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The study describes rhino poaching as an illicit anti-social behaviour that has constantly been on increase in South Africa. Predominantly, KwaZulu-Natal, and specifically Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, became a highly protected zone for biota and wildlife sustainability. However, with environmental crime becoming more sophisticated in this province, criminal justice and anti-poaching teams need to be more equipped continuously with the necessary tools and strategies, required to stand united against wildlife crime. The study adopted document analysis to explore the use of cell phone data records as a forensic investigative instrument for tracing the frequency and patterns of activities of the two largest syndicate groups of rhino poachers from Mpumalanga and Winterveld to Hluhluwe-imfolozi park. Findings unfolded that cell phone records are a viable cellular geographic tool for tracing the footprints, patterns of movement and activities of illegal rhino hunters, affecting the poaching levels at Hluhluwe-imfolozi Park. The study’s findings were incredibly insightful into the behavioural activities of poachers, being one of the first to broaden the lens of cell phone data analysis on this scale. Evidence from the movement analysis revealed that poaching depends on a multitude of factors, such as global pandemic, border control measures, poaching levels rising in reserves, decreased policing measures and a lack of proactive strategies. The study concludes that cell phone data records, considered in isolation, cannot be reflected upon accurately, as a panacea for wildlife crime, without supporting facts from police procedure of intelligence gathering, local knowledge and partnership with local communities. Lastly, within the specific study area, it allows a unique view and perspective of the travel patterns of very sophisticated and advanced syndicate groups, as well as creating room for additional deeply rooted studies of poaching activity and incursions in South Africa.

Cancer is a disease characterized by the uncontrolled multiplication of cells in human body with the inability to be controlled or stopped, consequently forming tumors of malignant cells with the potential to be metastatic. Around one third of deaths due to cancer are due to five leading behavioral and dietary risks: high body mass index, low fruit and vegetable intake, lack of physical activity, tobacco use and alcohol use. According to the World Health Organization, cancer is the second leading cause of death globally and about one in 6 deaths is due to cancer. The economic impact of cancer is significant and is increasing. The total annual economic cost of cancer in 2010 was estimated at approximately US 1.16 trillion. The economic burden on low- and middle-income countries is profound since approximately 70% of deaths due to cancer occur in these countries. To combat the growing challenge, development in cures and preventative therapies has emerged through rapid research in this area. Current treatments include chemotherapy, radiotherapy and chemically derived drugs which have severe side effects. Therefore, there is an increasing impetus on development and use of natural alternative therapies against cancer. Plants sources have been exploited in medicine for their natural antiseptic properties. Thus, research has developed into investigating the potential properties and uses of terrestrial plant extracts for the preparation of potential nanomaterial-based drugs for diseases including cancer. This article aims to take an overview of naturally derived compounds that have anticancer therapeutic properties and their current status in this field.

Adaptive threshold estimation procedures sample close to a subject’s perceptual threshold by dynamically adapting the stimulation based on the subject’s performance. Yet, perceptual thresholds not only depend on the observers’ sensory capabilities but also on any bias in terms of their expectations and response preferences, thus distorting the precision of the threshold estimates. Using the framework of signal detection theory (SDT), independent estimates of both, an observer’s sensitivity and internal processing bias can be delineated from threshold estimates. While this approach is commonly available for estimation procedures engaging the method of constant stimuli (MCS), correction procedures for adaptive methods (AM) are only scarcely applied. In this article, we introduce a new AM that takes individual biases into account, and that allows for a bias-corrected assessment of subjects’ sensitivity. This novel AM is validated with simulations and compared to a typical MCS-procedure, for which the implementation of bias correction has been previously demonstrated.Comparing AM and MCS demonstrates the viability of the presented AM. Besides its feasibility, the results of the simulation reveal both, advantages, and limitations of the proposed AM. The procedure has considerable practical implications, in particular for the design of shaping procedures in sensory training experiments, in which task difficulty has to be constantly adapted to an observer’s performance, to improve training efficiency.

The magnitude of the vacuum expectation value of the Gukov-Vafa-Witten superpotential $|W_0|$ plays a central role in the phenomenology of type IIB flux compactifications. Recent analytical constructions have shown that perturbatively flat vacua can be used to obtain very low values of $|W_0|$. We present systematic algorithms to carry out exhaustive numerical searches for such vacua. We also analyse them in the statistical context, as part of the entire ensemble of type IIB flux vacua at low $|W_0|$. Our preliminary analysis indicates that these perturbatively flat vacua are statistically sparse in the whole set of vacua at low $|W_0|$ as calculated by Denef and Douglas. Two-moduli examples are used to illustrate these more general findings in specific settings. We find that these simple cases are good examples for existence proofs but they do not feature a large statistical tuning freedom for phenomenological applications., 17 pages + references, 3 tables

Bimanual movements involve the interactions between both primary motor cortices. These interactions are assumed to involve phase-locked oscillatory brain activity referred to as inter-hemispheric functional coupling. So far, inter-hemispheric functional coupling has been investigated as a function of motor performance. These studies report mostly a negative correlation between the performance in motor tasks and the strength of functional coupling. However, correlation might not reflect a causal relationship. To overcome this limitation, we opted for an alternative approach by manipulating the strength of inter-hemispheric functional coupling and assessing bimanual motor performance as a dependent variable. We hypothesize that an increase/decrease of functional coupling deteriorates/facilitates motor performance in an out-of-phase bimanual finger-tapping task. Healthy individuals were trained to volitionally regulate functional coupling in an operant conditioning paradigm using real-time magnetoencephalography neurofeedback. During operant conditioning, two discriminative stimuli were associated with upregulation and downregulation of functional coupling. Effects of training were assessed by comparing motor performance prior to (pre-test) and after the training (post-test). Participants receiving contingent feedback learned to upregulate and downregulate functional coupling. Comparing motor performance, as indexed by the ratio of tapping speed for upregulation versus downregulation trials, no change was found in the control group between pre- and post-test. In contrast, the group receiving contingent feedback evidenced a significant decrease of the ratio implicating lower tapping speed with stronger functional coupling. Results point toward a causal role of inter-hemispheric functional coupling for the performance in bimanual tasks. Hum Brain Mapp 38:4353-4369, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The case talks about Hind Tea Pvt. Ltd (HTPL)-a small and medium enterprise (SME) in India that is 100% owned by Wadhwa family. HTPL procures processed tea from auctions and sells it to distributors under its own brand names. The case describes the journey of two brothers and how the next generation of the family takes over and aspires to make the company a national level player. These aspirations pose new demands on the owners and the business; the case talks about decision making in the family under such a scenario. The case poses interesting questions related to governance, professionalization, succession, and decision making in the family.

The central nervous system exerts control over the activation of muscles via a dense network of nerve fibers targeting each individual muscle. There are numerous clinical situations where a detailed assessment of the nerve-innervation pattern is required for diagnosis and treatment. Especially, deep muscles are hard to examine and are as yet only accessible by uncomfortable and painful needle EMG techniques. Just recently, a new and flexible method and device became available to measure the small magnetic fields generated by the contraction of the muscles: optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs). OPMs are small devices that measure the zero-field level crossing resonance of spin-polarized rubidium atoms. The resonance is dependent on the local magnetic field strength, and therefore, these devices are able to measure small magnetic fields in the range of a few hundred femtoteslas. In this paper, we demonstrate as a proof of principle that OPMs can be used to measure the low magnetic fields generated by small hand muscles after electric stimulation of the ulnar or median nerve. We show that using this technique, we are able to record differential innervation pattern of small palmar hand muscles and are capable of distinguishing between areas innervated by the median or ulnar nerve. We expect that the new approach will have an important impact on the diagnosis of nerve entrapment syndromes, spinal cord lesions, and neuromuscular diseases.

Background There is need to assess left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) in metabolic syndrome to effectively implicate and strengthen population-based prevention strategies. Objectives To assess the prevalence of LVDD in metabolic syndrome. Methods This study was conducted in the Department of Medicine, Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, Faridkot on 100 cases (with metabolic syndrome diagnosed on International Diabetic Federation criteria) and 100 age- and sex-matched controls (without metabolic syndrome) between 30 and 60 years of age by echocardiography to assess LVDD. Results Overall prevalence of diastolic dysfunction was 73% in the cases and 14% in controls with an increasing trend with increasing age in both groups showing age an important determinant of diastolic dysfunction; gender-wise difference was not significant in any group. However, increasing trend with increasing body mass index, elevated blood pressure, elevated fasting blood sugar, elevated serum triglyceride, and deceased serum high density lipoprotein was noted showing their risk correlation in the outcome of diastolic dysfunction; participants without metabolic syndrome had lesser diastolic dysfunction (14%). Conclusions The diastolic dysfunction in metabolic syndrome was found to be higher that supports the assumption that metabolic syndrome could be correlated to risk of development of LVDD. Holistic prevention of metabolic syndrome has an important role to prevent development of diastolic dysfunction.

Background: The emergency department of every tertiary care teaching hospital is the backbone of community health care service. Aims: This study was undertaken to identify the pattern of emergencies in the hospital, and to identify the risk factors associated with these emergencies. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective record analysis of the emergency department from Jan 2010 to Dec 2010. The data were analyzed for various types of medical emergencies presented at the hospital at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, Faridkot. Results: A total of 2310 patients presented in the emergency department of which nearly half were males; a great majority were in the age group of 15-40 years. The diseases related to the cardiovascular system, 367 (15.89%), topped the list of which hypertension was noted in 267 (11.56%) cases. This was followed by morbidities related to the neurological system, diabetes, hepatobiliary, respiratory, renal 168 (7.27%), poisoning, pyrexia of unknown origin, and multi-organ involvement. With regard to the specific diseases, the majority were contributed by coronary artery disease 217 (9.39%), stroke 178 (7.71%), alcoholic liver disease 160 (6.93%), and chronic obstructive lung diseases 90 (3.90%). In our series, we noted that a great majority of cases were in the 41-60 age groups except poisoning (majority less than 40 years). The age groups were significantly related with selected morbidities. Conclusions: There are transparent evidence that we need an organized emergency care system in India as relatively the younger age group (15-40 years) comprised nearly half cases.

A male patient presented with horizontal diplopia and conjugate gaze palsy. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed acute infarct in right facial colliculus which is an anatomical elevation on the dorsal aspect of Pons. This elevation is due the 6th cranial nerve nucleus and the motor fibres of facial nerve which loop dorsal to this nucleus. Anatomical correlation of the clinical symptoms is also depicted in this report.

Electrolyte imbalance always poses challenging situations to the attending intensivists, particularly if it is associated with endocrinopathies and other comorbidities. One such rare clinical scenario is hypokalemic periodic paralysis (HPP) due to hyperthyroidism. The epidemiology of such a condition is slightly higher among males of Asian origin as compared to its universal occurrence. The diagnostic challenges in this clinical situation can lead to higher morbidity if timeliness is compromised from the presentation to active management. Moreover, atypical presentation of this pathologic condition further compounds the problem if it is associated with overt hyperthyroidism. Here, we report a unique case that presented to the emergency medicine department of our institute with weakness of all the four limbs and in which we faced all the diagnostic and management challenges as the clinical condition of hypokalemia was somehow dominated by overt hyperthyroidism.

Cerebral information processing involves the activation of brain regions and the exchange of information between them. As metric for intra-cortical communication, coherence, a frequency specific measure quantifying the correlation of the amplitudes across trials of two phase-locked signals, has been suggested. A value of 0 indicates that both signals are unrelated, a value of 1 that both signals are fully synchronized. It is evidenced by the plethora of findings that the functional connectivity between brain regions is modulated by brain states, mental processing and the planning and execution of actions. Thus, it might be hypothesized that volitionally modulating the functional connectivity between two interacting brain regions should have an impact either on behavior or cognition. The purpose of the study was to test whether subjects can learn to volitionally modulate brain functional connectivity between left and right motor cortices employing a neurofeedback training and whether the neurofeedback training induces specific effects on motor function. Thirty right-handed subjects participated in the study. The subject group was partitioned into two sub-groups, namely contingent feedback group and sham feedback group, consisting of fifteen subjects. During the neurofeedback training the magnetic brain activity originating from left and right primary motor cortices was recorded using magnetoencephalography (MEG) and a feedback signal representing the coherence between the primary motor cortices of both hemispheres was presented to the subjects on a screen. Subjects receiving contingent feedback were trained to increase coherence while the discriminative stimulus S D+ was presented and to decrease coherence while the S D− was presented. A pretest and posttest examination served to examine whether acquired control on functional connectivity evidences any behavioral effects. During pre- and posttest subjects had to perform a complex bimanual finger tapping task while the discriminative stimulus either for up- or down-training was presented. Our findings suggest that it is possible to modulate the functional connectivity between the primary motor cortices of both hemispheres and that changes in functional connectivity do have a strong behavioral impact. Modulating the functional connectivity between brain regions can be used to study the functional role of cortico-cortical connections and will offer therapeutic interventions in brain diseases originating from impaired intra-cortical connections.

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM), being a long-term condition, requires consistent blood glucose monitoring and adjustment of doses of the antidiabetic drugs and insulin. Telehealth is an emerging field that can have a positive impact on the management of this disease. Aim: The aim was to study the impact of the frequency of consultation and follow-up on telephone of diagnosed follow-up patients of DM on glycemic and metabolic profiles, the patients' compliance, and their quality of life (QoL), and to compare the effectiveness of different modes of follow-up. Materials and Methods: One hundred twenty patients were enrolled from the outpatient department (OPD) including both type 1 and type 2 DM patients who had already been diagnosed and were on treatment. They were randomly assigned to one of three groups, each consisting of 40 subjects, according to the mode of follow-up: A (rare, i.e., less frequent outpatient visits), B (moderate, i.e., more frequent outpatient visits), and C (frequent, i.e., more frequent outpatient visits with weekly telephonic consultation). Metabolic profiles and the QoL were monitored. The patients' compliance with and adherence to the treatment, and dietary and exercise advice were assessed. Results: The patients' compliance with and adherence to the treatment was higher in group C, followed by groups B and A. There was a net decrease in adverse events, with an increase in the frequency of follow-up. Changes in glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) suggested a positive impact of weekly telephonic consultation. The lipid profile was also positively affected, with maximum improvement being in high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) and triglycerides. There was an improvement in the QoL domains pertaining to physical health and endurance in patients with higher frequency of follow-ups. There was no effect on emotional or mental health. There was an overall deterioration of the financial domain, being most marked in group B. The treatment satisfaction questionnaire showed better results in the telephone intervention group. Conclusion: Telephonic consultation can be a useful measure to improve the follow-up and management of patients with DM.