Effect of antioxidants and antibiotics on levels of seminal oxidative stress in leukocytospermic infertile men

Defective sperm function is the most common cause of infertility. A prospective study was carried out to correlate the concentration of nitrite (the stable metabolite of nitric oxide) in seminal plasma with leukocytospermia, and sperm membrane integrity. Total Fifty-seven normozoospermic subjects with and without leukocytospermia visiting the Infertility clinic at KH and MRC, Karad, were included in the present study. Semen samples were checked for sperm concentration, total sperm count, sperm motility, seminal leukocyte concentration and sperm membrane integrity as Hypoosmotic Swelling Test. Similarly the concentration of nitrite in seminal plasma was measured by Griess reaction and total antioxidant power measured as ferric reducing ability of plasma. The concentration of nitrite in seminal plasma was found to be raised with significantly increased leukocyte concentration in semen. Also significantly lowered levels of total antioxidant power along with defective sperm function was observed. Our results suggest that supplementary treatment of antioxidants with antibiotic for leukocytospermic infertile male patients may improve the sperm membrane integrity.     

Sex hormone binding globulin in breast cancer

The present study was undertaken to determine the significance of sex hormone binding globulin, the major and specific binding protein for testosterone and estradiol, in breast cancer. Among breast cancer patients, lower serum levels of Sex hormone binding globulin and higher levels of testosterone were observed. Sex hormone binding globulin showed an inverse relationship with testosterone and total cholesterol, and a direct relation with HDL-cholesterol. By the western blot analyses, Sex hormone binding globulin was detected in all biological samples that we examined. In the breast tumor tissue sections, immuno-staining for Sex hormone binding globulin was confined in cell cytoplasm and 29% cases were positive, which showed no association with the investigated prognostic markers of breast cancer such as ER and HER-2/neu over-expression. In this study, decreased circulating levels of Sex hormone binding globulin in breast cancer patients possibly indicate higher bioavailable estrogens.     

Oxidative stress and antioxidant status in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia

Chronic myeloid leukemia is a myeloproliferative disorder with a unique rearrangement, the Philadelphia chromosome. Oxidative stress, a pervasive condition of an increased number of reactive oxygen species, is now recognized to be prominent feature of various diseases and their progression. Thus antioxidants, which control the oxidative stress state, represent a major line of defense regulating overall true state of health. The relationship between antioxidants status and levels of well-known markers of oxidative stress that are measured as lipid peroxides and oxidized proteins reflect better health indices and postures. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of oxidative stress in pathophysiology of Chronic myeloid leukemia by measuring the circulating plasma lipid peroxide levels in terms of malonyldialdehyde, total lipid hydroperoxide and oxidized proteins as protein carbonyl whereas antioxidant status were estimated in terms of reduced glutathione and total thiol in plasma of Chronic myeloid leukemia patients. The present study included 47 Chronic myeloid leukemia patients and 20 age-and sex-matched healthy subjects. Out of 47 Chronic myeloid leukemia patients, 31 were in chronic phase (CML-CP) and 16 in accelerated phase (CML-AP). The median age of Chronic myeloid leukemia patients was 33 years and that of controls was 32 years. Oxidative stress and antioxidant status in plasma were evaluated by spectrophotometric procedures. There was a significant increase (p<0.05) in plasma malonyldialdehyde, total lipid hydroperoxide and protein carbonyl levels in Chronic myeloid leukemia patients as compared to healthy subjects. Our results also showed that plasma malonyldialdehyde and protein carbonyl levels were markedly elevated (p<0.05) in both chronic phase (CML-CP) and accelerated phase (CML-AP) as compared to healthy volunteers. Antioxidant status was found to be significantly decreased (p<0.05) in Chronic myeloid leukemia patients and its phases as compared to healthy participants. It could be concluded that oxidative stress may be associated with the pathophysiology of Chronic myeloid leukemia.     

Acoustic communication in birds

The article highlights the biological significance of songs and calls in birds. The structural diversity of songs and its relevance for social behaviour are described. Acoustic communication plays an important role in the life of birds and has proven useful in establishing phylogenetic and evolutionary relationships among species.     

Evaluating E-resource Collections in a Business School Library: A Comparative Study of Aggregator Packages at Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad Library

The need to continuously evaluate resource usage, whether in print or online, has been a challenge for libraries for a long time. The shift in resources to digital formats has made gauging the utility of resources more convenient as well as enabling cross database comparisons on various parameters. In this context, the article explores the aggregator databases subscribed by Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad library. The study compares EBSCO's Business Source Complete, EBSCO's Academic Search Premier, Proquest's ABI INFORM Complete, JSTOR, and Project Muse packages in terms of the features available, usage, and the most used journals in these packages.     

Exploring equity and quality education in South Africa using multilevel models

Educational reform in South Africa envisions schooling where all students, irrespective of their background characteristics, have the opportunity to succeed. To achieve this vision, the South African education system needs to function in such a way that students’ success does not depend on their backgrounds; that is, if school processes and policies in South Africa were inclusive and supportive of the learning of all students then we would expect high-quality schools to compensate for socio-economic disadvantage such that the achievement gap associated with the socio-economic status (SES) would be minimised. The main objective of this paper is to explore the relationship between school quality and socio-economic disadvantage. Our analysis, employing multilevel statistical models, indicates that:

1. schools do make a difference over and above the socio-economic backgrounds of learners they enrol;

2. learners are most successful in schools where they and their parents are actively engaged in the learning processes;

3. schools with these characteristics tend to compensate for learners’ socio-economic disadvantage;

4. learners from disadvantaged backgrounds are less successful in schools; and

5. the impact of SES on learners’ achievement levels is particularly prominent in high-achieving schools.

These findings call for the need to rethink the current schooling processes and policies to include structures that allow schools to provide opportunities to engage learners and their parents in the schooling processes with the objective of compensating for learners’ socio-economic disadvantage. We argue that this objective can be achieved through a capability framework where inclusion, democratic participation and child centredness serve as the major principles of the provision of quality education for all.     

Michigan Citizens' Knowledge and Perceptions About Groundwater

Abstract

Knowledge and perceptions of Michigan residents about groundwater were assessed so that a comprehensive educational program could be developed and baseline information established to document the program's impact over time. Data were collected from 663 residents in urban, rural, and farm households. Results indicated that knowledge about groundwater was moderate and that a statewide educational campaign on facts about groundwater was necessary. People perceived that land use practices affected groundwater quality at the national, state, and county levels but not at their household level. Significant differences were found among urban, rural, and farm residents and between farmers and nonfarmers in their perceptions of the effects of land use on groundwater quality.     

Child Development and Structural Variation in the Human Genome

Structural variation of the human genome sequence is the insertion, deletion, or rearrangement of stretches of DNA sequence sized from around 1,000 to millions of base pairs. Over the past few years, structural variation has been shown to be far more common in human genomes than previously thought. Very little is currently known about the effects of structural variation on normal child development, but such effects could be of considerable significance. This review provides an overview of the phenomenon of structural variation in the human genome sequence, describing the novel genomics technologies that are revolutionizing the way structural variation is studied and giving examples of genomic structural variations that affect child development.