Monitoring spindle orientation: Spindle position checkpoint in charge

Every cell division in budding yeast is inherently asymmetric and counts on the correct positioning of the mitotic spindle along the mother-daughter polarity axis for faithful chromosome segregation. A surveillance mechanism named the spindle position checkpoint (SPOC), monitors the orientation of the mitotic spindle and prevents cells from exiting mitosis when the spindle fails to align along the mother-daughter axis. SPOC is essential for maintenance of ploidy in budding yeast and similar mechanisms might exist in higher eukaryotes to ensure faithful asymmetric cell division. Here, we review the current model of SPOC activation and highlight the importance of protein localization and phosphorylation for SPOC function

A stochastic Model for Predicting Irrigation Water Requirements (IWR)

The main objective of this paper is to develop a stochastic time series model with trend, periodic and irregular components using a ten years IWR decade data for three different types of cotton crops cultivated in Gezira Scheme, SUDAN. The model was applied to cotton Brackat and then used to Shmbat & Akala cotton. In the analysis of IWR time series the correlogram technique was used to detect the periodicity which then smoothed by Fourier series method. The series is then tested for stationary and the dependent part of irregular component is found to be well expressed by the first order autoregressive model for all the crops. The developed model superimposes a periodic-deterministic process and an irregular componen

Assessment of Air Pollutants Emissions from a Cement Plant: A Case Study in Jordan

This paper presents predictions of air pollutants (dust, SO2, NOx and CO) emitted from a cement plant that will be constructed in Wadi Alabyad area located about 100 km south of Amman, Jordan. The Gaussian air pollution model is used and the predicted concentrations of the air pollutants are compared with the Jordanian air quality standards (JS 1140/2006). It is found that the month of September represents the worst-case scenario where the atmospheric stability condition is classified as A and the average wind speed is 1.7 m/s. The predicted SO2 hourly and the 24-hour concentrations -when using fuel oil- reached 0.8 ppm and 0.42 ppm, consequently, at a distance of 750 m from the plant, which exceed the standard values of 0.3 ppm and 0.14 pmm, consequently. In case of natural gas as source of energy, the SO2 concentration is predicted to be negligible. The hourly concentration of NOx is 0.32 ppm at a distance of 750 m from the plant exceeding the standard limit of 0.21 ppm. It is found that the maximum TSP 24-hour concentration will be expected to reach 359.61 μg/m3 exceeding the standard value of 260 μg/m3. The TSP, PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations exceeded the values set by the standard near the vicinity of the cement plant at a distance closer than 300 m. The proposed mitigation measures should limit the ambient air pollutant concentrations to be in compliance with the standard values

Clinical and computed tomographic evaluation of portland cement pulpotomy in primary molar: A case report

The present case describes the clinical & radiographic outcome of a Portland Cement pulpotomy. The 5 years old girl presenting extensive carious exposure in her mandibular left 2nd deciduous molar and was suffering pain in her left lower jaw only on exposure to cold for last 2 days. She was ultimately diagnosed clinic-radio-graphically as a case of irreversible pulpitis. Coronal pulpotomy procedure was carried out in the responsible tooth and Portland cement (PC) was applied as a medicament after pulpotomy. At the 3 & 6-months follow-up appointments, treated tooth was asymptomatic clinically and radiographic examinations revealed no sign of periradicular pathosis in the pulpotomized teeth. Additionally, the formation of a dentin bridge immediately below the PC in the treated tooth was confirmed by RVG and CBCT

Adaptive sharing for online social networks: a trade-off between privacy risk and social benefit

Online social networks such as Facebook allow users to control which friend sees what information, but it can be a laborious process for users to specify every receiver for each piece of information they share. Therefore, users usually group their friends into social circles, and select the most appropriate social circle to share particular information with. However, social circles are not formed for setting privacy policies, and even the most appropriate social circle still cannot adapt to the changes of users’ privacy requirements influenced by the changes in context. This problem drives the need for better privacy control which can adaptively filter the members in a selected social circle to satisfy users’ requirements while maintaining users’ social needs. To enable such adaptive sharing, this paper proposes a utility-based trade-off framework that models users’ concerns (i.e. potential privacy risks) and incentives of sharing (i.e. potential social benefits), and quantifies users’ requirements as a trade- off between these two types of utilities. By balancing these two metrics, our framework suggests a subset of a selected circle that aims to maximise users’ overall utility of sharing. Numerical simulation results compare the outcome of three sharing strategies in randomly changing contexts

Cytotoxic effects of different mouthwash solutions on primary human articular chondrocytes and normal human articular cartilage : an in vitro study

Objectives To compare the cytotoxicity of octenidine dihydrochloride and chlorhexidine gluconate at diferent concentrations on primary human articular chondrocytes and cartilage. Materials and methods Primary cultures of human normal adult articular chondrocytes were exposed to octenidine dihydrochloride (0.001562%, 0.003125%, 0.00625%, 0.0125%, 0.025%, 0.05%, and 0.1%), chlorhexidine gluconate (0.003125%, 0.00625%, 0.0125%, 0.025%, 0.05%, 0.1%, and 0.2%), and control (Dulbecco’s modifed Eagle medium or phosphate-bufered saline) for 30 s. Normal human articular cartilage explants were exposed to octenidine dihydrochloride (0.1% versus control) and chlorhexidine gluconate (0.1% versus control) for 30 s. The viability of human articular chondrocytes was measured by Trypan blue staining, Cell Proliferation Reagent WST-1, and Live/Dead staining. The proliferation of human chondrocytes was measured using the Cell Proliferation Reagent WST-1. The viability of human articular cartilage explants was measured by using Live/Dead staining. Results Octenidine dihydrochloride and chlorhexidine gluconate exposure decreased cell viability and proliferation in a dose-dependent manner in primary human articular chondrocytes. Octenidine dihydrochloride and chlorhexidine gluconate exposure decreased cell viability in human articular cartilage explant cultures. Conclusion The degree of toxicity varied between octenidine dihydrochloride and chlorhexidine gluconate, with chlorhexidine gluconate being less toxic than octenidine dihydrochloride at the same concentration. Additionally, both octenidine dihydrochloride and chlorhexidine gluconate evaluation had cytotoxic efects on human articular cartilage. Therefore, dosing for the antimicrobial mouthwash ingredients administration would ideally be determined to remain below IC50. Clinical relevance These data support the in vitro safety of antimicrobial mouthwashes on primary adult human articular chondrocytes