study employs other extraction methods such as SC-CO2 with hydrothermal extraction, SC-CO2 extraction and SC-CO2 with 5% (w/w) of water as co-solvent. The extraction yield and the recovery of alpha-mangostin were then compared relative to the results obtained from SC-CO2 with Hydrothermal Extraction. The extraction was performed in an 8.8 ml stainless steel close-type batch reactor. The effects of process parameters such as temperature (120-160oC), pressure (5-15 MPa), extraction time (30-120 min), and particle size (0.2735-0.9385 mm) on the extraction yield, total phenolic compounds content, antioxidant activity, and alphamangostin recovery were investigated. The relationship of process parameters were established using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The predicted optimum extraction yield was 39.931% w/w based on dry Garcinia mangostana pericarp, obtained at temperature of 160oC, with operating pressure of 5 MPa, having an extraction time of 30 minutes, and with the pericarp average particle size of 0.2735 mm. It was also predicted from RSM that the total phenolic compounds could achieved a highest value at 22.03 g GAE/100g of extract when temperature was at 120oC, under an extraction pressure of 15 MPa, in an extraction time of 30 min and having average particle size of charged at 0.9385 mm. Likewise, a highest antioxidant activity characterized by the lowest of IC 50 of 73.176 g/ml could be obtained if the temperature of extraction is 160oC, coupled with an operating pressure of 15 MPa, an extraction time of 30 minutes and average particle size of 0.9385 mm. The maximum predicted value in terms of alpha-mangostin recovery reached 0.203% w/w of extract when conditions are at 140oC, 10 MPa, extraction time of 60 minutes, and average particle size of 0.2735 mm. It could be observed that SCCO2 Extraction with Hydrothermal Process exhibited the highest extraction yield but obtained the lowest value of alpha-mangostin recovered when compared to other methods of extraction consider in this study