Extract from Curcuma longa L. triggers the sunflower immune system and induces defence-related genes against Fusarium root rot

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) has economic value worldwide Fusarium root rot, caused by Fusarium solani (Mart.) Sacc., is the most important disease in sunflower crops, causing considerable economic losses. Seed treatment with a turmeric aqueous extract was tested for control of Fusarium root rot. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of the extract identified three major constituents; ar-curcumin, camphor and α-turmerone. The greenhouse experiment showed that incidence and severity of sunflower root rot were significantly reduced after treatment with turmeric extract. Plant growth parameters also increased 2 and 4 weeks after inoculation. In addition, treatment with turmeric extract triggered the sunflower immune system, as indicated by the induction of host phenolic content and activity of antioxidant enzymes (peroxidase and phenylalanine ammonia lyase). Differential display-PCR of the treated plants showed distinct profiles of gene expression in response to the treatments. Of the four bands randomly selected for sequencing and identification, three up-regulated genes that encode defence-related proteins (glutathione S-transferase 6, ascorbate peroxidase, and defensin) were detected. A time-course real-time quantitative PCR was carried out on mRNA of the defence-related genes defensin and chitinase of the treated sunflower seedlings. After 14 d, treatment with turmeric extract enhanced the expression levels of chitinase by > nine-fold and defensin genes by > four-fold. Based on these results, we recommend treatment of sunflower seeds with turmeric extract as a disease management method against Fusarium root rot

Prognostic Significance of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) and Her-2 Protein in the Genesis of Cervical Carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Angiogenesis plays a pivotal role in the progression of tumours through the formation of new blood vessels. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a chief factor responsible for inducing and regulating angiogenesis. Additionally, the human epidermal growth factor receptor family of receptors also plays an important role in the pathogenesis of tumours.AIM: This study aimed to examine the association between VEGF and Her-2 protein expression and its correlation with clinic-pathological characteristics; in particular, prognosis.METHODS: A total of 65 cases of cervical carcinoma and 10 samples of inflammatory lesions were evaluated for VEGF and Her-2 protein expression.RESULTS: Expression of VEGF and Her-2 was detected in 63.07% and 43.07% in cervical carcinoma cases respectively whereas control cases did not show any expression. The difference in the expression pattern of both markers comparing cancer and control cases was statistically significant (p < 0.05). However, no significant difference in the expression pattern of VEGF protein was observed among the different grades and stages of tumours (p > 0.05). Comparing different grades of a tumour, expression of Her-2 was detected in 31.8% of well-differentiated tumours, 36.0 % in moderately differentiated tumours and 66.66 % in poorly differentiated cancers. The expression of Her-2 was increased in high-grade tumours, and the difference of expression level between tumour grades was statistically significant (p < 0.05). The expression level of Her-2 protein was not correlated with the stage of a tumour (p > 0.05).CONCLUSION: The present study supports earlier findings that over-expression / up-regulation of VEGF and Her - 2 is linked with poor prognosis and may play a vital role in the development and progression of cervical cancer

Clinicopathological Significance of Vimentin and Cytokeratin Protein in the Genesis of Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Cervix

Cervical cancer is one of the commonest types of cancers worldwide especially in developing countries. Intermediate filaments protein family has shown a role in the diagnosis of various cancers, but a few studies are available about the vimentin and cytokeratin roles in the cervical cancer. This case control study aimed to interpret the expression of vimentin and cytokeratin proteins in the development and progression of cervical cancer and its correlation with clinicopathological features. The cytoplasmic expression of vimentin was observed in 40% of cases, but not in inflammatory lesions of cervix. It was noticed that vimentin expression was increasing significantly with high grade of the tumour. Cytokeratin expression was observed in 48.33% and it was noticed that the expression was 62.5% in well differentiated (G1), 45% in moderately differentiated (G2), and 41.66% in poorly differentiated carcinoma, yet statistically insignificant. The expression of vimentin and cytokeratin proteins was not significantly associated with age groups. The current findings concluded a possible role of vimentin in the development and progression of cervical cancer and vimentin marker will be useful in the diagnosis and grading of cervical cancer

Expanding the genetic heterogeneity of intellectual disability

Intellectual disability (ID) is a common morbid condition with a wide range of etiologies. The list of monogenic forms of ID has increased rapidly in recent years thanks to the implementation of genomic sequencing techniques. In this study, we describe the phenotypic and genetic findings of 68 families (105 patients) all with novel ID-related variants. In addition to established ID genes, including ones for which we describe unusual mutational mechanism, some of these variants represent the first confirmatory disease-gene links following previous reports (TRAK1, GTF3C3, SPTBN4 and NKX6-2), some of which were based on single families. Furthermore, we describe novel variants in 14 genes that we propose as novel candidates (ANKHD1, ASTN2, ATP13A1, FMO4, MADD, MFSD11, NCKAP1, NFASC, PCDHGA10, PPP1R21, SLC12A2, SLK, STK32C and ZFAT). We highlight MADD and PCDHGA10 as particularly compelling candidates in which we identified biallelic likely deleterious variants in two independent ID families each. We also highlight NCKAP1 as another compelling candidate in a large family with autosomal dominant mild intellectual disability that fully segregates with a heterozygous truncating variant. The candidacy of NCKAP1 is further supported by its biological function, and our demonstration of relevant expression in human brain. Our study expands the locus and allelic heterogeneity of ID and demonstrates the power of positional mapping to reveal unusual mutational mechanisms

Ability of Saudi mothers to appropriately and accurately use dosing devices to administer oral liquid medications to their children

Saja Almazrou, Hind Alsahly, Huda Alwattar, Lamya Alturki, Mona Alamri Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Background: Most liquid medications are packaged with administration devices, which may be used inappropriately or inaccurately, and sometimes are not used at all. Because of the importance of their proper use for children's health, this study was designed to assess Saudi mothers' experiences with measuring cups, syringes, and droppers for oral liquid medications; to compare accuracy of dosing across these devices; and to determine the effects of mothers' education statuses and pharmacist counseling on dosing accuracy. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study in which mothers were observed as they used a set of commonly available dosing devices which are a dosing cup, syringe, and dropper. Interviews were conducted in the outpatient pharmacy waiting area in several tertiary hospitals and primary clinics in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between March and April 2013. Saudi women who were mothers of children aged 12 years old or younger and who gave their consent were eligible. Caregivers other than mothers and subjects with vision problems or cognitive/physical disabilities were excluded. We gathered demographic information such as age, number of children, and education status. Subjects were asked if they had had counseling on how to use measuring devices and which device they preferred. Then, the mothers were required to demonstrate how to measure 5 mL of paracetamol (acetaminophen) syrup using a cup and a syringe and 1 mL of paracetamol syrup using a dropper. Dosing errors were evaluated visually as overdosing, underdosing, or no error (if the dose was accurate). The data were entered into Microsoft Excel and evaluated using Stata 11.1. Logistic regression was employed to determine relationships. Results: The results revealed that 58% of participants measured an accurate dose of paracetamol using the oral dosing syringe versus 50% of participants using the dropper and 51% using the dosing cup. In general, participants measured more than the intended dose with the dosing cup and less than the intended dose with the dropper. Furthermore, we found that dosing accuracy for each type of instrument was significantly influenced by the mothers' education status. Among the study participants, 77% had not had previous counseling on the use of liquid medication measuring devices. However, dosing errors were not affected by previous counseling. Conclusion: Among mothers using measuring devices, the most accurate doses were found to be measured with the use of the oral syringe, whereas the most errors were made with the use of the dropper. Moreover, education status had a significant effect on dosing errors. The use of a pictographic diagram could improve the mothers' dosing abilities and, thus, reduce dosing errors. Keywords: paracetamol, syringe, cup, dropper, accurate, education, counsellin

Seasonal variations of respiratory viruses detected from children with respiratory tract infections in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

ARTIs have a huge impact in health systems in which 20–30% of all hospital admissions and 30–60% of practitioner visits are related to respiratory tract infections. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence, age distribution, and seasonal variation of respiratory viruses. This study was descriptive retrospective study in which all patients 14 years of age and below who presented with signs and symptoms of ARTIs between January 2013 and December 2014 and had respiratory specimen tested by direct immunofluorescence assays for viruses identification were included in the study. During that period, a total of 4611 patients who presented with ARTIs from January 2013 to December 2014 were investigated, viruses were detected in 1115 (24%). RSV was associated with 97.4% of the total viral pathogens. Viruses were detected throughout all the two years with a peak in winter; Dec (n: 265), Jan (n: 418), Feb (n: 218), and Mar (n: 109). Viral pathogens are very important cause of ARTIs in our region. RSV was the most common virus detected with the highest detection rate in children who are two years old and below. A multi-center surveillance with more sensitive detection methods like PCR may help to provide a comprehensive understanding of virus distribution in our area, which may contribute implant an effective prevention approach for each virus. Keywords: Pediatrics, Infectious diseases, Respiratory infections, Respiratory syncytial virus, Saudi Arabi

Identification and Characterization of Salt-Responsive MicroRNAs in <i>Vicia faba</i> by High-Throughput Sequencing

Salt stress has detrimental effects on plant growth and development. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of noncoding RNAs that are involved in post-transcriptional gene expression regulation. In this study, small RNA sequencing was employed to identify the salt stress-responsive miRNAs of the salt-sensitive Hassawi-3 and the salt-tolerant ILB4347 genotypes of faba bean, growing under salt stress. A total of 527 miRNAs in Hassawi-3 plants, and 693 miRNAs in ILB4347 plants, were found to be differentially expressed. Additionally, 284 upregulated and 243 downregulated miRNAs in Hassawi-3, and 298 upregulated and 395 downregulated miRNAs in ILB4347 plants growing in control and stress conditions were recorded. Target prediction and annotation revealed that these miRNAs regulate specific salt-responsive genes, which primarily included genes encoding transcription factors and laccases, superoxide dismutase, plantacyanin, and F-box proteins. The salt-responsive miRNAs and their targets were functionally enriched by Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses, which showed that the miRNAs were involved in salt stress-related biological pathways, including the ABC transporter pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, plant hormone signal transduction, and the phosphatidylinositol signaling system, among others, suggesting that the miRNAs play an important role in the salt stress tolerance of the ILB4347 genotype. These results offer a novel understanding of the regulatory role of miRNAs in the salt response of the salt-tolerant ILB4347 and the salt-sensitive Hassawi-3 faba bean genotypes

Clinicopathologic Aspects of Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Uterine Cervix: Role of PTEN, BCL2 and P53

Background: Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the uterine cervix is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among women. The alterations of Phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl2) and p53 expression seem to be significant in the development of various types of cancers. The altered expressions of PTEN, Bcl2 and p53 and their involvement in cancer of the uterine cervix are not well recognized. Aim: This study aimed at examining the expression patterns of PTEN, Bcl2 and p53 proteins and comparing them with the grade and stage of cervical cancer. Materials and Methods: Tissue blocks of SCC and ten cases of inflammatory lesions of the uterine cervix were examined immunohistochemically for the expression of PTEN, Bcl2 and p53 proteins. Results: Loss of PTEN expression was identified in 45.33% of cervical SCC and high expression was found in inflammatory lesions (p &#8804; 0.05). PTEN expression was significantly associated with the clinical stage of SCC (61.36% and 45.16% in stages I&#8315;II and III&#8315;IV, respectively) (p &lt; 0.05), but not with the degree of differentiation of the SCC. The expression of Bcl2 was significantly high (60%) in cancer cases than in control cases (p &lt; 0.05). Bcl2 did not show any significant association with the histologic type and clinical stage of the SCC of the uterine cervix. The expression of p53 protein was significantly high (57.33%)) in cancer tissue, and no expression was noted in control cases (p &lt; 0.05). Moreover, the expression pattern of p53 protein in cervical cancer tissue samples was not linked with the patient age, grade and stage of the cervical SCC (p &gt; 0.05). Conclusion: The reduced expression of PETN and overexpressions of Bcl2 and p53 might play an indispensable role in carcinogenesis of cervical SCC. Moreover, a relationship was detected between PTEN expression and clinical stage of the cervical SCC