Increase in calcium content of erythrocyte and its significance to the function of enzyme calcium activated neutral protease (CANP) activity in β- thalassemia homozygotes and heterozygotes

The enhanced presence of calcium in the erythrocytes of thalassemia homozygotes along with an increase in cytosolic and membrane bound CANP, and a decrease in membrane glycoprotein and total membrane sulfhydryl groups are statistically significant changes.In vitro loading of erythrocytes with calcium in the presence of lonophore A₂₃₁₈₇ caused similar changes pointing to the significance of calcium mediated proteolysis, especially by CANP in preparing erythrocytes for the phagocytic event.     

The macrodynamics of open systems and the variational principle of the local potential—II. applications

The second part of the paper presents the application of macrodynamic methods for deduction and investigation of chemical kinetic equations. In particular, nonisothermal chemical kinetic equations are considered, detailed balanced and balanced systems are studied and the method of quasistationary concentrations is discussed. For open isothermal systems a theorem on existence of a positive stationary state is proved.     

Comparison of Urinary Total Proteins by Four Different Methods

The total proteins in human urine have been compared by sulfosalicylic acid, sulfosalicylic acid with sodium sulphate and trichloroacetic acid methods with pyrogallol red molybdate method as there are no studies found quantifying imprecision and bias components. Fresh urine of 36 patients was analyzed by four methods. Imprecision and inaccuracy were determined by repeated analysis and method comparison studies using correlation plots, Bland and Altman, and Passing and Bablok regression analyses respectively. The coefficient of variation was 5.07 % for pyrogallol red molybdate; 6.84 % for sulfosalicylic acid; 3.97 % for sulfosalicylic acid with sodium sulphate and 5.93 % for trichloroacetic acid methods. Bland and Altman analysis showed a bias of 5.8, 1.7 and ?5.4 for pyrogallol red molybdate versus sulfosalicylic acid, sulfosalicylic acid with sodium sulphate and trichloroacetic acid methods respectively. Passing and Bablok regression revealed a constant bias for pyrogallol red molybdate versus all turbidimetric methods but a proportional bias only with trichloroacetic acid method. Sulfosalicylic acid with sodium sulphate method is preferred to sulfosalicylic acid and trichloroacetic acid methods.     

Specifying the Bradford ratio from the analysis of large arrays of scientific periodicals

This paper analyzes the content of large (40000–80000 doc./year) and average (20000–30 000 doc./year) databases on physico-mathematical and some technical sciences for 1996–2010 that are in the databank of the VINITI RAS. This research on arrays with large coverage of periodicals (from 2500 to 9000 sources in different thematic fragments) permits one to draw the conclusion that the record in the form 1 : x : x ³, where x is the Bradford parameter, is suitable for the Bradford rule as the ratio of the number of sources in three zones with a similar documental content. The subsequent specification of this ratio requires the standardization of all sources by their average monthly content and maximum supplementation of the zones of nuclear and profile journals with omitted articles.     

Child labor in Bombay

Of the world's largest child labor force in India, Bombay has over 30,000 working children, most of them migrants. In a prospective study of 73 working children from a part of Dharavi, the biggest slum in Asia, 68% were working as hotel boys; 22% had started working before their 10th birthday, a large number doing so to increase the family income, but earning less than Rs. 100 ($11) per month. Forty percent worked more than 12 hours a day and only 16% continued schooling. Two-thirds depended entirely on their employers for food which was adequate and no child in the study was malnourished. Overall incidence of anemia and vitamin deficiency was 10% each. Only 7% had ailments related to their occupation. Because this was a cross-sectional study no conclusions can be drawn regarding long term and residual effects. Preventing children from working is likely to make worse their own as well as their families' problems unless substitute sources of income or welfare are available. Legal protection and other services near their working places are essential for those who have to work.