RNA Interference Technology — Applications and Limitations

RNA interference (RNAi), an evolutionarily conserved mechanism triggered by double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), causes gene silencing in a sequence-specific manner. RNAi evolved naturally to mediate protection from both endogenous and exogenous pathogenic nucleic acids and to modulate gene expression. Multiple technological advancements and precision in gene targeting have allowed a plethora of potential applications, ranging from targeting infections in crop plants to improving health in human patients, which have been reviewed in this chapter

Determination and expression of genes for resistance to blast (Magnaporthe oryza) in Basmati and non-Basmati indica rices (Oryza sativa L.)

One hundred and twenty two (122) genotypes of Basmati and non-Basmati Indica rice genotypes were evaluated for expression of resistance against blast disease under induced epiphytotic conditions. Disease severity (%) and area under disease progress curve (AUDPC) parameters were used for screening the blast resistance. Only 13 genotypes expressed resistance against the blast disease. Nine genotypes carried blast resistance genes but, were susceptible under induced epiphytotic conditions. The rice genotype VLD-61 had no resistance genes; however, it expressed strong resistance against blast. An empirical breeding strategy for development of blast resistant improved varieties of rice was also discussed.Keywords: Magnaporthe oryzae, restriction digestion, molecular breeding, Basmati riceAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(26), pp. 4098-410

Reporting trends, practices, and resource utilization in neuroendocrine tumors of the prostate gland: a survey among thirty-nine genitourinary pathologists

Background: Neuroendocrine differentiation in the prostate gland ranges from clinically insignificant neuroendocrine differentiation detected with markers in an otherwise conventional prostatic adenocarcinoma to a lethal high-grade small/large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma. The concept of neuroendocrine differentiation in prostatic adenocarcinoma has gained considerable importance due to its prognostic and therapeutic ramifications and pathologists play a pivotal role in its recognition. However, its awareness, reporting, and resource utilization practice patterns among pathologists are largely unknown. Methods: Representative examples of different spectrums of neuroendocrine differentiation along with a detailed questionnaire were shared among 39 urologic pathologists using the survey monkey software. Participants were specifically questioned about the use and awareness of the 2016 WHO classification of neuroendocrine tumors of the prostate, understanding of the clinical significance of each entity, and use of different immunohistochemical (IHC) markers. De-identified respondent data were analyzed. Results: A vast majority (90%) of the participants utilize IHC markers to confirm the diagnosis of small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma. A majority (87%) of the respondents were in agreement regarding the utilization of type of IHC markers for small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma for which 85% of the pathologists agreed that determination of the site of origin of a high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma is not critical, as these are treated similarly. In the setting of mixed carcinomas, 62% of respondents indicated that they provide quantification and grading of the acinar component. There were varied responses regarding the prognostic implication of focal neuroendocrine cells in an otherwise conventional acinar adenocarcinoma and for Paneth cell-like differentiation. The classification of large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma was highly varied, with only 38% agreement in the illustrated case. Finally, despite the recommendation not to perform neuroendocrine markers in the absence of morphologic evidence of neuroendocrine differentiation, 62% would routinely utilize IHC in the work-up of a Gleason score 5 + 5 = 10 acinar adenocarcinoma and its differentiation from high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma. Conclusion: There is a disparity in the practice utilization patterns among the urologic pathologists with regard to diagnosing high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma and in understanding the clinical significance of focal neuroendocrine cells in an otherwise conventional acinar adenocarcinoma and Paneth cell-like neuroendocrine differentiation. There seems to have a trend towards overutilization of IHC to determine neuroendocrine differentiation in the absence of neuroendocrine features on morphology. The survey results suggest a need for further refinement and development of standardized guidelines for the classification and reporting of neuroendocrine differentiation in the prostate gland

Energy-Efficient Cloud Service Selection and Recommendation Based on QoS for Sustainable Smart Cities

The growing demand for cloud technology brings several cloud service providers and their diverse list of services in the market, putting a challenge for the user to select the best service from the inventory of available services. Therefore, a system that understands the user requirements and finds a suitable service according to user-customized requirements is a challenge. In this paper, we propose a new cloud service selection and recommendation system (CS-SR) for finding the optimal service by considering the user’s customized requirements. In addition, the service selection and recommendation system will consider both quantitative and qualitative quality of service (QoS) attributes in service selection. The comparison is made between proposed CS-SR with three existing approaches analytical hierarchy process (A.H.P.), efficient non-dominated sorting-sequential search (ENS-SS), and best-worst method (B.W.M.) shows that CR-SR outperforms the above approaches in two ways (i) reduce the total execution time and (ii) energy consumption to find the best service for the user. The proposed cloud service selection mechanism facilitates reduced energy consumption at cloud servers, thereby reducing the overall heat emission from a cloud data center

Antimicrobial action of methanolic seed extracts of Syzygium cumini Linn. on Bacillus subtilis

Abstract Phytochemicals of Syzygium cumini are used for the treatment of various diseases as a traditional medicine but the mechanism behind their action is not well reported. Antimicrobial activity of methanolic seed extract of S. cumini was done by agar well diffusion assay on Bacillus subtilis and its zone of inhibition was found to be 20.06 mm in comparison to control having no zone of inhibition. MIC of S. cumini was found to be 0.3 mg/ml. Genomic DNA degradation of B. subtilis reveals apoptosis and FE-scanning electron microscope indicates cell wall cracking on several intervals of time. Results of propidium iodide staining showed few bacterial cells were stained in control; however population of stained cells increased after exposing them for varying period of time. Flow cytometric kinetic data analysis on the membrane permeabilization in bacterial cell showed the significant contribution of antimicrobial potential of the seed extract on antimicrobial-induced permeabilization. In silico analysis revealed two components of S. cumini methanolic extract to be active against four enzymes (PDB ID—1W5D, 4OX3, 3MFD and 5E2F) which are crucial for plasma membrane synthesis in B. subtilis. Moreover lupeol showed highest binding energy for macromolecule 1W5D and 4OX3 forming one hydrogen bond each whereas stigmasterol showed the highest binding energy for macromolecule 3MFD and 5E2F forming four hydrogen bonds and alkyl bonds respectively. It demonstrates that methanolic seed extracts of S. cumini could be used for inhibition of food born infection caused by B. subtilis and also an alternative of prevalent antibiotics