The phorbol derivatives thymeleatoxin and 12-deoxyphorbol-13-O-phenylacetate-10-acetate cause translocation and down-regulation of multiple protein kinase C isozymes

AbstractPhorbol esters such as phorbol 12-myristate,13-acetate (PMA) are potent activators of protein kinase C (PKC), and activate all PKC isozymes except ζ, and λ. Recently, 12-deoxyphorbol-13-O-phenylacetate-20-acetate (dPPA) and thymeleatoxin (Tx) were reported to selectively activate PKCβ1 (dPPA) and PKCα, -β, and -γ (Tx), but not PKCδ or PKCϵ in vitro. We examined the ability of these phorbol derivatives to translocate and down-regulate PKC isozymes in intact cells. Our findings demonstrate that dPPA and Tx cause translocation and down-regulation of multiple PKC isozymes, including δ and ϵ

Prevalence and predictors of overweight and obesity among Cameroonian women in a national survey and relationships with waist circumference and inflammation in Yaoundé and Douala.

Information on the distribution and predictors of obesity in Africa is needed to identify populations at risk and explore intervention options. Our objectives were to (a) examine the prevalence and geographic distribution of overweight and obesity among Cameroonian women; (b) evaluate change in anthropometric indicators among urban women between 2009 and 2012; (c) examine associations between household and individual characteristics and overweight and obesity; and (d) examine relationships between body mass index (BMI), abdominal obesity, and inflammation. We analysed data from a nationally representative survey conducted in 3 geographic strata (North, South, and Yaoundé/Douala) in Cameroon in 2009 and a survey in Yaoundé/Douala in 2012. Participants selected for this analysis were nonpregnant women, ages 15-49 years (n = 704 in 2009; n = 243 in 2012). In 2009, ~8% of women were underweight (BMI < 18.5) and 32% overweight or obese (BMI ≥ 25.0). Underweight was most common in the North (19%) and overweight and obesity in the South (40%) and Yaoundé/Douala (49%). Prevalence of BMI ≥ 25.0 in Yaoundé/Douala did not differ in 2012 compared with 2009 (55.5% vs. 48.7%; P = 0.16). Residence in urban areas, greater maternal age, and TV ownership were independently related to overweight and obesity in national and stratified analyses. In Yaoundé/Douala in 2012, 48% (waist-to-hip ratio > 0.85) to 73% (waist circumference > 80 cm) had abdominal obesity. Body mass index was positively associated with abdominal obesity and inflammation. Though causal inferences cannot be drawn, these findings indicate population subgroups at greatest risk for overweight and associated health consequences in Cameroon

EstrellaNueva: an open-source software to study the interactions and detection of neutrinos emitted by supernovae

Supernovae emit large fluxes of neutrinos which can be detected by detectors on Earth. Future tonne-scale detectors will be sensitive to several neutrino interaction channels, with thousands of events expected if a supernova emerges in the galaxy neighborhood. There is a limited number of tools to study the interaction rates of supernova neutrinos, although a plethora of available supernova models exists. EstrellaNueva is an open-source software to calculate expected rates of supernova neutrinos in detectors using target materials with typical compositions, and additional compositions can be easily added. This software considers the flavor transformation of neutrinos in the supernova through the adiabatic Mikheyev--Smirnov--Wolfenstein effect, and their interaction in detectors through several channels. Most of the interaction cross sections have been analytically implemented, such as neutrino-electron and neutrino-proton elastic scattering, inverse beta decay, and coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering. This software provides a link between supernova simulations and the expected events in detectors by calculating fluences and event rates to ease any comparison between theory and observation. It provides a simple and standalone tool to explore many physics scenarios offering an option to add analytical cross sections and define any target material

L?dica y did?ctica en el proceso de ense?anza-aprendizaje de las ciencias naturales, para los estudiantes de grado tercero del colegio liceo de los Alpes

79 p. Recurso Electr?nicoEsta clase de investigaci?n es de tipo cualitativa-descriptiva, cuyo objetivo fue implementar estrategias l?dico-did?cticas en el proceso de ense?anza-aprendizaje de las ciencias naturales para estudiantes de grado tercero en un colegio privado en Bogot?, Colombia. Durante el desarrollo de la investigaci?n se emplearon instrumentos eficaces para la recolecci?n de informaci?n, los cuales fueron la observaci?n directa, la encuesta, la entrevista, con el fin de describir diferentes aspectos en el desarrollo de las clases de ciencias naturales, la participaci?n activa, el ambiente del aula, la interacci?n del docente-alumno y entre pares. Se logr? evidenciar que, mediante la aplicaci?n de las diferentes actividades l?dicas como rompecabezas, domin?, parqu?s, escaleras, los educandos lograron no solo aprender los diversos temas, sino que adem?s, se vio que ellos mejoraron notoriamente en su desarrollo socio-afectivo y creativo. Por otro lado se pudo evidenciar que la l?dica como parte central del proceso de ense?anza-aprendizaje, influye en las acciones ?aprender? y ?jugar? las cuales se entrelazan para generar resultados ?ptimos de aprendizaje, debido a que fortalecen las habilidades de, deducir, inventar, adivinar y argumentar. Palabras Clave: Juego, L?dica, did?ctica, ense?anza, aprendizaje, habilidades, motivaci?n, participaci?n, proceso.This qualitative-descriptive research study, whose purpose was to implement ludic-didactic strategies in the teaching-learning process of the natural sciences for third-grade students at a private school in Bogot?, Colombia. During the development of these research, effective data gathering instruments were applied, the instruments were, direct observation, survey, interview, these were used to describe the different aspects of the development of natural science classes, active participation, classroom environment, teacher-student and peer interaction. It was possible to show that, through the application of the different ludic activities such as puzzles, dominoes, plans, learners not only to learn the various subjects, but also; we could see that they excelled in their socio-creative and creative development. On the other hand, it was evident that ludic as a central part of the teaching-learning process, influences the "learn" and "play" actions which are intertwined to generate optimal learning results, because they strengthen the skills of, deduce, invent, guess and argue. Keywords: Game, ludic, didactics, teaching, learning, abilities, motivation, participation, process

Analisis Kualitas Pelayanan Angkutan Umum (Transmusi) melalui Kinerja terhadap Kepuasan Masyarakat di Kota Palembang

Tujuan penelitian – Kualitas pelayanan sarana transportasi angkutan umum di kota Palembang saat ini belum memenuhi kebutuhan masyarakat, sehingga dibutuhkan penataan sistem transportasi dan pelayanan angkutan umum secara terpadu. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menguji kualitas pelayanan angkutan umum (transmusi) yang disediakan melalui kinerja terhadap kepuasan masyarakat.Desain/Metodologi/Pendekatan – Teknik analisis jalur digunakan untuk menganalisis hubungan sebab akibat yang terjadi pada regresi berganda. Jika variabel-variabel bebasnya mempengaruhi variabel terikat secara langsung akan tetapi juga berpengaruh secara tidak langsung dalam penelitian ini menggunakan variabel intervening.Temuan – Hasil pengujian untuk variabel kualitas pelayanan memiliki pengaruh langsung terhadap kinerja, untuk variabel kinerja berpengaruh langsung terhadap kepuasan masyarakat, untuk variabel kualitas pelayanan berpengaruh langsung yang terhadap variabel kepuasan masyarakat, sedangkan untuk variabel kualitas pelayanan melalui kinerja terhadap kepuasan masyarakat memiliki pengaruh tidak langsung, hasil pengujian persamaan substruktur menunjukan maka pengaruh langsung ditambah pengaruh tidak langsung adalah pengaruh total, sehingga diperoleh hasil dapat disimpulkan bahwa kinerja merupakan variabel (intervening atau itermediary).Keterbatasan penelitian – Fokus penelitian ini adalah pengguna angkutan umum Transmusi di kota Palembang. Perbedaan preferensi pada setiap daerah mungkin saja terjadi, sehingga penelitian lanjutan dapat dilakukan pada beberapa bagian daerah atau kabupaten lain yang juga menerapkan angkutan umum terpadu, seperti: Kabupaten Kayu Agung, Ogan Ilir, Prabumulih, serta Sekayu.Originality/value – Penelitian ini mencoba memberikan gambaran yang utuh tentang dimensi kualitas layanan serta pengaruhnya pada kepuasan masyarakat terkait layanan transportasi umum terpadu

B_s ---> \gamma \gamma decay in the model III and 3HDM(O_2) with CP violating effects

We analyse the CP asymmetry for B_{s} -->\gamma\gamma in the two Higgs doublet model with tree level flavor changing currents (model III) and three Higgs doublet model with O_2 symmetry in the Higgs sector, including O_{7} type long distance effects. Further, we study the dependencies of the branching ratio Br(B_{s} --> \gamma\gamma)$ and the ratio of CP-even and CP-odd amplitude squares, R=|A^{+}|^2/|A^{-}|^2, on the CP parameter sin \theta. We found that, there is a weak CP asymmetry, at the order of 10^{-4}. Besides, the branching ratio Br(B_{s} --> \gamma\gamma), and also R ratio, is not sensitive to the CP parameter for |\frac{\bar{\xi}^{U}_{N,tt}}{\bar{\xi}^{D}_{N,bb}}|<1.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figure

Predictors of anemia in preschool children: Biomarkers Reflecting Inflammation and Nutritional Determinants of Anemia (BRINDA) project.

Background: A lack of information on the etiology of anemia has hampered the design and monitoring of anemia-control efforts.Objective: We aimed to evaluate predictors of anemia in preschool children (PSC) (age range: 6-59 mo) by country and infection-burden category.Design: Cross-sectional data from 16 surveys (n = 29,293) from the Biomarkers Reflecting Inflammation and Nutritional Determinants of Anemia (BRINDA) project were analyzed separately and pooled by category of infection burden. We assessed relations between anemia (hemoglobin concentration &lt;110 g/L) and severe anemia (hemoglobin concentration &lt;70 g/L) and individual-level (age, anthropometric measures, micronutrient deficiencies, malaria, and inflammation) and household-level predictors; we also examined the proportion of anemia with concomitant iron deficiency (defined as an inflammation-adjusted ferritin concentration &lt;12 μg/L). Countries were grouped into 4 categories on the basis of risk and burden of infectious disease, and a pooled multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted for each group.Results: Iron deficiency, malaria, breastfeeding, stunting, underweight, inflammation, low socioeconomic status, and poor sanitation were each associated with anemia in &gt;50% of surveys. Associations between breastfeeding and anemia were attenuated by controlling for child age, which was negatively associated with anemia. The most consistent predictors of severe anemia were malaria, poor sanitation, and underweight. In multivariable pooled models, child age, iron deficiency, and stunting independently predicted anemia and severe anemia. Inflammation was generally associated with anemia in the high- and very high-infection groups but not in the low- and medium-infection groups. In PSC with anemia, 50%, 30%, 55%, and 58% of children had concomitant iron deficiency in low-, medium-, high-, and very high-infection categories, respectively.Conclusions: Although causal inference is limited by cross-sectional survey data, results suggest anemia-control programs should address both iron deficiency and infections. The relative importance of factors that are associated with anemia varies by setting, and thus, country-specific data are needed to guide programs

Exclusive Higgs Boson Production with bottom quarks at Hadron Colliders

We present the next-to-leading order QCD corrected rate for the production of a scalar Higgs boson with a pair of high p_T bottom and anti-bottom quarks at the Tevatron and at the Large Hadron Collider. Results are given for both the Standard Model and the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. The exclusive b-bbar-h production rate is small in the Standard Model, but it can be greatly enhanced in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model for large tan(beta), making b-bbar-h an important discovery mode. We find that the next-to-leading order QCD results are much less sensitive to the renormalization and factorization scales than the lowest order results, but have a significant dependence on the choice of the renormalization scheme for the bottom quark Yukawa coupling.Comment: 27 pages, 17 figures, RevTeX