When should COX-2 selective NSAIDs be used for osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis?

Cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) selective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are as effective as acetaminophen and nonselective NSAIDs in treating of osteoarthritis, and are equally effective in reducing pain and inflammation and improving of joint function for patients with rheumatoid arthritis, when compared with nonselective NSAIDs. The COX-2 selective NSAIDs also have a better gastrointestinal safety profile in short-term (6-12 month) treatment (strength of recommendation [SOR]: A, based on meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials withpatient-oriented outcomes)

Spatial Analysis of Rainfall and Temperature Regimes over Selected States of Southeastern Nigeria: Implications for Agricultural Practices

The investigation of rainfall and temperature patterns is of great concern to government of nations, especially since it is evident that changes in their characteristics are especially detrimental for economies that are climate dependent. In south eastern Nigeria Rainfall and temperature have major impacts on agriculture, ecological setting and water resources management.  Also with the recent interest and investment of the government to improve on agriculture, necessitates an investigation of the patterns of rainfall and temperature, since agriculture is still large climate dependent. Expost-facto research method in the context of quasi experimental research design was adopted for the study. Data for rainfall and temperature were obtained from Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET). Analysis of data was achieved using descriptive statistics and analysis of variance. Results showed that there is an upward trend in the rainfall of Abia and Enugu States (0.1026mm and 0.0089mm per annum, respectively) while that of Imo State is a downward trend (1.1255 mm per annum). On the other hand, mean temperature is increasing annually in all the states at the rate of 0.0199 in Abia State, 0.00009 in Enugu state and 0.0151 in Imo state, per annum. The analysis of variance result was significant at p<0.05, revealing that, Rainfall, minimum temperature, maximum temperature and mean temperature were significantly different spatially. This study observed changes and irregularities in the pattern of rainfall and temperature in the south eastern region of Nigeria as a result, the study strongly advocates for a re-examination of anthropogenic actions that will transcend into environmental friendly interactions between man and the environment in the region. Keywords: Spatial, Rainfall, Temperature, Food-Security, South-Easter

Energy compensation and adiposity in humans

Understanding the impacts of activity on energy balance is crucial. Increasing levels of activity may bring diminishing returns in energy expenditure because of compensatory responses in non-activity energy expenditures

How Broken DNA Finds Its Template for Repair: A Computational Approach

Homologous recombination (HR) is the process by which a double-strand break in DNA is repaired using an identical donor template. Despite rapid progress in identifying the functions of the proteins that mediate HR, little is known about how broken DNA finds its homologous template. This process, coined homology search, has been difficult to monitor experimentally. Therefore, we present here a computational approach to model the effect of subnuclear positioning and chromatin dynamics on homology search. We found that, in our model, homology search occurs more efficiently if both the cut site and its template are at the nuclear periphery, whereas restricting the movement of the template or the break alone to the periphery markedly increases the time of the search. Immobilization of either component at any position slows down the search. Based on these results, we propose a new model for homology search, the facilitated random search model, which predicts that the search is random, but that nuclear organization and dynamics strongly influence its speed and efficiency

A large fluvial pulse of organic carbon following the Bornean peat swamp forest fires of 2009

Tropical peatlands are high carbon density ecosystems that are currently extremely vulnerable to destabilisation through human and climate induced changes. They contain 89 Gt carbon (3% global soil carbon) but rapid land use changes (deforestation, drainage) and consequent fire are rapidly releasing this. There are approximately 27.1 million hectares (Mha) (an area approximately equivalent in size to the UK) of peatland in Southeast Asia which accounts for around 56% of all tropical peatlands worldwide. 20.7 Mha (83%) is found in Indonesia, primarily in Eastern Sumatra and Central Kalimantan. The dry season of 2009 (May-October) proved to be one of the most intense Bornean fire events since 1997. We sought to establish how fluvial carbon dynamics in tropical peat rich catchments were affected in the period following these catastrophic fires. Fluvial carbon fluxes were quantified from 8 channels draining peat swamp forest (PSF) catchments in Central Kalimantan, Borneo from weekly measurements over a 6-month period immediately following the end of the fire period. These included 5 channels draining degraded PSF catchments that were subject to fires during the dry season of 2009 and 3 channels draining intact PSF that was unaffected by the fires. Cumulative total organic carbon (TOC) fluxes for the duration of the study were 32 to 68% larger in the catchment channels that had been affected by fire, when compared to fluxes during the same interval in the previous year (which was unexceptional in terms of fire). This is in marked contrast to channels draining the intact (no fire) forest where there were no differences observed in fluxes. Concentration data demonstrates that there was an initial decrease in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration and an increase in particulate organic carbon (POC) immediately following the onset of the first rains which continued for ~1 month until reaching similar levels to the corresponding period in the previous year. For DOC fluxes (the largest fraction) this decrease in concentration was more than offset by a large increase in fluvial discharge (from decreased transpiration and increased runoff through denuded vegetation cover) which contributed an overall net increase in flux. The fire-stimulated increase in fluvial carbon flux is set against a pattern of higher fluxes in the degraded catchments established during the pre-fire year where oxidation of the peat column results in high losses. Our data are the first to demonstrate a large and sustained pulse of fluvial carbon following large scale fires in carbon rich tropical PSF. They point to a previously uncharacterised pathway of carbon loss from these vast carbon stores and they underscore the vulnerability of these stores when subject to anthropogenic disturbance