Napoleon Reversing the French Revolution.

Napoleon Bonaparte turned France into a police state during his reign.[1] However, he did not continue the French Revolution as the French people hoped. The French Revolution brought forth liberty and to do as ones will if it does not harm another.[2] A new document brought by the French Revolution embodying these principles was the French Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen in 1789.[3] This Declaration stated under article 11 that there was to be a free flow of ideas and opinions in writing and the press.[4] Article 7 outlawed any cruel harsh punishment and arbitrary sentencing.[5] However, Napoleon reversed these fundamental principles of the French Revolution. Writers, the press, along with the French people were subjected to the General police and prefects and were banned from saying anything controversial, against his regime, anything about France’s revolutionary past, and against France’s allies.[6] Arbitrary, cruel punishments, and harsh rules were enacted by Napoleon through the Penal Code in 1810.[7] Napoleon did not continue the French Revolution and reversed it by turning France into a police state and monitored and censored the French people, the press, and writers

Role of AMPK in herpes simplex virus type 1 replication in endothelial cells

Systemic distribution of viral pathogens often requires the interaction of viruses with cells of the vascular system, of which endothelial cells are an indispensable part. One such virus is the Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). HSV-1 is a highly contagious ubiquitous pathogen, which commonly causes blisters or cold sores, but may play an important role in the development of Alzheimer's disease, severe septic processes as well as atherosclerosis. Since no virus-specific vaccine is available to prevent HSV-1 infections, the identification of host cell proteins, which are involved in HSV-1 replication, and the modulation of their activity might be a promising aim to develop future antiviral therapies and one such candidate could be AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), known to be the master regulator of cellular pathways. To gain insights into the role of AMPK in HSV-1 replication, human umbilical vein endothelial cells were infected with HSV-1 and alterations caused by this infection were examined. Our data demonstrated that HSV-1 replicates in endothelial cells and HSV-1 infection led to alteration of various signaling pathways. The Akt/mTORC1 pathway is important for viral replication. We showed that HSV-1 replication is controlled by AMPK, an increase in viral concentration is observed in AMPK knockdown and knockout cells and, on the other hand, a decrease in viral concentrations is seen in cells treated with AMPK activators. Our results lead us to direct the protective role of AMPK through metabolic pathways. AMPK activation inhibits fatty acid synthesis and cholesterol biosynthesis and this could be the mechanism for its antiviral role in endothelial cells. Our data indicates a protective role of AMPK against HSV-1 replication in endothelial cells via inhibition of metabolic pathways. This data could pave way for developing antiviral strategies using AMPK, a host cell protein which, according to the current global situation is a need of the hour

Comparison of non-invasive scores predictive of development of metabolic dysfunction associated liver disease in patients of type 2 diabetes mellitus and evaluation of additive effect of smoking in these patients

Background: Metabolic dysfunction associated liver disease (MASLD) has been found to be at alarming increase in Indian population. Prevalence of metabolic syndrome including Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus is also increasing which may be attributed to certain lifestyle changes. In the present study, we compared the likelihood of liver fibrosis by measurement of non-invasive scores among Type 2 diabetics and smokers, Type 2 diabetics but non-smokers and healthy controls. Our study will provide useful insights to evaluate the association between Type 2 diabetes, smoking and development of MASLD. Methods: The study was done at a tertiary care hospital. Participants were divided into 3 groups (each of 40 participants) which included those with type 2 diabetes mellitus and smokers, those with type 2 diabetes mellitus but non-smokers and healthy controls. Parameters included in the database were age, sex, body mass index, history of diabetes, history of hypertension, any medication, tobacco use and alcohol consumption. Venous blood samples were taken in the morning after a 12-h overnight fasting and investigations were done. Results were recorded. Results: FIB-4 score and AST/ALT ratio was significantly higher in diabetics and smoker patients, in comparison to diabetics but non-smokers and healthy controls. Conclusions: Smoking and underlying type 2 diabetes mellitus have a synergistic effect on the severity of fibrosis, as compared to nonsmokers with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Hence smoking cessation, in addition to glycemic control with regular medication, may be beneficial in reducing the severity of MASLD among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Risk Tolerance Dependent on What? Demographics or Personality Type: Findings from an Empirical Research

An investor’s decision regarding investment is influenced by a number of factors. Many researchers have concluded that risk tolerance level of investors plays a vital role in making investment decision. It is therefore importance to measure the risk tolerance level of investors. Many studies have concluded that risk taking capabilities of an individual is based on his basic demographic characteristics such as age, gender, marital status, income level, education, family background and   occupation etc. yet  no  major systematic  effort has been made  to ascertain  the impact of personality trait of an individual on his risk taking  behavior.In the proposed study an attempt has been made to ascertain the relationship of (a) demographic variables (b) personality trait on risk taking behavior of investors.

The use of ferrocene and camphor for the synthesis of carbon nanotubes using catalystic chemical vapor deposition

The discovery of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) has sparked great interest in the scientific world because of their remarkable electrical and physical properties. Only a thorough understanding of these properties, however, will allow CNTs to be commercially viable. Essentially, CNTs are graphite-like surfaces of sp2 hybridized carbon atoms in the form of tubes. CNTs could range from single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), consisting of one cylindrical graphite sheet to multi-walled nanotubes (MWNTs) that have concentric sheets. Nanotubes can be synthesized using a number of techniques such as electric arc–discharge, laser ablation and catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CCVD). In this project the CCVD technique was used for the synthesis of CNTs because of it simplicity and availability. The source of carbon was not the conventional hydrocarbon gas, but was camphor, a botanical hydrocarbon that is a solid at room–temperature. Ferrocene was the catalyst, not only because it has been used before in the synthesis of nanotubes, but it appears to be one of the best catalysts during the CCVD synthesis of nanotubes. The presence of nitrogen gas is known to assist in the synthesis of CNTs that have a bamboo–like structure; hence the effect of carrier gases such as nitrogen, argon/hydrogen and argon on the quality of nanotubes synthesized was investigated. Initially, the optimal experimental method for the synthesis of CNTs was determined by varying the reaction path length, temperature, mixing the catalyst and carbon source together or keeping them separate and varying the %m/m of the catalyst to carbon source. It was found that either an increase in the reaction temperature or an increased path length resulted in an increase in the mass of product obtained, whereas mixing the catalyst and carbon source together as opposed to them being separated only caused a slight variation in the mass of product synthesized. The mass of product synthesized also increased as the catalyst concentration increased. The remainder of the project was aimed at investigating the role of different gases: nitrogen, argon and hydrogen (in argon) in the CCVD synthesis of CNTs. The resulting materials were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and laser Raman analysis. The results indicated that this method could be tailored to synthesize either carbon spheres or carbon nanotubes of specific diameters and quality. Finally, in an attempt to synthesize aligned carbon nanotubes, catalyst supports {characterized using Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis (BET)} namely; silica, alumina and magnesium oxide were used. Although this was not successful for the synthesis of aligned CNTs under the conditions used, alumina showed the most promise.Mr. S. Durbach Dr. R. W. Kraus

First-Generation Commuter Student Experiences

Abstract Studies have shown that first-generation commuter (FGC) students navigate their college experience differently in comparison to traditional, continuing generation students. One of the biggest distinctions is how first-generation (FG) students are closely tied to their familial identity. As these students come from an environment and mindset that is more collective and interdependent, they can struggle to find a sense of belonging, community, and support from their institution. By physically living off-campus, FG commuter student’s persistence, well-being, and ability to build relationships on campus can prove to be challenging. Therefore, as a Graduate Assistant in the Commuter Student Commons, I studied the impact of family dynamics of first-generation commuter students at the University of San Diego (USD) to further engage with this community through intentional engagement that validates and supports their unique lived experiences. ­­

Medthings AS – a break-through innovation with the handling of medication

Master’s in Applied and Commercial Biotechnology. Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Applied Ecology, Agriculture Sciences and Biotechnology.Patients depend on medicines to maintain health, prevent illness, manage chronic ailments and treat/improve disease conditions. However, there are growing reports indicating the misuse of medicines (not taken on time, skipped dosage, irregular or improper dosage) causing a great deal of challenge to the health sector. The major challenge lies with the elderly people (above 75 years) who often tends to forget their medications or are not adhered to it. At present, changing demography with a high number of elderly people and providing them quality health services is the biggest challenge. People aged 80 years or over use an average of 5.8 prescription drugs per person. The global spending on medicine reached 1.2 trillion U.S. dollars in 2018 and is set to exceed 1.5 trillion dollars by 2023, while the global automatic pill dispenser machine market accounted for 1,755 million dollars in 2016 and is estimated to reach 3,023 million dollars by 2023. Studies suggests that 25% of the emergency rooms are alone filled with patients taking wrong medications making it the cause of majority of the deaths and involving an expenditure of $10.30 billion annually. Several losses of life can be avoided if intake of medicine can be controlled. In addition, there is a huge medicine wastage due to unused/expired or skipped dosage. In 2019, Swedish pharmacies collected over 1,300 tonnes of medicinal residues (Wallêr, 2019), affecting the economy and well and the nature. Medicine management plays a very vital role in order to ensure the correct intake of medicine. Several approaches, from nurses to automated robots have been sought to ensure the correct use of medicines but none of them have been able to turn out completely effective. The variety of automated pill dispensers in the market with multiple functionality and features lack one thing or the other. Although every dispenser is produced with the aim of dispensing the correct medicine at the correct time with accurate dose, it fails to ensure whether the medicine is actually taken or just thrown away. This thesis was written with a purpose to investigate the specific needs for medicine management using Mobili 1) and to suggest a market entry strategy for it in the Swedish market. Several articles and literature reviews were considered to gather background knowledge on this issue and some primary data were collected through personal communications with 10 concerned persons. Furthermore, business analysis tools were also used to study the market and the target customers and to know about the competitors. Overall, an image that despite a hefty number of pill dispensers in the market, the exact number of them used at present and their comparison based on the price was not clear. An important finding was that although not quite great, but still there is possibility of entrance and success for Mobili with the target group of people above 75 years with chronic ailment and multi drugs prescriptions, or young age group with daily supplement intake having a busy schedule requiring reminder. Although there was a conflict of thoughts on the benefits and trustworthiness of the pill dispensers, yet the literature suggested that the elderlies are quite familiar with the technology and the health professionals also praise such automated pill dispensers. 1) An innovative and modern pill dispenser system produced by Medthings AS, Norwa

THE EFFECT OF MUSIC ON COGNITIVE CONTROL AMONG MEDIA MULTITASKERS

The objective was to understand the performance differences of heavy and light media multitaskers. Further, the differences across media multitasking groups when the subjects are performing a cognitive task in the presence of music were studied to understand the role of music in cognitive performance in terms of cognitive control. A sample of 300 girl students from the Government schools of Chandigarh in the age range of 14-18 years (mean age= 15.7 years) was taken for the purpose. The media multitasking questionnaire (Ophir et al., 2009) and the Stroop task (Stroop, 1935) were used. The two media multitasking groups, viz., heavy and light media multitaskers, significantly differed from each other. Media multitasking and cognitive control were found to be linked and the role of music indicated facilitating trend for performance. Studies conclude high levels of media multitasking result in poor cognitive performance in terms of cognitive control and music plays a facilitative role for such media multitasker’s cognitive control