FT-IR Spectroscopy Based Evaluation of Changes in Primary Metabolites of Amsonia orientalis after In vitro 6-benzylaminopurine Treatment

Amsonia orientalis Decne. (syn. Rhazya orientalis (Decne.) A. DC.) is only cultivated as an ornamental plant but also has a medicinal merit. The natural populations of the species were taken under conservation as per the Bern Convention by European Council. As one of the most common plant growth regulators and synthetic agricultural fertilizers, the effects of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) at different concentrations on primary metabolites of in vitro propagated A. orientalis have been investigated by using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Among all applied concentrations, 2.0 mg l-1 BAP resulted in increment of hydrogen bonded polysaccharide and proteins concentrations, lipid structure and membrane fluidity. Treatments of 2.0 and 4.0 mg l-1 BAP increased the existence of ferulic acid which also indicates the linkage of xylan and both cellulose and hemicellulose content. There was a significant decrease in the area of the peak which indicated the C=O stretching of proteins and pectins for 0.5 and 1.0 mg l-1 BAP while there was a significant increase for 2.0 and 4.0 mg l-1 of BAP treatments. The evaluation of molecular data from FT-IR spectroscopy as in the current study might help to estimate different physiological changes at the molecular level in plants depending on plant growth regulator and/or fertilizer applications. Thus, this FT-IR based method can be applied to in vitro propagation studies and also to studies focused on effects of pesticide and/or herbicide applications on plants to understand the metabolic changes in target species

Allelopathic potential of macrofungi on germinating maize (Zea mays L.) grain

The effect of methanol extracts of 10 macrofungi was evaluated on grain germination of maize (Zea mays L.). Germination percentage, radicle and plumule length and the level of carbohydrates and fatty acids were measured. Fungal metabolites inhibited germination up to 90.96%, plumule (97.77%) and radicle (92.83%) development. Plumule and radicle lengths were stimulated 35.26 and 10.60% in some assays, respectively. The fungal metabolites decreased the glucose (97.60%), sucrose (90.34%), fructose (96.85%), maltose (95.64%), oleic acid (97.50%) and linoleic acid (98.25%) levels, whereas increasing levels of the glucose (165.14%), sucrose (166.53%), fructose (83.18%), maltose (124.73%), oleic acid (6975.00%) and linoleic acid (5233.33%) were detected in some assays. It is concluded that macrofungi metabolites have commonly inhibitory effects on physiological and morphological processes of germinating maize grain except for considerable increases in the some parameters investigated

The long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children with ADHD in terms of participation, support, and barriers at home

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on participation, support, and barriers at home in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and without ADHD. Design and methods: This study included a total of 227 participants with a mean age of 11.93 ± 2.96 years, comprising 116 children and adolescents with ADHD and 111 without ADHD. The parents or primary caregivers of all the children completed the Participation and Environment Measure for Children and Youth (PEM-CY), which was used to assess participation and environmental factors in the home. The Student's t-test was used to compare numeric data and Chi-square test to categorical data between children and adolescents with ADHD and those without ADHD in all three settings. Results: The children with ADHD were determined to play computer and video games significantly more than children without ADHD (p < 0.001). The mean frequency of participation in arts, crafts, music, hobbies (p < 0.001), school preparation (<0.0001), and homework (<0.003) was significantly higher in children without ADHD. A moderate effect size (ϕ = 0.42) was determined in respect of cognitive demands making it more difficult for children with ADHD to participate in home activities than children without ADHD. Conclusions: Children with ADHD were negatively affected in terms of participating in home activities than their typically developing peers. In addition, cognitive demands prevented their participation and involvement in the home environment while cognitive demands were a support for non-ADHD children. Practical implications: A highlight of this research was the comprehensive investigation of the long-term effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on participation in all activities at home, in addition to the support and barriers in the home environment for children with ADHD compared to typically developing peers

Bloqueio dos nervos ílio‐hipogástrico/ilioinguinal em correção de hérnia inguinal para tratamento da dor no pós‐operatório: comparação entre a técnica de marcos anatômicos e a guiada por ultrassom

ResumoObjetivoComparar a eficácia de bloqueios dos nervos ílio‐hipogástrico/ilioinguinal feitos com a técnica guiada por ultrassom e a de marcos anatômicos para o manejo da dor no pós‐operatório em casos de herniorrafia inguinal em adultos.MétodosForam randomicamente divididos 40 pacientes, estado físico ASA I‐II, em dois grupos iguais: nos grupos AN (técnica de marcos anatômicos) e US (técnica guiada por ultrassom), o bloqueio dos nervos ílio‐hipogástrico/ilioinguinal foi feito com 20mL de levobupivacaína a 0,5% antes da cirurgia com as técnicas especificadas. Escore de dor na avaliação pós‐operatória, tempo de primeira mobilização, tempo de internação hospitalar, escore de satisfação com a analgesia no pós‐operatório, efeitos colaterais induzidos por opiáceos e complicações relacionadas ao bloqueio foram avaliados durante 24horas de pós‐operatório.ResultadosEscores EVA em repouso na sala de recuperação e todos os valores clínicos durante o acompanhamento foram significativamente menores no grupo ultrassom (p<0,01 ou p<0,001). Escores EVA em movimento na sala de recuperação e todos os valores clínicos durante o acompanhamento foram significativamente menores no grupo ultrassom (p<0,001 em todos os tempos avaliados). Enquanto os tempos de internação e da primeira mobilização foram significativamente menores, os índices de satisfação com a analgesia foram significativamente maiores no grupo ultrasom (p<0,05, p<0,001, p<0,001, respectivamente).ConclusãoDe acordo com o nosso estudo, o bloqueio dos nervos ílio‐hipogástrico/ilioinguinal guiado por US em herniorrafias inguinais em adultos proporciona uma analgesia mais eficaz e maior satisfação com a analgesia do que com a técnica de marcos anatômicos. Além disso, pode‐se sugerir que a observação das estruturas anatômicas com a US pode aumentar o sucesso do bloqueio e minimizar as complicações relacionadas ao bloqueio.AbstractObjectivesThe purpose of this study is to compare the efficacy of iliohypogastric/ilioinguinal nerve blocks performed with the ultrasound guided and the anatomical landmark techniques for postoperative pain management in cases of adult inguinal herniorrhaphy.Methods40 patients, ASA I–II status were randomized into two groups equally: in Group AN (anatomical landmark technique) and in Group ultrasound (ultrasound guided technique), iliohypogastric/ilioinguinal nerve block was performed with 20ml of 0.5% levobupivacaine prior to surgery with the specified techniques. Pain score in postoperative assessment, first mobilization time, duration of hospital stay, score of postoperative analgesia satisfaction, opioid induced side effects and complications related to block were assessed for 24h postoperatively.ResultsVAS scores at rest in the recovery room and all the clinical follow‐up points were found significantly less in Group ultrasound (p<0.01 or p<0.001). VAS scores at movement in the recovery room and all the clinical follow‐up points were found significantly less in Group ultrasound (p<0.001 in all time points). While duration of hospital stay and the first mobilization time were being found significantly shorter, analgesia satisfaction scores were found significantly higher in ultrasound Group (p<0.05, p<0.001, p<0.001 respectively).ConclusionAccording to our study, US guided iliohypogastric/ilioinguinal nerve block in adult inguinal herniorrhaphies provides a more effective analgesia and higher satisfaction of analgesia than iliohypogastric/ilioinguinal nerve block with the anatomical landmark technique. Moreover, it may be suggested that the observation of anatomical structures with the US may increase the success of the block, and minimize the block‐related complications

Parallelizing heuristics for generating synchronizing sequences

Synchronizing sequences are used in the context of finite state machine based testing in order to initialize an implementation to a particular state. The cubic complexity of even the fastest heuristic algorithms known in the literature to construct a synchronizing sequence can be a problem in practice. In order to scale the performance of synchronizing heuristics, some algorithmic improvements together with a parallel implementation of these heuristics are proposed in this paper. An experimental study is also presented which shows that the improved/parallel implementation can yield a considerable speedup over the sequential implementation

Interview with Marjorie Harkins Buchanan Kiewit

In this interview with Julia Stringfellow, Marjorie Harkins Buchanan Kiewit, LU class of 1943, discusses her time as a student as well as her time on the Board of Trustees.https://lux.lawrence.edu/oralhistories/1036/thumbnail.jp

A three-dimensional discriminant analysis approach for hyperspectral images

Raman hyperspectral imaging is a powerful technique that provides both chemical and spatial information of a sample matrix being studied. The generated data are composed of three-dimensional (3D) arrays containing the spatial information across the x- and y-axis, and the spectral information in the z-axis. Unfolding procedures are commonly employed to analyze this type of data in a multivariate fashion, where the spatial dimension is reshaped and the spectral data fits into a two-dimensional (2D) structure and, thereafter, common first-order chemometric algorithms are applied to process the data. There are only a few algorithms capable of working with the full 3D array. Herein, we propose new algorithms for 3D discriminant analysis of hyperspectral images based on a three-dimensional principal component analysis linear discriminant analysis (3D-PCA-LDA) and a three-dimensional discriminant analysis quadratic discriminant analysis (3D-PCA-QDA) approach. The analysis was performed in order to discriminate simulated and real-world data, comprising benign controls and ovarian cancer samples based on Raman hyperspectral imaging, in which 3D-PCA-LDA and 3D-PCA-QDA achieved far superior performance than classical algorithms using unfolding procedures (PCA-LDA, PCA-QDA, partial lest squares discriminant analysis [PLS-DA], and support vector machines [SVM]), where the classification accuracies improved from 66% to 83% (simulated data) and from 50% to 100% (real-world dataset) after employing the 3D techniques. 3D-PCA-LDA and 3D-PCA-QDA are new approaches for discriminant analysis of hyperspectral images multisets to provide faster and superior classification performance than traditional techniques

In a real-life setting, direct-acting antivirals to people who inject drugs with chronic hepatitis c in Turkey

Background: People who inject drugs (PWID) should be treated in order to eliminate hepatitis C virus in the world. The aim of this study was to compare direct-acting antivirals treatment of hepatitis C virus for PWID and non-PWID in a real-life setting. Methods: We performed a prospective, non-randomized, observational multicenter cohort study in 37 centers. All patients treated with direct-acting antivirals between April 1, 2017, and February 28, 2019, were included. In total, 2713 patients were included in the study among which 250 were PWID and 2463 were non-PWID. Besides patient characteristics, treatment response, follow-up, and side effects of treatment were also analyzed. Results: Genotype 1a and 3 were more prevalent in PWID-infected patients (20.4% vs 9.9% and 46.8% vs 5.3%). The number of naïve patients was higher in PWID (90.7% vs 60.0%), while the number of patients with cirrhosis was higher in non-PWID (14.1% vs 3.7%). The loss of follow-up was higher in PWID (29.6% vs 13.6%). There was no difference in the sustained virologic response at 12 weeks after treatment (98.3% vs 98.4%), but the end of treatment response was lower in PWID (96.2% vs 99.0%). In addition, the rate of treatment completion was lower in PWID (74% vs 94.4%). Conclusion: Direct-acting antivirals were safe and effective in PWID. Primary measures should be taken to prevent the loss of follow-up and poor adherence in PWID patients in order to achieve World Health Organization’s objective of eliminating viral hepatitis

The genetic history of the Southern Arc: a bridge between West Asia and Europe

By sequencing 727 ancient individuals from the Southern Arc (Anatolia and its neighbors in Southeastern Europe and West Asia) over 10,000 years, we contextualize its Chalcolithic period and Bronze Age (about 5000 to 1000 BCE), when extensive gene flow entangled it with the Eurasian steppe. Two streams of migration transmitted Caucasus and Anatolian/Levantine ancestry northward, and the Yamnaya pastoralists, formed on the steppe, then spread southward into the Balkans and across the Caucasus into Armenia, where they left numerous patrilineal descendants. Anatolia was transformed by intra–West Asian gene flow, with negligible impact of the later Yamnaya migrations. This contrasts with all other regions where Indo-European languages were spoken, suggesting that the homeland of the Indo-Anatolian language family was in West Asia, with only secondary dispersals of non-Anatolian Indo-Europeans from the steppe