Comparative Analysis of Transcription Start Sites Using Mutual Information

The transcription start site (TSS) region shows greater variability compared with other promoter elements. We are interested to search for its variability by using information content as a measure. We note in this study that the variability is significant in the block of 5 nucleotides (nt) surrounding the TSS region compared with the block of 15 nt. This suggests that the actual region that may be involved is in the range of 5–10 nt in size. For Escherichia coli, we note that the information content from dinucleotide substitution matrices clearly shows a better discrimination, suggesting the presence of some correlations. However, for human this effect is much less, and for mouse it is practically absent. We can conclude that the presence of short-range correlations within the TSS region is species-dependent and is not universal. We further observe that there are other variable regions in the mitochondrial control element apart from TSS. It is also noted that effective comparisons can only be made on blocks, while single nucleotide comparisons do not give us any detectable signals

Epidemiološko istraživanje, karakterizacija i protugljivična osjetljivost gljivice Microsporum canis izolirane iz kućnih ljubimaca

Dermatophytoses is a very old and neglected ailment in man as well as animals. The development of antifungal resistance is another emerging issue. Among the different etiologies, Microsporum canis plays a crucial role. The present study was undertaken to investigate the epidemiology of, characterize, and explore the antifungal susceptibility profile of M. canis isolated from pet animals. A total of 97 (59.15%) (Dog-46, Cat-51) isolates were identified as M. canis by using PCR. The prevalence of M. canis was highest in puppies (19.1%) and kittens (25.78%) in relation to age. No sexual predisposition was found in this study. Seasonal distribution revealed the highest prevalence in summer and lowest in winter. Resistance against Fluconazole and Griseofulvin was observed in a few isolates. The results indicate the need to properly identify the pathogen, and to be cautious in selecting the drug for treatment in order to stop the further development of resistant dermatophytes.Dermatofitoze su su dugo poznate bolesti u ljudi i životinja kod kojih sve više zabrinjava razvoj protugljivične otpornosti. Među brojnim etiologijama ključnu ulogu ima Microsporum canis. U ovom je radu istražena epidemiologija, provedena karakterizacija i istražena protugljivična osjetljivost gljivice M. canis izolirane iz kućnih ljubimaca. Metodom PCR-a kao vrsta M. canis identificirano je ukupno 97 izolata (59,15 %), 46 kod pasa i 51 kod mačaka. Uvažavajući dob, prevalencija gljivice M. canis bila je najveća u štenadi (19,1 %) i mačića (25,78 %). U ovom istraživanju nije potvrđena spolna predispozicija bolesti. Sezonska raspodjela najveća je bila ljeti, a najmanja zimi. U nekoliko je izolata promatrana rezistencija na Flukonazol i Grizeofulvin. Rezultati upućuju na to da treba točno identificirati patogen i biti oprezan u izboru lijeka kako bi se spriječio daljnji razvoj dermatofita

High Speed Data Cryptography Technique of Blowfish Algorithm using VHDL

Nowadays, information security is more important issue for reliable data transfer. A cryptographic method is widely used to ensure the security of data. To keep the information from being hacked by the other party, data is encoded by using this method. To meet these requirements the implementation of the Blowfish algorithm in the commercial FPGA has can be used to obtain high performance of such FPGA based reconfigurable systems. This paper presents, how such a system can be used to enhance the speed of cryptographic computation. By using FPGA design, the Blowfish computation can be increased in speed. In this, Xilinx software is used for the analysis purpose. The results will lead to the general conclusion that the use of an FPGA coprocessor is ideally suited for the execution of cryptographic algorithms regarding execution time and flexible usage. The performance is analyzed in terms of its architecture, speed, throughput, and encryption time

Heart failure with improved versus persistently reduced left ventricular ejection fraction:A comparison of the BIOSTAT-CHF (European) study with the ASIAN-HF registry

AimsWe investigated the prevalence, clinical characteristics, and prognosis of patients with heart failure (HF) with improved ejection fraction (HFimpEF).Methods and resultsWe used data from BIOSTAT-CHF including patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤40% at baseline who had LVEF re-assessed at 9 months. HFimpEF was defined as a LVEF >40% and a LVEF ≥10% increase from baseline at 9 months. We validated findings in the ASIAN-HF registry. The primary outcome was a composite of time to HF rehospitalization or all-cause mortality. In BIOSTAT-CHF, about 20% of patients developed HFimpEF, that was associated with a lower primary event rate of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 0.52, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.28–0.97, p = 0.040) and the composite endpoint (HR 0.46, 95% CI 0.30–0.70, p < 0.001) compared with patients who remained in persistent HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). The findings were similar in the ASIAN-HF (HR 0.40, 95% CI 0.18–0.89, p = 0.024, and HR 0.29, 95% CI 0.17–0.48, p < 0.001). Five independently common predictors for HFimpEF in both BIOSTAT-CHF and ASIAN-HF were female sex, absence of ischaemic heart disease, higher LVEF, smaller left ventricular end-diastolic and end-systolic diameter at baseline. A predictive model combining only five predictors (absence of ischaemic heart disease and left bundle branch block, smaller left ventricular end-systolic and left atrial diameter, and higher platelet count) for HFimpEF in the BIOSTAT-CHF achieved an area under the curve of 0.772 and 0.688 in the ASIAN-HF (due to missing left atrial diameter and platelet count).ConclusionsApproximately 20–30% of patients with HFrEF improved to HFimpEF within 1 year with better clinical outcomes. In addition, the predictive model with clinical predictors could more accurately predict HFimpEF in patients with HFrEF

The use of Brazilian vegetable oils in nanoemulsions: an update on preparation and biological applications

ABSTRACT Vegetable oils present important pharmacological properties, which gained ground in the pharmaceutical field. Its encapsulation in nanoemulsions is considered a promising strategy to facilitate the applicability of these natural compounds and to potentiate the actions. These formulations offer several advantages for topical and systemic delivery of cosmetic and pharmaceutical agents including controlled droplet size, protection of the vegetable oil to photo, thermal and volatilization instability and ability to dissolve and stabilize lipophilic drugs. For these reasons, the aim of this review is to report on some characteristics, preparation methods, applications and especially analyze recent research available in the literature concerning the use of vegetable oils with therapeutic characteristics as lipid core in nanoemulsions, specially from Brazilian flora, such as babassu (Orbignya oleifera), aroeira (Schinus molle L.), andiroba (Carapa guaianiensis), casca-de-anta (Drimys brasiliensis Miers), sucupira (Pterodon emarginatus Vogel) and carqueja doce (Stenachaenium megapotamicum) oils

Evaluation of vitamin C as an adjunct to periodontal therapy: Systematic review

Background: Periodontitis is an inflammatory disease that affects the periodontium, which is the protective apparatus that surrounds a tooth and includes the gingiva, alveolar bone, cementum, and periodontal ligament and is initiated by bacterial infection, subsequently progresses because of altered host response, and causes periodontal tissue destruction. These bacteria have the capacity to destroy the collagen fibres and ground substance directly by releasing virulence factors like enzymes - collagenase and toxins - gingipains. Indirectly act on various receptors like toll receptors and activate host immune response. Some immune cells like neutrophils, start producing reactive oxygen species (ROS). Vitamin C acts as an antioxidant, by acting as an electron donor Thereby preventing lipid peroxidation by ROS. Vit. C also controls collagen synthesis by directly activating collagen synthesis transcription and stabilizing procollagen mRNA. Along with other properties, Vitamin C is said to have anti-inflammatory and wound healing properties. Aim: This study aimed to systematically review to assess the effect of Vitamin C, as an adjunct to periodontal therapy