Relationships Among Text Type, Relatability, Students’ Reading Enthusiasm, and Comprehension

Traditional English Language Arts instruction relies on the study of classical or canonical texts to teach students critical reading skills. These texts are hailed for their complexity, universal/ timeless themes, and established literary value. Yet, contemporary authors have argued that these texts are often far removed from students’ realities and do not reflect the diversity present in the classroom. Studies have also demonstrated that students find school content boring and irrelevant. This lack of enthusiasm, or display of interest, engagement, and excitement, is concerning to educators, as enthusiasm has been linked to students’ academic success and increased levels of intrinsic motivation. Considering the benefits that developing reading enthusiasm could have for students’ academic performance and the ongoing debate surrounding classroom text selections, this study seeks to investigate if a relationship exists between text type, relatability, and students’ reading enthusiasm and comprehension when using a contemporary adolescent text and older classical text that share similar socio-cultural elements and themes

Distribution of Capillary Transit Times in Isolated Lungs of Oxygen-Tolerant Rats

Rats pre-exposed to 85% O2 for 5–7 days tolerate the otherwise lethal effects of 100% O2. The objective was to evaluate the effect of rat exposure to 85% O2 for 7 days on lung capillary mean transit time (t¯c) and distribution of capillary transit times (h c(t)). This information is important for subsequent evaluation of the effect of this hyperoxia model on the redox metabolic functions of the pulmonary capillary endothelium. The venous concentration vs. time outflow curves of fluorescein isothiocyanate labeled dextran (FITC-dex), an intravascular indicator, and coenzyme Q1 hydroquinone (CoQ1H2), a compound which rapidly equilibrates between blood and tissue on passage through the pulmonary circulation, were measured following their bolus injection into the pulmonary artery of isolated perfused lungs from rats exposed to room air (normoxic) or 85% O2 for 7 days (hyperoxic). The moments (mean transit time and variance) of the measured FITC-dex and CoQ1H2 outflow curves were determined for each lung, and were then used in a mathematical model [Audi et al. J. Appl. Physiol. 77: 332–351, 1994] to estimate t¯c and the relative dispersion (RDc) of h c(t). Data analysis reveals that exposure to hyperoxia decreases lung t¯c by 42% and increases RDc, a measure h c(t) heterogeneity, by 40%

Nutritional Status And Its Association With Diabetes Mellitus In School Children, India

Background: Poor health and nutrition may impair both the growth and intellectual development of school children. Incidence of malnutrition related childhood diabetes mellitus has increased and continues to be on the rise.Objectives: To assess the nutritional status by anthropometry and to screen for diabetes by capillary blood examination of school children. Design: Longitudinal study Setting: The study was carried out at Sri R.L.Jalappa Central School, Kolar from August 2008 to December 2009. Methods: All the school children were interviewed with pre-designed and pre-tested proforma. Height, Weight was measured by standard procedures. The nutritional status was analysed by Body Mass Index (BMI) for age. The school children were also screened for diabetes mellitus by Finger stick capillary random plasma glucose testing. The children were followed up for any major medical problems during the study period.Participants: All the students studying in the school during study period.Results: Mean height and weight of children were found comparable to the ICMR pooled data. However, compared to NCHS standards and affluent Indian children the mean height and weight were found to be much inferior at all ages. According to BMI for age as per NCHS most of the children were undernourished (79.2%) and 3 children (0.6%) were overweight. Out of 495 children screened for diabetes 14 children had hyperglycaemia (>160mg/dl). These 14 children were further tested by oral glucose tolerance test and found to have normal blood sugars levels. During the follow up two undernourished children developed diabetes mellitus. Conclusion: The magnitude of malnutrition among school going children was found to be 79%. During the follow up two undernourished children developed diabetes mellitus, hence under nutrition was associated with diabetes mellitus

Multiple Slot Fractal Structured Antenna for Wi-Fi and Radio Altimeter for uncertain Applications

A multiple slot fractal antenna design has been determined communication efficiency and its multi-function activities.  High-speed small communication devices have been required for future smart chip applications, so that researchers have been employed new and creative antenna design. Antennas are key part in communication systems, those are used to improve communication parameters like gain, efficiency, and bandwidth. Consistently, modern antennas design with high bandwidth and gain balancing is very difficult, therefore an adaptive antenna array chip design is required. In this research work a coaxial fed antenna with fractal geometry design has been implemented for Wi-Fi and Radio altimeter application. The fractal geometry has been taken with multiple numbers of slots in the radiating structure for uncertain applications. The coaxial feeding location has been selected based on the good impedance matching condition (50 Ohms). The overall dimension mentioned for antenna are approximately 50X50X1.6 mm on FR4 substrate and performance characteristic analysis is performed with change in substrate material presented in this work. Dual-band resonant frequency is being emitted by the antenna with resonance at 3.1 and 4.3 GHz for FR4 substrate material and change in the resonant bands is obtained with change in substrate. The proposed Antenna is prototyped on Anritsu VNA tool and presented the comparative analysis like VSWR 12%, reflection coefficient 9.4%,3D-Gain 6.2% and surface current 9.3% had been improved

EXPEDIENCY OF MARKERS FOR EARLY DETECTION OF ACUTE KIDNEY INJURY SEQUELAE TO TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS

ABSTRACTObjective: Estimation of Cystatin C (Cys C), traditional markers, inflammatory, and endothelial cell activation markers can identify subjects who areat increased risk for future acute kidney injury (AKI) after diabetes.Methods: A total of 210 subjects, having 70 subjects in each group between the age group of 45-75 years were enrolled in our study.Results: Body mass index (BMI), obesity index, waist circumference, and waist–hip ratio higher in Group III and Group II compared to Group I with asignificant p<0.001. All the biochemical parameters were significantly higher in Group III compared to Group I and Group II with a narrow differencebetween Group III and Group II. Serum Cys C was significantly correlated with creatinine and NO. Whereas serum creatinine (SCr) shows strongpositive correlation with BMI, fasting blood sugar, HbA1c, NO, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) andtriglycerides show inverse relation to creatinine with a significant p-value. The serum Cys C showed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.950 with acutoff value of 1.06, SCr with an AUC of 0.617, and eGFR with AUC of 0.588.Conclusion: Elevated levels of biomarker Cys C, SCr, and albumin-creatinine ratio are predictors of AKI in the setting of diabetes. Baseline inflammatoryand endothelial activation markers may also be useful for predicting future risk of AKI in diabetes mellitus. Hopefully, the advent of new biomarkerswill help defining the kidney at risk rather than relying simply on creatinine. To date, none of the new AKI biomarkers have undergone a similarrigorous assessment, but the current progress will hopefully lead to success and ultimately to improvement in patient outcome.Keywords: Type 2 diabetes mellitus, Acute kidney injury, Biomarkers, Inflammation, Endothelium

An NGO-Implemented Community-Clinic Health Worker Approach to Providing Long-Term Care for Hypertension in a Remote Region of Southern India.

Poor blood pressure control results in tremendous morbidity and mortality in India where the leading cause of death among adults is from coronary heart disease. Despite having little formal education, community health workers (CHWs) are integral to successful public health interventions in India and other low- and middle-income countries that have a shortage of trained health professionals. Training CHWs to screen for and manage chronic hypertension, with support from trained clinicians, offers an excellent opportunity for effecting systemwide change in hypertension-related burden of disease. In this article, we describe the development of a program that trained CHWs between 2014 and 2015 in the tribal region of the Sittilingi Valley in southern India, to identify hypertensive patients in the community, refer them for diagnosis and initial management in a physician-staffed clinic, and provide them with sustained lifestyle interventions and medications over multiple visits. We found that after 2 years, the CHWs had screened 7,176 people over age 18 for hypertension, 1,184 (16.5%) of whom were screened as hypertensive. Of the 1,184 patients screened as hypertensive, 898 (75.8%) had achieved blood pressure control, defined as a systolic blood pressure less than 140 and a diastolic blood pressure less than 90 sustained over 3 consecutive visits. While all of the 24 trained CHWs reported confidence in checking blood pressure with a manual blood pressure cuff, 4 of the 24 CHWs reported occasional difficulty documenting blood pressure values because they were unable to write numbers properly. They compensated by asking other CHWs or members of their community to help with documentation. Our experience and findings suggest that a CHW blood pressure screening system linked to a central clinic can be a promising avenue for improving hypertension control rates in low- and middle-income countries

Enrichment of Genetic Linkage Maps and Mapping QTLs Specific to Seed Strength-Hardness/Softness-In Guava (Psidium guajava L.)

The present research focuses mainly on molecular mining and morphological evaluation of guava genome within a full-sib population and, thereby, mapping of quantitative trait loci related to fruit quality traits, viz., seed strength (hardness/softness) and average fruit weight. Linkage maps were enriched for both parental lines, 'Kamsari' and 'Purple Local' using a set of 60 RAPD markers following the pseudo-testcross strategy on a panel of 94 progeny. A total of 480 scorable markers were identified, of which 131 were specific to 'kamsari' and 28 to 'Purple Local', segregating as test cross markers, and, 321 showing intercross pattern common to both. 'Kamsari' spanned a total length of 1959.1cM with average marker interval distance of 3.93cM, while 'Purple Local' spanned a length of 1537.9cM with average marker interval distance of 3.29cM, by forming 11 linkage groups. Estimated genome length observed was 93.02% and 92.77% in 'Kamsari' and 'Purple Local', respectively. Composite Interval Mapping (CIM) was computed at significance of 0.05 and LOD threshold greater than 3.0, which led to detection of one major QTL for the trait of average fruit weight, and, four QTLs for the trait of seed strength (hardness/softness). Of these, two were major and two minor QTLs. Our study provides molecular mapping information on marker-assisted selection for improvement of guava in a breeding program

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN MICROALBUMINURIA AND OXIDATIVE STRESS IN DIABETIC NEPHROPATHY

Objectives: Diabetic Nephropathy (DN) is a leading cause of chronic kidney disease and end stage renal failure worldwide. This study aimed to evaluate the association between oxidants, antioxidants and microalbuminuria in Diabetic Nephropathy compared with Type II Diabetes Mellitus (DM). Methods: The study includes 60 Type II Diabetes Mellitus and 40 Diabetic Nephropathy Patients. Parameters performed HbA1c, urea, creatinine, total proteins, microalbuminuria, glutathione peroxidase and malondialdehyde(MDA). Results: The levels of HbA1c, urea, creatinine, microalbuminuria and malondialdehyde are significantly higher in DN compared with Type II DM. the levels of T.P and glutathione peroxidase are decreased in DN compared with Type II DM. Conclusion: Low levels of glutathione peroxidase and total proteins were observed in DN. HbA1c, urea, creatinine, microalbuminuria and malondialdehyde levels were elevated in DN compared with Type II DM.KEYWORDS: Diabetic Nephropathy; Glutathione peroxidase; Microalbuminuria; Malondialdehyde

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN MICROALBUMINURIA AND OXIDATIVE STRESS IN DIABETIC NEPHROPATHY

Objectives: Diabetic Nephropathy (DN) is a leading cause of chronic kidney disease and end stage renal failure worldwide. This study aimed to evaluate the association between oxidants, antioxidants and microalbuminuria in Diabetic Nephropathy compared with Type II Diabetes Mellitus (DM). Methods: The study includes 60 Type II Diabetes Mellitus and 40 Diabetic Nephropathy Patients. Parameters performed HbA1c, urea, creatinine, total proteins, microalbuminuria, glutathione peroxidase and malondialdehyde(MDA). Results: The levels of HbA1c, urea, creatinine, microalbuminuria and malondialdehyde are significantly higher in DN compared with Type II DM. the levels of T.P and glutathione peroxidase are decreased in DN compared with Type II DM. Conclusion: Low levels of glutathione peroxidase and total proteins were observed in DN. HbA1c, urea, creatinine, microalbuminuria and malondialdehyde levels were elevated in DN compared with Type II DM.KEYWORDS: Diabetic Nephropathy; Glutathione peroxidase; Microalbuminuria; Malondialdehyde

SODIUM ALGINATE/GELATIN MICROBEADS-INTERCALATED WITH KAOLIN NANOCLAY FOR EMERGING DRUG DELIVERY IN WILSON’S DISEASE

Objective: The aim of the present study was to fabricate and evaluate the drug release studies using Sodium Alginate (SA) and Gelatin (GE) microbeads intercalated with Kaolin (KA) nanoclay for sustained release of D-Penicillamine (D-PA). Methods: Sodium alginate/gelatin/Kaolin blend microbeads were prepared by an extrusion method by using glutaraldehyde (GA) as a crosslinker. The obtained microbeads were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X–ray diffraction (XRD). Drug release kinetics of the microbeads was investigated in simulated intestinal fluid (pH 7.4) at 37 °C. Results: Microbeads formation was confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy. X-RD reveals that the KA should be intercalated with the drug and also it confirms the molecular level dispersion of D-Penicillamine into microbeads. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) studies reveal that the beads were in spherical shape with some wrinkled depressions on the surface. The in vitro release study indicates the D-Penicillamine released in a controlled manner. The in vitro release kinetics was assessed by Korsmeyer-Peppas equation and the ‘n’ value lies in between 0.557-0.693 indicates Non-Fickian diffusion process. Conclusion: The results suggest that the developed KA intercalated microbeads are good potential drug carrier for the controlled release of D-PA