Transformations of DHEA and its metabolites by rat liver

Because dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) has a wide variety of weak beneficial effects in experimental animals and humans, we searched for metabolites of this steroid in the hope of finding more active compounds that might qualify for the title "steroid hormone." Incubation of DHEA with rat liver homogenate fortified with energy-yielding substrates resulted in rapid hydroxylation at the 7alpha-position of the molecule and subsequent conversion to other 7-oxygenated steroids in the sequence DHEA --> 7alpha-hydroxyDHEA --> 7-oxoDHEA --> 7beta-hydroxyDHEA, with branching to diols, triols, and sulfate esters. The ability of these metabolites to induce the formation of liver thermogenic enzyme activity increased from left to right in that sequence. A total of 25 different steroids were characterized, and at least six additional structures that are currently under study were produced from DHEA. 7-OxoDHEA is more effective than DHEA in enhancing memory performance in old mice and in reversing the amnesic effects of scopolamine.     

Situation awareness of cancelable biometric system

Recently, cancelable biometrics emerged as one of the highly effective methods of template protection. The concept behind the cancelable biometrics or cancelability is a transformation of a biometric data or extracted feature into an alternative form, which cannot be used by the imposter or intruder easily, and can be revoked if compromised. In this paper, we present a novel architecture for template generation in the context of situation awareness system in real and virtual applications. We develop a novel cancelable biometric template generation algorithm utilizing random biometric fusion, random projection and selection. Proposed random cross-folding method generate cancelable biometric template from multiple biometric traits. We further validate the performance of the proposed algorithm using a virtual multimodal face and ear database.     

Synthesis, characterization, sintering and dielectric properties of nanostructured perovskite-type oxide, Ba2GdSbO6

Nanoparticles of barium gadolinium antimonate (Ba₂GdSbO₆), a complex perovskite-type oxide, has been synthesized using an auto ignition combustion process for the first time. The nanoparticles thus obtained have been characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, differential thermal analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The XRD studies have shown that the as-prepared powder is phase pure Ba₂GdSbO₆ and has a complex cubic perovskite (A₂BB′O₆) crystalline structure with lattice constant, a = 8·449 Å. The TEM image reveals that the particle size of the as-prepared nano powder was in the range 30–60 nm. The nanocrystals of Ba₂GdSbO₆ synthesized by the combustion technique could be sintered to 96% of the theoretical density by heating at a temperature of 1560°C for a short duration of 3 h. The surface morphology of the sintered pellet has been studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The dielectric constant (? _r) was 20 and the loss factor (tanδ) was 0·03 at 3 MHz. By the present combustion technique a phase pure nanopowder of Ba₂GdSbO₆ could be obtained by a single step process without the need of any calcination step.     

Family studies and human leukocyte antigen class II typing in Indian probands with seizures in association with single small enhancing computed tomography lesions

PURPOSE: To define the clinical features of the syndrome of seizures associated with single, small, enhancing computed tomography (CT) lesions (SSELs) in 235 Indian probands and seizure types among their family members. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II genomic typing in randomly selected 41 probands was done to identify the role of hereditary factors in this syndrome. METHODS: The seizure types among 235 probands, their clinical outcome, and seizures in their family members were studied. Family data were collected on relatives of 212 additional probands with neurologic diseases other than epilepsy. HLA class II antigens were studied by using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplified DNA and sequence-specific oligonucleotide probe (PCR-SSOP) hybridization. RESULTS: The seizures in 86% were partial with or without generalization; 77% had fewer than five seizures before the first CT scan. Evanescent focal neurologic deficits after seizures were noted in 40%. Most patients (97%) were treated with a single antiepileptic drug (AED). Significant resolution of the CT scan lesion was noted within 6 months in 125 (53%) of 235 cases. Two thirds of patients had no seizures while taking a single AED, and an additional 18% had no seizures even after their AEDs were discontinued. Epilepsy among relatives of Indian probands having seizures in association with SSELs was more common as compared with relatives of probands with other neurologic diseases. A family history of seizures was noted in 21% probands, the ratio of affected first- to second-degree relatives was 4.3:1, and 60% of affected sibs had syndromic concordance with probands. There was a positive association of HLA-DRB1*13 (Pc = 0.036) with this syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: The syndrome of seizures in association with SSELs seems to be a benign localization-related epileptic syndrome. Our results of HLA studies point to an inherited susceptibility to an infective agent, which in most cases is of cysticercal etiology.     

A study on the critical factors of ISO 9001:2000 and organizational performance of Indian manufacturing firms

This study explores the critical factors of ISO 9001:2000 and investigates the effect of ISO certification on organizational performance, as perceived by the management. In order to gain more insight into the investigation, the study also analyses the relationship between the firm attributes and the critical factors, as well as the relationship between firm attributes and the indicators of organizational performance.     

Resource settings have a major influence on the outcome of maintenance hemodialysis patients in South India

Chronic kidney disease is reaching epidemic proportions and the number of patients on renal replacement therapy (RRT) is increasing worldwide and also in developing countries. To meet the challenge of providing RRT, a few charity organizations provide hemodialysis units for underprivileged patients, as the private hospitals are unaffordable for the majority. There is a paucity of information on the outcome of dialysis in these patients. Here, we describe the outcome of hemodialysis patients comparing the middle‐ and upper‐class income group with the lower class income group. A retrospective analysis was carried out in 558 CKD patients initiated on maintenance hemodialysis in two different dialysis facilities. Group A (n=247) included those who belonged to the lowermost socioeconomic status and were undergoing dialysis in two nonprofit, charity (TANKER)‐run dialysis units, and Group B (n=311) was undergoing dialysis in a nonprofit hospital setting where no subsidy was given. Those patients of a low socioeconomic status, especially those who are diabetics, have a higher death rate (Group A‐38.1%, Group B‐4.2%) and loss to follow‐up (Group A‐25.9%, Group B‐0.3%) compared with those who are in the middle‐ and high‐income group. Higher EPO use and hence higher hemoglobin levels (Group A‐6.4±1.2, Group B‐8.9±1.5 P<0.001) were observed in those who were in the middle and the higher income group. Lower serum phosphorus level was observed in the low‐socioeconomic group (Group A‐4.7±1.5, Group B‐5.5±1.9, P<0.001). Patients belonging to the middle and higher socioeconomic group undergo more transplantations compared with the lower socioeconomic group (Group A‐2.4%, Group B‐65.6%).     

Impact of ozonation on subsequent treatment of azo dye solutions

BACKGROUND: Aqueous solutions of four azo‐dyes, Acid Red 14 (AR14), Congo Red (CR), Reactive Black 5 (RB5), and Reactive Violet 5 (RV5) were treated with ozone, and the impact of ozonation on their subsequent treatability by aerobic biodegradation processes was investigated. RESULTS: In all cases, ozonation at the highest ozone doses investigated could remove more than 96% of the original dye, and the corresponding residual colour of the azo dye solutions declined to less than 20 on the Pt‐Co scale. Ozonation also resulted in reduction of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total organic carbon (TOC) the COD/TOC ratio and pH, while in all cases electrical conductivity of the dye solutions increased. Activity of the microbial colonies present in domestic wastewater was not inhibited when un‐ozonized solutions of these dyes were mixed in a 1:1 volumetric ratio with domestic wastewater, although the dyes themselves were not degraded. Also, no significant inhibition of microbial activity was observed in 1:1 mixtures of ozonized dye solutions and domestic wastewater, especially when the initial dye concentration was low and the applied ozone dose was high. In almost all cases, progressively enhanced BOD exertion was observed in mixtures containing dye solutions ozonized with progressively higher doses. This indicated that some ozonation by‐products of the above dyes could be degraded by microorganisms present in domestic wastewater. CONCLUSIONS: It was concluded that the above dye solutions, after ozonation for partial or complete colour removal, could be mixed with domestic wastewater for subsequent treatment by aerobic biological processes, with no adverse impact on the activity of the microbial colonies present in domestic wastewater. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry     

The Analysis and Performance of Multi-Rate Service in Distributed Video-on-Demand Systems

In this paper, we develop an end-to-end analysis of a distributed Video-on-Demand (VoD) system that includes an integrated model of the server and the network subsystems with analysis of its impact on client operations. The VoD system provides service to a heterogeneous client base at multiple playback rates. A class-based service model is developed where an incoming video request can specify a playback rate at which the data is consumed on the client. Using an analytical model, admission control conditions at the server and the network are derived for multi-rate service. We also develop client buffer requirements in presence of network delay bounds and delay jitter bounds using the same integrated framework of server and network subsystems. Results from an extensive simulation show that request handling policies based on limited redirection of blocked requests to other resources perform better than load sharing policies. The results also show that downgrading the service for blocked requests to a lower bitrate improves VoD system performance considerably. Combining the downgrade option with restrictions on access to high bitrate request classes is a powerful tool for manipulating an incoming request mix into a workload that the VoD system can handle.