Lifting of Ir{100} reconstruction by CO adsorption: An ab initio study

The adsorption of CO on unreconstructed and reconstructed Ir{100} has been studied, using a combination of density functional theory and thermodynamics, to determine the relative stability of the two phases as a function of CO coverage, temperature and pressure. We obtain good agreement with experimentaldata. At zero temperature, the (1X5) reconstruction becomes less stable than the unreconstructed (1X1) surface when the CO coverage exceeds a critical value of 0.09 ML. The interaction between CO molecules is found to be repulsive on the reconstructed surface, but attractive on the unreconstructed, explaining the experimental observation of high CO coverage on growing (1X1) islands. At all temperatures and pressures, we find only two possible stable states: 0.05 ML CO c(2X2) overlayer on the (1X1) substrate, and the clean (1$\times$5) reconstructed surface.Comment: 31 page

Genomics-Integrated Breeding for Carotenoids and Folates in Staple Cereal Grains to Reduce Malnutrition

Globally, two billion people suffer from micronutrient deficiencies. Cereal grains provide more than 50% of the daily requirement of calories in human diets, but they often fail to provide adequate essential minerals and vitamins. Cereal crop production in developing countries achieved remarkable yield gains through the efforts of the Green Revolution (117% in rice, 30% in wheat, 530% in maize, and 188% in pearl millet). However, modern varieties are often deficient in essential micronutrients compared to traditional varieties and land races. Breeding for nutritional quality in staple cereals is a challenging task; however, biofortification initiatives combined with genomic tools increase the feasibility. Current biofortification breeding activities include improving rice (for zinc), wheat (for zinc), maize (for provitamin A), and pearl millet (for iron and zinc). Biofortification is a sustainable approach to enrich staple cereals with provitamin A, carotenoids, and folates. Significant genetic variation has been found for provitamin A (96–850 mg and 12–1780 mg in 100 g in wheat and maize, respectively), carotenoids (558–6730 mg in maize), and folates in rice (11–51 mg) and wheat (32.3–89.1 mg) in 100 g. This indicates the prospects for biofortification breeding. Several QTLs associated with carotenoids and folates have been identified in major cereals, and the most promising of these are presented here. Breeding for essential nutrition should be a core objective of next-generation crop breeding. This review synthesizes the available literature on folates, provitamin A, and carotenoids in rice, wheat, maize, and pearl millet, including genetic variation, trait discovery, QTL identification, gene introgressions, and the strategy of genomics-assisted biofortification for these traits. Recent evidence shows that genomics-assisted breeding for grain nutrition in rice, wheat, maize, and pearl millet crops have good potential to aid in the alleviation of micronutrient malnutrition in many developing countries

Mucocutaneous manifestations of HIV infection

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is associated with various mucocutaneous features, which may be the first pointer towards the existence of HIV infection. This study was done to note the different mucocutaneous lesions present in the HIV population in eastern India. METHODS: Four hundred and ten HIV seropositive patients attending the outpatient and inpatient departments were included in the study. RESULTS: Out of 410 HIV positives, 40% had mucocutaneous involvement at presentation. The mean age of the study population was 29 years and male to female ratio was 2.5:1. The common mucocutaneous morbidities included oral candidiasis (36%), dermatophytosis and gingivitis (13% each), herpes zoster (6%), herpes simplex and scabies (5% each). A striking feature, noted in 36% males, was straightening of hairs. Genital herpes was the commonest genital ulcer disease. Lesions associated with declining immunity included oral candidiasis, oral hairy leukoplakia and herpes zoster with median CD4 counts of 98, 62 and 198/\u3bcL respectively. CONCLUSION: Early recognition of mucocutaneous manifestations and associated STDs help in better management of HIV/AIDS

Cost of diabetes care in out-patient clinics of Karachi, Pakistan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a growing epidemic and the cost of treating diabetes is largely increasing. The objective of this study was to estimate the cost-of-illness of DM among attendees of out-patient clinics in Karachi, Pakistan. This is the first study conducted from a societal perspective to estimate the cost of managing diabetes in Pakistan.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A prevalence-based 'Cost-of-Illness' study for diabetes care was conducted in six different out-patient clinics of Karachi, Pakistan from July to September 2006. A pre-tested questionnaire was administered to collect the data from 345 randomly selected persons with diabetes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The annual mean direct cost for each person with diabetes was estimated to be Pakistani rupees 11,580 (US$ 197). Medicines accounted for the largest share of direct cost (46%), followed by laboratory investigations (32%). We found that increased age, the number of complications and longer duration of the disease significantly increase the burden of cost on society (p < 0.001). Comparing cost with family income it was found that the poorest segment of society is spending 18% of total family income on diabetes care.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study concluded that substantial expenditure is incurred by people with diabetes; with the implication that resources could be saved by prevention, earlier detection and a reduction in diabetes co-morbidities and complications through improved diabetes care. Large scale and cost-effective prevention programs need to be initiated to maximise health gains and to reverse the advance of this epidemic.</p

Transforming the Archival Classroom for a Connected Reality

The Archival / Preservation Education SIG panel engages with interconnected external pressures and curricular goals in the archival classroom. Four moderated presentations focus on innovative classroom pedagogy, including modeling and visualizing collection data, the digital and physical interconnectedness of digitization activities in pre-professional training, and practical experience and deliverables with unique archival collections; presenters bring perspectives from three states and two countries. “Inclusive Collection Visualization and Arrangement” by Sarah Buchanan discusses the data practice of visualization as a creative response to archival arrangement and metrics for aggregating collection attributes. “Paradigm Shift in LIS Education from Digital Revolution to a Cyber-Physical System” by Najim Babalola examines how emerging and immersive information and communication technologies (ICT) such as digitization are changing service deliveries, with a view to preparing prospective professionals in Nigeria with knowledge and critical skills. “Closing Doors Opens Others: Exploring Pedagogical Opportunities through Temporary Custody of Records” by Katherine Wisser, Adam Kriesberg, and Sarah Pratt reviews how faculty, archives staff, and students across levels are processing and learning with the American Textile History Museum records, before eventual transfer to UMass Lowell. “Education to Support Language Data Archives and Preservation: Experiential Learning and Community Collaboration in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Course at University of North Texas” shares lessons learned in teaching a multi-modal, team-based, and experiential course with South Asian language materials and UNT Digital Collections

CoRSAL Occasional Publications

This extremely valuable collection of texts in the Lahu language represents the language and culture in the 1960’s, a time when the heritage language and culture were still vibrant and not yet globalized, hence the title Window on a Vanished World. It is also one of the largest collections of texts in any Tibeto-Burman language. The texts are available as a book and online with the audio (originally from 1960’s magnetic tape). This is a massive achievement for all involved in the recording, conversion, and editing

Reversed anisotropies and thermal contraction of FCC (110) surfaces

The observed anisotropies of surface vibrations for unreconstructed FCC metal (110) surfaces are often reversed from the "common sense" expectation. The source of these reversals is investigated by performing ab initio density functional theory calculations to obtain the surface force constant tensors for Ag(110), Cu(110) and Al(110). The most striking result is a large enhancement in the coupling between the first and third layers of the relaxed surface, which strongly reduces the amplitude of out-of-plane vibrations of atoms in the first layer. This also provides a simple explanation for the thermal contraction of interlayer distances. Both the anisotropies and the thermal contraction arise primarily as a result of the bond topology, with all three (110) surfaces showing similar behavior.Comment: 13 pages, in revtex format, plus 1 postscript figur

Comparative Profiling of Volatile Compounds in Popular South Indian Traditional and Modern Rice Varieties by Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry Analysis

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the major cereal crops cultivated across the world, particularly in Southeast Asia with 95% of global production. The present study was aimed to evaluate the total phenolic content (TPC) and to profile all the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of eight popular traditional and two modern rice varieties cultivated in South India. Thirty-one VOCs were estimated by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The identified volatile compounds in the 10 rice varieties belong to the chemical classes of fatty acids, terpenes, alkanes, alkenes, alcohols, phenols, esters, amides, and others. Interestingly, most of the identified predominant components were not identical, which indicate the latent variation among the rice varieties. Significant variations exist for fatty acids (46.9–76.2%), total terpenes (12.6–30.7%), total phenols (0.9–10.0%), total aliphatic alcohols (0.8–5.9%), total alkanes (0.5–5.1%), and total alkenes (1.0–4.9%) among the rice varieties. Of all the fatty acid compounds, palmitic acid, elaidic acid, linoleic acid, and oleic acid predominantly varied in the range of 11.1–33.7, 6.1–31.1, 6.0–28.0, and 0.7–15.1%, respectively. The modern varieties recorded the highest palmitic acid contents (28.7–33.7%) than the traditional varieties (11.1–20.6%). However, all the traditional varieties had higher linoleic acid (10.0–28.0%) than the modern varieties (6.0–8.5%). Traditional varieties had key phenolic compounds, stearic acid, butyric acid, and glycidyl oleate, which are absent in the modern varieties. The traditional varieties Seeraga samba and Kichilli samba had the highest azulene and oleic acid, respectively. All these indicate the higher variability for nutrients and aroma in traditional varieties. These varieties can be used as potential parents to improve the largely cultivated high-yielding varieties for the evolving nutritionalmarket. The hierarchical cluster analysis showed three different clusters implying the distinctness of the traditional and modern varieties. This study provided a comprehensive volatile profile of traditional and modern rice as a staple food for energy as well as for aroma with nutrition

Late-onset erythromelalgia in a previously healthy young woman: a case report and review of the literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Erythromelalgia is a rare disorder characterized by episodic erythema and burning pain, which commonly involves the extremities. We present a case of late onset erythromelalgia in a previously healthy young woman and briefly review the literature. Our patient's case also has additional uncommon features not reported previously.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 33-year-old previously healthy Caucasian woman presented with complaints of episodic burning pain and flushing occurring in a central distribution involving her face, ears, upper chest and, occasionally, her upper extremities. Her symptoms were triggered by lying down or warm temperature exposure and were relieved by cooling measures. Extensive diagnostic work-up looking for secondary causes for the symptoms was negative and the diagnosis of erythromelalgia was made based on details provided in her clinical history supported by raised temperature in the affected area measured by thermography during a symptomatic episode. The patient did not respond to pharmacological therapy or surgical sympathectomy. She was advised on lifestyle modification to avoid activities which triggered her symptoms. She was hypothermic with a core temperature between 92 and 95°F. She also had premature ovarian failure, which had not previously been reported.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Erythromelalgia is a rare disorder of unknown cause. There is no confirmatory diagnostic test; diagnosis is based on details provided in the patient's medical history and physical examination during the episodes. For those affected, this disorder leads to significant long-term morbidity and unfortunately, to date, no definitive therapy is available except for lifestyle modification.</p