A molecular phylogeny of selected species of genus Prunus L. (Rosaceae) from Pakistan using the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) spacer DNA

Prunus is found in all four provinces of Pakistan, that is, Punjab, NWFP, Sindh and Baluchistan including Azad Kashmir region. Studies on the family Rosaceae is scanty in the Flora of Pakistan and there is a lot of taxonomic work yet to be done, for the proper classification and placement of different genera under different sub-families. In the present study, the genus Prunus was studied in detail to find out the phylogenetic relationship among the 23 species of Prunus, selected from different regions of Pakistan and GenBank using maximum parsimony analysis of sequence polymorphism in nuclear ITS-9 and ITS-6 spacer DNA. The results for the internal transcribed spacer (ITS)- 9 and ITS- 6 primers confirm the work done by early phylogenetists with additions of new species from Pakistan including Prunus bokhariensis, Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A. Webb. (Syn. Prunus amygdalus) and Prunus cornuta (Wall. ex. Royle) Steudel. These are indigenous to Pakistan. In the ITS strict consensus results for example, the clade consisting of Laurocerasus, Padus and Cerasus subgenera are sister to the rest of the clades in the phylogenetic tree.Key words: Phylogeny, Prunus, Pakistan, molecular phylogeny, nuclear primers

Hairy roots induction and artemisinin analysis in Artemisia dubia and Artemisia indica

Transformation of two Artemisia species (Artemisia dubia and Artemisia indica) was carried out by using two Agrobacterium rhizogenes strains LBA 9402 and 8196 for hairy roots production. Induction of hairy roots was higher in both Artemisia species when infected with LBA9402 as compared to 8196. When biomass of roots along with their artemisinin content was evaluated, a significant effect of Agrobacterium strain on fresh weight of roots was observed. While artemisinin content was significantly affected by both plant species as well as Agrobacterium strains used for infection. However roots of A. dubia infected either with LBA9402 or 8196 produced maximum artemisinin (0.603% and 0.753, respectively). When transformed roots were cultured in liquid medium, highest root fresh weight as well as artemisinin content (3.9 g and 0.042%, respectively) was observed in hairy roots of A. indica induced by Agrobacterium 819

A molecular phylogeny of selected species of Genus Prunus L. (Rosaceae) from Pakistan using the TRN-L & TRN-F spacer DNA

The genus Prunus L. is an important plant for fruit production and it includes plums, apricots, cherries, almonds and peaches that are sources of food for the local people. The family Rosaceae is not yet published in Flora of Pakistan and there is a lot of taxonomic work that is yet to be done for the proper classification and placement of different genera under different sub-families. Prunus is found in almost all the four provinces of Pakistan including Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (former NWFP), Sindh and Baluchistan which includes Azad Kashmir region. In the present study, the genus Prunus was studied in detail to find out the phylogenetic relationship among the 12 species of Prunus selected from different regions of Pakistan and GenBank using the maximum parsimony analysis of sequence polymorphism in chloroplast TRN-L and TRN-F spacer DNA. The results for the TRN-L and TRN-F primers confirm the work done by early phylogenetists including Potter and Bortiri with additions to new species from Pakistan including Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A. Webb. (Syn. Prunus amygdalus) and Prunus cornuta (Wall. ex. Royle) Steudel. which are indigenous to Pakistan.Key Words: Prunus, chloroplast, TRN-L, TRN-F, Pakistan

Potential for task-sharing to Lady Health Workers for identification and emergency management of pre-eclampsia at community level in Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: An estimated 276 Pakistani women die for every 100,000 live births; with eclampsia accounting for about 10 % of these deaths. Community health workers contribute to the existing health system in Pakistan under the banner of the Lady Health Worker (LHW) Programme and are responsible to provide a comprehensive package of antenatal services. However, there is a need to increase focus on early identification and prompt diagnosis of pre-eclampsia in community settings, since women with mild pre-eclampsia often present without symptoms. This study aims to explore the potential for task-sharing to LHWs for the community-level management of pre-eclampsia and eclampsia in Pakistan. METHODS: A qualitative exploratory study was undertaken February-July 2012 in two districts, Hyderabad and Matiari, in the southern province of Sindh, Pakistan. Altogether 33 focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted and the LHW curriculum and training materials were also reviewed. The data was audio-recorded, then transcribed verbatim for thematic analysis using QSR NVivo-version10. RESULTS: Findings from the review of the LHW curriculum and training program describe that in the existing community delivery system, LHWs are responsible for identification of pregnant women, screening women for danger signs and referrals for antenatal care. They are the first point of contact for women in pregnancy and provide nutritional counselling along with distribution of iron and folic acid supplements. Findings from FGDs suggest that LHWs do not carry a blood pressure device or antihypertensive medications; they refer to the nearest public facility in the event of a pregnancy complication. Currently, they provide tetanus toxoid in pregnancy. The health advice provided by lady health workers is highly valued and accepted by pregnant women and their families. Many Supervisors of LHWs recognized the need for increased training regarding pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, with a focus on identifying women at high risk. The entire budget of the existing lady health worker Programme is provided by the Government of Pakistan, indicating a strong support by policy makers and the government for the tasks undertaken by these providers. CONCLUSION: There is a potential for training and task-sharing to LHWs for providing comprehensive antenatal care; specifically for the identification and management of pre-eclampsia in Pakistan. However, the implementation needs to be combined with appropriate training, equipment availability and supervision. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrial.gov, NCT01911494

Neutron scattering sum rules, symmetric exchanges, and helicoidal magnetism in MnSb2O6

MnSb2O6 is based on the noncentrosymmetric P321 space group with magnetic Mn2+ (S=5/2, L≈0) spins ordering below TN=12K in a cycloidal structure. The spin rotation plane was found to be tilted away from the c axis [Kinoshita, Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 047201 (2016)10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.047201] resulting as a helicoidal ground state, which we refer as the tilted structure. In our previous diffraction study [Chan, Phys. Rev. B 106, 064403 (2022)10.1103/PhysRevB.106.064403] we found no evidence that this tilted structure is favored over the pure cycloidal order (referred as the untilted structure). The ground-state magnetic structure, expected to be built and originate from seven nearest-neighbor Heisenberg exchange constants, has been shown to be coupled to the underlying crystallographic chirality with polar domain switching being reported. We apply neutron spectroscopy to extract these symmetric exchange constants. Given the high complexity of the magnetic exchange network, crystallographic structure and complications fitting many parameter linear spin-wave models, we take advantage of multiplexed neutron instrumentation to use the first moment sum rule of neutron scattering to estimate these symmetric exchange constants. The first moment of neutron scattering provides a way of deriving the Heisenberg exchange constant between two neighboring spins if the relative angle and distance of the two ordered spins is known. We show that the first moment sum rule combined with the known magnetic ordering wavevector fixes six of the seven exchange constants. The remaining exchange constant is not determined by this analysis because of the equal spatial bond distances present for different chiral exchange interactions. However, we find this parameter is fixed by the magnon dispersion near the magnetic zone boundary, which is not sensitive to the tilting of the global magnetic structure. We then use these parameters to calculate the low-energy spin-waves in the Néel state to reproduce the neutron response without strong antisymmetric coupling. Using Green's response functions, the stability of long-wavelength excitations in the context of our proposed untilted magnetic structures is then discussed. The results show the presence of strong symmetric exchange constants for the chiral exchange pathways and illustrate an underlying coupling between crystallographic and magnetic "chirality"through predominantly symmetric exchange. We further argue that the excitations can be consistently modelled in terms of an untilted magnetic structure in the presence of symmetric-only exchange constants

Factors associated with in-hospital mortality following intracerebral hemorrhage: a three-year study in Tehran, Iran

BACKGROUND: Primary intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is one of the common vascular insults with a relatively high rate of mortality. The aim of the current study was to determine the mortality rate and to evaluate the influence of various factors on the mortality of patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Demographic characteristics along with clinical features and neuroimaging information on 122 patients with primary ICH admitted to Sina Hospital between 1999–2002 were assessed by multivariate analysis. RESULTS: Of 122 patients diagnosed with intracerebral hemorrhage, 70 were men and 52 were women. Sixtynine percent of subjects were between 60 to 80 years of age. A history of hypertension was the primary cause in 67.2% of participants and it was found more frequent compared to other cardiovascular risk factors such as a history of ischemic heart disease (17.2%), diabetes mellitus (18%) and cigarette smoking (13.1%). The overall mortality rate among ICH patients admitted to the hospital was 46.7%. About one third of the deaths occurred within the first two days after brain injury. Factor independently associated with in-hospital mortality were Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score (≤ 8), diabetes mellitus disease, volume of hematoma and and intraventricular hematoma. CONCLUSION: Higher rate of mortality were observed during the first two weeks of hospitalization following ICH. Neuroimaging features along with GCS score can help the clinicians in developing their prognosis

Cholesterol and the risk of grade-specific prostate cancer incidence: evidence from two large prospective cohort studies with up to 37 years' follow up

<b>Background</b> High cholesterol may be a modifiable risk factor for prostate cancer but results have been inconsistent and subject to potential "reverse causality" where undetected disease modifies cholesterol prior to diagnosis.<p></p> <b>Methods</b> We conducted a prospective cohort study of 12,926 men who were enrolled in the Midspan studies between 1970 and 1976 and followed up to 31st December 2007. We used Cox-Proportional Hazards Models to evaluate the association between baseline plasma cholesterol and Gleason grade-specific prostate cancer incidence. We excluded cancers detected within at least 5 years of cholesterol assay.<p></p> <b>Results</b> 650 men developed prostate cancer in up to 37 years' follow-up. Baseline plasma cholesterol was positively associated with hazard of high grade (Gleason score[greater than or equal to]8) prostate cancer incidence (n=119). The association was greatest among men in the 4th highest quintile for cholesterol, 6.1 to <6.69 mmol/l, Hazard Ratio 2.28, 95% CI 1.27 to 4.10, compared with the baseline of <5.05 mmol/l. This association remained significant after adjustment for body mass index, smoking and socioeconomic status.<p></p> <b>Conclusions</b> Men with higher cholesterol are at greater risk of developing high-grade prostate cancer but not overall risk of prostate cancer. Interventions to minimise metabolic risk factors may have a role in reducing incidence of aggressive prostate cancer

A case of isolated metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma arising from the pelvic bone

Reports of metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) without a primary liver tumor are rare. Here we present a case of isolated HCC that had metastasized to the pelvic bone without a primary focus. A 73-year-old man presented with severe back and right-leg pain. Radiological examinations, including computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), revealed a huge mass on the pelvic bone (13×10 cm). He underwent an incisional biopsy, and the results of the subsequent histological examination were consistent with metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma. The tumor cells were positive for cytokeratin (AE1/AE3), hepatocyte paraffin 1, and glypican-3, and negative for CD56, chromogranin A, and synaptophysin on immunohistochemical staining. Examination of the liver by CT, MRI, positron-emission tomography scan, and angiography produced no evidence of a primary tumor. Radiotherapy and transarterial chemoembolization were performed on the pelvic bone, followed by systemic chemotherapy. These combination treatments resulted in tumor regression with necrotic changes. However, multiple lung metastases developed 1 year after the treatment, and the patient was treated with additional systemic chemotherapy

Unique genome-wide transcriptome profiles of chicken macrophages exposed to Salmonella-derived endotoxin

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Macrophages play essential roles in both innate and adaptive immune responses. Bacteria require endotoxin, a complex lipopolysaccharide, for outer membrane permeability and the host interprets endotoxin as a signal to initiate an innate immune response. The focus of this study is kinetic and global transcriptional analysis of the chicken macrophage response to <it>in vitro </it>stimulation with endotoxin from <it>Salmonella </it><it>typhimurium</it>-798.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The 38535-probeset Affymetrix GeneChip Chicken Genome array was used to profile transcriptional response to endotoxin 1, 2, 4, and 8 hours post stimulation (hps). Using a maximum FDR (False Discovery Rate) of 0.05 to declare genes as differentially expressed (DE), we found 13, 33, 1761 and 61 DE genes between endotoxin-stimulated versus non-stimulated cells at 1, 2, 4 and 8 hps, respectively. QPCR demonstrated that endotoxin exposure significantly affected the mRNA expression of <it>IL1B</it>, <it>IL6</it>, <it>IL8</it>, and <it>TLR15</it>, but not <it>IL10 </it>and <it>IFNG </it>in HD 11 cells. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis showed that 10% of the total DE genes were involved in inflammatory response. Three, 9.7, 96.8, and 11.8% of the total DE inflammatory response genes were significantly differentially expressed with endotoxin stimulation at 1, 2, 4 and 8 hps, respectively. The <it>NFKBIA, IL1B, IL8 and CCL4 </it>genes were consistently induced at all times after endotoxin treatment. <it>NLRC5 </it>(CARD domain containing, NOD-like receptor family, RCJMB04_18i2), an intracellular receptor, was induced in HD11 cells treated with endotoxin.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>As above using an <it>in vitro </it>model of chicken response to endotoxin, our data revealed the kinetics of gene networks involved in host response to endotoxin and extend the known complexity of networks in chicken immune response to Gram-negative bacteria such as <it>Salmonella</it>. The induction of <it>NFKBIA, IL1B, IL8, CCL4 </it>genes is a consistent signature of host response to endotoxin over time. We make the first report of induction of a NOD-like receptor family member in response to <it>Salmonella </it>endotoxin in chicken macrophages.</p

Mycobacterium tuberculosis DosR Regulon Gene Rv0079 Encodes a Putative, ‘Dormancy Associated Translation Inhibitor (DATIN)’

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a major human pathogen that has evolved survival mechanisms to persist in an immune-competent host under a dormant condition. The regulation of M. tuberculosis metabolism during latent infection is not clearly known. The dormancy survival regulon (DosR regulon) is chiefly responsible for encoding dormancy related functions of M. tuberculosis. We describe functional characterization of an important gene of DosR regulon, Rv0079, which appears to be involved in the regulation of translation through the interaction of its product with bacterial ribosomal subunits. The protein encoded by Rv0079, possibly, has an inhibitory role with respect to protein synthesis, as revealed by our experiments. We performed computational modelling and docking simulation studies involving the protein encoded by Rv0079 followed by in vitro translation and growth curve analysis experiments, involving recombinant E. coli and Bacille Calmette Guérin (BCG) strains that overexpressed Rv0079. Our observations concerning the interaction of the protein with the ribosomes are supportive of its role in regulation/inhibition of translation. We propose that the protein encoded by locus Rv0079 is a ‘dormancy associated translation inhibitor’ or DATIN