Search results for: TB and lung cancer

Authors: Fergal Fouhy, Alan O’Keeffe, Sean Costelloe, Michael Clarkson

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Background: Sarcoidosis is a systemic, non-infectious disease of unknown aetiology, characterized by non-caseating granulomatous inflammation. The lung is most often affected (90%); however, the condition can affect all organs, including the kidneys. There is limited evidence describing the incidence and characteristics of renal involvement in sarcoidosis. Serum angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) is a recognised biomarker used in the diagnosis and monitoring of sarcoidosis. Methods: A single-centre, retrospective cohort study of patients presenting to Cork University Hospital (CUH) in 2015 with first-time elevations of serum ACE was performed. This included an initial database review of ACE and other biochemistry results, followed by a medical chart review to confirm the presence or absence of sarcoidosis and management thereof. Acute kidney injury (AKI) was staged using the AKIN criteria, and chronic kidney disease (CKD) was staged using the KDIGO criteria. Follow-up was assessed over five years tracking serum creatinine, serum calcium, and estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFR). Results: 119 patients were identified as having a first raised serum ACE in 2015. Seventy-nine male patients and forty female patients were identified. The mean age of patients identified was 47 years old. 11% had CKD at baseline. 18% developed an AKI at least once within the next five years. A further 6% developed CKD during this time period. 13% developed hypercalcemia. The patients within the lowest quartile of serums ACE had an incidence of sarcoidosis of 5%. None of this group developed hypercalcemia, 23% developed AKI, and 7% developed CKD. Of the patients with a serum ACE in the highest quartile, almost all had documented diagnoses of sarcoidosis with an incidence of 96%. 3% of this group developed hypercalcemia, 13% AKI and 3% developed CKD. Conclusions: There was an unexpectedly high incidence of AKI in patients who had a raised serum ACE. Not all patients with a raised serum ACE had a confirmed diagnosis of sarcoidosis. There does not appear to be a relationship between increased serum ACE levels and increased incidence of hypercalcaemia, AKI, and CKD. Ideally, all patients should have biopsy-proven sarcoidosis. This is an initial study that should be replicated with larger numbers and including multiple centres.

Keywords: sarcoidosis, acute kidney injury, chronic kidney disease, hypercalcemia

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Authors: John Tolentino, Yong Seok Park

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There are currently many people living with limb loss in the USA. The main causes for amputation can range from vascular disease, to trauma, or cancer. This number is expected increase over the next decade. Many patients have a single prosthetic for the first year but end up getting a second one to accommodate their changing physique. Afterwards, the prosthesis gets replaced every three to five years depending on how often it is used. This could cost the patient up to $500,000 throughout their lifetime. Complications do not end there, however. Due to the absence of nerves, it becomes more difficult to traverse terrain with a prosthetic. Moving on an incline or decline becomes difficult, thus curbs and stairs can be a challenge. Certain physical activities, such as cycling, could be even more strenuous. It will need to be relearned to accommodate for the change in weight, center of gravity, and transfer of energy from the leg to the pedal. The purpose of this research project is to develop a new, alternate below-knee cycling prosthetic using Dieter & Schmidt’s design process approach. It will be subjected to fatigue analysis under dynamic loading to observe the limitations as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the prosthetic. Benchmark comparisons will be made between existing prosthetics and the proposed one, examining the benefits and disadvantages. The resulting prosthetic will be 3D printed using acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) or polycarbonate (PC) plastic.

Keywords: 3D Printing, Cycling, Prosthetic design, Synthetic design.

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Authors: Alhadi Bustaman, Soeganda Formalidin, Titin Siswantining

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DNA microarray technology is used to analyze thousand gene expression data simultaneously and a very important task for drug development and test, function annotation, and cancer diagnosis. Various clustering methods have been used for analyzing gene expression data. However, when analyzing very large and heterogeneous collections of gene expression data, conventional clustering methods often cannot produce a satisfactory solution. Biclustering algorithm has been used as an alternative approach to identifying structures from gene expression data. In this paper, we introduce a transform technique based on singular value decomposition to identify normalized matrix of gene expression data followed by Mixed-Clustering algorithm and the Lift algorithm, inspired in the node-deletion and node-addition phases proposed by Cheng and Church based on Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering (AHC). Experimental study on standard datasets demonstrated the effectiveness of the algorithm in gene expression data.

Keywords: agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC), biclustering, gene expression data, lymphoma, singular value decomposition (SVD)

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Authors: Renjith George Pallivathukal, Preethy Mary Donald

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Asymptomatic oral lesions are often ignored by the patients and usually will be identified only in advanced stages. Early detection of precancerous lesions is important for better prognosis. It is also important for the oral health care person to be aware of the regional prevalence of oral lesions in order to provide early care for the same. We conducted a retrospective study to assess the prevalence of oral lesions based on the information available from patient records in a teaching dental school. Dental records of patients who attended the department of Oral medicine and diagnosis between September 2014 and September 2016 were retrieved and verified for oral lesions. Results: The ages of the patients ranged from 13 to 38 years with a mean age of 21.8 years. The lesions were classified as white (40.5%), red (23%), ulcerated (10.5%), pigmented (15.2%) and soft tissue enlargements (10.8%). 52% of the patients were unaware of the oral lesions before the dental visit. Overall, the prevalence of lesions in dental patients lower to national estimates, but the prevalence of some lesions showed variations.

Keywords: oral mucosal lesion, pre-cancer, prevalence, soft tissue lesion

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Authors: Andres Gonzalez, Adam Boies, Jacob Swanson, David Kittelson

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The concern of the indoor air quality (IAQ) has been increasing due to its risk to human health. The smoking, sweeping, and stove and stovetop use are the activities that have a major contribution to the indoor air pollution. Outdoor air pollution also affects IAQ. The most important factors over IAQ from cooking activities are the materials, fuels, foods, and ventilation. The low-cost, mobile air quality monitoring (LCMAQM) sensors, is reachable technology to assess the IAQ. This is because of the lower cost of LCMAQM compared to conventional instruments. The IAQ was assessed, using LCMAQM, during cooking activities in a University of Minnesota graduate-housing evaluating different ventilation systems. The gases measured are carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO₂). The particles measured are particle matter (PM) _2.5 micrometer (µm) and lung deposited surface area (LDSA). The measurements are being conducted during April 2019 in Como Student Community Cooperative (CSCC) that is a graduate housing at the University of Minnesota. The measurements are conducted using an electric stove for cooking. The amount and type of food and oil using for cooking are the same for each measurement. There are six measurements: two experiments measure air quality without any ventilation, two using an extractor as mechanical ventilation, and two using the extractor and windows open as mechanical and natural ventilation. 3The results of experiments show that natural ventilation is most efficient system to control particles and CO₂. The natural ventilation reduces the concentration in 79% for LDSA and 55% for PM_2.5, compared to the no ventilation. In the same way, CO₂ reduces its concentration in 35%. A well-mixed vessel model was implemented to assess particle the formation and decay rates. Removal rates by the extractor were significantly higher for LDSA, which is dominated by smaller particles, than for PM_2.5, but in both cases much lower compared to the natural ventilation. There was significant day to day variation in particle concentrations under nominally identical conditions. This may be related to the fat content of the food. Further research is needed to assess the impact of the fat in food on particle generations.

Keywords: cooking, indoor air quality, low-cost sensor, ventilation

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Authors: Hee-Young Song

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Background and objectives: In 2011, the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) recommendations proposed a multidimensional assessment of patients’ conditions that included both functional parameters and patient-reported outcomes, with the aim to provide a comprehensive assessment of the disease, thus meeting both the needs of the patient and the role of the physician. However, few studies have evaluated patient-reported outcomes as well as objective functional assessments among individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in clinical practice in Korea. This study was undertaken to explore the relationship between functional status assessed by the 6-minute walking distance (MWD) test and subjective health status reported by stable patients with COPD residing in community. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with 118 stable COPD patients aged 69.4 years old and selected by a convenient sampling from an outpatient department of pulmonology in a tertiaryhospitals. The 6-MWD test was conducted according to standardized instructions. Participants also completed a constructed questionnaire including general characteristics, smoking history, dyspnea by modified medical research council (mMRC) scale, and health status by COPD assessment test (CAT). Anthropometric measurements were performed for body mass index (BMI). Medical records were reviewed to obtain disease-related characteristics including duration of the disease and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1). Data were analyzed using PASW statistics 20.0. Results: Mean FEV1% of participants was 63.51% and mean 6-MWD and CAT scores were 297.54m and 17.7, respectively. The 6-MWD and CAT showed significant negative correlations (r= -.280, p=.002); FEV1 and CAT did as well correlations (r= -.347, p < .001). Conclusions: Findings suggest that the better functional status an individual with COPD has, the better subjective health status is, and provide the support for using patient-reported outcomes along with functional parameters to facilitate comprehensive assessment of COPD patients in real clinical practices.

Keywords: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD assessment test, functional status, patient-reported outcomes

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Authors: Joshua Teo, Leo Phan

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Signet cell carcinoma of the appendix is the rarest and the most aggressive subtype of appendiceal malignancy, typically with non-specific presentations. We describe a case of a 62-year-old male with large bowel obstruction and CT demonstrating dilated large bowels from caecum to proximal sigmoid colon with pneumoperitoneum. Intra-operatively, closed-loop obstruction caused by dense adherence of sigmoid colon to caecum was noted, which had resulted in caecal perforation. Histopathology study indicated primary appendiceal malignancy of signet cell morphology with intra-peritoneal spread to the sigmoid colon. Large bowel obstruction from appendiceal malignancy has rarely been reported, and a similar presentation has not been described in the existing literature. When left-sided large bowel obstruction is suspected to be caused by a malignant stricture, it is essential to consider transperitoneal spread of appendiceal malignancy as potential aetiology, particularly in the elderly.

Keywords: appendiceal carcinoma, large bowel obstruction, signet ring cell cancer, caecal perforation

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Authors: Saad Bin Saeed, Fayzan Ahmed, Shahbaz Ahmed, Amjad Hussain

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The aim of this study is to evaluate dynamic log files (Dynalogs) at different dose rates by dose-volume histograms (DVH) and used as a (QA) procedure of IMRT. Seven patients of phase one head and neck cancer with similar OAR`s are selected randomly. Reference plans of dose rate 300 and 600 MU/Min with prescribed dose of 50Gy in 25 fractions for each patient is made. Dynalogs produced by delivery of reference plans processed by in-house MATLAB program which produces new field files contain actual positions of multi-leaf collimators (MLC`s) instead of planned positions in reference plans. Copies of reference plans are used to import new field files generated by MATLAB program and renamed as Dyn.plan. After dose calculations of Dyn.plans for different dose rates, DVH, and multiple linear regression tools are used to evaluate reference and Dyn.plans. The results indicate good agreement of correlation between different dose rate plans. The maximum dose difference among PTV and OAR`s are found to be less than 5% and 9% respectively. The study indicates the potential of dynalogs to be used as patient-specific QA of IMRT at different dose rate.

Keywords: IMRT, dynalogs, dose rate, DVH

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Authors: Zeynep R. Ege, Aydin Akan, Faik N. Oktar, Betul Karademir, Oguzhan Gunduz

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Early detection of cancer could save human life and quality in insidious cases by advanced biomedical imaging techniques. Designing targeted detection system is necessary in order to protect of healthy cells. Electrospun nanofibers are efficient and targetable nanocarriers which have important properties such as nanometric diameter, mechanical properties, elasticity, porosity and surface area to volume ratio. In the present study, indocyanine green (ICG) organic dye was stabilized and encapsulated in polymer matrix which polyethylene oxide (PEO) and chitosan (CHI) multilayer nanofibers via co-axial electrospinning method at one step. The co-axial electrospun nanofibers were characterized as morphological (SEM), molecular (FT-IR), and entrapment efficiency of Indocyanine Green (ICG) (confocal imaging). Controlled release profile of PEO/CHI/ICG nanofiber was also evaluated up to 40 hours.

Keywords: chitosan, coaxial electrospinning, controlled releasing, drug delivery, indocyanine green, polyethylene oxide

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Authors: Munkhtuul G., Bolortsetseg Z., Lutzul M., Sugar N., Nyamdorj D., Nomundari B., Zesemdorj O., Erdenebayar N., Lkhagvasuren T. S., Munkhbayarlakh S., Bayasgalan T. Uurtuya S. H.

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Background: Elevated serum uric acid (SUA) levels are observed in metabolic and cardiovascular conditions as an early predictor of metabolic syndrome (MS). Hyperuricemia, characterised by high uric acid levels in serum, increases the risk of developing MS by 1.6 times. Being overweight and obese significantly contributes to developing MS and cardiovascular disorders. In Mongolia, the prevalence of overweight and obesity is reaching 48.8% among individuals aged 15 to 49 years, indicating a potential surge in the incidence of MS, cardiovascular disorders, diabetes mellitus, and gout.Objective: This study aimed to determine the SUA levels in men diagnosed with MS and investigate the factors influencing these levels.Methods: A total of 119 men aged 30-60, who underwent preventive examinations and resided in Ulaanbaatar city, were included in the study. The criteria established by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), American Heart Association (AHA), and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) were employed to define metabolic syndrome. Hyperuricemia was defined as SUA levels ≥7 mg/dL. Dietary intake was evaluated through the 24-hour recall method.Results: The study revealed that the prevalence of MS among the participants was 42.9% (n=51), with hyperuricemia observed in 16.8% (n=20) of the individuals. Among men diagnosed with MS, 21.3% (n=10) exhibited hyperuricemia. The mean SUA levels were as follows: 4.7±0.8 mg/dL in the healthy group, 5.9±1.1 mg/dL in men without MS but presenting central obesity, and 6.2±1.3 mg/dL in men with MS. After adjusting for age and body mass index (BMI), a positive correlation was observed between SUA levels and triglycerides (β=0.93) as well as lipid accumulation product (LAP) (β=0.92) in men with MS. In the central obesity group, SUA levels exhibited a positive correlation with triglycerides (β=0.91), visceral adiposity index (VAI) (β=0.73), LAP (β=0.92), and cardiometabolic index (CMI) (β=0.69). The risk of hyperuricemia increased by 3.29 times with elevated triglycerides and 3.53 times with an increased LAP.Conclusion: The findings indicate that abdominal fat accumulation, as indicated by elevated triglyceride levels and LAP, is associated with increased SUA levels in men with MS. However, no significant relationship was observed between SUA levels and dietary intake.

Keywords: central obesity, obesity, triglycerides, hyperuricemia

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Authors: Xiaoquan Huang, Congcong Li, Tingting Wei, Changcun Bai, Na Liu, Meng Tang

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Silver is often doped on nano-titanium dioxide photocatalysts (Ag-TiO₂) by photodeposition method to improve their utilization of visible-light while increasing the toxicity of TiO₂。 However, it is not known what factors influence this toxicity and how to reduce toxicity while maintaining the maximum catalytic activity. In this study, Ag-TiO₂ photocatalysts were synthesized by the photodeposition method with different silver content (AgC) and photodeposition time (PDT). Characterization and catalytic experiments demonstrated that silver was well assembled on TiO₂ with excellent visible-light catalytic activity, and the size of silver increased with PDT. In vitro, the cell viability of lung epithelial cells A549 and BEAS-2B showed that the higher content and smaller size of silver doping caused higher toxicity. In vivo, Ag-TiO₂ catalysts with lower AgC or larger silver particle size obviously caused less pulmonary pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrosis responses. However, the visible light catalytic activity decreased with the increase in silver size. Therefore, in order to optimize the Ag-TiO₂ photocatalyst with the lowest pulmonary toxicity and highest catalytic performance, response surface methodology (RSM) was further performed to optimize the two independent variables of AgC and PDT. Visible-light catalytic activity was evaluated by the degradation rate of Rhodamine B, the antibacterial property was evaluated by killing log value for Escherichia coli, and cytotoxicity was evaluated by IC50 to BEAS-2B cells. As a result, the RSM model showed that AgC and PDT exhibited an interaction effect on catalytic activity in the quadratic model. AgC was positively correlated with antibacterial activity. Cytotoxicity was proportional to AgC while inversely proportional to PDT. Finally, the optimization values were AgC 3.08 w/w% and PDT 28 min. Under this optimal condition, the relatively high silver proportion ensured the visible-light catalytic and antibacterial activity, while the longer PDT effectively reduced the cytotoxicity. This study is of significance for the safe and efficient application of silver-doped TiO₂ photocatalysts.

Keywords: Ag-doped TiO₂, cytotoxicity, inflammtion, fibrosis, response surface methodology

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Authors: Sung-Hee Hwang, Michael Lee

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Upregulated Src activity has been implicated in a variety of cancers. Thus, Src family tyrosine kinase (SFK) inhibitors are often effective cancer treatments. Here, we investigate the role of autophagy in ATG5 knockout cell lines generated by the Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)/Cas mediated genome editing. The CRISPR-associated protein Cas9 is an RNA-guided DNA endonuclease that uses RNA–DNA complementarity to identify target sites for sequence specific double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) cleavage. Interestingly, ATG5 KO cells clearly showed a greater proliferation rate than WT NIH 3T3 cells, implying that autophagy induction is cytotoxic. Also, the clonogenic survival of ATG5 KO cells was greater than WT cells. The MTT assay revealed that the cytotoxic effect of PP2 was weaker on ATG5 knockout cells than that WT cells. The conversion of non-autophagic LC3-I to autophagic LC3-II and RT-PCR confirmed the functional gene knockout. Furthermore, Cyto-ID autophagy assay also revealed that PP2 failed to induce autophagy in ATG5 knockout cells. Together, our findings suggest that the resistance to PP2 in ATG5 knockout cells is associated with defective autophagy.

Keywords: ATG5 knockout, Autophagy, CRISPR/Cas9, PP2

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Authors: A. Abdi, A. Abbasi Daloee, A. Barari

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Aim: The adaptations that occur in human body after doing exercises training are a factor to help healthy people stay away from certain diseases. One of the main adaptations is a change in blood circulation, especially in vessels. The increase of capillary density is dependent on the balance between angiogenic and angiostatic factors. Most studies show that the changes made to angiogenic developmental factors resulted from physical exercises indicate the low level of stimulators compared with inhibitors. It is believed that the plasma level of VEGF-A, the important angiogenic factor, is reduced after physical exercise. Findings indicate that the extract of crataegus plant reduces the platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR) autophosphorylation in human's fibroblast. More importantly, crataegus (1 to 100 mg in liter) clearly leads to the inhibition of PDGFR autophosphorylation in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Angiogenesis is a process that can be classified into physiological and pathophysiological forms. collagen XVIII is a part of extracellular protein and heparan sulfate proteoglycans in vascular epithelial and endothelial basement membrane cause the release of endostatin from noncollagenous collagen XVIII. Endostatin inhibits the growth of endothelial cells, inhibits angiogenesis, weakens different types of cancer, and the growth of tumors. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effect of intensive aerobic running with or without aqueous extraction of black Crataegus elbursensis on Collagen XVIII in male rats. Design: Thirty-two Wistar male rats (4-6 weeks old, 125-135 gr weight) were acquired from the Pasteur's Institute (Amol, Mazandaran), and randomly assigned into control (n = 16) and training (n = 16) groups. Rats were further divided into saline-control (SC) (n=8), saline-training (ST) (n=8), crataegus pentaegyna extraction -control (CPEC) (n=8), and crataegus pentaegyna extraction - training (CPET) (n=8). The control (SC and CPEC) groups remained sedentary; whereas the training groups underwent a high running exercise program. plasma were excised and immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen. Statistical analysis was performed using a one way analysis of variance and Tukey test. Significance was accepted at P = 0.05. Results: The results show that aerobic exercise group had the highest concentration collagen XVIII compared to other groups and then respectively black crataegus, training-crataegus and control groups. Conclusion: In general, researchers in this study concluded that the increase of collagen XVIII (albeit insignificant) as a result of physical activity and consumption of black crataegus extract could possibly serve as a regional inhibitor of angiogenesis and another evidence for the anti-cancer effects of physical activities. Since the research has not managed in this study to measure the amount of plasma endostatin, it is suggested that both indices are measured with important angiogenic factors so that we can have a more accurate interpretation of changes to angiogenic and angiostatic factors resulted from physical exercises.

Keywords: aerobic running, Crataegus elbursensis, Collagen XVIII

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Authors: Tahereh Yavari, Sara Norozi Far

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The aim of this study was to compare psychological well-being, hope, and health concerns in leukemia patients before and after receiving stem cells. The statistical population of the present study was made up of leukemia patients in Tehran, and the research sample was among the patients referred to the Bone Marrow Transplant Center of Shariati Hospital in Tehran, and they were placed in two experimental and control groups (15 people in each group), which were selected by purposive sampling method. In order to collect the data for the research, three psychological well-being questionnaires were used by Riff (2002), Schneider's Hope Scale (SHS), and Schneider's Health Concern Questionnaire (HCQ). In order to analyze the data in this research, according to the "pre-test-post-test design with a control group," covariance analysis was used. Based on the research findings, it was concluded that receiving stem cells increases hope and psychological well-being in leukemia patients and significantly reduces health concerns.

Keywords: psychological well-being, hope, health concerns, blood cancer, stem cells

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Authors: Mbadugha Esther Ifeoma

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Soybeans, like other legumes are rich in nutrients. However, the nutrient profile of soybeans differs in some important ways from most other legumes. Among other nutrients, soy is high in protein, carbohydrates, and fibers, is rich in vitamins, minerals and unsaturated fatty acids and is low in saturated fatty acids. Because of its high nutritional value, it has been rated to be equivalent to meats, eggs and milk. Soy has many health benefits including prevention of coronary heart disease, prevention of cancer growth, improvement of cognitive function, promotion of bone health, prevention of obesity, prevention of type II diabetes and promotion of growth of normal floras in the colon. Soybean consumption is also associated with some side effects which include allergy, flatulence and abdominal discomfort. Nurses/health care providers should therefore, educate clients on the precautionary measures to be taken in preparing soy food products in order to reduce to the barest minimum the side effects, while encouraging them to include soy as part of their daily meals for optimal health and vitality.

Keywords: health benefit, health education, nutritional benefit, soybeans

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Authors: Rachel Fanelwa Ajayi, Anovuyo Jonnas, Emmanuel I. Iwuoha

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Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) which has a predilection for lung tissue due to its rich oxygen supply. The mycobacterial cell has a unique innate characteristic which allows it to resist human immune systems and drug treatments; hence, it is one of the most difficult of all bacterial infections to treat, let alone to cure. At the same time, multi-drug resistance TB (MDR-TB) caused by poorly managed TB treatment, is a growing problem and requires the administration of expensive and less effective second line drugs which take much longer treatment duration than fist line drugs. Therefore, to acknowledge the issues of patients falling ill as a result of inappropriate dosing of treatment and inadequate treatment administration, a device with a fast response time coupled with enhanced performance and increased sensitivity is essential. This study involved the synthesis of electroactive platforms for application in the development of nano-biosensors suitable for the appropriate dosing of clinically diagnosed patients by promptly quantifying the levels of the TB drug; Isonaizid. These nano-biosensors systems were developed on gold surfaces using the enzyme N-acetyletransferase 2 coupled to the cysteamine modified poly(8-anilino-1-napthalene sulphonic acid)/zinc oxide nanocomposites. The morphology of ZnO nanoparticles, PANSA/ZnO nano-composite and nano-biosensors platforms were characterized using High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) and High-Resolution Scanning Electron Microscopy (HRSEM). On the other hand, the elemental composition of the developed nanocomposites and nano-biosensors were studied using Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDX). The electrochemical studies showed an increase in electron conductivity for the PANSA/ZnO nanocomposite which was an indication that it was suitable as a platform towards biosensor development.

Keywords: N-acetyletransferase 2, isonaizid, tuberculosis, zinc oxide

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Authors: Ewelina Wisnik, Zsolt Regdon, Kinga Chmielewska, Laszlo Virag, Agnieszka Robaszkiewicz

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Apart from protecting genome, PARP1 has been documented to regulate many intracellular processes inter alia gene transcription by physically interacting with chromatin bound proteins and by their ADP-ribosylation. Our recent findings indicate that expression of PARP1 decreases during the differentiation of human CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells to monocytes as a consequence of differentiation-associated cell growth arrest and formation of E2F4-RBL2-HDAC1-SWI/SNF repressive complex at the promoter of this gene. Since the RBL2 complexes repress genes in a E2F-dependent manner and are widespread in the genome in G0 arrested cells, we asked (a) if RBL2 directly contributes to defining monocyte phenotype and function by targeting gene promoters and (b) if RBL2 controls gene transcription indirectly by repressing PARP1. For identification of genes controlled by RBL2 and/or PARP1,we used primer libraries for surface receptors and TLR signaling mediators, genes were silenced by siRNA or shRNA, analysis of gene promoter occupation by selected proteins was carried out by ChIP-qPCR, while statistical analysis in GraphPad Prism 5 and STATISTICA, ChIP-Seq data were analysed in Galaxy 2.5.0.0. On the list of 28 genes regulated by RBL2, we identified only four solely repressed by RBL2-E2F4-HDAC1-BRM complex. Surprisingly, 24 out of 28 emerged genes controlled by RBL2 were co-regulated by PARP1 in six different manners. In one mode of RBL2/PARP1 co-operation, represented by MAP2K6 and MAPK3, PARP1 was found to associate with gene promoters upon RBL2 silencing, which was previously shown to restore PARP1 expression in monocytes. PARP1 effect on gene transcription was observed only in the presence of active EP300, which acetylated gene promoters and activated transcription. Further analysis revealed that PARP1 binding to MA2K6 and MAPK3 promoters enabled recruitment of EP300 in monocytes, while in proliferating cancer cell lines, which actively transcribe PARP1, this protein maintained EP300 at the promoters of MA2K6 and MAPK3. Genome-wide analysis revealed a similar distribution of PARP1 and EP300 around transcription start sites and the co-occupancy of some gene promoters by PARP1 and EP300 in cancer cells. Here, we described a new RBL2/PARP1/EP300 axis which controls gene transcription regardless of the cell type. In this model cell, cycle-dependent transcription of PARP1 regulates expression of some genes repressed by RBL2 upon cell cycle limitation. Thus, RBL2 may indirectly regulate transcription of some genes by controlling the expression of EP300-recruiting PARP1. Acknowledgement: This work was financed by Polish National Science Centre grants nr DEC-2013/11/D/NZ2/00033 and DEC-2015/19/N/NZ2/01735. L.V. is funded by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office grants GINOP-2.3.2-15-2016-00020 TUMORDNS, GINOP-2.3.2-15-2016-00048-STAYALIVE and OTKA K112336. AR is supported by Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education 776/STYP/11/2016.

Keywords: retinoblastoma transcriptional co-repressor like 2 (RBL2), poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1), E1A binding protein p300 (EP300), monocytes

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Authors: Tanveer Beg, Yasir H. Siddique, Gulshan Ara, Asfar S. Azmi, Mohammad Afzal

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Doxorubicin is a well-known DNA intercalating chemotherapy drug that is widely used for treatment of different cancers. Its clinical utility is limited due to the observed genotoxic side effects on healthy cells suggesting that newer combination and genoprotective regimens are urgently needed for the management of doxorubicin chemotherapy. Some dietary phytochemicals are well known for their protective mechanism of action and genistein from soy is recognized as an anti-oxidant with similar properties. Therefore, the present study investigates the effect of genistein against the genotoxic doses of doxorubicin by assessing chromosomal aberrations, sister chromatid exchanges, cell cycle kinetics, cell viability, apoptosis, and DNA damage markers in cultured human lymphocytes. Our results reveal that genistein treatment significantly suppresses genotoxic damage induced by doxorubicin. It is concluded that genistein has the potential to reduce the genotoxicity induced by anti-cancer drugs, thereby reducing the chances of developing secondary tumors during the therapy.

Keywords: apoptosis, DNA damage markers, doxorubicin, genistein, genotoxicity, human lymphocyte culture

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Authors: Furqan M. Kadhum, Asmaa A. Hussein, Maysaa Ch. Hatem

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Hyaluronidase enzyme was purified from the clinical isolate Staphyloccus aureus in three purification steps, first by precipitation with 90% saturated ammonium sulfate, ion exchange chromatography on DEAE-Cellulose, and gel filtration chromatography throughout Sephacryl S-300. Specific activity of the purified enzyme was reached 930 U/mg protein with 7.4 folds of purification and 46.5% recovery. The enzyme has an average molecular weight of about 69 kDa, with an optimum pH of enzyme activity and stability at pH 7, also the optimum temperature for activity was 37oC. The enzyme was stable with full activity at a temperature ranged between 30-40 oC. Metal ions showed variable inhibitory degree with the strongest effect for Fe+3, however, the chelating and reducing agents had no or little effects. Cytotoxic studies for purified and crude hyaluronidase against cancer cell Hep G2 type at different enzyme concentrations and exposure times showed that the inhibition effect of both crude and purified enzyme increased by increasing the enzyme concentration with no change was observed at 24hr, while at 48 and 72 hrs the same inhibition rate were observed for purified enzyme and differ for the crude filtrate.

Keywords: hyaluronidase, S. aureus, metal ions, cytotoxicity

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Authors: Sipumle Qapeshu, Bongiwe Mcata, Ajuruchukwu Obi

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Subsistence farmers practice farming for survival while commercial farmers produce to feed themselves and larger society with the motive to achieve highest profit. These types of farmers are characterised by growing what they eat, live without making regular purchases in the markets. The main objective of subsistence/peasant farmers is to ensure food security at household level. Cabbage is a crop that has been identified to have vital food nutrient sources like Vitamin A, B and C, protein, calcium, iron and antioxidative compounds beneficial for preventing cancer. This paper, therefore, looks at the potential that cabbage production has in enhancing household food security and also the challenges encountered by these cabbage producers. Primary data was obtained from 50 respondents, and linear regression model was used to analyse the data used. Income was used as food security measure. The results showed that three variables were statistically significant and they are gender (10%), education (5%) and household size (5%). Meaning that these are variables that influenced cabbage production by these households, and it also affects their food security status since income is affected.

Keywords: subsistence farmers, food security, cabbage, farming

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Authors: Yassir Adam Shuaib, Stefan Niemann, Eltahir Awad Khalil, Ulrich Schaible, Lothar Heinz Wieler, Mohammed Ahmed Bakhiet, Abbashar Osman Mohammed, Mohamed Abdelsalam Abdalla, Elvira Richter

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Tuberculosis (TB) is a chronic bacterial disease of humans and animals and it is characterized by the progressive development of specific granulomatous tubercle lesions in affected tissues. In a six-month study, from June to November 2014, a total of 2,304 carcasses of cattle, camel, sheep, and goats slaughtered at East and West Gaash slaughterhouses, Kassala, were investigated during postmortem, in parallel, 101 sputum samples from TB suspected patients at Kassala and El-Gadarif Teaching Hospitals were collected in order to investigate tuberculosis in animals and humans. Only 0.1% carcasses were found with suspected TB lesions in the liver and lung and peritoneal cavity of two sheep and no tuberculous lesions were found in the carcasses of cattle, goats or camels. All samples, tissue lesions and sputum, were decontaminated by the NALC-NaOH method and cultured for mycobacterial growth at the NRZ for Mycobacteria, Research Center Borstel, Germany. Genotyping and molecular characterization of the grown strains were done by line probe assay (GenoType CM and MTBC) and 16S rDNA, rpoB gene, and ITS sequencing, spoligotyping, MIRU-VNTR typing and next generation sequencing (NGS). Culture of the specimens revealed growth of organisms from 81.6% of all samples. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (76.2%), M. intracellulare (14.2%), mixed infection with M. tuberculosis and M. intracellulare (6.0%) and mixed infection with M. tuberculosis and M. fortuitum and with M. intracellulare and unknown species (1.2%) were detected in the sputum samples and unknown species (1.2%) were detected in the samples of one of the animals tissues. From the 69 M. tuberculosis strains, 25 (36.2%) were showing either mono-drug-resistant or multi-drug-resistant or poly-drug-resistant but none was extensively drug-resistant. In conclusion, the prevalence of TB in animals was very low while in humans M. tuberculosis-Delhi/CAS lineage was responsible for most cases and there was an evidence of MDR transmission and acquisition.

Keywords: animal, human, slaughterhouse, Sudan, tuberculosis

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Authors: A. Jamsheera, F. Arjmand, D. K. Mohapatra

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Small molecules binding to specific sites along DNA molecule are considered as potential chemotherapeutic agents. Their role as mediators of key biological functions and their unique intrinsic properties make them particularly attractive therapeutic agents. Keeping in view, novel dipeptide complexes Cu(II)-Val-Pro (1), Zn(II)-Val-Pro (2), Cu(II)-Ala-Pro (3) and Zn(II)-Ala-Pro (4) were synthesized and thoroughly characterized using different spectroscopic techniques including elemental analyses, IR, NMR, ESI–MS and molar conductance measurements. The solution stability study carried out by UV–vis absorption titration over a broad range of pH proved the stability of the complexes in solution. In vitro DNA binding studies of complexes 1–4 carried out employing absorption, fluorescence, circular dichroism and viscometric studies revealed the binding of complexes to DNA via groove binding. UV–vis titrations of 1–4 with mononucleotides of interest viz., 5´-GMP and 5´-TMP were also carried out. The DNA cleavage activity of the complexes 1 and 2 were ascertained by gel electrophoresis assay which revealed that the complexes are good DNA cleavage agents and the cleavage mechanism involved a hydrolytic pathway. Furthermore, in vitro antitumor activity of complex 1 was screened against human cancer cell lines of different histological origin.

Keywords: dipeptide Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes, DNA binding profile, pBR322 DNA cleavage, in vitro anticancer activity

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Authors: Naridchaya Aberdour, Joanna Kao, Anne Miller, Timothy Shore, Richard Maher, Zhixin Liu

Abstract:

Background: COVID-19 has and continues to be a strain on healthcare globally, with the number of patients requiring hospitalization exceeding the level of medical support available in many countries. As chest x-rays are the primary respiratory radiological investigation, the Radiological Assessment of Lung Edema (RALE) score was used to quantify the extent of pulmonary infection on baseline imaging. Assessment of RALE score's reproducibility and associations with clinical outcome parameters were then evaluated to determine implications for patient management and prognosis. Methods: A retrospective study was performed with the inclusion of patients testing positive for COVID-19 on nasopharyngeal swab within a single Local Health District in Sydney, Australia and baseline x-ray imaging acquired between January to June 2020. Two independent Radiologists viewed the studies and calculated the RALE scores. Clinical outcome parameters were collected and statistical analysis was performed to assess RALE score reproducibility and possible associations with clinical outcomes. Results: A total of 78 patients met inclusion criteria with the age range of 4 to 91 years old. RALE score concordance between the two independent Radiologists was excellent (interclass correlation coefficient = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.88-0.95, p<0.005). Binomial logistics regression identified a positive correlation with hospital admission (1.87 OR, 95% CI= 1.3-2.6, p<0.005), oxygen requirement (1.48 OR, 95% CI= 1.2-1.8, p<0.005) and invasive ventilation (1.2 OR, 95% CI= 1.0-1.3, p<0.005) for each 1-point increase in RALE score. For each one year increased in age, there was a negative correlation with recovery (0.05 OR, 95% CI= 0.92-1.0, p<0.01). RALE scores above three were positively associated with hospitalization (Youden Index 0.61, sensitivity 0.73, specificity 0.89) and above six were positively associated with ICU admission (Youden Index 0.67, sensitivity 0.91, specificity 0.78). Conclusion: The RALE score can be used as a surrogate to quantify the extent of COVID-19 infection and has an excellent inter-observer agreement. The RALE score could be used to prognosticate and identify patients at high risk of deterioration. Threshold values may also be applied to predict the likelihood of hospital and ICU admission.

Keywords: chest radiography, coronavirus, COVID-19, RALE score

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Authors: Talbi Mohammed, Oustous Aziz, Ben Messaoud Mounir, Sebihi Rajaa, Khalis Mohammed

Abstract:

Background: Breast cancer is the leading cause of death for women around the world. Screening mammography is the reference examination, due to its sensitivity for detecting small lesions and micro-calcifications. Therefore, it is essential to ensure quality mammographic examinations with the most optimal dose. These conditions depend on the choice of exposure parameters. Clinically, practices must be evaluated in order to determine the most appropriate exposure parameters. Material and Methods: We performed our measurements on a mobile mammography unit (PLANMED Sofie-classic.) in Morocco. A solid dosimeter (AGMS Radcal) and a MTM 100 phantom allow to quantify the delivered dose and the image quality. For image quality assessment, scores are defined by the rate of visible inserts (MTM 100 phantom), obtained and compared for each acquisition. Results: The results show that the parameters of the mammography unit on which we have made our measurements can be improved in order to offer a better compromise between image quality and breast dose. The last one can be reduced up from 13.27% to 22.16%, while preserving comparable image quality.

Keywords: Mammography, Breast Dose, Image Quality, Phantom

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Authors: P. D. Ibikunle, D. O. Bala, A. P. Olawolu, A. A. Adebayo

Abstract:

Chromium has been discovered as a significant contributor to water pollution that causes cancer. Modified carbon nanotubes' (CNTs) potential as an adsorbent hasn't been thoroughly investigated. The study aimed at investigating the potentials of various functionalized carbon nanomaterials for Cr (VI) removal from contaminated synthetic groundwater. Functionalized carbon nanomaterials with layered and tube-like structures were designed based on thermal (KOH-activated micrographite sheets) and impregnation methods by anchoring K and Zn on carbon nanotubes (CNTs), respectively for the removal of Cr (VI) from contaminated synthetic groundwater. Zinc acetate modified carbon nanotubes (Zn-CNTs) and potassium hydroxide modified carbon nanotubes (K-CNTs) exhibited greater adsorption capacity for the Cr (VI) adsorbate compared to KOH-activated graphite (AC-1 and AC-0). Maximum removal efficiency for both adsorbents occurred at pH 2. Omu Aran Hand dug wells can therefore be treated with K–CNTs, since the experimental outcomes showed that CNTs adsorbent could operate well in a range of the experimental scenarios.

Keywords: carbon nanotubes, Chromium (VI), adsorption, water treatment, graphitic carbon, kinetics

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Authors: Wei-Ting Kuo, Feng-Huei Lin

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Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is often constitutively stimulated in cancer owing to the binding of ligands such as epidermal growth factor (EGF), so it is necessary to investigate the interaction between EGFR and its targeting biomolecules which were over ligands binding. This study would focus on the binding affinity and adhesion force of two targeting products anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody (mAb) and peptide A to EGFR comparing with EGF. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) was used to obtain the equilibrium dissociation constant to evaluate the binding affinity. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was performed to detect adhesion force. The result showed that binding affinity of mAb to EGFR was higher than that of EGF to EGFR, and peptide A to EGFR was lowest. The adhesion force between EGFR and mAb that was higher than EGF and peptide A to EGFR was lowest. From the studies, we could conclude that mAb had better adhesion force and binding affinity to EGFR than that of EGF and peptide A. SPR and AFM could confirm the interaction between receptor and targeting ligand easily and carefully. It provide a platform to screen ligands for receptor targeting and drug delivery.

Keywords: adhesion force, binding affinity, epidermal growth factor receptor, target molecule

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Authors: S. S. Patil, B. U. Janugade, S. V. Patil

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Pulsatile systems are gaining a lot of interest as they deliver the drug at the right site of action at the right time and in the right amount, thus providing spatial and temporal delivery thus increasing patient compliance. These systems are designed according to the circadian rhythm of the body. Chronotherapeutics is the discipline concerned with the delivery of drugs according to inherent activities of a disease over a certain period of time. It is becoming increasingly more evident that the specific time that patients take their medication may be even more significant than was recognized in the past. The tradition of prescribing medication at evenly spaced time intervals throughout the day, in an attempt to maintain constant drug levels throughout a 24-hour period, may be changing as researcher’s report that some medications may work better if their administration is coordinated with day-night patterns and biological rhythms. The potential benefits of chronotherapeutics have been demonstrated in the management of a number of diseases. In particular, there is a great deal of interest in how chronotherapy can particularly benefit patients suffering from allergic rhinitis, rheumatoid arthritis and related disorders, asthma, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and peptic ulcer disease.

Keywords: pulsatile drug delivery, chronotherapeutics, circadian rhythm, asthma, chronobiology

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Authors: Santony Santony, Teguh Rahayu Sartono, Iin Noor Chozin

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Introduction: Pneumonia is acute inflammation on lung parenchyma which is caused by bacteria, virus, fungi, or parasite. In Indonesia, Pneumonia is among the ten inpatient cases. Length of stay is related to the increased morbidity rate, nosocomial infection, and costs. The aim of this study is to assess the effect of pulmonary rehabilitation on the difference in length of stay and the level of Interleukin 6 (IL-6) as an inflammation biomarker for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients in non-intensive rooms. Therefore, pulmonary rehabilitation as adjunctive therapy can be routinely exercised in order to shorten the length of stay, along with the decrease in IL-6 level. Methods: This study was conducted from May to October 2019 at Saiful Anwar General Hospital, Malang. 40 community-acquired pneumonia patients in non-intensive rooms were divided into two groups. 20 patients in the treatment group and 20 patients in the control group, all of them were selected through both inclusion and exclusion criteria. This study used simple consecutive random sampling. In the treatment group, pulmonary rehabilitation performed was composed of breathing exercise, effective coughing technique, clapping (percussion), postural drainage, as well as respiratory muscle training using incentive spirometry device. Pulmonary rehabilitation was conducted twice over five days with a minimum duration of 15 minutes. Blood samples were taken both on the first and the fifth day of the treatment to measure IL-6 level as an inflammation biomarker. Result: For the treatment group, the length of stay was 5.35 days whereas the control group 7.6 days. It can be seen that the treatment group had a shorter length of stay by 2.25 days (P<0,001). The IL-6 level on the first day for the treatment group was 36.27 pg/ml, whereas on the fifth day was 34.36 pg/ml. There was a decrease in IL-6 level on the fifth day of treatment even though it was not statistically significant (P=0.628). IL-6 level on the control group for the first day was 67.76 pg/ml, and after the fifth day, the level decreased to 54.43 pg/ml. There seemed to be a decrease in the IL-6, but it was not statistically significant (P=0.502). On the fifth day, the treatment group showed an average IL-6 level of 34.36 pg/ml. This value was lower than that of the control group which did not receive pulmonary rehabilitation having an IL-6 level of 54.43 pg/ml, even though it was not statistically significant (p=0.221). Conclusion: This study concluded that pulmonary rehabilitation as an adjunctive therapy shortened length of stay by 2.25 days for community-acquired pneumonia patients in a non-intensive room. Both groups experienced a decrease in IL-6 level on the fifth day in comparison with the first day even though it was not statistically significant P>0,05. IL-6 level as an inflammation biomarker decreased on the fifth day of treatment which was in accordance with improvement on pneumonia patients.

Keywords: community-acquired pneumonia, interleukin-6, length of stay, pulmonary rehabilitation

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Authors: Hung-Yuan Chang, Wen-Lung Chiang, Kuo-Liang Wu, Chen-Tsung Lin

Abstract:

National Space Organization (NSPO) has completed in 2014 the development of a space-borne GPS receiver, including design, manufacture, comprehensive functional test, environmental qualification test and so on. The main performance of this receiver include 8-meter positioning accuracy, 0.05 m/sec speed-accuracy, the longest 90 seconds of cold start time, and up to 15g high dynamic scenario. The receiver will be integrated in the autonomous FORMOSAT-7 NSPO-Built satellite scheduled to be launched in 2019 to execute pre-defined scientific missions. The flight model of this receiver manufactured in early 2015 will pass comprehensive functional tests and environmental acceptance tests, etc., which are expected to be completed by the end of 2015. The space-borne GPS receiver is a pure software design in which all GPS baseband signal processing are executed by a digital signal processor (DSP), currently only 50% of its throughput being used. In response to the booming global navigation satellite systems, NSPO will gradually expand this receiver to become a multi-mode, multi-band, high-precision navigation receiver, and even a science payload, such as the reflectometry receiver of a global navigation satellite system. The fundamental purpose of this extension study is to port some software algorithms such as signal acquisition and correlation, reused code and large amount of computation load to the FPGA whose processor is responsible for operational control, navigation solution, and orbit propagation and so on. Due to the development and evolution of the FPGA is pretty fast, the new system architecture upgraded via an FPGA should be able to achieve the goal of being a multi-mode, multi-band high-precision navigation receiver, or scientific receiver. Finally, the results of tests show that the new system architecture not only retains the original overall performance, but also sets aside more resources available for future expansion possibility. This paper will explain the detailed DSP/FPGA architecture, development, test results, and the goals of next development stage of this receiver.

Keywords: space-borne, GPS receiver, DSP, FPGA, multi-mode multi-band

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Authors: Adil Elrayah, Jie Weng, Esra Suliman

Abstract:

The mineral in human bone is not pure stoichiometric calcium phosphate (Ca/P) as it is partially substituted by in organic elements. In this study, the copper ions (Cu²⁺) substituted hydroxyapatite (CuHA) powder has been synthesized by the co-precipitation method. The CuHA powder has been used to fabricate CuHA fiber scaffolds by sol-gel process and the following sinter process. The resulted CuHA fibers have slightly different microstructure (i.e. porosity) compared to HA fiber scaffold, which is denser. The mechanical properties test was used to evaluate CuHA, and the results showed decreases in both compression strength and hardness tests. Moreover, the in vitro used endothelial cells to evaluate the angiogenesis of CuHA. The result illustrated that the viability of endothelial cell on CuHA fiber scaffold surfaces tends to antigenic behavior. The results obtained with CuHA scaffold give this material benefit in biological applications such as antimicrobial, antitumor, antigens, compacts, filling cavities of the tooth and for the deposition of metal implants anti-tumor, anti-cancer, bone filler, and scaffold.

Keywords: fiber scaffold, copper ions, hydroxyapatite, in vitro, mechanical property

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