Role of Dopamine Receptors in Olfaction Learning Success

Several biogenic amines neurotransmitters are involved in various social behaviors, including olfaction learning behavior, cast differentiation, generation overlapping and sociability in honeybees. One of the brain\u27s primary functions is remembering and learning the information related to food and odor. Dopamine (DA) is an important signaling molecule derived from the amino acid tyrosine. It is also known as a key neurohormone, neuromodulator and neurotransmitter in vertebrates as well as invertebrates and several studies indicated their important role in olfaction success, rewarding prediction, learning, memory, motor functions, sleep and arousal, aggression, and numerous other behaviors. Evidence suggests that DA plays several roles in honeybees, especially in olfaction success. Three DA receptors, AmDOP1, AmDOP2 and AmDOP3, have been characterized and clones. In this chapter, I focus on the regulation and involvement of the DA in olfactory learning behavior, locomotor function, motivation, and happy memories. This chapter represents an attempt to associate the role of dopamine receptors in olfaction success in honeybees

Analysis of K-Mean and X-Mean Clustering Algorithms Using Ontology-Based Dataset Filtering

In the field of computer science, data mining facilitates the extraction of useful knowledge and patterns from a huge amount of data. Various techniques exist in the data mining domain to explore the links, associations, and patterns from data in data warehouses. Among these techniques, clustering is more prominent in analyzing raw and unlabeled data from a large volume of datasets. The clustering mechanism identifies similar features between data objects and arranges them into clusters. In this paper, we have compared the performance of K-Mean and XMean clustering algorithms using two datasets of student enrollment in higher education institutions. Our methodology incorporated ontology to filter the datasets and exploited Rapidminer environment to evaluate the performance of clustering algorithms. The results showed that X-Mean is more suitable for large datasets in terms of discovery and accuracy of clusters

Frequency of intraoperative hypotension after the induction of anesthesia in hypertensive patients with preoperative angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors

Introduction: The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) is an important target in the treatment of hypertension. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors block the conversion of angiotensin I to angiotensin II. ACE inhibitors not only treat hypertension but also decrease morbidity and mortality in heart failure patients and in patients with acute myocardial infarction. The discontinuation of ACE inhibitors before the surgery is still controversial. To assess the current magnitude of the problem in our population, we aimed to conduct this study, which evaluated the frequency of intraoperative hypotension after the induction of anesthesia in controlled hypertensive patients with preoperative ACE inhibitors.Material and methods: This descriptive case series study was conducted at a tertiary hospital in a developing country after approval from the Ethics Review Committee. A total of 115 adult patients, from 16 to 60 years of age, who have undergone elective surgery, have controlled hypertension on the desired drugs for at least six months, have no history of any cardiac event, and have taken the drug on the morning of the surgery, were included in the study after written consent. The demographic data of the patients were entered into the proforma. Preoperative systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial pressure were recorded by the researcher or an assignee in the preoperative holding area. The patients were followed in the recovery room by the team conducting the study until 10 minutes after the arrival of the patient in the recovery room. All statistical analyses were performed using Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences version 19 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL). p-value ≤0.05 was considered significant.Results: Of the 115 patients, 56 (48.7%) patients were in the age group between 51 and 60 years of age; 38 patients were between the ages of 41 and 50 years and only 21 patients were 40 years or less. On gender, 68 patients were female and 47 were male. According to body mass index (BMI), the majority of the patients were in the overweight group, amounting to 53 (46%), and 86 (74.78%) patients were known diabetics. Overall, 77 (66.96%) of the patients developed intraoperative hypotension with 41 (35.65%) patients requiring the use of vasopressors in order to correct the hypotension. No statistically significant difference was found between demographic and clinical variables.Conclusion: Intraoperative hypotension is more frequent in patients with controlled hypertension on ACE inhibitors although more studies need to be conducted on a larger population in order to determine a more definitive result

SHORT TERM OUTCOME OF PATIENTS WITH HEPATOPANCREATOBILIARY MALIGNANCIES TREATED IN A MULTIDISCIPLINARY HEPATOBILIARY UNIT IN A TERTIARY REFERRAL CENTER

Purpose: Specialisation in hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) surgery has evolved over the past few decades based on better understanding of the biology and the behaviour of the diseases. In this review from a specialised HPB service, we aim to provide an overview of the HPB oncological cases managed in a tertiary care cancer hospital. Methods: All cases of HPB malignancies treated in our hospital between October 2014 and September 2015 were included in the study. Clinical findings, operative details and short-term post-operative outcomes were assessed from a prospectively managed database. Results: A total of 65 oncological procedures were performed over 1 year. These included 23 hepatic resections, 27 pancreaticoduodenectomies, 5 radical surgeries for gallbladder cancer, 2 distal pancreatectomy and 8 nephrectomies with exploration of the inferior vena cava. One patient successfully underwent Associated Liver Partition with Portal vein ligation and staged hepatectomy (ALPPS Procedure), which to our knowledge was the rst ALPPS procedure carried out in Pakistan. Conclusion: The short-term experience of patients managed in specialised HPB unit has shown good outcomes.There is a need for establishing HPB units in most tertiary care hospitals in the country. Key words: Associated liver partition with portal vein ligation and staged hepatectomy procedure, hepatic resections, hepatopancreatobiliary surgery, pancreaticoduodenectomy

Preliminary investigation on properties of novel sustainable composite : fish scales reinforced cement concrete

This study focused on analysing the effect of fish scales reinforcement on fresh and hardened-state properties of concrete. For this purpose, 24 cubes and 24 cylinders were casted at a design mix ratio of 1:2.3:4.3. The water-cement ratio of 0.57 was maintained. The fish scales reinforcement levels of 0%, 1%, 1.5% and 2% by weight of cement were maintained for casting of specimens. For fresh-state assessment, the workability of concrete mixes was observed by slump test and the results showed that, with the addition of fish scales, the slump value decreased due to increase in water demand. With the addition of 2% Fish Scales, the workability of concrete mixes reduced by 36.40%. The compressive strength and tensile strength of concrete cubes and cylinders were tested with Universal Testing Machine (UTM) at curing period of 7 and 28 days. Out of 48 specimens casted, a total of 24 specimens were subjected to compressive strength test while other 24 specimens were tested for tensile strength. The results reported that with addition of 2% fish scales in concrete, the tensile strength of concrete increased but the compressive strength initially decreased and later increased. It can thus be concluded that the fish scales can be incorporated in concrete with steel to enhance the tensile strength of concrete. Keeping the initial decrease in compressive strength of concrete in consideration, it can be recommended that the fish scale reinforced concrete can be safely used in light weight structures and non-structural elements like floor slabs and ribs

Synergetic effects of waste engine oil and crumb tyre rubber on bitumen modification

Bitumen is a widely used road infrastructure material exhibiting black color and sticky consistency and is known for its versatile use and thermoplastic nature. In recent years, predicting road life has been arduous due to increasing traffic, global warming, and ever-changing stresses on pavements. Meanwhile, a large amount of waste engine oil (WEO) and vehicle tyres from various automobiles is disposed of into the atmosphere as hazardous waste. Relatedly, heavy metals and the huge capital involved in the sustainable treatment of these materials have been challenging. Therefore, this study aims to analyze modified bitumen using (WEO) in combination with waste crumb tyre rubber (CTR), thus reducing virgin bitumen (VB) use and making bitumen a sustainable material. During the characterization of modified bitumen, the following WEO concentrations were utilized: 3%, 5%, 7%, and 9%, and the following CTR concentrations: 5%, 7%, 9%, 12%, and 15%. The properties of modified and virgin bitumen were compared. It has been found that the blend of 5% CTR and 9% WEO exhibit the highest penetration value and the lowest softening temperature of all the samples examined. As a result, this mixture can be used to reduce the excessive brittleness of bitumen to a greater extent. Moreover, the flash and fire point values have increased after modification, while the ductility and specific gravity values have decreased. In summary, the modified bitumen has shown promising results regarding physical changes in bitumen

Monitoring the dynamic changes in vegetation cover using spatio-temporal remote sensing data from 1984 to 2020

Anthropogenic activities and natural climate changes are the central driving forces of global ecosystems and agriculture changes. Climate changes, such as rainfall and temperature changes, have had the greatest impact on different types of plant production around the world. In the present study, we investigated the spatiotemporal variation of major crops (cotton, rice, wheat, and sugarcane) in the District Vehari, Pakistan, from 1984 to 2020 using remote sensing (RS) technology. The crop identification was pre-processed in ArcGIS software based on Landsat images. After pre-processing, supervised classification was used, which explains the maximum likelihood classification (MLC) to identify the vegetation changes. Our results showed that in the study area cultivated areas under wheat and cotton decreased by almost 5.4% and 9.1% from 1984 to 2020, respectively. Vegetated areas have maximum values of NDVI (>0.4), and built-up areas showed fewer NDVI values (0 to 0.2) in the District Vehari. During the Rabi season, the temperature was increased from 19.93 °C to 21.17 °C. The average temperature was calculated at 34.28 °C to 35.54 °C during the Kharif season in the District Vehari. Our results showed that temperature negatively affects sugarcane, rice, and cotton crops during the Rabi season, and precipitation positively affects sugarcane, rice, and cotton crops during the Kharif season in the study area. Accurate and timely assessment of crop estimation and relation to climate change can give very useful information for decision-makers, governments, and planners in formulating policies regarding crop management and improving agriculture yields

A survey on MAC-based physical layer security over wireless sensor network

Physical layer security for wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is a laborious and highly critical issue in the world. Wireless sensor networks have great importance in civil and military fields or applications. Security of data/information through wireless medium remains a challenge. The data that we transmit wirelessly has increased the speed of transmission rate. In physical layer security, the data transfer between source and destination is not confidential, and thus the user has privacy issues, which is why improving the security of wireless sensor networks is a prime concern. The loss of physical security causes a great threat to a network. We have various techniques to resolve these issues, such as interference, noise, fading in the communications, etc. In this paper we have surveyed the different parameters of a security design model to highlight the vulnerabilities. Further we have discussed the various attacks on different layers of the TCP/IP model along with their mitigation techniques. We also elaborated on the applications of WSNs in healthcare, military information integration, oil and gas. Finally, we have proposed a solution to enhance the security of WSNs by adopting the alpha method and handshake mechanism with encryption and decryption

Applications of ontology in the Internet of Things: a systematic analysis

Ontology has been increasingly implemented to facilitate the Internet of Things (IoT) activities, such as tracking and information discovery, storage, information exchange, and object addressing. However, a complete understanding of using ontology in the IoT mechanism remains lacking. The main goal of this research is to recognize the use of ontology in the IoT process and investigate the services of ontology in IoT activities. A systematic literature review (SLR) is conducted using predefined protocols to analyze the literature about the usage of ontologies in IoT. The following conclusions are obtained from the SLR. (1) Primary studies (i.e., selected 115 articles) have addressed the need to use ontologies in IoT for industries and the academe, especially to minimize interoperability and integration of IoT devices. (2) About 31.30% of extant literature discussed ontology development concerning the IoT interoperability issue, while IoT privacy and integration issues are partially discussed in the literature. (3) IoT styles of modeling ontologies are diverse, whereas 35.65% of total studies adopted the OWL style. (4) The 32 articles (i.e., 27.83% of the total studies) reused IoT ontologies to handle diverse IoT methodologies. (5) A total of 45 IoT ontologies are well acknowledged, but the IoT community has widely utilized none. An in-depth analysis of different IoT ontologies suggests that the existing ontologies are beneficial in designing new IoT ontology or achieving three main requirements of the IoT field: interoperability, integration, and privacy. This SLR is finalized by identifying numerous validity threats and future directions