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Fishes are very sensitive to aquatic environmental changes so they are important bio-indicator for monitoring the contamination of water bodies. Numerous organophosphate pesticides are widely used in domestic, industrial and agricultural fields to protect the crops from various pest and diseases owing to their high insecticidal property and low persistence in the environment. Pesticide exposure may also fatal to many non-target organisms like fish where it hampers its health through impairment of metabolism. Dichlorvos is an organophosphate insecticide and widely used in all fields. Present study was aimed to evaluate accumulation of pesticide in tissues and the effects of pesticide residues on biochemical moieties in fish, Channa gachua exposed to organophosphate pesticide dichlorvos. In present study, fishes were exposed to 1/10thof LC50 concentration (12.5 ppm) of dichlorvos for 30 days (chronic). Highly significant depletion was observed in glycogen, protein and lipid content in liver and muscle of fishes exposed to pesticide as compared to control. Accumulation of pesticide residue was also observed in those tissues by HPLC method. Biotransformation and bioaccumulation of pesticide and their residues in food chain can cause detrimental health effects on non-target organism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is the precursor to the advanced stage of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and it is important to detect the transition to the MCI condition as early as possible. Trends in daily routines/activities provide a measurement of cognitive/functional status, particularly in older adults. In this study, activity data from longitudinal monitoring through in-home ambient sensors are leveraged in predicting the transition to the MCI stage at a future time point. The activity dataset from the Oregon Center for Aging and Technology (ORCATECH) includes measures representing various domains such as walk, sleep, etc. Each sensor-captured activity measure is constructed as a time series, and a variety of summary statistics is computed. The similarity between one individual’s activity time series and that of the remaining individuals is also computed as distance measures. The long short-term memory (LSTM) recurrent neural network is trained with time series statistics and distance measures for the prediction modeling, and performance is evaluated by classification accuracy. The model outcomes are explained using the SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) framework. LSTM model trained using the time series statistics and distance measures outperforms other modeling scenarios, including baseline classifiers, with an overall prediction accuracy of 83.84%. SHAP values reveal that sleep-related features contribute the most to the prediction of the cognitive stage at the future time point, and this aligns with the findings in the literature. Findings from this study not only demonstrate that a practical, less expensive, longitudinal monitoring of older adults’ activity routines can benefit immensely in modeling AD progression but also unveil the most contributing features that are medically applicable and meaningful.

Abstract Introduction Objectives were used to describe guardian proxy‐report and child self‐report quality of life (QoL) during chemotherapy for pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. Methods Patients enrolled on the phase 3 AML trial AAML1031 who were 2‐18 years of age with English‐speaking guardians were eligible. Instruments used were the PedsQL Generic Core Scales, Acute Cancer Module, and Multidimensional Fatigue Scale. Assessments were obtained at the beginning of Induction 1 and following completion of cycles 2‐4. Potential predictors of QoL included the total number of nonhematological grade 3‐4 Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Event (CTCAE) submissions. Results There were 505 eligible guardians who consented to participate and 348 of their children provided at least one self‐report assessment. The number of submitted CTCAE toxicities was significantly associated with worse physical health summary scores (β ± standard error (SE) −3.00 ± 0.69; P

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) could be a transitory stage to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and underlines the importance of early detection of this stage. In MCI stage, though the older adults are not completely dependent on others for day-to-day tasks, mild impairments are seen in memory, attention, etc., subtly affecting their daily activities/routines. Smart sensing technologies, such as wearable and non-wearable sensors, coupled with advanced predictive modeling techniques enable daily activities/routines based early detection of MCI symptoms. Non-wearable sensors are less intrusive and can monitor activities at naturalistic environment with no interference to an individual’s daily routines. This review seeks to answer the following questions: (1) What is the evidence for use of non-wearable sensor technologies in early detection of MCI/AD utilizing daily activity data in an unobtrusive manner? (2) How are the machine learning methods being employed in analyzing activity data in this early detection approach? A systematic search was conducted in databases such as IEEE Explorer, PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar for the papers published from inception till March 2019. All studies that fulfilled the following criteria were examined: a research goal of detecting/predicting MCI/AD, daily activities data to detect MCI/AD, noninvasive/non-wearable sensors for monitoring activity patterns, and machine learning techniques to create the prediction models. Out of 2165 papers retrieved, 12 papers were eligible for inclusion in this review. This review found a diverse selection of aspects such as sensors, activity domains/features, activity recognition methods, and abnormality detection methods. There is no conclusive evidence on superiority of one or more of these aspects over the others, especially on the activity feature that would be the best indicator of cognitive decline. Though all these studies demonstrate technological developments in this field, they all suggest it is far in the future it becomes an effective diagnostic tool in real-life clinical practice.

We explore one aspect of the relationship between migration and development: how return migrants and people who have worked or studied abroad for various lengths of time influence the health sector by bringing or sending back social remittances—ideas, practices, and know-how. Our findings are base on fieldwork in Gujarat, India. The organizations we studied and the people who work for them are embedded in both secular versus religious and highly structured versus loosely organized networks. We expected, therefore, that these returnees, and the organizations where they work, would be exposed to and appropriate different aspects of global public health. Instead, we found, that over time, their understanding of health and health care delivery became increasingly similar. Despite the different religious beliefs and philosophies of development motivating their work, how each organization understood health and how to provide it ultimately incorporated many aspects of neo-liberalism. This approach is so pervasive, and the institutions that disseminate and finance it so strong, that most providers cannot ignore it. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study demonstrates the use of diffuse optical spectroscopy (DOS) for the noninvasive measurement of gold nanoshell concentrations in tumors of live mice. We measured the diffuse optical spectra (500-800 nm) using an optical fiber probe placed in contact with the tissue surface. We performed in vitro studies on tissue phantoms illustrating an accurate measurement of gold-silica nanoshell concentration within 12.6% of the known concentration. In vivo studies were performed on a mouse xenograft tumor model. DOS spectra were measured at preinjection, immediately postinjection, 1 and 24 h postinjection times, and the nanoshell concentrations were verified using neutron activation analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Aim of the Study: This study aims to evaluate the effects three different conditioning agents on the shear bond strength of resin-modified glass ionomers to human dentin. Materials and Methods: One hundred and twenty recently extracted, caries-free premolars and molars will be cleaned of debris and disinfected in a 0.5% solution of sodium hypochlorite and sterile water for 30 min. The occlusal surface of each tooth will be reduced using conventional model trimmer with water to produce the dentin surface. Then, three different resin-modified glass ionomer cements (GICs) were triturated and mixed according to the manufacturer's instructions, 10 specimens will be made of each group. The excess restorative material will be removed from matrix band dentin interface with a sharp number 25 bard parker blade. Samples were shear tested with Instron universal testing machine with a crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/min. A shearing bar beveled to a 1 mm thick contact surface area will be placed at the junction of dentin and plastic band matrix. The load required for the failure will be recorded in pounds and converted to megapascals. Results: Statistical analysis was done with analysis of variance and Tukey's test. Ketac primer as conditioning agent along with Fuji II LC as restorative material had the highest shear bond value whereas intact smear layer which was unmodified dentin had the least value. Conclusion: Within the limitations of the present study, it can be concluded that surface conditioning of dentin resulted significantly higher bond strength than unconditioned dentin surfaces. Clinical Significance: Resin-modified glass ionomers have several advantages compared to chemically cured GICs. The advantages include command cure, ease of handling, improved physical properties, and esthetics. Resin-modified glass ionomers have been marketed as direct restorative materials for Class V lesions as well as liners, bases, and luting agents. Several conditioning agents have been evaluated to condition dentin before the application of conventional glass ionomers and resin-modified glass ionomers. These have mainly included polyacrylic acid, citric acid, phosphoric acid, and ethylenediamine tetra-acetic acid. Of late, manufactures have recommended other conditioners to replace polyacrylic acid which includes Ketac primer as one of the conditioning agents.

Samples of 4130 steel were cut on a CO2 laser cutting system and the combined effects of power and feed rate on kerf width, surface roughness, striation frequency and the size of heat affected zone (HAZ) have been studied. Regression analysis was used to develop models that describe the effect of the independent process parameters on laser cut quality. For the range of operation conditions tested, it was observed that power had a major effect on kerf width and size of HAZ, while feed rate affects were secondary. On the other hand, surface roughness and striation frequency were affected most by feed rate. At low power levels, the smallest kerf width and HAZ are obtained and the effect of feed rate is moderate. Low feed rates gave good surface roughness and low striation frequency. For optimum cut quality, kerf width, HAZ and surface roughness are kept at a minimum. However, operating conditions that satisfy these requirements while maintaining high productivity could not be identified. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In India, the seeds of Canavalia gladiata and C. ensiformis have traditionally been eaten by the aborigines, but they are less popular among the civilized people. The data on the chemical composition and nutritional quality of these seeds are not readily available. The proximate composition, mineral composition, the contents of total (true) proteins, seed protein fractions, profile of seed protein amino acids and certain antinutritional factors were analysed and reported in the present study. The seeds of C. ensiformis contain more crude protein, crude lipid and minerals like Na, K, Ca, Mg, P, Fe and Mn than does C. gladiata. Both albumins and globulins together constitute the major bulk of seed proteins. In both the species of Canavalia investigated, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, isoleucine + leucine, tyrosine + phenylalanine and lysine are the major amino acids of seed proteins. The presence of certain antinutritional factors (total free phenols, tannins, lectins, L-DOPA, trypsin inhibitor activity) is also reported for both species of Canavalia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The boiled seeds of Abrus precatorius L. are eaten by the residents of the Andaman Islands in India. The seeds were analysed for proximate composition, total (true) protein, seed protein fractions, amino acid profile of seed proteins, minerals and certain antinutritional factors. The seed proteins are rich in most of the essential amino acids, and they are deficient only in cystine and threonine, when compared to the WHO/FAO requirement pattern. The antinutritional factors (total free phenols, tannins, trypsin inhibitor activity and haemagglutinating activity) were also investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seeds of the tribal pulse, Mucuna gigantea, were analysed for proximate composition, total (true) seed proteins, seed protein fractionation, amino acid composition, minerals and antinutritional factors. Crude proteins, crude lipids, ash and nitrogen free extractives constituted 30.62%, 9.03%, 5.99% and 42.79%, respectively. The calorific values of 100 g dry matter of seed material is 374.91 kCal. The essential amino acids, leucine + isoleucine, are present in relatively large quantities. The seeds are rich in minerals like K, Ca, Mg and Fe. Antinutritional substances like total free phenols and tannins, trypsin inhibitor activity and haemagglutinating activity also were investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]