Odor guided behavior and its modulation in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster

Geosmin is produced by a group of microbes, is highly aversive to Drosophila. We furthermore showed that Drosophila has one type of sensory neurons expressing an odorant receptor (OR 56a) that is extremely sensitive and fully dedicated to detect this compound. The Geosmin detection System is conserved across the genus Drosophila. Exploiting aversivespecific circuits could be an efficient method for manipulating disease vectors as well as agricultural pests. Next I showed that flies exhibit increased attraction to ethyl acetate, to another food odor, even to a repellent and pheromone after starvation. All odors evoked stronger physiological responses in starved flies with the effects being most pronounced at low odor concentrations. I investigated, which molecular players could be involved in such modulation. Conducting RNAi knockdown experiments with some the identified genes coupled with a quantitative olfactory assay to identify regulators of such modulation. Only silencing the CCHamide1 receptor resulted in an abolished starvation effect, suggesting a major role in starvation-induced modulation. This study shows that the fly’s antennal olfactory sensing neurons (OSNs) seem to be constantly tuned to current needs. There are Inhibitory projection neurons (iPNs) target the LH exclusively and bypass the Mushroom body (MBc). By using a specific driver line (MZ699) we were able to investigate the impact of this inhibitory pathway on olfactory processing within the LH. We performed calcium imaging experiments and found three domains with different highly stereotypic response patterns in lateral horn (LH). The posterior medial domain (LH PM domain) was strongly activated by innately attractive odorants, while the anterior lateral domain was mainly activated by repellent odorants. The third anterior medial domain (LH AM domain) was valence independent and mainly coded for odorant intensity. Do these iPNS decode odor features and govern decision making? By selectively silencing iPNs (via interrupting GABA synthesis) we were able to reduce the flies’ attraction to almost all attractive odorants

Time-dependent deformation of foamed concrete with different density

Konkrit berbuih merupakan sejenis konkrit yang tidak asing pada masa sekarang. Penggunaan konkrit berbuih semakin banyak diaplikasikan khususnya didalam bidang pembinaan. Dengan penggunaan korikrit berbuih, ia dapat rnenggantikan konkrit biasa path tempat-tempat yang berpotensi seperti dinding dan sebagainya. Penyelidikan ini berdasarkan pada sifat konkrit berbuih. Di Malaysia,masih kurang lagi data-data yang berkaitan dengan sifat konkrit berbuih tersebut. Ini penting bagi mengenalpasti sejauh mana sifat konkrit berbuih tersebut. Dengan ujian yang dijalankan, ia dapat membantu untuk mengenal pasti dan dapat menjangkakan sifat konkrit berbuih mi path masa hadapan terutama dari segi kelakuan ubahbentuk bersandar masa. Untuk penyelidikan ini, konkrit berbuih disediakan path dua ketumpatan iaitu ketumpatan 1200 kg/m3 dan ketumpatan 1600 kg / m3 dan diuji dengan ujian ketumpatan, ujian pengecutan, ujian rayapan dan ujian modulus elastik. Keputusan ujian dibandingkan dengan berketumpatan yang berbeza. Keputusan ujian rnenunjukkan konkrit berbuih berketumpatan tinggi mempunyai kekuatan lebih tinggi berbanding dengan konkrit berbuih yang berketumpatan rendah. Perbandingan nilai elastik modulus diantara konkrit berketumpatan 1200 kg/m3 dan konkrit berketumpatan 1600 kg / m 3 ialah 42.38 peratus. Ujian rayapan menunjukan pernendekan berlaku sepanjang masa. Path peringkat permulaan, proses pemendekan berlaku dengan tinggi dalam masa yang singkat dan semakin lama semakin sekata. Keputusan ujian pada hari yang ketujuh menunjukkan nilai rayapan ialah 1233.67 x 10. Path akhir penyelidikan dapat diperhatikan penggunaan konkrit berbuih berketumpatan 1200 kg/ m3 dipengaruhi oleh pemendekan jangka masa panjang dan pemendekkan mi sentiasa berlaku

An improved artificial dendrite cell algorithm for abnormal signal detection

In dendrite cell algorithm (DCA), the abnormality of a data point is determined by comparing the multi-context antigen value (MCAV) with anomaly threshold. The limitation of the existing threshold is that the value needs to be determined before mining based on previous information and the existing MCAV is inefficient when exposed to extreme values. This causes the DCA fails to detect new data points if the pattern has distinct behavior from previous information and affects detection accuracy. This paper proposed an improved anomaly threshold solution for DCA using the statistical cumulative sum (CUSUM) with the aim to improve its detection capability. In the proposed approach, the MCAV were normalized with upper CUSUM and the new anomaly threshold was calculated during run time by considering the acceptance value and min MCAV. From the experiments towards 12 benchmark and two outbreak datasets, the improved DCA is proven to have a better detection result than its previous version in terms of sensitivity, specificity, false detection rate and accuracy

Outcome of N-Acetylcysteine Nebulization Versus Salbutamol Nebulization in Children with Acute Bronchiolitis

Background: A substantial proportion of children will experience at least one episode with bronchiolitis, and as much as 2-3% of all children will be hospitalized with bronchiolitis during their first year of life. Bronchiolitis is the most common reason for hospitalization of children in many countries, challenging both economy, area and staffing in paediatric departments. Objective: To determine outcome (in terms of clinical severity score and hospital stay) of N-acetylcysteine nebulization versus salbutamol nebulization in children with acute bronchiolitis. Material and Methods: The study cases were randomly divided into 2 groups by draws methods. Group A, each child was nebulized with 20 mg NAC in 3 ml of 0.9% of saline while group B was nebulized with 2.5 mg salbutamol in 3 ml of 0.9% saline solution. Patients of each group were nebulized three times a day (8 hours apart) for 5 days. These patients were closely monitored for the severity of the disease daily and clinical severity score was employed to record any improvement in both cases.  All the data was entered and analyzed using SPSS-18. Results: Of these 390 study cases, 228 (58.5%) were boys while 162 (41.5%) were girls. Mean age of our study cases was 7.92 ± 5.18 months . Most of the study cases i.e. 264 (67.7%) were from poor social background and mothers of most of these children were less educated as 85.6% of the mothers of these children were having their educational status equal/less than matriculation. Mean hospital stay in our study was 4.73 ± 0.829 days. Mean baseline clinical severity score was 5.52 ± 813. Mean clinical severity score after therapy was 1.85 ± 0.812 (with minimum clinical severity score was 1 while maximum was score was 4). Clinical severity score in group A was 1.21 ± 0.405 while in group B was 2.49 ± 0.578 (p= 0.000). Conclusion: Our study results support the use N – acetylcysteine nebulization in children with acute bronchiolitis as compared with salbutamol nebulization. N – acetylcysteine nebulization was found to be more effective in improving clinical severity score and reducing duration of hospitalization. Its use was safe, reliable and no adverse side effects were noted. Keywords: Acute Bronchiolitis, Salbutamol, N – acetylcysteine

Functional Outcome of Close Supracondyler and Intercondyler Fracture Femur Treated by Locking Femoral Plates

Background: Distal fracture of femur present a huge surgical challenge in orthopedic surgery. These fractures are difficult to treat and operative treatment is usually recommended for favorable outcome. These are associated with high energy trauma (in the youngsters) and osteoporotic bones (in the elderly) and are frequently comminuted and intra-articular. This study was conducted to determine functional outcome of locking plate fixation in our population. Objective: To determine functional outcome of close supracondyler and intercondyler fracture femur treated by locking femoral plate at a tertiary care hospital. Material and Methods: A total of 64 consecutive patients with supracondylar, intercondyler fracture femur duration less than 6 weeks were taken in this study from department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Nishtar Hospital Multan. All the relevant information was collected and noted in the study proforma and these patients were managed as per hospital protocols and were treated by locking femoral plates. These study cases were followed for their functional outcome such as union of fracture and complications. Results: Of these 64 study cases, 24 (37.5%) were male patients while 40 (62.5%) were female patients. Mean age of our study cases was noted to be 46.80 ± 8.08 years. Mean BMI of our study cases was noted to be 23.08 ± 1.80 kg/m2. Our study results have indicated that majority of our study cases i.e. 73.4% were normal weight, 11 (17.2%) were overweight and 6 (9.4%) were obese. Mean duration of fracture was 2.48 ± 1.33 weeks. Mean duration of surgery was 65.86 ± 12.29 minutes and mean duration of hospital stay was noted to be 7.22 ± 1.33 days. Union of fracture was noted in 57 (89.1%) of our study cases while DVT was noted in 12 (18.8%) of our study cases. Conclusion: There was high frequency of union of fracture observed in our study. Our study results support the use of locking femoral plate fixation in functional outcome of supraconduler and intercondyler fracture of femur as it is safe and reliable. Union of fracture was significantly associated with obesity and type of fracture while DVT was significantly associated with male gender, type of fracture and history of smoking. Keywords:Supracondyler, Intercondyler, locking plate fixation

Aryl diazonium modification on graphite electrode in microbial fuel cell: a review

Usage of graphite electrode in a microbial fuel cell (MFC) is favored due to their electron conductivity and stability as a base material for the electrode. Also, graphite is favored as it allows the growth of biofilm, which can enhance the cell’s performance. The efficiency is reported improved through modification. Aryl diazonium modification has been reported to induce biofilm formation on the electrode faster. The modification can be done spontaneously or through electrografting of aryl diazonium salt onto the electrode surface. Control over the quantity of grafted aryl diazonium is essential. A thick layer will cause the performance of the system to drop, which may impede the electron transfer from biofilm to the electrode. Aryl diazonium is preferred as it allows a robust biofilm formation when used as a surface modification on the graphite electrode. Modification using aryl diazonium allows the electrode to be more accommodative for biofilm growth, which will increase the performance of the system. However, it does not act as a redox mediator for the system. It has been reported that power density obtained using aryl diazonium modified electrode is 250 mW.m-2, higher than unmodified graphite electrode of 125 mW.m-2. However, not all bacterial species is compatible with aryl diazonium modification. The unmodified graphite biocathode allows a higher power density compared to aryl diazonium modified biocathode. Hence, depending on the quality of aryl diazonium modification and the types of inoculum used, MFC performance can be further maximized

Enzymatic characterization of heterologously expressed fungal β-glucosidase BGLII in Escherichia coli

Saprophytic filamentous fungi such as Trichoderma sp. are capable of producing three categories of cellulase for cellulose degradation into glucose; endoglucanase, cellobiohydrolase and β-glucosidase. Trichoderma reesei in particular has an extensively studied cellulase enzyme system, establishing it as a model organism for enzymatic production. Studies on β-glucosidases produced by Trichoderma sp. have elucidated two variants, which have been classified into glycosyl hydrolase families 1 and 3, both including retaining enzymes capable of substrate hydrolysis via double-displacement method with retention of anomeric carbon. Extensive studies on BglI enzyme isolated has been compared and found to have sequence similarity to other known glycosyl hydrolase family 3 β-glucosidases, an enzyme that is cell wall bound or expressed extracellularly, affects rate of reducing sugar formation from cellulase and involved in synthesis of soluble inducer of cellulolytic enzymes. Comparatively, enzyme characterization of the second β-glucosidase, BglII, has been relatively recent. Nevertheless, it has been identified to be expressed intracellularly, has high affinity and catalyzes transglycosylation reactions on cellobiose. Of particular interest, BglII has shown lower sensitivity to glucose inhibition, an appealing character for bioprocess development for efficient lignocellulosic biomass saccharification. As such, using local Trichoderma sp., this study has sought to characterize the BglII gene isolated and following heterologous expression in Escherichia coli, characterize the recombinant enzyme for enzyme activity, glucose tolerance and product synthesis

The Predictive Ability of the Self-Esteem scale Dimensions for Bully Victimization Among Basic School Students in the City of Ma'an, Jordan

The study aimed at identifying the ability of the self-esteem scale dimensions in predicting bully victimization among basic school students in the city of Ma'an in Jordan.  The study examined the variations in students’ levels of self-esteem and levels of bully victimization in relevance to gender, academic achievement, and birth order. The bully victimization scale and self- esteem scale were used to achieve the purposes of this study. The sample included 225 students (104 males and 121females) from grades 6 to 9. The results showed statistically significant negative relation between total self-esteem scale and its dimensions and the levels of bully victimization and that the dimensions of self-esteem scale explained 17.5 % of variance of the degree of bully victimization. It was also revealed that family and social dimensions of self-esteem were statistically significant in predicting levels of bully victimization among the participants. Furthermore, there were statistically significant differences in students’ levels of self-esteem scale in favor of males and students with “excellent” academic achievement. However, there were no statistically significant differences in the students’ levels of self-esteem related to birth order. Finally, female students reported significantly higher levels of bully victimization; and that academic performance and birth order were not statistically significant. Keywords: Self- Esteem, Bully Victimization, Basic schools students, Ma'an, Jordan. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-11-08 Publication date: April 30th 202

Olfactory Proxy Detection of Dietary Antioxidants in Drosophila

SummaryBackgroundDietary antioxidants play an important role in preventing oxidative stress. Whether animals in search of food or brood sites are able to judge the antioxidant content, and if so actively seek out resources with enriched antioxidant content, remains unclear.ResultsWe show here that the vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster detects the presence of hydroxycinnamic acids (HCAs)—potent dietary antioxidants abundant in fruit—via olfactory cues. Flies are unable to smell HCAs directly but are equipped with dedicated olfactory sensory neurons detecting yeast-produced ethylphenols that are exclusively derived from HCAs. These neurons are housed on the maxillary palps, express the odorant receptor Or71a, and are necessary and sufficient for proxy detection of HCAs. Activation of these neurons in adult flies induces positive chemotaxis, oviposition, and increased feeding. We further demonstrate that fly larvae also seek out yeast enriched with HCAs and that larvae use the same ethylphenol cues as the adults but rely for detection upon a larval unique odorant receptor (Or94b), which is co-expressed with a receptor (Or94a) detecting a general yeast volatile. We also show that the ethylphenols act as reliable cues for the presence of dietary antioxidants, as these volatiles are produced—upon supplementation of HCAs—by a wide range of yeasts known to be consumed by flies.ConclusionsFor flies, dietary antioxidants are presumably important to counteract acute oxidative stress induced by consumption or by infection by entomopathogenic microorganisms. The ethylphenol pathway described here adds another layer to the fly’s defensive arsenal against toxic microbes

Improvement in Sarf (morphology) competency through gamification at Miri national religious secondary school (SMKAMi)

Learning through the gamification method can bring the students directly closer to real experience. Students have the opportunity to improve their ability to remember, increase sensitivity to interaction process and possess the capability to objectively analyse a situation. The purpose of this article is to introduce a type of gamification to strengthen Sarf (morphology), in addition to tracking improvement in Sarf competency after implementing the gamification method at Miri National Religious Secondary School (SMKAMi) in the 2017 Malaysian Certificate of Examination (SPM). This research uses a qualitative method and data was taken mainly from the Arabic Morphology Diagnostic Test (UDMA) and through the instrument of interview using WhatsApp application (voice message or voice recording). Two teachers were involved in the interview session: Head of Arabic Language Committee and an Arabic language teacher who teaches Form 5. The data obtained were transcribed in writing and descriptively analysed. Research findings show an improved achievement in Arabic language subject of the 2017 SPM by 1.09 with Average Grade of Subjects (GPMP) of 3.64 compared to 4.73 of the previous year. Research results show that the gamification method can resolve student weakness in Sarf, especially in remembering the verb and noun patterns and their derivatives, besides increasing student engagement, creating fun and fostering a positive attitude through game activity. The implications of this research will open the space for research on gamification designs appropriate for strengthening Nahu and Sarf with a high prospect for their application in the context of Arabic language education