Potentiometric Study of Be(II) Salicylates

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Promoter Hypermethylation of Tumor suppressor Genes correlates with Tumor grade and Invasiveness in patients with Urothelial Bladder Cancer

Purpose: To investigate the promoter methylation status at selected loci which encode for key proteins involved in apoptosis, DNA repair, cell cycle control and progression in urothelial cell carcinoma of bladder and compare the findings from tissue samples with that of plasma. Methods: Total genomic DNA was isolated from 43 non-muscle invasive (low grade) and 33 muscle invasive (high grade) urothelial bladder cancer samples along with 10 control cases of normal bladder mucosa. Promoter methylation status was investigated for RASSF1A, APC, MGMT, CDKN2A and CDKN2B genes using real-time methylation-specific PCR with SYBR® green. Plasma samples from 16 patients with muscle invasive high grade bladder cancer were also subjected to similar analyses. Results: Promoter hypermethylation was frequently observed in RASSF1A, APC and MGMT gene promoters (p-value \u3c 0.001). The methylation was more prominent in the muscle invasive high grade bladder cancer when compared to non-muscle invasive low grade group (p-value \u3c 0.001) and normal bladder mucosa (p-value \u3c 0.05). The RNA expression of RASSF1A, APC and MGMT was also found to be decreased in the muscle-invasive high grade bladder cancer when compared to the non muscle invasive low grade group (p-value \u3c 0.05). RASSF1A, MGMT and CDKN2A showed comparable results when data from 16 plasma samples was compared to the corresponding tissue samples. Conclusion: Our results suggest that epigenetic silencing of RASSF1A, APC and MGMT genes is strongly associated with invasive high grade urothelial bladder cancer. Thus, status of promoter methylation has the potential to serve as valuable tool for assessing aggressiveness of urothelial cell carcinoma of bladder

Direct Determination of Fe(II) with 8-Hydroxy- 7-nitrosoquinoline-5-sulphonic Acid

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Costs analysis of a population level rabies control programme in Tamil Nadu, India

The study aimed to determine costs to the state government of implementing different interventions for controlling rabies among the entire human and animal populations of Tamil Nadu. This built upon an earlier assessment of Tamil Nadu’s efforts to control rabies. Anti-rabies vaccines were made available at all health facilities. Costs were estimated for five different combinations of animal and human interventions using an activity-based costing approach from the provider perspective. Disease and population data were sourced from the state surveillance data, human census and livestock census. Program costs were extrapolated from official documents. All capital costs were depreciated to estimate annualized costs. All costs were inflated to 2012 Rupees. Sensitivity analysis was conducted across all major cost centres to assess their relative impact on program costs. It was found that the annual costs of providing Anti-rabies vaccine alone and in combination with Immunoglobulins was \$0.7 million (Rs 36 million) and \$2.2 million (Rs 119 million), respectively. For animal sector interventions, the annualised costs of rolling out surgical sterilisation-immunization, injectable immunization and oral immunizations were estimated to be \$ 44 million (Rs 2,350 million), \$23 million (Rs 1,230 million) and \$ 11 million (Rs 590 million), respectively. Dog bite incidence, health systems coverage and cost of rabies biologicals were found to be important drivers of costs for human interventions. For the animal sector interventions, the size of dog catching team, dog population and vaccine costs were found to be driving the costs. Rabies control in Tamil Nadu seems a costly proposition the way it is currently structured. Policy makers in Tamil Nadu and other similar settings should consider the long-term financial sustainability before embarking upon a state or nation-wide rabies control programme

Chromium removal from aqueous solution using bimetallic Bi\u3csup\u3e0\u3c/sup\u3e/Cu\u3csup\u3e0\u3c/sup\u3e-based nanocomposite biochar

Chromium (Cr), due to its greater contamination in aquifers and distinct eco-toxic impacts, is of greater environmental concern. This study aimed to synthesize nanocomposites of almond shells biochar (BC) with zerovalent bismuth and/or copper (Bi0/BC, Cu0/BC, and Bi0–Cu0/BC) for the removal of Cr from aqueous solution. The synthesized nanocomposites were investigated using various characterization techniques such as XRD, FTIR spectroscopy, SEM, and EDX. The Cr removal potential by the nanocomposites was explored under different Cr concentrations (25–100 mg/L), adsorbent doses (0.5–2.0 g/L), solution pH (2–8), and contact time (10–160 min). The above-mentioned advanced techniques verified successful formation of Bi0/Cu0 and their composite with BC. The synthesized nanocomposites were highly effective in the removal of Cr. The Bi0–Cu0/BC nano-biocomposites showed higher Cr removal efficiency (92%) compared to Cu0/BC (85%), Bi0/BC (76%), and BC (67%). The prepared nanocomposites led to effective Cr removal at lower Cr concentrations (25 mg/L) and acidic pH (4.0). The Cr solubility changes with pH, resulting in different degrees of Cr removal by Bi0–Cu0/BC, with Cr(VI) being more soluble and easier to adsorb at low pH levels and Cr(III) being less soluble and more difficult to adsorb at high pH levels. The experimental Cr adsorption well fitted with the Freundlich adsorption isotherm model (R 2 \u3e 0.99) and pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Among the prepared nanocomposites, the Bi0–Cu0/BC showed greater stability and reusability. It was established that the as-synthesized Bi0–Cu0/BC nano-biocomposite showed excellent adsorption potential for practical Cr removal from contaminated water

Blockchain-based Multifactor Authentication for Future 6G Cellular Networks: A Systematic Review

There are continued advances in the internet and communication fields regarding the deployment of 5G-based applications. It is expected that by 2030, 6G applications will emerge as a continued evolution of the mobile network. Blockchain technology is one of the leading supporting technologies predicted to provide a secure and unique network to 6G-enabled devices, transactions, and applications. It is anticipated that the 6G mobile networks will be virtualized, have cloud-based systems, and aim to be the foundation for the Internet of Everything. However, along with the development of communication technologies, threats from malicious parties have become more sophisticated, making security a significant concern for the 6G era in the future. Despite enormous efforts by researchers to improve security and authentication protocols, systems still face novel intrusion and attacks. Recently, multifactor authentication techniques (MFA) have been deployed as potential solutions to attacks in blockchains. The 6G applications and the cellular network have specific vulnerabilities that need to be addressed using blockchain-based MFA technologies. The current paper is a systematic review that discusses the three technologies under consideration; then, several studies are reviewed that discuss MFA techniques in general and use blockchains as potential solutions to future security and authentication issues that may arise for 6G application

Correlation of three immunohistochemically detected markers of neuroendocrine differentiation with clinical predictors of disease progression in prostate cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The importance of immuno-histological detection of neuroendocrine differentiation in prostatic adenocarcinoma with respect to disease at presentation and Gleason grade is gaining acceptance. There is limited literature on the relative significance of three commonly used markers of NE differentiation i.e. Chromogranin A (CgA), Neuron specific enolase (NSE) and Synaptophysin (Syn). In the current work we have assessed the correlation of immuno-histological detection of neuroendocrine differentiation in prostatic adenocarcinoma with respect to disease at presentation and Gleason grade and to determine the relative value of various markers.</p> <p>Materials and methods</p> <p>Consecutive samples of malignant prostatic specimens (Transurethral resection of prostate or radical retropubic prostatectomy) from 84 patients between January 1991 and December 1998 were evaluated by immunohistochemical staining (PAP technique) using selected neuroendocrine tumor markers i.e. Chromogranin A (CgA), Neuron specific enolase (NSE), and Synaptophysin (Syn). According to the stage at diagnosis, patients were divided into three groups. Group (i) included patients who had organ confined disease, group (ii) included patients with locally invasive disease, and group (iii) with distant metastasis. NE expression was correlated with Gleason sum and clinical stage at presentation and analyzed using Chi-Square test and one way ANNOVA.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean age of the patients was 70 ± 9.2 years. Group I had 14 patients, group II had 31 patients and group III had 39 patients. CgA was detected in 33 cases, Syn in 8 cases, and NSE in 44 cases. Expression of CgA was seen in 7% of group I, 37% in group II and 35% of group III patients (p 0.059). CgA (p 0.024) and NSE (p 0.006) had a significantly higher expression with worsening Gleason grade.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>CgA has a better correlation with disease at presentation than other markers used. Both NSE and CgA had increasing expression with worsening histological grade this correlation has a potential for use as a prognostic indicator. Limitations in the current work included small number and retrospective nature of work. The findings of this work needs validation in a larger cohort.</p

An Unbiased Lipid Phenotyping Approach To Study the Genetic Determinants of Lipids and Their Association with Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors.

Direct infusion high-resolution mass spectrometry (DIHRMS) is a novel, high-throughput approach to rapidly and accurately profile hundreds of lipids in human serum without prior chromatography, facilitating in-depth lipid phenotyping for large epidemiological studies to reveal the detailed associations of individual lipids with coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors. Intact lipid profiling by DIHRMS was performed on 5662 serum samples from healthy participants in the Pakistan Risk of Myocardial Infarction Study (PROMIS). We developed a novel semi-targeted peak-picking algorithm to detect mass-to-charge ratios in positive and negative ionization modes. We analyzed lipid partial correlations, assessed the association of lipid principal components with established CHD risk factors and genetic variants, and examined differences between lipids for a common genetic polymorphism. The DIHRMS method provided information on 360 lipids (including fatty acyls, glycerolipids, glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, and sterol lipids), with a median coefficient of variation of 11.6% (range: 5.4-51.9). The lipids were highly correlated and exhibited a range of associations with clinical chemistry biomarkers and lifestyle factors. This platform can provide many novel insights into the effects of physiology and lifestyle on lipid metabolism, genetic determinants of lipids, and the relationship between individual lipids and CHD risk factors