SOME RESULTS ON SEMI-REFLEXIVITY AND REFLEXIVITY IN LOCALLY CONVEX SPACES

In this paper we discuss that if E[] is a barreled space such that every bounded subset of E is relatively compact, then E[] is reflexive, and that a barreled space E[τ] in which there is a denumerable system of convex compact subsets is reflexive. We also discuss Some hereditary-type properties of reflexive locally convex spaces. Keywords: Bornological space, barreled, hereditarily-reflexive, M-space, quasi-complete, reflexive, strong dual. AMS (2010) Mathematics Subject Classification: 46A25

The changing trend of alloimmunization in antenatal females: experience from a tertiary care centre in north-western India

Background: Haemolytic disease of the foetus and new-born (HDFN) is a major concern during the antenatal period, especially in countries with low human development index (HDI). The guidelines for antenatal screening and management significantly vary from one geographical region to another. Since the introduction of RhIG immunoprophylaxis, the incidence of HDFN caused by alloimmunization to D antigen has markedly reduced, while that caused by other minor blood group antigens has not been addressed significantly and needs to be given due consideration.Methods: The study was carried out to evaluate the incidence of alloimmunization and analyse various factors associated with HDFN in north-western India. A total of 1700 antenatal cases were evaluated over a period of 20 months, antibody screening and identification was performed on their samples and results were analysed.Results: Out of the 1700 cases, 21 were detected to have the presence of an alloantibody with a prevalence of 1.24%. Out of these, 11 were Rh (D) negative while the remaining 10 were Rh (D) positive. The rate for alloimmunization was higher in females who had a history of blood transfusion (1.24%), bad obstetric history (1.24%), and multigravida status (1.24%).Conclusions: Screening all pregnant females for alloimmunization to RBC antigens, irrespective of their Rh status will help in minimizing the incidence of the HDFN. The practice of providing partial phenotype matched blood to the females of the childbearing age group should be encouraged to reduce the overall incidence of alloimmunization and HDFN

Agility in humanitarian supply chain: an organizational information processing perspective and relational view

Humanitarian organizations are increasingly facing challenges in terms of improving the efficiency and the effectiveness of their disaster relief efforts. These challenges often arise due to a lack of trust, poor collaboration and an inability to respond to disaster affected areas in a timely manner. Our study attempts to understand how these challenges are overcome by seeking answers to questions related to the topics of swift-trust, collaboration and agility in humanitarian supply chains. For instance, in our study we have attempted to examine how information sharing and supply chain visibility in humanitarian supply chains improve the swift-trust among the humanitarian actors engaged in disaster relief operations. Further, we attempt to understand how-swift trust, commitment and collaboration among the humanitarian actors improve the agility in humanitarian supply chains. In our study we provide both theoretical and data-driven answers to our stated research gaps. Our theoretical model is firmly grounded in organizational information process theory and relational view. We tested our research hypotheses using variance based structural equation modelling with survey data collected using a web based pre-tested instrument from 147 NGOs respondents drawn from the National Disaster Management Authority database. Our results help to advance the theoretical debates surrounding “swift-trust”, “collaboration” and “agility” in humanitarian settings. We further provide direction to managers engaged in disaster relief operations. The humanitarian actors engaged in disaster relief often fail to understand how to build swift-trust. Moreover, how swift-trust further affects commitment and collaboration which in turn further affect agility in humanitarian supply chains. Thus humanitarian organizations must understand how information sharing and supply chain visibility is key to swift-trust among humanitarian actors and agility in humanitarian supply chains. Finally, we outline the limitations of our study and offer some future research directions for investigation

Reproductive endocrine effects of intranasal administration of norethisterone to adult female rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta)

Intranasal administration of norethisterone at a daily dose of 9 μg between Days 5 and 14 of the menstrual cycles blocked ovulation in 10 out of 17 adult female monkeys. Serum concentrations of hormones indicated that ovulation was blocked due to a suppression of the mid-cycle, oestradiol-induced LH surge. Ovarian follicular activity in the treated menstrual cycles was not affected by norethisterone but there was a marked delay in the onset of the mid-cycle oestradiol surge in most of the treated animals. The duration of the menstrual cycle length after the oestradiol peak was significantly reduced in all the treated monkeys, indicative of a shortened luteal phase

Extreme daily rainfall in Pakistan and north India: scale-interactions, mechanisms, and precursors

While much of India is used to heavy precipitation and frequent low-pressure systems during the summer monsoon, towards the northwest and into Pakistan, such events are uncommon. Here, as much as a third of the annual rainfall is delivered sporadically during the winter monsoon by western disturbances. Such events of sparse but heavy precipitation in this region of typically mountainous valleys in the north and desert in the south can be catastrophic, as in the case of the Pakistan floods of July 2010. In this study, we identify extreme precipitation events (EPEs) in a box approximately covering this region (65◦ -78◦W, 25◦ -38◦N) using the APHRODITE gauge-based precipitation product. The role of the large-scale circulation in causing EPEs is investigated: it is found that, during winter, they often coexist with an upper-tropospheric Rossby wave train that has prominent anomalous southerlies over the region of interest. These winter EPEs are also found to be strongly colocated with incident western disturbances whereas those occurring during the summer are found to have a less direct relationship. Conversely, summer EPEs are found to have a strong relationship with tropical lows. A detailed Lagrangian method is used to explore possible sources of moisture for such events, and suggests that in winter, the moisture is mostly drawn from the Arabian Sea, whereas during the summer, it comes from along the African coast and the Indian monsoon trough region

Circadian and circannual changes in the testicular function of adult rhesus monkeys

The endocrine and gametogenic status of the testes were studied in 9 healthy adult rhesus monkeys of proven fertility throughout a one-year period. Testosterone levels were estimated by radioimmunoassay in blood samples collected at 4 h intervals over a 24 h period once a month. Semen samples and testicular biopsies were also examined once a month. A well-defined circandian rhythm was evident in serum levels of testosterone. The rhythmicity was less pronounced in February and September. The 24 h mean levels of serum testosterone were high between the months of August to March and low in the months of May to July. All animals did not uniformly respond to electro-ejaculation in April and May. Semen volume and total number of spermatozoa were maximal between September and March and least from April to August. Testicular biopsies indicated that all stages of spermatogenesis were evident between September and March and the spermatogenic activity was less evident between April and August. The contents of Sertoli cells showed a seasonal cyclicity; they were laden with lipid droplets during April to August when spermatogenesis was quiescent and vacuolated during September to March when spermatogenesis was active. These studies indicate that the testing of contraceptive drugs needs to be restricted to months of September to March in male rhesus monkeys otherwise, it is possible that the naturally occurring reproductive quiscence may be attributed to the effect of the drug being tested. The data accrued from the present studies also provide quantitative information on circulating levels of testosterone which could be used as a reference background while evaluating the contraceptive drug-effects in male rhesus monkeys

Toward a Closed Loop, Integrated Biocompatible Biopolymer Wound Dressing Patch for Detection and Prevention of Chronic Wound Infections

Chronic wound infections represent a significant burden to healthcare providers globally. Often, chronic wound healing is impeded by the presence of infection within the wound or wound bed. This can result in an increased healing time, healthcare cost and poor patient outcomes. Thus, there is a need for dressings that help the wound heal, in combination with early detection of wound infections to support prompt treatment. In this study, we demonstrate a novel, biocompatible wound dressing material, based on Polyhydroxyalkanoates, doped with graphene platelets, which can be used as an electrochemical sensing substrate for the detection of a common wound pathogen, Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Through the detection of the redox active secondary metabolite, pyocyanin, we demonstrate that a dressing can be produced that will detect the presence of pyocyanin across clinically relevant concentrations. Furthermore, we show that this sensor can be used to identify the presence of pyocyanin in a culture of P. aeruginosa. Overall, the sensor substrate presented in this paper represents the first step toward a new dressing with the capacity to promote wound healing, detect the presence of infection and release antimicrobial drugs, on demand, to optimized healing

Comparison of choose-a-movie and approach-avoidance paradigms used to measure social motivation

Social motivation is a subjective state which is rather difficult to quantify. It has sometimes been conceptualised as “behavioural effort” to seek social contact. Two paradigms: approach–avoidance (AA) and choose a movie (CAM), based on the same conceptualisation, have been used to measure social motivation in people with and without autism. However, in absence of a direct comparison, it is hard to know which of these paradigms has higher sensitivity in estimating preference for social over non-social stimuli. Here we compare these two tasks for their utility in (1) evaluating social seeking in typical people and (2) identifying the influence of autistic traits on social motivation. Our results suggest that CAM reveals a clear preference for social stimuli over non-social in typical adults but AA fails to do so. Also, social seeking measured with CAM but not AA has a negative relationship between autistic traits

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora spp. Infections in Arab Horses, Southwest of Iran

Background: Because of the economic importance of the Arab race horses and also the role of Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora spp. in abortion and reproductive failure of these animals, we decided to perform this study. Objectives: We designed this study to investigate the seroprevalence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii and anti-Neospora spp. antibodies in Arab horses from 12 cities of Khuzestan province in southwest of Iran. Materials and Methods: From October 2009 to March 2011, a total of 235 blood samples were collected from jugular veins of Arab horses of different ages and genders from 12 cities of Khuzestan province. All the sera were tested for anti-Toxoplasma antibodies using the modified agglutination test (MAT) and the existence of anti-Neospora antibodies were tested using N-MAT for Neospora spp. Results: According to the MAT results, antibodies to T. gondii were found in 114 (48.5%) of 235 sera with titers of 1:20 in 84, 1:40 in 19, 1:80 in four, 1:160 in four, and 1:320 in three horses. According to the N-MAT results, antibodies to Neospora spp. were found in 47 (20%) of 235 sera with titers of 1:40 in 39, 1:80 in five, and 1:160 in three horses. We did not observe any statistically significant differences regarding age groups and genders between seropositive and seronegative horses for Neospora spp. using chi-square (chi(2)) test, but it seemed that anti-Toxoplasma antibodies were more prevalent in older horses ( >= 10 years old). Conclusions: The results indicated that Arab horses are exposed to these parasites in southwest of Iran. Further research is required to determine the genomic structures of these parasites in Arab horses in southwest of Iran