Changes in levels of serum glycoproteins in major depressive disorders

The present study deals with estimation of levels of fractions of serum glycoproteins, protein bound hexose (PBH), protein bound hexosamine (PBHex), protein bound fucose (PBF), protein bound sialic acid (PBS) and protein bound carbohydrate (PBC) in thirty patients of Major Depressive Disorders (MDD) in comparison with thirty normal subjects. In patients of MDD, the level of PBH, PBHex, PBF, PBS and PBC were significantly higher as compared to the normal subjects (p<0.05). In patients, of MDD, after one-month treatment with fluoxetine, the levels of PBH, PBHex, PBF, PBS and PBC were significantly decreased as compared to the levels of these fractions in same patients of MDD before beginning of the treatment (p<0.05). Based on findings of the present study, it can be concluded that changes in the level of serum glycoproteins level before and after treatment with fluoxetine can be correlated with clinical status of MDD.     

Comparative analysis of Rank Aggregation techniques for metasearch using genetic algorithm

Rank Aggregation techniques have found wide applications for metasearch along with other streams such as Sports, Voting System, Stock Markets, and Reduction in Spam. This paper presents the optimization of rank lists for web queries put by the user on different MetaSearch engines. A metaheuristic approach such as Genetic algorithm based rank aggregation technique has been proposed and implemented in MATLAB for Kendall-tau as (GKTu) and Spearman’s foot rule as (GSFD) distance measures. A comparative analysis has been carried out between ranked lists for with and without GA on the basis of simulated results. From the results it has been found that proposed GA optimized rank list (for a particular query on the basis of minimum distance) is better than the conventional methods. In addition, a word association technique i.e., AND-OR operator has been applied on each query. The results are investigated in comparison to non- logic operators for the same query.     

Genetic Polymorphisms Associated With Breast Cancer in Malaysian Cohort

Genome-wide association studies have discovered multiple single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with the risk of common diseases. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the replication of previously published SNPs that showed statistical significance for breast cancer in the Malaysian population. In this case–control study, 80 subjects for each group were recruited from various hospitals in Malaysia. A total of 768 SNPs were genotyped and analyzed to distinguish risk and protective alleles. A total of three SNPs were found to be associated with increased risk of breast cancer while six SNPs showed protective effect. All nine were statistically significant SNPs (p ≤ 0.01), five SNPs from previous studies were successfully replicated in our study. Significant modifiable (diet) and non-modifiable (family history of breast cancer in first degree relative) risk factors were also observed. We identified nine SNPs from this study to be either conferring susceptibility or protection to breast cancer which may serve as potential markers in risk prediction.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s12291-013-0414-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Reversible suppression of nitric oxide system in essential hypertension

Despite enormous research in the field of hypertension, its pathophysiology still remains largely unresolved and appears to be multifactorial. In the present communication, we have analyzed the status of nitric oxide (NO) in the patients with essential hypertension and age matched controls. We have found that the levels of NO are lowered in essential hypertension. The normalization of blood pressure by administration of antihypertensive therapy causes rise in the NO level indicating that perturbed NO status in essential hypertension is reversible. Addition of antioxidant to the antihypertensive drugs causes a further, though non significant, rise in the levels of NO, suggesting that antioxidants may be combined with antihypertensive drugs as adjunct in the management of essential hypertension.     

The Anatomy of a Plagiarism Initiative: One Library's Campus Collaboration

ABSTRACT

Plagiarism in media and print continues to be a major issue for professors, librarians, and students. Through initiatives and outreach from the B. Davis Memorial Library at the C. W. Post Campus of Long Island University, plagiarism Web sites have been created and workshops and programs continually provided for faculty and students to detect, discourage, and prevent plagiarism. Faculty members are presented with techniques and tips that range from designing assignments to detecting and ultimately stemming the tide of plagiarism, and students are apprised of plagiarism and the myriad ways of avoiding it. However, collaborations between librarians and the academic community are vital in arresting and curtailing this pervasive problem.     

FACTORS PREDICTING SCIENCE ACHIEVEMENT OF IMMIGRANT AND NON-IMMIGRANT STUDENTS: A MULTILEVEL ANALYSIS

This study, employing hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), sought to investigate the student-level and school-level factors associated with the science achievement of immigrant and non-immigrant students among a national sample of 22,646 students from 896 schools in Canada. While student background characteristics such as home language, family wealth, and socioeconomic status were significant predictors of science achievement for non-immigrant students, these factors were not significantly associated with immigrant student science achievement. Student attitudes, engagement, and motivation in science and information and communication technology familiarity were significant predictors of science achievement for both immigrant and non-immigrant students. Whereas teacher shortage was associated with science achievement for immigrant students, school size was associated with science achievement for non-immigrant students. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

Mastery goal,value and self-concept: what do they predict?

Background:?Students’ motivation is known to influence academic outcomes. However, there is a paucity of research showing the relative influences of motivational factors on short-term and long-term outcomes.

Purpose:?The study investigates the relative influences of motivational factors – mastery goal orientation, value of schooling, and academic self-concepts (perceived competence in and affect to schoolwork) on four outcomes – rule acceptance, identity, general self-efficacy and achievement.

Sample:?Students in grades 3 to 6 from six primary schools in the Sydney were surveyed (N = 979). The ages of the participants varied from 8 to 13 years (mean = 9.78).

Design and methods:?Students completed a questionnaire and literacy and numeracy achievement tests. Structural equation modelling was used to examine the paths from four predictors to four outcomes.

Results:?Whereas all four predictors were positively associated with all four outcomes, students’ mastery goal had stronger positive influences on self-efficacy and identity. Value, perceived competence and affect were found to influence outcomes in different ways – positive influences were found for value on achievement, rule-acceptance, and identity; for perceived competence on achievement and efficacy; and for affect on rule-acceptance and identity.

Conclusion:?Mastery goal had stronger influences on long-term outcomes while other predictors are stronger for short-term outcomes. To facilitate short-term and long-term outcomes, all four motivational factors need attention.     

Thyroid Disorders in Patients of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

The study was planned to assess the prevalence of thyroid disorders in type 2 diabetes in North Indian population and to correlate the serum insulin and glycosylated haemoglobin levels with thyroid hormones. It is a case control study. One hundred and twenty patients of type 2 diabetes were included in the study along with 117 adults of the same age group and normal glucose levels as controls. All blood samples were taken from subjects who fasted for at least 12 h before the blood collection. Glycosylated hemoglobin was determined by ion exchange chromatography and serum insulin and thyroid hormones were assessed through enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Fasting blood glucose and glycosylated haemoglobin levels were significantly higher in diabetics showing a poor glucose control. Serum tri-iodothyronine values were significantly lower in diabetics. There was a significant correlation between glycosylated haemoglobin and thyroid hormones. There was no correlation between serum insulin and thyroid hormones.     

Oxidative Stress and Its Relationship With Adenosine Deaminase Activity in Various Stages of Breast Cancer

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) cause damage to the DNA producing mutations and formation of tumours such as carcinoma of breast. Tumour cells are known to produce ROS at a greater pace than the non-transformed cells. The increased production of reactive oxygen species causes oxidative stress leading to cell proliferation and hence increased inflammatory conditions. The present study was aimed to investigate the role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of breast cancer. Females suffering from breast cancer had significantly decreased Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels in comparison to normal females. The compromised antioxidant defence system produces the oxidative stress which in turn creates the inflammatory response shown by concomitant increased adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity in female patients. ADA diminishes the protective molecule adenosine. There were significant variations (p < 0.01) in ADA activity with different clinical stages (stage 1–4) of breast cancer suggesting thereby that estimation of ADA activity can be used as a diagnostic tool to detect the stage of cancer along with cytological studies. Mastectomy was performed and post-operatively serum SOD and ADA activity and plasma GSH levels were estimated. There was a statistically significant increase in activity of SOD and levels of GSH while serum ADA activity decreased significantly, suggesting thereby that oxidative stress is responsible for increased cell proliferation and hence the inflammatory conditions in CA breast that got ameliorated post-operatively.     

A survey towards an integration of big data analytics to big insights for value-creation

Big Data Analytics (BDA) is increasingly becoming a trending practice that generates an enormous amount of data and provides a new opportunity that is helpful in relevant decision-making. The developments in Big Data Analytics provide a new paradigm and solutions for big data sources, storage, and advanced analytics. The BDA provide a nuanced view of big data development, and insights on how it can truly create value for firm and customer. This article presents a comprehensive, well-informed examination, and realistic analysis of deploying big data analytics successfully in companies. It provides an overview of the architecture of BDA including six components, namely: (i) data generation, (ii) data acquisition, (iii) data storage, (iv) advanced data analytics, (v) data visualization, and (vi) decision-making for value-creation. In this paper, seven V's characteristics of BDA namely Volume, Velocity, Variety, Valence, Veracity, Variability, and Value are explored. The various big data analytics tools, techniques and technologies have been described. Furthermore, it presents a methodical analysis for the usage of Big Data Analytics in various applications such as agriculture, healthcare, cyber security, and smart city. This paper also highlights the previous research, challenges, current status, and future directions of big data analytics for various application platforms. This overview highlights three issues, namely (i) concepts, characteristics and processing paradigms of Big Data Analytics; (ii) the state-of-the-art framework for decision-making in BDA for companies to insight value-creation; and (iii) the current challenges of Big Data Analytics as well as possible future directions.