Understanding Epilepsy Among Parents Through an Educative Blog-A Novel Method

INTRODUCTION: Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by the risk of recurrent seizures. Individuals are still socially discriminated due to misunderstandings by widespread negative attitudes and defensive behavior. AIM: To assess the knowledge among parents regarding epilepsy and to eradicate the myths associated with using a blog.MATERIALS AND METHOD: A blog was created with elaborate information regarding Epilepsy.50 parents of children with history of Epilepsy were included for the study. The parents of the children were given the link to the blog and were asked to go through it and express their views and responses. Later the parents were educated and doubts/queries were clarified.RESULTS: About 40 parents were willing to go through the blog. The other 10 though reluctant went through the blog after making them realize the need to have knowledge about epilepsy. Among 50 parents, around 30 parents refused to believe that it was a form of epilepsy/fits and discontinued the medication without Physician’s consent. Around 45 parents believed that giving metal objects helped in treating seizures. Also 40 parents believed strongly that Febrile seizures was not a form of seizures and did not require treatment. 20 parents had discontinued the medication on their own after a few months.CONCLUSION: In our study we found lack of knowledge regarding Epilepsy and the different variants of epilepsy. Also, parents strongly believed in the myths and hence did not consult a doctor. Most parents assumed Epilepsy to be a neurologic disorder and that it required psychiatric help. This study made an attempt to educate people regarding epilepsy in detail by the means of an educative blog

Fluxes of heat and momentum over sea surface during the passage of ε depression in the north Bay of Bengal

Tims variation of surface Fluxes of heat, moisture and momentum over a sea station (20:N89E) in the norm Bay of Bengal Mas been computed bv srofiie method lor the Period IK;:-, 25th Angus; 1990 using meteorological data of MOSTBL EX-90 from OR Y Sayarkniyii. The fluxes showed synoptic and uiurnal variations nnich ars rrarked during oppression (20th-21st August) comparée to their variation prior to and after tais period. Variations of heal and water vapour fluxes were in phase. Nigh- time fluxes are ralati.eiy high ccmpared to day time. Average ir.orner.tam transfer during depressor. two io three times large. Variations in Bowen ratio wers relatively large during day time. During depression, it varied between 0-2 in day lime and about 00 A., nignt and in the undisturbed period between 0-1 jnd 0-2 during day time and 0-2 and 025 at nigh:. The study shows that the assumption of the exchange coefficients normaiiy used ir. estimating the Ruxes by the buk Lu-rodyr.umic method is not appropriate because Cy/C- C and CH/C14

A study of turbulent characteristics of atmospheric boundary layer over monsoon trough region using Kytoon and Doppler sodar

As a part of the MONTBLEX-90 observational programme, Kytoon and Doppler sodar observations were taken at Kharagpur. These data are analysed to study the turbulent characteristics of the atmospheric boundary layer in terms of stability, temperature structure function (CT2 ) and velocity structure function (Cv2 ). CT2 follows a Z-4/3 law on most of the days, whereas the variation of CV2 is not systematic. CV2 and CT2 values are found to vary between 10-5-10-1 m4/3s-2 and 10-5-10-2°C2 m-2/3 respectively

A Characterization of the Negative Multinomial Distribution

This paper deals with a characterization of the negative multinomial distribution. It is based on the assumption that the conditional distribution of two random vectors is multivariate inverse hypergeometric. It makes use essentially of a multivariate analogue of a condition known in the literature as the Rao-Rubin condition. The result is extended to include characterizations of truncated forms of the negative multinomial distribution. Comparison with previous results in the field is made and an example is included to demonstrate a possible use of the characterizatio

Genome-wide association meta-analysis of spontaneous coronary artery dissection identifies risk variants and genes related to artery integrity and tissue-mediated coagulation

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is an understudied cause of myocardial infarction primarily affecting women. It is not known to what extent SCAD is genetically distinct from other cardiovascular diseases, including atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD). Here we present a genome-wide association meta-analysis (1,917 cases and 9,292 controls) identifying 16 risk loci for SCAD. Integrative functional annotations prioritized genes that are likely to be regulated in vascular smooth muscle cells and artery fibroblasts and implicated in extracellular matrix biology. One locus containing the tissue factor gene F3, which is involved in blood coagulation cascade initiation, appears to be specific for SCAD risk. Several associated variants have diametrically opposite associations with CAD, suggesting that shared biological processes contribute to both diseases, but through different mechanisms. We also infer a causal role for high blood pressure in SCAD. Our findings provide novel pathophysiological insights involving arterial integrity and tissue-mediated coagulation in SCAD and set the stage for future specific therapeutics and preventions

Optimization in computational systems biology

Optimization aims to make a system or design as effective or functional as possible. Mathematical optimization methods are widely used in engineering, economics and science. This commentary is focused on applications of mathematical optimization in computational systems biology. Examples are given where optimization methods are used for topics ranging from model building and optimal experimental design to metabolic engineering and synthetic biology. Finally, several perspectives for future research are outlined

The implications of three major new trials for the effect of water, sanitation and hygiene on childhood diarrhea and stunting: a consensus statement

BACKGROUND: Three large new trials of unprecedented scale and cost, which included novel factorial designs, have found no effect of basic water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions on childhood stunting, and only mixed effects on childhood diarrhea. Arriving at the inception of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, and the bold new target of safely managed water, sanitation and hygiene for all by 2030, these results warrant the attention of researchers, policy-makers and practitioners. MAIN BODY: Here we report the conclusions of an expert meeting convened by the World Health Organization and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to discuss these findings, and present five key consensus messages as a basis for wider discussion and debate in the WASH and nutrition sectors. We judge these trials to have high internal validity, constituting good evidence that these specific interventions had no effect on childhood linear growth, and mixed effects on childhood diarrhea. These results suggest that, in settings such as these, more comprehensive or ambitious WASH interventions may be needed to achieve a major impact on child health. CONCLUSION: These results are important because such basic interventions are often deployed in low-income rural settings with the expectation of improving child health, although this is rarely the sole justification. Our view is that these three new trials do not show that WASH in general cannot influence child linear growth, but they do demonstrate that these specific interventions had no influence in settings where stunting remains an important public health challenge. We support a call for transformative WASH, in so much as it encapsulates the guiding principle that - in any context - a comprehensive package of WASH interventions is needed that is tailored to address the local exposure landscape and enteric disease burden

Selective phosphodiesterase inhibitors: a promising target for cognition enhancement

# The Author(s) 2008. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Rationale One of the major complaints most people face during aging is an impairment in cognitive functioning. This has a negative impact on the quality of daily life and is even more prominent in patients suffering from neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders including Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, and depression. So far, the majority of cognition enhancers are generally targeting one particular neurotransmitter system. However, recently phosphodiesterases (PDEs) have gained increased attention as a potential new target for cognition enhancement. Inhibition of PDEs increases the intracellular availability of the second messengers cGMP and/or cAMP. Objective The aim of this review was to provide an overvie

Parameter estimate of signal transduction pathways

BACKGROUND: The "inverse" problem is related to the determination of unknown causes on the bases of the observation of their effects. This is the opposite of the corresponding "direct" problem, which relates to the prediction of the effects generated by a complete description of some agencies. The solution of an inverse problem entails the construction of a mathematical model and takes the moves from a number of experimental data. In this respect, inverse problems are often ill-conditioned as the amount of experimental conditions available are often insufficient to unambiguously solve the mathematical model. Several approaches to solving inverse problems are possible, both computational and experimental, some of which are mentioned in this article. In this work, we will describe in details the attempt to solve an inverse problem which arose in the study of an intracellular signaling pathway. RESULTS: Using the Genetic Algorithm to find the sub-optimal solution to the optimization problem, we have estimated a set of unknown parameters describing a kinetic model of a signaling pathway in the neuronal cell. The model is composed of mass action ordinary differential equations, where the kinetic parameters describe protein-protein interactions, protein synthesis and degradation. The algorithm has been implemented on a parallel platform. Several potential solutions of the problem have been computed, each solution being a set of model parameters. A sub-set of parameters has been selected on the basis on their small coefficient of variation across the ensemble of solutions. CONCLUSION: Despite the lack of sufficiently reliable and homogeneous experimental data, the genetic algorithm approach has allowed to estimate the approximate value of a number of model parameters in a kinetic model of a signaling pathway: these parameters have been assessed to be relevant for the reproduction of the available experimental data