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.     

Book reviews

Mark Hukill, Ryoto Ono and Chandrasekhar Vallath (Eds.), Electronic Communication Convergence: Policy Challenges in Asia New Delhi: Sage, 2000.

Stuart Cunningham (Ed.), Floating Lives Oxford University Press, 1996

Anura Goonasekera and Duncan Holaday (Eds.), Asian Communication Handbook AMIC, 1998.

Shelton A. Gunaratne (Ed.), Handbook of the Media in Asia Sage, 2000     

A three-dimensional forward dynamic model of the golf swing optimized for ball carry distance

A 3D predictive golfer model can be a valuable tool for investigating the golf swing and designing new clubs. A forward dynamic model, which includes a four degree of freedom golfer model, a flexible shaft based on Rayleigh beam theory, an impulse-momentum impact model and a spin rate dependent aerodynamic ball model, is presented. The input torques for the golfer model are provided by parameterized joint torque generators that have been designed to mimic muscle torque production. These joint torques are optimized to create swings and launch conditions that maximize carry distance. The flexible shaft model allows for continuous bending in the transverse directions, axial twisting of the club and variable shaft stiffness as a function of the length. The completed four-part model with the default parameters is used to estimate the ball carry of a golf swing using a particular club. This model will be useful for experimenting with club design parameters to predict their effect on the ball trajectory and carry distance.     

Does continued participation in STEM enrichment and enhancement activities affect school maths attainment?

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills are very valuable for economic growth. However, the number of young people pursuing STEM learning trajectories in the United Kingdom was lower than the predicted demand during the last decade. Several STEM enrichment and enhancement activities were thus funded by the government, private, and charitable organisations to improve understanding of and raise pupil interest in these subjects. One possible way of measuring the impact of these activities in supporting pupil understanding of maths was to track the proportion of young people obtaining a ‘good’ grade in standardised national tests such as the GCSEs. Attainment is of course only one possible outcome of education but certainly a very important one because students are more likely to continue studying subjects in which they score higher. This makes maths attainment even more important as it is a pre-requisite for admission to STEM degree courses. This longitudinal study makes use of the National Pupil Database to assess the impact of these schemes on maths attainment of participating schools. Following up 300 intervention schools for five years the study shows the intervention group did not do any better than the comparator. The paper suggests further directions for research and offers recommendations for practice.     

Development of a highly sensitive direct microtiter plate ELISA for human serum testosterone

A simple, highly sensitive, direct, competitive ELISA for human serum testosterone has been indigenously developed. Specific antisera against testosterone were raised in rabbits using testosterone—3carboxymethyl oxime (CMO)—bovine serum albumin (BSA) as the antigen. For the enzyme conjugate, testoterone—3CMO was coupled with horse raddish peroxidase by the active ester method. The standard curve covered a wide range from 3.9 pg/ml to 500 pg/ml. The inter and intra-assay variation were found to be low and within the acceptable limits. Specificity and accuracy for the assay was established by having negligible crossreactivity with the related steroids and an excellent parallelism between the sample and standard dilution curve. Samples measured by RIA and ELISA showed very high degree of correlation (r=0.991).     

Application of Tucatinib and Trastuzumab: Dual Anti HER2 Therapy Against HER2 Positive Breast Cancer

Synergism in action of tucatinib and trastumab is reported in breast cancer management. However, its molecular basis is yet to be determined. In this context we attempted to provide an explanation at the molecular level by performing in silico experimentation and coupling its result with already available published observations. Our study will provide basis for planning further experimental study for unravelling the truth.     

Sensation seeking and intercultural communication competence: A model test

Following findings from previous studies, the present study further explores the relationship between sensation seeking and intercultural communicative behaviours, specifically by investigating the relationship between sensation seeking and intercultural communication competence and re-testing a model introduced in a previous study. It was hypothesised that: (1) when mediated by variables associated positively associated with intercultural communication competence, there is a positive relationship between sensation seeking and intercultural communication competence, and (2) even in the presence of variables that are positively associated with intercultural communication competence, there is a negative relationship between ethnocentrism and intercultural communication competence. Survey data were gathered from participants (N = 231) and structural equation modelling was performed. The results supported both hypotheses, as well as findings from previous studies. The implications are discussed.