Search results for: gene bank

Authors: Nandhana Vivek, Bhaskar Gogoi, Ayyavu Mahesh

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Breast cancer metastasis plays a key role in cancer progression and fatality. The present study examines the potential causes of metastasis in breast cancer by investigating the novel interactions between genes and their pathways. The gene expression profile of GSE99394, GSE1246464, and GSE103865 was downloaded from the GEO data repository to analyze the differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Protein-protein interactions, target factor interactions, pathways and gene relationships, and functional enrichment networks were investigated. The proliferation pathway was shown to be highly expressed in breast cancer progression and metastasis in all three datasets. Gene Ontology analysis revealed 11 DEGs as gene targets to control breast cancer metastasis: LYN, DLGAP5, CXCR4, CDC6, NANOG, IFI30, TXP2, AGTR1, MKI67, and FTH1. Upon studying the function, genomic and proteomic data, and pathway involvement of the target genes, DLGAP5 proved to be a promising candidate due to it being highly differentially expressed in all datasets. The study takes a unique perspective on the avenues through which DLGAP5 promotes metastasis. The current investigation helps pave the way in understanding the role DLGAP5 plays in metastasis, which leads to an increased incidence of death among breast cancer patients.

Keywords: genomics, metastasis, microarray, cancer

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Authors: Sheriff Muhammad Ibrahim, Tijjani Muhammad

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The study assesses the Islamic Microfinance Bank's role in promoting customers' social welfare, using the newly developed products of Yobe Microfinance Bank to encourage inclusion and alleviate poverty in the Yobe communities. Yobe state is ranked bottom as the poorest in the region and scores low on human development and poverty alleviation. It is clearly indicated low education rates, poor implementation of government policies on poverty, and a high rate of financial exclusion. The study adopted a qualitative approach using random sampling to collect data from customers of Yobe Microfinance Bank. Using the acceptability of the newly introduced sharia complaint products of Yobe Microfinance among the people in Yobe state, using the Structural Equation Modelling, a total of 300 respondents completed the survey using a Likert scale. The study employed Structural Equation Modeling to analyze and test reliability and validity to provide accuracy of respondents' information. The finding indicates the positive relationship between Islamic banking products and customer satisfaction. The study concludes that introducing and consistently managing Islamic products can improve social welfare and reduce poverty through financial inclusion in the state.

Keywords: islamic microfinance, social welfare, products, poverty

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Authors: Qiu Jian-Rong, Li Qing-Hui, Zhan Dong, Zhang Lei

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Facing the problem of the demand of economic restructuring and risk of social economy stagnation due to the ageing of population, the Health Service Industry will play a very important role in the structure of industry in the future. During the process, the orient of Chinese sports medicine as well as the joint with preventive medicine, and the integration with data bank and cloud computing will be involved.

Keywords: China, the health service industry, mass sport, data bank

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Authors: Hateem Zafar Kayani, Nageen Hussain

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The main aim is to analyze the mutations of DNASE I gene in diabetic patients. A total of 120 diabetes patients and 120 controls were sampled. The total number of male diabetic patients included in the study was 79 (66%) while female patients were 41 (34%) in number. Exon 8 of the DNASE I gene was amplified by using thermo cycler. The possible band of interest was located at 165 base pairs. Two samples showed similar missense mutations at 127th position of exon 8 which replaced amino acid Arginine (Arg) to Glutamine (Gln). All controls showed no mutations. The association of diabetes with different levels of blood pressure and body mass index (BMI) were found to be significant.

Keywords: deoxyribonuclease I, polymerase chain reaction, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus

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Authors: Doaa M. Elghannam, Nashwa Khayrat Abousamra, Doaa A. Shahin, Enas F. Goda, Hanan Azzam, Emad Azmy, Manal Salah El-Din

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Background: The pathogenesis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) involves the cooperation of mutations promoting proliferation/survival and those impairing differentiation. Point mutations of the NRAS gene are the most frequent somatic mutations causing aberrant signal-transduction in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Aim: The present work was conducted to study the frequency and prognostic significance of NRAS gene mutations (NRASmut) in de novo Egyptian adult AML. Material and methods: Bone marrow specimens from 150 patients with de novo acute myeloid leukemia and controls were analyzed by genomic PCR-SSCP at codons 12, 13 (exon 1), and 61 (exon 2) for NRAS mutations. Results: NRAS gene mutations was found in 19/150 (12.7%) AML cases, represented more frequently in the FAB subtype M4eo (P = 0.028), and at codon 12, 13 (14of 19; 73.7%). Patients with NRASmut had a significant lower peripheral marrow blasts (P = 0.004, P=0.03) and non significant improved clinical outcome than patients without the mutation. Complete remission rate was (63.2% vs 56.5%; p=0.46), resistant disease (15.8% vs 23.6%; p=0.51), three years overall survival (44% vs 42%; P = 0.85) and disease free survival (42.1% vs 38.9%, P = 0.74). Multivariate analysis showed that age was the strongest unfavorable factor for overall survival (relative risk [RR], 1.9; P = .002), followed by cytogenetics (P = .004). FAB types, NRAS mutation, and leukocytosis were less important. Conclusions: NRAS gene mutation frequency and spectrum differ between biologically distinct subtypes of AML but do not significantly influence prognosis and clinical outcome.

Keywords: NRAS Gene, egyptian adult, acute myeloid leukemia, cytogenetics

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Authors: Fatin Fadhilah Hasib, Puji Sucia Sukmaningrum, Imron Mawardi, Achsania Hendratmi

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Murabaha is the most popular contract by the Islamic banks in Indonesia, since there is opinion stating that the risk level of mudharaba and musyaraka are higher and the return is uncertain. This research aims to analyze the difference of return, risk, and variation coefficient between profit sharing-based and trading-based financing in Islamic bank. This research uses quantitative approach using Wilcoxon signed rank test with data sampled from 13 Indonesian Islamic banks, collected from their quarterly financial reports from 2011 to 2015. The result shows the significant difference in return, while risk and variation coefficient are almost same. From the analysis, it can be concluded that profit sharing-based financing is less desirable not because of its risk. Trading-based financing is more desirable than the profit sharing because of its return.

Keywords: financing, Islamic bank, return, risk

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Authors: Yosef Ferede Bogale

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The purpose of this study was to evaluate the degree of customer satisfaction and the variables influencing it in the instance of the Bank of Abyssinia branches in the districts of Arada and Bole in Addis Ababa. The study was carried out utilizing a mixed research approach and a descriptive and explanatory research design in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia. Both primary and secondary data were employed in this investigation. The study's target population consisted of 1000 of the bank's most prestigious clients. With a 93% response rate, 265 respondents from both genders in the active age group had higher levels of education and work experience and were in the active age group. Customers of the case bank under consideration comprised the study's target audience. The respondents, who belonged to both gender groups, were in the active age bracket with superior levels of education and work experience. As a result, this investigation discovered that the degree of client satisfaction was assigned a medium rating. Additionally given a middling rating were the company's image practices, employee competency, technology, and service quality. Further, the results also demonstrate that corporate image, employees’ competency, technology, and service quality all positively and significantly affect customer happiness. This study found that, to varying degrees, company image, technology, competence, and high-quality financial services will all improve consumer happiness. According to this report, banks should monitor customer satisfaction and service quality at least twice a year. This is because there is a growing movement among bank service providers for accountability, and measuring these factors is crucial. This study also recommends that banks make every effort to satisfy consumers' expectations to the highest level.

Keywords: customer satisfaction, corporate image, quality services risk, bank

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Authors: V. Karuppaiah, J. C. Padaria, C. Srivastava

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The tobacco caterpillar, Spodoptera litura Fab (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a polyphagous pest various field and horticulture crops in India. Pest had virtually developed resistance to all commonly used insecticides. Enhanced detoxification is the prime mechanism that is dictated by detoxification different enzymes and carboxylesterase is one of the major enzyme responsible development of resistance. In India, insecticide resistance studies on S. litura are mainly deployed on detoxification enzymes activity and investigation at gene level alteration i.e. at nucleotide level is very merger. In the present study, we collected the S. litura larvae from three different cauliflower growing belt viz., IARI, New Delhi (Delhi), Palari, Sonepat (Haryana) and Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) to study the role of carboxylesterase activity and its gene level variation The CarE activity was measured using UV-VIS spectrophotometer with 3rd instar larvae of S. litura. The elevated activity of CarE was observed in Sonepat strain (28.09 ± 0.09 µmol/min/mg of protein) followed by Delhi (26.72 ± 0.04 µmol/min/mg of protein) and Varanasi strain (10.00 ± 0.44 µmol/min/mg of protein) of S. litura. The genomic DNA was isolated from 3rd instar larvae and CarE gene was amplified using a primer sequence, F:5’tccagagttccttgtcaggcac3’; R:5’ctgcatcaagcatgtctc3. CarE gene, about 500bp was partially amplified, sequenced and submitted to NCBI (Accession No. KF835886, KF835887 and KF835888). The sequence data revealed polymorphism at nucleotide level in all the three strains and gene found to have 88 to 97% similarity with previous available nucleotide sequences of S. litura, S. littoralis and S. exiqua. The polymorphism at the nucleotide level could be a reason for differential activity of carboxylesterase enzymes among the strains. However, investigation at gene expression level would be useful to analyze the overproduction of carboxylesterase enzyme.

Keywords: carboxylesterase, CarE gene, nucleotide polymorphism, insecticide resistance, spodoptera litura

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Authors: Tanyaporn Chairoch

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Introduction: Cannabis is a drug to treat patients with many diseases such as Multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and Epilepsy, where theycontain many active compounds such as delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). Especially, THC is the primary psychoactive ingredient in cannabis and binds to cannabinoid 1 (CB1) receptors. Moreover, CB1 is located on the neocortex, hippocampus, basal ganglia, cerebellum, and brainstem. In previous study, we found the association between the variant of CB1recptors gene (rs2023239) and decreased effect of nicotine reinforcement in patients. However, there are no data describing whether the distribution of CB1 receptor gene is a genetic marker for Thai patients who are treated with cannabis. Objective: Thus, the aim of this study we want to investigate the frequency of the CB1 receptor gene in Thai patients. Materials and Methods: All of sixty Thai patients received the medical cannabis for treatment who were recruited in this study. DNA will be extracted from EDTA whole blood by Genomic DNA Mini Kit. The genotyping of CNR1 gene (rs 2023239) was genotyped by the TaqMan real time PCR assay (ABI, Foster City, CA, USA).and using the real-time PCR ViiA7 (ABI, Foster City, CA, USA). Results: We found thirty-eight (63.3%) Thai patients were female, and twenty-two (36.70%) were male in this study with median age of 45.8 (range19 – 87 ) years. Especially, thirty-two (53.30%) medical cannabis tolerant controls were female ( 55%) and median age of52.1 (range 27 – 79 ) years. The most adverse effects for medical cannabis treatment was tachycardia. Furthermore, the number of rs 2023239 (TT) carriers was 26 of 27 (96.29%) in medical cannabis-induced adverse effects and 32 of 33 (96.96%) in tolerant controls. Additionally, rs 2023239 (CT) variant was found just only one of twenty-seven (3.7%) in medical cannabis-induced adverse effects and 1 of 33 (3.03%) in tolerant controls. Conclusions: The distribution of genetic variant in CNR1 gene might serve as a pharmacogenetics markers for screening before initiating the therapy with medical cannabis in Thai patients.

Keywords: cannabis, pharmacogenetics, CNR1 gene, thai patient

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Authors: K. Julia Rose Mary, Victor Arokia Doss

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Electrical and chemical stimulations up-regulate phosphorylaion of CREB, a transcriptional factor that induces its target gene production for memory consolidation and Late Long-Term Potentiation (L-LTP) in CA1 region of the hippocampus. L-LTP requires complex interactions among second-messenger signaling cascade molecules such as cAMP, CAMKII, CAMKIV, MAPK, RSK, PKA, all of which converge to phosphorylate CREB which along with CBP induces the transcription of target genes involved in memory consolidation. A differential equation based model for L-LTP representing stimulus-mediated activation of downstream mediators which confirms the steep, supralinear stimulus-response effects of activation and inhibition was used. The same was extended to accommodate the inhibitory effect of the Inducible cAMP Early Repressor (ICER). ICER is the natural inducible CREB antagonist represses CRE-Mediated gene transcription involved in long-term plasticity for learning and memory. After verifying the sensitivity and robustness of the model, we had simulated it with various empirical levels of repressor concentration to analyse their effect on the gene induction. The model appears to predict the regulatory dynamics of repression on the L-LTP and agrees with the experimental values. The flux data obtained in the simulations demonstrate various aspects of equilibrium between the gene induction and repression.

Keywords: CREB, L-LTP, mathematical modeling, simulation

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Authors: Faheem Shahzad Baloch, Muhammad Azhar Nadeem, Muhammad Amjad Nawaz, Ephrem Habyarimana, Gonul Comertpay, Tolga Karakoy, Rustu Hatipoglu, Mehmet Zahit Yeken, Vahdettin Ciftci

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Turkey is considered a bridge between Europe, Asia, and Africa and possibly played an important role in the distribution of many crops including common bean. Hundreds of common bean landraces can be found in Turkey, particularly in farmers’ fields, and they consistently contribute to the overall production. To investigate the existing genetic diversity and hybridization events between the Andean and Mesoamerican gene pools in the Turkish common bean, 188 common bean accessions (182 landraces and 6 modern cultivars as controls) were collected from 19 different Turkish geographic regions. These accessions were characterized using phenotypic data (growth habit and seed weight), geographic provenance, 12557 high-quality whole-genome DArTseq markers, and 3767 novel DArTseq loci were also identified. The clustering algorithms resolved the Turkish common bean landrace germplasm into the two recognized gene pools, the Mesoamerican and Andean gene pools. Hybridization events were observed in both gene pools (14.36% of the accessions) but mostly in the Mesoamerican (7.97% of the accessions), and was low relative to previous European studies. The lower level of hybridization witnessed the existence of Turkish common bean germplasm in its original form as compared to Europe. Mesoamerican gene pool reflected a higher level of diversity, while the Andean gene pool was predominant (56.91% of the accessions), but genetically less diverse and phenotypically more pure, reflecting farmers greater preference for the Andean gene pool. We also found some genetically distinct landraces and overall, a meaningful level of genetic variability which can be used by the scientific community in breeding efforts to develop superior common bean strains.

Keywords: bean germplasm, DArTseq markers, genotyping by sequencing, Turkey, whole genome diversity

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Authors: Srishty Gulati, Anju Singh, Shrikant Kukreti

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The manifestation of structural polymorphism in DNA depends on the sequence and surrounding environment. Ample of folded DNA structures have been found in the cellular system out of which DNA hairpins are very common, however, are indispensable due to their role in the replication initiation sites, recombination, transcription regulation, and protein recognition. We enumerate this approach in our study, where the two base substitutions and change in temperature embark destabilization of DNA structure and misbalance the equilibrium between two structures of a sequence present at the overlapping region of the human COMT gene and MIR4761 gene. COMT and MIR4761 gene encodes for catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) enzyme and microRNAs (miRNAs), respectively. Environmental changes and errors during cell division lead to genetic abnormalities. The COMT gene entailed in dopamine regulation fosters neurological diseases like Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, velocardiofacial syndrome, etc. A 19-mer deoxyoligonucleotide sequence 5'-AGGACAAGGTGTGCATGCC-3' (COMT19) is located at exon-4 on chromosome 22 and band q11.2 at the intersection of COMT and MIR4761 gene. Bioinformatics studies suggest that this sequence is conserved in humans and few other organisms and is involved in recognition of transcription factors in the vicinity of 3'-end. Non-denaturating gel electrophoresis and CD spectroscopy of COMT sequences indicate the formation of hairpin type DNA structures. Temperature-dependent CD studies revealed an unusual shift in the slipped DNA-Hairpin DNA equilibrium with the change in temperature. Also, UV-thermal melting techniques suggest that the two base substitutions on the complementary strand of COMT19 did not affect the structure but reduces the stability of duplex. This study gives insight about the possibility of existing structurally polymorphic transient states within DNA segments present at the intersection of COMT and MIR4761 gene.

Keywords: base-substitution, catechol-o-methyltransferase (COMT), hairpin-DNA, structural polymorphism

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Authors: Gabriella Vermeulen

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This paper applies a Bourdieusian lens to a Limpopo Citrus farm referred to as Malapeng in order to understand how conflict and authority are reproduced in Malapeng in the larger context of the South African agricultural industry. The South African citrus industry is an export industry, with South Africa being the second largest exporter of citrus in the world. Agriculture in South Africa has undergone extensive liberalisation since 1994, and many historical patterns, such as the racial divide in agriculture and the exploitation of black workers, are still continuously reproduced on farms in South Africa. This chapter looks at the institution of the ‘farm bank’ on Malapeng, which provides loans to workers whose livelihood strategies have been otherwise limited both by the larger agricultural context they are a part of and by the owner of Malapeng. By discussing the role of farm banks in a conflict between two permanent workers, the chapter illustrates how various oppositional discourses are strategically emphasised or de-emphasised at different times by the actors on Malapeng depending on their immediate goals. Farm bank proves to be a nexus of various discourses on Malapeng as the actors on Malapeng all construct farm bank in different (and often contradictory) terms in order to explain their influence and responsibility on Malapeng. The findings of the paper are based on data collected during fieldwork for an MA dissertation and are based on observation and semi-structured interviews conducted in 2021.

Keywords: agriculture, South Africa, capital, labour

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Authors: Renata Checiches, Thierry Coche, Nicolas F. Delahaye, Albert Linder, Fernando Ulloa Montoya, Olivier Gruselle, Karen Langfeld, An de Creus, Bart Spiessens, Vincent G. Brichard, Jamila Louahed, Frédéric F. Lehmann

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Background: The RNA-expression levels of cancer-testis antigens MAGE A3 and PRAME were determined in resected tissue from patients with primary non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and related to clinical outcome. EGFR, KRAS and BRAF mutation status was determined in a subset to investigate associations with MAGE A3 and PRAME expression. Methods: We conducted a single-centre, uncontrolled, retrospective study of 1260 tissue-bank samples from stage IA-III resected NSCLC. The prognostic value of antigen expression (qRT-PCR) was determined by hazard-ratio and Kaplan-Meier curves. Results: Thirty-seven percent (314/844) of tumours expressed MAGE-A3, 66% (723/1092) expressed PRAME and 31% (239/839) expressed both. Respective frequencies in squamous-cell tumours and adenocarcinomas were 43%/30% for MAGE A3 and 80%/44% for PRAME. No correlation with stage, tumour size or patient age was found. Overall, no prognostic value was identified for either antigen. A trend to poorer overall survival was associated with MAGE-A3 in stage IIIB and with PRAME in stage IB. EGFR and KRAS mutations were found in 10.1% (28/311) and 33.8% (97/311) of tumours, respectively. EGFR (but not KRAS) mutation status was negatively associated with PRAME expression. Conclusion: No clear prognostic value for either PRAME or MAGE A3 was observed in the overall population, although some observed trends may warrant further investigation.

Keywords: MAGE A3, PRAME, cancer-testis gene, NSCLC, survival, EGFR

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Authors: Muhammad Azam, Micheal Olaolu Arowolo, Fei He, Mihail Popescu, Dong Xu

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The number of biological papers is growing quickly, which means that the number of biological pathway figures in those papers is also increasing quickly. Each pathway figure shows extensive biological information, like the names of genes and how the genes are related. However, manually annotating pathway figures takes a lot of time and work. Even though using advanced image understanding models could speed up the process of curation, these models still need to be made more accurate. To improve gene name recognition from pathway figures, we applied a Siamese network to map image segments to a library of pictures containing known genes in a similar way to person recognition from photos in many photo applications. We used a triple loss function and a triplet spatial pyramid pooling network by combining the triplet convolution neural network and the spatial pyramid pooling (TSPP-Net). We compared VGG19 and VGG16 as the Siamese network model. VGG16 achieved better performance with an accuracy of 93%, which is much higher than OCR results.

Keywords: biological pathway, image understanding, gene name recognition, object detection, Siamese network, VGG

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Authors: Hermalina Sinay, Estri L. Arumingtyas

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The research objective was to determine the expression level of dehydration responsive element binding/DREB gene of local corn cultivars from Kisar Island Maluku. The study design was a randomized block design with single factor consist of six local corn cultivars obtained from farmers in Kisar Island and one reference varieties wich has been released by the government as a drought-tolerant varieties and obtained from Cereal Crops Research Institute (ICERI) Maros South Sulawesi. Leaf samples were taken is the second leaf after the flag leaf at the 65 days after planting. Isolation of total RNA from leaf samples was carried out according to the protocols of the R & A-BlueTM Total RNA Extraction Kit and was used as a template for cDNA synthesis. The making of cDNA from total RNA was carried out according to the protocol of One-Step Reverse Transcriptase PCR Premix Kit. Real Time-PCR was performed on cDNA from reverse transcription followed the procedures of Real MODTM Green Real-Time PCR Master Mix Kit. Data obtained from the real time-PCR results were analyzed using relative quantification method based on the critical point / Cycle Threshold (CP / CT). The results of gene expression analysis of DREB gene showed that the expression level of the gene was highest obtained at Deep Yellow local corn cultivar, and the lowest one was obtained at the Rubby Brown Cob cultivar. It can be concluded that the expression level of DREB gene of Deep Yellow local corn cultivar was highest than other local corn cultivars and Srikandi variety as a reference variety.

Keywords: expression, level, DREB gene, local corn cultivars, Kisar Island, Maluku

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Authors: A. Robbin

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In a multilingual setting like Nigeria, the success of service encounters is enhanced by the use of a language that ensures the linguistic and persuasive demands of the interlocutors. This study examined motivations for code switching as a negotiation strategy in bank-hall desk service encounters in Ìbàdàn metropolis using Myers-Scotton’s exploration on markedness in language use. The data consisted of transcribed audio recording of bank-hall service encounters, and direct observation of bank interactions in two purposively sampled commercial banks in Ìbàdàn metropolis. The data was subjected to descriptive linguistic analysis using Myers Scotton’s Markedness Model.  Findings reveal that code switching is frequently employed during different stages of service encounter: greeting, transaction and closing to fulfil relational, bargaining and referential functions. Bank staff and customers code switch to make unmarked, marked and explanatory choices. A strategy used to identify with customer’s cultural affiliation, close status gap, and appeal to begrudged customer; or as an explanatory choice with non-literate customers for ease of communication. Bankers select English to maintain customers’ perceptions of prestige which is retained or diverged from depending on their linguistic preference or ability.  Yoruba is seen as an efficient negotiation strategy with both bankers and their customers, making choices within conversation to achieve desired conversational and functional aims.

Keywords: banking, bilingualism, code-switching, markedness, service encounter

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Authors: Trias Setiawati, Rizkika Awalia

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The study title is “In Working, Career is not everything: A Case Study of Family Friendly Policies (FFP) on Bank Company.” This study aims to describe the application of FFP in the banking, especially Bank Rakyat Indonesia or BRI (Indonesian People Bank) in Katamso Branch Office in Yogyakarta Katamso Branch Office in Yogyakarta (KBOY) as a support company to create a work-life balance, as well as the achievement of career and family harmony is seen from the work-family conflict faced by the employees. The importance of the application of FFP in an organization is basically to build competitive advantage of a company. This study used qualitative research methods with a case study approach in BRI in KBOY. Data collection techniques used non-participant observation and in-depth structured interviews with three employees. The results showed that FFP is in general adoption and not optimal yet. Optimal FFP policy is not yet implemented; it just in the in-formal policies such as the lack of flexible-time, the lack of daycare, the lack of counseling for employees of personal nature, despite it was the availability of lactation rooms for feeding. The employees found difficulties in balancing between achieving careers at work and reaching family harmony. Not pursued a career does not mean that they do not want to reach a better position, but they do not want to ignore the family harmony because of the hours of work overload.

Keywords: career, family friendly policies, work-family balance, work-family conflict

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Authors: Alisa Kazarina, Guntis Gerhards, Elina Petersone-Gordina, Ilva Pole, Viktorija Igumnova, Janis Kimsis, Valentina Capligina, Renate Ranka

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Human body is inhabited by a vast number of microorganisms, collectively known as the human microbiome, and there is a tremendous interest in evolutionary changes in human microbial ecology, diversity and function. The field of paleomicrobiology, study of ancient human microbiome, is powered by modern techniques of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), which allows extracting microbial genomic data directly from archaeological sample of interest. One of the major techniques is 16S rRNA gene sequencing, by which certain 16S rRNA gene hypervariable regions are being amplified and sequenced. However, some limitations of this method exist including the taxonomic precision and efficacy of different regions used. The aim of this study was to evaluate the phylogenetic sensitivity of different 16S rRNA gene hypervariable regions for microbiome studies in the archaeological samples. Towards this aim, archaeological bone samples and corresponding soil samples from each burial environment were collected in Medieval cemeteries in Latvia. The Ion 16S™ Metagenomics Kit targeting different 16S rRNA gene hypervariable regions was used for library construction (Ion Torrent technologies). Sequenced data were analysed by using appropriate bioinformatic techniques; alignment and taxonomic representation was done using Mothur program. Sequences of most abundant genus were further aligned to E. coli 16S rRNA gene reference sequence using MEGA7 in order to identify the hypervariable region of the segment of interest. Our results showed that different hypervariable regions had different discriminatory power depending on the groups of microbes, as well as the nature of samples. On the basis of our results, we suggest that wider range of primers used can provide more accurate recapitulation of microbial communities in archaeological samples. Acknowledgements. This work was supported by the ERAF grant Nr. 1.1.1.1/16/A/101.

Keywords: 16S rRNA gene, ancient human microbiome, archaeology, bioinformatics, genomics, microbiome, molecular biology, next-generation sequencing

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Authors: Y. I. Tretyakova, S. G. Shulkina, T. Y. Kravtsova, A. A. Antipova, N. Y. Kolomeets

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The research aimed to assess the functional significance of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) gene polymorphism at the -308G/A (rs1800629) region and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) gene polymorphism at the -634G/C (rs 2010963) region in the development of ulcerative colitis (UC), focusing on patients from the Perm region, Russia. We examined 70 UC patients and 50 healthy donors during the active phase of the disease. Our focus was on TNF-α and VEGF concentration in the blood serum, as well as TNF-α and VEGFA gene polymorphisms at the -308G/А and -634G/C regions, respectively. We found that TNF-α and VEGF levels were significantly higher in patients with severe UC and high endoscopic activity compared to those with milder forms of the disease and low endoscopic activity. These tests could serve as additional non-invasive markers for assessing mucosal damage in the large intestine of UC patients. The frequency of allele variations in the TNF-α gene -308G/A (rs1800629) revealed a significantly higher occurrence of the unfavorable homozygote AA in UC patients compared to donors. Additionally, the major allele G and the allele pair GG were more frequent in patients with mild to moderate disease and 1-2 degree of endoscopic activity than in those with severe UC and 3-4 degree of endoscopic activity (χ2=14.19; p=0.000). We also observed a mutant allele A and the unfavorable homozygote AA associated with severe progressive UC. The occurrence of the mutant allele increased the risk of severe UC by 5 times (OR 5.03; CI 12.07-12.21). We did not find any significant differences in the frequency of the CC homozygote (χ2=1.02; p=0.6; OR=1.32) and the mutant allele C of the VEGFA gene -634G/C (rs 2010963) (χ2=0.01; p=0.913; OR=0.97) between groups of UC patients and healthy individuals. However, we detected that the mutant allele C and the unfavorable homozygote CC of the VEGFA gene were associated with more severe endoscopic changes in the colonic mucosa of UC patients (χ2=25,76; р=0,000; OR=0,15). The presence of the mutant allele increased the risk of severe UC by 6 times (OR 6,78; CI 3,13–14,7). We found a direct correlation between TNF-α and VEGFA gene polymorphisms, increased production of the same factors, disease severity, and endoscopic activity (р=0.000). Therefore, the presence of the mutant allele A and homozygote AA of the TNF-α gene at the -308G/A region and the mutant allele C and homozygote CC of the VEGFA gene at the -634G/C region are associated with risks related to an unfavorable clinical course of UC, frequent recurrences, and rapid progression. These findings should be considered when making prognoses regarding the clinical course of the disease and selecting treatment strategies. The presence of the homozygote AA in the TNF-α gene (rs1800629) is considered a sign of genetic predisposition to UC.

Keywords: gene polymorphism, TNF-α, ulcerative colitis, VEGF

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Authors: I. Diaz Sanchez, I. M. Martinez-Conesa, M. Illueca

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Accounting conservatism is a desirable quality of earnings that is positively associated with the stridency of regulatory and supervisory regimen and high market discipline. But how these three pillars interact each other is the main research question that is not empirically solved. We analyze how regulatory and supervisory regimes interact with the market discipline measures, such as listing status, ownership and market concentration using a sample of 14,651 bank-year observations covering 54 countries over the period 1997-2009. We evidence that regulation a supervision and extend on which they are enforcement is a strong mechanism to achieved accounting conservatism in those countries or situations where the market discipline fails. Generally, the supervisory power reinforces the effect of listing status, ownership and concentration on conservatism, while capital regulatory mitigates the effect of market discipline on conservatism. This paper may contribute to debate about the mechanism introduced by Basel III that strongly increases the regulation, his enforcement, and the supervisory power after long deregulation period. Although Market discipline is relevant to achieve the financial stability, strong Pillar I and II can ensure the quality of the accounting earnings to prevent bank failures.

Keywords: accounting conservatism, bank regulation, bank supervision, loan loss recognition, market discipline

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Authors: I. Boroňová, J. Bernasovská, J. Kmec, E. Petrejčíková

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Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a primary myocardial disease, it is characterized by progressive systolic dysfunction due to cardiac chamber dilatation and inefficient myocardial contractility with estimated prevalence of 37 in 100 000 people. It is the most frequent cause of heart failure and cardiac transplantation in young adults. About one-third of all patients have a suspected familial disease indicating a genetic basis of DCM. Many candidate gene studies in humans have tested the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in various genes coding for proteins with a known cardiovascular function. In our study we present the results of ZBTB17 gene rs10927875 polymorphism genotyping in relation to dilated cardiomyopathy in Slovak population. The study included 78 individuals, 39 patients with DCM and 39 healthy control persons. The mean age of patients with DCM was 50.7±11.5 years; the mean age of individuals in control group was 51.3±9.8 years. Risk factors detected at baseline in each group included age, sex, body mass index, smoking status, diabetes and blood pressure. Genomic DNA was extracted from leukocytes by a standard methodology and screened for rs10927875 polymorphism in intron of ZBTB17 gene using Real-time PCR method (Step One Applied Biosystems). The distribution of investigated genotypes for rs10927875 polymorphism in the group of patients with DCM was as follows: CC (89.74%), CT (10.26%), TT (0%), and the distribution in the control group: CC (92.31%), CT (5.13%), and TT (2.56%). Using the chi-square (χ2) test we compared genotype and allele frequencies between patients and controls. There was no difference in genotype or allele frequencies in ZBTB17 gene rs10927875 polymorphism between patients and control group (χ2=3.028, p=0.220; χ2=0.264, p=0.608). Our results represent an initial study, it can be considered as preliminary and first of its kind in Slovak population. Further studies of ZBTB17 gene polymorphisms of more numerous files and additional functional investigations are needed to fully understand the role of genetic associations.

Keywords: dilated cardiomyopathy, SNP polymorphism, ZBTB17 gene, bioscience

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Authors: C. F. Popoola, K. Akinsanya, S. B. Babarinde, D. A. Farinde

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This study investigated published financial statement as correlate of investment decision among commercial bank stakeholders in Nigeria. A correlation research design was used in the study. 180 users of published financial statement were purposively sampled from Lagos and Ibadan. Data generated were analyzed using Pearson correlation and regression. The findings of the study revealed that, balance sheet is negatively related with investment decision (r=-.483; p < .01) while income statement (r= .249; p < .001), notes on the account (r= .230; p < .001), cash flow statement (r= .202; p < .001), value added statement (r= .328; p < .001) and five-year financial summary (r= .191 ;p < .01) are positively related with investment decision. Findings also revealed that components of published financial statement significantly predicted good investment decision (R2= .983; F(5,175)=284.5; p < .05) for commercial bank stakeholders. Therefore, it was suggested that Nigeria banks and professional bodies should instigate programs that will increase the knowledge of stakeholders on published financial statement.

Keywords: commercial banks, financial statement, income statement, investment decision, stakeholders

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Authors: Nisful Laila, Fatin Fadhilah Hasib, Puji Sucia Sukmaningrum, Achsania Hendratmi

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The purpose of this study is to determine and comparing the level of efficiency of Islamic Banks in Indonesia and United Kingdom during eurozone sovereign debt crisis. This study using a quantitative non-parametric approach with Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) VRS assumption, and a statistical tool Mann-Whitney U-Test. The samples are 11 Islamic Banks in Indonesia and 4 Islamic Banks in England. This research used mediating approach. Input variable consists of total deposit, asset, and the cost of labour. Output variable consists of financing and profit/loss. This study shows that the efficiency of Islamic Bank in Indonesia and United Kingdom are varied and fluctuated during the observation period. There is no significant different the efficiency performance of Islamic Banks in Indonesia and United Kingdom.

Keywords: data envelopment analysis, efficiency, eurozone crisis, islamic bank

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Authors: Maulana Ayoub Ali

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Malayan Pilgrims Savings Corporation was introduced in 1963. Six years later, Malaysian Pilgrims Fund Board (Tabung Haji) was formed. The board used to collect funds from pilgrims who expected to perform pilgrimage in the future dates. Money was collected and kept as per given rules and procedures emanated from Islamic sources of law. Twenty years later, the country was ready to run a fully fledged Islamic bank where the Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (BIMB) came into existence in the year 1983. This paper investigates stages of development of Islamic banking system in Malaysia from 1983 to date. This study discovered that Malaysia had enough time to make Islamic banking system works alongside conventional banking system and for sure, has successfully managed to come up with the comprehensive and workable financial system which accommodates both the conventional and Islamic banking. As a result, Malaysia stands to be the hub of Islamic banking products and services in the world today.

Keywords: Tabung Haji, Islamic Banks, conventional law, Malaysia

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Authors: Adijat Olubukola Olateju

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Women empowerment is an essential developmental tool in every economy especially in less developed countries; as it helps to enhance women's socio-economic well-being. Some empirical evidence has shown that microcredit has been an effective tool in enhancing women empowerment, especially in developing countries. This paper therefore, investigates the impact of microcredit programme on women empowerment in Lagos State, Nigeria. The study used Cowries Microfinance Bank (CMB) as a case study bank, and a total of 359 women entrepreneurs were selected by simple random sampling technique from the list of Cowries Microfinance Bank. Selection bias which could arise from non-random selection of participants or non-random placement of programme, was adjusted for by dividing the data into participant women entrepreneurs and non-participant women entrepreneurs. The data were analyzed with a Propensity Score Matching (PSM) technique. The result of the Average Treatment Effect on the Treated (ATT) obtained from the PSM indicates that the credit programme has a significant effect on the empowerment of women in the study area. It is therefore, recommended that microfinance banks should be encouraged to give loan to women and for more impact of the loan to be felt by the beneficiaries the loan programme should be complemented with other programmes such as training, grant, and periodic monitoring of programme should be encouraged.

Keywords: empowerment, microcredit, socio-economic wellbeing, development

Procedia PDF Downloads 298

Authors: Huong M. T. Nguyen, Hoa A. P. Nguyen, Mai P. T. Nguyen, Ngoc D. Ngo, Van T. Ta, Hai T. Le, Chi V. Phan

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Wilson’s disease (WD) is an autosomal recessive disorder of the copper metabolism, which is caused by a mutation in the copper-transporting P-type ATPase (ATP7B). The mechanism of this disease is the failure of hepatic excretion of copper to bile, and leads to copper deposits in the liver and other organs. The ATP7B gene is located on the long arm of chromosome 13 (13q14.3). This study aimed to investigate the gene mutation in the Vietnamese patients with WD, and make a presymptomatic diagnosis for their familial members. Forty-three WD patients and their 65 siblings were identified as having ATP7B gene mutations. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples; 21 exons and exon-intron boundaries of the ATP7B gene were analyzed by direct sequencing. We recognized four mutations ([R723=; H724Tfs*34], V1042Cfs*79, D1027H, and IVS6+3A>G) in the sum of 20 detectable mutations, accounting for 87.2% of the total. Mutation S105* was determined to have a high rate (32.6%) in this study. The hotspot regions of ATP7B were found at exons 2, 16, and 8, and intron 14, in 39.6 %, 11.6 %, 9.3%, and 7 % of patients, respectively. Among nine homozygote/compound heterozygote siblings of the patients with WD, three individuals were determined as asymptomatic by screening mutations of the probands. They would begin treatment after diagnosis. In conclusion, 20 different mutations were detected in 43 WD patients. Of this number, four novel mutations were explored, including [R723=; H724Tfs*34], V1042Cfs*79, D1027H, and IVS6+3A>G. The mutation S105* is the most prevalent and has been considered as a biomarker that can be used in a rapid detection assay for diagnosis of WD patients. Exons 2, 8, and 16, and intron 14 should be screened initially for WD patients in Vietnam. Based on risk profile for WD, genetic testing for presymptomatic patients is also useful in diagnosis and treatment.

Keywords: ATP7B gene, mutation detection, presymptomatic diagnosis, Vietnamese Wilson’s disease

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Authors: Idris Lawal

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Electronic payment system is simply a payment or monetary transaction made over the internet or a network of computers. This study was carried out in order to assess how electronic payment system has impacted on banks service delivery, to examine the efficiency of electronic payment system in Nigeria and to determine the level of customer's satisfaction as a direct result of the deployment of electronic payment systems. It is an empirical study conducted using structured questionnaire distributed to officials and customers of Access Bank plc. Chi-square(x2) was adopted for the purpose of data analysis. The result of the study showed that the development of electronic payment system offer great benefit to bank customers including improved services, reduced turn-around time, ease of banking transaction, significant cost saving etc. The study recommends that customer protection laws should be properly put in place to safeguard the interest of end users of e-payment instruments.

Keywords: bank, electronic payment systems, service delivery, customer's satisfaction

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Authors: Takuro Kida, Yuichi Kida

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In this paper, it is shown a base of the new trend of algorithm mathematically that treats a historical reason of continuous discrimination in the world as well as its solution by introducing new concepts of parallel world that includes an invisible set of errors as its companion. With respect to a matrix operator-filter bank that the matrix operator-analysis-filter bank H and the matrix operator-sampling-filter bank S are given, firstly, we introduce the detail algorithm to derive the optimum matrix operator-synthesis-filter bank Z that minimizes all the worst-case measures of the matrix operator-error-signals E(ω) = F(ω) − Y(ω) between the matrix operator-input-signals F(ω) and the matrix operator-output-signals Y(ω) of the matrix operator-filter bank at the same time. Further, feedback is introduced to the above approximation theory, and it is indicated that introducing conversations with feedback do not superior automatically to the accumulation of existing knowledge of signal prediction. Secondly, the concept of category in the field of mathematics is applied to the above optimum signal approximation and is indicated that the category-based approximation theory is applied to the set-theoretic consideration of the recognition of humans. Based on this discussion, it is shown naturally why the narrow perception that tends to create isolation shows an apparent advantage in the short term and, often, why such narrow thinking becomes intimate with discriminatory action in a human group. Throughout these considerations, it is presented that, in order to abolish easy and intimate discriminatory behavior, it is important to create a parallel world of conception where we share the set of invisible error signals, including the words and the consciousness of both worlds.

Keywords: matrix filterbank, optimum signal approximation, category theory, simultaneous minimization

Procedia PDF Downloads 135

Authors: Mudawamah Mudawamah, Muhammad Z. Fadli, Gatot Ciptadi, Aulanni’am

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Canary breeders have spread throughout Indonesian regions for the low-middle society and become an income source for them. The interesting phenomenon of the canary market is the feather colours become one of determining factor for the price. The advantages of this research were contributed to the molecular database as a base of selection and mating for the Indonesia canary breeder. The research method was experiment with the genome obtained from canary blood isolation. The genome did the PCR amplification with PMEL marker followed by sequencing. Canaries were used 24 heads of light and dark colour feathers. Research data analyses used BioEdit and Network 4.6.0.0 software. The results showed that all samples were amplification with PMEL gene with 500 bp fragment length. In base sequence of 40 was found Cytosine(C) in the light colour canaries, while the dark colour canaries was obtained Thymine (T) in same base sequence. Sequence results had 286-415 bp fragment and 10 haplotypes. The conclusions were the PMEL gene (gene of white pigment) was likely to be used PMEL gene to detect molecular genetic variation of dark and light colour feather.

Keywords: canary, haplotype, PMEL, sequence

Procedia PDF Downloads 231