Anti-diabetic properties of Securinega virosa (Euphorbiaceae) leaf extract

This study was undertaken to evaluate the hypoglycemic effect of methanol extract of securinega virosa leaves on blood levels of streptozocin-induced diabetes rats. Three doses of the extract (100, 300 and 600 mg/kg) were administered intraperitoneally. After 2 h of extract administration there was no significant change in the blood glucose levels in all the three doses of the extract. Also after 4, 8 and 24 h of extract administration there was a significant (p < 0.05 - 0.001) decrease in the blood glucose levelsin all the three doses of the extract. The preliminary phytochemical screening revealed the presence of reducing sugars, cardiac glycosides, resin, tannins, saponins, glycosides, flavonoids, glycerin carbohydrate, anthraquine and steroids. The median lethal dose (LD50) in rats was calculated to be 1264.9 mg/kg body weight

EVALUASI KINERJA PENYULUH PERTANIAN PADA PETANI HORTIKULTURA DI KECAMATAN LIMBOTO

Penelitian ini bertujuan: Untuk menganalisis evaluasi kinerja penyuluh pertanian Di Kecamatan Limboto. Penelitian ini dilakukan di Kecamatan Limboto dari bulan April sampai dengan bulan Juni 2020 dengan jumlah sampel 11 orang penyuluh dan 21 orang petani. Analisis data yang digunakan dalam penelitian  ini yaitu analisis deskriptif nilai prestasi kerja. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa  hasil penilaian prestasi kerja ditemukan bahwa kinerja penyuluh menurut persepsi penyuluh berada pada kriteria yang baik diperoleh nilai NPK (nilai prestasi kerja) sebesar 79,77% dengan kriteria tiap indikator bahwa indikator persiapan dan evaluasi berada pada kriteria sangat baik dan indikator pelaksanaan penyuluhan berada pada kategori yang cukup baik dengan jumlah total sebesar 86,46% atau dalam kategori baik. Sementara hasil dari persepsi petani berada pada kriteria yang cukup baik dengan skor capaian sebesar 73,67%

Antisecretory and antiulcerative effects of ethyl acetate fraction of Nigella sativa (L.) Seed extract in rats

The present work was carried out to investigate the possible effects of ethyl acetate seed fraction of Nigella sativa on gastric ulcers and basal gastric secretions using the Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug-induced (NSAID) model. Phytochemical screening according to Trease and Evans, 2002 and acute toxicity tests using the Lorke’s Method, 1983 were conducted. For the mucosal integrity study, ulcer and preventive indices were analysed, while volume of gastric juice, titratable acidity, acid output and pepsin concentration were assessed for basal gastric secretion parameters. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins, glucocinolates amongst others, while the acute toxicity studies revealed a median lethal dose above 5000mg/kg. The rats were grouped into 9 (n = 5), with the extract fraction administered at 50, 100 and 200mg/kg subcutaneously, followed by pyloric ligation with cimetidine used as the standard drug. Five rats received normal saline 1ml/kg/rat subcutaneously (S.C) as Negative Control, Five rats received indomethacin (20 mg/kg S.C), Ten rats for the study of the effect of two different doses of cimetidine 50 and 100 mg/kg S.C (5 rats for each dose). Ten rats for the study of effect of two different doses of cimetidine (50 mg and 100 mg/kg) S.C, given 30 minutes prior to indomethacin administration (5 rats for each dose). The three experimental doses of the extract at 50,100 and 200mg/kg showed a dosedependent decrease in both ulcer and preventive indices with the 200mg/kg dose at 0.6mm and 94% respectively. It also showed a significant (p&lt;0.05) decrease in volume of gastric juice, titratable acidity, acid output and pepsin concentration in dose-dependent manner with the three experimental doses administered with the highest reduction at the 200mg/kg dose. The results obtained suggest that this fraction down-regulated all those parameters which might be attributed to the presence of the phytoconstituents present in this fraction, particularly the flavonoids. Therefore, the extract fraction of this plant possesses gastroprotective activity further explaining the folkloric use of this plant in the therapy of peptic ulcer disease.Keywords: Antiulcerative, Antisecretory, Nigella sativa, Phytochemicals, Rats, Seed Extracts

Applications of Remote Sensing in Geoscience

Remote sensing is becoming an important and useful tool in mapping large, remote areas and has many applications in geosciences such as geologic and geo-structural mapping, mineral and water exploration, hydrocarbon exploration, natural hazards analysis, and geomorphology. The recent advances in remote-sensing imaging acquisition and availability of images can help geoscientists to explore and prepare maps quickly and evaluate the geo-potential of any specific area on the globe. Advances in remote-sensing data analysis techniques have improved the capacity to map the geological structures and regional characteristics and can serve in mineral exploration in complex and poorly understood regions. In this chapter, geophysical remotely sensed data (airborne geophysics) are integrated with other sources of remotely sensed data to analyze three separate areas, one each for geological structure, lineament presence and orientation, and geothermal potential. Three case studies are discussed in this chapter from three countries—Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, and Algeria—to show the effectiveness of remote sensing in mapping and detecting geo-structural, geomorphological, and geothermal characteristics of ground surfaces

Zeb1 modulates hematopoietic stem cell fates required for suppressing acute myeloid leukemia

Zeb1, a zinc finger E-box binding homeobox epithelial-mesenchymal (EMT) transcription factor, confers properties of ‘stemness’, such as self-renewal, in cancer. Yet little is known about the function of Zeb1 in adult stem cells. Here, we used the hematopoietic system, as a well-established paradigm of stem cell biology, to evaluate Zeb1 mediated regulation of adult stem cells. We employed a conditional genetic approach using the Mx1-Cre system to specifically knockout (KO) Zeb1 in adult hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and their downstream progeny. Acute genetic deletion of Zeb1 led to rapid onset thymic atrophy and apoptosis driven loss of thymocytes and T cells. A profound cell-autonomous self-renewal defect and multi-lineage differentiation block was observed in Zeb1 KO HSCs. Loss of Zeb1 in HSCs activated transcriptional programs of deregulated HSC maintenance and multi-lineage differentiation genes, and of cell polarity, consisting of cytoskeleton, lipid metabolism/lipid membrane and cell adhesion related genes. Notably, Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) expression was prodigiously upregulated in Zeb1 KO HSCs, which correlated with enhanced cell survival, diminished mitochondrial metabolism, ribosome biogenesis, and differentiation capacity and an activated transcriptomic signature associated with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) signaling. ZEB1 expression was downregulated in AML patients and Zeb1 KO in the malignant counterparts of HSCs - leukemic stem cells (LSCs) - accelerated MLL-AF9 and Meis1a/Hoxa9-driven AML progression, implicating Zeb1 as a tumor suppressor in AML LSCs. Thus, Zeb1 acts as a transcriptional regulator in hematopoiesis, critically co-ordinating HSC self-renewal, apoptotic and multi-lineage differentiation fates required to suppress leukemic potential in AML

العوامل المؤثرة في التوافق بين مخرجات التعليم و سوق العمل

تزايد الاهتمام برأس المال البشري باعتباره أحد القوى المحركة للتنمية الاقتصادية وتزايد معه الاهتمام بدراسة  كيفية سد الفجوة بين مخرجات التعليم العالي ومدخلات سوق العمل. ومن هنا تبرز أهمية البحث في تحليل مشكلة عدم التوافق بين مخرجات التعليم العالي واحتياجات سوق العمل في سورية ، تم  تحليل مشكلة عدم التوافق بين مخرجات التعليم العالي  في "جامعة تشرين" (عينة البحث)  واحتياجات سوق العمل للتعرف على متطلبات سوق العمل وتحليل العوامل التي تحكم العلاقة بين عرض العمل والطلب عليه وذلك لتقديم آلية تمكن من التوفيق بين التخصصات الجامعية المتاحة ومتطلبات سوق العمل من حيث نوعية التخصصات الجامعية، والمهارات المكتسبة للخريج ومدى مواءمتها مع متطلبات سوق العمل.  تم تصميم استبانتين بهدف جمع البيانات، الاستبانة الأولى لقياس رأي أصحاب العمل بشقيه (العام والخاص) و الاستبانة الثانية لقياس رأي الخريجين الجامعيين وتوصلت الدراسة إلى مجموعة من النتائج من أهمها : يتمتع الخريجون الجامعيون بقدرة جيدة على الالتزام بالعمل ومتطلباته وتعلّم المهارات التي يحتاجها، ويعانون من ضعف تأهيلهم من ناحية المهارات العملية المتممة لشهاداتهم العلمية التي يطلبها سوق العمل، و ذلك لضعف التنسيق بين المؤسسات التعليمية ومنظمات سوق العمل. ويركز القطاع العام بشكل كبير على تأمين فرص عمل لمختلف شرائح المجتمع، كما أنه يميل لتوظيف أعداد تفوق حاجته، عكس القطاع الخاص الذي يعمل على توظيف عدد محدد وفق حاجته دون زيادة أو نقصان وأوصى فريق البحث  بضرورة التركيز على الجانب العملي لتحقيق التكامل مع الجانب النظري في التعليم (الجامعي والتقاني) واستحداث وحدات تدريبية خاصة بكل كلية ومعهد تقاني. إدخال الجامعات كبيوت خبرة واستشارة وخاصة فيما يتعلق بتوطين المشروعات ذات الطابع الاقتصادي. وإعادة النظر في الاستثمارات الموظِفة لليد العاملة في الساحل خاصة بعد التغير الديموغرافي الحاصل بسبب الحرب على سورية من خلال: التشجيع على إقامة (المشاريع الصغيرة - المشاريع الانتاجية التكاملية (زراعية – صناعية) المولِدة لفرص العمل وخاصة للخريجين.

The FANCM:p.Arg658* truncating variant is associated with risk of triple-negative breast cancer

Abstract: Breast cancer is a common disease partially caused by genetic risk factors. Germline pathogenic variants in DNA repair genes BRCA1, BRCA2, PALB2, ATM, and CHEK2 are associated with breast cancer risk. FANCM, which encodes for a DNA translocase, has been proposed as a breast cancer predisposition gene, with greater effects for the ER-negative and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtypes. We tested the three recurrent protein-truncating variants FANCM:p.Arg658*, p.Gln1701*, and p.Arg1931* for association with breast cancer risk in 67,112 cases, 53,766 controls, and 26,662 carriers of pathogenic variants of BRCA1 or BRCA2. These three variants were also studied functionally by measuring survival and chromosome fragility in FANCM−/− patient-derived immortalized fibroblasts treated with diepoxybutane or olaparib. We observed that FANCM:p.Arg658* was associated with increased risk of ER-negative disease and TNBC (OR = 2.44, P = 0.034 and OR = 3.79; P = 0.009, respectively). In a country-restricted analysis, we confirmed the associations detected for FANCM:p.Arg658* and found that also FANCM:p.Arg1931* was associated with ER-negative breast cancer risk (OR = 1.96; P = 0.006). The functional results indicated that all three variants were deleterious affecting cell survival and chromosome stability with FANCM:p.Arg658* causing more severe phenotypes. In conclusion, we confirmed that the two rare FANCM deleterious variants p.Arg658* and p.Arg1931* are risk factors for ER-negative and TNBC subtypes. Overall our data suggest that the effect of truncating variants on breast cancer risk may depend on their position in the gene. Cell sensitivity to olaparib exposure, identifies a possible therapeutic option to treat FANCM-associated tumors

Effects of a high-dose 24-h infusion of tranexamic acid on death and thromboembolic events in patients with acute gastrointestinal bleeding (HALT-IT): an international randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background: Tranexamic acid reduces surgical bleeding and reduces death due to bleeding in patients with trauma. Meta-analyses of small trials show that tranexamic acid might decrease deaths from gastrointestinal bleeding. We aimed to assess the effects of tranexamic acid in patients with gastrointestinal bleeding. Methods: We did an international, multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled trial in 164 hospitals in 15 countries. Patients were enrolled if the responsible clinician was uncertain whether to use tranexamic acid, were aged above the minimum age considered an adult in their country (either aged 16 years and older or aged 18 years and older), and had significant (defined as at risk of bleeding to death) upper or lower gastrointestinal bleeding. Patients were randomly assigned by selection of a numbered treatment pack from a box containing eight packs that were identical apart from the pack number. Patients received either a loading dose of 1 g tranexamic acid, which was added to 100 mL infusion bag of 0·9% sodium chloride and infused by slow intravenous injection over 10 min, followed by a maintenance dose of 3 g tranexamic acid added to 1 L of any isotonic intravenous solution and infused at 125 mg/h for 24 h, or placebo (sodium chloride 0·9%). Patients, caregivers, and those assessing outcomes were masked to allocation. The primary outcome was death due to bleeding within 5 days of randomisation; analysis excluded patients who received neither dose of the allocated treatment and those for whom outcome data on death were unavailable. This trial was registered with Current Controlled Trials, ISRCTN11225767, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01658124. Findings: Between July 4, 2013, and June 21, 2019, we randomly allocated 12 009 patients to receive tranexamic acid (5994, 49·9%) or matching placebo (6015, 50·1%), of whom 11 952 (99·5%) received the first dose of the allocated treatment. Death due to bleeding within 5 days of randomisation occurred in 222 (4%) of 5956 patients in the tranexamic acid group and in 226 (4%) of 5981 patients in the placebo group (risk ratio [RR] 0·99, 95% CI 0·82–1·18). Arterial thromboembolic events (myocardial infarction or stroke) were similar in the tranexamic acid group and placebo group (42 [0·7%] of 5952 vs 46 [0·8%] of 5977; 0·92; 0·60 to 1·39). Venous thromboembolic events (deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism) were higher in tranexamic acid group than in the placebo group (48 [0·8%] of 5952 vs 26 [0·4%] of 5977; RR 1·85; 95% CI 1·15 to 2·98). Interpretation: We found that tranexamic acid did not reduce death from gastrointestinal bleeding. On the basis of our results, tranexamic acid should not be used for the treatment of gastrointestinal bleeding outside the context of a randomised trial

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P &lt; 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely