Comparative study of magnetic and magnetotransport properties of Sm0.55Sr0.45MnO3 thin films grown on different substrates

Highly oriented polycrystalline SSMO thin films deposited on single crystal substrates by ultrasonic nebulized spray pyrolysis have been studied. The film on LAO is under compressive strain while LSAT and STO are under tensile strain. The presence of a metamagnetic state akin to cluster glass formed due to coexisting FM and antiferromagnetic/charge order (AFM/CO) clusters. All the films show colossal magnetoresistance but its temperature and magnetic field dependence are drastically different. In the lower temperature region the magnetic field dependent isothermal resistivity also shows signature of metamagnetic transitions. The observed results have been explained in terms of the variation of the relative fractions of the coexisting FM and AFM/CO phases as a function of the substrate induced strain and oxygen vacancy induced quenched disorder.Comment: 21 page

A study of knowledge beliefs and attitudes regarding aids and human sexuality among medical college, engineering college and university Undergraduates of gorakhpur.

Research Problem: i) What is the level of knowledge and altitude of undergraduates about AIDS and human sexuality? ii) What arc the preferred modes of obtaining such knowledge?. Objectives: To assess the knowledge, beliefs and attitudes of undergraduate students regarding AIDS and human sexuality. Study Design: Self administered questionnaire. Setting and Participants: 1289 undergraduates from B.R.D. Medical College., M. M. M. Engineering College and University of Gorakhpur. Study Variables: Knowledge, beliefs and attitudes regarding AIDS and sexuality. Outcome Variables: Proportion of students having correct knowledge and positive attitudes. Statistical Analysis: By proportions. Result: l.evcl of knowledge about AIDS was generally high. Most of the students obtained knowledge about it through mass media. Few students had misconceptions about transmission of 1IIV infection. Knowledge about sex was obtained mainly from friends (36%) and books (31.31%). Most of the students preferred doctors (44.15%) and friends (43.66%) for asking something about sex. and not their parents (4.37%) or teachers (4.61%). 59.13% of boys and 34.49% of girls thought that students of their age had sex. Conclusion and Recommendations: The most peculiar fact in (his study is that students have no reliable means of obtaining correct information about subjects related to sex. Medical profession contributed very little in providing such knowledge. Most of them relied on their friends for such information. So. emphasis is to be given on recommending proper education material for the youth

Influence of ethnicity on uniqueness & snob value in purchase behaviour of luxury brands

The concept of luxury has been present in various forms since the beginning of civilization. Its role was just as important in ancient western and eastern empires as it is in modern societies. With the clear differences between social classes in earlier civilizations, the consumption of luxury was limited to the elite classes. It also meant the definition of luxury was fairly clear. Whatever the poor cannot have and the elite can was identified as luxury. With increasing ‘democratization’, (Wong & Ahuvia (1998)), several new product categories were created within the luxury market which were aptly called – accessible luxury or mass luxury. This kind of luxury specifically targeted the middle class (or what is sometimes termed as aspiring class). As luxury penetrated into the masses, defining luxury has become difficult (Shukla. 2010).   In contemporary marketing usage, Prof. Bernard Dubois (2004) defines ‘luxury’ as a specific (i.e. higher-priced) tier of offer in almost any product or service category. However, despite the substantial body of knowledge accumulated during the past decades, researchers still haven’t arrived on a common definition of luxury. Many other attempts have been made to define luxury using the price-quality dimension stating higher priced products in any category is luxury. Similarly, researchers have used the uniqueness aspects of luxury too. Prof. Jean-Noel Kapferer (2005), takes an experiential approach and defines luxury as items which provide extra pleasure by flattering all senses at once. Several other researchers focus on exclusivity dimension and argue that luxury evokes a sense of belonging to a certain elite group. Several manufactured products attain the status of "luxury goods" due to their design, quality, durability or performance that are remarkably superior to the comparable substitutes. Thus, virtually every category of goods available on the market today includes a subset of similar products whose "luxury" is marked by better-quality components and materials, solid construction, stylish appearance, increased durability, better performance, advanced features, and so on. As such, these luxury goods may retain or improve the basic functionality for which all items of a given category are originally designed. There are also goods that are perceived as luxurious by the public simply because they play a role of status symbols as such goods tend to signify the purchasing power of those who acquire them. These items, while not necessarily being better (in quality, performance, or appearance) than their less expensive substitutes, are purchased with the main purpose of displaying wealth or income of their owners. These kinds of goods are the objects of a socio-economic phenomenon called conspicuous consumption and commonly include luxury vehicles, watches, jewellery, designer clothing, yachts, as well as large residences and urban mansions

Bruton\u27s Tyrosine Kinase Targeting in Multiple Myeloma.

Multiple myeloma (MM), a clonal plasma cell disorder, disrupts the bones\u27 hematopoiesis and microenvironment homeostasis and ability to mediate an immune response against malignant clones. Despite prominent survival improvement with newer treatment modalities since the 2000s, MM is still considered a non-curable disease. Patients experience disease recurrence episodes with clonal evolution, and with each relapse disease comes back with a more aggressive phenotype. Bruton\u27s Tyrosine Kinase (BTK) has been a major target for B cell clonal disorders and its role in clonal plasma cell disorders is under active investigation. BTK is a cytosolic kinase which plays a major role in the immune system and its related malignancies. The BTK pathway has been shown to provide survival for malignant clone and multiple myeloma stem cells (MMSCs). BTK also regulates the malignant clones\u27 interaction with the bone marrow microenvironment. Hence, BTK inhibition is a promising therapeutic strategy for MM patients. In this review, the role of BTK and its signal transduction pathways are outlined in the context of MM

Regulatory T Cells Suppress T Cell Activation at the Pathologic Site of Human Visceral Leishmaniasis

Suppression of T cell response is thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Regulatory T cell (Treg) mediated immune-suppression is reported in animal models of Leishmania infection. However, their precise role among human patients still requires pathologic validation. The present study is aimed at understanding the frequency dynamics and function of Treg cells in the blood and bone marrow (BM) of VL patients. The study included 42 parasitologically confirmed patients, 17 healthy contact and 9 normal bone marrow specimens (NBM). We show i) the selective accumulation of Treg cells at one of the disease inflicted site(s), the BM, ii) their in vitro expansion in response to LD antigen and iii) persistence after successful chemotherapy. Results indicate that the Treg cells isolated from BM produces IL-10 and may inhibit T cell activation in IL-10 dependent manner. Moreover, we observed significantly higher levels of IL-10 among drug unresponsive patients, suggesting their critical role in suppression of immunity among VL patients. Our results suggest that IL-10 plays an important role in suppression of host immunity in human VL and possibly determines the efficacy of chemotherapy

Meta-Analysis of the Alzheimer\u27s Disease Human Brain Transcriptome and Functional Dissection in Mouse Models.

We present a consensus atlas of the human brain transcriptome in Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD), based on meta-analysis of differential gene expression in 2,114 postmortem samples. We discover 30 brain coexpression modules from seven regions as the major source of AD transcriptional perturbations. We next examine overlap with 251 brain differentially expressed gene sets from mouse models of AD and other neurodegenerative disorders. Human-mouse overlaps highlight responses to amyloid versus tau pathology and reveal age- and sex-dependent expression signatures for disease progression. Human coexpression modules enriched for neuronal and/or microglial genes broadly overlap with mouse models of AD, Huntington\u27s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and aging. Other human coexpression modules, including those implicated in proteostasis, are not activated in AD models but rather following other, unexpected genetic manipulations. Our results comprise a cross-species resource, highlighting transcriptional networks altered by human brain pathophysiology and identifying correspondences with mouse models for AD preclinical studies

Trans-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analysis of prostate cancer identifies new susceptibility loci and informs genetic risk prediction.

Prostate cancer is a highly heritable disease with large disparities in incidence rates across ancestry populations. We conducted a multiancestry meta-analysis of prostate cancer genome-wide association studies (107,247 cases and 127,006 controls) and identified 86 new genetic risk variants independently associated with prostate cancer risk, bringing the total to 269 known risk variants. The top genetic risk score (GRS) decile was associated with odds ratios that ranged from 5.06 (95% confidence interval (CI), 4.84-5.29) for men of European ancestry to 3.74 (95% CI, 3.36-4.17) for men of African ancestry. Men of African ancestry were estimated to have a mean GRS that was 2.18-times higher (95% CI, 2.14-2.22), and men of East Asian ancestry 0.73-times lower (95% CI, 0.71-0.76), than men of European ancestry. These findings support the role of germline variation contributing to population differences in prostate cancer risk, with the GRS offering an approach for personalized risk prediction