Fundamental and clinical evaluation of "SCC RIABEAD" kit for immuno radiometric assay of squamous cell carcinoma related antigen.

Classic vector control strategies target mosquitoes indoors as the main transmitters of malaria are indoor-biting and –resting mosquitoes. However, the intensive use of insecticide-treated bed-nets (ITNs) and indoor residual spraying have put selective pressure on mosquitoes to adapt in order to obtain human blood meals. Thus, early-evening and outdoor vector activity is becoming an increasing concern. This study assessed the effect of a deltamethrin-treated net (100 mg/m2) attached to a one-meter high fence around outdoor cattle enclosures on the number of mosquitoes landing on humans. Mosquitoes were collected from four cattle enclosures: Pen A – with cattle and no net; B – with cattle and protected by an untreated net; C – with cattle and protected by a deltamethrin-treated net; D – no cattle and no net. A total of 3217 culicines and 1017 anophelines were collected, of which 388 were Anopheles gambiae and 629 An. ziemanni. In the absence of cattle nearly 3 times more An. gambiae (p<0.0001) landed on humans. The deltamethrin-treated net significantly reduced (nearly three-fold, p<0.0001) culicine landings inside enclosures. The sporozoite rate of the zoophilic An. ziemanni, known to be a secondary malaria vector, was as high as that of the most competent vector An. gambiae; raising the potential of zoophilic species as secondary malaria vectors. After deployment of the ITNs a deltamethrin persistence of 9 months was observed despite exposure to African weather conditions. The outdoor use of ITNs resulted in a significant reduction of host-seeking culicines inside enclosures. Further studies investigating the effectiveness and spatial repellence of ITNs around other outdoor sites, such as bars and cooking areas, as well as their direct effect on vector-borne disease transmission are needed to evaluate its potential as an appropriate outdoor vector control tool for rural Africa

Non-invasive evaluation of nigrostriatal neuropathology in a proteasome inhibitor rodent model of Parkinson's disease

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Predominantly, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies in animal models of Parkinson's disease (PD) have focused on alterations in T₂water ¹H relaxation or ¹H MR spectroscopy (MRS), whilst potential morphological changes and their relationship to histological or behavioural outcomes have not been appropriately addressed. Therefore, in this study we have utilised MRI to scan <it>in vivo </it>brains from rodents bearing a nigrostriatal lesion induced by intranigral injection of the proteasome inhibitor lactacystin.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Lactacystin induced parkinsonian-like behaviour, characterised by impaired contralateral forelimb grip strength and increased contralateral circling in response to apomorphine. T₂-weighted MRI, 3-weeks post-lesion, revealed significant morphological changes in PD-relevant brain areas, including the striatum and ventral midbrain in addition to a decrease in T₂water ¹H relaxation in the substantia nigra (SN), but not the striatum. Post-mortem histological analyses revealed extensive dopaminergic neuronal degeneration and α-synuclein aggregation in the SN. However, extensive neuronal loss could also be observed in extra-nigral areas, suggesting non-specific toxicity of lactacystin. Iron accumulation could also be observed throughout the midbrain reflecting changes in T₂. Importantly, morphological, but not T₂relaxivity changes, were significantly associated with both behavioural and histological outcomes in this model.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A pattern of morphological changes in lactacystin-lesioned animals has been identified, as well as alterations in nigral T₂relaxivity. The significant relationship of morphological changes with behavioural and histological outcomes in this model raises the possibility that these may be useful non-invasive surrogate markers of nigrostriatal degeneration <it>in vivo</it>.</p

The Online Sales Application of Black and White Print Based on Yii Framework on Higher Education E-Commerce Website

&nbsp; &nbsp;Raharja Internet Cafe as a facility in Raharja College which is provided for Personal Raharja in helping provide the need for lecture activities. Raharja Internet Cafe has a problem that the system of selling black and white print products that apply consumers must come directly to the RIC room at LV-002 at Raharja College, but Raharja Internet Cafe cannot accommodate many consumers because of the limited area. These problems are the background for the establishment of an electronic sales system (e-commerce) based on Yii framework with the aim of facilitating the sale of black and white print products for consumers and staff of Raharja Internet Cafe. E-commerce website at Raharja Internet Cafe is a web-based application with a structured programming concept. The e-commerce application development Shop Copy Nicky uses 4 (four) stages according to the steps that exist in software development, including the stages of observation, analysis, literature study consisting of 10 (ten) literature and implementation. The conclusion of the e-commerce website development on Raharja Internet Cafe is that the website built can make it easy for consumers to make transactions, and Raharja Internet Cafe can get comprehensive and real time reports about sales data, and payment systems for consumers that are easier because they use payment system that is done online. &nbsp; &nbsp; Keywords: E-Commerce, Black and White Print, Raharja Internet Caf

Functional MRI of the Reserpine-Induced Putative Rat Model of Fibromyalgia Reveals Discriminatory Patterns of Functional Augmentation to Acute Nociceptive Stimuli

Functional neuroimaging, applied to pre-clinical models of chronic pain, offers unique advantages in the drive to discover new treatments for this prevalent and oppressive condition. The high spatial and temporal resolution of fMRI affords detailed mapping of regional pharmacodynamics that underlie mechanisms of pain suppression by new analgesics. Despite evidence supporting the translational relevance of this approach, relatively few studies have investigated fMRI abnormalities in rodent models of chronic pain. In this study, we used fMRI to map the BOLD response in a recently developed putative rat model of fibromyalgia to innocuous and acute nociceptive stimuli by applying a step-wise graded electrical forepaw stimulation paradigm, with comparison to healthy controls. We observed discriminatory functional signatures (p < 0.001) to 2 mA electrical forepaw stimulation, found to be innocuous in the control group. As such, this translational approach provides sensitive and quantitative neural correlates of the underlying chronic disease. The regional patterns of functional augmentation were found to be concordant with previous studies of nociception in the anaesthetised rat brain, supporting the specificity of this approach in the study of altered central pain processing in reserpine induced myalgia. The methodology introduced in this work represents a novel platform for emerging treatment evaluation in highly experimentally controlled conditions

Evolution of Extra-Nigral Damage Predicts Behavioural Deficits in a Rat Proteasome Inhibitor Model of Parkinson's Disease

Establishing the neurological basis of behavioural dysfunction is key to provide a better understanding of Parkinson's disease (PD) and facilitate development of effective novel therapies. For this, the relationships between longitudinal structural brain changes associated with motor behaviour were determined in a rat model of PD and validated by post-mortem immunohistochemistry. Rats bearing a nigrostriatal lesion induced by infusion of the proteasome inhibitor lactacystin into the left-medial forebrain bundle and saline-injected controls underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at baseline (prior to surgery) and 1, 3 and 5 weeks post-surgery with concomitant motor assessments consisting of forelimb grip strength, accelerating rotarod, and apormorphine-induced rotation. Lactacystin-injected rats developed early motor deficits alongside decreased ipsilateral cortical volumes, specifically thinning of the primary motor (M1) and somatosensory cortices and lateral ventricle hypertrophy (as determined by manual segmentation and deformation-based morphometry). Although sustained, motor dysfunction and nigrostriatal damage were maximal by 1 week post-surgery. Additional volume decreases in the ipsilateral ventral midbrain; corpus striatum and thalamus were only evident by week 3 and 5. Whilst cortical MRI volume changes best predicted the degree of motor impairment, post-mortem tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity in the striatum was a better predictor of motor behaviour overall, with the notable exception of performance in the accelerating rotarod, in which, M1 cortical thickness remained the best predictor. These results highlight the importance of identifying extra-nigral regions of damage that impact on behavioural dysfunction from damage to the nigrostriatal system