Sporadic Medullary Microcarcinoma in a Young Patient - A Rare Case

Sporadic medullary microcarcinoma of thyroid is a rare disease detected usually in 0.15% of all thyroid malignancy. We report a case of sporadic medullary microcarcinoma (MMC) of thyroid in a 24 year old male presenting as solitary thyroid nodule. There was no family history of medullary carcinoma of thyroid. Although medullary carcinoma in a familial setting have been reported, sporadic MMC is rare especially in a young patient

Analysis of perceived stress, cardiovascular and central nervous system changes before and after menstruation in the age group 18-22 years

Background: Premenstrual syndrome is a set of physical, behavioural or emotional symptoms that some women experience on regular basis in relation to menstruation. Premenstrual symptoms have been associated with perceived stress, and perceived stress is the strongest predictor of premenstrual syndrome. The purpose of this study was to investigate the premenstrual stress and its effect on cardiovascular system and sensorimotor association and processing capability of central nervous system.Methods: The present study was done in 60 healthy female volunteers in age group of 18-22 years. We measured following parameters during premenstrual and postmenstrual phases- pulse rate, blood pressure, weight, auditory and visual reaction time and perceived stress with the help of Cohen’s perceived stress scale.Results: The study revealed that significant increase was observed in perceived stress, pulse rate, blood pressure, weight, auditory reaction time (ART), and visual reaction time (VRT) during premenstrual period as compared to postmenstrual period.Conclusions: These changes could be attributed to fluid and salt retention due to ovarian steroids and to exaggerated response to hormonal changes leading to decrease in the processing capability of central nervous system. It is not clear how stress may contribute to increased pre-menstrual symptom severity, although stress-induced changes in ovarian hormone levels and neurotransmitters may be involved

A numerical study of time-dependent schrödinger equation for multiphoton vibrational interaction of no molecule, modelled as morse oscillator, with intense far-infrared femtosecond lasers

For the NO molecule, modelled as a Morse oscillator, time-dependent (TD) nuclear Schrödinger equation has been numerically solved for the multiphoton vibrational dynamics of the molecule under a far-infrared laser of wavelength 10503 nm, and four different intensities, I = 1 × 108, 1 × 1013, 5 × 1016, and 5 × 1018 W cm-2 respectively. Starting from the vibrational ground state at zero time, various TD quantities such as the norm, dissociation probability, potential energy curve and dipole moment are examined. Rich high-harmonics generation (HHG) spectra and above-threshold dissociation (ATD) spectra, due to the multiphoton interaction of vibrational motions with the laser field, and consequent elevation to the vibrational continuum, have been obtained and analysed

Protrudin in protrudinG invadopodia : Membrane contact sites and cell invasion

Invadopodia are dynamic protrusions that harbor matrix metalloproteinases for pericellular matrix degradation. However, the mechanisms underlying their maturation are poorly understood. Pedersen et al. (2020. J. Cell Biol. https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.202003063) demonstrate a dual role of Protrudin in invadopodia elongation and matrix degradation, central to cell invasion and cancer metastasis.Non peer reviewe

Depletion of mitochondrial protease OMA1 alters proliferative properties and promotes metastatic growth of breast cancer cells

Metastatic competence of cancer cells is influenced by many factors including metabolic alterations and changes in mitochondrial biogenesis and protein homeostasis. While it is generally accepted that mitochondria play important roles in tumorigenesis, the respective molecular events that regulate aberrant cancer cell proliferation remain to be clarified. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms underlying the role of mitochondria in cancer progression has potential implications in the development of new therapeutic strategies. We show that low expression of mitochondrial quality control protease OMA1 correlates with poor overall survival in breast cancer patients. Silencing OMA1 in vitro in patientderived metastatic breast cancer cells isolated from the metastatic pleural effusion and atypical ductal hyperplasia mammary tumor specimens (21MT-1 and 21PT) enhances the formation of filopodia, increases cell proliferation (Ki67 expression), and induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Mechanistically, loss of OMA1 results in alterations in the mitochondrial protein homeostasis, as reflected by enhanced expression of canonic mitochondrial unfolded protein response genes. These changes significantly increase migratory properties in metastatic breast cancer cells, indicating that OMA1 plays a critical role in suppressing metastatic competence of breast tumors. Interestingly, these results were not observed in OMA1-depleted non-tumorigenic MCF10A mammary epithelial cells. This newly identified reduced activity/levels of OMA1 provides insights into the mechanisms leading to breast cancer development, promoting malignant progression of cancer cells and unfavorable clinical outcomes, which may represent possible prognostic markers and therapeutic targets for breast cancer treatment

Adsorption of Dyes From Aqueous Solution Using Orange Peels: Kinetics and Equilibrium

The adsorption of dyes from aqueous solution has been investigated on Orange Peels (OP). The influence of pH, contact time, adsorbent dosage, dye concentration, agitation speed, temperature and particle size of biosorbent on the biosorption has been investigated. The biosorptive capacities of the biosorbents were dependent on the pH of the dye solution, with pH 2 and 4 being optimal. From the analysis of isotherm data obtained from the fittings of the Freundlich model fits better than the Langmuir model in case of acid blue MTR dye and in case of red 3BLS disperse dye Langmuir model fits better than Freundlich model. The adsorption capacities were found to be 19.48, 36.67, 16.69mg/g for FOP, IOP, DOP in case of Acid Blue MTR Dye and similarly 23.35, 29.36, 27.30mg/g respectively in the case of Red 3BLS Disperse Dye

Coordination of inter-organelle communication and lipid fluxes by OSBP-related proteins

Oxysterol-binding protein (OSBP) and OSBP-related proteins (ORPs) constitute one of the largest families of lipid-binding/transfer proteins (LTPs) in eukaryotes. The current view is that many of them mediate interorganelle lipid transfer over membrane contact sites (MCS). The transfer occurs in several cases in a 'countercurrent' fashion: A lipid such as cholesterol or phosphatidylserine (PS) is transferred against its concentration gradient driven by transport of a phosphoinositide in the opposite direction. In this way ORPs are envisioned to maintain the distinct organelle lipid compositions, with impacts on multiple organelle functions. However, the functions of ORPs extend beyond lipid homeostasis to regulation of processes such as cell survival, proliferation and migration. Important expanding areas of mammalian ORP research include their roles in viral and bacterial infections, cancers, and neuronal function. The yeast OSBP homologue (Osh) proteins execute multifaceted functions in sterol and glycerophospholipid homeostasis, post-Golgi vesicle transport, phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate, sphingolipid and target of rapamycin (TOR) signalling, and cell cycle control. These observations identify ORPs as lipid transporters and coordinators of signals with an unforeseen variety of cellular processes. Understanding their activities not only enlightens the biology of the living cell but also allows their employment as targets of new therapeutic approaches for disease.Peer reviewe

Subacute toxicity study of an aqueous extract of dried leaves of Gymnosporia spinosa on albino rats

Background: Leaves of Gymnosporia spinosa have been used by people for treatment of jaundice. Traditional herbal drugs are popular all over the world and it is presumed that herbal medicines have lesser or no side effects. This generalized belief and no information available regarding toxicity study of G. spinosa with search from limited available information prompted us to carry out work on subacute toxicity study of aqueous extract of dried leaves of G. spinosa.Methods: Subacute toxicity study was carried out using aqueous extract of G. spinosa leaves. 30 rats of either sex were randomly divided in to 4 groups. First group received distilled water (control). Second, third and fourth groups received single daily dose of drug orally as 40, 120 and 240 mg/100 g of body weight respectively for 3 weeks. Animals were observed for various parameters. After 21 days blood was collected for blood counts and biochemical parameters. Liver, lungs and kidney were subjected to histo-pathological studies.Results: Throughout study there was no mortality in any group. Degenerative changes in the liver. Other organ does not show any changes. Analysis of biochemical data showed serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase and s. alkaline phosphatase levels were decreased. Serum bilirubine, blood urea and serum creatinine level were increased significantly.Conclusions: The data showed that there was hepato-renal toxicity at higher dose level which is about 100x human therapeutic dose.