Post-September 11 discourse : the case of Iran in The New York Times.

This study examined how discursive strategies and related linguistic devices were employed by The New York Times (TNYT) to portray Iran after the terrorist attacks in the U.S. on September 11, 2001, and how the media representation may have contributed to negative and/or positive outcomes in terms of geopolitical relations. The study also investigated how sociopolitical assumptions were manifest in producing news about Iran and how the news discourse continued to shape the power relations between the nation and the U.S. in particular, and the world at large. Using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as a multidisciplinary approach, the analysis focused on 171 front-page TNYT news articles from 2001 until 2009. Analysis of the discursive strategies and linguistic means revealed that the news media depicted an overall negative picture of Iran after the September 11 or “9/11” attacks. The effect of this rather stereotypical construction of Iran in TNYT was that of the negative Other, a nation of people that formed part of George W. Bush’s contentious “axis of evil” thesis–malevolent, untrustworthy, violent, and a threat to world peace

An overview of focal approaches of critical discourse analysis

This article aims to present detailed accounts of central approaches to Critical Discourse Analysis. It focuses on the work of three prominent scholars such as Fairclough’s critical approach, Wodak’s discourse-historical approach and Van Dijk’s socio-cognitive approach. This study concludes that a combination of these three approaches can be useful to critical analysis of texts

Frequency of associated complications with colostomy reversal

Objective: The main aim of this study was to find the frequency of complications associated with colostomy reversal.Study Design: Retrospective studyPlace and duration of study: This study was carried out in surgical units of General Hospital Lahore in a duration of 9 months from February 2018 to October 2018.Materials and Methods: A total of 131 patients were included in this study who had undergone colostomy reversal. Prior to reversal of colostomy, patency of distil loop was checked with loopogram, Barium study and sigmoidoscopy. For preparing the bowel patient was kept on clear liquids two days prior to surgery and patient was kept NPO one day before the surgery and enema was used to clean the gut. Sufficient fluids were given to the patient to maintain adequate hydration and glucose balance. Colostomy reversal was done using vicryl. Patients were admitted in ward and post-operative complications were checked.Results: Among the 131 patients included in this study, 113(82.6%) were male. 21-40 years was the mean range in which 86 (65.6%) patients were included. Reversal after 3 months was done in around 98 (75%) of patients. 14 patients developed post-operative complications giving 10.6% morbidity.  Mortality rate was 0.76% as one patient died but this mortality was not related to complications of reversal but to the cardiac ischemia.Conclusion: Reversal of colostomy is usually not a safe operation having low mortality and morbidity

Proliferation dynamics of germinative zone cells in the intact and excitotoxically lesioned postnatal rat brain

BACKGROUND: The forebrain subventricular zone (SVZ)-olfactory bulb pathway and hippocampal subgranular zone (SGZ) generate neurons into adulthood in the mammalian brain. Neurogenesis increases after injury to the adult brain, but few studies examine the effect of injury on neural and glial precursors in the postnatal brain. To characterize the spatio-temporal dynamics of cell proliferation in the germinative zones, this study utilized a model of postnatal damage induced by NMDA injection in the right sensorimotor cortex at postnatal day 9. Dividing cell populations were labeled with 5-Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) in the intact and damaged postnatal brain. Identity of proliferating cells was determined by double immunolabeling with nestin, GFAP, NeuN and tomato lectin (TL). RESULTS: In the control brain, grouped BrdU+ cells were observed in the Rostral Migratory Stream (RMS), SVZ and SGZ. Maximal proliferation was seen at P12, persisted until P23 and diminished by P49. After injury, a striking reduction in the number of BrdU+ cells was observed in the ipsilateral SVZ from 10 hours (58% decrease) until 14 days post-lesion (88% decrease). In contrast, an increase in grouped BrdU+ cells was seen in the striatum adjacent to the depleted SVZ. Significantly reduced numbers of BrdU+ cells were also seen in the RMS until 3 days post-lesion. No changes were noted in the SGZ. Both in controls and lesioned hemispheres, BrdU+ cells located in the germinal zones were mostly nestin positive and negative for GFAP, NeuN, and TL. In the SVZ area lining the ventricle, BrdU+/nestin+ cells were mainly located between TL+ ependyma and parenchymal GFAP+ astrocytes. After excitotoxicity, a decrease in the number and orientation of GFAP/nestin+ prolongations leaving the SVZ to the cortex, corpus callosum and striatum was noted until 5 days post-lesion. CONCLUSION: Postnatal excitotoxic injury differentially affects proliferating cells in the germinative zones: no change is observed in the dentate gyrus whereas excitotoxicity causes a significant decrease in proliferating cells in the SVZ and RMS. Depletion of BrdU+ cells in the postnatal SVZ and RMS differs from previous studies after adult brain injury and may affect the SVZ-RMS migration and is suggestive of progenitor recruitment to injured areas

Defining cell populations with single-cell gene expression profiling: correlations and identification of astrocyte subpopulations

Single-cell gene expression levels show substantial variations among cells in seemingly homogenous populations. Astrocytes perform many control and regulatory functions in the central nervous system. In contrast to neurons, we have limited knowledge about functional diversity of astrocytes and its molecular basis. To study astrocyte heterogeneity and stem/progenitor cell properties of astrocytes, we used single-cell gene expression profiling in primary mouse astrocytes and dissociated mouse neurosphere cells. The transcript number variability for astrocytes showed lognormal features and revealed that cells in primary cultures to a large extent co-express markers of astrocytes and neural stem/progenitor cells. We show how subpopulations of cells can be identified at single-cell level using unsupervised algorithms and that gene correlations can be used to identify differences in activity of important transcriptional pathways. We identified two subpopulations of astrocytes with distinct gene expression profiles. One had an expression profile very similar to that of neurosphere cells, whereas the other showed characteristics of activated astrocytes in vivo

The Effect of Energy Drink on Histomorphological Changes in Skeletal Muscles of Wistar Albino Rats

Objective: To observe the histomorphological alterations induced by consumption of energy drinks on skeletal muscles of Albino rats. Study Design:An experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted by the Department of Anatomy in collaboration with the animal house of Liaquat national hospital and medical college (LNH&MC), Karachi from November 2 to December 1 2020. Materials and Methods: For the study, 30 adult male Wistar Albino rats weighing between 140 and 200 grammes were allocated evenly into 3 groups. Group A served as control, kept on a regular laboratory diet. Group B served as a low dose treated group receiving energy drink at a dose of 7.5ml/day while group C received a high dose of drink i-e 15ml/day via gastric tube. All the animals were sacrificed following completion of the experimental period and were subjected to microscopic examination for histo-morphological study. Data was analyzed by using SPSS version 25. Results: The Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) stained sections revealed significant structural and parenchymal damage in skeletal muscle tissue. The regular parallel arrangement of skeletal muscle fibers was lost with the disappearance of nuclei. Dilated and congested blood vessels were observed in the treated tissues. Infiltration of mononuclear cells was also observed suggesting the inflammatory changes in the tissues of animals treated with caffeinated beverages in the present study. Conclusion: The consumption of energy drinks produces a significant histo-morphological alteration in the skeletal muscles of Wistar Albino rat

Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase expression in the postnatal rat brain following an excitotoxic injury

BACKGROUND: In the nervous system, as in other organs, Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn SOD) is a key antioxidant enzyme involved in superoxide detoxification in normal cellular metabolism and after cell injury. Although it has been suggested that immature brain has a different susceptibility to oxidative damage than adult brain, the distribution and cell-specific expression of this enzyme in immature brain and after postnatal brain damage has not been documented. METHODS: In this study, we used immunohistochemistry and western blot to analyze the expression of Cu/Zn SOD in intact immature rat brain and in immature rat brain after an NMDA-induced excitotoxic cortical injury performed at postnatal day 9. Double immunofluorescence labelling was used to identify Cu/Zn SOD-expressing cell populations. RESULTS: In intact immature brain, Cu/Zn SOD enzyme was widely expressed at high levels in neurons mainly located in cortical layers II, III and V, in the sub-plate, in the pyriform cortex, in the hippocampus, and in the hypothalamus. Glial fibrillary acidic protein-positive cells only showed Cu/Zn SOD expression in the glia limitans and in scattered cells of the ventricle walls. No expression was detected in interfascicular oligodendroglia, microglia or endothelial cells. Following excitotoxic damage, neuronal Cu/Zn SOD was rapidly downregulated (over 2–4 hours) at the injection site before neurodegeneration signals and TUNEL staining were observed. Later, from 1 day post-lesion onward, an upregulation of Cu/Zn SOD was found due to increased expression in astroglia. A further increase was observed at 3, 5 and 7 days that corresponded to extensive induction of Cu/Zn SOD in highly reactive astrocytes and in the astroglial scar. CONCLUSION: We show here that, in the intact immature brain, the expression of Cu/Zn SOD was mainly found in neurons. When damage occurs, a strong and very rapid downregulation of this enzyme precedes neuronal degeneration, and is followed by an upregulation of Cu/Zn SOD in astroglial cells

Attenuation of Reactive Gliosis Does Not Affect Infarct Volume in Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Injury in Mice

Astroglial cells are activated following injury and up-regulate the expression of the intermediate filament proteins glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and vimentin. Adult mice lacking the intermediate filament proteins GFAP and vimentin (GFAP(-/-)Vim(-/-)) show attenuated reactive gliosis, reduced glial scar formation and improved regeneration of neuronal synapses after neurotrauma. GFAP(-/-)Vim(-/-) mice exhibit larger brain infarcts after middle cerebral artery occlusion suggesting protective role of reactive gliosis after adult focal brain ischemia. However, the role of astrocyte activation and reactive gliosis in the injured developing brain is unknown.We subjected GFAP(-/-)Vim(-/-) and wild-type mice to unilateral hypoxia-ischemia (HI) at postnatal day 9 (P9). Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU; 25 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally twice daily from P9 to P12. On P12 and P31, the animals were perfused intracardially. Immunohistochemistry with MAP-2, BrdU, NeuN, and S100 antibodies was performed on coronal sections. We found no difference in the hemisphere or infarct volume between GFAP(-/-)Vim(-/-) and wild-type mice at P12 and P31, i.e. 3 and 22 days after HI. At P31, the number of NeuN(+) neurons in the ischemic and contralateral hemisphere was comparable between GFAP(-/-)Vim(-/-) and wild-type mice. In wild-type mice, the number of S100(+) astrocytes was lower in the ipsilateral compared to contralateral hemisphere (65.0+/-50.1 vs. 85.6+/-34.0, p<0.05). In the GFAP(-/-)Vim(-/-) mice, the number of S100(+) astrocytes did not differ between the ischemic and contralateral hemisphere at P31. At P31, GFAP(-/-)Vim(-/-) mice showed an increase in NeuN(+)BrdU(+) (surviving newly born) neurons in the ischemic cortex compared to wild-type mice (6.7+/-7.7; n = 29 versus 2.9+/-3.6; n = 28, respectively, p<0.05), but a comparable number of S100(+)BrdU(+) (surviving newly born) astrocytes.Our results suggest that attenuation of reactive gliosis in the developing brain does not affect the hemisphere or infarct volume after HI, but increases the number of surviving newborn neurons

Indoor air quality (IAQ) in a naval ship after refit program: a time variation analysis

Refurbishments of the ship's external and internal structures are the main scopes of a refit program. These activities may affect the indoor air quality (IAQ) inside ships and increase the indoor air pollutants (IAP) concentrations onboard. Therefore, continuous IAQ monitoring is needed to determine IAP exposure to the ship's crew. This study evaluates the changes in IAQ conditions inside a naval ship over a two-time interval to determine the effect of compliance with the recommended engineering control measures proposed in the first assessment. Following the standard of the Industry Code of Practice on Indoor Air Quality 2010 (ICOP on IAQ 2010), seven IAQ parameters (temperature, relative humidity (RH), carbon dioxide (CO2), respirable particulates/particulate matter (PM10), total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), bacterial count, and fungal count) were measured in two assessment phases. The first phase was conducted after the ship completed the refit program, and the second phase began three months later, following the execution of the recommended engineering control measures. According to the findings of this study, all IAQ parameters improved when compared to the first phase assessment. However, some of the readings were still non-compliance with the standards of ICOP on IAQ 2010. In conclusion, the ship's IAQ parameters were improved following the recommended engineering control measures, although more enhanced approaches were required to ensure all parameters complied with the ICOP on IAQ 2010

Interstitial Lung Abnormalities After Hospitalization for Covid-19 in Patients With Cancer: A Prospective Cohort Study

INTRODUCTION: Survivors of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia often develop persistent respiratory symptom and interstitial lung abnormalities (ILAs) after infection. Risk factors for ILA development and duration of ILA persistence after SARS-CoV-2 infection are not well described in immunocompromised hosts, such as cancer patients. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study of 95 patients at a major cancer center and 45 patients at a tertiary referral center. We collected clinical and radiographic data during the index hospitalization for COVID-19 pneumonia and measured pneumonia severity using a semi-quantitative radiographic score, the Radiologic Severity Index (RSI). Patients were evaluated in post-COVID-19 clinics at 3 and 6 months after discharge and underwent comprehensive pulmonary evaluations (symptom assessment, chest computed tomography, pulmonary function tests, 6-min walk test). The association of clinical and radiological factors with ILAs at 3 and 6 months post-discharge was measured using univariable and multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: Sixty-six (70%) patients of cancer cohort had ILAs at 3 months, of whom 39 had persistent respiratory symptoms. Twenty-four (26%) patients had persistent ILA at 6 months after hospital discharge. In adjusted models, higher peak RSI at admission was associated with ILAs at 3 (OR 1.5 per 5-point increase, 95% CI 1.1-1.9) and 6 months (OR 1.3 per 5-point increase, 95% CI 1.1-1.6) post-discharge. Fibrotic ILAs (reticulation, traction bronchiectasis, and architectural distortion) were more common at 6 months post-discharge. CONCLUSIONS: Post-COVID-19 ILAs are common in cancer patients 3 months after hospital discharge, and peak RSI and older age are strong predictors of persistent ILAs