OLANZAPINE COMBINED WITH STANDARD ANTIEMETIC REGIMENS FOR PREVENTION OF CHEMOTHERAPY THERAPY-INDUCED NAUSEA AND VOMITING: A SINGLE-CENTER EXPERIENCE FROM SOUTH INDIA

  Objectives: Olanzapine, an antipsychotic agent, exhibits significant antiemetic properties due to its inhibitory activity on neurotransmitters at multiple receptors involved in chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). CINV can have an immensely negative impact on patient's quality of life (QOL) and daily activities. Our objectives were to determine the effectiveness of adding olanzapine to standard antiemetic regimens for the prevention of CINV in cancer patients and to compare the QOL of such patients with those receiving standard antiemetic regimens.Methods: A prospective, observational, cohort study was done on patients receiving either highly or moderately emetogenic chemotherapy (MEC). The patients who received only the standard antiemetic regimens were considered as the control group and those who received 10 mg of olanzapine once daily on days 1-5 of chemotherapy in addition to the standard antiemetic regimens were considered to be the study group. The patients were assessed for grades of nausea and vomiting using National Cancer Institute common terminology criteria for adverse events and for QOL using European Organization in Research and Treatment of Cancer QOL questionnaire.Results: Patients were evaluated for a total of 168 cycles of chemotherapy. Compared to the control group, the study group patients showed significant improvement in response to acute nausea (p=0.02) but not in acute vomiting (p=0.09). However, response to delayed nausea and vomiting improved significantly (p=0.004 and p=0.05, respectively). The QOL of study group patients showed significant improvement in functional scales and symptom scales (p<0.02). Global health status also increased significantly (p=0.02) in the study group patients.Conclusion: Olanzapine containing pre-medication regimens can reduce acute and delayed nausea and delayed vomiting and improve the QOL of cancer patients receiving highly or moderately emetogenic chemotherapeutic agents as compared to the standard pre-medication regimens

In vivo and in vitro phytochemical and antibacterial efficacy of Baliospermum montanum(Wïlld.) Muell. Arg.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the phytochemical and anti-bacterial potential of mother plants in vivo and in vitro derived callus of Baliospermum montanum (B. montanum) (Willd.) Muell.-Arg. leaves and root.MethodsThe in vitro derived rootlets and leaves segments of B. montanum were cut into 0.5-0.7 cm in length and cultured on Murashige and Skoog solid medium supplemented with 3% sucrose, gelled with 0.7% agar and different concentration of 2, 4-D either alone or in combinations. The preliminary phytochemical screening was performed by Harborne method. Antibacterial efficacy was performed by well diffusion method and incubated for 24 h at 37°C.ResultsThe highest percentage of callus formation (leaves segments 86.9±0.56; root segments 78.7±0.51) was obtained on Murashige and Skoog's basal medium supplemented with 3% sucrose and 2.0 mg/L of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxy acetic acid. The phytochemical study revealed the high quantity presence of steroids, triterpenoids, glycosides, saponins, alkaloids, flavanoids, phenolic compounds, tannins, sugars etc of root and leaves derived calli. The ethanol extract of leaves segment derived calli of B. montanum showed the maximum solubility and antimicrobial activity with the MIC ranged from 100 to 200 μL.ConclusionThe preliminary phytochemical study confirmed that the calli mediated tissues showed the higher percentage of metabolite constituents and extraction value compared to the in vivo leaves and roots. The present study observation suggested that a possibility to establish high yielding genotypes by in vitro culture for production of medicinally important bioactive compounds

Estimating long-term surface hydrological components by coupling remote sensing observation with surface flux model.

A model framework for parameterized subgrid-scale surface fluxes (PASS) has been applied to use satellite data, models, and routine surface observations to infer root-zone available moisture content and evapotranspiration rate with moderate spatial resolution within Walnut River Watershed in Kansas. Biweekly composite normalized difference vegetative index (NDVI) data are derived from observations by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellites. Local surface observations provide data on downwelling solar irradiance, air temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed. Surface parameters including roughness length, albedo, surface water conductance, and the ratio of soil heat flux to net radiation are estimated; pixel-specific near-surface meteorological conditions such as air temperature, vapor pressure, and wind speed are adjusted according to local surface forcing. The PASS modeling system makes effective use of satellite data and can be run for large areas for which flux data do not exist and surface meteorological data are available from only a limited number of ground stations. The long-term surface hydrological budget is evaluated using radar-derived precipitation estimates, surface meteorological observations, and satellite data. The modeled hydrological components in the Walnut River Watershed compare well with stream gauge data and observed surface fluxes during 1999

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Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/25456/1/0000906.pd

FeatureScan: revealing property-dependent similarity of nucleotide sequences

FeatureScan is a software package aiming to reveal novel types of DNA sequence similarity by comparing physico-chemical properties. Thirty-eight different parameters of DNA double strands such as charge, melting enthalpy, conformational parameters and the like are provided. As input FeatureScan requires two sequences, a pattern sequence and a target sequence, search conditions are set by selecting a specific DNA parameter and a threshold value. Search results are displayed in FASTA format and directly linked to external genome databases/browsers (ENSEMBL, NCBI, UCSC). An Internet version of FeatureScan is accessible at . As part of the HOBIT initiative () FeatureScan is also accessible as a web service at its above home page. Currently, several preloaded genomes are provided at this Internet website (Homo sapiens, Mus musculus, Rattus norvegicus and four strains of Escherichia coli) as target sequences. Standalone executables of FeatureScan are available on request

ANL Micrometeorological Measurements of Particle Sulfur Deposition at the 1981 Dry Deposition Intercomparison Experiment.

The Dry Deposition Intercomparison Experiment conducted in September, 1981, was designed by the Illinois State Water Survey as a pilot effort to evaluate various methods of measuring pollutant dry deposition. A more extensive experiment was planned for June, 1982, when additional and improved techniques were to be implemented. The 1981 study focused on sulfate aerosol, while the 1982 experiment will consider a wider range of particulate substances and some gases. At issue is whether traditional monitoring methods using surrogate surfaces to collect dry deposition can routinely provide estimates in agreement with results from applications of intensive micrometeorological techniques. This report summarizes the micrometeorological data gathered in 1981 by Argonne National Laboratory

De la mitigación de desastres a la interrupción de trampas de riesgo: la experiencia de aprendizajeacción de clima sin riesgo

RESUMEN: En las últimas décadas hemos asistido a una profunda reformulación de cómo entender las condiciones de riesgo en el contexto urbano. Sin embargo, aún enfrentamos significativos desafíos para capturar conceptual, metodológica y empíricamente los círculos viciosos de reproducción de riesgos que configuran ‘trampas de riesgo urbano’ frecuentemente invisibilizadas. Entendemos a las trampas de riesgo como el resultado de la reproducción de riesgos cotidianos y de desastres repetitivos y frecuentes de pequeña escala, que afectan en forma desproporcional a los sectores empobrecidos en forma altamente localizada. A partir de cLIMA sin Riesgo - un proyecto de investigación-acción desarrollado por los autores en el contexto de Lima - este artículo explora las condiciones que producen y reproducen estas trampas, cómo y dónde se materializan, quié- nes son afectados y con qué consecuencias para aquellos que viven en barrios tugurizados y/o asentamientos informales y marginalizados. La discusión examina cómo el conocimiento espacial de la urbanización en riesgo y la evaluación critica de las inversiones y los esfuerzos de mitigación realizados por parte de pobladores y agencias estatales permiten avanzar hacia una apreciación más precisa del impacto de dichas trampas a lo largo del tiempo, así como hacia estrategias de acción para su interrupción. ABSTRACT: The last decades have witnessed a profound change in our understanding of the conditions of risk in urban contexts. However, we still face significant conceptual, methodological and empirical challenges in capturing the vicious cycles of risk accumulation that often render so-called ‘urban risk traps’ invisible. We define risk traps as the result of the reproduction of everyday risks and frequent small-scale disasters, which have highly localized impacts and disproportionately affect impoverished inhabitants. Based on the action-research project cLIMA without Risk (cLIMA sin riesgo), which was conducted by the authors in the context of two marginalized areas in the centre and periphery of Lima, Peru, this article explores the conditions that produce and reproduce these risk traps and it analyses how and where they materialize, who they affect and with what consequences. The discussion examines how spatial knowledge of urbanization at risk together with a critical evaluation of inhabitants’ and state agencies’ investments in mitigation efforts allows us to move towards a more accurate assessment of the impact of these risk traps over time, which is required for developing transformative strategies to disrupt them

Turbulent flow at 190 m height above London during 2006-2008: A climatology and the applicability of similarity theory

Flow and turbulence above urban terrain is more complex than above rural terrain, due to the different momentum and heat transfer characteristics that are affected by the presence of buildings (e.g. pressure variations around buildings). The applicability of similarity theory (as developed over rural terrain) is tested using observations of flow from a sonic anemometer located at 190.3 m height in London, U.K. using about 6500 h of data. Turbulence statistics—dimensionless wind speed and temperature, standard deviations and correlation coefficients for momentum and heat transfer—were analysed in three ways. First, turbulence statistics were plotted as a function only of a local stability parameter z/Λ (where Λ is the local Obukhov length and z is the height above ground); the σ_i/u_* values (i = u, v, w) for neutral conditions are 2.3, 1.85 and 1.35 respectively, similar to canonical values. Second, analysis of urban mixed-layer formulations during daytime convective conditions over London was undertaken, showing that atmospheric turbulence at high altitude over large cities might not behave dissimilarly from that over rural terrain. Third, correlation coefficients for heat and momentum were analyzed with respect to local stability. The results give confidence in using the framework of local similarity for turbulence measured over London, and perhaps other cities. However, the following caveats for our data are worth noting: (i) the terrain is reasonably flat, (ii) building heights vary little over a large area, and (iii) the sensor height is above the mean roughness sublayer depth

Performance of radar wind profilers, radiosondes, and surface flux stations at the SGP CART site

The performance of several routinely operating observational systems at the Southern Great Plains (SGP) Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) site has been evaluated. The results of a few specific investigations are shown here for Radar Wind Profilers (RWPs) and Radio Acoustic Sounding Systems (RASSs), Balloon-Borne Sounding Systems (BBSSs), and Energy Balance Bowen Ratio (EBBR) stations

Modelling chemistry in the nocturnal boundary layer above tropical rainforest and a generalised effective nocturnal ozone deposition velocity for sub-ppbv NOx conditions

Measurements of atmospheric composition have been made over a remote rainforest landscape. A box model has previously been demonstrated to model the observed daytime chemistry well. However the box model is unable to explain the nocturnal measurements of relatively high [NO] and [O3], but relatively low observed [NO2]. It is shown that a one-dimensional (1-D) column model with simple O3 -NOx chemistry and a simple representation of vertical transport is able to explain the observed nocturnal concentrations and predict the likely vertical profiles of these species in the nocturnal boundary layer (NBL). Concentrations of tracers carried over from the end of the night can affect the atmospheric chemistry of the following day. To ascertain the anomaly introduced by using the box model to represent the NBL, vertically-averaged NBL concentrations at the end of the night are compared between the 1-D model and the box model. It is found that, under low to medium [NOx] conditions (NOx <1 ppbv), a simple parametrisation can be used to modify the box model deposition velocity of ozone, in order to achieve good agreement between the box and 1-D models for these end-of-night concentrations of NOx and O3. This parametrisation would could also be used in global climate-chemistry models with limited vertical resolution near the surface. Box-model results for the following day differ significantly if this effective nocturnal deposition velocity for ozone is implemented; for instance, there is a 9% increase in the following day’s peak ozone concentration. However under medium to high [NOx] conditions (NOx > 1 ppbv), the effect on the chemistry due to the vertical distribution of the species means no box model can adequately represent chemistry in the NBL without modifying reaction rate constants