Principles of appropriate antibiotic use for treatment of uncomplicated acute bronchitis: background.

The following principles of appropriate antibiotic use for adults with acute bronchitis apply to immunocompetent adults without complicating comorbid conditions, such as chronic lung or heart disease. The evaluation of adults with an acute cough illness or a presumptive diagnosis of uncomplicated acute bronchitis should focus on ruling out serious illness, particularly pneumonia. In healthy, nonelderly adults, pneumonia is uncommon in the absence of vital sign abnormalities or asymmetrical lung sounds, and chest radiography is usually not indicated. In patients with cough lasting 3 weeks or longer, chest radiography may be warranted in the absence of other known causes. Routine antibiotic treatment of uncomplicated acute bronchitis is not recommended, regardless of duration of cough. If pertussis infection is suspected (an unusual circumstance), a diagnostic test should be performed and antimicrobial therapy initiated. Patient satisfaction with care for acute bronchitis depends most on physician--patient communication rather than on antibiotic treatment

Proximate composition, mineral content, cooking quality, and sensory properties of Kalinga mix and Moringa noodles

The main objective of this study is to develop an acceptable and nutrient-dense noodles from KALINGA mix and moringa. Materials for making the noodles such as KALINGA mix (rice, sesame seeds, mung bean), bread flour, and moringa powder were purchased at the local market of Los Baños, Laguna. Malnutrition in the Philippines remains to be a serious health problem, especially to low-income areas.Its challenges and enormity in the country require new research and innovations that are accessible and will make use of native resources to achieve better health and nutrition for the community. Hence an attempt  to develop an acceptable and nutrient-dense noodles incorporating KALINGA mix and moringa.The noodles were prepared with different ratios of KALINGA mix (30g, 20g, 10g) and flour (70g, 80g, 90g, 100g). All samples were then added with 5g of moringa. The results of the study showed that all the cooking losses of the samples were below the technologically acceptable limit (≤8%). In the overall acceptability, the sample with  30g KALINGA has the highest mean score of 7.125 (like moderately).The proximate composition showed that the highest moisture content (7.64%), and crude protein (10.86%) were found in 10g KALINGA, whereas crude fat (15.57%), and ash (1.0%) were the highest in 30g KALINGA, crude fiber (0.73%) and NFE (69.77%) were highest in the control sample. For the mineral content, the control sample was highest in calcium (125 mg/100g), and iron (7.4mg/100g) while the 30g KALINGA had the lowest in both. Zinc is the same in all samples (1.2 mg/100g). In conclusion, the sample with 30g KALINGA was good in terms of its cooking quality, overall acceptability, and proximate composition. The control however was better in its calcium, and iron content

L_e + L_\mu - L_\tau - L_s Symmetry and a Mixed 2+2 Scenario for Neutrino Oscillations

Recent results from SuperKamiokande and SNO experiments have set severe constraints on possible mixings of a light sterile neutrino, \nu_s, with the three active species required for a simultaneous explanation of the solar, atmospheric and LSND neutrino oscillation data. A consistent scheme has emerged from a global analysis of the data wherein two of the neutrinos are nearly degenerate with a mass of order 1 eV, that mix significantly with the two lighter states. We present realizations of such a mixed 2+2 oscillation scenario based on L_e + L_\mu - L_\tau - L_s symmetry (L_i stands for the ith lepton number). Breaking of of this lepton number symmetry by a small mass term for \nu_s leads to the required large mixings for both the atmospheric and the solar neutrino oscillations. Sum rules for the neutrino oscillation parameters are derived within this scheme, and are shown to be consistent with present data. These models predict U_{e3} = 0.02-0.03, which can serve as a test of this idea. We also present gauge models based on mirror extensions of the Standard Model that naturally lead to a light sterile neutrino with the required mixing pattern.Comment: 13 pages, RevTe

Big Five Personality Traits and its Relationship to Teachers’ Performance Evaluation in the Public High Schools

Teacher quality is one of the main concerns of global education. Determining teaching performance and its relationship with teacher’s personality has been an area that spurs myriads of interpretations based on the context to where teachers are found. Using descriptive-correlational research design, the Big Five Personality Traits and its relationship with teacher performance in the public high schools located in the National Capital Region of the Philippines were described. A total of 457 respondents with 339 female and 118 male, most of the respondents have M.A. units and have been in the service for one to five years were involved in the study. Two hundred seventy five (275) of the respondents are Teacher 1 and have performance evaluation of very satisfactory. Findings revealed that the most evident dimension in the Big Five Personality Traits among the respondents is Agreeableness, which means that most of the respondents got a high score in this area. This is followed by Conscientiousness, Openness, and Extraversion.  The respondents got the lowest mean score in Neuroticism. However, in terms of the relationship between personality traits and performance evaluation result, no variables have significant relationship with each other

The Top Mass Upper Bound and Electroweak Radiative Corrections

We investigated the possibility of introducing sizeable negative corrections to the $\varepsilon_{N1}$ ($\delta \rho$) parameter without affecting $\varepsilon_{N3}$. We have found that a proper vector-like family of fermions can imply such corrections. Differently from supersymmetry \cite{bcf}, this can be realized without introducing light particles easily observable at LEP II. Our example can be of particular interest if no new particle is found at LEP II and the $\varepsilon_{N1}$ value is found to be small compared to the one expected in the case of a large top mass.Comment: 7 pages, Latex, IFUP-TH 3/9

Heavy neutrino mixing and single production at Linear Collider

We study the single production of heavy neutrinos via the processes $e^-e^+ \to \nu N$ and $e^-\gamma \to W^- N$ at future linear colliders. As a base of our considerations we take a wide class of models, both with vanishing and non-vanishing left-handed Majorana neutrino mass matrix $m_L$. We perform a model independent analyses of the existing experimental data and find connections between the characteristic of heavy neutrinos (masses, mixings, CP eigenvalues) and the $m_L$ parameters. We show that with the present experimental constraints heavy neutrino masses almost up to the collision energy can be tested in the future experiments.Comment: latex, 14 pages, 4 ps file

Sterile Neutrinos in E_6 and a Natural Understanding of Vacuum Oscillation Solution to the Solar Neutrino Puzzle

If Nature has chosen the vacuum oscillation solution to the Solar neutrino puzzle, a key theoretical challenge is to understand the extreme smallness of the $\Delta m^2_{\nu_e-\nu_X}$ ($\sim 10^{-10} eV^2$) required for the purpose. We find that in a class of models such as [SU(3)]^3 or its parent group E_6, which contain one sterile neutrino, $\nu_{is}$ for each family, the $\Delta m^2_{\nu_i-\nu_{is}}$ is proportional to the cube of the lepton Yukawa coupling. Therefore fitting the atmospheric neutrino data then predicts the $\nu_e-\nu_{es}$ mass difference square to be $\sim (\frac{m_e}{m_{\mu}})^3 \Delta m^2_{atmos}$, where the atmospheric neutrino data is assumed to be solved via the $\nu_{\mu}-\nu_{\mu s}$ oscillation. This provides a natural explanation of the vacuum oscillation solution to the solar neutrino problem.Comment: 7 pages, UMD-PP-99-109; new references added; no other chang

Neuronal-targeted TFEB accelerates lysosomal degradation of app, reducing Aβ generation and amyloid plaque pathogenesis

In AD, an imbalance between Aβ production and removal drives elevated brain Aβ levels and eventual amyloid plaque deposition. APP undergoes nonamyloidogenic processing via α-cleavage at the plasma membrane, amyloidogenic β- and γ-cleavage within endosomes to generate Aβ, or lysosomal degradation in neurons. Considering multiple reports implicating impaired lysosome function as a driver of increased amyloidogenic processing of APP, we explored the efficacy of targeting transcription factor EB (TFEB), a master regulator of lysosomal pathways, to reduce Aβ levels. CMV promoter-driven TFEB, transduced via stereotactic hippocampal injections of adeno-associated virus particles in APP/PS1 mice, localized primarily to neuronal nuclei and upregulated lysosome biogenesis. This resulted in reduction of APP protein, the α and β C-terminal APP fragments (CTFs), and in the steady-state Aβ levels in the brain interstitial fluid. In aged mice, total Aβ levels and amyloid plaque load were selectively reduced in the TFEB-transduced hippocampi. TFEB transfection in N2a cells stably expressing APP695, stimulated lysosome biogenesis, reduced steady-state levels of APP and α- and β-CTFs, and attenuated Aβ generation by accelerating flux through the endosome-lysosome pathway. Cycloheximide chase assays revealed a shortening of APP half-life with exogenous TFEB expression, which was prevented by concomitant inhibition of lysosomal acidification. These data indicate that TFEB enhances flux through lysosomal degradative pathways to induce APP degradation and reduce Aβ generation. Activation of TFEB in neurons is an effective strategy to attenuate Aβ generation and attenuate amyloid plaque deposition in AD. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT A key driver for AD pathogenesis is the net balance between production and clearance of Aβ, the major component of amyloid plaques. Here we demonstrate that lysosomal degradation of holo-APP influences Aβ production by limiting the availability of APP for amyloidogenic processing. Using viral gene transfer of transcription factor EB (TFEB), a master regulator of lysosome biogenesis in neurons of APP/PS1 mice, steady-state levels of APP were reduced, resulting in decreased interstitial fluid Aβ levels and attenuated amyloid deposits. These effects were caused by accelerated lysosomal degradation of endocytosed APP, reflected by reduced APP half-life and steady-state levels in TFEB-expressing cells, with resultant decrease in Aβ production and release. Additional studies are needed to explore the therapeutic potential of this approach

Enhancing astrocytic lysosome biogenesis facilitates Aβ clearance and attenuates amyloid plaque pathogenesis

In sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD), impaired Aβ removal contributes to elevated extracellular Aβ levels that drive amyloid plaque pathogenesis. Extracellular proteolysis, export across the blood–brain barrier, and cellular uptake facilitate physiologic Aβ clearance. Astrocytes can take up and degrade Aβ, but it remains unclear whether this function is insufficient in AD or can be enhanced to accelerate Aβ removal. Additionally, age-related dysfunction of lysosomes, the major degradative organelles wherein Aβ localizes after uptake, has been implicated in amyloid plaque pathogenesis. We tested the hypothesis that enhancing lysosomal function in astrocytes with transcription factor EB (TFEB), a master regulator of lysosome biogenesis, would promote Aβ uptake and catabolism and attenuate plaque pathogenesis. Exogenous TFEB localized to the nucleus with transcriptional induction of lysosomal biogenesis and function in vitro. This resulted in significantly accelerated uptake of exogenously applied Aβ42, with increased localization to and degradation within lysosomes in C17.2 cells and primary astrocytes, indicating that TFEB is sufficient to coordinately enhance uptake, trafficking, and degradation of Aβ. Stereotactic injection of adeno-associated viral particles carrying TFEB driven by a glial fibrillary acidic protein promoter was used to achieve astrocyte-specific expression in the hippocampus of APP/PS1 transgenic mice. Exogenous TFEB localized to astrocyte nuclei and enhanced lysosome function, resulting in reduced Aβ levels and shortened half-life in the brain interstitial fluid and reduced amyloid plaque load in the hippocampus compared with control virus-injected mice. Therefore, activation of TFEB in astrocytes is an effective strategy to restore adequate Aβ removal and counter amyloid plaque pathogenesis in AD

Connecting bimaximal neutrino mixing to a light sterile neutrino

It is shown that if small neutrino masses owe their origin to the conventional seesaw mechanism and the MNS mixing matrix is in the exact bimaximal form, then there exist symmetries in the theory that allow one of the righthanded neutrinos to become naturally massless, making it a candidate for the sterile neutrino discussed in the literature. Departures from the exact bimaximal limit leads to tiny mass for the sterile neutrino as well as its mixing to the active neutrinos. This provides a minimal theoretical framework where a simultaneous explanation of the solar, atmospheric and LSND observations within the so-called 3+1 scenario may be possible.Comment: new references added; paper accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D.(rapid communications); note adde