CHANGING FOOD PRODUCTION STRATEGIES AMONG GARHWALI RESETTLERS IN THE HIMALAYAS

This article discusses the changing systems of food production among Garhwali resettlers who were forcibly displaced due to the construction of the Tehri Dam in North India. Resettling to a drastically new environment affected their traditional food production strategies and rendered them vulnerable to the vagaries of transition, including the forced adaptation to new cash crop-based farming systems, restricted hunting and fishing areas, and limited access to dairy products. These changes led to an inadequate supply of food and nutrients, especially protein, for these resettlers. Using ethnographic methods, this study illustrates that resettling an agrarian community to a new ecological area significantly changes their food production practices in ways that leave them vulnerable to the potential risk of an impoverished diet.     

超声波技术替代冰冻切片技术在甲状腺术中快速制片的应用

目的试验超声波技术在甲状腺手术过程中替代冰冻切片技术快速制出病理切片,探寻适合甲状腺冰冻切片的替代制片技术。方法 2018年4月23日临床手术送检的活体组织,同一块组织按照1.0 cm×1.0 cm×0.1 cm取材六块,随机等分为三组。分别设置80 min,70 min,55 min每一个程序总的试验时间,观察最终切片与冰冻切片的质量对比。结果在取材标准的情况下,采用C组制片质量能够达到快速诊断要求,三组的切片质量均优于冰冻切片质量,差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。但是A、B两组相对组织处理的时间较长,三组切片质量均势的情况下,C组更能符合替代快速冰冻切片的要求。结论超声波快速处理仪可以帮助解决术中的甲状腺手术快速制片的要求。     

Measurement of pulse oximetry,capnography and pH

The measurement of arterial oxygen saturations, end-tidal carbon dioxide and pH are all key to modern anaesthetic practice. They can all be measured in a variety of ways, but the most common are discussed in this article. The understanding of the underlying physical principles and how the anaesthetist monitors function to measure these variables is discussed in this article, including limitations and inaccuracies of each technique.     

Social work‐generated evidence in traumatic brain injury from 1975 to 2014: A systematic scoping review

The International Network for Social Workers in Acquired Brain Injury (INSWABI) commissioned a systematic scoping review to ascertain the social work‐generated evidence base on people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) of working age. The review aimed to identify the output, impact and quality of publications authored by social workers on this topic. Study quality was evaluated through assessment frameworks drawn from the United Kingdom National Service Framework for Long‐Term Conditions. In the 40‐year period from 1975 to 2014, 115 items were published that met the search criteria (intervention studies, n = 10; observational studies, n = 52; literature reviews, n = 6; expert opinion or policy analysis, n = 39; and others, n = 8). The publications could be grouped into five major fields of practice: families, social inclusion, military, inequalities and psychological adjustment. There was a significant increase in the number of publications over each decade. Impact was demonstrated in that the great majority of publications had been cited at least once (80.6%, 103/115). Articles published in rehabilitation journals were cited significantly more often than articles published in social work journals. A significant improvement in publication quality was observed across the four decades, with the majority of studies in the last decade rated as high quality.     

Localizing pharmaceuticals manufacturing and its impact on drug security in Saudi Arabia

Local production of pharmaceuticals plays a vital role in maintaining resilience of national healthcare systems, especially when it comes to facilitating access to needed medicines and decreasing exposure to imports and international supply chains. Pharma is a research-intensive industry and the systemic lack of governance and support to R&D activities in this sector, among other host of related issues such as unsupportive regulatory regimes and human resources capacity limitations, is one of the major impediments to the diversifying of locally produced pharmaceuticals portfolio. In this review, an overview of the current pharmaceutical production system in Saudi Arabia, its major challenges, and proposed remedies to address them will be highlighted.     

SET在不同发育阶段小鼠睾丸的表达及其功能

SET蛋白是一个多功能蛋白，在调节包括DNA复制、核小体装配、染色体修饰、DNA转录、细胞周期、细胞凋亡等细胞生物学过程中起重要作用。前期研究发现，SET在卵巢中调节雄激素合成。然而，SET在睾丸组织中的表达及其功能仍然不明确。在此，我们检测不同年龄段小鼠睾丸组织中SET表达，探讨其在精子发生及睾酮生成方面的潜在功能。48只不同年龄段的雄性小鼠（1周龄的ICR雄性小鼠作为幼年期组，4周龄小鼠作为性发育前组，12周龄小鼠作为性成熟期组，12月龄作为老年组）。免疫组织化学方法观察SET各年龄段小鼠的定位表达；qRT-PCR和Western Blot分别检测睾丸中SET mRNA和蛋白水平表达。SET表达定位于生精小管中的精原细胞、精母细胞，在青春期前及成熟期的单倍体和四倍体生殖细胞中高表达；成熟期及老年期的睾丸间质细胞中也有SET的表达；支持细胞中很少量表达。青春期前SET的mRNA与成熟期相比表达量最高（P〈0．05），而SET蛋白在性成熟期小鼠睾丸中表达最高（P〈O．05）。SET主要表达于精原细胞和精母细胞，少量表达于支持细胞，表明SET可能与精子发生有关。SET还表达于睾丸间质细胞，则与睾酮生成有关。     

Retrospective Assessment of Exposure to Chemicals for a Microelectronics and Business Machine Manufacturing Facility

A retrospective exposure assessment was performed for use in a health outcomes study of a facility manufacturing circuit boards, business machines, and other equipment during the years 1969–2002. A matrix was developed identifying chemical use by department-year based on company-provided information. Use of six chemical agents (fiberglass, lead, methylene chloride, methyl chloroform, perchloroethylene, and trichloroethylene) and six chemical classes (acid-base, aromatic hydrocarbons, chlorinated hydrocarbons, other hydrocarbons, chlorofluorocarbons, and metals), and general (including unspecified) chemicals was identified. The matrix also contained an assignment for each department-year categorizing the potential for use of chemicals as negligible, intermittent/incidental, or routine. These department-based exposure matrix data were combined with work history data to provide duration of potential chemical use for workers. Negligible, intermittent/incidental or routine extent-of-chemical-use categories comprised 42.6%, 39.4%, and 17.9%, respectively, of total person-years of employment. Cumulative exposure scores were also developed, representing a relative measure of the cumulative extent of potential exposure to the six chemical agents, six chemical classes, and general (including unspecified) chemicals. Additionally, the study period was divided into manufacturing eras showing trends in chemical use, and showing that process use of trichloroethylene and methylene chloride ended in the mid-1980s and the mid-1990s, respectively. This approach may be useful in other assessments addressing a variety of chemicals, and with data constraints common to retrospective chemical exposure studies.     

Cytotoxic antimelanoma drugs suppress the activation of M2 macrophages

Together with regulatory T cells (Tregs), tumor‐associated macrophages (TAMs) play roles in maintaining the tumor microenvironment. Although cytotoxic antimelanoma drugs such as dacarbazine (DTIC), nimustine hydrochloride (ACNU) and vincristine (VCR) have been used for the treatment of malignant melanoma as adjuvant therapy in Japan, the detailed mechanisms of their immunomodulatory effects are not fully understood. As the majority of TAMs are alternatively activated M2 macrophages that favour tumor development, the aim of this study was to elucidate the immunomodulatory effects of these reagents on human monocyte‐derived M2 macrophages. First, mRNA expressions and protein production of immune checkpoint molecules, PD‐L1 and chemokines by CD163⁺ CD206⁺ M2 macrophages derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells were investigated to determine the immunomodulatory effects of DTIC, ACNU, and VCR. DTIC and VCR significantly decreased PD‐L1 mRNA expression, which was confirmed by flow cytometry. Moreover, the mRNA expression and production of CCL22 were significantly decreased by DTIC, which suggested that DTIC might suppress the recruitment of Tregs in the tumor site. Furthermore, the decreased expression of PD‐L1 and production of CCL22 were validated in vivo, using the B16F10 mouse melanoma model, leading to abrogation of the suppressive function of T‐cell proliferation. The present report suggests one of the possible antimelanoma mechanisms of DAV combination chemotherapy for melanoma patients.