Non-B DNA Secondary Structures and Their Resolution by RecQ Helicases

In addition to the canonical B-form structure first described by Watson and Crick, DNA can adopt a number of alternative structures. These non-B-form DNA secondary structures form spontaneously on tracts of repeat sequences that are abundant in genomes. In addition, structured forms of DNA with intrastrand pairing may arise on single-stranded DNA produced transiently during various cellular processes. Such secondary structures have a range of biological functions but also induce genetic instability. Increasing evidence suggests that genomic instabilities induced by non-B DNA secondary structures result in predisposition to diseases. Secondary DNA structures also represent a new class of molecular targets for DNA-interactive compounds that might be useful for targeting telomeres and transcriptional control. The equilibrium between the duplex DNA and formation of multistranded non-B-form structures is partly dependent upon the helicases that unwind (resolve) these alternate DNA structures. With special focus on tetraplex, triplex, and cruciform, this paper summarizes the incidence of non-B DNA structures and their association with genomic instability and emphasizes the roles of RecQ-like DNA helicases in genome maintenance by resolution of DNA secondary structures. In future, RecQ helicases are anticipated to be additional molecular targets for cancer chemotherapeutics

Gender based participatory approach for sustainable small holder farming in developing countries

Dairying at the household level is largely the domain of women. They are contributing for more than 90% of household activities. In livestock management activities, males are contributing only about 10% in form of fodder arrangement, livestock management such as, vaccinations, artificial insemination and selling milk. Considering women’ participation in dairy production system, their different needs and widening gaps the need was felt to have a study on this aspect. The paper describes rationale and importance of the participatory rural appraisal (PRA) approach. The methodology involves the following sequential components: site selection, site description and categorization, planning for PRA, diffusion of results. In this paper, the planning and implantation of integrated interventions have been made to assess women empowerment in dairy production system and improve dairy productivity. The Neeli ravi breed of buffalo was giving higher yield of milk (average 8 liters per day) over the indigenous breed (average 6-7 liters per day). Among the cow the cross bred was giving an average milk yield of 10 lt/day which was more than the 5-6 lt/day given by the indigenous breed. The occurrence of diseases was mainly June to September and the management practices were carried before their onset in May-June only. But, it should be carried out throughout the year for various diseases. The matrix ranking of technology adoptions for buffalo breeds were found to be 34 points against the 26 points for the indigenous breeds

Web 3.0 and its Potential Impact on Privacy Shifting Left in the Development Process

The concept of Web 3.0 as the semantic web has been around since the early 2000s, and its decentralized interpretation gained more traction when the term was coined by Ethereum’s co-founder Gavin Wood. New programming languages were identified as the first enablers of Web 3.0, but under its new interpretation, other enabling technologies were identified. The three most significant of which are Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and blockchain. IoT is both a concurrent technology and an enabler. Security and privacy-related challenges with the enabler technologies are already being identified and addressed. The privacy challenges associated with Web 3.0 as a whole are more difficult to identify due to multiple reasons, including the nascent form of the technology, the non-standardized definition of Web 3.0, and privacy (And compliance) concerns associated with decentralization. A decentralized version of the internet has the potential to evoke new, unprecedented privacy challenges, some of which may be addressed with further advances in blockchain (a key enabler). Other challenges and trends are associated with the other Web 3.0 enabler, i.e., artificial intelligence. Despite a wide variety of privacy challenges, there is a strong probability that Web 3.0 is highly likely to push privacy left in the development process. Many of the identified challenges with underlying Web 3.0 technologies can be better addressed at the early stages of the development process. Even though we have yet to see how development culture, our approach to privacy, and Web 3.0 as a tech will evolve, especially considering the myriad of new ethical concerns associated with AI, these factors may not impede privacy's shift to the left in Web 3.0

DevSecOps Services: A Study of the Most Common and Rarest DevSecOps Services Available in 2022

DevSecOps is an evolving set of practices within the prevalent DevOps paradigm that aims to include security at every stage of the development cycle. In order to understand how it has matured since its inception, we looked at a sample of 25 companies offering DevSecOps services to identify which services were most common and rarest. Multiple trends were identified, including a heavy lean towards DevSecOps services towards consultation and organizational adaptation. We also identified compliance to be a focus of many DevSecOps services. DevSecOps consultation and DevSecOps as a Service (DaaS) were identified as two of the most commonly available services in 2022, and isolation, SRE, SIEM, and orchestration were the rarest. Future studies on this subject might reveal different trends in the evolution of DevSecOps services, assuming DevSecOps hasn't been replaced by a more advanced paradigm

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS AND FUTURE PROSPECTS OF MICROBIAL XYLANASES: A REVIEW

Microbial enzymes such as xylanases enable new technologies for industrial processes. Xylanases (xylanolytic enzyme) hydrolyze complex polysaccharides like xylan. Research during the past few decades has been dedicated to enhanced production, purification, and characterization of microbial xylanase. But for commercial applications detailed knowledge of regulatory mechanisms governing enzyme production and functioning should be required. Since application of xylanase in the commercial sector is widening, an understanding of its nature and properties for efficient and effective usage becomes crucial. Study of synergistic action of multiple forms and mechanism of action of xylanase makes it possible to use it for bio-bleaching of kraft pulp and for desizing and bio-scouring of fabrics. Results revealed that enzymatic treatment leads to the enhancement in various physical properties of the fabric and paper. This review will be helpful in determining the factors affecting xylanase production and its potential industrial applications in textile, paper, pulp, and other industries

Missed and Lost to Follow-up Cases in HIV Positive Patients and the Impact of Lockdown During COVID-19 Pandemic on Adherence to Anti-retroviral Therapy at ART Center, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh

Background: Anti-retroviral therapy (ART) for HIV has changed a highly fatal disease to a chronic manageable condition. National technical guidelines by NACO say that adherence of >95%(optimal) is required for optimal viral load suppression which is a challenge both for the patient and the health system. Objectives: This study was conducted to determine the reasons for missed and lost to follow-up (LFU) cases and to assess the impact of the COVID pandemic on ART adherence. Settings and Design: Cross-sectional study conducted at ART center, Jhansi. Methods and Material: 357 patients were administered a self-designed questionnaire after taking informed consent to enquire about the reasons for missing doses and LFU and whether they missed treatment during the lockdown. Statistical analysis used: the results were expressed in frequencies and percentages and appropriate statistical tests were applied. Results: 72% HIV patients had optimal adherence and 6.7% were on second-line treatment. Out of 357 patients, 56 had missed treatment and 10 were LFU. The main reasons for the missing were run out of pills, busy with other things and being away from home. The number of episodes of missed and LFU increased during the pandemic. The main problems faced were lack of transport (24), fear of catching the disease (7), no money to hire a vehicle (5). Conclusions: Constant monitoring and handholding of those with suboptimal adherence is required. Travel allowance to such patients and regular counseling will help to ensure adherence. Long-term solutions include vocational rehabilitation and awareness programs to reduce stigma and discrimination

Histopathologic features of calcinosis cutis: a case series

Calcinosis cutis is a rare condition characterized by the abnormal deposition of calcium salts in the skin and subcutaneous tissues. It usually occurs as an isolated entity, but is also associated with various systemic disorders. We had reported 8 cases in our department in the past one year. A striking finding was that all of them had clinical symptoms of at least 6 months and had normal serum calcium levels. The gross evaluation of the specimen showed areas of calcification which pointed out towards the diagnosis to be consistent with calcinosis cutis. The various histologic findings were presence of basophilic acellular material corresponding to calcification, eosinophilic hyalinization, foreign body giant cell reaction and an Inflammatory infiltrate. All the biopsies had conclusive evidence of the first finding. It is evident that all the cases encompass a variety of morphological findings and aim to convey a clear histopathological understanding of the lesion for a prompt diagnosis

Towards Protecting Critical National Assets and Preparedness for Response to Hazardous Chemical, Biological and Radiological Attacks

Hazardous chemical, biological and radiological (CBR) materials are catching attention of unscrupulous actors for creating terror and havoc. Threat perception for use of such materials by terrorists and non-state actors for malicious purposes, is not imaginative but real and imminent in today’s context. World has witnessed a number of such incidences in the recent years, e.g., Mustard gas attack against Kurdish forces in Iraq; ricin laced letters sent to US President and others senators; use of Nerve gas agents in Syria; capturing of Uranium from University of al- Mousal, Iraq by IS, etc. National assets like critical buildings where main legislative, historical building, Hospitals are some of the likely targets for CBR attacks attract quick coverage by media. Authorities related with managing and safeguarding mechanisms of the facilities to prevent such events happening also to enhance their capabilities as well as effective response. Essential CBR security should include measures to rapidly detect and effectively deter the CBR incidences their deleterious consequences. In this review, protection of the critical facilities from CBR attacks and capacity in terms of infrastructure, specialised training and mutual aid have been discussed

Cancer Health Disparities Drivers with BERTopic Modelling and Pycaret Evaluation

The complex interplay of social, behavioural, lifestyle, environmental, health system, and natural health variables contribute to disparities in cancer treatment across racial and ethnic groups. Consequently, it is necessary to identify the variables contributing to cancer health inequalities and develop strategies to achieve health equality. Pubmed abstract on Cancer health disparities was scraped with a bio.Entrez python package. Preprocessed data with regex and Natural tool kit(NLTK), topic modelling with BERTopic embeddings, and c-TF-IDF to construct dense clusters and analyse top topics linked with Cancer health disparities. Model evaluation with Pycaret coherence score and web app deployment with Streamlit. The results showed that Topic 32 with terms obese, female, male, school, survey, student, post, and discrepancy had the best coherence score of 0.3687. In contrast, topic 8 with terms prevalence, adult, income, high, usage, diabetes, education, elderly, change and low, received the least coherence score of 0.3255. The model classifies each Subject Word score based on the scores, the granular topic concerns and trends related to cancer health disparities, investigates the connection between drivers of cancer health disparities, and evaluates the model with their coherence score values

A large posterior vaginal wall cyst simulating rectocele: an account of an unusual perplexing case

Benign cystic lesions of the vagina are uncommon, often being an asymptomatic incidental finding revelled during routine gynaecological examination. Large vaginal wall cysts > 5cm size are a rare gynaecological entity. Most of the work available in literature accounts their mullerian genesis. Large epidermal inclusion cysts are further rarer. Thus, here is described a case illustrating an exceptional case of large epidermal inclusion vaginal wall cyst mimicking rectocele. Also, clinical considerations and relevant literature review on the same has been addressed. A 40 year old lady P2L2 presented in gynecology OPD with complaints of feeling of fullness in the vagina associated with some mass protruding out of the vagina for last few years. Careful evaluation indicated it to be a large posterior vaginal wall cyst 7x6 cm, aping enterocele, lying separate from rectum. The cyst was then surgically excised without any intraoperative or postoperative complications. Giant vaginal cysts are an uncommon occurrence. Meticulous clinical evaluation, bolstered with pertinent investigations can help in clinching the diagnosis early