Focus prosody in Brahvi and Balochi

Previous research has shown that post-focus compression (PFC) - the reduction of F0 and intensity after a focused word, is present in some languages but absent in many others. It has been hypothesized that the cross-linguistic distribution of PFC parallels that of the Nostratic macro-family. The present study is a test of this Nostratic-origin hypothesis through a comparison of focus prosody in Brahvi, a Dravidian language, and Balochi, an Indo-Iranian language, both alleged members of the Nostratic macro-family. Twenty native speakers from each language produced declarative sentences with different focus conditions. Acoustic analysis showed that, in both languages, post-focus F0 peaks are significantly lower than those in baseline neutral-focus sentences. But post-focus lowering of F0 and intensity is greater in Balochi than in Brahvi. These results offer evidence that at least one of the Dravidian languages has PFC, which is consistent with the Nostratic-origin hypothesis. The weaker form of PFC in Brahvi, however, suggests that factors that may weaken PFC in a language need to be investigated, and other Dravidian languages also need to be studied for the presence of PFC

Outcome of early cardiopulmonary resuscitation in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest managed in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients require immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Early initiation of CPR and defibrillation before arrival at Emergency Department (ED) increases the chance of survival from sudden cardiac arrest. The main objective of this study was to identify the factors that influenced the outcome of early cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients managed at the ED of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC). The second objective was to determine the incidence of CPR initiated by the public prior to ambulance arrival. The present study was a one-year cross-sectional study. The OHCA patients were identified from the ED resuscitation logbook. Patients’ medical records were used to obtain details of the resuscitation. Factors recorded included: aetiology of arrest, initiation of on-scene CPR, use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs), mode of transportation and the incidence of return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) in the ED. Categorical data was analysed using chi-square and Fisher exact tests. Nine patients out of 98 had early CPR. Three patients achieved ROSC. Gender was significantly associated with ROSC (p-value=0.015). More patients who received early CPR achieved ROSC compared to those who received late CPR. The provision of early CPR and usage of AEDs by the public is still low. Female gender had a positive influence on ROSC. Efforts are required to increase the awareness and involvement of the public in initiating early CPR prior to the arrival of ambulance service

Synthesis of some new propanamide derivatives bearing 4- piperidinyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole, and their evaluation as promising anticancer agents

Purpose: To sequentially synthesize piperidine-4-carboxylic acid ethyl ester-appended 1,3,4-oxadiazole hybrids and to evaluate them as anticancer agents.Methods: Ethyl 1-[(4-methylphenyl)sulfonyl]-4-piperidinecarboxylate (1) was synthesized from 4- methylbenzenesulfonylchloride (a) and ethyl 4-piperidinecarboxylate (b). Compound (1) was converted into ethyl 1-[(4-methylphenyl)sulfonyl]-4-piperidine carbohydrazides (2) and 5-{1-[(4- methylphenyl)sulfonyl]-4-piperidinyl}-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiol (3) respectively. A variety of aryl amine (4a-l) were treated with 2-bromopropionylbromide to synthesize an array of propanamide (5a-l). Finally, 5-{1-[(4-methylphenyl)sulfonyl]-4-piperidinyl}-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiol (3) and propanamides (5a-l) were reacted to synthesize target compounds (6a-l). Purity compounds 6a-l was confirmed by spectroscopic techniques like (1H-NMR), (13C-NMR) and EI-MS. To determine their anticancer potential, the change in absorbance of mixture and cell line before and after incubation was determined.Results: All the compounds 6a-l were successfully synthesized in 73-85 % yield. Compounds 6h, 6j and 6e have low IC50 (±SD) values of 20.12 ± 6.20, 10.84 ± 4.2 and 24.57 ± 1.62 μM to act as strong anticancer agents relative to doxorubicin (0.92 ± 0.1 μM) used as a reference.Conclusion: The synthesized propanamide derivatives bearing 4-piperidinyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole are potential anticancer agents, but further studies, especially in vivo, are required to ascertain their therapeutic usefulness.Keywords: Ethyl isonipecotate, Propanamides, 1,3,4-Oxadiazole, Anti-cancer activit

Primary Squamous Cell Carcinoma in the Testis: A Case Report

A 51-yr-old man presented with an enlarged right testis for two months. The radically resected testis showed a relatively well-circumscribed ovoid mass, nearly replacing the normal architecture with central cystic changes. Microscopically, the mass was composed of ovoid shaped tumor cells of a moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). The central portion of the mass was filled with well-formed laminated keratinous materials and the remnant cavity lined by dysplastic squamous epithelium, indicated SCC may be derived from an epidermal cyst. SCC is among the most common types of neoplasm afflicting human beings, but it is rare in the testis. To our knowledge, this is the second report of the testicular squamous cell carcinoma occurring in a patient without other primary tumors, and the firstly reported case in Korea

Spherical averages in the space of marked lattices

A marked lattice is a $d$-dimensional Euclidean lattice, where each lattice point is assigned a mark via a given random field on ${\mathbb Z}^d$. We prove that, if the field is strongly mixing with a faster-than-logarithmic rate, then for every given lattice and almost every marking, large spheres become equidistributed in the space of marked lattices. A key aspect of our study is that the space of marked lattices is not a homogeneous space, but rather a non-trivial fiber bundle over such a space. As an application, we prove that the free path length in a crystal with random defects has a limiting distribution in the Boltzmann-Grad limit

International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology (ISUOG) - the propagation of knowledge in ultrasound for the improvement of OB/GYN care worldwide: experience of basic ultrasound training in Oman.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to evaluate effectiveness of a new ISUOG (International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology) Outreach Teaching and Training Program delivered in Muscat, Oman. METHODS: Quantitative assessments to evaluate knowledge and practical skills were administered before and after an ultrasound course for sonologists attending the ISUOG Outreach Course, which took place in November, 2017, in Oman. Trainees were selected from each region of the country following a national vetting process conducted by the Oman Ministry of Health. Twenty-eight of the participants were included in the analysis. Pre- and post-training practical and theoretical scores were evaluated and compared. RESULTS: Participants achieved statistically significant improvements, on average by 47% (p < 0.001), in both theoretical knowledge and practical skills. Specifically, the mean score in the theoretical knowledge test significantly increased from 55.6% (± 14.0%) to 81.6% (± 8.2%), while in the practical test, the mean score increased from 44.6% (± 19.5%) to 65.7% (± 23.0%) (p < 0.001). Performance was improved post-course among 27/28 participants (96.4%) in the theoretical test (range: 14 to 200%) and among 24/28 (85.7%) trainees in the practical skills test (range: 5 to 217%). CONCLUSION: Application of the ISUOG Basic Training Curriculum and Outreach Teaching and Training Course improved the theoretical knowledge and practical skills of local health personnel. Long-term re-evaluation is, however, considered imperative to ascertain and ensure knowledge retention

Shoulder pain due to cervical radiculopathy: an underestimated long-term complication of herpes zoster virus reactivation?

Purpose To evaluate if herpes zoster virus (HZV) reactivation may be considered in the aetiology of cervical radiculopathy. Methods The study group was composed of 110 patients (52 M-58F;mean age ± SD:46.5 ± 6.12; range:40-73) with a clinical diagnosis of cervical radiculopathy. Patients with signs of chronic damage on neurophysiological studies were submitted to an X-ray and to an MRI of the cervical spine in order to clarify the cause of the cervical radiculopathy and were investigated for a possible reactivation of HZV; HZV reactivation was considered as “recent” or “antique” if it occurs within or after 24 months from the onset of symptoms, respectively. Data were submitted to statistics. Results Thirty-eight patients (34,5%,16 M-22F) had a history of HZV reactivation: four (2 M-2F) were “recent” and 34 (14 M-20F) were “antique”. In 68 of 110 participants (61,8%,30 M-38F), pathological signs on X-ray and/or MRI of the cervical spine appeared; in the remaining 42 (38,2%,22 M-20F) X-ray and MRI resulted as negative. Among patients with HZV reactivation, seven (18,4%) had a “positive” X-ray-MRI while in 31 (81,6%) the instrumental exams were considered as negative. The prevalence of “antique” HZV reactivations was statistically greater in the group of patients with no pathological signs on X-ray/MRI of the cervical spine with respect to the group with a pathological instrumental exam (p < 0.01). Conclusions It may be useful to investigate the presence of a positive history of HZV reactivation and to consider it as a long-term complication of a cervical root inflammation especially in patients in which X-ray and MRI of the cervical spine did not show pathological findings

Interactive effects of biochar and chemical fertilizer on water and nitrogen dynamics, soil properties and maize yield under different irrigation methods

Long-term application of nitrogen (N) fertilizer adversely degrades soil and decreases crop yield. Biochar amendment with N fertilizer not only can increase yield but also can improve the soil. A 3-year field experiment was conducted to determine the effect of biochar doses with N fertilizer on maize yield and soil N and water dynamics under border irrigation (BI) and drip irrigation (DI) methods. Treatments were 260 kg N ha−1 without biochar addition and combined with low, medium, and high doses of biochar, namely, 15.5 t ha−1, 30.7 t ha−1, and 45.3 t ha−1 (NB0, NB1, NB2, and NB3), respectively. The biochar doses and irrigation methods significantly (p &lt; 0.05) increased maize growth and yield characteristics, irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE), and fertilizer N use efficiency (FNUE) and enhanced the soil properties. In the BI and DI method, the NB1, NB2, and NB3 treatments increased yield by 4.96%–6.10%, 8.36%–9.85%, and 9.65%–11.41%, respectively, compared to NB0. In terms of IWUE and FNUE, the non-biochar treatment had lower IWUE and FNUE compared to biochar combined with N fertilizer treatments under both BI and DI methods. In the BI method, the IWUE in NB2 and NB3 ranged from 3.36 to 3.43 kg kg−1, and in DI, it was maximum, ranging from 5.70 to 5.94 kg kg−1. Similarly, these medium and high doses of biochar increased the FNUE of maize. The FNUEs in NB2 and NB3 under BI ranged from 38.72 to 38.95 kg kg−1 and from 38.89 to 39.58 kg kg−1, while FNUEs of these same treatments under DI ranged from 48.26 to 49.58 kg kg−1 and from 48.92 to 50.28 kg kg−1. The effect of biochar was more obvious in DI as compared to the BI method because soil water content (SWC) and soil N concentrations (SNCs) were higher at rhizosphere soil layers under DI. Biochar improved SWC and SNC at 0–20 cm and 20–40 cm soil layers and decreased below 60-cm soil layers. In contrast, despite biochar-controlled SWC and SNCs, still, values of these parameters were higher in deeper soil layers. In the BI method, the SNCs were higher at 60–80 cm and 80–100 cm compared to the top and middle soil layers. Depth-wise results of SNC demonstrated that the biochar’s ability to store SNC was further enhanced in the DI method. Moreover, biochar increased soil organic matter (OM) and soil aggregate stability and maintained pH. The NB0 treatment increased soil OM by 11.11%–14.60%, NB2 by 14.29%–19.42%, and NB3 by 21.98%–23.78% in both irrigation methods. This increased OM resulted in improved average soil aggregates stability by 2.45%–11.71% and 4.52%–14.66% in the BI and DI method, respectively. The results of our study revealed that combined application of N fertilizer with a medium dose of biochar under the DI method would be the best management practice, which will significantly increase crop yield, improve SWC, enrich SNC and OM, improve soil structure, and maintain pH