BIOCHEMICAL AND HISTOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF DELTAMETHRIN EXPOSURE ON THE GILLS OF CARASSIUS AURATUS GIBELIO (Pisces Cyprinidae)

This study investigated the alterations in the activities of several antioxidant enzymesin the gills of the freshwater fish Carassius auratus gibelio exposed to deltamethrin.To get this goal, groups of 10 individuals were exposed for one, two, three, sevenand fourteen days to sublethal concentration of deltamethrin (2 g/L). Anothergroup was used as control. The activities of catalase, gluthatione peroxidase andgluthatione reductase were significantly decreased, while the glutathione-Stransferasewas up-regulated. All fish, exposed to 2glL deltamethrin revealed gillsmorphological alterations after 48h of exposure which were accentuated after 14days. In the gills hyperemia, fusion of secondary lamellae, epithelial layer ruptureand chloride cells proliferation were observed. These results suggest that animmediate adaptive response to the oxidative stress appeared, demonstratingalterations in the antoxidant defense mechanism in the gills of deltamethrinintoxicated fish

Social class representations and construction of entrepreneurial identities in Swedish ELT textbooks

Modern societies across the globe have been deeply transformed by the rise of capitalism and neoliberalism in the last century. This has had a significant impact on education which has been reconfigured to meet the needs of the market rather than the needs of the learner. Language learning in particular becomes instrumental and focuses on preparing individuals for a consumeristic lifestyle or for building successful international business careers. In that sense, from a neoliberal perspective, the social class of the individual is not relevant, and the assumption is that everybody starts on equal footing and with equal possibilities, contrary to reality. Consequently, systematic barriers that lead to social injustice are ignored in neoliberal reasoning. These ideas have been found to be propagated in textbooks for English language learning, which deeply shapes learner perceptions and teacher practices in the classroom. This study focuses on analysing two English textbooks used in Sweden and it aims to identify how social class is represented and the extent to which the texts and the tasks attempt to construct an entrepreneurial identity. The results indicate that an entrepreneurial identity manifests through recurrent narratives which accentuate consumerism, individualism, responsibility etc. Other phenomena identified are social class erasure and a focus on politics of representation rather than distribution. Interviews with 3 teachers were also conducted in order to investigate teacher perceptions and practices concerning social class representations and entrepreneurialism in textbooks. The interviews suggest that teachers are aware and reactive to social class representations in textbooks, but are more concerned about identity representations (gender, racial) rather than socio-economic disparities. Additionally, they show less awareness about content related to entrepreneurialism and adopt a non-critical stance in relation to this neoliberal value

Social class representations and construction of entrepreneurial identities in Swedish ELT textbooks

Modern societies across the globe have been deeply transformed by the rise of capitalism and neoliberalism in the last century. This has had a significant impact on education which has been reconfigured to meet the needs of the market rather than the needs of the learner. Language learning in particular becomes instrumental and focuses on preparing individuals for a consumeristic lifestyle or for building successful international business careers. In that sense, from a neoliberal perspective, the social class of the individual is not relevant, and the assumption is that everybody starts on equal footing and with equal possibilities, contrary to reality. Consequently, systematic barriers that lead to social injustice are ignored in neoliberal reasoning. These ideas have been found to be propagated in textbooks for English language learning, which deeply shapes learner perceptions and teacher practices in the classroom. This study focuses on analysing two English textbooks used in Sweden and it aims to identify how social class is represented and the extent to which the texts and the tasks attempt to construct an entrepreneurial identity. The results indicate that an entrepreneurial identity manifests through recurrent narratives which accentuate consumerism, individualism, responsibility etc. Other phenomena identified are social class erasure and a focus on politics of representation rather than distribution. Interviews with 3 teachers were also conducted in order to investigate teacher perceptions and practices concerning social class representations and entrepreneurialism in textbooks. The interviews suggest that teachers are aware and reactive to social class representations in textbooks, but are more concerned about identity representations (gender, racial) rather than socio-economic disparities. Additionally, they show less awareness about content related to entrepreneurialism and adopt a non-critical stance in relation to this neoliberal value

Maximum principles for some quasilinear elliptic systems

We give maximum principles for solutions u:Ω→ℝ N to a class of quasilinear elliptic systems whose prototype is [Formula presented]where α∈{1,…,N} is the equation index and Ω is an open, bounded subset of ℝ n . We assume that coefficients [Formula presented] are measurable with respect to x, continuous with respect to y∈ℝ N , bounded and elliptic. In vectorial problems, when trying to bound the solution by means of the boundary data, we need to bypass De Giorgi's counterexample by means of some additional structure assumptions on the coefficients [Formula presented]. In this paper, we assume that off-diagonal coefficients [Formula presented], α≠β, have support in some staircase set along the diagonal in the y α ,y β planepublishe

TRABECULAR BONE SCORE AND DENTAL IMPLANT

The article brings in the same plan and unified views related to two different phenomena: dental implant (DI) and osteoporosis. 1. DI and osteoporosis. Successful DI depends on bone quality. One of the relative contraindications of DI is osteoporosis. However, there are studies showing that DI can be done in patients with osteoporosis. In cases of osteoporosis, success depends on the lack of previous antiosteoporotic bisphosphonate treatments. 2, Diagnosis of osteoporosis. It is based on the T-score obtained for Bone Mineral Density (BMD) in DEXA (dual X ray absortiometry) tests; they must be < -2.5. This value is the standard deviation applied to an average obtained from adults. What happens to bone quality in patients with possibly osteoporosis but with BMD > -2.5? The problem of diagnosis can be solved by a new DEXA technique: trabecular bone score.3. Trabecular bone score (TBS) is the mathematical estimation of vertebral microarhitectomy.The vertebra are formed by trabecular bone (the long bone is predominantly the cortical bone). TBS is obtained by DEXA analysis with specific software. A value < -2.5 means osteoporosis. Our data showed that through TBS analysis the prevalence of osteoporosis diagnosis increased by about 40% in patients who have BMD within the limits considered by osteopenia or normal. 4. Relationship between mandible/maxillary and trabecular bone. Mandible and the maxillary are mixed bones. At the surface it presents as a cortical bone, in depth, it presents with trabecular bone structure. The cortical bone (both of mandible & maxillary) is defined as that white structure without a trabecular pattern. The trabecular bone is that part of the mandible that is found between two cortical plates. It is appropriate to make an implant when the cortical bone is more abundant. It is also stated that the implants performed in over 60% trabecular (cancellous) bone are more efficient than those performed in less than 30% of the trabecular bone. The phenomenon arises from the fact that the trabecular bone is more metabolically active and contains more osteoblasts. TBS obtained by DEXA for the vertebrae can be surrogate for the assessment of the trabecular bone in the mandible and maxillary. 5. Drugs that improve the trabecular bone score. Following the re-analysis of the TBS-BMD difference by the TBS technique, the perception of antiosteoporotic drugs has changed. More important is to improve TBS than increase BMD. Thus, teriparatide, then denosumab, strontium, SERM, and lastly bisphosphonates would be preferentially used. Furthermore, teriparatide was the only treatment available for post-bisphosphonates jaw necrosis

Echogenic Content in the Fetal Gallbladder: Systematic Review of Ultrasound Features and Clinical Outcome

It is rare to detect echogenic content in the fetal gallbladder. The etiology, natural course, and prognosis of this condition remain unclear. In addition to providing a systematic review of this topic, we suggest a plan for patient follow-up. From a total of 100 database entries identified in PubMed, EMBASE, and ICTRP reviews, we selected 34 studies in which we investigated the ultrasound features and outcome of this condition. There were 226 fetuses with gallbladder echogenic content identified. Seventy-two fetuses were found to have biliary sludge; thirty cases had a single hyperechogenic focus, and one hundred fetuses had multiple foci in the gallbladder. There were 16 cases of distal shadowing, 37 fetuses with comet tail and twinkling, and 26 cases with no acoustic artifacts. Nine cases of spontaneous resolution before birth have been documented; nine fetuses exhibited no echogenic content at birth, and 138 cases of resolution of echogenic content within the first year of life have been described. Typically, the condition resolves spontaneously during the postnatal period. After adequately reassuring the parents, the patients should be monitored for spontaneous resolution; medical or surgical intervention is not indicated. Asymptomatic patients can be managed with a wait-and-see strategy

Lab-on-a-Chip Platforms as Tools for Drug Screening in Neuropathologies Associated with Blood–Brain Barrier Alterations

Lab-on-a-chip (LOC) and organ-on-a-chip (OOC) devices are highly versatile platforms that enable miniaturization and advanced controlled laboratory functions (i.e., microfluidics, advanced optical or electrical recordings, high-throughput screening). The manufacturing advancements of LOCs/OOCs for biomedical applications and their current limitations are briefly discussed. Multiple studies have exploited the advantages of mimicking organs or tissues on a chip. Among these, we focused our attention on the brain-on-a-chip, blood–brain barrier (BBB)-on-a-chip, and neurovascular unit (NVU)-on-a-chip applications. Mainly, we review the latest developments of brain-on-a-chip, BBB-on-a-chip, and NVU-on-a-chip devices and their use as testing platforms for high-throughput pharmacological screening. In particular, we analyze the most important contributions of these studies in the field of neurodegenerative diseases and their relevance in translational personalized medicine

Removal of Metals from Aqueous Solutions Using Sea Buckthorn Waste from Dietary Supplement Technology

The purpose of this study was to produce additional data for the valorization process of vegetable waste originating from dietary supplement technology. Two types of vegetable waste originating from different technological processes of sea buckthorn oil were used: vegetable waste from organic solvent extraction (P1) and vegetable waste from cold extraction (P2). Batch experiments evaluated the influence of pH, initial metal concentration, contact time, and Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms. The following pollutants—Cu, Cr, Co, Ni, Pb and Zn—from the wastewater were studied. The removal efficiency of metals from wastewater was evaluated at pH 3, 5 and 7. The highest metals removal efficiency was obtained at pH 5. It was observed that the Langmuir isotherm fits the adsorption process very well. Based on the results obtained, it can be concluded that vegetable waste resulting from the sea buckthorn oil industry could have potential applications for removing toxic metals from wastewater due to its high removal efficiency (>80%)

Ultrasonic or Microwave Cascade Treatment of Medicinal Plant Waste

In this study, we present a strategy for valorizing lignocellulosic wastes (licorice root and willow bark) that result from industrial extraction of active principles using water as green solvent and aqueous NaOH solution. The wastes were submitted to severe ultrasound (US) and microwave (MW) treatments. The aim of these treatments was to extract the remaining active principles (using water as a solvent) or to prepare them for cellulose enzymatic hydrolysis to hexoses (performed in an NaOH aqueous solution). The content of glycyrrhizic acid and salicin derivatives in licorice root and willow bark wastes, respectively, were determined. The best results for licorice root were achieved by applying the US treatment for 5 min at 25 °C (26.6 mg glycyrrhizic acid/gDM); while, for willow bark, the best results were achieved by applying the MW treatment for 30 min at 120 °C (19.48 mg salicin/gDM). A degradation study of the targeted compounds was also performed and showed good stability of glycyrrhizic acid and salicin derivatives under US and MW treatments. The soluble lignin concentration prior to enzymatic hydrolysis, as well as the saccharide concentration of the hydrolyzed solution, were determined. As compared with the MW treatment, the US treatment resulted in saccharides concentrations that were 5% and 160% higher for licorice root and willow bark, respectively