Harmony

The dress, Harmony, symbolizes the cross-cultural influence in fashion to produce a pleasing effect. It showcased the blending of the past and present. The Chinese traditional fabrics of Hakka was used for this dress and with this traditional textile, the modern elements were embraced to Chinese characters like cut out in the back. Not only the traditional fabric is seen -- it is marvelously incorporated to the whole image. It is a fresh look on the ancient traditions. The value of the historical heritage is connected with the flow of time. The mix with the larger occupancy in the bottom part of the dress portrays the western fashion influences. This unique dress bridges the eastern and western cultures through the design elements of the dress

Reorganization of the Neurobiology of Language After Sentence Overlearning

It is assumed that there are a static set of “language regions” in the brain. Yet, language comprehension engages regions well beyond these, and patients regularly produce familiar “formulaic” expressions when language regions are severely damaged. These suggest that the neurobiology of language is not fixed but varies with experiences, like the extent of word sequence learning. We hypothesized that perceiving overlearned sentences is supported by speech production and not putative language regions. Participants underwent 2 sessions of behavioral testing and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). During the intervening 15 days, they repeated 2 sentences 30 times each, twice a day. In both fMRI sessions, they “passively” listened to those sentences, novel sentences, and produced sentences. Behaviorally, evidence for overlearning included a 2.1-s decrease in reaction times to predict the final word in overlearned sentences. This corresponded to the recruitment of sensorimotor regions involved in sentence production, inactivation of temporal and inferior frontal regions involved in novel sentence listening, and a 45% change in global network organization. Thus, there was a profound whole-brain reorganization following sentence overlearning, out of “language” and into sensorimotor regions. The latter are generally preserved in aphasia and Alzheimer’s disease, perhaps explaining residual abilities with formulaic expressions in both

A ferroelectric memristor

Memristors are continuously tunable resistors that emulate synapses. Conceptualized in the 1970s, they traditionally operate by voltage-induced displacements of matter, but the mechanism remains controversial. Purely electronic memristors have recently emerged based on well-established physical phenomena with albeit modest resistance changes. Here we demonstrate that voltage-controlled domain configurations in ferroelectric tunnel barriers yield memristive behaviour with resistance variations exceeding two orders of magnitude and a 10 ns operation speed. Using models of ferroelectric-domain nucleation and growth we explain the quasi-continuous resistance variations and derive a simple analytical expression for the memristive effect. Our results suggest new opportunities for ferroelectrics as the hardware basis of future neuromorphic computational architectures

The Effect of Tobacco Snuff Consumption on Liver Enzymes

This study was designed to investigate the changes in liver biochemical profile following oral tobacco dust ingestion. Adult Wistar rats (42) weighing 150-300g were involved. They were divided into four groups; group A serving as control, while groups B, C and D served as the test groups. The test groups were further divided into four groups (B1, C1, D1; B2, C2, D2; B3, C3, D3; and B4, C4, D4) representing four experimental phases/duration of 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks respectively. The rats were fed with varying doses of tobacco dust mixed with potash. At the end of each phase, the animals were sacrificed and blood sample collected into lithium heparin and EDTA containers. Liver parameters (AST, ALT, ALP and GGT) were assayed and the results obtained showed statistically significant impairment of liver function. There was significant increase (p<0.05) in serum AST, ALT, and GGT levels in the different phases when the test groups were compared with the control. However, ALP shows no statistically significant increase in all the groups throughout the experiment. The results of this study suggest that potash-tobacco dust (local tobacco snuff) is toxic to the liver and the observed changes were dose and duration dependent.Keywords: tobacco, potash, liver function, liver enzymes

Pediatric day case surgery: Experience from a tertiary health institution in Nigeria

Background : The general observation that children achieve better convalescence in the home environment supports the need for adoption of day case surgery, which is gaining considerable acceptance in developing countries. Pediatric surgical service is in great demand in developing countries, and in-patient beds and surgical supplies are insufficient. Method : A prospective collection of data on all pediatric day surgeries (PDSs) by the pediatric surgical unit University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH, Ilorin, was done. Parents had pre-operative outpatient briefing and postoperative interviews on the second and ninth days for consultation regarding post-operative complications and events at home. Study period was between April 2005 and September 2007 (2\ubd years). Results : Of the 660 elective cases, 449 (68.02%) children were recruited as day cases. The male-to-female ratio was 14.3:1. Age ranged between 20 days and 15 years with a mean of 37.6 months and standard deviation (SD) of 34.4 months. Congenital hernias/ hydroceles were the highest indications (71.2%), followed by lump/ masses (12.9%), undescended testes (8.7%), umbilical hernias (4.8%) and thyroglossal duct cyst (2.5%). In 98.9% of cases, the parents resided within 20 km radius of the hospital, and 91.5% of them could reach the hospital within 1 hour. Fathers and mothers of 80.1% and 77.1% of children, respectively, had above-primary education. More than half of the fathers (55%) were civil servants, while 30% were self-employed. The mothers were civil servants in 37.3% of cases, and 34% were self-employed. The average number of outpatient clinic visits before surgery was 2-3 visits (41.2%) with mean interval to surgery of 4-5 weeks (60.3%). Logistics (investigations and availability of operation list) and patient\u2032s fitness for surgery were statistically significant delay factors (P= 0.001). Conclusion : Parents reported 14 children to be irritable at home due to pain, while the others reported satisfactory day case experience. No unplanned admission or mortality was recorded, and only 3 (0.8%) parents would not recommend day case surgery to other people. Conclusion: Pediatric day case surgery is feasible for well-selected and monitored cases in our environment. Term neonates with informed parents are suitable for pediatric day case surgery. There is a need for a day case center to reduce waiting list at UITH.Arri\ue8re-plan: Le observation g\ue9n\ue9rale que les enfants atteindre convalescence mieux \ue0 la maison environnement prend en charge la n\ue9cessit\ue9 d\u2019adoption de la chirurgie affaire jour qui gagne plus d\u2019acceptations dans les pays en d\ue9veloppement. Service Chirurgie p\ue9diatrique est en grande demande aux pays en d\ue9veloppement et de lits de remboursement des soins et de fournitures chirurgicales sont insuffi santes. M\ue9thode: UN prospective collecte de donn\ue9es sur tous les enfants PDS par le p\ue9diatrique chirurgicale unit\ue9 de UITH, Ilorin a \ue9t\ue9 faite. Parents avaient pr\ue9op\ue9ratoire externe briefi ng et entrevues post op\ue9rationnels sur le deuxi\ue8me et le neuvi\ue8me jour pour post-operative les complications et les \ue9v\ue9nements \ue0 la maison. P\ue9riode d\u2019\ue9tude a \ue9t\ue9 entre avril 2005 et Septembre 2007 (2,5 ans). R\ue9sultats: De les 660 enfants (68.02 %) de 449 \ue9lectif cas ont \ue9t\ue9 recrut\ue9s comme cas de la journ\ue9e. UN m\ue2le \ue0 ratio f\ue9minin de 14,3: 1. \uc2ge varie entre 20 jours et 15 ans avec signifi e mois 37.6 et SD 34,4 mois. Cong\ue9nitales hernias/ hydroceles ont \ue9t\ue9 les indications plus \ue9lev\ue9es (71.2 %) suivies par forfaitaire/masses (12,9 %), undescended testes (8,7 %), ombilical hernias (4,8 %) et thyroglossal canaux kyste (2,5 %). Dans 98.9 % des cas les parents r\ue9sident dans le rayon de 20 km de l\u2019h\uf4pital et 91,5 % d\u2019entre eux pourrait atteindre l\u2019h\uf4pital dans 1 heure. Les p\ue8res et m\ue8res avaient au-dessus de l\u2019enseignement primaire dans % 80.1 et 77.1 % respectivement. Plus de la moiti\ue9 des p\ue8res (55 %) \ue9taient des civile fonctionnaires, alors que 30 % \ue9taient travailleurs autonomes. Les m\ue8res ont \ue9t\ue9 des fonctionnaires en 37,3 % cas et 34 % \ue9taient travailleurs autonomes. Moyenne clinique externe visites avant une intervention chirurgicale est 2-3times (41.2 %) avec intervalle moyenne \ue0 la chirurgie de 4-5 semaines (60,3 %). Logistique (enqu\ueates et la disponibilit\ue9 de liste de l\u2019op\ue9ration) et les patients de l\u2019ad\ue9quation \ue0 une intervention chirurgicale \ue9taient statistiquement facteurs de retard signifi catif (valeur p = 0.001). Parents a signal\ue9 14 enfants d\u2019\ueatre irritable chez eux en raison de douleur pendant les autres signal\ue9 exp\ue9rience affaire jour satisfaisante. Aucune admission non planifi \ue9e ou la mortalit\ue9 enregistr\ue9e et seulement 3 parents (0,8 %) ne recommanderaient pas une intervention chirurgicale jour affaire \ue0 autres personnes. Conclusion: P\ue9diatrie Chirurgie affaire jour est possible pour les cas bien s\ue9lectionn\ue9s et surveill\ue9s dans notre environnement. Neonates \ue0 terme, avec les parents inform\ue9s sont adapt\ue9es pour p\ue9diatrique Chirurgie affaire de jour. Il est n\ue9cessaire pour un centre d\u2019affaire de jour r\ue9duire la liste d\u2019attente

Caspase-3 Activation via Mitochondria Is Required for Long-Term Depression and AMPA Receptor Internalization

NMDA receptor-dependent synaptic modifications, such as long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD), are essential for brain development and function. LTD occurs mainly by the removal of AMPA receptors from the postsynaptic membrane, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we show that activation of caspase-3 via mitochondria is required for LTD and AMPA receptor internalization in hippocampal neurons. LTD and AMPA receptor internalization are blocked by peptide inhibitors of caspase-3 and -9. In hippocampal slices from caspase-3 knockout mice, LTD is abolished whereas LTP remains normal. LTD is also prevented by overexpression of the anti-apoptotic proteins XIAP or Bcl-xL, and by a mutant Akt1 protein that is resistant to caspase-3 proteolysis. NMDA receptor stimulation that induces LTD transiently activates caspase-3 in dendrites, without causing cell death. These data indicate an unexpected causal link between the molecular mechanisms of apoptosis and LTD.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Fellowship F32-NS046126)National Institutes of Health (U.S.). Intramural Research ProgramNational Institute of Mental Health (U.S.

Polarity engineering in polycrystalline ZnO by inversion boundaries

Two distinctive polarity-engineered microstructures were obtained in polycrystalline ZnO ceramics by inducing two different types of inversion boundaries (IBs) inside individual grains to examine the effect of the different polarities on the varistor performances. The presence of head-to-head IBs induced by the addition of Sb and tail-to-tail IBs by doping Ti was directly confirmed by the characteristic geometry of the chemical etch pits. It was proposed that a consequent polarity on the grain boundary planes, which are affected by the presence of head-to-head IBs is crucial in exhibiting the superior performance of ZnO varistors.open2

Ludwigia octovalvis extract improves glycemic control and memory performance in diabetic mice

Ethnopharmacological relevance Ludwigia octovalvis (Jacq.) P.H. Raven (Onagraceae) extracts have historically been consumed as a healthful drink for treating various conditions, including edema, nephritis, hypotension and diabetes. Aim of the study We have previously shown that Ludwigia octovalvis extract (LOE) can significantly extend lifespan and improve age-related memory deficits in Drosophila melanogaster through activating AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Since AMPK has become a critical target for treating diabetes, we herein investigate the anti-hyperglycemic potential of LOE. Materials and methods Differentiated C2C12 muscle cells, HepG2 hepatocellular cells, streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice and high fat diet (HFD)-induced diabetic mice were used to investigate the anti-hyperglycemic potential of LOE. The open field test and novel object recognition test were used to evaluate spontaneous motor activity and memory performance of HFD-induced diabetic mice. Results In differentiated C2C12 muscle cells and HepG2 hepatocellular cells, treatments with LOE and its active component (β-sitosterol) induced significant AMPK phosphorylation. LOE also enhanced uptake of a fluorescent glucose derivative (2-NBDG) and inhibited glucose production in these cells. The beneficial effects of LOE were completely abolished when an AMPK inhibitor, dorsomorphin, was added to the culture system, suggesting that LOE requires AMPK activation for its action in vitro. In streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice, we found that both LOE and β-sitosterol induced an anti-hyperglycemic effect comparable to that of metformin, a drug that is commonly prescribed to treat diabetes. Moreover, LOE also improved glycemic control and memory performance of mice fed a HFD. Conclusions These results indicate that LOE is a potent anti-diabetic intervention that may have potential for future clinical applications

Deactivation of Akt by a Small Molecule Inhibitor Targeting Pleckstrin Homology Domain and Facilitating Akt Ubiquitination

The phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-triphosphate (PIP3) binding function of pleckstrin homology (PH) domain is essential for the activation of oncogenic Akt/PKB kinase. Following the PIP3-mediated activation at the membrane, the activated Akt is subjected to other regulatory events, including ubiquitination-mediated deactivation. Here, by identifying and characterizing an allosteric inhibitor, SC66, we show that the facilitated ubiquitination effectively terminates Akt signaling. Mechanistically, SC66 manifests a dual inhibitory activity that directly interferes with the PH domain binding to PIP3 and facilitates Akt ubiquitination. A known PH domain-dependent allosteric inhibitor, which stabilizes Akt, prevents the SC66-induced Akt ubiquitination. A cancer-relevant Akt1 (e17k) mutant is unstable, making it intrinsically sensitive to functional inhibition by SC66 in cellular contexts in which the PI3K inhibition has little inhibitory effect. As a result of its dual inhibitory activity, SC66 manifests a more effective growth suppression of transformed cells that contain a high level of Akt signaling, compared with other inhibitors of PIP3/Akt pathway. Finally, we show the anticancer activity of SC66 by using a soft agar assay as well as a mouse xenograft tumor model. In conclusion, in this study, we not only identify a dual-function Akt inhibitor, but also demonstrate that Akt ubiquitination could be chemically exploited to effectively facilitate its deactivation, thus identifying an avenue for pharmacological intervention in Akt signaling

Developing a Driver Alert and Alarm System for High Quality Driving Supports

Abstract—Prevention and vigilance plays a key role in preventing threatening risks and potential dangers when one is driving. In other to achieve the goal of averting danger when driving, people need valid and up to date information about: driving behavior, driving environment and vehicle status. There are a lot of factors that needs to be considered in order to keep a driver safe. Drunk driving, blind spots, bad driving habits, fatigue driving, and vehicle status are all factors that needs to be taken into account if safety is to be improved. Driving comfortability greatly depends on vehicle’s status and driver’s behavior. To evaluate the comfort level for a particular ride, we developed a number of formulas for evaluating various variable like vibration which has their base from the ISO. Rules for detecting these factors like fatigue driving, blind spot collision, etc., were set in this study, each of which has a threshold that shouldn’t be exceeded. In this paper, we introduce an in-car monitoring system for driving safety and provide alert and alarm functions using Android device connected to the car’s on-board diagnostics system(OBD-II) and the in-car module