Evaluation of comparative and combined antimutagenic potential of vitamin C and vitamin E using histidine mutant <Emphasis Type="Italic">Salmonella typhimurium</Emphasis> strains

Chemoprevention represents a new intervention strategy to control some type of carcinogenesis especially in subjects at high risk for cancer development. Experimental and epidemiological data indicate that a variety of nutritional factors including vitamin C and E are effective to lower the risk of some types of cancer. However large prospective studies have failed to find such significant association. A comparative and combined in vitro antimutagenic potential of two antioxidant vitamins ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and α-tocopherol (vitamin E) were evaluated using Ame’s Salmonella typhimurium test assay. Directly acting mutagens such as sodium azide (NaN₃) and 4-Nitro-o-phenylenediamine (NPDA), and N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) were used to induce mutation in salmonella strains TA 98 and TA 100. Vitamin C significantly (P < 0.01) and dose dependently inhibited the mutagenicity induced by all the three mutagens. The percent inhibitions of vitamin C at 15 mg/plate were 33.8% (NaN₃), 52.5 % (MNNG) and 55.4 % (NPDA). Vitamin E (15 mg/plate) was effective to inhibit mutagenicity induced by NaN3 and MNNG but did not inhibit mutation induced by NPDA. Combination of vitamins (vitamin C plus vitamin E) produced only an additive antimutagenic activity when compared to their activity at 5 mg/plate. The results of the study concluded that vitamin C is a better antimutagenic agent than vitamin E and combination of vitamins did not produce any synergistic activity.     

Assessing Cross-cultural Competence in Transnational Education: The Intercultural Development Inventory

As transnational education programmes continue to proliferate, a corresponding increase in intercultural competence on the part of faculty, curriculum developers, and support staff is required. Transnational programmes incorporating ''best practice'' curricula and the most advanced technology and facilities cannot fulfill their potential unless they meet the cultural needs of their clientele. Meeting these needs requires an understanding of intercultural competence and objective methods to measure and assess it. These requirements raise issues in terms of objectively measuring cross-cultural competence and designing and assessing training programmes in this vital area. The author introduces the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS), Bennett's conceptual framework for understanding the developmental stages of intercultural competence, and the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), a psychometric instrument for measuring cross-cultural competence and training needs, in both individuals and groups, and assessing training outcomes.     

Accreditation,Job Opportunities,and Professional Application for Canadian Teachers Trained in Australia

Over the past decade, Australian universities have been at the forefront in the recruitment of international students into professional programmes. These students undertake a variety of postgraduate programmes in such professions as nursing, computing, and education, but there is not a great deal of documented systematic evidence regarding the effects of such training on the professional aspirations and experiences of these graduates once they return to their countries of origin. This article attempts to provide such an assessment through case studies and interviews with forty-six Canadian students who were trained in Australia to become teachers in Canada. Access to a large number of alumni is of assistance in formulating a relatively accurate picture of the value of professional training in the context of a foreign location, at least in the teaching profession.     

Comparative Accuracy of a Wrist-Worn Activity Tracker and a Smart Shirt for Physical Activity Assessment

The purpose of the current study was to determine the accuracy of the Fitbit Charge HR and Hexoskin smart shirt. Participants (n = 32, age: 23.5 ± 1.3 years) wore a Fitbit and Hexoskin while performing 14 activities in a laboratory and on a track (lying, sitting, standing, walking various speeds and inclines, jogging, and cycling). Steps, kcals, heart rate, breathing rate, depth, and volume were measured by the Fitbit and Hexoskin and compared to criterion measures. The Fitbit and Hexoskin had low mean absolute percent error for steps (9.7%, 9.4%). The mean absolute percent error was low for heart rate (6.6% and 2.4%), with the Fitbit underestimating heart rate at higher intensities. Both devices had high mean absolute percent error for kcals (43.7% and 27.9%, respectively), and the Hexoskin had high mean absolute percent error for breathing rate, depth, and volume (19.4%, 35.6%, and 33.6%, respectively). The Fitbit and Hexoskin have utility for measurement of some, but not all, physical activity and physiologic variables which they measure.     

Usefulness of lipase / amylase ratio in acute pancreatitis in South Indian population

This retrospective study was conducted to assess the serum lipase / amylase ratio in acute pancreatitis for South Indian population attending the clinics of Gastroenterology and Emergency medicine in the last five years. One thousand one hundred and thirty two patients (768 males and 364 females) with acute pancreatitis (AP) were selected for the study. The diagnosis of AP was based on clinical evaluation, Computed Tomography (CT) findings and biochemical parameters such as serum lipase and amylase. Based on the etiology, the groups were divided into alcoholic, biliary and miscellaneous AP. Based on CT findings, groups were divided into mild, moderate and severe AP. Serum lipase, amylase and lipase / amylase ratio were calculated and statistically analyzed. Serum lipase levels in alcoholic group (3226.3 ± 1384.7) were significantly lower in comparison to biliary (6064.5 ± 1640.8) group though the levels were not significantly different from miscellaneous group (2132.3 ± 1210). Serum amylase values were significantly lower in alcoholic group (923.4 ± 557.5) in comparison to biliary (1736.2 ± 390.7) and there was significant difference between alcoholic and miscellaneous group (535.8 ± 477.6). The serum lipase / amylase ratio > 4 occurred in alcoholic group than with biliary and miscellaneous group. The sensitivity and specificity to predict alcoholic AP with lipase / amylase ratio at >4.0 was 84 % and 59 % respectively. In conclusion the serum lipase to amylase ratio greater than 3.0 could be used to differentiate but keeping the cut off at 4.0 would be of higher sensitivity without much change in specificity. The serum lipase to amylase ratio with a cut off of 3.0 or greater is not useful to differentiate the severe AP from milder AP. Hence, serum amylase and lipase are important for evaluation of pancreatitis though it is not a gold standard for the diagnosis or assessment of severity of acute pancreatitis.