Short communication: In vitro screening of Sonneratia alba extract against the oomycete fish pathogen, Aphanomyces invadans

Epizootic ulcerative syndrome (EUS), caused by the aquatic oomycete fish pathogen, Aphanomyces invadans (David and Kirk, 1997) is one of the OIE-listed diseases that leads to huge economic losses in the fish industry in the world. Traditional disease management strategies relying on chemotherapy continue to cause undesirable effects such as antibiotic resistance, environmental pollution and food security issues (Pandey et al., 2012). In addition, there has been no vaccine available to prevent the outbreak of EUS according to the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) (2015). Therefore, many current research focuses on alternative strategies such as using plants for EUS treatments (Fairweather, 1999; Campbell et al., 2001; Chowdhury and Rahman, 2013; Alam et al., 2014; Uthayakumar et al., 2014; Kumar et al., 2015; Yogeshwari et al., 2015)

Clash of the Paladins: India's Hindu-nationalism in decline?

Hindu-nationalism is generally portrayed by most observers as the largest threat to India's democracy

GZ coupling to the rat κ-opioid receptor

AbstractWe have expressed the cloned rat κ-opioid receptor in human embryonic kidney 293 cells and studied the ability of κ-selective ligands to inhibit adenylyl cyclase. In transfected 293 cells, activation of the κ-opioid receptor by U50,488 and the dynorphins resulted in the inhibition of cAMP accumulation. The inhibitory response was sensitive to pertussis toxin and highly selective for κ-agonists; neither μ- nor θ-opioids were able to activate the κ-opioid receptor. Upon co-transfection with the α subunit of Gz, inhibition of cAMP accumulation by κ-agonist became refractory to pertussis toxin, indicating that the κ-opioid receptor can couple to both Gi and Gz proteins

Preparation of uranium standard solutions for x-ray fluorescence analysis

A method has been developed for gravimetrically preparing uranium nitrate standards with an estimated mean error of 0.1% (1 sigma) and a maximum error of 0.2% (1 sigma) for the total uranium weight. Two source materials, depleted uranium dioxide powder and NBS Standard Reference Material 960 uranium metal, were used to prepare stock solutions. The NBS metal proved to be superior because of the small but inherent uncertainty in the stoichiometry of the uranium oxide. These solutions were used to prepare standards in a freeze-dried configuration suitable for x-ray fluorescence analysis. Both gravimetric and freeze-drying techniques are presented. Volumetric preparation was found to be unsatisfactory for 0.1% precision for the sample size of interest. One of the primary considerations in preparing uranium standards for x-ray fluorescence analysis is the development of a technique for dispensing a 50-..mu..l aliquot of a standard solution with a precision of 0.1% and an accuracy of 0.1%. The method developed corrects for variation in aliquoting and for evaporation loss during weighing. Two sets, each containing 50 standards have been produced. One set has been retained by LLL and one set retained by the Savannah River project (SRP)

The cardiorespiratory fitness, level of physical activity and cardiovascular risk factors among university security guards

This cross-sectional study explores the correlation of cardiorespiratory fitness,physical status and cardiovascular risk factors among security guards in a public university in Sarawak, Malaysia. A questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic information, and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire — Short-form (IPAQ-SF) was used to collect information on physical activity level. Physical fitness of respondents was determined using the YMCA three minutes physical fitness test and blood test to check fasting sugar and cholesterol levels. Data was analysed using SPSS version 19. A total of 98 respondents participated in the study of which the majority were male (89.8%). The respondents were found to have a mean VO2max of 24.46 ± 3.58 mL/kg/min as an assessment of their cardiorespiratory fitness. Fifty-three per cent of respondents were self-reported smokers, while 34.7% had high blood pressure, 37.8% had abnormal cholesterol level, 37.8% had abnormal blood glucose and 34.7% had an abnormal body mass index (BMI). More than 90% of the respondents self-reported a moderate to high level of physical activity. Analysis of multiple linear regression shows physical activity level (PAL) (adj b 2.653, 95% CI 1.371, 3.936, p < 0.01) and waist circumference (adj b -1.447, 95% CI -0.146, -2.748, p = 0.03) to have significant association with cardiorespiratory fitness. Findings indicate that the majority of participating security guards have poor cardiorespiratory fitness and are at high risk of developing hypertension, hyperglycemia and hypercholesterolemia. It is recommended that a healthier working environment with compulsory regular exercise and medical check-ups should be put into practice to minimise risk to their job satisfaction and performance

Benefits and limitations of implementing Chronic Care Model (CCM) in primary care programs: a systematic review

Background: Chronic Care Model (CCM) has been developed to improve patients' health care by restructuring health systems in a multidimensional manner. This systematic review aims to summarize and analyse programs specifically designed and conducted for the fulfilment of multiple CCM components. We have focused on programs targeting diabetes mellitus, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Method and results: This review was based on a comprehensive literature search of articles in the PubMed database that reported clinical outcomes. We included a total of 25 eligible articles. Evidence of improvement in medical outcomes and the compliance of patients with medical treatment were reported in 18 and 14 studies, respectively. Two studies demonstrated a reduction of the medical burden in terms of health service utilization, and another two studies reported the effectiveness of the programs in reducing the risk of heart failure and other cardiovascular diseases. However, CCMs were still restricted by limited academic robustness and social constraints when they were implemented in primary care. Higher professional recognition, tighter system collaborations and increased financial support may be necessary to overcome the limitations of, and barriers to CCM implementation. Conclusion: This review has identified the benefits of implementing CCM, and recommended suggestions for the future development of CCM