Epiphany in Waiting

Rumi writes “Keep walking, though there’s no place to get to. Don’t try to see through the distances . . . move within” (Barks, 1997, p. 278). In this lyrical essay, I begin by enacting a walk I took with my mother along the ocean. I poetically dwell in a sensual phenomenological inquiry where I attune to the experience of this walk as it is unfolding: the images, the colours, the gestures, the scents, the sounds and the silences. Through the (re)telling of this pivotal event, I am then transported to the past, where I (re)enter a painful moment in a classroom. As in the line of the altering hues of the horizon that we walk alongside of, I relinquish to this line of inquiry. As I theorize this space in between the present and the past, I am brought to an epiphany and transcend both experiences into a renewed understanding of my pedagogical self. Here, I learn how the body holds the words; and in poetry as a physical, emotional, and spiritual walking through, I then enter into a place of light. The keen lessons of an encountering give in healing and meaning, illuminating the future with promise and with purpose

Novel insights into the genomic architecture of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia

Sequential karyotypic and FISH analysis in patients with CLL show evidence of genomic evolution in 10 – 20% of cases. In addition, telomere dysfunction has been shown to correlate with genomic instability and thus may be involved in genomic evolution. Since specific deletions have been found to be associated with different disease prognosis, the acquisition of secondary aberrations may impact on disease progression. To investigate this, DNA samples of 29 patients presenting with either stage A0 CLL or mBL were analysed at two different time points, PT and FU (median time between sample: 85 months. Patients were grouped as either stable (for 5 or more years) or progressive (treated within 3 years). High resolution Affymetrix SNP6.0 array was used to investigate copy number aberrations and loss of heterozygosity at both time points and FISH/karyotype data was used for confirmation and validation.. In addition, the high resolution STELA technique was used to measure telomere length at each time point. It was found that patients with progressive as well as stable disease had acquired secondary aberrations at FU, including novel deletions and gains. Telomere loss was also found in both groups of patients. 11q/17p aberrations and large (>2Mb) but not small (<2Mb) 13q deletion (P=0.03) were associated with genomic evolution and telomere loss. Several established biomarkers, including IgVH mutational status shown not such correlation. A number of patients identified as good risk at diagnosis, acquired adverse genomic features at follow-up. These included the acquisition of a class II 13q deletion and a complex genomic profile. Finally, case studies enabled a more detailed analysis and revealed the presence of secondary aberrations in conjunction with sudden shifts in WBC count that are a marker of disease progression. This study supports the need to detect genomic changes throughout the course of the disease, and genomic aberrations can be acquired and effect prognosis

Protective effects of Equisetum arvense methanolic extract on sperm characteristics and in vitro fertilization potential in experimental diabetic mice: An experimental study

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by impaired insulin secretion or the inability of tissues to respond to insulin. This disease can damage the testis and reduce semen quality. Therefore, it can impair the potential for male fertility. Different herbal therapeutic treatments have been used to control diabetes and its complications. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of streptozotocin-induced diabetes on sperm and in vitro fertilization (IVF) potential and investigate the protective effects of Equisetum arvense methanolic extract on diabetic mice. Materials and Methods: Twenty-four adult male mice were divided into four groups: control-sham, diabetic, diabetic + Equisetum extract (250 mg/kg), and diabetic + Equisetum extract (500 mg/kg). After 45 days, sperm samples were collected from the cauda epididymis to evaluate the characteristics of sperm and the IVF potential. Results: Sperm motility and viability were increased remarkably (p≤ 0.001) in the treated groups compared with the non-treated diabetic group. The decrease in sperm count in the diabetic group compared with the treated groups was not significant. Moreover, the percentage of sperm with DNA damage, nuclear immaturity, and abnormal morphology was decreased significantly (p≤ 0.001) in the treated groups compared with the diabetic group. The treated animals exhibited remarkably higher fertilization rates and a higher percentage of fertilized oocytes that developed toward the blastocyst stage compared with the non-treated diabetic group (p≤ 0.001). Conclusion: The methanolic extract of the Equisetum arvense inhibited diabetes-induced detrimental effects on sperm quality and fertilization rate, which may have been associated with hypoglycemic and antioxidative activities in this plant. Key words: Diabetes, Equisetum, Sperm, Streptozotocin, Mice

An Empirical Study Of Application & Usefulness Of Activity-Based Costing And Activity-Based Management Techniques In Practice

The extent to which ABC and/or ABM techniques have become an active part of decision making apparatus in American companies can be best determined by direct contact with the actual and potential users of these techniques. This way a researcher can empirically and effectively evaluate the degree of usefulness of these techniques in running business operations. Because of the prominent role of Fortune 500 largest Industrial Corporations in American industry, and also their ability to select and implement the latest and most sophisticated accounting techniques for their operations, these corporations were deemed to be the best actual or potential users of ABC/ or ABM techniques, and hence they were selected for this study. Copies of a questionnaire containing 21 questions were mailed to the managers and controllers (via the presidents) of all Fortune 500 corporations in the United States. It was expected that the results of this research would assist the researchers to reject the null and sub-null hypotheses and conclude the degree of use and usefulness of ABC/ or ABM models in business operations and decision-making apparatus

Laser assisted decay spectroscopy at the CRIS beam line at ISOLDE

The new collinear resonant ionization spectroscopy (Cris) experiment at Isolde, Cernuses laser radiation to stepwise excite and ionize an atomic beam for the purpose of ultra-sensitive detection of rare isotopes and hyperfine structure measurements. The technique also offers the ability to purify an ion beam that is contaminated with radioactive isobars, including the ground state of an isotope from its isomer. A new program using the Cristechnique to select only nuclear isomeric states for decay spectroscopy commenced last year. The isomeric ion beam is selected using a resonance within its hyperfine structure and subsequently deflected to a decay spectroscopy station. This consists of a rotating wheel implantation system for alpha and beta decay spectroscopy, and up to three high purity germanium detectors for gamma-ray detection. This paper gives an introduction to the Cristechnique, the current status of the laser assisted decay spectroscopy set-up and recent results from the experiment in November 201

On Hyper Hoop-algebras

In this paper, we apply the hyper structure theory to hoop-algebras and introduce the notion of (quasi) hyper hoop-algebra which is a generalization of hoop-algebra and investigate some related properties. We also introducethe notion of (weak)filters on hyper hoop-algebras, and give several properties of them. Finally, we characterize the (weak) filter generated by a non-empty subset of a hyper hoop-algebra