Merger of Ayurveda and Tissue Culture-Based Functional Genomics: Inspirations from Systems Biology

Ayurveda is one of the ancient systems of health care of Indian origin. Roughly translated into "Knowledge of life", it is based on the use of natural herbs and herb products for therapeutic measures to boost physical, mental, social and spiritual harmony and improve quality of life. Although sheltered with long history and high trust, ayurveda principles have not entered laboratories and only a handful of studies have identified pure components and molecular pathways for its life-enhancing effects. In the post-genomic era, genome-wide functional screenings for targets for diseases is the most recent and practical approach. We illustrate here the merger of ayurveda and functional genomics in a systems biology scenario that reveals the pathway analysis of crude and active components and inspire ayurveda practice for health benefits, disease prevention and therapeutics

Radiolytic damage to freeze-dried human amniotic membrane

Radiation-sterilization at 25 and 35 kGy of freeze-dried human amniotic membranes caused degradative effects in the biologic dressing. The decrease in pH and increase in UV absorption showed that radiation may have caused possible radiolytic changes in this biomaterial. Total nitrogen content, tensile strength, and [H3]water-retention capacity of the irradiated membranes remained invariable. Molecular topography analysis by atomic force microscopy showed radiation-induced defrayment of the collagen fibers, the major structural protein in amnion

Maternal Diet During Pregnancy and COVID-19 Susceptibility of Offspring: The “Thrifty Phenotype Hypothesis” Connection

There isaccumulating evidence suggesting that ACE2, the host cell receptor for the spike (S) protein of the SARS-CoV-2, mediates viral entry and infection, is under epigenetic control. Here, we discuss studies suggesting a nutritional strategy for down-regulating ACE2 expression in tissues of offspring through the phenom-enon of maternal epigenomic reprogramming mediated by maternal diet. The "thrifty hypothesis" was first proposed by Hales and Barker,which posits that spe-cific genes are programmed based on early-life experience to promote efficient fat deposition and storage in adulthood. Our analysis of the proposed mechanism for "early life programming" in this paper vianutritional modulation of histone acety-lation and DNA methylation goes beyond the physiological consequence of boost-ing the innate cellular resistance to a viral transmission. During the pandemic,where there is still no specific antiviral drug or a widely disseminated vaccine for COVID-19, we hypothesize that an epigenomic nutritionapproachmay be a prac-tical approach to help mitigate viral transmission offspring

Measuring the Impact of a Community Extension Program in the Philippines

Purpose – This study was designed to create platforms to train students in higher education to be caring and responsible citizens. This was an extension mission that aimed to tap into the expertise of academe and its knowledge to help the community.Based on the framework of academic of community empowerment, the researchers measured the long-term impact of a 44-month community extension program in the Philippines.The extension program described in this study was implemented between March 2009 and December 2015 to address the capacity-building needs of a low-income community.This paper highlights some key development activities which includes partnership with local government, training needs assessment through grassroots-level participation and design of practical education-training programs. Methodology – The study followed a descriptive research design. The Community Outcome Scale (COS) was developed to measure perceived knowledge, attitude, and lifestyle of the beneficiaries. Fifty-four community residents were purposively selected based on their attendance to the community-based education and training programs. The ANOVA method with post hoc analysis was employed to determine the differences between perceived knowledge, attitude, and lifestyle among residents, stratified according to the degree of completion of the training programs.Findings – There was a moderate improvement in community knowledge, attitude, and lifestyle based on the survey which was performed one and a half years after the completion of the extension programs. Based on the results, improved long-term outcomes were noted only amongst the regular and occasional participants.Significance – There is an increasing appreciation of the impact of higher education extension in the teaching and learning process as students apply their disciplinary knowledge to help address real-world problems.This work may be of interest to higher education institutions (HEIs) which are designing community extension programs with optimized societal outcomes

Segmental Duplications: a Possible Mechanism of Hominid Uplift Through MicroRNA Diversification

MicroRNAs (miRNA) are ~21 nucleotide-long gene silencers. Segmental duplications (SD) are among the driving forces in acquiring new genes. Both miRNA and SD are believed to have played a significant role in evolution, particularly in the divergence of humans (Homo sapiens) from the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes). This study determines the distribution of miRNAs in humans and in chimpanzees, and presents a hypothesis on its significance in the occurrence of segmental duplications. MiRNA sequences from miRBASE were subjected to BLAT and BLAST to determine if miRNAs are located in SD regions or not. Homology between miRNAs was determined with ClustalW. BLAST was then used to determine whether the non-homologous human miRNA are homologous to any other part of the chimpanzee genome. We found that all 695 human miRNAs are found exclusively in SD regions, and that 67 are de novo miRNAs. Thirteen are homologues of chimpanzee miRNA, and 11 were possibly derived from non-miRNA regions in chimp. Of these, 6 were located in SD regions of the chimpanzee genome. Results indicate that miRNA evolution occurs within regions of segmental duplication and suggest that the presence of miRNA duplicates allows more exposure to mutations that could necessitate diversification, and possibly evolution, through sub- and neofunctionalization

Mouse Homologue of the Schizophrenia Susceptibility Gene ZNF804A as a Target of Hoxc8

Using a ChIP-cloning technique, we identified a Zinc finger protein 804a (Zfp804a) as one of the putative Hoxc8 downstream target genes. We confirmed binding of Hoxc8 to an intronic region of Zfp804a by ChIP-PCR in F9 cells as well as in mouse embryos. Hoxc8 upregulated Zfp804a mRNA levels and augmented minimal promoter activity in vitro. In E11.5 mouse embryos, Zfp804a and Hoxc8 were coexpressed. Recent genome-wide studies identified Zfp804a (or ZNF804A in humans) as a plausible marker for schizophrenia, leading us to hypothesize that this embryogenic regulatory control might also exert influence in development of complex traits such as psychosis

Potential Anti-cancer and Anti-bacterial Activities of Philippine Echinoderm Extracts

In high-throughput search for bioactive compounds under resource-limited settings from Philippine echinoderms, the aqueous, methanol, chloroform and hexane extracts of seven Philippine echinoderms namely Holothuria nobilis (sea cucumber), Bohadscia marmorata (sea cucumber), Stichopus chloronatus (sea cucumber), Holothuria axiologa (sea cucumber), Linckia laevigata (starfish), Oreaster nodusus (starfish) and Ophiocoma ochoenleinii (brittle star) were screened for antitumor and antibacterial activity. Antitumor activity was determined using brine shrimp lethality assay while antibacterial assay was performed using turbidimetric method. Both assays utilized 96-well microtiter plates to facilitate speed and ease in screening. The chloroform extract of H. nobilis gave a positive result on antitumor activity while almost all sample extracts showed antibacterial activity against E. coli

HOX Gene Promoter Prediction and Inter-genomic Comparison: an Evo-Devo Study

Homeobox genes direct the anterior-posterior axis of the body plan in eukaryotic organisms. Promoter regions upstream of the Hox genes jumpstart the transcription process. CpG islands found within the promoter regions can cause silencing of these promoters. The locations of the promoter regions and the CpG islands of Homeo sapiens sapiens (human), Pan troglodytes (chimpanzee), Mus musculus (mouse), and Rattus norvegicus (brown rat) are compared and related to the possible influence on the specification of the mammalian body plan. The sequence of each gene in Hox clusters A-D of the mammals considered were retrieved from Ensembl and locations of promoter regions and CpG islands predicted using Exon Finder. The predicted promoter sequences were confirmed via BLAST and verified against the Eukaryotic Promoter Database. The significance of the locations was determined using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Among the four clusters, only promoter locations in cluster B showed significant difference. HOX B genes have been linked with the control of genes that direct the development of axial morphology, particularly of the vertebral column bones. The magnitude of variation among the body plans of closely-related species can thus be partially attributed to the promoter kind, location and number, and gene inactivation via CpG methylation

Short Research Report: Gratitude Moderates the Relationship Between Happiness and Resilience

Short Research Report: Gratitude Moderates the Relationship Between Happiness and Resilienc