Several signaling pathways control blood cell (hemocyte) development in the Drosophila lymph gland. Mechanisms that modulate and integrate these signals are poorly understood. Here we report that ...mutation in a conserved endocytic protein Asrij affects signal transmission and causes aberrant lymph gland hematopoiesis. Mammalian Asrij (Ociad1) is expressed in stem cells of the blood vascular system and is implicated in several cancers. We found that Drosophila Asrij is a pan-hemocyte marker and localizes to a subset of endocytic vesicles. Loss of asrij causes hyperproliferation of lymph gland lobes coupled with increased hemocyte differentiation, thereby depleting the pool of quiescent hemocyte precursors. This co-relates with fewer Col+ cells in the hematopoietic stem cell niche of asrij mutants. Asrij null mutants also show excess specification of crystal cells that express the RUNX factor Lozenge (Lz), a target of Notch signaling. Asrij mutant lymph glands show increased N in sorting endosomes suggesting aberrant trafficking. In vitro assays also show impaired traffic of fluorescent probes in asrij null hemocytes. Taken together our data suggest a role for Asrij in causing increased Notch signaling thereby affecting hemocyte differentiation. Thus, conserved endocytic functions may control blood cell progenitor quiescence and differentiation.
Objective
We examined the associations of handgrip strength, upper arm circumference, and waist circumference with dementia among Singapore older adults.
Design
Cross-sectional epidemiological study.
...Setting
Residential homes, day care centres, nursing homes and institutions.
Participants
2,565 men and women aged 60 years and above who participated in the Well-being of the Singapore Elderly (WiSE) study in 2013.
Measurements
Socio-demographic correlates, dietary habits, health behaviours, grip strength, upper arm circumference, and waist circumference were collected. Grip strength was measured using a hand dynamometer with the dominant hand. Upper arm circumference was measured using a measuring tape around the thickest part of the upper arm while waist circumference measured in centimetres was measured at the narrowest part of the body between the chest and hips for women, and measured at the level of the umbilicus for men. Dementia was diagnosed using the 10/66 dementia diagnostic criteria.
Results
Mean grip strength was 13.07 kg (SE=0.60) for people with dementia and 21.98 kg (SE=0.26) for people without dementia. After adjusting for all factors, grip strength remained significantly associated with dementia (p <0.0001). Upper arm circumference was associated with dementia (p <0.0001) but this association was only significant in the univariate analysis. Waist circumference was not significantly associated with dementia.
Conclusions
Lower grip strength was independently associated with dementia in the older adult population in Singapore. Further research needs to be done to ascertain whether this association exists for specific types of dementia and look into the relationship of other anthropometric measurements with dementia in Singapore.
This paper presents the utilization of the steel slag which is used as a replacement material for coarse aggregates of different sizes for different bituminous mix i.e. 37.5mm down, 20mm down, 12.5mm ...down at different percentages. The gradation requirement was fulfilled at all the replacement percentages for the DBM grade-II. A various tests were executed to characterize the physical properties of aggregates, steel slag and bitumen. The chemical tests on steel slag also showed good result. Bituminous mixtures of virgin aggregates and replacement of steel slag were used to prepare Marshall Specimens and to determine optimum bitumen content. Mechanical characteristics of all the mixtures were evaluated by Marshall Stability and Indirect tensile strength tests. It is compared with the mixture containing virgin aggregates. All the mixtures with steel slag have satisfied the MoRT&H standards. It was observed that steel slag used as a coarse aggregate improved the mechanical properties of bituminous mixtures and thus resulting as suitable for use in the construction of road.
In an effort to discover potent antibacterials based on the entropically favored “bioactive conformation” approach, we have designed and synthesized a series of novel tricyclic molecules mimicking ...the conformationally constrained structure of the oxazolidinone antibacterial, Linezolid 1. The structure 3 obtained by this approach was synthesized and found to be moderately active against a panel of Gram-positive organisms tested. Further introduction of a fluorine atom in the aromatic ring of compound 3 as in Linezolid resulted in some excellent compounds possessing potent antibacterial activity. The thus obtained lead molecule 16 was further fine-tuned by structure−activity relationship studies on the amide functionality leading to a number of novel tricyclic oxazolidinone derivatives. Some particularly interesting compounds include the thioamides 36 and 37, thiocarbamate 41, and thiourea 45. The in vitro activity results of amide homologues of 16 (compounds 25−30) revealed that compounds up to four carbon atoms on the amide nitrogen retain the activity. In general, thioamides and thiocarbamates are more potent when compared to the corresponding amides and carbamates.
Background: Strabismus surgery in children may be associated with a high incidence of emergence agitation that may be related to pain and visual disturbances. The objective was to evaluate the effect ...of peribulbar block on the incidence of emergence agitation in children undergoing strabismus surgery under desflurane anaesthesia.
Methods: Fifty-six healthy children aged 2-10 years, undergoing strabismus surgery under general anaesthesia, were recruited. Children were randomly allocated to receive fentanyl 2 µg/kg (Group F) or peribulbar block (Group PB) with 0.3 ml/kg of 0.25% bupivacaine + 2% lignocaine. The primary outcome of the study was incidence of emergence agitation; secondary outcome measures were time to first rescue analgesia, the incidence of oculocardiac reflex and vomiting.
Results: Of 52 children, 14/25 (56%) children in Group F developed emergence agitation compared with 3/27 (11.11%) in group PB (p = 0.001). Postoperatively, the paediatric anaesthesia emergence delirium scores showed significantly lower emergence agitation in the PB group with a median (IQR) of 0.00 (0.00-2.00) compared with group F (5.5 (0.75-8.75) at all time intervals (p = 0.003 Mann-Whitney test). Pain scores were comparable between groups (group F 48% vs. group PB 25.9%). The time to first rescue analgesia was increased in group PB (126.875 ± 38.22 min vs. 88.08 ± 28.48 min in group F). The oculocardiac reflex occurred in 7/25 in Group F compared with 1/27 in Group PB (p = 0.015). There was no difference in the incidence of postoperative vomiting (24% in Group F vs. 22% in Group PB).
Conclusion: Use of peribulbar block in children undergoing strabismus surgery under desflurane anaesthesia was associated with reduced incidence of emergence agitation and oculocardiac reflex but did not significantly increase the time to first analgesic or the incidence of pain and vomiting. A sub-tenon block may be safer and provide better operating conditions and equal analgesia.
Oxazolidinones exemplified by eprezolid and linezolid are a new class of antibacterials that are active against Gram positive and anaerobic bacteria including methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus ...aureus (MRSA), methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE) and vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE). In an effort to have a better antibacterial agent in the oxazolidinone class, we have performed three-dimensional quantitative structure–activity relationship (3D-QSAR) studies for a series of tricyclic oxazolidinones. 3D-QSAR studies were performed using the Comparative Molecular Field Analysis (CoMFA) and Comparative Molecular Similarity Indices Analysis (CoMSIA) procedures. These studies were performed using 42 compounds; the QSAR model was developed using a training set of 33 compounds. The predictive ability of the QSAR model was assessed using a test set of 9 compounds. The predictive 3D-QSAR models have conventional
r
2 values of 0.975 and 0.940 for CoMFA and CoMSIA respectively; similarly, cross-validated coefficient
q
2 values of 0.523 and 0.557 for CoMFA and CoMSIA, respectively, were obtained. The CoMFA 3D-QSAR model performed better than the CoMSIA model.
Robust QSAR models were obtained using CoMFA and CoMSIA methods that provide a guide to further modification of new tricyclic oxazolidinones.
Uniaxial creep deformation of a columnar-grained cast Ni-based superalloy has been analyzed in the temperature range of 1035-1315 K. Two-stage heat treatment of the material resulted in an average γ' ...particle size of 0.4 µm and inter-particle distance of 0.04 µm. At 1035 K, the alloy showed predominantly primary creep with very low tertiary creep strains. At temperatures above 1035 K, a pseudo-tertiary creep regimen is predominant. Faceted fracture, coarsening of γ' particles, decohesion of the matrix around the particles, and rafting of the coarsened γ' particles have been observed as failure modes over the temperature range studied. An analysis is presented to understand creep deformation behavior of the material in the secondary and tertiary creep stages, by expressing them as power functions of time. Failure diagnostic diagrams have also been constructed for the material over the temperature range investigated.PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
The influence of an ethylene-oxy spacer element between the heterocycle and the aromatic ring in linezolid is reported. The introduction of such spacer group generated compounds with inferior ...antibacterial activity. However, the conversion of the acetamide group present in the linezolid analogues to either thiocarbamate or thioacetamide functionality restored the activity. The synthesis of linezolid analogues possessing the ethylene-oxy spacer group along with SAR studies with different heterocycles and preparation of some thiocarbonyl compounds possessing potent antibacterial property are presented.
The introduction of ethylene-oxy spacer group in linezolid, subsequent SAR studies with different heterocycles and conversion of some of the compounds to their thiocarbonyl counterparts resulted in certain interesting antibacterial compounds.
Biochemical and nutritional changes in the muscle proteins of a lean marine fish Nempiterus japonicus during drying at 50, 60 and 70 degrees C were investigated. Solubility of proteins in water, 0.6 ...M NaCl, 1.5 M urea, 8 M urea and 10 g litre-1 sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) decreased as drying progressed at all three temperatures; most of the decrease occurring in the initial 4 h of drying. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of 15 M urea, 8 M urea and SDS extracts showed that higher molecular weight (MW) protein fractions were more sensitive to drying and disappeared much earlier from electropherograms than the lower MW protein fractions. Residual solubility of proteins near the pH range of 4-6 was found to increase during drying, but solubility at acid and alkaline pH was adversely affected. Decrease of solubility by drying was more affected at acid pH, especially at higher temperatures than at alkaline pH. Sulphydryl groups registered a regular and sharp decrease with drying except at 50 degrees C, where initially an increase was observed. Apart from disulphide and hydrophobic bonds, free amino groups also appear to be involved in denaturation reactions during drying. Pepsin digestibility of fish muscle decreased slightly during drying but a clear relationship with drying temperature was not evident. Highly significant differences in proteins between protein efficiency ratio (PER), net protein utilisation (NPU) and biological value were observed between the drying temperatures. The PER and NPU of fish dried at 60 degrees C were significantly higher than those dried at 50 or 70 degrees C.
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