Ethnobotanical, phytochemical and pharmacological aspects of daphne mucronata (thymeleaceae)

Daphne mucronata is a shrub well known as a medicinal plant in different regions of Asia. Ethnobotanical, phytochemical and pharmacological studies have revealed strong anti-cancer potential of the plant. Literature reports the evaluation of the initial bioactivity profile and extraction of the plant followed by different chromatographic techniques to obtain fractions. As an outcome,  isolation and identification of coumarins, flavonoids, triterpenoids, lignin  cumarinolignans, glucosides, daphnecin, aquillochin, daphnine and umbelliferone from the plant have been reported. Of these compounds, a diterpene, named gnidilatimonoein, has shown promising anticancer potency in in vitro tests on various cancer cell lines. This review article is an effort to summarize literature published in recent years on the bioactivity of Daphne mucronata

Analysis on Wearable Antenna Performance on Different Radiating Elements for GPS Application

This paper presents a study on the performance of self-manufactured electro-textile (SME-T) antenna that was designed at 1.575 GHz based on the allocated spectrum for Global Positioning System (GPS) application. However, due to its known low-conductivity characteristic, the ability of the newly developed material to perform as a good antenna shall be verified. Therefore, the performance of the antennas are compared and studied with respect to established materials such as adhesive copper tape and commercial conductive fabric named SHIELDITTM as the radiating elements. Here, four e-textile antennas having approximately the same size are fabricated and tested. The performance of all antennas, in terms of return loss, radiation pattern, gain, and efficiency; manufactured by using different radiating elements, such as copper, SHIELDITTM and SME-T fabricated on polyester fabric as the substrate are analyzed. The measured return loss and radiation pattern of SME-T antenna has proven that the antenna is well suited for wearable application. The measured antenna gain and efficiency of 0.61 dB and 25.95% are obtained and it is proven that the fabricated SME-T antenna can act as a receiving antenna designed for GPS applications which requires low gain antenna for passive monitoring

IK-FA, a new heuristic inverse kinematics solver using firefly algorithm

In this paper, a heuristic method based on Firefly Algorithm is proposed for inverse kinematics problems in articulated robotics. The proposal is called, IK-FA. Solving inverse kinematics, IK, consists in finding a set of joint-positions allowing a specific point of the system to achieve a target position. In IK-FA, the Fireflies positions are assumed to be a possible solution for joints elementary motions. For a robotic system with a known forward kinematic model, IK-Fireflies, is used to generate iteratively a set of joint motions, then the forward kinematic model of the system is used to compute the relative Cartesian positions of a specific end-segment, and to compare it to the needed target position. This is a heuristic approach for solving inverse kinematics without computing the inverse model. IK-FA tends to minimize the distance to a target position, the fitness function could be established as the distance between the obtained forward positions and the desired one, it is subject to minimization. In this paper IK-FA is tested over a 3 links articulated planar system, the evaluation is based on statistical analysis of the convergence and the solution quality for 100 tests. The impact of key FA parameters is also investigated with a focus on the impact of the number of fireflies, the impact of the maximum iteration number and also the impact of (a, ß, ¿, d) parameters. For a given set of valuable parameters, the heuristic converges to a static fitness value within a fix maximum number of iterations. IK-FA has a fair convergence time, for the tested configuration, the average was about 2.3394 × 10-3 seconds with a position error fitness around 3.116 × 10-8 for 100 tests. The algorithm showed also evidence of robustness over the target position, since for all conducted tests with a random target position IK-FA achieved a solution with a position error lower or equal to 5.4722 × 10-9.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Cancers primitifs invasifs de la vulve: expérience de l’Institut National d’Oncologie de Rabat

Les cancers invasifs de la vulve sont peu fréquents, représentant moins de 5% des cancers gynécologiques. Ils surviennent le plus souvent chez des femmes âgées. L’objectif de ce travail était d’évaluer le profil épidémiologique, clinique, histologique et thérapeutique d’une série de patientes porteuses d’un cancer de la vulve. Il s’agissait d’une étude analytique rétrospective portant sur une série de 83 patientes, traitées pour cancer de la vulve dans le service de cancérologie-radiothérapie du CHU de Rabat durant la période allant de janvier 2007 au janvier 2008. Sur le plan thérapeutique: 49.8% des patientes ont bénéficié d’une chirurgie type vulvectomie totale et partielle chez 5% des patients. Le curage inguinal bilatéral est réalisé chez 32% des patientes, unilatéral dans 28%. Les complications post-chirurgie sont dominées par les lymphoedèmes retrouvés chez 12% des cas, le lâchage des sutures dans 4% des cas. La radiothérapie était indiquée chez 55% des patientes, elle était en préopératoire chez 23.2 % des cas, 25% es cas en postopératoire et exclusive chez 7.4% des cas. A visée palliative chez 9 patientes et curative chez les autres. La curiethérapie n’était utilisée chez aucune patiente. Après une durée moyenne de suivi de 27 mois (14 mois-40 mois), on a enregistré des récidives chez 13% des cas avec un délai moyen après la fin du traitement de 8 mois et 3 décès. 40% des patientes sont en bon contrôle général et 25% sont perdues de vue. Les cancers vulvaires sont des tumeurs rares mais avec un pronostic souvent réservé vu les métastases ganglionnaires précoces et leur diagnostic le plus souvent à un stade localement avancé. Le traitement doit être personnalisé en fonction du stade clinique de la tumeur afin de diminuer les conséquences fonctionnelles et psychologiques du traitement qui reste essentiellement chirurgical et doit être réservé à des centres spécialisés.Key words: vulve, cancer, diagnostic tardif, chirurgie, radiothérapi

Characterization of Lens Antenna in Wireless Communication System

The focus of this paper is to design lens and analyze the lens behavior in lens antenna. This lens antenna is designed to enhance the gain of conventional antenna. A few factors that influenced the design of lens and gain of lens antenna is investigated. CST software is used to design the lens. At the end of this experiment, the lens gain increased from 8.782 dB to 11.07 dB

Parents just don't understand: Parent-offspring conflict over mate choice

Previous research reveals that children and parents are not in complete agreement over which traits are most important for the mate of the child. Children tend to prefer traits that suggest genetic quality, whereas parents prefer characteristics that suggest high parental investment and cooperation with the ingroup. Using a sample of parents, mothers (n = 234) and fathers (n =240) the hypothesis was supported; parents perceived characteristics indicating a lack of genetic quality as being more unacceptable to the child, while characteristics indicating a lack of parental investment and cooperation with the ingroup were more unacceptable to themselves. Sex differences between mothers and fathers and sons and daughters were explored

Le lymphomes non hodgkinien primitif de la thyroïde: à propos de sept cas

Les lymphomes non hodgkiniens primitifs de la thyroïde sont rares : ils représentent moins de 2 à 5 % des cancers de la thyroïde. L’objectif de cetravail est de revoir les stratégies diagnostiques et thérapeutiques actuelles des lymphomes non hodgkiniens primitifs de la thyroïde tout enprésentant notre expérience à l’Institut national d’oncologie. Nous rapportons à travers une étude rétrospective, sept cas des lymphomes nonhodgkiniens primitifs de la thyroïde colligés à l’Institut National d’Oncologie au Maroc entre 2004 et 2008. Sept patients ont été inclus dans notre étude, l’âge médian au moment du diagnostic était de 50 ans, avec sexe ratio de 2.5 à prédominance féminine. Le diagnostic histopathologique avec l’immunomarquage après chirurgie a conclu dans tous les cas à un lymphome malin non hodgkinien : 3 patientes avec un lymphome de type MALT, et les 4 autres avec un LMNH à grandes cellules de phénotype B. Une thyroïdite chronique lymphocytaire d’Hashimoto coexistante avec le lymphome malin primitif de la thyroïde était retrouvée chez une patiente. Concernant le traitement du lymphome, 5 patientes ont reçu une polychimiothérapie, et les 2 autres ont bénéficié d’un traitement combiné comportant la chimiothérapie et la radiothérapie. Une patiente est décédée 3 mois après la fin du traitement. Le suivi médian des autres patients était de 24 mois et on ne notait aucune récidive de lymphome. Les lymphomes non hodgkiniens primitifs de la thyroïde sont rares. Le traitement combiné par une chimiothérapie et radiothérapie a prouvé sonefficacité. Le pronostic des stades localisés est généralement favorable. Key words: Lymphome primitif de la thyroïde, traitemen

"Better Safe than Sorry" - Individual Risk-free Pension Schemes in the European Union - Macroeconomic Benefits, the Mobile Working Citizen's Perspective and Why Nots

Variations between the diverse pension systems in the member states of the European Union hamper labour market mobility, across country borders but also within the countries of the European Union. From a macroeconomic perspective, and in the light of demographic pressure, this paper argues that allowing individual instead of collective pension building would greatly improve labour market flexibility and thus enhance the functioning of the monetary union. I argue that working citizens would benefit, for three reasons, from pension saving in a risk-free savings account. First, citizens would have a clear picture of the accumulation of their own pension savings throughout their working life. Second, they would pay hardly any extra costs and, third, once retired they would not be subject to the whims of government or other pension fund managers. This paper investigates the feasibility of individual pension building under various parameter settings by calculating the pension saved during a working life and the pension dis-saved after retirement. The findings show that there are no reasons why the European Union and individual member states should not allow individual risk-free pension savings accounts. This would have macroeconomic benefits and provide a solid pension provision that can enhance mobility, instead of engaging workers in different mandatory collective pension schemes that exist around in the European Union

Thinking about Later Life: Insights from the Capability Approach

A major criticism of mainstream gerontological frameworks is the inability of such frameworks to appreciate and incorporate issues of diversity and difference in engaging with experiences of aging. Given the prevailing socially structured nature of inequalities, such differences matter greatly in shaping experiences, as well as social constructions, of aging. I argue that Amartya Sen’s capability approach (2009) potentially offers gerontological scholars a broad conceptual framework that places at its core consideration of human beings (their values) and centrality of human diversity. As well as identifying these key features of the capability approach, I discuss and demonstrate their relevance to thinking about old age and aging. I maintain that in the context of complex and emerging identities in later life that shape and are shaped by shifting people-place and people-people relationships, Sen’s capability approach offers significant possibilities for gerontological research

Addressing social issues in a universal HIV test and treat intervention trial (ANRS 12249 TasP) in South Africa: methods for appraisal

Background: The Universal HIV Test and Treat (UTT) strategy represents a challenge for science, but is also a challenge for individuals and societies. Are repeated offers of provider-initiated HIV testing and immediate antiretroviral therapy (ART) socially-acceptable and can these become normalized over time? Can UTT be implemented without potentially adding to individual and community stigma, or threatening individual rights? What are the social, cultural and economic implications of UTT for households and communities? And can UTT be implemented within capacity constraints and other threats to the overall provision of HIV services? The answers to these research questions will be critical for routine implementation of UTT strategies. Methods/design: A social science research programme is nested within the ANRS 12249 Treatment-as-Prevention (TasP) cluster-randomised trial in rural South Africa. The programme aims to inform understanding of the (i) social, economic and environmental factors affecting uptake of services at each step of the continuum of HIV prevention, treatment and care and (ii) the causal impacts of the TasP intervention package on social and economic factors at the individual, household, community and health system level. We describe a multidisciplinary, multi-level, mixed-method research protocol that includes individual, household, community and clinic surveys, and combines quantitative and qualitative methods. Discussion: The UTT strategy is changing the overall approach to HIV prevention, treatment and care, and substantial social consequences may be anticipated, such as changes in social representations of HIV transmission, prevention, HIV testing and ART use, as well as changes in individual perceptions and behaviours in terms of uptake and frequency of HIV testing and ART initiation at high CD4. Triangulation of social science studies within the ANRS 12249 TasP trial will provide comprehensive insights into the acceptability and feasibility of the TasP intervention package at individual, community, patient and health system level, to complement the trial's clinical and epidemiological outcomes. It will also increase understanding of the causal impacts of UTT on social and economic outcomes, which will be critical for the long-term sustainability and routine UTT implementation. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01509508; South African Trial Register: DOH-27-0512-3974