Oxylipin Signaling: A Distinct Role for the Jasmonic Acid Precursor cis-(+)-12-Oxo-Phytodienoic Acid (cis-OPDA)

Oxylipins are lipid-derived compounds, many of which act as signals in the plant response to biotic and abiotic stress. They include the phytohormone jasmonic acid (JA) and related jasmonate metabolites cis-(+)-12-oxo-phytodienoic acid (cis-OPDA), methyl jasmonate, and jasmonoyl-L-isoleucine (JA-Ile). Besides the defense response, jasmonates are involved in plant growth and development and regulate a range of processes including glandular trichome development, reproduction, root growth, and senescence. cis-OPDA is known to possess a signaling role distinct from JA-Ile. The non-enzymatically derived phytoprostanes are structurally similar to cis-OPDA and induce a common set of genes that are not responsive to JA in Arabidopsis thaliana. A novel role for cis-OPDA in seed germination regulation has recently been uncovered based on evidence from double mutants and feeding experiments showing that cis-OPDA interacts with abscisic acid (ABA), inhibits seed germination, and increases ABA INSENSITIVE5 (ABI5) protein abundance. Large amounts of cis-OPDA are esterified to galactolipids in A. thaliana and the resulting compounds, known as Arabidopsides, are thought to act as a rapidly available source of cis-OPDA

Use of different approach in finding catch effort relationship in hook and line fishery in Kombuthurai village of Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu

Kombuthurai has been described as a fishing village in Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu which has gained immense importance by practicing sustainable fishing practices. In Kombuthurai village during 2009-2013, catch per unit effort (CPUE) has varied from 0.20 tonnes to the maximum of 0.25 tonnes during this period. It is interesting to know that despite the range of effort varying from 1598hrs to 1720hrs, the catch remained in the range of 347.4 tonnes to a maximum of 430.8tonnes. The influence of various variables (latitude, longitude, distance, depth, seasons, years and fishing gear type) on CPUE was studied by General Linear Model (GLM) and Generalized Linear Model (GLMs). Normal distribution with identity link function and a gamma distribution with log link function were used in GLMs. The variables that were found to be significant in both of the models and distributions are year and season. GLM model was good fit with R2 ranging from 67.60% to a high of 91.7%.The low and high abundance of CPUE were categorized taking the below and above average CPUE. A binary logistic regression model was used between the CPUE abundance and with above mentioned independent variables. The binary logistic regression model explained 75.4% (Nagelkerke R2) of the variance in high CPUE abundance and correctly classified 88% of cases. The independent variable such as latitude, longitude, depth, and distance added significantly to the model, but the year, season and hooks did not add significantly to the model

Genetic Mutation Carriers: Special Considerations for Their Influence on a Modern Breast Reconstruction Practice

With medical advancement, increasing numbers of genetic variations and mutations are being uncovered that offer greater insight into which patients have a predisposition for the development of breast cancer. Reasonable management for these patients includes high-risk surveillance, medical prophylaxis, or bilateral prophylactic mastectomy with immediate reconstruction which is becoming increasingly popular. However, this cohort of patients differs from the average breast cancer patient in that they are typically younger and may have distinct reconstructive objectives for their outcomes. This chapter considers this unique and expanding population, as well as their expectations for surgical outcomes both aesthetically and oncologically. We will discuss the evolving role of social media in this population, with patient to patient virtual information sharing and how this may impact patient referrals in a manner diverging from traditional hospital-based patterns. Furthermore, we discuss how practices in which cutting-edge and novel surgical treatments are available, such as pre-pectoral and single stage reconstruction, and that incorporate team collaboration with the surgical oncologist to deliver aesthetically pleasing results with nipple sparing mastectomy and concealed scars may ultimately be attractive to genetic mutation carriers concerned not only with risk reduction but also post-operative aesthetics

Dating Violence in Adolescence

Adolescent dating violence is a health and social problem, worldwide. The objective of this chapter was to identify the risk factors and consequences of dating violence, assess the prevention measures taken to increase awareness regarding it and provide an overview of the screening and interventional tools used to support the teens involved in dating violence. Methods: A review of the literature, published in the last 29 years, was conducted and the content was clinically analyzed. Conclusions: There is an increasing trend of dating violence in a younger population. Consistent definitions, comprehensive assessment tools and focused screening are required to assess the actual prevalence of dating violence. Dating history, context of the date, peer influence, prior history of abuse, alcohol and drugs have been identified as significant risk factors for dating violence. Dating violence has acute as well as long term effects on the body and mind. Since, victims may not report it or even may not identify dating violence as a hazard, the responsibility of screening for it lies heavily on health care providers. Interventional measures should be implemented in a non-judgmental manner, giving due importance to the safety of the adolescents. Primary prevention programs are the key feature to reduce dating violence and require the co-operative participation of several components of the community including school personnel, health care providers, parents and the youth

Preparation and evaluation of chitosan based thermoreversible gels for intraperitoneal delivery of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)

Sterile thermoreversibly gelling systems based on chitosan-glycerol phosphate were developed for intraperitoneal delivery of the antineoplastic agent 5-FU. The formulation was evaluated for gelling characteristics and in vitro drug release. Drug free gels were evaluated for in vitro cytotoxicity in L-929 mouse fibroblast cells. Drug loaded gels were subjected to acute toxicity studies in Swiss albino mice via intraperitoneal route and efficacy studies via intratumoral injections in subcutaneous colon carcinoma bearing BALB/c mice. The formulations gelled reversibly in 8 min at 37 oC and provided prolonged release of the drug. Drug free systems showed dose dependent cytotoxicity in fibroblast cells, while in vivo studies revealed a 2.8 fold increase in LD50 of 5-FU administered intraperitonealy as the developed system. Tumor volume measurements showed comparable efficacy of 5-FU administered as gel and commercial injection with greatly improved safety profile of the former as adjudged from mortality and body weight measurements

MODELING AND SUPERVISION OF SMART TRAFFIC LIGHT CONTROLLER USING AT89C51 MICROCONTROLLER

Abstract Traffic light control systems are widely used to monitor and control the flow of vehicles through the junction of many roads. They aim to realise smooth motion of cars in the transportation routes. However, the synchronisation of multiple traffic light systems at adjacent intersections is a complicated problem given the various parameters involved. Conventional systems do not handle variable flows approaching the junctions. In addition, the mutual interference between adjacent traffic light systems, the disparity of cars flow with time, the accidents, the passage of emergency vehicles, and the pedestrian crossing are not implemented in the existing traffic system. This leads to traffic jam and congestion. We propose a system based on AT89C51 microcontroller that evaluates the traffic density using IR sensors and accomplishes dynamic timing slots with different levels

Trends in marine fish production in Tamil Nadu using regression and autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model

Tamil Nadu is situated in the south eastern coast of the Indian peninsula with a coastal line of 1076 km (13% of the country’s coast line), 0.19 million sq.km of EEZ (9.4 % of total national EEZ) and a continental shelf of about 41,412 sq. km. This is one of the country’s leading state in marine fish production and ranks third in marine fish production. In Tamil Nadu, Ramanathapuram district is a leading maritime district followed by Nagapattinam and Thoothukudi. The objective of this study was to investigate the trends in marine fish production in Tamil Nadu. Yearly fish production data for the period of 1988-1989 to 2012-2013 were analyzed using time-series method called Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model and Regression analysis (curve estimation). In our study, the developed best ARIMA model for Tamil Nadu marine fish production was found to be ARIMA (1, 1, 1) which have the minimum BIC (Bayesian Information Criterion). ARIMA model had got a slightly higher forecasting accuracy rate for forecasting marine fish production of Tamil Nadu than Regression trend analysis. The independent sample test showed there was no significant difference between the two models. The limitations of ARIMA model include its requirement of a long time series data for better forecast. It is basically linear model assuming that data are stationary and have a limited ability to capture non-stationarities and nonlinearities in series data. Both the models indicated that Tamil Nadu marine fish production has plateaued and fishermen should be encouraged to adopt sustainable fishing practices

Team Working Practices and Team Orientation of Employee: A Comparative Study between the State and Private Banks in Sri Lanka

An empirical knowledge gap was observed regarding Team Working Practices (TWP) and Team Orientation of Employee (TOE) of the selected bank branches (State Bank 1, State Bank 2, Private Bank 1 and Private Bank 2) in Sri Lanka.  In general, the selected banks have formal and informal practices regarding team work and also promoting team work and team culture among their employees to flourish team orientation.  Therefore, in order to fill this empirical knowledge gap, this study was conducted with three research objectives such as to explore the team working practices, level of team orientation of employee of selected state and private sector bank branches and also to investigate the differences in team orientation of employee according to the employee’s gender, age, education, grade, working section and experience. In order to achieve the first objective of this study data were collected from the secondary sources, mainly from last four years annual reports and content analysis was applied. In this case, the unit of analysis was bank. Regarding second and third objectives primary data were collected from 115 employees of selected bank branches and the structured questionnaire was administered to collect the data. The data were analyzed by using univariate (descriptive measures such as mean and standard deviation) and cross-tabulation analyses. In this case, the unit of analysis was bank employee. In connection with first objective, findings of the study revealed that both state and private sector banks are practicing various team working practices, but relatively private sector banks have more team practices than state sector banks. In private sector, PB-1 has more team practices than PB-2. Regarding the second objective, the results of the study showed that there is a higher level of team orientation among the employees of the four banks (mean value was above 3.5) but there were slight differences observed.  The mean values for the PB-1, PB-2, SB-1 and SB-2 were 4.19, 4.18, 3.94 and 3.77 respectively. Cross-tabulating of the overall level of team-orientation with gender, age, education, grade, working section and experiences of employees revealed that there are some differences regarding the third objective. Finding of the study will be useful and important in understanding empirical knowledge regarding the concepts of team working practices and team orientation of employee from the banking sector perspective. Key Words: Team, Teamwork, Team Working Practices, Team Orientation, Bank Employe

Risk of Early & Late Obstetric Complications in Women with IVF- Conceived Pregnancies and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

There is conflicting evidence on the association between PCOS and early and late obstetric complications. It is unclear if the reported risks are independent of BMI, preexisting hypertension and diabetes. We performed a retrospective chart review to examine the risk of early and late obstetrical complications after IVF in women with PCOS (n=130) compared to controls (n=130). The miscarriage rate was 17.7% in PCOS women and 15.4% in controls. PCOS was not associated with miscarriage independent of age and BMI. The prevalence of gestational DM (GDM) was similar in both groups (12% PCOS versus 11% controls). BMI was independently associated with GDM (p=0.01). Risk of both preeclampsia and PIH was 10% in PCOS and 5% in controls, but not statistically significant. Preexisting HTN showed a significant association with preeclampsia (

Risk of Early & Late Obstetric Complications in Women with IVF- Conceived Pregnancies and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

There is conflicting evidence on the association between PCOS and early and late obstetric complications. It is unclear if the reported risks are independent of BMI, preexisting hypertension and diabetes. We performed a retrospective chart review to examine the risk of early and late obstetrical complications after IVF in women with PCOS (n=130) compared to controls (n=130). The miscarriage rate was 17.7% in PCOS women and 15.4% in controls. PCOS was not associated with miscarriage independent of age and BMI. The prevalence of gestational DM (GDM) was similar in both groups (12% PCOS versus 11% controls). BMI was independently associated with GDM (p=0.01). Risk of both preeclampsia and PIH was 10% in PCOS and 5% in controls, but not statistically significant. Preexisting HTN showed a significant association with preeclampsia (