A Comparative Study Between Alcoholics of Koraga Community, Alcoholics of General Population and Healthy Controls for Antioxidant Markers and Liver Function Parameters

Objectives: It is well established that long-term alcohol consumption leads to liver cirrhosis and other related disorders. Sufficient work has been done on biochemical markers of liver damage and antioxidant status of chronic alcoholics in general population. In the current study chronic alcoholics from a community called Koraga are analysed for the same parameters in a view to assess the extent of liver damage as compared to healthy controls and other alcoholics. Methods: Serum and urine samples from Koraga alcoholics (n=28), general alcoholics (n=30) and healthy controls (n=31) were analysed for liver function parameters and antioxidant markers. Liver function parameters were determined by automated analyzer. Markers of antioxidant status were estimated spectrophotometrically. The data was analysed using SPSS version 16.0. Results: There was significant increase in serum AST, serum ALT, serum GST and urine GST in both general and Koraga alcoholics when compared to healthy controls (p<0.0001). Serum ALT, serum GST and urine GST activity was significantly higher in general alcoholics when compared to Koraga alcoholics (p<0.001). Serum and urine total thiol levels were significantly lower in general alcoholics when compared to healthy controls and Koraga alcoholics (p<0.0001). We have observed no difference in total thiols level between healthy controls and Koraga alcoholics, in fact, there was significant increase in urine total thiols level in Koraga alcoholics compared to healthy controls (p<0.001). On Pearson’s correlation serum AST, serum ALT correlated positively with serum and urine GST (p<0.0001) and negatively with serum total thiols (p<0.0001). Serum GST correlated negatively with serum total thiols (p<0.0001). Conclusion: Results of our study possibly indicate that the extent of alcohol induced liver damage in Koraga subjects is comparatively lower than general alcoholics, even though the alcohol consumption is found to be higher in them. There may be some mechanism that is rendering them resistant to alcoholic liver damage which needs to be explored through further studies at molecular level

Superconducting spintronics

The interaction between superconducting and spin-polarized orders has recently emerged as a major research field following a series of fundamental breakthroughs in charge transport in superconductor-ferromagnet heterodevices which promise new device functionality. Traditional studies which combine spintronics and superconductivity have mainly focused on the injection of spin-polarized quasiparticles into superconducting materials. However, a complete synergy between superconducting and magnetic orders turns out to be possible through the creation of spin-triplet Cooper pairs which are generated at carefully engineered superconductor interfaces with ferromagnetic materials. Currently, there is intense activity focused on identifying materials combinations which merge superconductivity and spintronics in order to enhance device functionality and performance. The results look promising: it has been shown, for example, that superconducting order can greatly enhance central effects in spintronics such as spin injection and magnetoresistance. Here, we review the experimental and theoretical advances in this field and provide an outlook for upcoming challenges related to the new concept of superconducting spintronics.J.L. was supported by the Research Council of Norway, Grants No. 205591 and 216700. J.W.A.R. was supported by the UK Royal Society and the Leverhulme Trust through an International Network Grant (IN-2013-033).This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available at http://www.nature.com/nphys/journal/v11/n4/full/nphys3242.html

Numerical study of radiative Maxwell viscoelastic magnetized flow from a stretching permeable sheet with the Cattaneo–Christov heat flux model

In this article, the Cattaneo-Christov heat flux model is implemented to study non-Fourier heat and mass transfer in the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow of an upper convected Maxwell (UCM) fluid over a permeable stretching sheet under a transverse constant magnetic field. Thermal radiation and chemical reaction effects are also considered. The nonlinear partial differential conservation equations for mass, momentum, energy and species conservation are transformed with appropriate similarity variables into a system of coupled, highly nonlinear ordinary differential equations with appropriate boundary conditions. Numerical solutions have been presented for the influence of elasticity parameter (), magnetic parameter (M2), suction/injection parameter (λ), Prandtl number (Pr), conduction-radiation parameter (Rd), sheet stretching parameter (A), Schmidt number (Sc), chemical reaction parameter (γ_c), modified Deborah number with respect to relaxation time of heat flux (i.e. non-Fourier Deborah number) on velocity components, temperature and concentration profiles using the successive Taylor series linearization method (STSLM) utilizing Chebyshev interpolating polynomials and Gauss-Lobatto collocation. The effects of selected parameters on skin friction coefficient, Nusselt number and Sherwood number are also presented with the help of tables. Verification of the STSLM solutions is achieved with existing published results demonstrating close agreement. Further validation of skin friction coefficient, Nusselt number and Sherwood number values computed with STSLM is included using Mathematica software shooting quadrature

Natural convection in a square cavity with uniformly heated and/or insulated walls using marker-and-cell method

In this study, a numerical investigation has been performed using the computational Harlow-Welch MAC (Marker and Cell) finite difference method to analyse the unsteady state two-dimensional natural convection in lid-driven square cavity with left wall maintained at constant heat flux and remaining walls kept thermally insulated. The significant parameters in the present study are Reynolds number (Re), thermal Grashof number (Gr) and Prandtl number (Pr) and Peclét number (Pe =PrRe). The structure of thermal convection patterns is analysed via streamline, vorticity, pressure and temperature contour plots. The influence of the thermophysical parameters on these distributions is described in detail. Validation of solutions with earlier studies is included. Mesh independence is also conducted. It is observed that an increase in Prandtl number intensifies the primary circulation whereas it reduces the heat transfer rate. Increasing thermal Grashof number also decreases heat transfer rates. Furthermore the isotherms are significantly compressed towards the left (constant flux) wall with a variation in Grashof number while Peclét number is fixed. The study is relevant to solar collector heat transfer simulations and also crystal growth technologies

Dominant features in three-dimensional turbulence structure: comparison of non-uniform accelerating and decelerating flows

The results are presented from an experimental study to investigate three-dimensional turbulence structure profiles, including turbulence intensity and Reynolds stress, of different non-uniform open channel flows over smooth bed in subcritical flow regime. In the analysis, the uniform flow profiles have been used to compare with those of the non-uniform flows to investigate their time-averaged spatial flow turbulence structure characteristics. The measured non-uniform velocity profiles are used to verify the von Karman constant κ and to estimate sets of log-law integration constant B r and wake parameter П, where their findings are also compared with values from previous studies. From κ, B r and П findings, it has been found that the log-wake law can sufficiently represent the non-uniform flow in its non-modified form, and all κ, B r and П follow universal rules for different bed roughness conditions. The non-uniform flow experiments also show that both the turbulence intensity and Reynolds stress are governed well by exponential pressure gradient parameter β equations. Their exponential constants are described by quadratic functions in the investigated β range. Through this experimental study, it has been observed that the decelerating flow shows higher empirical constants, in both the turbulence intensity and Reynolds stress compared to the accelerating flow. The decelerating flow also has stronger dominance to determine the flow non-uniformity, because it presents higher Reynolds stress profile than uniform flow, whereas the accelerating flow does not

THE EXPRESSION OF Hsa-miR-21-5p AS MINIMAL INVASIVE MARKER TO ADJUVANT CHEMOTHERAPY IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS

AbstractBreast cancer remains the leading cause of death among women, and there is a need to develop minimally invasive marker. In our previous study based on clinicopathologic in pre-chemotherapy patients showed miR-21 was upregulated 1.32 times higher at advanced stage compared with early stage. Therefore the matched patients for post-chemotherapy samples were used. The aim of this research is to examine the expression of miR-21 as potential marker to adjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients. The samples were taken by using cross sectional method with total 39 blood plasma samples from breast cancer patients in adjuvant chemotherapy and 12 healthy control samples. Plasma was obtained from blood samples and then RNA isolated were performed. Total RNA was reverse transcribed using cDNA synthesis. The expression of miR-21 was then analyzed using specific primer for miR-21 and miR-16 as the reference gene. Livak Method was used to calculate the expression level in each group. The result showed that there is significant downregulated expression of miR-21 in postchemotherapy 2.61 fold compared with pre-chemotherapy (p<0.05). The expression of miR-21 upregulated 2.2 folds (p<0.05) in pre-chemotherapy compared with healthy control, while in post-chemotherapy compared with healthy control, the expression of miR-21 was 0.8 fold (p<0.05). In conclusion, Hsa-miR-21-5p can be used as marker for adjuvant chemotherapy response in breast cancer because there is significant different expression between prechemotherapy, post-chemotherapy and healthy control. The continuation research in the near future for detecting the expression of tumor suppressor protein regulated by miR-21 is needed.Keywords: breast cancer, adjuvant chemotherapy, miR-21, minimal invasive marke

MORPHOLOME ANALYSIS FOR PREDICTION OF GENE FUNCTIONS

One of the most important aspects of contemporary biology understands gene activities, which has ramifications for everything from basic science to real-world applications in biotechnology and medicine. One relatively new technology that has shown promise for predicting gene functions is morpholome analysis. Morpholome analysis is a thorough method of determining the functions of genes that involves systematically characterizing morphological phenotypes caused by genetic alterations. Morpholome analysis provides insights into the functional effects of gene alteration by combining high-throughput imaging, computational analysis, and functional genomics. This tool annotates gene functions and identifies new regulatory networks. This review emphasizes the role morpholome analysis plays in driving personalized medicine approaches, enabling drug discovery and development, and improving understanding of biological systems. The discovery of genes and pathways driving several of biological processes, including development, disease progression, and cellular signalling, is among the most significant results. Furthermore, advances in morpholome analysis approaches and technology have the potential to stimulate innovation and discovery across a wide range of biological and biomedical disciplines. To summarize, morpholome analysis is an important method for understanding gene activities, interpreting molecular pathways, and converting results into therapeutic applications for human disease and health

Pathogenetics of alveolar capillary dysplasia with misalignment of pulmonary veins.

Alveolar capillary dysplasia with misalignment of pulmonary veins (ACDMPV) is a lethal lung developmental disorder caused by heterozygous point mutations or genomic deletion copy-number variants (CNVs) of FOXF1 or its upstream enhancer involving fetal lung-expressed long noncoding RNA genes LINC01081 and LINC01082. Using custom-designed array comparative genomic hybridization, Sanger sequencing, whole exome sequencing (WES), and bioinformatic analyses, we studied 22 new unrelated families (20 postnatal and two prenatal) with clinically diagnosed ACDMPV. We describe novel deletion CNVs at the FOXF1 locus in 13 unrelated ACDMPV patients. Together with the previously reported cases, all 31 genomic deletions in 16q24.1, pathogenic for ACDMPV, for which parental origin was determined, arose de novo with 30 of them occurring on the maternally inherited chromosome 16, strongly implicating genomic imprinting of the FOXF1 locus in human lungs. Surprisingly, we have also identified four ACDMPV families with the pathogenic variants in the FOXF1 locus that arose on paternal chromosome 16. Interestingly, a combination of the severe cardiac defects, including hypoplastic left heart, and single umbilical artery were observed only in children with deletion CNVs involving FOXF1 and its upstream enhancer. Our data demonstrate that genomic imprinting at 16q24.1 plays an important role in variable ACDMPV manifestation likely through long-range regulation of FOXF1 expression, and may be also responsible for key phenotypic features of maternal uniparental disomy 16. Moreover, in one family, WES revealed a de novo missense variant in ESRP1, potentially implicating FGF signaling in the etiology of ACDMPV

Kontribusi Pajak Kendaraan Bermotor Dan Bea Balik Nama Kendaraan Bermotor (Pkb/Bbnkb) Terhadap Peningkatan Pendapatan Aslidaerah (Pad) Propinsi Kalimantan Timur

Dengan adanya Undang-undang Otonomi Daerah yaitu Undang-Undang No. 22 Tahun 1999 yang mengatur tentang Pemerintahan Daerah dan UndangUndang No. 25 Tahun 1999 tentang Perimbangan Keuangan Antara Pusat dan Daerah dapat dianggap sebagai suatu kemajuan yang cukup berarti dalam reformasi ini. Undang-Undang No. 25 Tahun 1999 menyebutkan bahwa sumber pendapatan daerah adalah terdiri dari hasil pajak daerah, hasil retribusi daerah, hasil perusahaan milik daerah dan hasil pengelolaan daerah yang dipisahkan, hasil lain-lain PAD yang sah. Dikeluarkannya UU No. 34/2000 tentang Pajak Daerah dan Retribusi Daerah, diharapkan Pemerintah Propinsi Kalimantan Timur memiliki landasan hukum yang sangat kuat untuk mengadakan pemungutan pajak dan retribusi daerah. Tujuan dari penelitian ini ialah (1) untuk mendeskripsikan tingkat penerimaan Pajak Kendaraan Bermotor dan Bea Balik Nama Kendaraan Bermotor (PKB.BBNKB) di Propinsi Kalimantan Timur (2) untuk mendeskripsikan Realisasi dan Target Penerimaan Pajak Kendaraan Bermotor dan Bea Balik Nama Kendaraan Bermotor (PKB/BBNKB) di Propinsi Kalimantan Timur (3) untuk mendeskripsikan Kontribusi Pajak Kendaraan Bermotor dan Bea Balik Nama Kendaraan Bermotor (PKB/BBNKB) terhadap Peningkatan Pendapatan Asli Daerah (PAD) Propinsi Kalimantan Timur. (4) untuk mendeskripsikan FaktorFaktor Pendukung dan Penghambat. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode atau pendekatan kualitatif, pertimbangan menggunakan metode tersebut ialah ingin memperoleh gambaran tentang kebijakan Pajak Kendaraan Bermotor dan Bea Balik Nama Kendaraan Bermotor terhadap peningkatan PAD Pemerintah Propinsi Kalimantan Timur. Pengumpulan data menggunakan dokumentasi, wawancara dan observasi. Analisis data yang dipergunakan adalah analisis interaktif yang dikembangkan oleh Miles dan Huberman (1992) dengan prosedur : reduksi data, penyajian data dan penarikan kesimpulan/verifikasi. Hasil penelitian tersebut disimpulkan bahwa kontribusi Pajak Kendaraan Bermotor dan Bea Balik Nama Kendaraan Bermotor terhadap Peningkatan Pendapatan Asli Daerah Propinsi Kalimantan Timur sangat signifikan dengan rata-rata besaran kontribusinya sebesar 61%. Hasil penelitian ini menyarankan sosialisasi mengenai Pajak Kendaraan Bermotor dan pendekatan persuasif, sehingga wajib pajak menyadari akan kewajibannya