Study on Efficacy of Expired and Active Forms of Various Antibiotics on Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Antibiotics are among the most frequently prescribed medications in modern medicines. The cell protection strategies in the organisms, development of resistance in previously susceptible microbes, the inevitable progression of microbes exposed to antibiotics to develop resistance, were the nesisities that ensures the need for continual cycles of discovery and development of new antibiotics. A large variety of antibiotics are available in the drug market today, several others being added regularly in combat with various pathogens that cause disease in humans as well as in animals. Our present study focused to investigate the change in efficacy of commonly used antibiotics such as amoxicillin, ampicillin, sparfloxacin, cefixime. We have collected antibiotics with before and after their expiry dates. A simple eukaryotic model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae is used to study the comparative understanding of this microbe with these different antibiotics. In our investigation we found that response of Sacchromyces cerevisiae towards different antibiotics varied in its intricacies. Fresh forms of antibiotics have significantly inhibiting the growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae as compared to expired forms. The observations revealed that expired forms of antibiotics loose their efficacy drastically

Near real time ionospheric monitoring system over Malaysia using GPS data: my-iono service

Recently, real time information on the local ionospheric condition is becoming an important need for space and ground based technological systems which are prone to be affected by the local ionospheric state. Knowledge on the impact from the sun activity to the equatorial and low latitude ionosphere is crucial for research and development purpose in all developing nations which are relying on space-based technology systems such as the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). As the first action step to achieve deeper understanding and hands on experience on real time ionospheric monitoring, the National Space Agency of Malaysia (ANGKASA) in collaboration with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) has developed the first near real time ionospheric and space weather monitoring system for Malaysia (My-Iono) in year 2015. This web-based platform operates based on the National R&D GPS Continuously operating reference station network (NRC-net). The system runs based on a locally derived algorithm called Equatorial Ionosphere Index (EIX). The EIX was formulated based on 10 years (2004 to 2013) GPS derived empirical Total Electron Content (TEC) data obtained frpm 78 My-RTKnet stations around Malaysia. The fundamental of My-Iono Service consists of vertical TEC maps with a latency of ∼ 2 mins over Malaysia and information on the current ionospheric status; Normal, Medium and Severe, time series of Mean VTEC for station specific, time series of RAte of Change of tEc (RACE) for station specific and time series of Ionospheric Zenith (Iz) Delay for station specific estimated in near real time using GPS observations. This paper presents on the development of My-Iono Service in terms of system design and architecture

Coffee, tea and decaffeinated coffee in relation to hepatocellular carcinoma in a European population: multicentre, prospective cohort study

Inverse associations of coffee and/or tea in relation to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk have been consistently identified in studies conducted mostly in Asia where consumption patterns of such beverages differ from Europe. In the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and nutrition (EPIC), we identified 201 HCC cases among 486,799 men/women, after a median follow-up of 11 years. We calculated adjusted hazard ratios (HR) for HCC incidence in relation to quintiles/categories of coffee/tea intakes. We found that increased coffee and tea intakes were consistently associated with lower HCC risk. The inverse associations were substantial, monotonic and statistically significant. Coffee consumers in the highest compared to the lowest quintile had lower HCC risk by 72% (HR: 0.28; 95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.16 to 0.50, P-trend <0.001). The corresponding association of tea with HCC risk was 0.41 (95% CI: 0.22 to 0.78, P-trend=0.003). There was no compelling evidence of heterogeneity of these associations across strata of important HCC risk factors, including hepatitis B or hepatitis C status (available in a nested case-control study). The inverse, monotonic associations of coffee intake with HCC were apparent for caffeinated (P-trend=0.009), but not decaffeinated (P-trend=0.45) coffee for which, however, data were available for a fraction of subjects. Results from this multi-centre, European cohort study strengthen the existing evidence regarding the inverse association between coffee/tea and HCC risk. Given the apparent lack of heterogeneity of these associations by HCC risk factors and that coffee/tea are universal exposures, our results could have important implications for high HCC risk subjects

The histology of ovarian cancer: worldwide distribution and implications for international survival comparisons (CONCORD-2)

Objective Ovarian cancers comprise several histologically distinct tumour groups with widely different prognosis. We aimed to describe the worldwide distribution of ovarian cancer histology and to understand what role this may play in international variation in survival. Methods The CONCORD programme is the largest population-based study of global trends in cancer survival. Data on 681,759 women diagnosed during 1995â\u80\u932009 with cancer of the ovary, fallopian tube, peritoneum and retroperitonum in 51 countries were included. We categorised ovarian tumours into six histological groups, and explored the worldwide distribution of histology. Results During 2005â\u80\u932009, type II epithelial tumours were the most common. The proportion was much higher in Oceania (73.1%), North America (73.0%) and Europe (72.6%) than in Central and South America (65.7%) and Asia (56.1%). By contrast, type I epithelial tumours were more common in Asia (32.5%), compared with only 19.4% in North America. From 1995 to 2009, the proportion of type II epithelial tumours increased from 68.6% to 71.1%, while the proportion of type I epithelial tumours fell from 23.8% to 21.2%. The proportions of germ cell tumours, sex cord-stromal tumours, other specific non-epithelial tumours and tumours of non-specific morphology all remained stable over time. Conclusions The distribution of ovarian cancer histology varies widely worldwide. Type I epithelial, germ cell and sex cord-stromal tumours are generally associated with higher survival than type II tumours, so the proportion of these tumours may influence survival estimates for all ovarian cancers combined. The distribution of histological groups should be considered when comparing survival between countries and regions

Global surveillance of cancer survival 1995-2009: analysis of individual data for 25,676,887 patients from 279 population-based registries in 67 countries (CONCORD-2)

BACKGROUND: Worldwide data for cancer survival are scarce. We aimed to initiate worldwide surveillance of cancer survival by central analysis of population-based registry data, as a metric of the effectiveness of health systems, and to inform global policy on cancer control. METHODS: Individual tumour records were submitted by 279 population-based cancer registries in 67 countries for 25·7 million adults (age 15-99 years) and 75,000 children (age 0-14 years) diagnosed with cancer during 1995-2009 and followed up to Dec 31, 2009, or later. We looked at cancers of the stomach, colon, rectum, liver, lung, breast (women), cervix, ovary, and prostate in adults, and adult and childhood leukaemia. Standardised quality control procedures were applied; errors were corrected by the registry concerned. We estimated 5-year net survival, adjusted for background mortality in every country or region by age (single year), sex, and calendar year, and by race or ethnic origin in some countries. Estimates were age-standardised with the International Cancer Survival Standard weights. FINDINGS: 5-year survival from colon, rectal, and breast cancers has increased steadily in most developed countries. For patients diagnosed during 2005-09, survival for colon and rectal cancer reached 60% or more in 22 countries around the world; for breast cancer, 5-year survival rose to 85% or higher in 17 countries worldwide. Liver and lung cancer remain lethal in all nations: for both cancers, 5-year survival is below 20% everywhere in Europe, in the range 15-19% in North America, and as low as 7-9% in Mongolia and Thailand. Striking rises in 5-year survival from prostate cancer have occurred in many countries: survival rose by 10-20% between 1995-99 and 2005-09 in 22 countries in South America, Asia, and Europe, but survival still varies widely around the world, from less than 60% in Bulgaria and Thailand to 95% or more in Brazil, Puerto Rico, and the USA. For cervical cancer, national estimates of 5-year survival range from less than 50% to more than 70%; regional variations are much wider, and improvements between 1995-99 and 2005-09 have generally been slight. For women diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2005-09, 5-year survival was 40% or higher only in Ecuador, the USA, and 17 countries in Asia and Europe. 5-year survival for stomach cancer in 2005-09 was high (54-58%) in Japan and South Korea, compared with less than 40% in other countries. By contrast, 5-year survival from adult leukaemia in Japan and South Korea (18-23%) is lower than in most other countries. 5-year survival from childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is less than 60% in several countries, but as high as 90% in Canada and four European countries, which suggests major deficiencies in the management of a largely curable disease. INTERPRETATION: International comparison of survival trends reveals very wide differences that are likely to be attributable to differences in access to early diagnosis and optimum treatment. Continuous worldwide surveillance of cancer survival should become an indispensable source of information for cancer patients and researchers and a stimulus for politicians to improve health policy and health-care systems

Worldwide comparison of survival from childhood leukaemia for 1995–2009, by subtype, age, and sex (CONCORD-2): a population-based study of individual data for 89 828 children from 198 registries in 53 countries

Background Global inequalities in access to health care are reflected in differences in cancer survival. The CONCORD programme was designed to assess worldwide differences and trends in population-based cancer survival. In this population-based study, we aimed to estimate survival inequalities globally for several subtypes of childhood leukaemia. Methods Cancer registries participating in CONCORD were asked to submit tumour registrations for all children aged 0-14 years who were diagnosed with leukaemia between Jan 1, 1995, and Dec 31, 2009, and followed up until Dec 31, 2009. Haematological malignancies were defined by morphology codes in the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, third revision. We excluded data from registries from which the data were judged to be less reliable, or included only lymphomas, and data from countries in which data for fewer than ten children were available for analysis. We also excluded records because of a missing date of birth, diagnosis, or last known vital status. We estimated 5-year net survival (ie, the probability of surviving at least 5 years after diagnosis, after controlling for deaths from other causes [background mortality]) for children by calendar period of diagnosis (1995-99, 2000-04, and 2005-09), sex, and age at diagnosis (< 1, 1-4, 5-9, and 10-14 years, inclusive) using appropriate life tables. We estimated age-standardised net survival for international comparison of survival trends for precursor-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Findings We analysed data from 89 828 children from 198 registries in 53 countries. During 1995-99, 5-year agestandardised net survival for all lymphoid leukaemias combined ranged from 10.6% (95% CI 3.1-18.2) in the Chinese registries to 86.8% (81.6-92.0) in Austria. International differences in 5-year survival for childhood leukaemia were still large as recently as 2005-09, when age-standardised survival for lymphoid leukaemias ranged from 52.4% (95% CI 42.8-61.9) in Cali, Colombia, to 91.6% (89.5-93.6) in the German registries, and for AML ranged from 33.3% (18.9-47.7) in Bulgaria to 78.2% (72.0-84.3) in German registries. Survival from precursor-cell ALL was very close to that of all lymphoid leukaemias combined, with similar variation. In most countries, survival from AML improved more than survival from ALL between 2000-04 and 2005-09. Survival for each type of leukaemia varied markedly with age: survival was highest for children aged 1-4 and 5-9 years, and lowest for infants (younger than 1 year). There was no systematic difference in survival between boys and girls. Interpretation Global inequalities in survival from childhood leukaemia have narrowed with time but remain very wide for both ALL and AML. These results provide useful information for health policy makers on the effectiveness of health-care systems and for cancer policy makers to reduce inequalities in childhood survival

Assessment of ionosphere models at Banting: Performance of IRI-2007, IRI-2012 and NeQuick 2 models during the ascending phase of Solar Cycle 24

The International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) and the NeQuick models have been recognised as the international standard for specifying Earth’s ionospheric parameters. However, the performance of these ionosphere models needs to be validated due to data scarcity from South-East Asian region for model development. This work presents the performance evaluation of IRI-2007, IRI-2012 and NeQuick 2 in estimating ionospheric Total Electron Content (TEC) at Banting (Geographic: 2.78°N, 101.51°E; Geomagnetic: 7.11°S, 173.77°E). For this purpose, TEC values estimated from these models have been compared with TEC values derived from dual-frequency Global Positioning System (GPS) data for the year 2011 (ascending phase of Solar Cycle 24). The results show that equatorial TEC exhibits semi-annual, annual, and seasonal variations with maximum values appearing during equinoctial months and minimum during solstitial months. Generally, ionospheric TEC produced by IRI and NeQuick 2 models are in good agreement with observed TEC. For diurnal variation, the IRI-2007 and NeQuick 2 models show good agreement during post-noon and post-midnight, respectively. Good correlation is observed during noon-time for all models. Disagreements between ionospheric models and observed TEC are found during post-sunset and post-midnight periods, with TEC deviation in the level of 11–14 TECU can be anticipated at 95% probability. On the other hand, TEC calculation from IRI-2012 is better than IRI-2007 and NeQuick 2 for monthly variation. All models score correlation coefficient above 0.9 with the highest correlation noticed during solstitial months. TEC deviation above 10 and up to 15 TECU can be expected in October with 95% probability. Overall, this work reveals that IRI and NeQuick 2 models are capable of predicting TEC with good correlation in most cases