Gazed representation: Analysis of gender portrayal in Hindi and English music videos

The study based upon content analysis, mainly compares genderrepresentations through male gaze, framing, and camera lens inIndian and European music videos from year 2009 to 2013 It is ananalysis of sixty music videos, thirty from each industry,comprising the top six chart busters from each year of thechosen time frame. The theoretical framework of this research isembedded in the nexus of Laura Mulvey's male gaze and"lookedatness".. It observes the sexual depiction of leadcharacters through dressing style, onscreengender presenceas well as gender representation in popular music videos.Findings reveal that Hindi songs were shot with strongermale gaze slant as compared to American/British songs andmore screen time was given to females in both music industriesyet individually, Hindi songs were more centralized on femaleleads. Both Indian and European music videos featuredfemales in provocative sexual apparels while displayingseductive behaviors, while majority of singers/heroines werebarely or semicladyet males were usually fully dressed in almostall observed songs. Results also reveal that most of the songs weresung by male singers/leads but the focus of the videos remainedprimarily on female characters and their bodies. This studyprovides an important approach for future researchers, as themanufactured reality of gender through the contemporary Easternand Western music industry is strikingly different from the realgender trends and practised culture in the respective societies,which needs to be further investigated in the context ofglobalization

Positional effect of phosphorylation sites 266 and 267 in the cytoplasmic domain of the E2 protein of hepatitis C virus 3a genotype: Interferon Resistance analysis via Sequence Alignment

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Interferon is well thought-out as the key defence against all infections including HCV. The only treatment for HCV infection is pegylated interferon alpha (IFN-α) but unluckily more than half of the infected individuals do not act in response to the cure and become chronic HCV carriers. The mechanism how HCV induce interferon resistance is still elusive. It is recently reported that HCV envelope protein 2 interacts with PKR which is the interferon-inducible protein kinase and which in turn blocks the activity of its target molecule called eukaryotic initiation factor elF2. Sequence analysis of Envelope protein reveals it contains a domain homologous to phosphorylation sites of PKR andthe translation initiation factor eIF2alpha. Envelope protein competes for phosphorylation with PKR. Inhibition of kinase activity of PKR is postulated as a mechanism of to interferon (IFN) resistance.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Present study involves the insilico investigation of possible role of potential phosphorylation in envelope 2 protein of 3a genotype in interferon resistance. Envelope protein coding genes were isolated from local HCV isolates, cloned and sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis was done and tertiary structure of envelope gene was predicted. Visualization of phosphorylation in tertiary structure reveals that residue 266 and 267 of envelope gene 2 are surface exposed and their phosphorylation may compete with the phosphorylation of PKR protein and possibly involved in mediating Interferon Resistance.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A hybrid in-silico and wet laboratory approach of motif prediction, evolutionary and structural analysis has pointed out serine 266 and 267 of the HCV E2 gene as a hopeful claimant for the serine phosphorylation. Recognition of these nucleotide variations may assist to propose genotype precise therapy to avoid and resolve HCV infections.</p

Diagnosis and Identification of Zoonotic Diseases Associated with Cattle at Abattoirs: Current Trends and Future Prospectus

Zoonoses are illnesses and infections that spread spontaneously from animals to people. They account for over 70% of recently developing infectious illnesses. Meat from cattle is one of the main sources of red meat and essential element of human diet. Meat inspection (MI) is an important aspect to ensure the safety during handling and consuming of meat and meat by-products. Abattoir or modern slaughterhouse is the place where infections are acquired by the workers or veterinary professional as zoonoses. Bacterial zoonotic diseases such as erysipelothricosis, brucella, listeria, and anthrax and viral zoonotic diseases like cow pox, foot and mouth disease, and rift valley fever are causing great economic losses and are important in terms of zoonoses. These zoonotic diseases are mostly diagnosed at abattoir levels using conventional approaches; however, diagnosis and identification of these diseases using latest methods is an important aspect for ensuring meat safety and hygiene. This chapter will discuss the current trends and future prospects about diagnosis and identification of these zoonotic diseases

Envelope 2 protein phosphorylation sites S75 & 277 of hepatitis C virus genotype 1a and interferon resistance: A sequence alignment approach

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hepatitis C is a major health problem affecting more than 200 million individuals in world including Pakistan. Current treatment regimen consisting of interferon alpha and ribavirin does not always succeed to eliminate virus completely from the patient's body.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Interferon induced antiviral protein kinase R (PKR) has a role in the hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment as dsRNA activated PKR has the capacity to phosphorylate the serine and threonine of E2 protein and dimerization viral RNA. E2 gene of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 has an active role in IFN resistance. E2 protein inhibits and terminates the kinase activity of PKR by blocking it in protein synthesis and cell growth. This brings forward a possible relation of E2 and PKR through a mechanism via which HCV evades the antiviral effect of IFN.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A hybrid in-silico and wet laboratory approach of motif prediction, evolutionary and structural anlysis has pointed out serine 75 and 277 of the HCV E2 gene as a promising candidate for the serine phosphorylation. It is proposed that serine phosphorylation of HCV E2 gene has a significant role in interferon resistance.</p

Adding 6 months of androgen deprivation therapy to postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer: a comparison of short-course versus no androgen deprivation therapy in the RADICALS-HD randomised controlled trial

Background Previous evidence indicates that adjuvant, short-course androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) improves metastasis-free survival when given with primary radiotherapy for intermediate-risk and high-risk localised prostate cancer. However, the value of ADT with postoperative radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy is unclear. Methods RADICALS-HD was an international randomised controlled trial to test the efficacy of ADT used in combination with postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer. Key eligibility criteria were indication for radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, prostate-specific antigen less than 5 ng/mL, absence of metastatic disease, and written consent. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to radiotherapy alone (no ADT) or radiotherapy with 6 months of ADT (short-course ADT), using monthly subcutaneous gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue injections, daily oral bicalutamide monotherapy 150 mg, or monthly subcutaneous degarelix. Randomisation was done centrally through minimisation with a random element, stratified by Gleason score, positive margins, radiotherapy timing, planned radiotherapy schedule, and planned type of ADT, in a computerised system. The allocated treatment was not masked. The primary outcome measure was metastasis-free survival, defined as distant metastasis arising from prostate cancer or death from any cause. Standard survival analysis methods were used, accounting for randomisation stratification factors. The trial had 80% power with two-sided α of 5% to detect an absolute increase in 10-year metastasis-free survival from 80% to 86% (hazard ratio [HR] 0·67). Analyses followed the intention-to-treat principle. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN40814031, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00541047. Findings Between Nov 22, 2007, and June 29, 2015, 1480 patients (median age 66 years [IQR 61–69]) were randomly assigned to receive no ADT (n=737) or short-course ADT (n=743) in addition to postoperative radiotherapy at 121 centres in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the UK. With a median follow-up of 9·0 years (IQR 7·1–10·1), metastasis-free survival events were reported for 268 participants (142 in the no ADT group and 126 in the short-course ADT group; HR 0·886 [95% CI 0·688–1·140], p=0·35). 10-year metastasis-free survival was 79·2% (95% CI 75·4–82·5) in the no ADT group and 80·4% (76·6–83·6) in the short-course ADT group. Toxicity of grade 3 or higher was reported for 121 (17%) of 737 participants in the no ADT group and 100 (14%) of 743 in the short-course ADT group (p=0·15), with no treatment-related deaths. Interpretation Metastatic disease is uncommon following postoperative bed radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy. Adding 6 months of ADT to this radiotherapy did not improve metastasis-free survival compared with no ADT. These findings do not support the use of short-course ADT with postoperative radiotherapy in this patient population

Duration of androgen deprivation therapy with postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer: a comparison of long-course versus short-course androgen deprivation therapy in the RADICALS-HD randomised trial

Background Previous evidence supports androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with primary radiotherapy as initial treatment for intermediate-risk and high-risk localised prostate cancer. However, the use and optimal duration of ADT with postoperative radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy remains uncertain. Methods RADICALS-HD was a randomised controlled trial of ADT duration within the RADICALS protocol. Here, we report on the comparison of short-course versus long-course ADT. Key eligibility criteria were indication for radiotherapy after previous radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, prostate-specific antigen less than 5 ng/mL, absence of metastatic disease, and written consent. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to add 6 months of ADT (short-course ADT) or 24 months of ADT (long-course ADT) to radiotherapy, using subcutaneous gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogue (monthly in the short-course ADT group and 3-monthly in the long-course ADT group), daily oral bicalutamide monotherapy 150 mg, or monthly subcutaneous degarelix. Randomisation was done centrally through minimisation with a random element, stratified by Gleason score, positive margins, radiotherapy timing, planned radiotherapy schedule, and planned type of ADT, in a computerised system. The allocated treatment was not masked. The primary outcome measure was metastasis-free survival, defined as metastasis arising from prostate cancer or death from any cause. The comparison had more than 80% power with two-sided α of 5% to detect an absolute increase in 10-year metastasis-free survival from 75% to 81% (hazard ratio [HR] 0·72). Standard time-to-event analyses were used. Analyses followed intention-to-treat principle. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN40814031, and ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT00541047 . Findings Between Jan 30, 2008, and July 7, 2015, 1523 patients (median age 65 years, IQR 60–69) were randomly assigned to receive short-course ADT (n=761) or long-course ADT (n=762) in addition to postoperative radiotherapy at 138 centres in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the UK. With a median follow-up of 8·9 years (7·0–10·0), 313 metastasis-free survival events were reported overall (174 in the short-course ADT group and 139 in the long-course ADT group; HR 0·773 [95% CI 0·612–0·975]; p=0·029). 10-year metastasis-free survival was 71·9% (95% CI 67·6–75·7) in the short-course ADT group and 78·1% (74·2–81·5) in the long-course ADT group. Toxicity of grade 3 or higher was reported for 105 (14%) of 753 participants in the short-course ADT group and 142 (19%) of 757 participants in the long-course ADT group (p=0·025), with no treatment-related deaths. Interpretation Compared with adding 6 months of ADT, adding 24 months of ADT improved metastasis-free survival in people receiving postoperative radiotherapy. For individuals who can accept the additional duration of adverse effects, long-course ADT should be offered with postoperative radiotherapy. Funding Cancer Research UK, UK Research and Innovation (formerly Medical Research Council), and Canadian Cancer Society

Factors that Sustain Health and Safety Management Practices in the Food Industry

Due to the significant change in business organizations, scholarly interest has diverted from studying the determinants of financial performance to understanding the environmental activities, sustainability practices, and health and safety management practices. Despite the extensive literature, it is yet to understand either internal or external factors that improve health and safety management practices in SMEs. This research examines the influence of the internal factors&mdash;intellectual capital, information technology capabilities (ITC), and entrepreneurial orientation, and the external capabilities&mdash;government financial support, institutional pressure, and managerial networking on six health and safety management practices: management commitment, staff training, worker involvement, safety communication and feedback, safety rules and procedures, and safety promotion policies. We researched 410 Pakistani SMEs from the food business industry. The results indicate that intellectual capital significantly improves management commitment, safety communication and feedback, and safety rules and produces; ITC significantly improves management commitment and safety communication and feedback; and entrepreneurial orientation significantly facilitates safety training and worker involvement only. In the external capabilities, government financial support has a significant influence on management commitment, worker involvement, safety rules and policies, and safety promotion policies. Institutional pressure has a significant influence on management commitment, safety training, safety communication, and feedback and safety promotion policies. Managerial networking significantly influences safety training, worker involvement, safety rules and procedures, and safety promotion policies of SMEs. Focusing only on the food industry is the major limitation of this research, this study recommends SMEs to give sufficient attention to their internal and external factors to enhance health and safety management practices. Further implications are discussed

Linear programming based computational technique for leukemia classification using gene expression profile.

Cancer is a serious public health concern worldwide and is the leading cause of death. Blood cancer is one of the most dangerous types of cancer. Leukemia is a type of cancer that affects the blood cell and bone marrow. Acute leukemia is a chronic condition that is fatal if left untreated. A timely, reliable, and accurate diagnosis of leukemia at an early stage is critical to treating and preserving patients' lives. There are four types of leukemia, namely acute lymphocytic leukemia, acute myelogenous leukemia, chronic lymphocytic in extracting, and chronic myelogenous leukemia. Recognizing these cancerous development cells is often done via manual analysis of microscopic images. This requires an extraordinarily skilled pathologist. Leukemia symptoms might include lethargy, a lack of energy, a pale complexion, recurrent infections, and easy bleeding or bruising. One of the challenges in this area is identifying subtypes of leukemia for specialized treatment. This Study is carried out to increase the precision of diagnosis to assist in the development of personalized plans for treatment, and improve general leukemia-related healthcare practises. In this research, we used leukemia gene expression data from Curated Microarray Database (CuMiDa). Microarrays are ideal for studying cancer, however, categorizing the expression pattern of microarray information can be challenging. This proposed study uses feature selection methods and machine learning techniques to predict and classify subtypes of leukemia in gene expression data CuMiDa (GSE9476). This research work utilized linear programming (LP) as a machine-learning technique for classification. Linear programming model classifies and predicts the subtypes of leukemia Bone_Marrow_CD34, Bone Marrow, AML, PB, and PBSC CD34. Before using the LP model, we selected 25 features from the given dataset of 22283 features. These 25 significant features were the most distinguishing for classification. The classification accuracy of this work is 98.44%

Existence of common fuzzy fixed points via fuzzy F-contractions in b-metric spaces

Abstract The main goal of this study is to establish common fuzzy fixed points in the context of complete b-metric spaces for a pair of fuzzy mappings that satisfy F-contractions. To strengthen the validity of the derived results, non-trivial examples are provided to substantiate the conclusions. Moreover, prior discoveries have been drawn as logical extensions from pertinent literature. Our findings are further reinforced and integrated by the numerous implications that this technique has in the literature. Using fixed point techniques to approximate the solutions of differential and integral equations is very useful. Specifically, in order to enhance the validity of our findings, the existence result of the system of non-linear Fredholm integral equations of second-kind is incorporated as an application