Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practices of universal precautions among medical and nursing students

Background: Universal precautions is an approach to infection control to treat all human blood and certain human body fluids as if they were known to be infectious for HIV, HBV and other bloodborne pathogens. The CDC recommends Standard Precautions for the care of all patients, regardless of their diagnosis or presumed infection status. Health care personals are at risk of being exposed to blood-borne pathogens. The aim of the study to determine the knowledge, attitude and practice of medical and nursing students towards universal precautions.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out at S. S. Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Davangere, Karnataka. The participants were medical and Nursing undergraduate students. A questionnaire was prepared based on the WHO and CDC guidelines on Universal Precautions and was validated and pre-tested before finalization. Degree of knowledge was ascertained by means of yes-no questions on each item being evaluated.Results: All students were aware of Universal precautions, but soundness of their knowledge is very poor. Compliance in Universal precautions is good to average in nursing students but poor to average in medical students.Conclusions: It can be concluded that interventions to improve Universal precautions among medical students, nursing students urgently needed. So, there is a need for developing strategies to promote the use of Universal precautions which take into account behaviour change and accuracy of knowledge including its integration into practice. Teaching universal precautions early in their curriculum is necessary for better learning and practices during their posting

Surface measurements of atmospheric electrical conductivity at Jnanabharathi campus, Bengaluru (12.96° N, 77.56° E)

57-63Simultaneous measurements of the atmospheric electrical conductivity and meteorological parameters were carried out during January-December 2014 at Jnanabharathi campus, Bangalore University (urban station), Bengaluru, (12.96° N, 77.56°E), Karnataka for the first time. Gerdien condenser and mini boundary layer mast (micro meteorological tower) were used to study the variation of electrical conductivity and meteorological parameters. The observations show that the change in daily and weekly variations of conductivity is strong dependent of activity of Radon (222Rn) gas and meteorological parameters that defines the stability of the lower troposphere. Significant influence of atmospheric convective instability on conductivity was observed. The negative correlation of 0.56 was found between conductivity and rain for the year 2014. The average conductivity for the study period was found to be 4.02 ± 0.02 x 10-14 S/m, with higher values during the winter as compared to summer and monsoon seasons. The atmospheric air conductivity measurements may be used to study the atmospheric stability, pollution and climate change studies

Gene expression profiling revealed novel mechanism of action of Taxotere and Furtulon in prostate cancer cells

BACKGROUND: Both Taxotere and Capecitabine have shown anti-cancer activity against various cancers including prostate cancer. In combination, Taxotere plus Capecitabine has demonstrated higher anti-cancer activity in advanced breast cancers. However, the molecular mechanisms of action of Taxotere and Capecitabine have not been fully elucidated in prostate cancer. METHODS: The total RNA from PC3 and LNCaP prostate cells untreated and treated with 2 nM Taxotere, 110 μM Furtulon (active metabolite of Capecitabine), or 1 nM Taxotere plus 50 μM Furtulon for 6, 36, and 72 hours, was subjected to Affymetrix Human Genome U133A Array analysis. Real-time PCR and Western Blot analysis were conducted to confirm microarray data. RESULTS: Taxotere and Furtulon down-regulated some genes critical for cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, transcription factor, cell signaling, and oncogenesis, and up-regulated some genes related to the induction of apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, and differentiation in both cell lines. Taxotere and Furtulon also up-regulated some genes responsible for chemotherapeutic resistance, suggesting the induction of cancer cell resistance to these agents. CONCLUSIONS: Taxotere and Furtulon caused the alternation of a large number of genes, many of which may contribute to the molecular mechanisms by which Taxotere and Furtulon inhibit the growth of prostate cancer cells. This information could be utilized for further mechanistic research and for devising optimized therapeutic strategies against prostate cancer

Cell Lineage Analysis of the Mammalian Female Germline

Fundamental aspects of embryonic and post-natal development, including maintenance of the mammalian female germline, are largely unknown. Here we employ a retrospective, phylogenetic-based method for reconstructing cell lineage trees utilizing somatic mutations accumulated in microsatellites, to study female germline dynamics in mice. Reconstructed cell lineage trees can be used to estimate lineage relationships between different cell types, as well as cell depth (number of cell divisions since the zygote). We show that, in the reconstructed mouse cell lineage trees, oocytes form clusters that are separate from hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cells, both in young and old mice, indicating that these populations belong to distinct lineages. Furthermore, while cumulus cells sampled from different ovarian follicles are distinctly clustered on the reconstructed trees, oocytes from the left and right ovaries are not, suggesting a mixing of their progenitor pools. We also observed an increase in oocyte depth with mouse age, which can be explained either by depth-guided selection of oocytes for ovulation or by post-natal renewal. Overall, our study sheds light on substantial novel aspects of female germline preservation and development

High resolution human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and class II allele typing in Mexican mestizo women with sporadic breast cancer: case-control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The development of breast cancer is multifactorial. Hormonal, environmental factors and genetic predisposition, among others, could interact in the presentation of breast carcinoma. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles play an important role in immunity (cellular immunity) and may be important genetic traits. HLAAllele-specific interaction has not been well established. Recently, several studies had been conducted in order to do so, but the results are controversial and in some instances contradictory.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We designed a case-control study to quantify the association of HLA class I and II genes and breast cancer. HLA typing was performed by high resolution sequence-specific oligotyping after DNA amplification (PCR-SSOP) of 100 breast cancer Mexican mestizo patients and 99 matched healthy controls.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>HLA-A frequencies that we were able to observe that there was no difference between both groups from the statistical viewpoint. HLA-B*1501 was found three times more common in the case group (OR, 3.714; <it>p </it>= 0.031). HLA-Cw is not a marker neither for risk, nor protection for the disease, because we did not find significant statistical differences between the two groups. DRB1*1301, which is expressed in seven cases and in only one control, observing an risk increase of up to seven times and DRB1*1602, which behaves similarly in being present solely in the cases (OR, 16.701; 95% CI, 0.947 – 294.670). DQ*0301-allele expression, which is much more common in the control group and could be protective for the presentation of the disease (OR, 0.078; 95% CI, 0.027–0.223, <it>p </it>= 0.00001).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results reveal the role of the MHC genes in the pathophysiology of breast cancer, suggesting that in the development of breast cancer exists a disorder of immune regulation. The triggering factor seems to be restricted to certain ethnic groups and certain geographical regions since the relevant MHC alleles are highly diverse. This is the first study in Mexican population where high resolutions HLA typing has been performed in order to try to establish an association with malignancy.</p

Efficacy of the motile sperm organelle morphology examination (MSOME) in predicting pregnancy after intrauterine insemination

Background: Although the motile sperm organelle morphology examination (MSOME) was developed merely as a selection criterion, its application as a method for classifying sperm morphology may represent an improvement in the evaluation of semen quality. The aim of this study was to determine the prognostic value of normal sperm morphology using MSOME with regard to clinical pregnancy (CP) after intrauterine insemination (IUI).Methods: A total of 156 IUI cycles that were performed in 111 couples were prospectively analysed. Each subject received 75 IU of recombinant FSH every second day from the third day of the cycle. Beginning on the 10th day of the cycle, follicular development was monitored by vaginal ultrasound. When one or two follicles measuring at least 17 mm were observed, recombinant hCG was administered, and IUI was performed 12-14 h and 36-40 h after hCG treatment. Prior to the IUI procedure, sperm samples were analysed by MSOME at 8400x magnification using an inverted microscope that was equipped with DIC/Nomarski differential interference contrast optics. A minimum of 200 motile spermatozoa per semen sample were evaluated, and the percentage of normal spermatozoa in each sample was determined.Results: Pregnancy occurred in 34 IUI cycles (CP rate per cycle: 21.8%, per patient: 30.6%). Based on the MSOME criteria, a significantly higher percentage of normal spermatozoa was found in the group of men in which the IUI cycles resulted in pregnancy (2.6+/-3.1%) compared to the group that did not achieve pregnancy (1.2+/-1.7%; P = 0.019). Logistic regression showed that the percentage of normal cells in the MSOME was a determining factor for the likelihood of clinical pregnancy (OR: 1.28; 95% CI: 1.08 to 1.51; P = 0.003). The ROC curve revealed an area under the curve of 0.63 and an optimum cut-off point of 2% of normal sperm morphology. At this cut-off threshold, using the percentage of normal sperm morphology by MSOME to predict pregnancy was 50% sensitive with a 40% positive predictive value and 79% specificity with an 85% negative predictive value. The efficacy of using the percentage of normal sperm morphology by MSOME in predicting pregnancy was 65%.Conclusions: The present findings support the use of high-magnification microscopy both for selecting spermatozoa and as a routine method for analysing semen before performing IUI

The living microarray: a high-throughput platform for measuring transcription dynamics in single cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Current methods of measuring transcription in high-throughput have led to significant improvements in our knowledge of transcriptional regulation and Systems Biology. However, endpoint measurements obtained from methods that pool populations of cells are not amenable to studying time-dependent processes that show cell heterogeneity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we describe a high-throughput platform for measuring transcriptional changes in real time in single mammalian cells. By using reverse transfection microarrays we are able to transfect fluorescent reporter plasmids into 600 independent clusters of cells plated on a single microscope slide and image these clusters every 20 minutes. We use a fast-maturing, destabilized and nuclear-localized reporter that is suitable for automated segmentation to accurately measure promoter activity in single cells. We tested this platform with synthetic drug-inducible promoters that showed robust induction over 24 hours. Automated segmentation and tracking of over 11 million cell images during this period revealed that cells display substantial heterogeneity in their responses to the applied treatment, including a large proportion of transfected cells that do not respond at all.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results from our single-cell analysis suggest that methods that measure average cellular responses, such as DNA microarrays, RT-PCR and chromatin immunoprecipitation, characterize a response skewed by a subset of cells in the population. Our method is scalable and readily adaptable to studying complex systems, including cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis.</p

Spermatozoal sensitive biomarkers to defective protaminosis and fragmented DNA

Human sperm DNA damage may have adverse effects on reproductive outcome. Infertile men possess substantially more spermatozoa with damaged DNA compared to fertile donors. Although the extent of this abnormality is closely related to sperm function, the underlying etiology of ensuing male infertility is still largely controversial. Both intra-testicular and post-testicular events have been postulated and different mechanisms have been proposed to explain the presence of damaged DNA in human spermatozoa. Three among them, i.e. abnormal chromatin packaging, oxidative stress and apoptosis, are the most studied and discussed in the present review. Furthermore, results from numerous investigations are presented, including our own findings on these pathological conditions, as well as the techniques applied for their evaluation. The crucial points of each methodology on the successful detection of DNA damage and their validity on the appraisal of infertile patients are also discussed. Along with the conventional parameters examined in the standard semen analysis, evaluation of damaged sperm DNA seems to complement the investigation of factors affecting male fertility and may prove an efficient diagnostic tool in the prediction of pregnancy outcome