Free radicals and antioxidants in normal versus cancerous cells — An overview

Oxygen is vital for aerobic processes of metabolism and respiration- It has been also implicated in many diseases and degenerative conditions. Free radicals formed from reactive oxygen and nitrogen species act as key players in the initiation and progression of tumor cells and enhance their metastatic potential. The imbalance in the formation and use of free radicals in the tissue creates oxidative stress. Inadequacy in normal cells antioxidant defense system or excessive free radical formation or even both can cause the cell to experience the oxidative stress. This review outlines the involvement of free radicals in different aspects of cancer, from prevention to initiation, progression, treatment and to reduce morbidity and mortality

Exploring the Usage Pattern of Smartphone for Academic Pursuit: A Case Study of Utkal University

This paper is an outcome of the survey carried out among the students of Utkal University to determine the usage patterns of smartphones for their academic pursuits. The authors distributed a total of 250 questionnaires and received back 215 at a response rate of 86%. Though the students expressed that they use smartphones for both general purposes as well as academic purposes, 90% of them indicated that smartphones help to store course materials for easy access and also to check email. The study recommends that the University should promote the use of smartphones in teaching and learning at different levels and should periodically develop a standardized training program to encourage its use

Mechanochemical feedback control of dynamin independent endocytosis modulates membrane tension in adherent cells.

Plasma membrane tension regulates many key cellular processes. It is modulated by, and can modulate, membrane trafficking. However, the cellular pathway(s) involved in this interplay is poorly understood. Here we find that, among a number of endocytic processes operating simultaneously at the cell surface, a dynamin independent pathway, the CLIC/GEEC (CG) pathway, is rapidly and specifically upregulated upon a sudden reduction of tension. Moreover, inhibition (activation) of the CG pathway results in lower (higher) membrane tension. However, alteration in membrane tension does not directly modulate CG endocytosis. This requires vinculin, a mechano-transducer recruited to focal adhesion in adherent cells. Vinculin acts by controlling the levels of a key regulator of the CG pathway, GBF1, at the plasma membrane. Thus, the CG pathway directly regulates membrane tension and is in turn controlled via a mechano-chemical feedback inhibition, potentially leading to homeostatic regulation of membrane tension in adherent cells

Doppler ultrasound scoring to predict chemotherapeutic response in advanced breast cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Doppler ultrasonography (US) is increasingly being utilized as an imaging modality in breast cancer. It is used to study the vascular characteristics of the tumor. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is the standard modality of treatment in locally advanced breast cancer. Histological examination remains the gold standard to assess the chemotherapy response. However, based on the color Doppler findings, a new scoring system that could predict histological response following chemotherapy is proposed.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Fifty cases of locally advanced infiltrating duct carcinoma of the breast were studied. The mean age of the patients was 44.5 years. All patients underwent clinical, Doppler and histopathological assessment followed by three cycles of CAF (Cyclophosphamide, Adriamycin and 5-Fluorouracil) chemotherapy, repeat clinical and Doppler examination and surgery. The resected specimens were examined histopathologically and histological response was correlated with Doppler findings. The Doppler characteristics of the tumor were graded as 1–4 for <25%, 25–50%, >50% and complete disappearance of flow signals respectively. A cumulative score was calculated and compared with histopathological response. Results were analyzed using Chi square test, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The maximum Doppler score according to the proposed scoring system was twelve and minimum three. Higher scores corresponded with a more favorable histopathological response. Twenty four patients had complete response to chemotherapy. Sixteen of these 24 patients (66.7%) had a cumulative Doppler score more than nine. The sensitivity of cumulative score >5 was 91.7% and specificity was 38.5%. The area under the ROC curve of the cumulative score >9 was 0.72.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Doppler scoring can be accurately used to objectively predict the response to chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced breast cancer and it correlates well with histopathological response.</p

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Promoting the Educational Research through an Open Access Institutional Repository of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Countries: An Analytical Study

The present study proposed to focus on the current status of SCO countries Open Access Institutional Repositories. Nowadays, institutional repositories play a vital role in promoting higher education systems and research and development. Data were obtained from the Directory of Open Access Institutional Repositories (DOAR) website. Then collected data have been analysed and represented in graphical formats to clearly understand the study results. The researchers also assessed the SCO countries’ contribution to various parameters such as type of repository, disciplines, languages interface, and software used to build institutional repository. The study\u27s findings revealed that out of 214 repositories, the highest number of registration of repositories was took place in the year 2011 and 2019, i.e., 36 (16.82%) 34 (15.89%), respectively. It shows that majority used Dspace software 131(61.21%), followed by EPrints 35 (16.36%). Most of the repository preferred the English language158 (52.15%) interface to develop institutional repositories, followed by Russian languages 56(18.48%). The country-wise distribution shows that India has the highest number of institutional repositories, 94(43.93%) registered under open access. The majority of 108(23.08%) intuitional repositories are multidisciplinary, followed by Science General 69(14.74%)

EXPLORING THE USAGE PATTERN OF SMARTPHONE FOR ACADEMIC PURSUIT: A CASE STUDY OF UTKAL UNIVERSITY

This paper aims to determine the usage patterns of smartphones by Utkal University students for their academic pursuits. This study uses a survey method to collect data from students at Utkal University. A total of 250 questionnaires were distributed, and 215 duly filled questionnaires were received, with the response rate of 86%. The students expressed that they used smartphones for both general purposes as well as academic purposes. The main aim of this paper is to throw light on how students are using smartphones for their academic purposes without prior training. The study found that 90% of the respondents indicated that smartphones help to store course materials for easy access and to check email inbox often. This study recommends that the University committed itself to promote the use of smartphones in teaching and learning at different levels. To encourage the use of smartphones, it is necessary to periodically develop a standardized training program for better use of smartphones

Study of effect of dexmedetomidine with levobupivacaine on the onset and duration of analgesia and anaesthesia in brachial plexus block

Objective: To Compare the efficacy Of Dexmedetomidine as an Adjuvant to Levobupivacaine in Axillary Brachial Plexus Block in Upper Limb Surgeries. Materials and methods: Hundred patients aged 18 to 60 years, scheduled for elective orthopedic operations in the upper limb, under axillary approach of brachial plexus block were randomized to two equal groups of 50 each into Group LBD receiving 25 ml of 0.5% levobupivacaine and Dexmedetomidine(1 mcg/kg) , while group LB received 25 ml of 0.5% levobupivacaine .The primary objective was to compare duration of sensory ( post operative analgesia ) block with or without addition of Dexmedetomidine to levobupivacaine . The secondary objective was to compare the onset and duration of sensory and motor block and hemodynamic parameters following the block between the groups intraoperatively at regular intervals. Results: There is significant prolonged duration of sensory and motor blockade in group LBD compared to group LB (P&lt;0.001). Mean duration of sensory blockade (Group LBD, 14.91±1.19 hrs and Group LB, 10.73±.888 hrs). There is significant early onset of sensory and motor block in group LBD compared to group LB (P&lt;0.001) [Onset of sensory block (group LBD, 7.8±1.58min; group LB, 11.04±1.55 min). Onset of motor block (group LBD, 14.2 ± 2.12min; group LB, 16.14 ± 2.119 min)]. Conclusion: Dexmedetomidine 1μg/kg when added to 25mL of Levobupivacaine 0.5% for axillary brachial plexus block speeds the onset of sensory and motor blocks (P &lt; 0.05). The combination produces improved analgesia, resulting in a prolonged effect and reduced requirements for rescue analgesic