A study on micronucleus frequency in cervical smear as biomarker for genetic damage in polycystic ovarian syndrome

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a multifactorial endocrine disorder with metabolic and reproductive consequences. Genomic damage and susceptibility to cancer are noteworthy concerns in PCOS. Relationship between PCOS and endometrial and ovarian cancer has already been established. The presence of high body mass index, excess triglycerides, oxidative stress and occurrence of metabolic syndrome is a frequent occurrence in PCOS. This may succeed into genetic damage and susceptibility to cervical cancer as they are also known risk factors of the same. The aim of the study was to estimate the frequency of micronuclei in cervical smear and to determine if it can be used as a biomarker of genomic instability and susceptibility to cervical changes in the future in PCOS.Methods: This observational case control study included 38 subjects diagnosed with PCOS by Rotterdam’s criteria and 38 controls and was conducted between September 2018 to March 2020 in VIMS and RC. Data regarding age and anthropometric details and cervical smear samples was collected from all the subjects. The frequency of micronuclei in cervical smears was expressed as mean±standard deviation (SD). Differences between the PCOS group and the control group were examined for statistical significance using two-sample independent t-test. A p value of ≤0.05 denoted statistically signifi­cant difference.Results: The mean±SD of micronuclei frequencies in cervical smears was observed to be 1.69±0.69 and 0.33±0.18 (p value <0.0001) in the subjects with PCOS and control group, respectively.Conclusions: Micronuclei frequency was found to be elevated in cervical smears of women with PCOS when compared to controls indicating genetic instability and probable susceptibility to cervical cancer in the future in women with PCOS.

Feasibility of elastomeric composites as alternative materials for marine applications: A compendious review on their properties and opportunities

© IMechE 2022. This is the accepted manuscript version of an article which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1177/14750902221095321The term elastomer is a curtailment of two words, which are elastic and polymers. Accordingly, elastomers are polymer materials with elasticity. The significant challenges hindering the development of materials for naval applications, similar to other engineering sectors, include achieving a competitive light elastomeric structure. Marine structures are susceptible to various damage responses due to various loads throughout their service life. Being flexible, elastomer has a low modulus of elasticity, exhibits higher values of failure strain and yield strength. In these regards, elastomers are attractive materials for applications that require elasticity because they offer substantial advantages compared to traditional materials. However, the low fire resistance of these elastomeric materials jeopardizes their use in some critical applications. As a result, elastomeric blends and composites containing flame retardant (FR) additives are commonly used. On the other hand, elastomers possess (i) high strength-to-weight ratio, (ii) excellent impact properties, (iii) low infrared, magnetic, and radar signatures, (iv) excellent durability, and (v) high resilience to extreme loads. Hence, the scope of this study focuses on review and awareness regarding the feasibility of marine applications of elastomers/ elastomeric composites, their current scientific and technological drawbacks, and future outlooks or prospects to support several applications in the marine industry.Peer reviewe

Genome-Wide Mapping of Copy Number Variation in Humans: Comparative Analysis of High Resolution Array Platforms

Accurate and efficient genome-wide detection of copy number variants (CNVs) is essential for understanding human genomic variation, genome-wide CNV association type studies, cytogenetics research and diagnostics, and independent validation of CNVs identified from sequencing based technologies. Numerous, array-based platforms for CNV detection exist utilizing array Comparative Genome Hybridization (aCGH), Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) genotyping or both. We have quantitatively assessed the abilities of twelve leading genome-wide CNV detection platforms to accurately detect Gold Standard sets of CNVs in the genome of HapMap CEU sample NA12878, and found significant differences in performance. The technologies analyzed were the NimbleGen 4.2 M, 2.1 M and 3×720 K Whole Genome and CNV focused arrays, the Agilent 1×1 M CGH and High Resolution and 2×400 K CNV and SNP+CGH arrays, the Illumina Human Omni1Quad array and the Affymetrix SNP 6.0 array. The Gold Standards used were a 1000 Genomes Project sequencing-based set of 3997 validated CNVs and an ultra high-resolution aCGH-based set of 756 validated CNVs. We found that sensitivity, total number, size range and breakpoint resolution of CNV calls were highest for CNV focused arrays. Our results are important for cost effective CNV detection and validation for both basic and clinical applications

Requirement for Ergosterol in V-ATPase Function Underlies Antifungal Activity of Azole Drugs

Ergosterol is an important constituent of fungal membranes. Azoles inhibit ergosterol biosynthesis, although the cellular basis for their antifungal activity is not understood. We used multiple approaches to demonstrate a critical requirement for ergosterol in vacuolar H+-ATPase function, which is known to be essential for fungal virulence. Ergosterol biosynthesis mutants of S. cerevisiae failed to acidify the vacuole and exhibited multiple vma− phenotypes. Extraction of ergosterol from vacuolar membranes also inactivated V-ATPase without disrupting membrane association of its subdomains. In both S. cerevisiae and the fungal pathogen C. albicans, fluconazole impaired vacuolar acidification, whereas concomitant ergosterol feeding restored V-ATPase function and cell growth. Furthermore, fluconazole exacerbated cytosolic Ca2+ and H+ surges triggered by the antimicrobial agent amiodarone, and impaired Ca2+ sequestration in purified vacuolar vesicles. These findings provide a mechanistic basis for the synergy between azoles and amiodarone observed in vitro. Moreover, we show the clinical potential of this synergy in treatment of systemic fungal infections using a murine model of Candidiasis. In summary, we demonstrate a new regulatory component in fungal V-ATPase function, a novel role for ergosterol in vacuolar ion homeostasis, a plausible cellular mechanism for azole toxicity in fungi, and preliminary in vivo evidence for synergism between two antifungal agents. New insights into the cellular basis of azole toxicity in fungi may broaden therapeutic regimens for patient populations afflicted with systemic fungal infections

The MOBI-Kids Study Protocol: Challenges in Assessing Childhood and Adolescent Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields from Wireless Telecommunication Technologies and Possible Association with Brain Tumor Risk

The rapid increase in mobile phone use in young people has generated concern about possible health effects of exposure to radiofrequency (RF) and extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic fields (EMF). MOBI-Kids, a multinational case-control study, investigates the potential effects of childhood and adolescent exposure to EMF from mobile communications technologies on brain tumor risk in 14 countries. The study, which aims to include approximately 1,000 brain tumor cases aged 10-24 years and two individually matched controls for each case, follows a common protocol and builds upon the methodological experience of the INTERPHONE study. The design and conduct of a study on EMF exposure and brain tumor risk in young people in a large number of countries is complex and poses methodological challenges. This manuscript discusses the design of MOBI-Kids and describes the challenges and approaches chosen to address them, including: (1) the choice of controls operated for suspected appendicitis, to reduce potential selection bias related to low response rates among population controls; (2) investigating a young study population spanning a relatively wide age range; (3) conducting a large, multinational epidemiological study, while adhering to increasingly stricter ethics requirements; (4) investigating a rare and potentially fatal disease; and (5) assessing exposure to EMF from communication technologies. Our experience in thus far developing and implementing the study protocol indicates that MOBI-Kids is feasible and will generate results that will contribute to the understanding of potential brain tumor risks associated with use of mobile phones and other wireless communications technologies among young people

Transcriptomic Analyses Reveal Novel Genes with Sexually Dimorphic Expression in the Zebrafish Gonad and Brain

Background Our knowledge on zebrafish reproduction is very limited. We generated a gonad-derived cDNA microarray from zebrafish and used it to analyze large-scale gene expression profiles in adult gonads and other organs. Methodology/Principal Findings We have identified 116638 gonad-derived zebrafish expressed sequence tags (ESTs), 21% of which were isolated in our lab. Following in silico normalization, we constructed a gonad-derived microarray comprising 6370 unique, full-length cDNAs from differentiating and adult gonads. Labeled targets from adult gonad, brain, kidney and ‘rest-of-body’ from both sexes were hybridized onto the microarray. Our analyses revealed 1366, 881 and 656 differentially expressed transcripts (34.7% novel) that showed highest expression in ovary, testis and both gonads respectively. Hierarchical clustering showed correlation of the two gonadal transcriptomes and their similarities to those of the brains. In addition, we have identified 276 genes showing sexually dimorphic expression both between the brains and between the gonads. By in situ hybridization, we showed that the gonadal transcripts with the strongest array signal intensities were germline-expressed. We found that five members of the GTP-binding septin gene family, from which only one member (septin 4) has previously been implicated in reproduction in mice, were all strongly expressed in the gonads. Conclusions/Significance We have generated a gonad-derived zebrafish cDNA microarray and demonstrated its usefulness in identifying genes with sexually dimorphic co-expression in both the gonads and the brains. We have also provided the first evidence of large-scale differential gene expression between female and male brains of a teleost. Our microarray would be useful for studying gonad development, differentiation and function not only in zebrafish but also in related teleosts via cross-species hybridizations. Since several genes have been shown to play similar roles in gonadogenesis in zebrafish and other vertebrates, our array may even provide information on genetic disorders affecting gonadal phenotypes and fertility in mammals

Not Available

Not AvailableA biological study was carried out to review the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) recommendations for layer pullet feed. Commercial layer chicks were fed till 14 weeks of age as per BIS. At 15 weeks, pullets were randomly assigned to each of the five pre-lay feeding strategies, namely T1 (BIS control), T2 (16/2700), T3 (18/2700) (%CP/ kcal ME/kg), T4 (same as T2 lysine and methionine by 10% higher than BIS) and T5 (same as T4 with 2% oil). At 5% egg production, all groups were fed as per BIS. Pullets fed on high energy and protein pre-lay diets of 2700 kcal and 18% protein-advanced sexual maturity with good body composition. Pre-layers fed 2700/18 feed had the best hen day (85.4491.52), hen-housed egg production (84.2191.52), layed heavier eggs, had a higher egg mass output (47.1490.95g), gave the best feed efficiency, had the lowest pullet production cost and high egg feed price ratio. It was concluded that pre-lay pullets have to be provided with 2700/18 kcal of metabolisable energy and protein level as against the BIS recommendation of 2500/16 dietary energy and protein level.Not Availabl

Not Available

Not AvailableNot AvailableNot Availabl

FOOD INGESTION, DIGESTION AND CONVERSION PATTERN OF NEW BIVOLTINE HYBRID SILKWORM, BOMBYX MORI L.

Nutritional and feed conversion efficiency parameters of newly evolved race (CSR 16 x CSR 17) were studied. Nutritional indices parameters like ingesta digesta. approximate digestibility. reference ratio and consumption index were recorded significantly less in CSR 16 X CSR 17 when compared with control (CSR2 CSR4). Nutritional efficiency parameters like efficiency of ingested and digested food into larvae, cocoon and shell were recorded significantly higher in CSR 16 X CSR17. Ingesta and digesta required to produce one gram of larvae, cocoon and shell were recorded significantly higher in CSR2 x CSR4 when compared with CSR 16 × CSR 17