Light and electron microscopic study on the effect of antischizophrenic drugs on the structure of seminiferous tubules of adult male albino rats

Introduction. Sexual dysfunction and infertility are symptoms which have been rarely studied in patients treated with antischizophrenic drugs, aripiprazole and olanzapine, for long period. This work aimed to investigate the effects of aripiprazole and olanzapine on the structure of seminiferous tubules of rats at both light microscopic and ultrastructural levels. Material and methods. Sixty adult male rats were divided into 3 groups (n = 20): control group (Group I) and two experimental ones (II and III). Rats in Group II received 2 mg/kg/day aripiprazole while rats in Group III received 0.5 mg/kg/day olanzapine for 14 weeks. Thereafter, testis were removed and processed for both light and electron microscopic study. Qualitative morphological analyses and histomorphometric measurements of seminiferous tubules were performed. Results. Rats in Group II showed reduction of testicular weight, seminiferous tubules’ diameter, epithelial height, spermatogenic count, spermatogenic index and spermatogenic score whereas Sertoli cells count was increased. Olanzapine-treated rats also showed epithelial desquamation, separation and apoptotic changes of germ cells. Sertoli cells showed vacuolization, dilatation of smooth endoplasmic reticulum and accumulation of lipid droplets. Abnormality in the shape and structure of late spermatids and presence of giant cells were also demonstrated. Aripiprazole induced less adverse histological changes in rat testis than olanzapine. Conclusions. Olanzapine followed by aripiprazole had adverse histological effects on the structure of the semi­niferous tubules, which may affect spermatogenesis

Flight-schedule using Dijkstra's algorithm with comparison of routes findings

The Dijkstra algorithm, also termed the shortest-route algorithm, is a model that is categorized within the search algorithms. Its purpose is to discover the shortest-route, from the beginning node (origin node) to any node on the tracks, and is applied to both directional and undirected graphs. However, all edges must have non-negative values. The problem of organizing inter-city flights is one of the most important challenges facing airplanes and how to transport passengers and commercial goods between large cities in less time and at a lower cost. In this paper, the authors implement the Dijkstra algorithm to solve this complex problem and also to update it to see the shortest-route from the origin node (city) to the destination node (other cities) in less time and cost for flights using simulation environment. Such as, when graph nodes describe cities and edge route costs represent driving distances between cities that are linked with the direct road. The experimental results show the ability of the simulation to locate the most cost-effective route in the shortest possible time (seconds), as the test achieved 95% to find the suitable route for flights in the shortest possible time and whatever the number of cities on the tracks application

Reliable UHF long-range textile-integrated RFID tag based on a compact flexible antenna filament

This paper details the design, fabrication and testing of flexible textile-concealed RFID tags 1 for wearable applications in a smart city/ smart building environment. The proposed tag designs aim 2 to reduce the overall footprint, enabling textile integration whilst maintaining the read range. The 3 proposed RFID filament is less than 3.5 mm in width and 100 mm in length. The tag is based on an 4 electrically small (0.0033λ 2) high-impedance planar dipole antenna with a tuning loop, maintaining a 5 reflection coefficient less than −21 dB at 915 MHz, when matched to a commercial RFID chip mounted 6 alongside the antenna. The antenna strip and the RFID chip are then encapsulated and integrated in 7 a standard woven textile for wearable applications. The flexible antenna filament demonstrates a 1.8 8 dBi gain which shows a close agreement with the analytically calculated and numerically simulated 9 gains. The range of the fabricated tags has been measured and a maximum read range of 8.2 m was 10 recorded at 868 MHz. Moreover, the tag's maximum calculated range at 915 MHz is 18 m, which 11 is much longer than the commercially available laundry tags of larger length and width, such as 12 Invengo RFID tags. The reliability of the proposed RFID tags has been investigated using a series 13 of tests replicating textile-based use case scenarios which demonstrates its suitability for practical 14 deployment. Washing tests have shown that the textile-integrated encapsulated tags can be read after 15 over 32 washing cycles, and that multiple tags can be read simultaneously while being washed

Prevalence of inducible laryngeal obstruction among patients diagnosed as bronchial asthma

Introduction: Inducible laryngeal obstruction (ILO) is an important cause of a variety of respiratory symptoms and can mimic bronchial asthma (BA). This study was planned to measure the prevalence of ILO among patients diagnosed with BA and to detect its effect on BA control and severity. Material and methods: Patients aged 18 years or older who were previously diagnosed with BA were enrolled. Laryngeal obstruction was induced using the patient’s specific trigger (e.g. exercise). Visualization of vocal folds was accomplished using  a 70-degree rigid laryngoscope (Karl Storz). A visual grade score was utilized to determine the severity of laryngeal obstruction. Results: Results showed that 38.3% (n = 46) of the patients had ILO with the majority being classified as grade 2 (80.4%)  (n = 37). The most common subtype was glottic ILO (63%). Bronchial asthma duration, level of control, and severity were not associated with ILO (P values: 0.2, 0.3 and 0.8 respectively). Conclusion: Asthma and ILO commonly co-exist. An accurate classification of patients is very important and must be considered in order to determine whether the symptoms are directly related to ILO or whether they are caused by BA. Ceasing inappropriate treatment may be necessary. Objective diagnostic modalities of ILO are essential

Development of Cr cold spray–coated fuel cladding with enhanced accident tolerance

Accident-tolerant fuels (ATFs) are currently of high interest to researchers in the nuclear industry and in governmental and international organizations. One widely studied accident-tolerant fuel concept is multilayer cladding (also known as coated cladding). This concept is based on a traditional Zr-based alloy (Zircaloy-4, M5, E110, ZIRLO etc.) serving as a substrate. Different protective materials are applied to the substrate surface by various techniques, thus enhancing the accident tolerance of the fuel. This study focuses on the results of testing of Zircaloy-4 coated with pure chromium metal using the cold spray (CS) technique. In comparison with other deposition methods, e.g., Physical vapor deposition (PVD), laser coating, or Chemical vapor deposition techniques (CVD), the CS technique is more cost efficient due to lower energy consumption and high deposition rates, making it more suitable for industry-scale production. The Cr-coated samples were tested at different conditions (500°C steam, 1200°C steam, and Pressurized water reactor (PWR) pressurization test) and were precharacterized and postcharacterized by various techniques, such as scanning electron microscopy, Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), or nanoindentation; results are discussed. Results of the steady-state fuel performance simulations using the Bison code predicted the concept's feasibility. It is concluded that CS Cr coating has high potential benefits but requires further optimization and out-of-pile and in-pile testing.United States. Department of Energy (Grant DE-NE0008416

Assessment of diversity using agro-morphological traits for selecting a core sample of Papua New Guinea taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott) collection

Abstract Agro-morphological variation in the taro germplasm of Papua New Guinea was estimated using 18 polymorphic descriptor states to aid in the selection of a core sample for the formation of a regional core collection currently being assembled under the Taro Network for Southeast Asia and Oceania. A total of 276 accessions were stratified into five homogenous groups by using a hierarchical approach according to botanical variety (dasheen or eddoe), altitude (high or low) and stolon formation (present or absent). In selecting the core sample, the eddoe group were directly included because of their rarity in the germplasm collection. While, a ten per cent sample fraction within each group of the dasheen types were selected based on principal component scores. A total of 31 accessions were selected for the core sample. Multivariate analysis of the core sample revealed wide variation, which was mainly influenced by botanical variety, plant height, lamina colour and variegation, petiole colour, corm shape, corm weight and palatability. Cluster analysis identified two homogeneous clusters based on predominant characters that should be useful to breeders. The results obtained in this study provide useful background information for further development of a national core collection

Real-world performance of sub-1 GHz and 2.4 GHz textile antennas for RF-powered body area networks

In Radio Frequency (RF)-powered networks, peak antenna gains and path-loss models are often used to predict the power that can be received by a rectenna. However, this leads to significant over-estimation of the harvested power when using rectennas in a dynamic setting. This work proposes more realistic parameters for evaluating RF-powered Body Area Networks (BANs), and utilizes them to analyze and compare the performance of an RF-powered BAN based on 915 MHz and 2.4 GHz rectennas. Two fully-textile antennas: a 915 MHz monopole and a 2.4 GHz patch, are designed and fabricated for numerical radiation pattern analysis and practical forward transmission measurements. The antennas' radiation properties are used to calculate the power delivered to a wireless-powered BAN formed of four antennas at different body positions. The mean angular gain is proposed as a more insightful metric for evaluating RFEH networks with unknown transmitter-receiver alignment. It is concluded that, when considering the mean gain, an RF-powered BAN using an omnidirectional 915 MHz antenna outperforms a 2.4 GHz BAN with higher-gain antenna, despite lack of shielding, by 15.4× higher DC power. Furthermore, a transmitter located above the user can result in 1× and 9× higher DC power at 915 MHz and 2.4 GHz, respectively, compared to a horizontal transmitter. Finally, it is suggested that the mean and angular gain should be considered instead of the peak gain. This accounts for the antennas' angular misalignment resulting from the receiver's mobility, which can vary the received power by an order of magnitude

Antisense Phenotypes Reveal a Functional Expression of OsARF1, an Auxin Response Factor, in Transgenic Rice

OsARF1 is the first full-length member of auxin response factor (ARF) gene family to be cloned from monocot plant. Using quantitative RT-PCR this study found that, the transcript abundance of OsARF1 was significantly higher in embryonic tissues than in vegetative tissues. To investigate the effect of OsARF1 on the phenotype of rice, a cDNA fragment of OsARF1 was inserted in inverse orientation to the 35S promoter in vector pBin438 to produce an antisense (AS) construction. The AS-OsARF1 construct was transferred into rice (Oryza sativa L. japonica ) calli via Agrobacterium tumefaciens -mediated transformation. Molecular analysis of transgenic plants showed that the functional expression of OsARF1 was inhibited at mRNA level efficiently. The AS-OsARF1 plants showed extremely low growth, poor vigor, short curled leaves and tillered but were sterile. Therefore, the OsARF1 was shown to be essential for growth in vegetative organs and seed development

Microevolution of serial clinical isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii and C. gattii

This is the final version. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.The pathogenic species of Cryptococcus are a major cause of mortality owing to severe infections in immunocompromised as well as immunocompetent individuals. Although antifungal treatment is usually effective, many patients relapse after treatment, and in such cases, comparative analyses of the genomes of incident and relapse isolates may reveal evidence of determinative, microevolutionary changes within the host. Here, we analyzed serial isolates cultured from cerebrospinal fluid specimens of 18 South African patients with recurrent cryptococcal meningitis. The time between collection of the incident isolates and collection of the relapse isolates ranged from 124 days to 290 days, and the analyses revealed that, during this period within the patients, the isolates underwent several genetic and phenotypic changes. Considering the vast genetic diversity of cryptococcal isolates in subSaharan Africa, it was not surprising to find that the relapse isolates had acquired different genetic and correlative phenotypic changes. They exhibited various mechanisms for enhancing virulence, such as growth at 39°C, adaptation to stress, and capsule production; a remarkable amplification of ERG11 at the native and unlinked locus may provide stable resistance to fluconazole. Our data provide a deeper understanding of the microevolution of Cryptococcus species under pressure from antifungal chemotherapy and host immune responses. This investigation clearly suggests a promising strategy to identify novel targets for improved diagnosis, therapy, and prognosis.Wellcome TrustNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease