REPRODUCTIVE EFFICIENCY OF JERSEY COWS UNDER SUBTROPICAL CONDITIONS OF THE PUNJAB

Various parameters of reproductive efficiency of Jersey cows kept at the Livestock Experiment Station, Bhunikey (Pattoki), District Kasur, for the period from 1991 to 2000 were studied. The average values of age at maturity and age at first calving were 615.48 ± 8.23 and 926.48 ± 10.29 days, respectively and the differences of these parameters during different seasons of birth were statistically non-significant. The average calving to first insemination interval, service period and calving interval were 86.65 ± 1.71, 152.66 ± 4.85 and 430.15 ± 4.87 days, respectively. The differences of calving to first insemination interval among cows calved during different seasons were statistically non-significant. But the differences of calving to first insemination interval during 1st lactation were significant (P<0.05) with those of 6th, 7th and 9th lactations. Service period and calving interval in the Jersey cows calved during humid hot season were significantly (P<0.05) shorter as compared to those of cows calved during dry hot and spring seasons. Effect of parity on the service period was non-significant, but the effect of parity on the calving interval was significant (P<0.05), when the difference of calving interval during 7th and 8th lactation was compared. The average number of services per conception was 2.81 ± 0.09. The effect of parity on the number of services per conception was significant (P<0.05). The average gestation period was 277.63 ± 0.21 days. Higher gestation period was observed in cows carrying male calves than those carrying female calves (P<0.05). The frequency of calvings during winter, spring, dry hot, humid hot and autumn seasons was 19.32, 19.20, 9.79, 33.25 and 18.44 percent, respectively

Mangiferin: A Promising Anticancer Bioactive

Of late, several biologically active antioxidants from natural products have been investigated by the researchers in order to combat the root cause of carcinogenesis, i.e., oxidative stress. Mangiferin, a therapeutically active C-glucosylated xanthone, is extracted from pulp, peel, seed, bark and leaf of Mangifera indica. These polyphenols of mangiferin exhibit antioxidant properties and tend to decrease the oxygen-free radicals, thereby reducing the DNA damage. Indeed, its capability to modulate several key inflammatory pathways undoubtedly helps in stalling the progression of carcinogenesis. The current review article emphasizes an updated account on the patents published on the chemopreventive action of Mangiferin, apoptosis induction made on various cancer cells, along with proposed antioxidative activities and patent mapping of other important therapeutic properties. Considering it as promising polyphenol, this paper would also summarize the diverse molecular targets of Mangiferin

Water-pipe smoking and albuminuria: new dog with old tricks

Water-pipe (WP) smoking is on rise worldwide for the past few years, particularly among younger individuals. Growing evidence indicates that WP smoking is as harmful as cigarette smoking. To date, most of the research has focused on acute health effects of WP smoking, and evidence remains limited when it comes to chronic health effects in relation to long-term WP smoking. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the association between WP smoking and albuminuria in apparently healthy individuals. This analysis was conducted on data of a population-based cross-sectional study—the Urban Rural Chronic Diseases Study (URCDS). The study sample was recruited from three sites in Pakistan. Trained nurses carried out individual interviews and obtained the information on demographics, lifestyle factors, and past and current medical history. Measurements of complete blood count, lipid profile, fasting glucose level, and 24-hour albuminuria were also made by using blood and urine samples. Albumin excretion was classified into three categories using standard cut-offs: normal excretion, high-normal excretion and microalbuminuria. Multiple logistic regression models were used to examine the relationship between WP smoking and albuminuria. The final analysis included data from 1,626 health individuals, of which 829 (51.0%) were males and 797 (49.0%) females. Of 1,626 individuals, 267 (16.4%) were current WP smokers and 1,359 (83.6%) were non-WP smokers. WP smoking was significantly associated with high-normal albuminuria (OR = 2.33, 95% CI 1.68-3.22, p-value &#60;0.001) and microalbuminuria (OR = 1.75, 95% CI 1.18-2.58, p-value 0.005) after adjustment for age, sex, BMI, social class, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus. WP smoking was significantly associated with high-normal albuminuria and microalbuminuria when analysis was stratified on hypertension and diabetes mellitus categories. WP smoking has a strong association with albuminuria in apparently healthy individuals. More research is warranted to evaluate the temporality of this association between WP smoking and albuminuria

Ruppeiner Geometry of Anyon Gas

We derive the thermodynamic curvature of a two dimensional ideal anyon gas of particles obeying fractional statistics. The statistical interactions of anyon gas can be attractive or repulsive. For attractive statistical interactions, thermodynamic curvature is positive and for repulsive statistical interactions, it is negative, which indicates a more stable anyon gas. There is a special case between the two where the thermodynamic curvature is zero. Small deviations from the classical limit will also be explored.Comment: 12 page

Implementasi Pengelolaan Sumber Daya Laut Nasional terhadap Kebijakan Pemerintah Provinsi Kepulauan Riau

Riau Islands Province is an island-based region consisting of a group of islands. The Province has a very strategic geographic location due to bordering the neighboring countries in Southeast Asia, viz. Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Vietnam. It is different from other an Island-based province, in which it lies in the hub areas of Malacca Strait. It shows that the Province is an important location to trade from America, Europe, and Asia, in addition to a plenty of marine resources that will potentially maximize local government's revenue and prosper society in the province. However, such marine resources have not been well-managed by the&nbsp;local government by which in 2013 the figure shows poverty rate remains high. The decline of poverty rate counts only in urban areas where they do not lie in submarine areas, but the poverty has increased and could not be well-resolved. It asserts that the Government of Riau Islands has not maximized local powers to resolve poverty problems in the region. Keywords: Policy, Local Government, National Marine Resource

Prevalence of Muscle Dysmorphia and Associated Health Activities in Male Medical Students in Karachi, Pakistan

Background: Muscle Dysmorphia (MD) is a subtype of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and is currently classified under anxiety disorders (subheading: Obsessive-compulsive disorder) in DSM 5. MD is hypothesized to affect the self-esteem and social outlook of the younger generation. MD shows a higher rate in males and may influence their self-confidence rendering them more prone towards using steroids, supplementary proteins and other drugs to alter their physical outlooks as shown in previous studies. This problem has been on the rise lately due to revolutionary advancement in the media and film industry and the abrupt changes about the standards of physical good looks and body shapes. With the lack of studies done in our population, our study will be helpful to consider the prevalence of the disease in our setting and increase awareness in the general public and clinicians. We hope to help clinicians/ therapists find better options in managing the disease. Materials: We performed a cross-sectional study with a sample size of 246 medical school students in Karachi to collect data through self-administered questionnaires. We used the DSM 5 criteria for the diagnosis of BDD and additional questions on the presence of MD. Nutritional habits, exercise routines, use of supplements and drugs were also obtained for exploratory analysis. Results: Our study predicted the prevalence of MD to be 25%. Other main findings included statistical significant associations between MD and the thoughts and practice of steroid use for muscularity. Conclusion: MD is an underdiagnosed and often unrecognized disease that we believe has significant consequences for the young male population. Further work is needed on this in our part of the world. Our research, we believe, can be a stepping stone for further studies that would incorporate wider populations

Analysis of neuro-theatre utilisation and reasons for cancellation to improve efficiency and productivity

Aim: In neurosurgery, much emphasis has recently been placed on theatre cancellation and time utilization as a key hospital management performance indicator. We sought to evaluate our unit’s theatre throughput efficiency, and identify the causes of elective surgery cancellations. Methods: We retrospectively audited all scheduled elective neurosurgical procedures over a period of 9 months. Results: Mean theatre utilization time was 47.0%. The common causes of cancellations were lack of theatre time (32%), non-availability of beds in recovery room (18.6%), and insufficient preoperative patient preparation (5.5%). Discussion: Inefficiencies were noted in turnover of patients and inaccurate prediction of operative time. Our theatre utilization time is consistent with available literature, however cancellations of elective surgery waste valuable operative time and resources. Conclusions: A multi- dimensional approach must be taken to improve theatre utilization and reduce cancellation rates. A pre-assessment clinic has been introduced in order to reduce cancellation rates

Tales from the playing field: black and minority ethnic students' experiences of physical education teacher education

This article presents findings from recent research exploring black and minority ethnic (BME) students’ experiences of Physical Education teacher education (PETE) in England (Flintoff, 2008). Despite policy initiatives to increase the ethnic diversity of teacher education cohorts, BME students are under-represented in PETE, making up just 2.94% of the 2007/8 national cohort, the year in which this research was conducted. Drawing on in-depth interviews and questionnaires with 25 BME students in PETE, the study sought to contribute to our limited knowledge and understanding of racial and ethnic difference in PE, and to show how ‘race,’ ethnicity and gender are interwoven in individuals’ embodied, everyday experiences of learning how to teach. In the article, two narratives in the form of fictional stories are used to present the findings. I suggest that narratives can be useful for engaging with the experiences of those previously silenced or ignored within Physical Education (PE); they are also designed to provoke an emotional as well as an intellectual response in the reader. Given that teacher education is a place where we should be engaging students, emotionally and politically, to think deeply about teaching, education and social justice and their place within these, I suggest that such stories of difference might have a useful place within a critical PETE pedagogy