Taste acceptance in squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus)

Six squirrel monkeys were presented with solutions representing the four primary tastes. The solutions included various concentrations of glucose or sodium saccharine (sweet), sodium chloride (salty), citric acid (sour), and quinine sulfate or sucrose octaacetate (bitter). A 24 hr two-bottle choice technique was employed. Amount of food, water, and solution consumed every 24 hr was recorded. The results showed that the maximum intake for glucose solution was with the 5.0% concentration, although maximum caloric intake was with the 1.25% concentration where there was a potentiation of food intake. Water was preferred over sodium saccharine at three of the four concentrations which were tested, and water was preferred over or equally to the concentrations of sodium chloride and citric acid that were used. However, quinine sulfate and sucrose octaacetate were preferred over or equally to water at most of the concentrations which were tested

Mineral content of red skinned potatoes of Eastern India

Potato tuber colour is an important factor that influences consumer preferences. Eastern plain region of India contributes about 50% of total potato acreage and production. Consumers in this region generally prefer red skinned varieties. Growing awareness for nutrient rich food can create a niche market for nutritious potatoes. Potato is crop of choice for mineral biofortification owing to better mineral bioavailability due to its high ascorbic acid and minimal phytate content. Iron and zinc are the essentially required minerals for good health. Considering the nutritional importance of these elements and wider prevalence of their deficiency in Indian sub-continent, thirteen Eastern regions red skinned advanced hybrids and varieties were evaluated to find the genetic diversity for iron and zinc content. A significant wide range of contents was observed for both the elements. High heritability of both mineral suggests feasibility of selecting genotypes for breeding nutrient rich varieties. Identified genotypes can be utilised as parental lines for future breeding programme and can be released as nutrient rich potato variety

Development of Word Associations in a Second Language

Proceedings of the Ninth Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society (1983), pp. 202-21

The effect of hospital factors on mortality rates after abdominal aortic aneurysm repair

BackgroundPatient factors that contribute to mortality from abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair have been previously described, but few studies have delineated the hospital factors that may be associated with an increase in patient mortality after AAA. This study used a large national database to identify hospital factors that affect mortality rates after open repair (OAR) and endovascular AAA repair (EVAR) of elective and ruptured AAA.MethodsA retrospective analysis was completed using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample from 1998 to 2011. International Classification of Disease, Ninth Revision codes were used to identify patients who underwent elective or ruptured AAA repair by OAR or EVAR. The association between mortality and hospital covariates, including ownership, bed size, region, and individual hospital volume for these patients was statistically delineated by analysis of variance, χ2, and Mann-Kendall trend analysis.ResultsA total of 128,232 patients were identified over the 14-year period, of which 88.5% were elective procedures and 11.5% were performed acutely for rupture. Most hospitals that complete elective OAR do between one and 50 cases, with mortality between 0% and 40%. Hospitals with mortality >40% uniformly complete fewer than five elective OAR cases annually and fall in the bottom 2.5% of all hospitals for mortality. Most hospitals that complete elective EVAR do between one and 70 cases, with mortality between 0% and 13%. Hospitals with mortality >13% uniformly complete fewer than eight elective EVAR cases annually and fall in the bottom 2.5% of all hospitals for mortality. The majority of hospitals that complete OAR or EVAR for ruptured AAA have between 0% to 100% for mortality, indicative of the high mortality risk associated with rupture.ConclusionsHospitals that complete fewer than five OARs or eight EVARs annually have significantly greater mortality compared with their counterparts. Improved implementation of best practices, more detailed informed consent to include hospital mortality data, and better regional access to health care may improve survival after elective AAA repair

Emerging trends in the novel drug delivery approaches for the treatment of lung cancer

© 2019 Elsevier B.V. Cancer is one of the major diseases that cause a high number of deaths globally. Of the major types of cancers, lung cancer is known to be the most chronic form of cancer in the world. The conventional management of lung cancer includes different medical interventions like chemotherapy, surgical removal, and radiation therapy. However, this type of approach lacks specificity and also harms the adjacent normal cells. Lately, nanotechnology has emerged as a promising intervention in the management and treatment of lung cancers. Nanotechnology has revolutionized the existing modalities and focuses primarily on reducing toxicity and improving the bioavailability of anticancer drugs to the target tumor cells. Nanocarrier systems are being currently used extensively to exploit and to overcome the obstructions induced by cancers in the lungs. The nano-carrier-loaded therapeutic drug delivery methods have shown promising potential in treating lung cancer as its target is to control the growth of tumor cells. In this review, various modes of nano drug delivery options like liposomes, dendrimers, quantum dots, carbon nanotubes and metallic nanoparticles have been discussed. Nano-carrier drug delivery systems emerge as a promising approach and thus is expected to provide newer and advanced avenues in cancer therapeutics

Radiotherapy in covid-19: A review

The World Health Organization (WHO) stated the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) a global pandemic on 11th March 2020. The virus-infected patients suffered from a respiratory disease called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SAR-CoV-2). A proteinaceous exudate, alveolar edema, and hyperplasia associated with monocytes and lymphocytes alveolar inflammatory infiltration was observed in the affected patient’s lungs. Virus broadens a systemic inflammatory reaction with a cytokine release syndrome which is characterized with the aid of using unexpected growth in many pro-inflammatory cytokines especially IL-6, IL-1, and TNF-α through activated M1 macrophage phenotype. Virus block IL-6 with tocilizumab and the usage of respirator device appears to be very vital. Radioactivity is the process by which unstable atomic nucleus losses energy by radiation, mainly using alpha, beta, and gamma rays. SARS-CoV-2 affected lungs can be treated by a low dose of radiotherapy. It was found that minute dose chest radiation therapy can be able to wean patients off a ventilator as it can reduce inflammation inside the lungs of severely infected COVID-19 patients. Numerous such clinical trials are underway and researchers may work to cure the COVID-19 lung infections by radiotherapy

Therapeutic Options for the SARS-CoV-2 Virus: Is There a Key in Herbal Medicine?

SARS-CoV-2 has been responsible for over 500 million cumulative cases all over the world since December 2019 and has marked the third introduction of a highly pathogenic virus after SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. This virus is in a winning situation because scientists are still racing to explore effective therapeutics, vaccines, and event treatment regimens. In view of progress in current disease management, until now none of the preventive/treatment measures can be considered entirely effective to treat SARS-CoV-2 infection. Therefore, it is required to look up substitute ways for the management of this disease. In this context, herbal medicines could be a good choice. This article emphasizes the antiviral potential of some herbal constituents which further can be a drug of choice in SARS-CoV-2 treatment. This article may be a ready reference for discovering natural lead compounds and targets in SARS-CoV-2 associated works. </jats:p

Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF): fuel for cancer progression

Hypoxia is an integral part of the tumor microenvironment, caused primarily due to rapidly multiplying tumor cells and a lack of proper blood supply. Among the major hypoxic pathways, HIF-1 transcription factor activation is one of the widely investigated pathways in the hypoxic tumor microenvironment (TME). HIF-1 is known to activate several adaptive reactions in response to oxygen deficiency in tumor cells. HIF-1 has two subunits, HIF-1β (constitutive) and HIF-1α (inducible). The HIF-1α expression is largely regulated via various cytokines (through PI3K-ACT-mTOR signals), which involves the cascading of several growth factors and oncogenic cascades. These events lead to the loss of cellular tumor suppressant activity through changes in the level of oxygen via oxygen-dependent and oxygenindependent pathways. The significant and crucial role of HIF in cancer progression and its underlying mechanisms have gained much attention lately among the translational researchers in the fields of cancer and biological sciences, which have enabled them to correlate these mechanisms with various other disease modalities. In the present review, we have summarized the key findings related to the role of HIF in the progression of tumors

Deep Rooting In-Situ Expansion of mtDNA Haplogroup R8 in South Asia

The phylogeny of the indigenous Indian-specific mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups have been determined and refined in previous reports. Similar to mtDNA superhaplogroups M and N, a profusion of reports are also available for superhaplogroup R. However, there is a dearth of information on South Asian subhaplogroups in particular, including R8. Therefore, we ought to access the genealogy and pre-historic expansion of haplogroup R8 which is considered one of the autochthonous lineages of South Asia.Upon screening the mtDNA of 5,836 individuals belonging to 104 distinct ethnic populations of the Indian subcontinent, we found 54 individuals with the HVS-I motif that defines the R8 haplogroup. Complete mtDNA sequencing of these 54 individuals revealed two deep-rooted subclades: R8a and R8b. Furthermore, these subclades split into several fine subclades. An isofrequency contour map detected the highest frequency of R8 in the state of Orissa. Spearman's rank correlation analysis suggests significant correlation of R8 occurrence with geography.The coalescent age of newly-characterized subclades of R8, R8a (15.4+/-7.2 Kya) and R8b (25.7+/-10.2 Kya) indicates that the initial maternal colonization of this haplogroup occurred during the middle and upper Paleolithic period, roughly around 40 to 45 Kya. These results signify that the southern part of Orissa currently inhabited by Munda speakers is likely the origin of these autochthonous maternal deep-rooted haplogroups. Our high-resolution study on the genesis of R8 haplogroup provides ample evidence of its deep-rooted ancestry among the Orissa (Austro-Asiatic) tribes