103,113 research outputs found
Pomegranate peel and fruit extracts: A review of potential anti-inflammatory and anti-infective effects.
No full textETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE:
Punica granatum L. (Punicaceae) has been used for centuries in many cultures for the prevention and treatment of a wide number of health disorders such as inflammation, diabetes, diarrhea, dysentery, dental plaque and to combat intestinal infections and malarial parasites.
AIM OF THE REVIEW:
This review aims at providing an up-to-date overview of the chemical constituents, traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology of Punica granatum L. Moreover, the focus of this review is the possible exploitation of this species to treat different diseases and to suggest future investigations.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
An extensive and systematic review of the extant literature was carried out, and the data under various sections were identified by using a computerized bibliographic search via PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar. All abstracts and full-text articles were examined. The most relevant articles were selected for screening and inclusion in this review.
KEY FINDINGS:
A variety of pomegranate ethnomedical uses have been recorded. Additionally, over the last decade, there has been a dramatic increase of interest in pomegranate as a medicinal and nutritional product due to its newly identified potential health effects, which include treatment and prevention of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. From the toxicological perspective, pomegranate fruit juice, extracts and preparations have been proven to be safe.
CONCLUSIONS:
The ethnopharmacological relevance of pomegranate is fully justified by the most recent findings indicating the fruit is a medicinal and nutritional agent useful for treating a wide range of human disorders and maladies. Further investigations are needed to fully understand the mode of action of the active constituents and to fully exploit pomegranate's preventive and therapeutic potential
A novel objective function DYNO for automatic multivariable calibration of 3D lake models
No full textThis study introduced a novel Dynamically Normalized Objective Function (DYNO) for multivariable (i.e., temperature and velocity) model calibration problems. DYNO combines the error metrics of multiple variables into a single objective function by dynamically normalizing each variable's error terms using information available during the search. DYNO is proposed to dynamically adjust the weight of the error of each variable hence balancing the calibration to each variable during optimization search. DYNO is applied to calibrate a tropical hydrodynamic model where temperature and velocity observation data are used for model calibration simultaneously. We also investigated the efficiency of DYNO by comparing the calibration results obtained with DYNO with the results obtained through calibrating to temperature only and with the results obtained through calibrating to velocity only. The results indicate that DYNO can balance the calibration in terms of water temperature and velocity and that calibrating to only one variable (e.g., temperature or velocity) cannot guarantee the goodness-of-fit of another variable (e.g., velocity or temperature) in our case. Our study implies that in practical application, for an accurate spatially distributed hydrodynamic quantification, including direct velocity measurements is likely to be more effective than using only temperature measurements for calibrating a 3D hydrodynamic model. Our example problems were computed with a parallel optimization method PODS, but DYNO can also be easily used in serial applications. Copyright
Efficient parallel surrogate optimization algorithm and framework with application to parameter calibration of computationally expensive three-dimensional hydrodynamic lake PDE models
No full textParameter calibration for computationally expensive environmental models (e.g., hydrodynamic models) is challenging because of limits on computing budget and on human time for analysis and because the optimization problem can have multiple local minima and no available derivatives. We present a new general-purpose parallel surrogate global optimization method Parallel Optimization with Dynamic coordinate search using Surrogates (PODS) that reduces the number of model simulations as well as the human time needed for proper calibration of these multimodal problems without derivatives. PODS outperforms state-of-art parallel surrogate algorithms and a heuristic method, Parallel Differential Evolution (P-DE), on all eight well-known test problems. We further apply PODS to the parameter calibration of two expensive (5 h per simulation), three-dimensional hydrodynamic models with the assistant of High-Performance Computing (HPC). Results indicate that PODS outperforms the popularly used P-DE algorithm in speed (about twice faster) and accuracy with 24 parallel processors
Letter, [Author unclear] to Paulina T. Merritt
No full textHandwritten letter to Paulina Merritt from an unknown author, October 1, 1876.
Self-rated health among older adults in India: Gender specific findings from National Sample Survey.
No full textIntroductionThe self-rated health (SRH) is a widely adopted indicator of overall health. The sponge hypothesis suggests that predictive power of SRH is stronger among women compared to men. To gain a better understanding of how gender influences SRH, this study examined whether and what determinants of gender disparity exist current self-rated health (SRHcurrent) and change in SRH (SRHchange) among older adults in Indian setting.Materials and methodsWe used cross-sectional data from the 75th National Sample Survey Organizations (NSSO), collected from July 2017 to June 2018. The analytical sample constitutes 42,759 older individuals aged 60 years or older with 21,902 older men and 20,857 older women (eliminating two non-binary individuals). Outcome measures include two variables of poor/worse SRH status (SRHcurrent and SRHchange). We have calculated absolute gaps in the prevalence of poor SRHcurrent and worse SRHchange by background characteristics. We carried out binary logistic regression models to examine the predictors of poor SRHcurrent and worse SRHchange among older adults.ResultsThe overall absolute gender gap in poor SRHcurrent was 3.27% and it was 0.58% in worse SRHchange. Older women had significantly higher odds of poor SRHcurrent [AOR = 1.09; CI = 0.99, 1.19] and worse SRHchange [AOR = 1.09; CI = 1.02, 1.16] compared to older men. Older adults belonging to middle-aged, oldest-old, economically dependent, not working, physically immobile, suffering from chronic diseases, belonging to Muslim religion, and Eastern region have found to have higher odds of poor SRHcurrent and worse SRHchange. Educational attainments showed lower odds of have poor SRHcurrent and worse SRHchange compared to those with no education. Respondents belonging to richest income quintile and those who were not covered by any health insurance, belonging to Schedule caste, OBC, Western and Southern regions are found to have lower odds of poor SRHcurrent and worse SRHchange. Compared to those in the urban residence, respondents from rural residence [AOR = 1.09; CI = 1.02, 1.16] had higher odds of worse SRHchange.ConclusionsSupporting the sponge hypothesis, a clear gender gap was observed in poor current SRH and worse change in SRH among older adults in India with a female disadvantage. We further found lower socioeconomic and health conditions and lack of resources as determinants of poor current SRH and its worse change, which is crucial to address the challenge of the older people's health and their perception of well-being
A systematic study of Wallach rearrangement
No full text"One of the objects of the present work was to carry out a systematic steady of acid-catalysed Wallach rearrangements of a large number of symmetrical di- and tetrasubstituted azoxybenzenes. A second aim was the synthesis of new polysubstituted hydroxyazobenzenes."statement of responsibility: by Muhammad Humayoun Akhtar. --thesis: Thèse (M.Sc. Chimie) -- Université de Moncton, Faculté des sciences, 1966.bibliography: Bibliogr.reproduction: Également disponible en version électronique. Les pages contenant des informations personnelles ne sont pas reproduites
Mechanisms for enabling closed-loop upper limb sensorimotor prosthetic control
No full textMyoelectric upper limb prostheses are limited in their ability to provide sensory feedback to a user. The lack of sensory feedback forces prosthesis users to rely on visual feedback alone in manipulating objects, and often leads to abandonment of the prosthesis in favor of the user's unimpaired arm. Consequently, there is a critical need to develop mechanisms that enable people with upper limb amputations to be able to receive sensory feedback from the environment.
The goal of this dissertation is to describe the development and evaluation of various mechanisms that enable simultaneous myoelectric control of hand prostheses with proprioceptive and touch/pressure feedback. Sensory feedback is enabled through the use of a passive skin stretch mechanism for proprioception (Chapter 2), an epidermal electronic device that can provide electrotactile stimulation (Chapter 3), and a custom-built prosthetic hand that relays contact and pressure information from the fingertips (Chapter 4). In each of these chapters, motor control is simultaneously enabled through the use of electromyographic sensors. The remainder of the dissertation focuses on a method of enabling long-term wear of electrotactile stimulation electrodes by modeling (Chapter 5) and controlling (Chapter 6) sensation intensity in response to changes in the impedance of the electrode-skin interface. The techniques described in this dissertation have the potential to improve prosthesis embodiment for a person with an upper limb amputation, with the ultimate goal of reducing prosthesis abandonment and improving quality of life.Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2017-02-28 without embargo termsThe student, Aadeel Akhtar, accepted the attached license on 2016-11-23 at 16:01.The student, Aadeel Akhtar, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2016-11-29 at 12:52.This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2016-12-01 at 08:31.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #10315 on 2017-02-28 at 14:52:43Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-01T15:16:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 8
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Previous issue date: 2016-12-0
An Evaluation of Karachi Export Processing Zone: A Preliminary Investigation
No full textThe literature on EPZs shows that these are a second-best solution compared with generalised countrywide reforms, but that, where countrywide reforms are difficult to implement, they can be a useful weapon in the development arsenal [World Bank (2001)]. EPZs have been instrumental not only in increasing exports but also attracting export-oriented foreign direct investment (FDI). China is a classic example to be mentioned here where the levels of FDI have gone up massively over the last ten years. Added up with exports increase are also the benefits of employment generation, development of backward and forward linkages and strengthening the industrial base. The phenomenon of export-processing zones (EPZs) is a part of broader context of structural changes in global economic development. During the last few decades, there has been a tremendous increase in exports of manufactured goods especially from developing countries. EPZs have emerged as an important channel of export generation, especially of manufactured goods, from most of the developing countries e.g. East Asia, Mexico, Morocco etc. Their significance cannot be undermined because of the location-specific advantages and infrastructure facilities possessed by them.
The reactions of glutamate semialdehyde aminomutase with (R) and (S)-enantiomers of a novel, mechanism-based inhibitor, 2, 3-diaminopropyl sulfate
No full textABSTRACT: Glutamate semialdehyde aminomutase is a recognized target for selective herbicides and
antibacterial agents because it provides the aminolevulinate from which tetrapyrroles are synthesized in
plants and bacteria but not in animals. The reactions of the enzyme with R- and S-enantiomers of a novel
compound, diaminopropyl sulfate, designed as a mechanism-based inhibitor of the enzyme are described.
The S-enantiomer undergoes transamination without significantly inactivating the enzyme. The Renantiomer
inactivates the enzyme rapidly. Inactivation is accompanied by the formation of a 520 nmabsorbing
chromophore and by the elimination of sulfate. The inactivation is attenuated by simultaneous
transamination of the enzyme to its pyridoxamine phosphate form but inclusion of succinic semialdehyde
to reverse the transamination leads to complete inactivation. The inactivation is attributed to further reactions
arising from generation of an external aldimine between the pyridoxal phosphate cofactor and the 2,3-
diaminopropene that results from enzyme-catalyzed â-elimination of sulfate
X-efficiency Analysis of Commercial Banks in Pakistan: A Preliminary Investigation
No full textThe emergence of a fast-paced dynamic environment in the business world in general, and in the financial services sector in particular, has highlighted the significance of competition and efficiency. The need for deregulation has become a touchstone of success in fostering both competition and efficiency especially in the economies, which are exposed to structural reforms. In addition to that, intense competition both among domestic and foreign banks, rapid speed of innovations and introduction of new financial instruments, changing consumer’s demands and desire for product augmentation have changed the way a bank conducts business and services its customers. Larger the degree of competition, it is perceived that the firms would become more efficient. However, when the structure of an industry is product of the government regulations, the degree of competition is impaired markedly implying that the efficiency suffers negatively. Banking industry acts as life-blood of modern trade and commerce acting as a bridge to provide a major source of financial intermediation. Thus, appraisal of its efficiency is vital in context of an efficient and competitive financial system. Study of x-efficiency is believed to be important in particular as Berger, et al. (1993) found that x-inefficiencies account for around 20 percent or more of banking costs. Similarly, recent drive among banks towards downsizing, rightsizing and rationalisation of banking costs also implicates for the assessment of x-efficiency analysis of banks. It becomes vital in Pakistani context as there appears to be no study in literature on efficiency or x-efficiency analysis of banks in Pakistan. “A great deal more work is needed on x-efficiency research in banking. Managerial efficiency, the concept of x-efficiency, appears to be a much more important strategic and policy consideration” [Molyneux, et al. (1960), p. 273]. Given
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