Search results for: immune gene therapy

Authors: Karim Mohamed Fawzy Ghuiba, Alaa Aldeen Abd Al Hakeem Balbaa, Shams Elbaz

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Objectives: To compare between the effects continuous and pulsed ultrasound on pain and function in patient with knee osteoarthritis. Design: Randomized-Single blinded Study. Participants: 6 patients with knee osteoarthritis with mean age 53.66±3.61years, Altman Grade II or III. Interventions: Subjects were randomly assigned into two groups; Group A received continuous ultrasound and Group B received pulsed ultrasound. Outcome measures: Effects of pulsed and continuous ultrasound were evaluated by pain threshold assessed by visual analogue scale (VAS) scores and function assessed by the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis index (WOMAC) scores. Results: There was no significant decrease in VAS and WOMAC scores in patients treated with pulsed or continuous ultrasound; and there were no significant differences between both groups. Conclusion: there is no difference between the effects of pulsed and continuous ultrasound in pain relief or functional outcome in patients with knee osteoarthritis.

Keywords: knee osteoarthritis, pulsed ultrasound, ultrasound therapy, continuous ultrasound

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Authors: Aisha Khodijah Kholib Jati, Suharni Mohamad, Azlan Husin, Wan Suriana Wan Ab Rahman

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Introduction: Toxoplasmosis is caused by an obligate intracellular parasite, Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii). It is commonly asymptomatic in normal individual, but it can be fatal to immunocompromised patients as it can lead to severe complications such as encephalitis, chorioetinitis and myocarditis. Objective: The aim of the study was to determine the seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis and its association with socio-demographic and behavioral characteristics among hemato-oncology patients in Hospital USM. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 56 hemato-oncology patients were screened for immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies, immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies, and IgG avidity of T. gondii by using ELISA Kit (BioRad, USA). For anti-T. gondii IgG antibody, titer ≥ 9 IU/ml was considered as recent infection, while for IgM, ratio ≥ 1.00 was considered as reactive for the anti-T. gondii IgM antibodies. Low avidity index is considered as recent infection within 20 weeks while high avidity considered as past infection. T. gondii exposure, socio-demographic and behavioral characteristics was assessed by a questionnaire and interview. Results: A total of 28 (50.0%) hemato-oncology patients were seropositive for T. gondii antibodies. Out of that total, 27 (48.21%) patients were IgG+/IgM- and one patient (1.79%) was IgG+/IgM+ with high avidity index. Univariate analysis showed that age, gender, ethnicity, marital status, educational level, employment status, stem cell transplant, blood transfusion, close contact with cats, water supply, and consumption of undercooked meat were not significantly associated with Toxoplasma seropositivity rate. Discussion: The seropositivity rate of IgG anti-T. gondii was high among hemato-oncology patients in Hospital USM. With impaired immune system, these patients might have a severe consequence if the infection reactivated. Therefore, screening for anti-T. gondii may be considered in the future. Moreover, health programme towards healthy food and good hygiene practice need to be implemented.

Keywords: immunocompromised, seroprevalence, socio-demographic, toxoplasmosis

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Authors: Jihoon Yang, Jeong II Choi

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Mincle is expressed in macrophages and is members of immunoreceptors induced after exposure to various stimuli and stresses. Mincle receptor activation promotes the production of these substances by increasing the transcription of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Cytokines, which play an important role in the initiation and maintenance of such inflammatory pain diseases, have a significant effect on sensory neurons in addition to their enhancement and inhibitory effects on immune and inflammatory cells as mediators of cell interaction. Glial cells in the central nervous system play a critical role in development and maintenance of chronic pain states. Microglia are tissue-resident macrophages in the central nervous system, and belong to a group of mononuclear phagocytes. In the central nervous system, mincle receptor is present in neurons and glial cells of the brain.This study was performed to identify the Mincle receptor in the spinal cord and to investigate the effect of Mincle receptor activation on nociception and the changes of microglia. Materials and Methods: C-type lectins(Mincle) was identified in spinal cord of Male Sprague–Dawley rats. Then, mincle receptor ligand (TDB), via an intrathecal catheter. Mechanical allodynia was measured using von Frey test to evaluate the effect of intrathecal injection of TDB. Result: The present investigation shows that the intrathecal administration of TDB in the rat produces a reliable and quantifiable mechanical hyperalgesia. In addition, The mechanical hyperalgesia after TDB injection gradually developed over time and remained until 10 days. Mincle receptor is identified in the spinal cord, mainly expressed in neuronal cells, but not in microglia or astrocyte. These results suggest that activation of mincle receptor pathway in neurons plays an important role in inducing activation of microglia and inducing mechanical allodynia.

Keywords: mincle, spinal cord, pain, microglia

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Authors: Jalal Fazli Amiri, Mohammad Hossein Shahir, Mohammad Hossein Nemati, Afshin Heidarinia

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The current study was performed to investigate the effects of arginine, threonine, and glutamine supplementation in excess of requirements in the starter period (17 days) on performance, intestinal morphology, and immune response of broilers. Four hundred and sixteen male day-old chicks were assigned in a 2×2×2 factorial arrangement to a completely randomized design with four replicates (13 birds per replicate ). Treatments were: a control group that received the basal diet, basal diet plus 1% glutamine, basal diet plus 0.2% threonine, basal diet plus 0.75 % arginine, and combination of these three amino acids (glutamine+arginine, glutamine+threonine, arginine+threonine and arginine+ glutamine+threonine). The effect of glutamine supplementation on feed intake was significant in week 4 (p < 0.05), week 6 (p < 0.001), and total feed intake (p < 0.05) and caused declined feed intake. No significant differences of glutamine addition were observed on intestinal morphology (villi height, crypt depth, villi height to crypt depth ratio, villi width). Threonine supplementation caused increased weight gain in week 2 (p < 0.001) and 3 and a decrease of total feed intake (p < 0.05). Duodenum and jejunum villi height, crypt depth, villi height to crypt depth ratio, villi width were not affected. The effect of arginine supplementation was the increase of breast percentage (p < 0.05) and a decrease of jejunum villi high (p < 0.05) and Jejunum crypt depth (p < 0.05). Supplementation of arginine, threonine, and glutamine had no significant effects on blood titer of antibodies against Newcastle disease, infectious bronchitis, avian influenza. Overall, it seems that the supplementation of arginine, threonine, and glutamine in excess of requirements in the starter period had no effect on performance in subsequent periods and intestinal morphology.

Keywords: intestinal morphology, immunity, broiler chickens, glutamine, arginine, threonine

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Authors: R. M. Srivastava, Subbanna A.R.N.S, Md Abbas Ahmad, S. P.More, Shivashankar, B. Kalyanbabu

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The similar morphology associated with high genetic variability poses problems in phylogenetic studies of Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner). To identify genetic variation of North Western Himalayan population’s, partial (Mid to terminal region) cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COX-1) gene was amplified and sequenced for three populations collected from Pantnagar, Almora, and Chinyalisaur. The alignment of sequences with other two populations, Nagpur representing central India population and Anhui, China representing complete COX-1 sequence revealed unanimity in middle region with eleven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in Nagpur populations. However, the consensus is missing when approaching towards terminal region, which is associated with 15 each SNPs and pair base substitutions in Chinyalisaur populations. In minimum evolution tree, all the five populations were majorly separated into two clades, one comprising of only Nagpur population and the other with rest. Amongst, North Western populations, Chinyalisaur one is promising by farming a separate clade. The pairwise genetic distance ranges from 0.025 to 0.192 with the maximum between H. armigera populations of Nagpur and Chinyalisaur. This genetic isolation of populations can be attributed to a key role of topological barriers of weather and mountain ranges and temporal barriers due to cropping patterns.

Keywords: cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, northwestern Himalayan population, Helicoverpa armigera (Noctuidae: Lepidoptera), phylogenetic relationship, genetic variation

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Authors: Mudassar Iqbal, Riaz Hussain, Khalid Mehmood, Farah Ali, Fazal Mahmood, Abdul Ghaffar

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Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis is an important cause of caseous lymphadenitis (CL), a complex, chronic devastating and destructive disease of small ruminants. In present study, postmortem examination of Chinkara deer (n=25) was conducted in year 2014. Pus samples suggestive of CL were collected from the superficial lymph nodes, liver, spleen and lungs during necropsy and subjected to standard microbiological procedures for isolation and molecular analysis of bacterial pathogens. Pus samples collected from carcasses (25) presenting clinical lesions of C. pseudotuberculosis infection was identified in 19 (76%) carcasses on the basis of culture characteristics. The frequency of C. pseudotuberculosis bacterium was higher in older animals as compared to young animals. Grossly, multiple tubercles of variable size having caseous material were observed in liver, lungs, spleen and lymph nodes. Histopathologically, tissue sections from all the visceral organs were extensively plugged with abscess. In present study specific prolineiminopeptidase (PIP) gene of the C. pseudotuberculosis was amplified by the Polymerase chain reaction technique (PCR) in 17(25) cases. The efficient and reliable molecular analysis along with necropsy findings in present study can be used as valuable approach for diagnosis of caseous lymphadenitis in small ruminants.

Keywords: Chinkara deer, Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis, Caseous lymphadenitis, PCR

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Authors: Ebtissam Saleh Al-Meghaiseeb, Abdulaziz Al Masood, Abdulrahman Al-Robayan, Reem Al-Amro, Misbahul Arfin, Abdulrahman Al Asmari

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Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of apolipoprotein E (APOE) polymorphism on the onset of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Saudi patients. Methods: APOE gene was genotyped to evaluate the frequencies of the alleles and genotypes in Saudi subjects, including IBD patients (n=200) and matched controls (n=200), using APOE StripAssayTM kit (ViennaLab Labordiagnostika GmbH, Vienna, Austria). Results: The frequencies of alleles and genotypes of APOE differed in patients and controls. The APOE allele ε2 and ε4, genotype ε2/ε3 and ε2/ε4 were significantly higher in the IBD patients than the healthy controls. The frequencies of ε3 allele and ε3/ε3 genotype were higher in the control group as compared to patients. The higher prevalence of allele ε2 and ε4 allele in patients compared to that in controls suggested that ε2 and ε4 alleles may increase the risk of IBD. Results also indicated that APOE ε4 allele was associated with early age at onset of IBD. On the other hand, the decreased frequencies of ε3 allele and ε3/ε3 genotype in patients as compared to those in the controls suggested a protective effect of APOE ε3 for IBD susceptibility. In this study, the frequency distribution of APOE alleles and genotypes was not affected by the gender or type of IBD (familial or sporadic). Conclusion: This study indicates that APOE polymorphism plays a significant role in developing IBD and early age of onset in Saudi patients. However, further studies with large-size sample are warranted to confirm this relationship.

Keywords: APOE, polymorphism, IBD, saudis

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Authors: Gomes C. C. Izabel, Lanzotti B. Rafaela, Orlandi S. Fabiana

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Chronic Kidney Disease is considered a serious public health problem. The exploitation of resilience has been guided by studies conducted in various contexts, especially in hemodialysis, since the impact of diagnosis and restrictions produced during the treatment process because, despite advances in treatment, remains the stigma of the disease and the feeling of pain, hopelessness, low self-esteem and disability. The objective was to evaluate the level of resilience of patients in chronic renal dialysis. This is a descriptive, correlational, cross and quantitative research. The sample consisted of 100 patients from a Renal Replacement Therapy Unit in the countryside of São Paulo. For data collection were used the characterization instrument of Participants and the Resilience Scale. There was a predominance of males (70.0%) were Caucasian (45.0%) and had completed elementary education (34.0%). The average score obtained through the Resilience Scale was 131.3 (± 20.06) points. The resiliency level submitted may be considered satisfactory. It is expected that this study will assist in the preparation of programs and actions in order to avoid possible situations of crises faced by chronic renal patients.

Keywords: hemodialysis units, renal dialysis, renal insufficiency chronic, resilience psychological

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Authors: Lívia Pimentel Sant'ana Dourado, Raquel Das Neves Almeida, Luís Henrique Costa Corrêa Neto, Nayara Soares, Kelly Grace Magalhães

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Introduction: Obesity and high-fat diet intake have a crucial impact on immune cells and inflammatory profile, highlighting an emerging realization that obesity is an inflammatory disease. In the present work, we aimed to characterize the role of caspase-1/11 and NLRP3 inflammasome in the establishment of mice obesity and modulation of inflammatory lipid metabolism induced by high fat diet intake. Methods and results: Wild type, caspase-1/11 and NLRP3 knockout mice were fed with standard fat diet (SFD) or high fat diet (HFD) for 90 days. The weight of animals was measured weekly to monitor the weight gain. After 90 days, the blood, peritoneal lavage cells, heart and liver were collected from mice studied here. Cytokines were measured in serum by ELISA and analyzed in spectrophotometry. Lipid antigen presentation molecule CD1d expression, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and lipid droplets biogenesis were analyzed in cells from mice peritoneal cavity by flow cytometry. Liver histopathology was performed for morphological evaluation of the organ. The absence of caspase-1/11, but not NLRP3, in mice fed with HFD favored the mice weight gain, increased liver size, induced development of hepatic steatosis and IL-12 secretion in mice compared to mice fed with SFD. In addition, caspase-1/11 knockout mice fed with HFD presented an increased CD1d molecule expression, as well as higher levels of lipid droplets biogenesis and ROS generation compared to wild type mice also fed with HFD. Conclusion: Our data suggest that caspase-1/11 knockout mice have greater susceptibility to obesity as well as increased activation of lipid metabolism and inflammatory markers.

Keywords: caspase 1, caspase 11, inflamassome, obesity, lipids

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Authors: Purwati, Sony Wibisono, Ari Sutjahjo, Askandar T. J., Fedik A. Rantam

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Diabetes mellitus type 2 (T2DM), also known as hyperglycemia, results from insulin resistance and relative insulin deficiency. Diabetes mellitus is the main cause of premature death, particularly among individuals under the age of 70 years old. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can release bioactive molecules that promote tissue repair and regeneration. Hence, in this research, we evaluated the potential of autologous adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AD-MSCs) in 40 patients of phase I clinical trial in T2DM with various ages between 30-79 years. AD-MSCs are transferred through catheterization. MSCs were validated by measures of CD105+ and CD34- expression. The result showed that after AD-MSCs transplantation, blood glucose levels (fasting and 2-hour postprandial) and insulin levels were significantly decreasing. Besides that, the level of HbA1c significantly decreased after three months of AD-MSCs injection and increasing level of c-peptide after injection. Thus, we conclude that AD-MSCs injection has the potential for T2DM therapy.

Keywords: glucose, hyperglycemia, MSCs, T2DM

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Authors: Yahaya Salihu Emeje, Amuchie Austine Anthony

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The topic examined the prospects of entrepreneurship as an emerging dynamic and strategic tool in the upliftment of human and non-human resources in the Nigerian university system, with a view of showcasing the abundant positive impact, on the Nigerian University system in particular and Nigerian economy at large. It is end at bringing out the benefits of entrepreneurship in the university system which includes, namely cultivating the culture of enterprise in University system; improvement in the quality and quantity of both human and non-human resources; innovative and creative methods of production; new employment strategies in the University system; improved sources of internal generated revenue; entrepreneurship as the culture of sustainability within and outside the university system. Secondary data was used in analyzing entrepreneurship as a productivity tool in the Nigeria University system. From the findings, the university system could be enriched through innovative ideas and technical revenue and employment generation; sustainable financial and economic base; university autonomy and improved international ranking of Nigerian Universities system; therefore, recommended that entrepreneurship is necessary therapy for reviving the ailing, Nigerian universities system.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, strategic, productivity, universities

Procedia PDF Downloads 382

Authors: Sana Gul, Sheeba Murad, Aneela Javed

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Introduction: Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is small DNA virus mostly infecting mucosa and cutaneous keratinocytes. So far, more than 200 Human papillomaviruses are known. HPV have been divided into high- and low-risk on the basis of their oncogenic potential. High risk HPV is considered to be the main etiological cause for cervical cancer. Objective: Current study was designed to screen the local cervical cancer patients from the twin cities of Pakistan for the occurance of high risk HPV. Methodology: A total of 67 formalin fixed paraffin-embedded samples of cervical cancer biopsies were obtained from the government hospitals in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Cervical cancer biopsies were examined for the presence of HPV DNA. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used for the amplification of a region in the HPV-L1 gene for the general detection of the Papilloma virus and for the genotype specific detection of high risk HPV 16 and 18 using the GP5/GP6 primers and genotype specific primers respectively. Results: HPV DNA was detected in 59 out of 67 samples analyzed. 30 samples showed the presence of HPV16 while 22 samples were positive for HPV 18 . HPV subtype could not be determined in 7 samples. Conclusion: Our results show a strong association between HPV infection and cervical cancer among women in twin cities of Pakistan. One way to minimize the disease burden in relation to HPV infection in Pakistani population is the use of prophylactic vaccines and routine screening. An early diagnosis of HPV infection will allow better health management to reduce the risk of developing cervical cancer.

Keywords: cervical cancer, Pakistan, human papillomavirus, HPV 16

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Authors: Mohd Adil, Rosina Khan, Danishuddin, Asad U. Khan

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The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of the crude and active solvent fraction of Trachyspermum ammi on S. mutans cariogenicity, effect on expression of genes involved in biofilm formation and caries development in rats. GC–MS was carried out to identify the major components present in the crude and the active fraction of T. ammi. The crude extract and the solvent fraction exhibiting least MIC were selected for further experiments. Scanning electron microscopy was carried out to observe the effect of the extracts on S. mutans biofilm. Comparative gene expression analysis was carried out for nine selected genes. 2-Isopropyl-5-methyl-phenol was found as major compound in crude and the active fraction. Binding site of this compound within the proteins involved in biofilm formation was mapped with the help of docking studies. Real-time RT-PCR analyses revealed significant suppression of the genes involved in biofilm formation. All the test groups showed reduction in caries (smooth surface as well as sulcal surface caries) in rats. Moreover, it also provides new insight to understand the mechanism influencing biofilm formation in S. mutans. Furthermore, the data suggest the putative cariostatic properties of T. Ammi and hence can be used as an alternative medicine to prevent caries infection.

Keywords: bio-film, Streptococcus mutans, dental caries, bio-informatic

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Authors: Eun-Joong Kim, Sankarprasad Bhuniya, Hyunseung Lee, Hyun Min Kim, Chaejoon Cheong, Su-khendu Maiti, Kwan Soo Hong, Jong Seung Kim

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Metastatic cancers have historically been difficult to treat. However, metastatic tumors have been found to have high levels of reactive oxygen species such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), supporting the hypothesis that a prodrug could be activated by intracellular H2O2 and lead to a potential anti-metastatic therapy. In this study, prodrug 7 was designed to be activated by H2O2-mediated boronate oxidation, resulting in activation of the fluorophore for detection and release of the therapeutic agent, SN-38. Drug release from prodrug 7 was investigated by monitoring fluorescence after addition of H2O2 to the cancer cells. Prodrug 7 activated by H2O2 selectively inhibited tumor cell growth. Furthermore, intratracheally administered prodrug 7 showed effective anti-tumor activity in a mouse model of metastatic lung disease. Thus, this H2O2-responsive prodrug has therapeutic potential as a novel treatment for metastatic cancer via cellular imaging with fluorescence as well as selective release of the anti-cancer drug, SN-38.

Keywords: hydrogen peroxide, prodrug, metastatic tumors, fluorescence

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Authors: Huan Peng, Chenye Zeng, Zhao Wang

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Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disease that is a leading cause of dementia syndromes and has become a huge burden on society and families. The main pathological features of AD involve excessive deposition of β-amyloid (Aβ) and Tau proteins in the brain, resulting in loss of neurons, expansion of neuroinflammation, and cognitive dysfunction in patients. Researchers have found effective drugs to clear the brain of error-accumulating proteins or to slow the loss of neurons, but their direct administration has key bottlenecks such as single-drug limitation, rapid blood clearance rate, impenetrable blood-brain barrier (BBB), and poor ability to target tissues and cells. Therefore, we are committed to seeking a suitable and efficient delivery system. Inspired by the possibility that exosomes may be involved in the secretion and transport mechanism of many signaling molecules or proteins in the brain, exosomes have attracted extensive attention as natural nanoscale drug carriers. We selected exosomes derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSC-EXO) with low immunogenicity and exosomes derived from hippocampal neurons (HT22-EXO) that may have excellent homing ability to overcome the deficiencies of oral or injectable pathways and bypass the BBB through nasal administration and evaluated their delivery ability and effect on AD. First, MSC-EXO and HT22 cells were isolated and cultured, and MSCs were identified by microimaging and flow cytometry. Then MSC-EXO and HT22-EXO were obtained by gradient centrifugation and qEV SEC separation column, and a series of physicochemical characterization were performed by transmission electron microscope, western blot, nanoparticle tracking analysis and dynamic light scattering. Next, exosomes labeled with lipophilic fluorescent dye were administered to WT mice and APP/PS1 mice to obtain fluorescence images of various organs at different times. Finally, APP/PS1 mice were administered intranasally with two exosomes 20 times over 40 days and 20 μL each time. Behavioral analysis and pathological section analysis of the hippocampus were performed after the experiment. The results showed that MSC-EXO and HT22-EXO were successfully isolated and characterized, and they had good biocompatibility. MSC-EXO showed excellent brain enrichment in APP/PS1 mice after intranasal administration, could improve the neuronal damage and reduce inflammation levels in the hippocampus of APP/PS1 mice, and the improvement effect was significantly better than HT22-EXO. However, intranasal administration of the two exosomes did not cause depression and anxious-like phenotypes in APP/PS1 mice, nor significantly improved the short-term or spatial learning and memory ability of APP/PS1 mice, and had no significant effect on the content of Aβ plaques in the hippocampus, which also meant that MSC-EXO could use their own advantages in combination with other drugs to clear Aβ plaques. The possibility of realizing highly effective non-invasive synergistic treatment for AD provides new strategies and ideas for clinical research.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cell, intranasal administration, therapy-carrier dual roles

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Authors: M. Polic, N. Cesarec Salopek

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When it comes to crisis, no company, notwithstanding its financial success, power or reputation is immune to the new environment and circumstances emerging from it. The main challenge company faces with during a crisis is to protect its most valuable intangible asset reputation. Crisis has the serious potential to disrupt company’s everyday operations and damage its reputation extremely fast, especially if the company did not anticipate threats that may cause a crisis. Therefore, when a crisis happens, company must directly respond to it, whilst an effective crisis communication can limit consequences arising from the crisis, protect and repair the reputational damage caused to the company. Since every crisis is unique, each one of it requires different crisis response strategy. In July 2018, airline labor unions threatened Croatia Airlines, the state owned flag carrier of Croatia, to hold a strike that would be called into question regular flights and affect more than 7.600 passengers per day. This study explores the differences between crisis response strategies that Croatia Airlines, the state owned flag carrier of Croatia and airline labor unions used during the crisis period within the Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) by analyzing the content of formal communication tools used by Croatia Airlines and airline labor unions. Moreover, this study shows how Croatia Airlines successfully managed to communicate to the general public the threat that airline labor unions imposed on it and how was it received by the Croatian media. By using the qualitative and quantitative content analysis, the study will reveal the frames that dominated in the media articles during the crisis period. The greatest significance of this study is that it will provide the deeper insight into how transparent and consistent communication, the one that Croatia Airlines used before and during the crisis period, contributed to the decision of the competent court (Zagreb County Court) which prohibited labor unions strike in August 2018.

Keywords: crisis communication, crisis response strategy, Croatia Airlines, labor union, reputation management, situational crisis communication theory, strike

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Authors: An Guo, Hieyong Jeong, Tianyi Wang, Na Li, Yuko Ohno

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Acupuncture, known as sensory simulation, has been used to treat various disorders for thousands of years. However, present studies had not addressed approaches for noninvasive measurement in order to evaluate therapeutic effect of acupuncture. The purpose of this study is to propose a noninvasive method to evaluate acupuncture by measuring facial temperature through thermal image. Three human subjects were recruited in this study. Each subject received acupuncture therapy for 30 mins. Acupuncture needles (Ø0.16 x 30 mm) were inserted into Baihui point (DU20), Neiguan points (PC6) and Taichong points (LR3), acupuncture needles (Ø0.18 x 39 mm) were inserted into Tanzhong point (RN17), Zusanli points (ST36) and Yinlingquan points (SP9). Facial temperature was recorded by an infrared thermometer. Acupuncture therapeutic effect was compared pre- and post-acupuncture. Experiment results demonstrated that facial temperature changed according to acupuncture therapeutic effect. It was concluded that proposed method showed high potential to evaluate acupuncture by noninvasive measurement of facial temperature.

Keywords: acupuncture, facial temperature, noninvasive evaluation, thermal image

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Authors: Juan Jose Filgueira, Daniela Londono-Serna, Liliana Maria Hoyos

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Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus) is one of the most important products of exportation in the floriculture industry worldwide. Fusariosis is the disease that causes the highest losses on farms, in particular the one produced by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. dianthi, called vascular wilt. Gene identification and metabolic routes of the genes that participate in the building of the plant response to Fusarium are some of the current targets in the carnation breeding industry. The techniques for the identifying of resistant genes in the plants, is the analysis of the transcriptome obtained during the host-pathogen interaction. In this work, we report the cell transcriptome of different varieties of carnation that present differential response from Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. dianthi attack. The cells of the different hybrids produced in the outbreeding program were cultured in vitro and elicited with the parasite in a dual culture. The isolation and purification of mRNA was achieved by using affinity chromatography Oligo dT columns and the transcriptomes were obtained by using Illumina NGS techniques. A total of 85,669 unigenes were detected in all the transcriptomes analyzed and 31,000 annotations were found in databases, which correspond to 36.2%. The library construction of genic expression techniques used, allowed to recognize the variation in the expression of genes such as Germin-like protein, Glycosyl hydrolase family and Cinnamate 4-hydroxylase. These have been reported in this study for the first time as part of the response mechanism to the presence of Fusarium oxysporum.

Keywords: Carnation, Fusarium, vascular wilt, transcriptome

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Authors: M. Chaichanyut, S. Tungjitkusolmun

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This paper is concerned with microwave (MW) ablation for a liver cancer tissue by using helix antenna. The antenna structure supports the propagation of microwave energy at 2.45 GHz. A 1½ turn spiral catheter-based microwave antenna applicator has been developed. We utilize the three-dimensional finite element method (3D FEM) simulation to analyze where the tissue heat flux, lesion pattern and volume destruction during MW ablation. The configurations of helix antenna where Helix air-core antenna and Helix Dielectric-core antenna. The 3D FEMs solutions were based on Maxwell and bio-heat equations. The simulation protocol was power control (10 W, 300s). Our simulation result, both helix antennas have heat flux occurred around the helix antenna and that can be induced the temperature distribution similar (teardrop). The region where the temperature exceeds 50°C the microwave ablation was successful (i.e. complete destruction). The Helix air-core antenna and Helix Dielectric-core antenna, ablation zone or axial ratios (Widest/length) were respectively 0.82 and 0.85; the complete destructions were respectively 4.18 cm³ and 5.64 cm³.

Keywords: liver cancer, Helix antenna, finite element, microwave ablation

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Authors: Sonam Kumari

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Tuberculosis is the deadliest disease worldwide. Millions of people lose their lives every year due to this disease. It has turned lethal due to the erratic nature of its causative organism, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Mtb tends to enter into an inactive, dormant state and emerge to replicating state upon encountering favorable conditions. The mechanism by which Mtb switches from the dormant state to the replicative form is still poorly characterized. Proteome studies have given us an insight into the role of certain proteins in giving stupendous virulence to Mtb, but numerous dotsremain unconnected and unaccounted. The WhiB family of proteins is one such protein that is associated with developmental processes in actinomycetes. Mtb has seven such proteins (WhiB1 to WhiB7). WhiB proteins are transcriptional regulators; they regulate various essential genes of Mtbby binding to their promoter DNA. Biophysical parameters of the effect of DNA binding on WhiB proteins has not yet been appropriately characterized. Interaction with DNA induces conformational changes in the WhiB proteins, confirmed by steady-state fluorescence and circular dichroism spectroscopy. ITC has deduced thermodynamic parameters and the binding affinity of the interaction. Since these transcription factors are highly unstable in vitro, their stability and solubility were enhanced by the co-expression of molecular chaperones. The present study findings help determine the conditions under which the WhiB proteins interact with their interacting partner and the factors that influence their binding affinity. This is crucial in understanding their role in regulating gene expression in Mtbandin targeting WhiB proteins as a drug target to cure TB.

Keywords: mycobacterium tuberculosis, TB, whiB proteins, ITC

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Authors: Javier Enciso-Benavides, Fredy Fabian, Carlos Castaneda, Luis Alfaro, Alex Choque, Aparicio Aguilar, Javier Enciso

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Background: The use of biomarkers in breast cancer diagnosis, therapy, and prognosis has gained increasing interest. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a subpopulation of tumor cells that can drive tumor initiation and may cause relapse. Therefore, due to the importance of diagnosis, therapy, and prognosis, several biomarkers that characterize CSCs have been identified; however, in treatment-naïve triple-negative breast tumors, there is an urgent need to identify new biomarkers and therapeutic targets. According to this, the aim of this study was to identify serum proteins associated with cancer stem cells and pluripotency in women with triple-negative breast tumors in order to subsequently identify a biomarker for this type of breast tumor. Material and Methods: Whole blood samples from 12 women with histopathologically diagnosed triple-negative breast tumors were used after obtaining informed consent from the patient. Blood serum was obtained by conventional procedure and frozen at -80ºC. Identification of cancer stem cell-associated proteins was performed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation-assisted laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), protein analysis was obtained using the AB Sciex TOF/TOF™ 5800 system (AB Sciex, USA). Sequences not aligned by ProteinPilot™ software were analyzed by Protein BLAST. Results: The following proteins related to pluripotency and cancer stem cells were identified by MALDI TOF/TOF mass spectrometry: A-chain, Serpin A12 [Homo sapiens], AIEBP [Homo sapiens], Alpha-one antitrypsin, AT {internal fragment} [human, partial peptide, 20 aa] [Homo sapiens], collagen alpha 1 chain precursor variant [Homo sapiens], retinoblastoma-associated protein variant [Homo sapiens], insulin receptor, CRA_c isoform [Homo sapiens], Hydroxyisourate hydrolase [Streptomyces scopuliridis], MUCIN-6 [Macaca mulatta], Alpha-actinin-3 [Chrysochloris asiatica], Polyprotein M, CRA_d isoform, partial [Homo sapiens], Transcription factor SOX-12 [Homo sapiens]. Recommendations: The serum proteins identified in this study should be investigated in the exosome of triple-negative breast cancer stem cells and in the blood serum of women without breast cancer. Subsequently, proteins found only in the blood serum of women with triple-negative breast cancer should be identified in situ in triple-negative breast cancer tissue in order to identify a biomarker to study the evolution of this type of cancer, or that could be a therapeutic target. Conclusions: Eleven cancer stem cell-related serum proteins were identified in 12 women with triple-negative breast cancer, of which MUCIN-6, retinoblastoma-associated protein variant, transcription factor SOX-12, and collagen alpha 1 chain are the most representative and have not been studied so far in this type of breast tumor. Acknowledgement: This work was supported by Proyecto CONCYTEC–Banco Mundial “Mejoramiento y Ampliacion de los Servicios del Sistema Nacional de Ciencia Tecnología e Innovacion Tecnologica” 8682-PE (104-2018-FONDECYT-BM-IADT-AV).

Keywords: triple-negative breast cancer, MALDI TOF/TOF MS, serum proteins, cancer stem cells

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Authors: Arati Inamdar, Siddharth Bhattacharyya, Kester Haye

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Collision tumors are rare entities characterized by neoplasms of two different cell populations with distinct separating boundaries. Such tumors could be benign, malignant, or a combination of both. The exact mechanism of origin for collision tumors is predicted to be tumor heterogeneity or concurrent occurrence of neoplasm in the same organ. We present two cases of plasmacytoma presenting as a collision tumor, one with a tumor of hematological origin and another with a non-hematological origin, namely Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Adenocarcinoma of the colon, respectively. The immunohistochemical stains and flowcytometry analysis performed on the specimens aided incorrect diagnosis. Interestingly, neoplastic cells of plasmacytoma in the first case demonstrated strong cytokeratin along with weak Epithelial Specific Antigen/ Epithelial cell adhesion molecule Monoclonal Antibody (MOC31) positivity, indicating that the tumor may influence the microenvironment of the tumor in the vicinity. Furthermore, the next-generation sequencing studies performed on the specimen with plasmacytoma and chronic lymphocytic lymphoma demonstrated BReast CAncer gene (BRCA2) and Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha Induced Protein 3 (TNFAIP3) as a disease associated variants suggestive of risk for multiple tumors including collision tumors. Our reports highlight the unique collision tumors involving plasmacytoma, which have never been reported previously, as well as provide necessary insights about the underline genetic aberrations and tumor heterogeneity through sequencing studies and allow clonality assessment for subsequent tumors.

Keywords: BRCA2, collision tumor, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, plasmacytoma

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Authors: Hatice Hazal Okur, Ali Zein Alabiden Tlais, Andrea Polo, Michele Gelmi, Matteo Faè, Raffaella Di Cagno, Marco Gobbetti

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Dietary microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as potential key regulators of gene expression across kingdoms with promising implications for human health. However, their stability and bioavailability when ingested, particularly from plant sources, remain relatively unexplored. This study investigated the stability of three spinach-derived plant miRNAs (ath-miR159, ath-miR166, and ath-miR168) and explored the protective effects of sodium alginate encapsulation during in vitro digestion. miRNA levels were quantified following post-digestion by employing the simulated gastrointestinal digestion model (INFOGEST). miRNAs were isolated and then quantified through quantitative real-time PCR. Secondary structure predictions were conducted under physiological conditions to correlate miRNA stability with thermodynamic properties. Sodium alginate encapsulation significantly improved the stability of ath-miR159 and ath-miR166 compared to the non-encapsulated form. Secondary structure predictions revealed a more stable conformation for ath-miR168 compared to ath-miR159 and ath-miR166. These findings underscore the complex interplay between miRNA structure, encapsulation, and the gastrointestinal environment. While sodium alginate encapsulation has been demonstrated to be beneficial for enhancing the stability of certain miRNAs, tailored strategies are essential for accomplishing the most effective miRNA delivery.

Keywords: dietary miRNA, In vitro digestion, plant miRNA, sodium alginate encapsulation

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Authors: Naveed Zahra, Zahid Kamran, Shakeel Ahmad

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Heat stress is one of the most important environmental stressors challenging poultry production worldwide. The detrimental effect of heat stress results in reduction in the productive performance of poultry with high incidences of mortality. Researchers have made efforts to prevent such damage to poultry production through dietary manipulation. Supplementation with Chromium (Cr) might have some positive effects on some aspect of blood parameters and broilers performance. Chromium (Cr) the element whose trivalent Cr (III) organic state is present in trace amounts in animal feed and water is found to be a key element in evading heat stress and thus cutting down the heavy expenditure on air conditioning in broiler sheds. Chromium, along with other essential minerals is lost due to increased excretion during heat stress and thus its inclusion in broiler diet is kind of mandatory in areas of hot climate. Chromium picolinate in broiler diet has shown a hike in growth rate including muscle gain with body fat reduction under environmental stress. Fat reduction is probably linked to the ability of chromium to increase the sensitivity of the insulin receptors on tissues and thus the uptake of sugar from blood increases which decreases the amount of glucose to be converted to amino acids and stored in adipose tissue as triglycerides. Organic chromium has also shown to increase lymphocyte proliferation rate and antioxidant levels. So, the immune competency, muscle gain and fat reduction along with evasion of heat stress are good enough signs that indicate the fruitful inclusion of dietary chromium for broiler. This promising element may bring the much needed break in the local poultry industry. The task is now to set the exact dose of the element in the diet that would be useful enough and still not toxic to broiler. In conclusion there is a growing body of evidence which suggest that chromium may be an essential trace element for livestock and poultry. The nutritional requirement for chromium may vary with different species and physiological state within a species.

Keywords: broiler, chromium, heat stress, performance

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Authors: Recep Kesli, Onur Turkyilmaz, Cengiz Demir

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Objective: Autoimmune collagen diseases occur with the immune reactions against the body’s own cell or tissues which cause inflammation and damage the tissues and organs. In this study, it was aimed to compare seropositivity rates and patterns of the anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) in the diagnosis of four different autoimmune collagen tissue diseases (Rheumatoid Arthritis-RA, Systemic Lupus Erythematous-SLE, Scleroderma-SSc and Sjogren Syndrome-SS) with each other. Methods: One hundred eighty-eight patients applied to different clinics in Afyon Kocatepe University ANS Practice and Research Hospital between 11.07.2014 and 14.07.2015 that thought the different collagen disease such as RA, SLE, SSc and SS have participated in the study retrospectively. All the data obtained from the patients participated in the study were evaluated according to the included criteria. The historical archives belonging to the patients have been screened, assessed in terms of ANA positivity. The obtained data was analysed by using the descriptive statistics; chi-squared, Fischer's exact test. The evaluations were performed by SPSS 20.0 version and p < 0.05 level was considered as significant. Results: Distribution rates of the totally one hundred eighty-eight patients according to the diagnosis were found as follows: 82 (43.6%) were RA, 38 (20.2%) were SLE, 22 (11.7%) were SSc, and 46 (24.5%) were SS. Distribution of ANA positivity rates according to the collagen tissue diseases were found as follows; for RA were 54 (65,9 %), for SLE were 36 (94,7 %), for SSc were 18 (81,8 %), and for SS were 43 (93,5 %). Rheumatoid arthritis should be evaluated and classified as a different class among all the other investigated three autoimmune illnesses. ANA positivity rates were found as differently higher (91.5 %) in the SLE, SSc, and SS, from the RA (65.9 %). Differences at ANA positivity rates for RA and the other three diseases were found as statistically significant (p=0.015). Conclusions: Systemic autoimmune illnesses show broad spectrum. ANA positivity was found as an important predictor marker in the diagnosis of the rheumatologic illnesses. ANA positivity should be evaluated as more valuable and sensitive a predictor diagnostic marker in the laboratory findings of the SLE, SSc, and SS according to RA.

Keywords: antinuclear antibody (ANA), rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, Sjogren syndrome, systemic lupus Erythemotosus

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Authors: Seyyed Mohammad Amin Mousavi Sagharchi, Alireza Mahmoudi Nasab, Tim Bakker

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Introduction: Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is the most intelligent bacterium that existed in the world to our best knowledge. This bacterium can cause tuberculosis (TB) which is responsible for its spread speed and murder of millions of people around the world. MTB has the practical function to escape from anti-tuberculosis drugs (AT), for this purpose, it handles some mutations in the main genes and creates new patterns for inhibited genes. Method and materials: Researchers have their best tries to safely isolate MTB from the sputum specimens of 35 patients in some hospitals in the Tehran province and detect MTB by culture on Löwenstein-Jensen (LJ) medium and microscopic examination. DNA was extracted from the established bacterial colony by enzymatic extraction method. It was amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method, reverse hybridization, and evaluation for detection of resistance genes; generally, researchers apply GenoType MTBDRplus assay. Results: Investigations of results declare us that 21 of the isolated specimens (about 60%) have mutation in rpoB gene, which resisted to rifampicin (most prevalence), and 8 of them (about 22.8%) have mutation in katG or inhA genes which resisted to isoniazid. Also, 4 of them (about 11.4%) don't have any mutation, and 2 of them (about 5.7%) have mutation in every three genes, which makes them resistant to the two drugs mentioned above. Conclusion: Rifampicin and isoniazid are two essential AT that using in the first line of treatment. Resistance in rpoB, and katG, and inhA genes related to mentioned drugs lead to ineffective treatment.

Keywords: mycobacterium tuberculosis, tuberculosis, drug resistance, isoniazid, rifampicin

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Authors: Zia Ullah, Muhammad Asim, Shi Sujuan, Rayyan Khan, Aaqib Shaheen, LIU Haobao

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The plant-specific auxin efflux proteins PIN-FORMED (PIN) have been well depicted in many plant species for their essential roles in regulating the transport of auxins in several phases of plant growth. Little is known about the various functions of the PIN family genes in the Nicotiana tabacum (N. tabacum) species during plant growth. To define the expression pattern of the NtPIN1a gene under abiotic stresses and hormone treatment, transgenic tobacco with promoterNtPIN1a::GUS construct was employed. Comprehensive computational analyses of the NtPIN1a promoter confirmed the existence of common core promoter elements including CAAT-box, TATA-box, hormone, and abiotic stress-responsive elements such as ABRE, P-box, MYC, MYB, ARE, and GC-motifs. The transgenic plants with the promoter of NtPIN1a displayed a promising expression of β-glucuronidase (GUS) in germinating seeds, root tips, shoot-apex, and developing leaves under optimal conditions. While the differential expression of GUS in moderate salt, drought, low potassium stresses, and externally high auxin level at two different time points, suggested NtPIN1a played a key role in growth processes and the plants’ response to abiotic stresses. This analysis provides a foundation for more in-depth discoveries of the biological functions of NtPIN1a in Nicotiana species and this promoter may be employed in genetic engineering of other crops for enhanced stress tolerance.

Keywords: tobacco, nicotiana tabacum, pin, promoter, GUS, abiotic stresses, auxin

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Authors: Chuan Yin

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Cancer stem cells (CSCs) represent a subpopulation of cancer cells that possess the characteristics associated with normal stem cells. CD133 is a phenotype of melanoma CSCs responsible for melanoma metastasis and drug resistance. Although adriamycin (ADR) is commonly used drug in melanoma therapy, but it is ineffective in the treatment of melanoma CSCs. In this study, we constructed CD133 antibody conjugated ADR immunoliposomes (ADR-Lip-CD133) to target CD133+ melanoma CSCs. The results showed that the immunoliposomes possessed a small particle size (~150 nm), high drug encapsulation efficiency (~90%). After 72 hr treatment on the WM266-4 melanoma tumorspheres, the IC50 values of the drug formulated in ADR-Lip-CD133, ADR-Lip (ADR liposomes) and ADR are found to be 24.42, 57.13 and 59.98 ng/ml respectively, suggesting that ADR-Lip-CD133 was more effective than ADR-Lip and ADR. Significantly, ADR-Lip-CD133 could almost completely abolish the tumorigenic ability of WM266-4 tumorspheres in vivo, and showed the best therapeutic effect in WM266-4 melanoma xenograft mice. It is noteworthy that ADR-Lip-CD133 could selectively kill CD133+ melanoma CSCs of WM266-4 cells both in vitro and in vivo. ADR-Lip-CD133 represent a potential approach in targeting and killing CD133+ melanoma CSCs.

Keywords: cancer stem cells, melanoma, immunoliposomes, CD133

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Authors: Burcu Inal, Irfan Kandemir

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Sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene of twenty-five Turkish and one Greek Myzus cerasi (Fabricus) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in populations were collected from Prunus avium and Prunus cerasus. The partial coding region of COI studied is 605 bp for all the populations, from which 565 nucleotides were conserved, 40 were variable, 37 were singleton, and 3 sites were parsimony-informative. Four haplotypes were identified based on nucleotide substitutions, and the mean of intraspecific divergence was calculated to be 0.3%. Phylogenetic trees were constructed using Maximum Likelihood, Minimum Evolution, Neighbor-joining, and Unweighed Pair Group Method of Arithmetic Averages (UPGMA) and Myzus persicae (Sulzer) and Myzus borealis Ossiannilson were included as outgroups. The population of M. cerasi from Isparta diverged from the rest of the groups and formed a clade (Haplotype B) with Myzus borealis. The rest of the haplotype diversity includes Haplotype A and Haplotype C with individuals characterized as Myzus cerasi pruniavium and Haplotype D with Myzus cerasi cerasi. M. cerasi diverge into two subspecies and it must be reevaluated whether this pest is monophagous or oligophagous in terms of plant type dependence. The obligated endosymbiont Buchnera aphidicola was also found during this research, but no facultative symbionts could be found. It is expected further studies will be required for a complete barcoding and diversity of bacterial endosymbionts present.

Keywords: bacterial endosymbionts, barcoding, black cherry aphid, nucleotide diversity

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Authors: Hafsa Tahir, Sanaullah Iqbal

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Glactooligosaccharide (GOS) is a type of prebiotic which is mainly found in human milk. GOS belongs to those bacteria which stimulates the growth of beneficial bacteria in human intestines. The aim of the present study was to develop a value-added product by producing prebiotic (GOS) in buttermilk through trans galactosylation. Buttermilk is considered as an industrial waste which is discarded after the production of butter and cream. It contains protein, minerals, vitamins and a smaller amount of fat. Raw milk was pasteurized at 100º C for butter production and then trans galactosylation process was induced in the butter milk thus obtained to produce prebiotic GOS. Results showed that the enzyme (which was obtained from bacterial strain of Esecrshia coli and has a gene of Lactobacillus reuteri L103) concentration between 400-600µl/5ml can produce GOS in 30 minutes. Chemical analysis and sensory evaluation of plain and GOS containing buttermilk showed no remarkable difference in their composition. Furthermore, the shelf-life study showed that there was non-significant (P>0.05) difference in glass and pouch packaging of buttermilk. Buttermilk in pouch packaging maintained its stability for 6 days without the addition of preservatives. Therefore it is recommended that GOS enriched buttermilk which is generally considered as a processing waste in dairy manufacturing can be turned into a cost-effective nutritional functional food product. This will not only enhance the production efficiency of butter processing but also will create a new market opportunity for dairy manufacturers all over the world.

Keywords: buttermilk, galactooligosaccharide, shelf Life, transgalactosylation

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