A new mechanism found for the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s

CAS scientists recently discovered that activation of a protein called β2-adrenergic receptor may lead to the abnormal formation of the amyloid plaques, which are believed to be the hallmark and primary cause of Alzheimer's disease.     

Analyzing the public discourse on works of fiction – Detection and visualization of emotion in online coverage about HBO’s Game of Thrones

This paper presents a Web intelligence portal that captures and aggregates news and social media coverage about “Game of Thrones”, an American drama television series created for the HBO television network based on George R.R. Martin’s series of fantasy novels. The system collects content from the Web sites of Anglo-American news media as well as from four social media platforms: Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and YouTube. An interactive dashboard with trend charts and synchronized visual analytics components not only shows how often Game of Thrones events and characters are being mentioned by journalists and viewers, but also provides a real-time account of concepts that are being associated with the unfolding storyline and each new episode. Positive or negative sentiment is computed automatically, which sheds light on the perception of actors and new plot elements.     

A Case of Sanfillippo’s Disease Correlating Clinical and Biochemical Findings

The mucopolysaccharidoses (MPSs) are a heterogeneous group of rare inherited disorders caused by deficiency of lysosomal enzyme necessary to break down mucopolysaccharides or glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). We had combined clinical findings and ophthalmological features. Biochemical test for urine glycosaminoglycans was done for confirmation of diagnosis in the patient. The case of Sanfillippo’s disease was characterized by delayed development, hyperactivity with aggressive behaviour. Coarse facial feature, hirsutism and sleep disorder. Urine GAG tests for MPS was positive in the case. Based on clinical findings and biochemical tests for MPS, this case was diagnosed as a type III mucopolysaccharidoses. Urinary GAG’s electrophoresis is an important screening test for MPS suspected cases.     

Minerva’s owl. A response to John Houghton and Charles Oppenheim’s ‘The economic implications of alternative publishing models’

As the twenty-first century approaches … the possibilities of a univerally opulent society being realised have appeared in the sense that [Adam] Smith envisioned it, and the information society that will emerge from the computer communications revolution will be a society that actually moves towards a universal society of plenty … this is what I mean by “Computopia” (Masuda)

Our culture … is already committed to the proposition that the only legitimate knowledge we can gain of our world is that yielded by science. All thinking, dreaming, feeling, indeed all other sources of insight have already be delegitimated. The indoctrination of our children's minds with simplistic and uninformed computer idolatory … is a pandemic phenomenon (Weizenbaum)²     

Between politics and prevention: A re-examination of China’s schistosomiasis control campaign in the 1950s

In the 1950s, China is widely regarded as having made great achievements in the control of schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever. Despite the success, efforts to prevent the disease did not fare well during the Reform period (1978–present). Given this, several key questions need to be addressed. Was the schistosomiasis control campaign a real success in the context of political fervor? Would a schistosomiasis control policy be successful only when it returns to the Maoist medical model, as Miriam Gross argues? Did schistosomiasis return as advertised, or was it never eliminated since the 1950s? In this article, I argue that (1) schistosomiasis control is widely regarded as a great success in an ecological sense, but as far as a long-term mechanism of control is concerned, an approach that relies exclusively on strong political intervention and mass participation may not be effective; (2) schistosomiasis control should first focus on the establishment of a sustainable, long-term mechanism, rather than a temporary, assault-style approach to the problem; and (3) from the 1950s to the present, the spread of schistosomiasis does not represent its return, but, rather, the failure of control efforts to eliminate it.     

Modification of Jaffe’s kinetic method decreases bilirubin interference: A preliminary report

The negative interference of bilirubin on serum creatinine determined by the kinetic alkaline picrate (Jaffe) reaction is the unresolved problem. Though high performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography with mass spectroscopy have been proposed to be gold standards for creatinine estimation but they are not readily available in most of the clinical chemistry laboratories due to economic and technical constraints. Most of the present day analyzers use Jaffe’s kinetic method without deproteinization. Though enzymatic methods are now routinely used as most accurate method but they are not acceptable due to cost constraints. Hence this study was planned to find out a possible solution to the problem of bilirubin interference by a minor modification in the commonly used Jaffe method so that it is amenable for use on the currently used analyzers.