Peduncle inheritance behavior in Antheraea mylitta. D. - An interesting observation

In eco-racial hybridization of Antheraea mylitta D.( Raily X Daba ) the occurrence of long peduncle with two and more rings were found to be an interesting observation against Daba cultivar. Preliminary studies indicate to incorporate the peduncle structure in breeding programs apart from investigating its impact on physiological behavior of the insect

Forensic Analysis of an Uncontrolled Fill

This paper outlines the forensic analysis done in relation to a filling done to raise the general ground level in an area where a large housing complex is under construction near New Delhi, India. After the structures had been completed, trenches were dug to lay sewage and other service lines and the soil at the bottom had been observed to be in a slushy condition. A meticulous and detailed forensic diagnosis and analysis indicated uncontrolled filling. Measures were evolved to contain the slushy zone and compact the upper layers so that the service lines as well as roads could be laid. The paper presents the investigations conducted, analysis performed, and evaluation of the successful and satisfactory performance of the recommended remedial measures

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and cytochrome P450 in HIV pathogenesis

High prevalence of cigarette smoking in HIV patients is associated with increased HIV pathogenesis and disease progression. While the effect of smoking on the occurrence of lung cancer has been studied extensively, the association between smoking and HIV pathogenesis is poorly studied. We have recently shown the possible role of cytochrome P450 (CYP) in smoking/nicotine-mediated viral replication. In this review, we focus on the potential role of CYP pathway in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), important constituents of cigarette smoke, mediated HIV pathogenesis. More specifically, we will discuss the role of CYP1A1 and CYP1B1, which are the major PAH-activating CYP enzymes. Our results have shown that treatment with cigarette smoke condensate (CSC) increases viral replication in HIV-infected macrophages. CSC contains PAH, which are known to be activated by CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 into procarcinogens/toxic metabolites. The expression of these CYPs is regulated by aryl hydrocarbon receptors (AHR), the cellular target of PAH, and an important player in various diseases including cancer. We propose that PAH/AHR-mediated CYP pathway is a novel target to develop new interventions for HIV positive smokers

Evolution of Minimally Invasive Surgery for Donor Nephrectomy and Outcomes

Modifications to the laparoscopic donor nephrectomy technique may increase this option to donors who may have been considered unsuitable heretofore

Empirical Measurements of Travelers' Value of Travel Time Reliability

Travel time and travel time reliability are two fundamental factors influencing travel behavior and demand. The concept of the value of time (VOT) has been extensively studied, and estimates of VOT have been obtained from surveys and empirical data. On the other hand, although the importance of value of reliability (VOR) is appreciated, research related to VOR is still in its early stages. VORs have been estimated using surveys but has almost never estimated using empirical data. This research used empirical data to take an initial step toward understanding the importance of travel time reliability. Katy Freeway travelers face a daily choice between reliable tolled lanes and less reliable but untolled lanes. An extensive dataset of Katy Freeway travel was used to examine the influence of time, reliability, and toll on lane-choice behavior. Lack of clarity on how travelers’ perceive travel time reliability meant different measures of reliability had to be tested to see which best represents travelers’ perception. In this research, three different measures of reliability were used, namely, standard deviation of travel time, coefficient of variation of travel time and travel time standard deviation relative to the total trip time. Lane choice was estimated using multinomial logit models. Basic models, including only travel time and toll, yielded reasonable results. Models included VOTs of $1.53/hour,$6.05/hour, and $9.05/hour for off-peak, shoulder, and peak-period travelers, respectively. However, Adding different measures of reliability like standard deviation and coefficient of variation to the models resulted in counter-intuitive results. Positive coefficients for unreliability of travel time were obtained indicating that travelers, at least on the Katy Freeway, do not value travel time reliability as has been theorized in earlier studies on the same. It was concluded that additional research on how travelers perceive the reliability and time savings on MLs is needed because modeling real-world choices of MLs using empirical data and the standard definitions of reliability and time savings did not concur with the existing theory on travel time reliability and led to counter-intuitive results

Sleep duration and breast cancer phenotype

Emerging evidence suggests that short sleep is associated with an increased risk of cancer; however, little has been done to study the role of sleep on tumor characteristics. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between sleep duration and tumor phenotype in 972 breast cancer patients. Sleep duration was inversely associated with tumor grade (univariate P = 0.032), particularly in postmenopausal women (univariate P = 0.018). This association did not reach statistical significance after adjustments for age, race, body mass index, hormone replacement therapy use, alcohol consumption, smoking, and physical activity in the entire study sample (P = 0.052), but it remained statistically significant (P = 0.049) among post-menopausal patients. We did not observe a statistically significant association between sleep duration and stage at diagnosis, ER, or HER2 receptor status. These results present a modest association between short duration of sleep and higher grade breast cancer in post-menopausal women. Further work needs to be done to validate these findings