Cellular iron homeostasis and metabolism in plant

International audienc

The Matter of Formation of Human Being Described By the Holy Quran In Comparison With the History of Embryology

What is the matter of creation of human? This question has been addressed since long back in the history from ancient Indian and Egyptian civilizations to the Greeks and until the advent of modern sciences. The answers to this question were varying and led to various ideologies about the paternity of the newborn and the role and importance of women in society. More or less the concept was that the human is formed from the male semen and female menstrual blood where semen is the actual matter of formation and the part of the female is just to nourish and nurture; until it is proved by the modern science that both male and female gametes equally take part in the formation of the embryo. However, the Islamic Holy Scripture, the Quran, and the narrations from Islamic prophet (PBUH) and the descriptions of the Islamic scholars stand in opposition to these concepts and have a stunning correlation with the modern scientific descriptions of the embryology

Challenges in diagnosis of isolated central nervous system vasculitis

Isolated central nervous system (CNS) vasculitis is a rare and complicated disorder. Patients typically present with nonspecific neurologic symptoms such as headache and encephalopathy, and have variable progression and severity of the disease. Challenges to definitive diagnosis include the limitations of currently available diagnostic modalities with high likelihood of false-positive or false-negative findings. Imaging, serologic, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) evaluation, and even angiography can fail to establish the diagnosis. Often, brain biopsy is required. In order to illustrate these challenges, we report the case of a patient who presented with subacute cognitive decline and was ultimately diagnosed with isolated CNS eosinophilic vasculitis. Initial work-up included CSF and serologic analyses, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and cerebral angiography, but definitive diagnosis required brain biopsy. Immunosuppressive therapy resulted in clinical improvement and stabilization. To our knowledge, only one other case of isolated CNS eosinophilic vasculitis has been reported in the literature. We discuss the importance of a high index of clinical suspicion in cases of progressive nonspecific neurologic symptoms

Isolation of squarrosal and squarrosol compounds from methanol root extract of Ruellia squarrosa (Acanthaceae)

Purpose: To identify, characterize and structurally elucidate bioactive compounds from root of Ruellia squarrosa.Methods: One kilogram of crude Ruellia squarrosa root was shade dried for 14 days, ground to a fine powder and subjected to a methanol extraction. The resultant extract underwent column chromatography for further purification. The isolated compounds were subjected to ultraviolet spectroscopy (UV), infra-red (IR), proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR), 13C–NMR and high resolution electron ionization mass spectrometry (HR-EI-MS) for the identification, characterization and structural elucidation of bioactive compounds. The most active compounds were tested for anticancer activities against human prostate cancer cell.Results: Two active compounds, squarrosol and squarrosal, were obtained with half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 15.6 and 26.6 μg/mL, respectively, against human prostate cancer cell lines. Squarrasol showed a significantly (p < 0.05) greater inhibition of cell proliferation than the same dose of squarrasal.Conclusion: These findings suggest that extracts of Ruellia squarrosa containing the bioactive compounds, squarrosol and squarrosal, can potentially be developed for the treatment of human prostate cancer.Keywords: Ruellia squarrosa, Prostate cancer, Squarrosol, Squarrosal, Anit-proliferativ

Recent advances in the characterization of plant transcriptomes in response to drought, salinity, heat, and cold stress [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]

Despite recent advancements in plant molecular biology and biotechnology, providing food security for an increasing world population remains a challenge. Drought (water scarcity), salinity, heat, and cold stress are considered major limiting factors that affect crop production both qualitatively and quantitatively. Therefore, the development of cost-effective and environmentally friendly strategies will be needed to resolve these agricultural problems. This will require a comprehensive understanding of transcriptomic alterations that occur in plants in response to varying levels of environmental stresses, singly and in combination. Here, we briefly discuss the current status and future challenges in plant research related to understanding transcriptional changes that occur in response to drought, salinity, heat, and cold stress

Automated grade classification of oral epithelial dysplasia using morphometric analysis of histology images

Oral dysplasia is a pre-malignant stage of oral epithelial carcinomas, e.g., oral squamous cell carcinoma, where significant changes in tissue layers and cells can be observed under the microscope. However, malignancy can be reverted or cured using proper medication or surgery if the grade of malignancy is assessed properly. The assessment of correct grade is therefore critical in patient management as it can change the treatment decisions and prognosis for the dysplastic lesion. This assessment is highly challenging due to considerable inter- and intraobserver variability in pathologists’ agreement, which highlights the need for an automated grading system that can predict more accurate and reliable grade. Recent advancements have made it possible for digital pathology (DP) and artificial intelligence (AI) to join forces from the digitization of tissue slides into images and using those images to train and predict more accurate grades using complex AI models. In this regard, we propose a novel morphometric approach exploiting the architectural features in dysplastic lesions i.e., irregular epithelial stratification where we measure the widths of different layers of the epithelium from the boundary layer i.e., keratin projecting inwards to the epithelium and basal layers to the rest of the tissue section from a clinically significant viewpoint

Immunomodulatory, antiglycation and anti-ulcerative properties of Ruellia squarrosa Fenzl Acanthaceae

Purpose: To evaluate the immunomodulatory, antiglycation and anti-ulcerative properties of Ruellia squarrosa Fenzl. Acanthaceae.Methods: Aerial parts and roots of Ruellia squarrosa were collected and extracted by maceration using dichloromethane and methanol as solvents. Luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence assay was used to evaluate immunomodulatory activity while antiglycation assay was performed by fluorescence method with rutin as standard. Anti-ulcerative activity was evaluated by enzymatic methods, namely, urease inhibition and carbonic anhydrase inhibition assays.Results: Dichloromethane extract showed immunomodulatory activity with half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 39.48 ± 8.06 % using ibuprofen as standard and antiglycation effect (IC50 = 382.21 ± 3.43) using rutin as standard. The methanol extract of the aerial parts of the plant showed urease inhibition activity (IC50 = 130.2 ± 0.57) using thiourea as standard. The methanol extract of the aerial parts of the plant also showed carbonic anhydrase inhibition activity (IC50 = 1656.7 ± 0.08) using acetazolamide as standard.Conclusion: It was concluded from the present study that aerial and root extracts of the Ruellia squarrosa have significant immunomodulatory, antiglycation and anti-ulcerative properties.Keywords: Ruellia squarrosa, Immunomodulatory, Antiglycation, Anti-ulcerative activity, Carbonic anhydrase inhibition, Ureas

PAKistan Study of prEmature coronary atHerosclerosis in young AdulTs (PAK-SEHAT): A prospective longitudinal study protocol investigating the prevalence, severity and determinants of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in the young adult Pakistani population

Introduction: Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) is a major cause of morbidity, mortality and health expenditures worldwide. Despite having higher ASCVD in the Pakistani population, data on subclinical coronary atherosclerosis in young Pakistanis remain scarce. The PAKistan Study of prEmature coronary atHerosclerosis in young AdulTs (PAK-SEHAT) aims to assess the prevalence, severity and determinants of subclinical coronary atherosclerosis among Pakistani men (35-60 years) and women (35-65 years) free of clinically symptomatic ASCVD and will assess 5-year rates of ASCVD events.Methods and analysis: PAK-SEHAT is an ongoing prospective cohort study with 2000 participants from all provinces of Pakistan who will be interviewed at the baseline along with phlebotomy, measurement of carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and coronary CT angiography (CCTA). Phlebotomy will be repeated at 2.5 years, whereas CIMT and CCTA will be repeated at 5 years. We will report the frequency of maximal coronary stenosis ≥50% and ≥70%, number of coronary vessels with plaque and the number of coronary segments affected per participant on CCTA. We will use Cox proportional hazards regression models to evaluate the association between baseline characteristics and incident ASCVD events during follow-up. These associations will be presented as HRs with 95% CIs.Ethics and dissemination: The study protocol was approved by the Tabba Heart Institute Institutional Review Board (THI/IRB/FQ/22-09-2021/016). All study procedures are consistent with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Findings of the study will be disseminated via peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations.Trial registration number: NCT05156736