Recent developments in life sciences research: Role of bioinformatics

Life sciences research and development has opened up new challenges and opportunities for bioinformatics. The contribution of bioinformatics advances made possible the mapping of the entire human genome and genomes of many other organisms in just over a decade. These discoveries, along with current efforts to determine gene and protein functions, have improved our ability to understand the root causes of human, animal and plant diseases and find new cures. Furthermore, many future Bioinformatic innovations will likely be spurred by the data and analysis demands of the life sciences. This review briefly describes the role of bioinformatics in biotechnology, drug discovery, biomarkerdiscovery, biological databases, bioinformatic tools, bioinformatic tasks and its application in life sciences research

Pandemic Influenza (H1N1) 2009 Is Associated with Severe Disease in India

Background: Pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 has posed a serious public health challenge world-wide. In absence of reliable information on severity of the disease, the nations are unable to decide on the appropriate response against this disease. Methods: Based on the results of laboratory investigations, attendance in outpatient department, hospital admissions and mortality from the cases of influenza like illness from 1 August to 31 October 2009 in Pune urban agglomeration, risk of hospitalization and case fatality ratio were assessed to determine the severity of pandemic H1N1 and seasonal influenza-A infections. Results: Prevalence of pandemic H1N1 as well as seasonal-A cases were high in Pune urban agglomeration during the study period. The cases positive for pandemic H1N1 virus had significantly higher risk of hospitalization than those positive for seasonal influenza-A viruses (OR: 1.7). Of 93 influenza related deaths, 57 and 8 deaths from Pune (urban) and 27 and 1 death from Pune (rural) were from pandemic H1N1 positive and seasonal-A positive cases respectively. The case fatality ratio 0.86 % for pandemic H1N1 was significantly higher than that of seasonal-A (0.13%) and it was in category 3 of the pandemic severity index of CDC, USA. The data on the cumulative fatality of rural and urban Pune revealed that with time the epidemic is spreading to rural areas

Polycation-π Interactions Are a Driving Force for Molecular Recognition by an Intrinsically Disordered Oncoprotein Family

Molecular recognition by intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) commonly involves specific localized contacts and target-induced disorder to order transitions. However, some IDPs remain disordered in the bound state, a phenomenon coined "fuzziness", often characterized by IDP polyvalency, sequence-insensitivity and a dynamic ensemble of disordered bound-state conformations. Besides the above general features, specific biophysical models for fuzzy interactions are mostly lacking. The transcriptional activation domain of the Ewing's Sarcoma oncoprotein family (EAD) is an IDP that exhibits many features of fuzziness, with multiple EAD aromatic side chains driving molecular recognition. Considering the prevalent role of cation-π interactions at various protein-protein interfaces, we hypothesized that EAD-target binding involves polycation- π contacts between a disordered EAD and basic residues on the target. Herein we evaluated the polycation-π hypothesis via functional and theoretical interrogation of EAD variants. The experimental effects of a range of EAD sequence variations, including aromatic number, aromatic density and charge perturbations, all support the cation-π model. Moreover, the activity trends observed are well captured by a coarse-grained EAD chain model and a corresponding analytical model based on interaction between EAD aromatics and surface cations of a generic globular target. EAD-target binding, in the context of pathological Ewing's Sarcoma oncoproteins, is thus seen to be driven by a balance between EAD conformational entropy and favorable EAD-target cation-π contacts. Such a highly versatile mode of molecular recognition offers a general conceptual framework for promiscuous target recognition by polyvalent IDPs. © 2013 Song et al

Association of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor therapy and comorbidity in diabetes: results from the Vermont diabetes information system

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors) reduce peripheral vascular resistance via blockage of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE). ACE inhibitors are commonly used to treat congestive heart failure and high blood pressure, but other effects have been reported. In this study, we explored the association between ACE inhibitor therapy and the prevalence of comorbid conditions in adults with diabetes</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We surveyed 1003 adults with diabetes randomly selected from community practices. Patients were interviewed at home and self-reported their personal and clinical characteristics including comorbidity. Current medications were obtained by direct observation of medication containers. We built logistic regression models with the history of comorbidities as the outcome variable and the current use of ACE inhibitors as the primary predictor variable. We adjusted for possible confounding by social (age, sex, alcohol drinking, cigarette smoking) and clinical factors (systolic blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), glycosolated hemoglobin (A1C), number of comorbid conditions, and number of prescription medications).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>ACE users reported a history of any cancer (except the non-life-threatening skin cancers) less frequently than non-users (10% <it>vs</it>. 15%; odd ratio = 0.59; 95% confidence interval [0.39, 0.89]; <it>P </it>= 0.01); and a history of stomach ulcers or peptic ulcer disease less frequently than non-users (12% <it>vs</it>. 16%, odd ratio = 0.70, [0.49, 1.01], <it>P </it>= 0.06). After correcting for potential confounders, ACE inhibitors remained significantly inversely associated with a personal history of cancer (odds ratio = 0.59, [0.39, 0.89]; <it>P </it>= 0.01) and peptic ulcer disease (odd ratio = 0.68, [0.46, 1.00], <it>P </it>= 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>ACE inhibitor use is associated with a lower likelihood of a history of cancer and peptic ulcers in patients with diabetes. These findings are limited by the cross sectional study design, self-report of comorbid diagnoses, and lack of information on the timing and duration of ACE inhibitor use. Further research is needed to confirm these associations and understand their mechanisms.</p

How taphonomic alteration affects the detection and imaging of striations in stab wounds

Stabbing with a kitchen knife is a common methodof homicide in Europe. Serrated knives may leave tool mark-ings (striations) in tissues. Documentation of striations is nec-essary for their use as forensic evidence. Traditional methods(physical casting and photography) have significant limita-tions, and micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) has beentrialled in cartilage toBvirtually cast^wounds. Previous re-search has shown the proportion of striations in cartilage fallsfollowing decomposition. This project has investigated theeffects of taphonomic alteration and documentation methodsof striations in porcine skin. Fresh, decomposed, mummified,burnt and waterlogged stab wounds in a porcine analoguewere excised and imaged using photography, stereo-opticalmicroscopy and micro-CT. The proportion of striations ineach taphonomic group was determined from the images byindependent analysts. Striations were observed more frequent-ly in serrated blade wounds, although they were also identifiedin non-serrated blade wounds. The proportion of woundsshowing striations declined following decomposition. An in-versely proportional linear correlation between advancing de-composition and proportion of striations existed. Dehydration(mummification and burning) rendered serrated and non-serrated blade wounds indistinguishable. Water compositionaffected the preservation of striations. Identification ofstriations gradually declined after decomposition in tap water,but persisted to a point when left in brackish water. All threetechniques imaged striations; however, the optimum tech-nique was stereo-optical microscopy due to practical advan-tages and specific limitations affecting photography and mi-cro-CT. This study demonstrates the effects of taphonomicalteration on striations and suggests stereo-optical microscopyis the optimum method for their documentation

The Uptake and Accuracy of Oral Kits for HIV Self-Testing in High HIV Prevalence Setting: A Cross-Sectional Feasibility Study in Blantyre, Malawi

Augustine Choko and colleagues assess the uptake and acceptability of home-based supervised oral HIV self-testing in Malawi, demonstrating the feasibility of this approach in a high-prevalence, low-income environment