Effects of Safranal on Tissue Oxidative Stress in Sub-Chronic Thinner-Addicted Rats

ΔΕΝ ΔΙΑΤΙΘΕΤΑΙ ΠΕΡΙΛΗΨΗThe present study was carried out to determine the effects of sub-chronic thinner addiction on the oxidant-antioxidant balance and oxidative stress on certain tissues and the possible protective effect of safranal against thinner toxication in rats. Adult male Wistar albino rats were randomly divided into four groups of 10 animals each as follows: control (C), safranal (S), thinner (T) and thinner+safranal (T+S). The control group received 1cc saline by gastric gavage. Safranal was administered to S and T+S groups by using gastric gavage at a dose of 100 mg/kg/day and volume of 0.1 mL/kg/day. Thinner inhalation was applied to T and T+S groups in a container with NaOH tablets twice a day. Levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), reduced glutathione (GSH), nitric oxide (NOx) metabolites, total antioxidant capacity (TAS) and total oxidant capacity (TOS) were determined in liver, lung, brain, kidney and testis tissues of the rats. In the T+S group, it was observed that the MDA levels significantly decreased in all tissues, except the kidney, in comparison to the thinner inhalation group (p = 0.000). When the NOx levels of the T+S group were compared with the levels of the T group, it was concluded that there existed a statistically significant decrease in the NOx levels in alltissues (p = 0.000). In T+S group, it was observed that safranal either eliminated or mitigated oxidative stress that developed in tissues through decreasing MDA and TOS levels and increasing GSH and TAS levels and caused significant decreases in NOX levels in all tissues. As a result, it was determined that safranal, although not uniform for all tissue types, had a protective potential against the damaging effects of oxidative stress caused by sub-chronic thinner inhalation

Comparing estimates of cost effectiveness submitted to the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) by different organisations: retrospective study

This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund and is available from the specified link - Copyright © 2005, BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.Objective: To assess the association between different types of organisation and the results from economic evaluations. DESIGN: Retrospective pairwise comparison of evidence submitted to the technology appraisal programme of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) by manufacturers of the relevant healthcare technologies and by contracted university based assessment groups. DATA SOURCES: Data from the first 62 appraisals. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Incremental cost effectiveness ratios. RESULTS: Data from 27 of the 62 appraisals could be compared. The analysis of 54 pairwise comparisons showed that manufacturers' estimates of incremental cost effectiveness ratios were lower (suggesting a more cost effective use of resources) than those produced by the assessment groups (25 were lower, 29 were the same, none were higher, P < 0.01). Restriction of this dataset to include only one pairwise comparison per appraisal (27 pairs) produced a similar result (21 were lower, two were the same, four were higher, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The estimated incremental cost effectiveness ratios submitted by manufacturers were on average significantly lower than those submitted by the assessment groups. These results show that an important role of NICE's appraisal committee, and of decision makers in general, is to determine which economic evaluations, or parts of evaluations, should be given more credence

Service Learning Across Disciplines and Countries

Abstract- Moving local civic engagement across national borders has evolved into the concept of International Service Learning, which combines academic study, civic involvement and cultural emersion to give students a deeper, more meaningful global experience. A team of four faculty members from engineering, management and marketing disciplines designed an International Service Learning course (ISL) for a multi-disciplinary learning environment to enhance teamwork, critical thinking and real-world problem-solving capabilities of students in a global market involving the U.S.A. and Turkey. Students and their counterparts innovatively identified a defined business need in Manisa, Turkey, and then engaged in a grassroots civi

THE DISTRIBUTION AND POPULATION DENSITY OF THE CEREAL WEEVIL, PACHYTYCHIUSHORDEI (BRULLÉ) (COLEOPTERA: CURCULIONIDAE) IN CEREAL FIELDS IN NORTHERN CYPRUS

The Cereal weevil, Pachytychiushordei (Brulle) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is an important pest of barley and wheat. This study was conducted to determine the distribution areas and the population density of P. hordei in Northern Cyprus. The sampling were conducted in 57 cereal fields of 46 villages in Lefkoşa, Girne, Güzelyurt, Gazimağusa and İskele districts in 2012-2013 years. Sweep net were used in samplings. At the end of the study, P. hordei has been found common all in regions and the highest population densities were 379 adults/100 sweepnet and 247 adults/100 sweep net in Hisarköy/Girne in the years 2012-2013 respectively. In addition, damage states of P. hordei was evaluated

A Quantisation of Cognitive Learning Process by Computer Graphics-Games: Towards More Efficient Learning Models

Research group of Computer Sciences at DMU, Psychology Research Group at University of Birmingham and Reseach Group of Computer Science at University of Northumbria.With the latest developments in computer technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, more opportunities of cognitive data acquisition and stimulation via game-based systems have become available for computer scientists and psychologists. This may lead to more efficient cognitive learning model developments to be used in different fields of cognitive psychology than in the past. The increasing popularity of computer games among a broad range of age groups leads scientists and experts to seek game domain solutions to cognitive based learning abnormalities, especially for younger age groups and children. One of the major advantages of computer graphics and using game-based techniques over the traditional face-to-face therapies is that individuals, especially children immerse in the game’s virtual environment and consequently feel more open to share their cognitive behavioural characteristics naturally. The aim of this work is to investigate the effects of graphical agents on cognitive behaviours to generate more efficient cognitive models

Multipath Separation-Direction of Arrival (MS-DOA) with Genetic Search Algorithm for HF channels

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Direction-of-Arrival (DOA) defines the estimation of arrival angles of an electromagnetic wave impinging on a set of sensors. For dispersive and time-varying HF channels, where the propagating wave also suffers from the multipath phenomena, estimation of DOA is a very challenging problem. Multipath Separation-Direction of Arrival (MS-DOA), that is developed to estimate both the arrival angles in elevation and azimuth and the incoming signals at the output of the reference antenna with very high accuracy, proves itself as a strong alternative in DOA estimation for HF channels. In MS-DOA, a linear system of equations is formed using the coefficients of the basis vector for the array output vector, the incoming signal vector and the array manifold. The angles of arrival in elevation and azimuth are obtained as the maximizers of the sum of the magnitude squares of the projection of the signal coefficients on the column space of the array manifold. In this study, alternative Genetic Search Algorithms (GA) for the maximizers of the projection sum are investigated using simulated and experimental ionospheric channel data. It is observed that GA combined with MS-DOA is a powerful alternative in online DOA estimation and can be further developed according to the channel characteristics of a specific HF link. (C) 2009 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserve

Correction of more hallux valgus pathologic disorders with a single distal osteotomy a new surgical technique

Background: Hallux valgus, one of the most common deformities of the great toe, may cause pain, dysfunction, and impaired gait pattern. In this retrospective study we report the results of a new type of distal metatarsal osteotomy combined with distal soft-tissue release in patients with mild-to-moderate hallux valgus deformity. Methods: This new technique was used in the management of 32 feet of 31 patients (eight men and 23 women) with mild-to-moderate hallux valgus. Hallux valgus angle, i ntermetatarsal angl e, and distal metatarsal articular angl e were measured on preoperative, earl y postoperative (6–8 weeks), and l ate (1 year) postoperative radiographs. American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society hallux metatarsophalangeal score was calculated. Sesamoid position, by considering medial sesamoid position, and metatarsal shortness were also measured. Results: Statistically significant differences were detected between the preoperative and late postoperative measurements of the hallux valgus angle, distal metatarsal articular angle, intermetatarsal angle, and sesamoid position parameters in patients operated on with this technique. Improvement was 14° for the hallux valgus angle, 4° for the distal metatarsal articular angle, and 4° for the intermetatarsal angle. Sesamoid position was also improved, and the mean American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society score was significantly improved. Metatarsal shortness greater than 2 mm was observed in two patients without resulting in any clinical discomfort. Conclusions: This new technique was easy, safe, and promising in patients diagnosed as having mild-to-moderate hallux valgus deformity. © 2021, American Podiatric Medical Association. All rights reserved