Statistically significant association of the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs13181 (ERCC2) with predisposition to Squamous Cell Carcinomas of the Head and Neck (SCCHN) and Breast cancer in the north Indian population

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within vital DNA repair genes may cause reduction of activity leaving the genome unrepaired resulting in genomic instability and cancer.</p> <p>Materials and methods</p> <p>The present endeavour involved study on the association of the SNP rs13181 (Lys751Gln/A18911C) in the Nucleotide Excision Repair (NER) pathway gene ERCC2 (excision repair cross-complementing rodent repair deficiency, complementation group 2) with the risks of Squamous Cell Carcinomas of the Head and Neck (SCCHN) and Breast cancer using a case-control based association study among 685 (400 controls and 285 SCCHN-affected cases) and 395 (227 normal healthy female controls and 168 breast cancer cases) ethnically-matched samples, respectively from north India using Polymerase Chain Reaction followed by Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Results showed significant association of rs13181 homozygous mutant (CC) [Odds Ratio (OR) 4.412, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 2.413 to 8.068], heterozygous (AC) (OR 2.086, 95% CI 1.246 to 3.492) and combined mutant (AC + CC) (OR 2.672, 95% CI 1.647 to 4.334) genotypes with predisposition to Breast cancer. Statistically significant increase in SCCHN risk was also associated with the mutant genotypes of rs13181 (ERCC2), viz. homozygous mutant (CC) (OR 1.680, 95% CI 1.014 to 2.784), heterozygous (AC) (OR 1.531, 95% CI 1.092 to 2.149) and combined mutant (AC + CC) (OR 1.560, 95% CI 1.128 to 2.158) genotypes.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results of this case-control study indicate that the polymorphism rs13181 might be a risk factor for predisposition towards SCCHN and breast cancer among north Indian subpopulations.</p

Developing a Universal Identification Model: Integrating AI and IoT Tools with DNAFIDs to Recognize COVID-19 Patients

DNA fingerprinting identification systems based on artificial intelligence infuse almost every facet of life. Its impact on various aspects of human health can be seen today. It has also found its importance in the identification of global COVID-19 infections, whether suspected or proven, in patients. Because of the IoT and the application of sophisticated filtering techniques to big data, it’s conceivable. The technology of DNA profiling, which creates detailed profiles of individual characteristics, is a necessity. This can be incredibly helpful in the acquisition process in certain circumstances when paired with other data. Many candidates’ medical and physiological factors are included in the Human Clinical Profile (HCP), as are social profile-related services. The government spends significant tax dollars vetting the physical and medical characteristics of various candidates for clinical care and purposes related to public health response. We propose a technique that may help analyze the physical traits of candidates preemptively and conduct forensic investigation for human identification, which may help reduce the cost of check-ups and other medical processes. This technique combines DNA profiling with artificial intelligence tools to pre-screen candidates for COVID-19 patients who require physical and remote monitoring. Further experiments done in a targeted manner are justification for the hypothesis

Characterization of Actinomycetes and Trichoderma spp. for cellulase production utilizing crude substrates by response surface methodology

Laboratory bench scaling was done and an average of 1.85 fold increase by Response Surface Methodology (RSM) optimization was obtained. It was found that the predicted value (4.96 IU/ml) obtained by RSM is in close accordance with observed activity 5.14 IU/ml. Endoglucanases are mainly induced by CMC while Wheat bran (natural substrate) exoglucanase is more active when induced by avicel and cellulose. Addition of substrate beyond a level caused inhibition of cellulase production. The molecular weight of protein as determined by SDS-PAGE is very similar to molecular weight of cellulase of Trichoderma viride (T. viride) cellulase and Trichoderma reesei (T. reesei) endoglucanase. T. reesei β-glucosidase has high enzymatic activity on CMC substrate when compared with T. viride β-glucosidase. Secondary structure analysed by using Circular Dichroism confirmed that composition of celluase system is very similar to other analysed species. The cellulase was found to be active in pH range of 4.8-5.5; while temperature range varied from 50°C to 70°C. Although the enzymatic activity produced by mutants were lesser than the parent, but in one case mutants of Trichoderma reesei’s BGL has shown higher activity on cellulose

An observational study of the healing time, associated factors, and complications during non-operative management of patients with blunt abdominal trauma

Background: Non-operative management (NOM) has shown success in the management of cases of blunt abdominal trauma (BAT), especially in hemodynamically stable patients, even if there is a higher grade of injury.Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the healing rate with NOM and associated risk factors of non-healing in patients with BAT.Methods: This prospective study was conducted on 20 hemodynamically stable patients of BAT who were treated in a tertiary care hospital by NOM. Clinical monitoring and biochemical investigations were done. The patients were followed-up for three months. The outcome measures were the average time of healing and complications. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: The mean age of the patients was 24.5 years with 18 (90%) males and 2(10%) females. Nine patients (45%) had isolated liver injury, 8 (40%) had isolated splenic injury, 1 (5%) had isolated left renal injury, 1 (5%) had combined liver and splenic injury and 1 (5%) had combined liver and right renal injury. At 3 months of follow-up, 16 (80%) cases showed complete healing, 3(15%) showed incomplete healing and 1 (5%) patient with grade 4 splenic injury had failure of NOM. On performing univariate regression analysis, grade 3/4 was an independent risk factor of non-healing with an odds ratio of 5.667.Conclusion: In conclusion, NOM appears to be a safe and effective management protocol for patients with BAT, provided regular follow-ups and monitoring are done

In silico targeting enterotoxin from Staphylococcus aureus with selected flavonoids: Hope for the discovery of natural anti-mastitis agents

Staphylococcus aureus is a facultative anaerobe and catalase-positive bacterium responsible for various skin infections and life-threatening problems, including bacteremia and pneumonia. This bacterium produces a bunch of superantigens in the blood called enterotoxin. This toxin is responsible for food poisoning and toxic shock syndrome. Moreover, Bovine mastitis is also associated with S. aureus. Further, S. aureus related to drug resistance makes the infection more dreadful. Now a day, various natural compounds such as phytochemicals are gaining importance as they are effective against many diseases, including S. aureus infections. The present study used molecular docking of three ligands, i.e., Kaempferol, Apigenin, and Quercetin, with enterotoxin A from S. aureus. The docking study revealed that the binding energy of ligands with receptors was -6.6 to -6.9 Kcal/mol. Kaempferol had the highest binding affinity of -6.9 Kcal/mol, suggesting it has a potential against S. aureus. Therefore, in the current research, we have tried to identify occurring compounds that might be used to develop an effective anti-S.aureus agent. The findings are encouraging and will aid researchers in creating new mastitis-fighting medications based on natural phytochemicals

In silico targeting of osmoporin protein of Salmonella to identify anti-Salmonellosis phyto-compounds

Salmonella enterica serotype typhi is a gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium, and has flagella with the human body as its only reservoir. Typhoid fever was found to cause 21.7 million illnesses and 216,000 fatalities worldwide in 2000, and the International Vaccine Institute estimated 11.9 million cases and 129,000 deaths in low- and middle-income countries in 2010. More than 10 million patients were infected with S. typhi each year and the mortality rate is associated with more than 0.1 million patients. Moreover, it is also associated with drug resistance globally which makes the disease more dreadful. Other than antibiotics, various flavonoids showed medicinal effects against many diseases including S. typhi infection. Flavonoids are a type of plant bioactive metabolite that have potential medicinal efficacy. The goal of this study was to see if certain flavonoids (ellagic acid, eriodictyol, and naringenin) could interact with the outer membrane of osmoporin (PDB ID: 3uu2) receptor in Salmonella and helps in inhibiting its growth. To look for probable ligand-receptor binding relationships, we used Pyrxmolecular docking software. The molecular docking results were analyzed using the Biovia discovery studio visualizer. The current study discovered that selected plant-based compounds interacted with an outer membrane of the osmoporin receptor, resulting in minimization of energy in the range of-6.6 to -7.8 Kcal/mol

Evaluation of Physiological Parameters in Response to Endurance Exercise of Zanskar Ponies Adapted to High Altitude of Ladakh Region

Zanskar pony, a native horse breed of Ladakh mainly used for transportation in Trans-Himalayan region of India, is well adapted to high altitude hypobaric hypoxia environment. Due to extreme conditions of the Ladakh region, better endurance of these ponies under hypoxic and extreme cold conditions is of utmost concern for their recruitment in Indian Army. In the present study, 12 young trained Zanskar ponies were evaluated during endurance exercise at an altitude of 3292 meter above mean sea level. The animals were subjected to carriage transport with 65-70Kg load or riding on a track of 5-6 Km. Physiological parameters viz., pulse rate (PR), heart rate (HR), rectal temperature (RT), respiratory rate (RR) and oxygen saturation (SaO2) were recorded in Zanskar ponies during pre-exercise (T0), post- exercise (T1) and post recovery (T2, 2 hours post resting) stages. Results showed marked increase in PR, HR, RR and RT post exercise time points. The mean values of PR increased from 49.83±4.62 to 73.67±21.54 per minute, HR from 48±13.60 to 75±15.82 beats/min, RR from 37.83±9.70 to 57.67±13.48 per min and RT from 99.62±0.34 101.04±0.53 °F from pre stress to post endurance stress. The mean SaO2 level reduced significantly (88.58±6.75 at T0 versus 64.00±18.70 at T1 and 54.42±14.79 at T2) post exercise. This indicated limited availability of arterial oxygen for tissues which could be vital factor for adverse change in some of physio-biochemical parameters. Though the trend of physiological response was similar for all the 12 animals, still variation at individual animal level was observed during endurance stress. In future, some of these physiological parameters along with biochemical and molecular parameters could be evaluated as potential biomarkers in selecting ponies with superior endurance trait specifically under hypoxic conditions