Cannabinoid interventions for improving cachexia outcomes in cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Cancer-associated cachexia (CAC) is a wasting syndrome characterized by involuntary weight loss and anorexia. Clear definition and diagnostic criteria for CAC are lacking, which makes it difficult to estimate its prevalence, to interpret research and to compare studies. There is no standard treatment to manage CAC, but previous studies support the use of cannabinoids for cachexia in other chronic diseases including HIV and multiple sclerosis. However, only a few randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and one meta-analysis of this intervention in cancer populations are available. Non-randomized studies of interventions (NRSIs) are often excluded from reviews due to variable methodology and potential for biases. This review aimed to consider NRSIs alongside RCTs to provide a complete summary of the available evidence that clinical decision makers could use in future investigations. Literature searches were conducted using three databases for relevant RCTs or NRSIs according to Cochrane methodology. Abstract and full texts of retrieved manuscripts were selected and retrieved by two investigators based on the PRISMA-A guidelines, and risk of bias and quality of evidence assessments were performed. Outcome data on weight, appetite, quality of life, performance status, adverse effects, and mortality were combined by narrative synthesis and meta-analysis where possible. Ten studies were included, four of which were RCTs and six NRSIs matching the eligibility criteria. Very low-quality evidence from meta-analysis suggested no significant benefits of cannabinoids for appetite compared with control (standardized mean difference: -0.02; 95% confidence interval: -0.51, 0.46; P = 0.93). Patient-reported observations from NRSIs suggested improvements in appetite. Another meta-analysis of moderate quality evidence showed that cannabinoids were significantly less efficient than active or inactive control on quality of life (standardized mean difference: -0.25; 95% confidence interval: -0.43, -0.07; P = 0.007). The effectiveness of cannabinoids alone to improve outcomes of CAC remains unclear. Low-quality evidence from both RCTs and NRSIs shows no significant benefits of cannabinoids for weight gain, appetite stimulation, and better quality of life, three important outcomes of cachexia. Higher quality research integrating cannabinoids into multi-modal therapies may offer better opportunities for developing CAC-specific treatments. This review also highlights that findings from non-randomized studies of interventions (NRSIs) can provide evidence of the effects of an intervention and advocate for the feasibility of larger RCTs

Causality Analysis of the Impact of Foreign Direct Investment on GDP in Nigeria

This study used a Cointegration VAR model to study the Contemporaneous Long – run dynamics of the impact of foreign direct Investment (FDI) on Growth Domestics Products (GDP) with other four macroeconomic variables in the Nigerian Economy for the period of January 1970 to December 2004. The Unit Root Test suggests that all the variables are integrated of order 1. The VAR (3) model were appropriately Identified using AIC information criteria and the VECM (2) model with cointegration relation of exactly one .The study further investigate the causal relationship using the Granger Causality analysis of VECM which indicates a uni–directional causal relationship between GDP and FPI at 5% as in inline with other studies of Basu et al.(2003). The results of Granger Causality Analysis also show that some of the variables are Granger Causal of one another, at 5% level of significance. Having established the fact that foreign direct investment has positive impact on growth domestic product, government should strategize policies that would enhance foreign direct investment in Nigeria

Pemodelan dan Simulasi Robot Lengan 3 DOF Menggunakan V-REP

Movement of objects from one position to another position is usually by conventional method of human strength. Development of robotics technology makes movement of objects in the industry by arm robot system. By using arm robot system, the work more effective. The aim of this reaserch is to modeling 3 Degree of Freedom arm robot with kinematics method using V-REP software. Kinematics method is a subject that analyze robot movement without knowing the force that causes the movement. This research use the forward kinematics method so that arm robot can reach the goals. The input from this robot is an angle which is computed using the forward kinematics method. The output is an end-effector coordinate. Based on the result of the research, the 3 Degree of Freedom arm robot is capable to move the object from one position to another position and an error that occurs can achieve 4,99% for x coordinate, 5,57% for y coordinate, and 3,18% for z coordinate. Based on these results, the 3 Degree of Freedom arm robot with the forward kinematics method can be simulated in V-REP software effectively

Resignificaci?n del concepto de evaluaci?n formativa como eje dinamizador de la labor de los docentes en la Instituci?n Educativa ?Luis Carlos Gal?n Sarmiento? de Honda

236 p. Recurso Electr?nicoEl presente trabajo de investigaci?n tuvo como objetivo diagnosticar las pr?cticas de evaluaci?n de los aprendizajes desarrolladas en la instituci?n educativa Luis Carlos Gal?n Sarmiento del municipio de Honda-Tolima, con el fin de proponer estrategias que fortalezcan la reflexi?n y la conceptualizaci?n para trasformar la evaluaci?n a partir de seis categor?as: Conceptos de evaluaci?n educativa y evaluaci?n de los aprendizajes, t?cnicas e instrumentos, usos, finalidades y principios. As? mismo se realiza un proceso de formaci?n a trav?s del plan Lector a partir de algunos referentes te?ricos con el fin de resignificar la evaluaci?n de los aprendizajes y mejorar los procesos evaluativos en la instituci?n educativa, se realizaron intervenciones al SIE y al plan de clase. El enfoque de la investigaci?n fue de tipo cualitativa, alcance descriptivo y dise?o Investigaci?n Acci?n Participaci?n, el cual permiti? transformar las pr?cticas de evaluaci?n de 23 docentes y de esta forma hacer un aporte a la comunidad acad?mica y a la comunidad educativa de la regi?n en torno al tema de la evaluaci?n que es tan importante en el proceso de ense?anza y aprendizaje y a la vez complejo. Palabras claves: Evaluaci?n formativa, Sistema de Evaluaci?n SIE, Plan lectorThis research had as objective to diagnose learning assessment practices developed in the educational institution Luis Carlos Gal?n Sarmiento in Honda - Tolima town in order to propose strategies that strengthen reflection and conceptualization to transform evaluation based on six categories: Concepts of educational evaluation and evaluation of learning, techniques and instruments, uses, purposes and principles. Likewise, a training process is carried out through the reader plan based on some theoretical references in order to resignify the evaluation of learning and improve the evaluation processes in the educational institution, interventions were made to the SIE and the class plan. The focus of the research was qualitative, descriptive and design Research Action Participation, which allowed to transform the evaluation practices of 23 teachers and in this way make a contribution to the academic community and the educational community of the region about evaluation that is so important and at the same time complex in the teaching and learning process. Keywords: Formative evaluation, Evaluation System SIE, Reader Pla

Diel transcriptional response of a California Current plankton microbiome to light, low iron, and enduring viral infection.

Phytoplankton and associated microbial communities provide organic carbon to oceanic food webs and drive ecosystem dynamics. However, capturing those dynamics is challenging. Here, an in situ, semi-Lagrangian, robotic sampler profiled pelagic microbes at 4 h intervals over ~2.6 days in North Pacific high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll waters. We report on the community structure and transcriptional dynamics of microbes in an operationally large size class (>5 μm) predominantly populated by dinoflagellates, ciliates, haptophytes, pelagophytes, diatoms, cyanobacteria (chiefly Synechococcus), prasinophytes (chiefly Ostreococcus), fungi, archaea, and proteobacteria. Apart from fungi and archaea, all groups exhibited 24-h periodicity in some transcripts, but larger portions of the transcriptome oscillated in phototrophs. Periodic photosynthesis-related transcripts exhibited a temporal cascade across the morning hours, conserved across diverse phototrophic lineages. Pronounced silica:nitrate drawdown, a high flavodoxin to ferredoxin transcript ratio, and elevated expression of other Fe-stress markers indicated Fe-limitation. Fe-stress markers peaked during a photoperiodically adaptive time window that could modulate phytoplankton response to seasonal Fe-limitation. Remarkably, we observed viruses that infect the majority of abundant taxa, often with total transcriptional activity synchronized with putative hosts. Taken together, these data reveal a microbial plankton community that is shaped by recycled production and tightly controlled by Fe-limitation and viral activity

Type of herbal medicines utilized by pregnant women attending ante-natal clinic in Offinso north district: Are orthodox prescribers aware?

Background: There is scanty data on the usage and safety of herbal medicines in pregnancy and breast feeding. Though they may be efficacious on account of their long experience of usage, effects of these herbal preparations and the extent of usage in pregnancy and breastfeeding are not known. There were anecdotal claims of herbal medicine usage in pregnancy in Offinso North District.Objective: To determine the prevalence and the pattern of herbal medicine usage among pregnant women attending ANC in all the health facilities in Offinso North District and to determine the level of awareness of healthcare givers about these herbal medicines.Design: Cross-sectional study.Method: A standardized structured questionnaire was administered to pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in the Offinso North district.Results: Age of respondents ranged from 15-49 years among which 25 (6.5%) took herbal medicines through varying routes of administration. High usage was found amongst those married and also with no formal and basic education and a median age of 25 years. Awareness of orthodox health practitioners about these herbal medicines was scanty.Conclusions: The study emphasized the use of herbal medicines particularly through some unconventional mode of preparations by pregnant women in Offinso North. Orthodox practitioners' awareness of their usage was found to be inadequate, highlighting an urgent need for health care practitioners and other health care givers to be aware of this practice and make efforts in obtaining information about herb use during ante-natal care.Key Words: Herbal Medicines; Pregnancy; Ghana, Sub-Saharan Africa

Dark energy accretion onto black holes in a cosmic scenario

In this paper we study the accretion of dark energy onto a black hole in the cases that dark energy is equipped with a positive cosmological constant and when the space-time is described by a Schwarzschild-de Sitter metric. While the first case is the same as the usual accretion procedure for a more complicated fluid, the second one give rise to a consistent cosmic scenario for the mentioned phenomenon. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009.This paper was supported by MEC under Research Project Nº FIS2005-01181, and by the Research Cooperation Project CSIC-CNRST. P.M.-M. acknowledges CSIC and ESF for a I3P grant.Peer Reviewe

Rindler Particles and Classical Radiation

We describe the quantum and classical radiation by a uniformly accelerating point source in terms of the elementary processes of absorption and emission of Rindler scalar photons of the Fulling-Davies-Unruh bath observed by a co-accelerating observer.To this end we compute the emission rate by a DeWitt detector of a Minkowski scalar particle with defined transverse momentum per unit of proper time of the source and we show that it corresponds to the induced absorption or spontaneous and induced emission of Rindler photons from the thermal bath. We then take what could be called the inert limit of the DeWitt detector by considering the limit of zero gap energy. As suggested by DeWitt, we identify in this limit the detector with a classical point source and verify the consistency of our computation with the classical result. Finally, we study the behavior of the emission rate in D space-time dimensions in connection with the so called apparent statistics inversion.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure

用GIS与虚拟现实技术模拟火灾过程——应用和展望

Author name used in this publication: 邹亮Author name used in this publication: SHI Wen-zhongAuthor name used in this publication: 任爱珠2004-2005 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Formation of the black-hole binary M33 X-7 via mass-exchange in a tight massive system

M33 X-7 is among the most massive X-Ray binary stellar systems known, hosting a rapidly spinning 15.65 Msun black hole orbiting an underluminous 70 Msun Main Sequence companion in a slightly eccentric 3.45 day orbit. Although post-main-sequence mass transfer explains the masses and tight orbit, it leaves unexplained the observed X-Ray luminosity, star's underluminosity, black hole's spin, and eccentricity. A common envelope phase, or rotational mixing, could explain the orbit, but the former would lead to a merger and the latter to an overluminous companion. A merger would also ensue if mass transfer to the black hole were invoked for its spin-up. Here we report that, if M33 X-7 started as a primary of 85-99 Msun and a secondary of 28-32 Msun, in a 2.8-3.1 day orbit, its observed properties can be consistently explained. In this model, the Main Sequence primary transferred part of its envelope to the secondary and lost the rest in a wind; it ended its life as a ~16 Msun He star with a Fe-Ni core which collapsed to a black hole (with or without an accompanying supernova). The release of binding energy and, possibly, collapse asymmetries "kicked" the nascent black hole into an eccentric orbit. Wind accretion explains the X-Ray luminosity, while the black hole spin can be natal.Comment: Manuscript: 18 pages, 2 tables, 2 figure. Supplementary Information: 34 pages, 6 figures. Advance Online Publication (AOP) on http://www.nature.com/nature on October 20, 2010. To Appear in Nature on November 4, 201