Suicidality in young Asian women: the role of shame.

The literature addressing suicidal behaviour in young South Asian women is reviewed. Most published literature cites 'culture conflict' as a causal mechanism for the high rates of suicidal behaviour found in this group. Whilst this concept is undoubtedly of relevance, it is ill defined and does not propose a mechanism through which conflicting cultural roles may lead to suicidal ideation and behaviour. Recent research suggests a role for shame in the suicidal behaviour of young Asian women. A specific pathway is for the first time proposed in this study, by hypothesising that experiencing conflict between Western and South Asian cultures in terms of acceptable moral and social behaviour for women may lead to or at least contribute to suicidal behaviour through the cultural concepts of 'sharam' (shame) and 'izzat' (honour). The shame experienced is thought to relate more to a fear of shaming one's family and/or community, and thereby affecting family honour rather than to Western concepts of shame. Religion is examined as a moderating variable, as research suggests that Muslim women may be at lower risk of suicidality than South Asian women from other religious backgrounds in particular Hindu women. A hypothetical model is proposed linking culture conflict, shame and suicidal behaviour with religion moderating the effect of shame on suicidal behaviour

Successful Ayurvedic management of Hepatic Cirrhosis Complex with Ascites - A Case Study

Hepatic cirrhosis of liver is an inflammatory condition of the liver caused by various factors specially excessive alcohol consumption over an extended period of time. When alcohol gets processed in the liver, it produces highly toxic chemicals. These chemicals can fatally injure the liver cells. Normally the treatment is too much time consuming, difficult and inadequate Ayurvedic treatment serves as a promising different modality. In present study the case of alcoholic cirrhosis complicated with Ascites is presented. The patient was given Ayurvedic treatment with Vardhamana Pippali, Katuki Churna, Punarnavadi Kvatha, Bhrungaraja Panchanga Churna, Arogyavardhini Rasa, Mixture of Bhumyamalaki Panchanga Churna, Sharpunkha Mula Churna and Sveta Parpati. This treatment approach has improved condition of patient greatly by bringing hepatitis from Child-Pugh stage C to stage B with improvement in sign and symptoms as well as in ascetic condition

Ferromagnetic/III-V semiconductor heterostructures and magneto-electronic devices

The interface magnetic and electronic properties of two Fe/III-V semiconductor systems, namely Fe/GaAs and Fe/InAs, grown at room temperature have been studied. A "magnetic interface", which is essential for the fabrication of magneto-electronic (ME) devices, was realized in both Fe/GaAs and Fe/InAs systems with suitable substrate processing and growth conditions. Furthermore, Fe/InAs was shown to have favorable interface electronic properties as Fe forms a low resistance ohmic contact on InAs. Two prototypes of ME device based on Fe/InAs are also discussed

Hydrodynamic analysis of a low head prototype Francis turbine for establishing an optimum operating regime using CFD

Hydraulic turbines need to operate at regimes other than designed ones. Off-design functioning of these turbines yields an inefficient and uneconomical operation of hydro projects. Performance and energy losses at different possible operating conditions need to be evaluated before finalizing the design of water turbines for satisfactory operations. Moreover, hydraulic turbines are unique machines designed for unique set of operating conditions and cost a huge percentage of the overall cost of the project. This work is compiled with twofold objectives; derivation of complete performance characteristics of a 48m head prototype Francis turbine in order to establish an optimum operating regime and, determination and analyses of head loss at different components of the turbine. Steady state flow simulations for four different load operations (60%, 80%, 100% and 120%) have been carried out using computational fluid dynamics. It is found that the optimum regime of operation lies within the speed factor range of 0.412-0.48 along with discharge factor range of 0.27-0.329 and maximum efficiency is obtained as 90.64% at full load operation. Maximum head loss in critical components of the turbine such as runner and draft tube is found as 12.7% at speed factor of 0.568 and 26.31% at 0.202 speed factor respectively. Also, the maximum total head loss in all the components is found as 47.8% at 60% load and 0.609 speed factor. It is concluded that the functioning of the turbine at higher speed factors is more detrimental than that at lower speed factors. Requirement of performance improvement at off-design conditions (especially at 60% load operation) is also suggested in order to widen the range of optimum operating regime. Obtained computational results are validated with experimental results and a strong agreement is found between the two

Perturbative matching of staggered four-fermion operators with hypercubic fat links

We calculate the one-loop matching coefficients between continuum and lattice four-fermion operators for lattice operators constructed using staggered fermions and improved by the use of fattened links. In particular, we consider hypercubic fat links and SU(3) projected Fat-7 links, and their mean-field improved versions. We calculate only current-current diagrams, so that our results apply for operators whose flavor structure does not allow ``eye-diagrams''. We present general formulae, based on two independent approaches, and give numerical results for the cases in which the operators have the taste (staggered flavor) of the pseudo-Goldstone pion. We find that the one-loop corrections are reduced down to the 10-20% level, resolving the problem of large perturbative corrections for staggered fermion calculations of matrix elements.Comment: 37 pages, no figure, 20 table

PIK3CA mutation in HPV-associated OPSCC patients receiving deintensified chemoradiation

PIK3CA is the most frequently mutated gene in human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). Prognostic implications of such mutations remain unknown. We sought to elucidate the clinical significance of PIK3CA mutations in HPV-associated OPSCC patients treated with definitive chemoradiation (CRT). Seventyseven patients with HPV-associated OPSCC were enrolled on two phase II clinical trials of deintensified CRT (60 Gy intensitymodulated radiotherapy with concurrent weekly cisplatin). Targeted next-generation sequencing was performed. Of the 77 patients, nine had disease recurrence (two regional, four distant, three regional and distant). Thirty-four patients had mutation( s) identified; 16 had PIK3CA mutations. Patients with wild-type-PIK3CA had statistically significantly higher 3-year disease-free survival than PIK3CA-mutant patients (93.4%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 85.0% to 99.9% vs 68.8%, 95% CI = 26.7% to 89.8%; P=.004). On multivariate analysis, PIK3CA mutation was the only variable statistically significantly associated with disease recurrence (hazard ratio = 5.71, 95% CI = 1.53 to 21.3; P=.01). PIK3CA mutation is associated with worse diseasefree survival in a prospective cohort of newly diagnosed HPV-associated OPSCC patients treated with deintensified CRT

Academic Affiliation and Surgical Volume Predict Survival in Head and Neck Cancer Patients Receiving Surgery

Objective: To determine whether the academic affiliation or surgical volume affects the overall survival (OS) of human papillomavirus (HPV)–negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients receiving surgery. Methods: A retrospective study of 39 North Carolina Medical Centers was conducted. Treatment centers were classified as academic hospitals, community cancer centers, or community hospitals and were divided into thirds by volume. The primary outcome was 5-year OS. Hazard ratios (HR) were determined using Cox proportional hazard models, adjusting for demographics, tumor site, stage, insurance status, tobacco use, alcohol use, stage, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Patients were also stratified by stage (early stage and advanced stage). Results: Patients treated at community cancer centers had significantly better 5-year OS (HR 0.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.48–0.98), and patients treated at academic hospitals trended toward better 5-year OS (HR 0.72, 95% CI = 0.50–1.04) compared to patients treated at community hospitals. The effect for academic affiliation on survival was more pronounced for patients with advanced stage cancer at diagnosis (HR 0.60, 95% CI = 0.37–0.95). There were no significant survival differences among early stage patients by treatment center type. Top-third (HR = 0.64, 95% CI = 0.42–0.96) centers by surgical volume had significantly better 5-year OS, and middle-third (HR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.51–1.03) centers by volume trended toward better 5-year OS when compared to the bottom-third centers by volume. Conclusion: Patients treated at academic hospitals, community cancer centers, and hospitals in the top third by case volume have favorable survival for HPV-negative HNSCC. The effect for academic hospitals is most pronounced among advanced stage patients. Level of Evidence: 4 Laryngoscope, 131:E479–E488, 2021

A diagnostic PCR assay for the detection of an Australian epidemic strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Background Chronic lung infection with the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the hallmarks of cystic fibrosis (CF) and is associated with worsening lung function, increased hospitalisation and reduced life expectancy. A virulent clonal strain of P. aeruginosa (Australian epidemic strain I; AES-I) has been found to be widespread in CF patients in eastern Australia. Methods Suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) was employed to identify genetic sequences that are present in the AES-I strain but absent from the sequenced reference strain PAO1. We used PCR to evaluate the distribution of several of the AES-I loci amongst a collection of 188 P. aeruginosa isolates which was comprised of 35 AES-I isolates (as determined by PFGE), 78 non-AES-I CF isolates including other epidemic CF strains as well as 69 P. aeruginosa isolates from other clinical and environmental sources. Results We have identified a unique AES-I genetic locus that is present in all 35 AES-I isolates tested and not present in any of the other 153 P. aeruginosa strains examined. We have used this unique AES-I locus to develop a diagnostic PCR and a real-time PCR assay to detect the presence of P. aeruginosa and AES-I in patient sputum samples

Invasive Propionibacterium acnes infections in a non-selective patient cohort: clinical manifestations, management and outcome

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Purpose An increasing number of reports suggest that Propionibacterium acnes can cause serious invasive infections. Currently only limited data exist regarding the spectrum of invasive P. acnes infections. Methods Non-selective cohort study at a tertiary hospital in the UK over a nine-year-period (2003-2012) investigating clinical manifestations, risk factors, management and outcome of invasive P. acnes infections. Results Forty-nine cases were identified; the majority were neurosurgical infections and orthopaedic infections (n=28 and n=15, respectively). Only two cases had no predisposing factors; all neurosurgical and 93.3% of orthopaedic cases had a history of previous surgery and/or trauma. Foreign material was in situ at the infection site in 59.3% and 80.0% of neurosurgical and orthopaedic cases, respectively. All neurosurgical and orthopaedic cases required one or more surgical interventions to treat P. acnes infection, with or without concomitant antibiotic therapy; the duration of antibiotic therapy was significantly longer in the group of orthopaedic cases (median 53 versus 19 days; p=0.0025). All tested P. acnes isolates were susceptible to penicillin, ampicillin and chloramphenicol; only one was clindamycin-resistant. Conclusions Neurosurgical and orthopaedic infections account for the majority of invasive P. acnes infections. The majority of cases have predisposing factors, including previous surgery and/or trauma; spontaneous infections are rare. Foreign material is commonly present at the site of infection, indicating that the pathogenesis of invasive P. acnes infections likely involves biofilm formation. Since invasive P. acnes infections are associated with considerable morbidity, further studies are needed to establish effective prevention and optimal treatment strategies

CHO synthetic promoters improve expression and product quality of biotherapeutic proteins

When expressing complex biotherapeutic proteins, traditional expression plasmids and methods may not always yield sufficient levels of high-quality product. High-strength viral promoters commonly used for recombinant protein (rProtein) production in mammalian cells allow for maximal expression, but provide limited scope to alter their transcription dynamics. However, synthetic promoters designed to provide tunable transcriptional activity offer a plasmid engineering approach to more precisely regulate product quality, yield or to reduce product related contaminants. We substituted the viral promoter CMV with synthetic promoters that offer different transcriptional activities to express our gene of interest in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. Stable pools were established and the benefits of regulating transgene transcription on the quality of biotherapeutics were examined in stable pool fed-batch overgrow experiments. Specific control of gene expression of the heavy chain (HC):light chain (LC) of a Fab, and the ratio between the two HCs in a Duet mAb reduced levels of aberrant protein contaminants; and the controlled expression of the helper gene XBP-1s improved expression of a difficult-to-express mAb. This synthetic promoter technology benefits applications that require custom activity. Our work highlights the advantages of employing synthetic promoters for production of more complex rProteins