Left Ward Research Articles

Role of ethnic diversity, temperature changes, and socio-economic conditions for residential energy use and energy expenditures: Evidence from the United States

The current research explores the residential energy use and residential energy expenditure behavior, induced by ethnic diversity, income inequality and climate characteristics. In doing so, the authors use the data on United States from 1984Q1 to 2020Q4 and employ the recent multiple wavelet and quantile coherency methods. Based on the pairwise wavelet coherency results we find that as far as the coherence across the pairs-- residential energy use vs ethnic tensions again residential energy use vs socio economic conditions, and residential energy vs GINI measure of inequality is concerned there are indications of strong coherence during the short and medium term. The coherencies get intensified during periods of 2001, 2009 and 2020. The direction of arrows was left ward oriented demonstrating that lack of energy expenditure or alternatively speaking energy poverty precedes ethnic crisis. In contrary there are strong pairs of negative correlation in the (0.95|0.95) quantiles for residential energy expenditure and the interaction term on heating and cooling. Such findings imply that conditions of buildings are major drivers on the energy expenditure across time scales. The findings on hand are in line with the COP 26 declarations and report practical implications apropos the achievement of sustainable development goals.

Normothermic regional perfusion surgical technique for the procurement of cardiac donors after circulatory death.

Normothermic regional perfusion surgical technique for the procurement of cardiac donors after circulatory death.

Frequency of drug detoxification treatment completers and non-completers.

Objective: To determine the frequency of drug detoxification treatment completers and non-completers admitted at a tertiary care public hospital at Karachi. Study Design: Descriptive Cross Sectional study. Setting: Department of Psychiatry, Civil Hospital, Karachi. Period: 15thJanuary 2018 to 15thJune 2018. Material & Methods: Totals 124cases of substance users of any type who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were included in the study. History and thorough examinations carried out at ward. Results: Predominant age group was 26-35 years with majority of unemployed and brought for admission by family. Majority were using cannabinoids followed by opioids through smoking and snuffing form. Majority of them were admitted for first time and were taking substance for 1-5 years and every day. Out of 124 males 58.9% completed treatment while 41.1% did not complete treatment and left ward. Statistically age group, employment status, no of admissions, duration of use and frequency of use were significant. Conclusion: The study showed that there is a quite high and alarming ratio of patients who do not succeed to quite substance use.

Effects of Orientation and Appearance of a Synchronously Moving Object on Hand Movements

Various devices have been developed to enable humans to control remote objects using active hand movements. However, it is still unclear how the visual characteristics of a synchronously moving object influences hand movements. This study investigates the effects of visual appearance and orientation of a hand-controlled object on hand movements using a novel visuomotor task. The motion of a visual image on a monitor reflected the participants’ right hand movements in the forwards-backwards direction, but not in the lateral direction (i.e., the lateral position of the image was fixed). Participants performed continuous goal-directed back and forth movements of the visual image for one minute. The image’s appearance (hand and arrow) and orientation (forward (FW), leftward (LW), and rightward (RW)) were manipulated. Unconscious lateral deviations (i.e., drift movements) of the participant’s hand during the task were evaluated. Regardless of appearance, the leftward and rightward image induced leftward and rightward drift movements, compared to the forward image. However, the modulation sizes were similar using arrow images, but not using hand images. Specifically, anatomically plausible hand images elicited greater drift movements than anatomically implausible images. This suggests that both orientation and appearance of a hand-controlled object influences hand movements according to stimulus-response compatibility and body-representation changes.

Individual differences in numerical skills are influenced by brain lateralization in guppies (Poecilia reticulata)

A large number of studies showed that fish possess numerical abilities similar to those reported in mammals and birds. However, inter-individual differences in numerical performance are repeatedly found with different types of stimuli and methodological approaches. A recent study on guppies, Poecilia reticulata, suggested that strongly lateralized individuals, assayed for eye preference in a mirror test, were better than poorly lateralized ones when tested for numerical abilities in a natural shoal choice. This study, however, had a potential confound; both the mirror and the shoal choice tests exploit the higher sociality and schooling tendencies in guppies. It is therefore possible that sociality rather than lateralization per se may have been responsible for the observed differences. In the present study, guppies were selected for high or low lateralization using a non-social test, the detour test. Subjects preferentially turning rightward (RD) or leftward (LD) when facing a dummy predator visible behind a barrier proved better than those with no preference (NL) when required to choose the larger of two groups in a shoal choice test. Our study supports the notion that inter-individual differences in the numerical abilities of guppies are related to their degree of cerebral lateralization.

Evaluation of asymmetry using thumbprint minutiae among Hausa population of Kano State, Nigeria

The present study was aimed at determining the existence of FA in Hausa populations using thumbprint minutiae. The participants included 112 males and 105 females of Hausa Ethnic descent, aged between 18-25 years. The minutiae of the plain thumbprints were determined from a circle with radius that cut across the nucleus of the fingerprints. The result showed that in signed asymmetry bifurcation, crossbar, break, point/dot into ridges and point/dot between ridges exhibited sexual dimorphism. The left ward asymmetry in male was exhibited in bifurcation, cross bar, trifurcation bifurcation, break, bridge, opposite bifurcation, in "M" convergence, in "M" bifurcation and Point/Dot into ridges. Similarly, in female bifurcation, trifurcation bifurcation, enclosure big, opposite bifurcation, convergence, in "M" bifurcation and return exhibit left ward asymmetry. For absolute and composite asymmetry the significant differences was observed in end, enclosure (small), bridge and return. In the entire minutiae types only ridge bifurcation exhibited directional asymmetry in males and six other minutiae types in females. In conclusion, the presence of sexual dimorphism in thumbprint ridge minutiae was demonstrated in the present study. The leftward asymmetry was observed in both sexes in different types minutiae. Females were observed to exhibit directional type of asymmetry more than the males in this population.Keywords: Asymmetry, Environmental stress, Hausa population, Ridge minutiae, Sexual dimorphism

Effects of Kinesio-taping on Balance Abilities and Proprioception Sense

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of Kinesio taping in each area of the ankle versus the knee to improve balance abilities and proprioception sense. The healthy twenty eight students were divided into two groups, Group A and B. Ankle taping was applied to Group A, and knee taping was applied to Group B. In the ankle taping group, significant increase of dynamic balance abilities was appeared in the forward, left ward and right ward (p<.05). In the knee taping group, there was significant increase of dynamic balance abilities in the forward and left ward (p<.05). There was no significant increase of static balance abilities in both groups. In both groups of ankle and knee taping, there was significant increase of proprioception sense. These findings suggest that ankle and knee taping was helpful for improving dynamic balance abilities and proprioception sense.

Comparative study of manual uterine displacement and wedge under right hip in prevention of supine hypotension syndrome in caesarean section under spinal anesthesia

Introduction: Supine hypotension syndrome results in signs of shock, by decrease in maternal blood pressure. This may result in life threatening complications in mother and fetus. To reduce the incidence of supine hypotension syndrome, few practices were recommended by authors in maternal positioning during C-section. Here in this study we are comparing hemodynamic stability between manual uterine displacement and wedge under right hip. Materials and Methods: 30 parturients were studied by left ward Manual Uterine Displacement (MUD), assigned as Group MUD. Another 30 parturients were studied by placing a 12 cm wedge under right hip (which gives 150 left lateral tilt), assigned as Group Wedge. Hemodynamic stability was assessed in between MUD and Wedge groups. Results: Systolic blood pressure was lower with wedge under right buttock or hip than Manual Uterine Displacement and it is statistically insignificant. Diastolic Blood pressure fall was almost similar in both the groups. There is a gradual fall in Mean Arterial Pressure in both groups, which is not significant. Heart rate was lower in Wedge Group when compared to MUD group but it was statistically insignificant. Conclusion: There is no much difference in Hemodynamic changes either by Manual uterine displacement or Wedge under right hip. Surgeons and patients feel more comfortable with Manual uterine displacement than Wedge under right hip, but anesthetists feel better with wedge because there is no need to hold the uterus continuously till delivery of the baby, so anesthesiologist can engage in patient monitoring and treatment.

Osteopenia in HIV-infected women prior to highly active antiretroviral therapy.

Multiple endocrine and metabolic consequences of human immunodeficiency (HIV) infection exist that alter bone metabolism in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Osteopenia in AIDS patients has been associated with antiretroviral therapy particularly with protease inhibitors. However, there is very little data on bone metabolism in female subjects with AIDS prior to highly active antiretroviral therapy. Bone mineral density (BMD) was assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) in 50 HIV-infected female outpatients (mean age 37 years) both in the lumbar spine and the Ward's triangle of the left hip. Additional parameter assessed were demographics, smoking, CD4 counts, fasting metabolic parameters and biochemical markers of bone metabolism. None of the patients received reverse transcriptase inhibitors or protease inhibitors, vitamin D or calcium-supplementation. The serum levels of parathyroid hormone and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH2)D) were significantly reduced compared to 50 age-matched female healthy controls. Urinary calcium and pyridinium crosslinks-excretion corrected for creatinine excretion were elevated (P<0.01) and were likewise significantly correlated with the loss of CD4 cells (P<0.05). Serum osteocalcin was significantly lowered (P<0.01). Reduced BMD of the lumbar spine (t -score <-2.5 SD below normal) was found in seven patients (14%) and osteopenia (t -score -1.0 to -2.5 SD below normal) was diagnosed in 31 (62%). No patient had a fracture since being infected with HIV. The BMD was reduced both in lumbar spine and the hip measured in the left Ward's triangle. There were significant positive correlation between the CD4 counts and 1,25(OH2)D (P<0.05). Neither the CD4 counts nor the duration of disease correlated with BMD. The reduced bone formation rate was linked to progressive loss of CD4-cell count. Osteopenia in HIV-infected female subjects is commonly manifested both in lumbar spine and Ward's triangle of the hip. There is a dissociation between lowered markers of bone formation rate and the increased bone resorption expressed as elevated urinary crosslinks and calcium excretion. Furthermore, the decreased levels of 1,25(OH2)D may contribute to a negative calcium balance and inhibition of bone formation. Our results suggest that further research is necessary to determine, whether low levels of 1,25(OH2)D lead to an accelerated inflammatory process in AIDS, since 1,25(OH)2D is known as an endogenous immune modulator suppressing formation of activated T cells and cell proliferation.

Consistency among different tasks of left–right asymmetries in lines of fish originally selected for opposite direction of lateralization in a detour task

Lines of fish, Girardinus falcatus preferentially turning rightward (RD) or leftward (LD) when facing a dummy predator visible behind a barrier have been obtained through selective breeding. To check whether lateralization was maintained in other behavioral responses, five different tests were carried out. They comprised measures of (1) turning direction in a T-maze; (2) proportion of clockwise and anticlockwise direction of rotation in a circular arena; (3) preferential eye use by females during shoaling behavior (i.e. while looking at their own mirror image reflection); (4) preferential eye use by males during sexual behavior (i.e. while turning around a barrier to join a group of females); and (5) preferential eye use by males during agonistic behavior (i.e. while attacking a rival visible in a mirror). In all five tests the two selected lines showed opposite direction of lateralization. Results thus indicate that behavioral asymmetries in the detour test are predictive of lateralization in other types of behavioral tests. Moreover, results show that RD and LD fish have a similar but left–right reversed pattern of subdivision of cognitive/ behavioral functions, which is suggestive of a similarly left–right reversed (mirror image) brain organization.