DCE-MRI and parametric imaging in monitoring response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast carcinoma : a preliminary report

Purpose: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is recommended in patients with locally advanced breast cancer. Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) enables evaluation of the tumour neovasculature that occurs prior to any volume change, which helps identify early treatment failures and allows prompt implementation of second-line therapy. Material and methods: We conducted a prospective study in 14 patients with histopathologically proven breast cancer. DCE-MRI data were acquired using multisection, T1-weighted, 3D vibe sequences with fat suppression before, during, and after IV bolus injection (0.1 mmol/kg body weight, Gadoversetamide, Optimark). Post-processing of dynamic contrast perfusion data was done with the vendor's Tissue 4D software to generate various dynamic contrast parameters, i.e. Ktrans, Kep, Ve, initial area under the time signal curve (IAUC), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), and enhancement curve. Patients underwent MRI examinations at baseline, and then after two cycles, and finally at completion of chemotherapy. Results: Based on Sataloff criteria for pathological responses, four patients out of 14 were responders, and 10 were non-responders. At the 2nd MRI examination, IAUC was significantly smaller in responders than in non-responders (p = 0.023). When the results of the first and second MRI examinations were compared, Kep decreased from baseline to the second MRI (p = 0.03) in non-responders and in responders (p = 0.04). This change was statistically significant in both groups. The ADC values increased significantly in responders from baseline to the third MRI (p = 0.012). Conclusions: In our study, IAUC and ADC were the only parameters that reliably differentiated responders from non-responders after two and three cycles of chemotherapy

Meander Line EBG Based Multiband Antenna for WLAN and WiMAX application

There have been many investigations in the past regarding the design of multi- band antennas. A multiband antenna is the one in which the same antenna can be operated at different frequencies. There have been many approaches towards the design of the multiband antenna like stacked patches, parasitic patches, use of slots, shaping i.e., the use of notches, reactive loading, slot loaded patches etc. The use of slots is an easier approach towards the design of multiband an- tenna as there is a well defined theoretical approach towards the design of the slot antennas. These slots can be cut either in the patch or in the ground plane as needed for the application. Higher gain is an important requirement for an antenna and use of Electromagnetic Band-Gap structures(EBG) is one of the promising technique to achieve this. The present thesis work focuses on the design of multiband antenna as well as novel Electromagnetic Band-Gap structures and their integration for enhance- ment of the gain of the antenna at desired frequencies of operation. The multi- band antenna is designed by cutting slots in the ground plane and the Uniplanar EBG is employed for the gain enhancement. The Fractalized Meander Line EBG based Microstrip Patch Slot Antenna oper- ates in the 6-7 GHz (Extended C-Band) and has a fractional bandwidth of 13% , and it maintains the radiation characteristics in the desired band with gain rang- ing from 5.5 to 7 dB. The Meander Line EBG based Multiband Antenna operates in the WLAN and WiMAX bands at frequencies 2.4, 3.6, 5.2 GHz respectively having gain 3.5 , 4.2 and 6.19 d

Identification of CITES-Listed Euphorbia royleana through DNA Barcoding Technology: A New Facet in Wildlife Forensics

Disorganized and chaotic collection of the Euphorbia plant species from the wild is one of the major reasons for its endangered status. According to CITES, the trade in Euphorbia royleana species is prohibited under Appendix II. However, the trade continues unabated as current identification methods do not discriminate between closely related species.  In the present study, a DNA barcoding method has been used to establish inter- and intra-specific divergences of both matK and rbcL regions by using pairwise genetic distance measurement methods for evaluating the maximum barcoding gap. The matk and rbcL yielded a 100% amplification and sequencing success rate to distinguish closely related species of Euphorbia royleana unambiguously. The matk and rbcL showed average interspecific genetic distance divergence values of 0.031and 0.015, respectively. The maximum number of species-specific SNPs was observed in matK sequences at seven consecutive sites, which could distinguish Euphorbia royleana from closely related species.  The best candidate barcoding region to identify Euphorbia royleana was found to be matK with a single-locus barcoding approach. Furthermore, the species discrimination method was developed with the help of species-specific SNPs derived from the matK barcoding region to accurately authenticate Euphorbia royleana, and it provided 100% species resolutio

A study of habit of fast food eating among school going adolescents and parental advice and its relation with their nutritional status

Background:A study of habit of fast food eating among school going adolescents and parental advice and its relation with their nutritional status.Methods: Design: an epidemiological analytic observational study. Subjects: 600 adolescents’ 15-19 years of age, studying in 11 and 12 classes and included both boys and girls. A single observer interviewed each student and gathered the information regarding their eating habits. It was recorded on a pre-tested open and closed ended Performa. Nutritional status was assessed by BMI. The adolescents for the purpose of analysis were broadly grouped in two groups. Group I (those having normal BMI ranging 18.5 to 25) and group II (Malnourished i.e. those having BMI 25). Group II adolescents were further divided into group IIa (Underweight, BMI25).Results:Adolescents who took both fast food and soft drinks 73.1% were malnourished (group II) as compared to those who did not take both the things 13.7% in group II. Difference was found to be statistically significant (p value 25) subsequently. Incidence of malnutrition was significantly less in 12.4% adolescents’ interfered by their parents as compared to 69.6% of those where parents was not interfering. Difference was found to be statistically significant (P value <0.01).Conclusion: A habit of fast food eating and taking soft drink provokes malnutrition. Interference in eating by parents is beneficial among adolescents.

Thematic analysis of big data in financial institutions using NLP techniques with a cloud computing perspective : a systematic literature review

This literature review explores the existing work and practices in applying thematic analysis natural language processing techniques to financial data in cloud environments. This work aims to improve two of the five Vs of the big data system. We used the PRISMA approach (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) for the review. We analyzed the research papers published over the last 10 years about the topic in question using a keywordbased search and bibliometric analysis. The systematic literature review was conducted in multiple phases, and filters were applied to exclude papers based on the title and abstract initially, then based on the methodology/conclusion, and, finally, after reading the full text. The remaining papers were then considered and are discussed here. We found that automated data discovery methods can be augmented by applying an NLP-based thematic analysis on the financial data in cloud environments. This can help identify the correct classification/categorization and measure data quality for a sentiment analysis

Loss of genetic diversity and inbreeding in Kashmir red deer (Cervus elaphus hanglu) of Dachigam National Park, Jammu & Kashmir, India

BACKGROUND: Hangul (Cervus elaphus hanglu), the eastern most subspecies of red deer, is now confined only to the mountains in the Kashmir region of Jammu & Kashmir State of India. It is of great conservation significance as this is the last and only hope for Asiatic survivor of the red deer species in India. Wild population of free ranging hangul deer inhabiting in and around Dachigam National Park was genetically assessed in order to account for constitutive genetic attributes of hangul population using microsatellite markers. RESULTS: In a pool of 36 multi-locus genotypes, 30 unique individuals were identified based on six microsatellite loci. The estimated cumulative probability of identity assuming all individuals were siblings (P(ID) sibs) was 0.009 (9 in 1000). Altogether, 49 different alleles were observed with mean (± s.e.) allelic number of 8.17 ± 1.05, ranging from 5 to 11 per locus. The observed heterozygosity ranged between 0.08 and 0.83, with mean 0.40 ± 0.11 and the inbreeding coefficient ranged between −0.04 and 0.87 with mean 0.38 ± 0.15. Majority of loci (5/6) were found to be informative (PIC value > 0.5). All loci deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium except Ca-38 (P > 0.05) and none of the pairs of loci showed significant linkage disequilibrium except the single pair of Ca-30 and Ca-43 (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The preliminary findings revealed that hangul population is significantly inbred and exhibited a low genetic diversity in comparison to other deer populations of the world. We suggest prioritizing the potential individuals retaining high heterozygosity for ex situ conservation and genetic monitoring of the hangul population should be initiated covering the entire distribution range to ensure the long term survival of hangul. We speculate further ignoring genetics attributes may lead to a detrimental effect which can negatively influence the reproductive fitness and survivorship of the hangul population in the wild

Post Flowering Stalk Rot Complex of Maize - Present Status and Future Prospects

Post flowering stalk rot complex is one of the most serious, destructive and widespread group of diseases in maize and yield losses range from 10 to 42% and can be as high as 100% in some areas. PFSR nature is often complex as a number of fungi (like Fusarium verticillioides cause Fusarium stalk rot, Macrophomina phaseolina cause charcoal rot, Harpophora maydis cause late wilt) are involved in causation of the diseases. To combat this problem, identification of quantitative trait loci for resistance to PFSR would facilitate the development of disease resistant maize hybrids. Moreover, various chemical and biological control methods have been developed but ma¬jor emphasis is on development of maize cultivars with genetic resistance to for environment friendly control of the Post flowering stalk rot complex. The current paper reviews the information on distribution, impact of the disease, symptoms, epidemiology, disease cycle; genetics of resistance and integrated disease management approaches has been enumerated to understand the present status of knowledge about PFSR complex and will try to focus on the future perspectives available to improve PFSR management