Ang Dalumat ng Lugar sa Panahon ng Pandemya: Isang Kritikal na Pagsusuri sa Imahen ng Lungsod at ng Probinsiya sa Konteksto ng mga Panitikang Ilokano at Cebuano

Noon, ang galaw o migrasyon ng mga tao ay papunta sa siyudad sapagkat may dati nang paniniwala o nosyon ang mga Pilipino na higit na makatatagpo ng mas magandang buhay ang pagluwas dito kaya’t pinipiling lisanin ang pinagmulang probinsiya. Tinalakay ni Lilian Tragger sa kaniyang pag-aaral ang ganitong migrasyon ng mga tao at matatagpuan naman sa pagsusuri ni Gerard Delanty sa normatibo at kritikal na kosmopolitanismo ang ganitong pananaw sa mga lungsod. May umiiral nang pagtingin sa siyudad bilang lugar ng kaunlaran at kalakasan samantalang lugar ng kahinaan at kahirapan ang sa probinsiya. Ngunit sa kasalukuyan, dahil sa mga pangyayaring bitbit ng COVID-19, may nagaganap na komprehensibong pagbabaliktad ng ganitong imahen o relasyon ng siyudad at probinsiya, o ng rural at urban. Kung kaya, nilalayon ng papel na ito na suriin at siyasatin ang ganoong mga pagbabaliktad ng imahen ng siyudad at probinsiya sa konteksto ng mga panitikang Ilokano at Cebuano. Sa ganoong pagsusuri, matutunghayan dito kung paanong dahil sa pandemyang dumating sa bansa ay nagiging lundayan ng kaligtasan ang mga probinsiya na dating tinitingnan bilang atrasado, at nagiging lugar ng kapahamakan ang mga lungsod, na dating tinitingnan bilang nakauungos. Babalikan dito ang napakalalim na kasaysayan ng pagbuo ng gayong imahen ng lugar na nalikha na sa panitikang Ilokano noon pa lamang na nagpasimula ang paglilimbag ng kanilang mga kauna-unahang tula. Ngunit kasabay ng ganoong pagtingin, makikita rin kung paanong nagkakaroon ng lamat sa kamalayan ng mga umuuwi sa probinsiya mula sa lungsod sapagkat sa halip na kapanatagan ay nakararanas ng diskriminasyon. Sa pagsasakonteksto sa panitikang Cebuano, higit na masisiyasat kung paanong nagtatamo ng mga ganoong hindi inaasahang pagbabaliktad ang mga umuuwi sa kanilang lugar at kung paanong nagbabago ang gayong mga imahen ng probinsiya at lungsod sa ating pagmamalay sa panahon ng pandemya.unang ipinasa: 6 Nobyembre 2020tinanggap para sa publikasyon: 5 Disyembre 202

Effects of Different Soil Amendments on Mixed Heavy Metals Contamination in Vetiver Grass

Three different types of low cost soil amendments, namely, EDTA, elemental S and N-fertilizer, were investigated with Vetiver grass, Vetiveria zizanioides (Linn.) Nash growing under highly mixed Cd–Pb contamination conditions. A significant increase (p \u3c 0.05) in Cd and Pb accumulation were recorded in the shoots of all EDTA and N-fertilizer assisted treatments. The accumulation of Cd in 25 mmol EDTA/kg soil and 300 mmol N/kg soil showed relatively higher translocation factor (1.72 and 2.15) and percentage metal efficacy (63.25 % and 68.22 %), respectively, compared to other treatments. However, it was observed that the increased application of elemental S may inhibit the availability of Pb translocation from soil-to-root and root-to-shoot. The study suggests that viable application of 25 mmol EDTA/kg, 300 mmol N/kg and 20 mmol S/kg soil have the potential to be used for soil amendment with Vetiver grass growing under contaminated mixed Cd–Pb soil conditions

Development and Validation of UPLC-MS/MS Method for Rapid Simultaneous Determination of Levothyroxine and Liothyronine in Human Serum

A simple ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was developed and fully validated to simultaneously determine levothyroxine (LT4) and liothyronine (LT3) in human serum. Sample preparation was done through protein precipitation with acetonitrile. HyPURITY C18 column was selected to achieve rapid separation for LT4 and LT3 within 4 min. Electrospray ionization (ESI) under multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) was used to monitor the ion transitions for LT4 (m/z 777.54→731.52), LT3 (m/z 651.64→ 605.65) and internal standard LT4-D3 (m/z 780.53 →734.19), operating in the positive ion mode. The method was proved to be accurate (82.35% to 113.56%) and precise (0.73% to 8.28%) over concentration range of 50.37 ng/ml – 300.13 ng/ml for LT4 and 0.5 ng/ml – 50.37 ng/ml for LT3. The validated method could be applied for pharmacokinetic study or bioequivalence testing of combination products of LT4 and LT3. Keywords: Levothyroxine; Liothyronine; Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatographic; Mass Spectrometry; Human Seru

Quantification of neurodegeneration by measurement of brain-specific proteins

Quantification of neurodegeneration in animal models is typically assessed by time-consuming and observer-dependent immunocytochemistry. This study aimed to investigate if newly developed ELISA techniques could provide an observer-independent, cost-effective and time-saving tool for this purpose. Neurofilament heavy chain (NfH(SM135)), astrocytic glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), S100B and ferritin, markers of axonal loss, gliosis, astrocyte activation and microglial activation, respectively, were quantified in the spinal cord homogenates of mice with chronic relapsing experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (CREAE, n=8) and controls (n=7). Levels of GFAP were found to be threefold elevated in CREAE (13 ng/mg protein) when compared to control animals (4.5 ng/mg protein, p<0.001). The inverse was observed for NfH(SM135) (21 ng/mg protein vs. 63 ng/mg protein, p<0.001), ferritin (542 ng/mg protein vs. 858 ng/mg protein, p<0.001) and S100B (786 ng/mg protein vs. 2080 ng/mg protein, N.S.). These findings were confirmed by immunocytochemistry, which demonstrated intense staining for GFAP and decreased staining for NfH(SM135) in CREAE compared to control animals. These findings indicate that axonal loss and gliosis can be estimated biochemically using the newly developed ELISA assays for NfH(SM135) and GFAP. These assays may facilitate the quantification of pathological features involved in neurodegeneration

A paperfluidic platform to detect Neisseria gonorrhoeae in clinical samples

Globally, the microbe Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) causes 106 million newly documented sexually transmitted infections each year. Once appropriately diagnosed, NG infections can be readily treated with antibiotics, but high-risk patients often do not return to the clinic for treatment if results are not provided at the point of care. A rapid, sensitive molecular diagnostic would help increase NG treatment and reduce the prevalence of this sexually transmitted disease. Here, we report on the design and development of a rapid, highly sensitive, paperfluidic device for point-of-care diagnosis of NG. The device integrates patient swab sample lysis, nucleic acid extraction, thermophilic helicase-dependent amplification (tHDA), an internal amplification control (NGIC), and visual lateral flow detection within an 80 min run time. Limits of NG detection for the NG/NGIC multiplex tHDA assay were determined within the device, and clinical performance was validated retroactively against qPCR-quantified patient samples in a proof-of-concept study. This paperfluidic diagnostic has a clinically relevant limit of detection of 500 NG cells per device with analytical sensitivity down to 10 NG cells per device. In triplicate testing of 40 total urethral and vaginal swab samples, the device had 95% overall sensitivity and 100% specificity, approaching current laboratory-based molecular NG diagnostics. This diagnostic platform could increase access to accurate NG diagnoses to those most in need.This work was funded by the National Institute of Health National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases award number R01 AI113927 to Boston University and the NIH National Institute of Biomedical and Bioengineering award number U54 EB007958 to Johns Hopkins University. (R01 AI113927 - National Institute of Health National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; U54 EB007958 - NIH National Institute of Biomedical and Bioengineering)Accepted manuscrip

Analyse contextuelle pour un projet de numérisation des archives du Service du développement territorial de l'Etat de Vaud

La Division Hors zone à bâtir arrive actuellement à saturation des espaces de stockage de ses archives. De plus, en 2018, tout le service va être déménagé. L’implémentation d’un référentiel documentaire pour la gestion et le stockage des documents électroniques est prévue pour 2020. Durant cette période transitoire, la division a rapidement besoin de numériser ses documents et de passer à la dématérialisation de ses processus métiers. Ces dossiers doivent pouvoir être stockés dans un environnement facile d’accès et sécurisé. Relatifs aux demandes de construction et d’installations sur des terrains hors des zones à bâtir, ils doivent être conservés depuis 1972. Le tout doit être en adéquation avec la législation pour que les documents numériques aient la même valeur de preuve que les documents papier. A noter également que le secrétariat de la division fait face à une réorganisation de ses tâches. Ainsi un état de l’art a été fait en interne et auprès des autres organisations cantonales concernant les demandes de permis de construire. Cette étude a permis de mettre en lumière les différentes pratiques en vigueur au sein de ces institutions, ainsi que leurs lacunes. Etudier la législation et les normes en vigueur est une partie importante du travail. De plus, un processus de base de la numérisation a été exposé avec les différents scénarios qui s’offrent à la division. Tous les outils nécessaires à la gestion, la numérisation et la dématérialisation sont décrits. De ce fait, un scénario en particulier se distingue afin de procéder à une numérisation des documents d’archives de la division. Cela pourra se faire au fur et à mesure selon les besoins des collaborateurs de la Division HZB. Ce processus est conforme aux exigences de la conservation à valeur de preuve sur le long terme en lien avec la dématérialisation. Cela est possible grâce à l’intégration d’un certain nombre d’outils, de matériel et de logiciels adéquats. De plus, pour la phase transitoire, s’ajoute le fait de pouvoir s’assurer, auprès de la Direction des systèmes d’informations de l’Etat de Vaud, que les documents numériques soient en sécurité. Tous ces éléments assurent un stockage des documents électroniques sur le long terme, pour préserver leur intégrité et leur conformité aux originaux papiers. Ils permettent d’être en adéquation avec le futur système de gestion et de stockage des documents électroniques de la Direction des systèmes d’information prévu pour 2020, ainsi que le système d’archivage électronique à venir des Archives cantonales vaudoises

Utility of recombinant human TSH stimulation test in the follow-up of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer depending on basal thyroglobulin results

Background: Thyroglobulin (Tg) is fundamental for differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) monitoring. Tg detection can be enhanced using recombinant human thyroidstimulating hormone (TSH) (rhTSH). This study is aimed to evaluate the use of the rhTSH stimulation test when using a high-sensitivity Tg assay. Methods: We retrospectively studied 181 rhTSH tests from 114 patients with DTC and negative for antithyroglobulin antibodies (anti-TgAb). Image studies were performed in all cases. Serum Tg and anti-TgAb were measured using specific immunoassays. Results: rhTSH stimulation in patients with basal serum Tg (b-Tg) concentrations lower than 0.2 ng/mL always resulted in rhTSH-stimulated serum Tg (s-Tg) concentrations lower than 1.0 ng/mL and negative structural disease. In patients with bTg concentration between 0.2 and 1.0 ng/mL, s-Tg detected one patient (1/30) who showed biochemical incomplete response. Patients with negative images had lower s-Tg than thosewith nonspecific or abnormal findings (p<0.05).Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis of the s-Tg to detect altered images showed an area under the curve of 0.763 (p<0.05).With an s-Tg cutoff of 0.85 ng/mL, the sensitivity was 100%, decreasing to 96.15% with an s-Tg cutoff of 2 ng/mL. Conclusions: Patients with DTC with b-Tg concentrations equal or higher than 0.2 ng/mL can benefit from the rhTSH stimulation test

Activity of 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase associated with progesterone production in bovine granulosa cells cultured under different concentrations of serum, insulin-like growth factor I, and gonadotropin

Three-β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3β-HSD) is the enzyme responsible for progesterone production. This study aimed to determine whether 3β-HSD activity can be shown to reflect progesterone production by granulosa cells cultured under different serum conditions and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinising hormone (LH), and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) concentrations. Large bovine follicles were dissected from abattoir ovaries to recover granulosa cells. Cells were washed, stained for viability, and plated for 48 h in basic medium with or without 5% foetal calf serum (FCS). Subsequently, cells were exposed to FSH (1 ng/mL), LH (10 or 100 ng/mL), or FSH (1 ng/mL) + IGF-I (1 or 10 ng/mL) in a serum-free medium for another 96 h to predict degree of luteinisation. Before and after incubation, granulosa cells were stained for 3β-HSD activity. The high dose of IGF-I (10 ng/mL) increased (P &#60; 0.05) progesterone secretion over 2.5-fold compared with FSH alone or the low dose of IGF-I (1 ng/mL) in cells preincubated with FCS. This was clearly reflected by darker 3β-HSD staining than in cells exposed to FSH and low dose IGF-I