Exosomes: Salivary Biomarkers?

Saliva is a bio-fluid considered similar to blood in that it contains various DNAs, RNAs and proteins. Therefore, it is a fluid with diagnostic potential. In recent time, exosomes are emerging as nano-vesicles which enhance intra-cellular communication. Exosomal content, which is dependent on the cell of origin, reflects physiological status of cells. Exosomes have potentials for use as biomarkers for variant diseases, based on their stability and availability in various body fluids. Current studies have proposed the role of exosomes as immuno-modulators in the etiology of auto-immune diseases and cancers. The present study focused on the role of exosomes as biomarkers and their therapeutic potentials in particular diseases related to the oral cavity. Keywords: Exosomes, Auto-immune, Biomarkers, Saliva, Diagnosi

Rola sygnalizacji kisspeptyny w osi podwzgórze–przysadka–nadnercza — aktualna perspektywa

  The discovery of kisspeptins in the recent past remoulded current understanding of the neuroendocrine axis relating to the regulation of human puberty and reproduction. Kisspeptins have been recognised to act upstream of GnRH and have been shown to play a vital role in the control of the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis via regulation of gonadotrophin secretion, onset of puberty, and control of fertility. KNDy (kisspeptin/neurokinin-B/dynorphin) neurons have been suggested to modulate GnRH pulsatile secretion, which is required to support reproductive function in both sexes. They have also been involved in mediating both positive and negative sex steroid feedback signals to GnRH neurons and serve as a vital connection between reproduction and metabolic status of the body. When kisspeptin is administered to healthy humans, and in patients with reproductive disorders, it strongly and directly stimulates GnRH and subsequent LH secretion and enhances LH pulse frequency. These observations suggest that kisspeptins are a potential novel therapeutic approach for treating disorders with either pathologically reduced or augmented gonadotrophins pulsatile secretion and is currently a focus of translational research. Kisspeptins have also been identified in several peripheral reproductive organs, indicating their role in modulation of ovarian function, embryo implantation, and placentation, but a great deal of work remains to be done to explore further in this regard, and the evidence is only available from studies done on animal models. In this review we will mainly focus on current available evidence related to the role of kisspeptins in controlling GnRH pulse frequency, specifically their role in puberty, fertility, and reproduction. We will also be appraising other factors that regulate the kiSS1/Kisspeptin/GPR-54 system. (Endokrynol Pol 2015; 66 (6): 534–547)    Odkrycie kisspeptyn, które miało miejsce całkiem niedawno, odmieniło obecne rozumienie osi neuroendokrynnej, związanej z regulacją okresu dojrzewania i rozrodu. Odkryto, że kisspeptyny działają przed GnRH i odgrywają istotną rolę w kontroli osi podwzgórze–przysadka– nadnercza poprzez regulację wydzielania gonadotropiny, rozpoczęcia okresu dojrzewania oraz kontroli płodności. Zasugerowano, że komórki KNDy (kisspeptyna/neurokinina-B/dynorfina) modulują pulsacyjne uwalnianie GnRH, wymagane, aby wspomagać funkcję rozrodczą u obu płci. Komórki te są również zaangażowane w przekazywanie zarówno pozytywnych, jak i negatywnych sygnałów hormonów płciowych do neuronów GnRH, a także stanowią kluczowe połączenie między reprodukcją i stanem metabolicznym ciała. Kiedy kisspeptyna jest podawana jednostkom zdrowym i pacjentom z zaburzeniami płodności, silnie i bezpośrednio stymuluje GnPH i dalsze uwalnianie LH oraz poprawia częstotliwość impulsów LH. Obserwacje te przedstawiają kisspeptyny jako nowe potencjalne terapeutyczne podejście w leczeniu zaburzeń patologicznie obniżonego lub zwiększonego pulsacyjnego uwalniania gonadotropin i obecnie stanowi główny punkt zainteresowania badań przekładających się na zastosowanie praktyczne. Kisspeptyny zidentyfikowano także w kilku organach obwodowych, uczestnicząc w modulacji czynności jajników, implantacji zarodka oraz placentacji, lecz dalsze badania w tym kierunku będą wymagały jeszcze wiele wysiłku, a dowody można uzyskać jedynie z badań przeprowadzanych na modelach zwierzęcych. W niniejszej pracy autorzy skupili się głównie na obecnie dostępnych dowodach związanych z rolą kisspeptyn w kontrolowaniu częstotliwości impulsów GnRH, a zwłaszcza ich rolą w okresie dojrzewania, płodności oraz reprodukcji. W niniejszym artykule poddano ocenie także inne czynniki regulujące system kiSS1/Kisspeptin/GPR-54. (Endokrynol Pol 2015; 66 (6): 534–547)

Audit of lymph node biopsies in suspected cases of Lymphoproliferative Malignancies: Implications on tissue diagnosis and patient management

Aims: To carry out an audit ascertaining the importance of condition of lymph node specimen, submission of clinical history including site of biopsy and imrnunohistochemcial studies on conclusiveness of diagnosis made. Methodology: Computer records of the Aga Khan University Hospital, Histopathology Laboratory were used to analyze all cases of lymphoproliferative malignancies presented at the hospital from 1992 to 1998. Results: Out of a total of 466 cases studied, in 283 (61%) the lymph nodes were fragmented. The site of biopsy was mentioned in 361 (77.5%) cases with the cervical region forming the most common site (56.5%). A clinical history was submitted in 395 (85%) and a conclusive diagnosis was reached in 378 (81%) cases. Conclusion: This audit indicates a strong co-relation between the condition of lymph node biopsies received, clinical history of the patient submitted including site of biopsy, acvillary studies like IHC performed on the eventual outcome in the form of precise diagnosis and categorization of lymphoproliferative malignancie

UAV-Empowered Disaster-Resilient Edge Architecture for Delay-Sensitive Communication

The fifth-generation (5G) communication systems will enable enhanced mobile broadband, ultra-reliable low latency, and massive connectivity services. The broadband and low-latency services are indispensable to public safety (PS) communication during natural or man-made disasters. Recently, the third generation partnership project long term evolution (3GPPLTE) has emerged as a promising candidate to enable broadband PS communications. In this article, first we present six major PS-LTE enabling services and the current status of PS-LTE in 3GPP releases. Then, we discuss the spectrum bands allocated for PS-LTE in major countries by international telecommunication union (ITU). Finally, we propose a disaster resilient three-layered architecture for PS-LTE (DR-PSLTE). This architecture consists of a software-defined network (SDN) layer to provide centralized control, an unmanned air vehicle (UAV) cloudlet layer to facilitate edge computing or to enable emergency communication link, and a radio access layer. The proposed architecture is flexible and combines the benefits of SDNs and edge computing to efficiently meet the delay requirements of various PS-LTE services. Numerical results verified that under the proposed DR-PSLTE architecture, delay is reduced by 20% as compared with the conventional centralized computing architecture.Comment: 9,

Prevalence and risk factors associated with multi-drug resistant organisms (MDRO) carriage among pediatric patients at the time of admission in a tertiary care hospital of a developing country. A cross-sectional study

Background: The rise of Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) poses a considerable burden on the healthcare systems, particularly in low-middle income countries like Pakistan. There is a scarcity of data on the carriage of MDRO particularly in the pediatrics population therefore, we aimed to determine MDRO carriage in pediatric patients at the time of admission to a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan, and to identify the risk factors associated with it.Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted at the pediatric department of Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) from May to September 2019 on 347 children aged 1-18 years. For identification of MDRO (i.e., Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase (ESBL) producers, Carbapenem Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci (VRE), Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter species and MDR Pseudomonas aeruginosa), nasal swabs and rectal swabs or stool samples were cultured on specific media within 72 h of hospitalization. Data was collected on a predesigned structured questionnaire on demographics, prior use of antibiotics for \u3e 48 h in the last 6 months, history of vaccination in last 6 months, exposure to health care facility regardless of the time of exposure, ICU stay for \u3e 72 h, and about the prior use of medical devices (urinary catheter, central venous lines etc.) in last 1 year. Statistical analysis was performed by Standard statistical software.Results: Out of 347 participants, 237 (68.3%) were found to be MDRO carriers. Forty nine nasal swabs from 346 children (14.2%) showed growth of MRSA. The majority of the stool/rectal swabs (n = 222 of 322; 69%) collected were positive for MDRO. The most isolated species were ESBL Escherichia coli 174/222 (78.3%) followed by ESBL Enterobacter species 37/222 (16.7%) and ESBL Klebsiella pneumoniae 35/222 (15.8%). On univariate analysis, none of the risk factors showed statistically significant association with MDRO carriage.Conclusion: Overall, a high prevalence of MDRO carriage was identified among admitted pediatric patients. Implementation of systematic screening may help to identify true burden of MDROs carriage in the health care settings

Potent Implications of miRNA in Cancer Biology – A Brief Review

Groundbreaking findings through high-throughput technologies have deepened our understanding on an intricate interplay between products of coding sequences and noncoding RNAs. Increasingly it is being realized that miRNA, produced from what was previously considered as "genomic trash" have revolutionized the field of molecular and translational oncology. Overwhelmingly accumulating in-vitro and in-vivo studies have demonstrated that miRNA are key players involved in post-transcriptional regulation of gene network in numerous human pathologies including cancer. In this review we have attempted to provide recent advancements related to multifaceted roles played by miRNA in modulation of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes

Coroneologisms and Word Formation Processes in Hindi-English Codemixed Words

The COVID-19 pandemic came with a flux of new words, terminologies, and phrases, which led to the rapid coinage or neologisms in the world's different languages. These lexical innovations may take place within one language as well as with the combination of two different languages. Therefore, this paper scrutinizes coroneologisms and word-formation processes in Hindi-English code-mixed words. Such a phenomenon happened due to the acceptance of English by Indians besides their mother tongue which makes them bilingual. The data were gathered from newspapers, blogs, social media, TV news, etc. Next, the linguistic analysis of the data revealed different types of word classes in Hindi-English codemixed words such as compounding, affixation, blending, and reduplication. Out of these, compounding and borrowing were reported as the most productive types of coroneologisms in Hindi-English code-mixed words.

The effect of selected commercially available mouth-rinses vs. curcumin photosensitizers in an artificial mouth model mimicking their use before meals on early colonizers single species biofilm

Abstract. – OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to determine the bacterial-adherence to the experimental pellicle pretreated with commer- cially available oral-rinse/photosensitizer (mim- icking use of oral-rinse/photosensitizer beforemeals). MATERIALS AND METHODS: An artificial mouth (NAM) system was used for the devel- opment of single-species biofilm (Actinomyces viscosus, Sreptococcus mitis and Streptococ- cus sanguinis respectively). Two commercially available oral-rinses containing active ingredi- ents [Essential oils (EO) and Chlorhexidine glu-conate (CHX) were used. Curcumin photosensi-tizer (PS) was used as a photosensitizer against the microbes. For the adherence study, the ex-perimental pellicle on the beads (in the capillary tubes of the NAM system) was pretreated with the oral-rinse and photosensitizer before the in-oculation of bacteria; this would resemble the use of rinse/photosensitizer before meal. The bacterial population of the biofilm was determined using serial dilution assay and expressed as colony forming unit per ml. Deionized distilled water was used in place of oral-rinse/ photosensitizer and served as a negative-control. For the qualitative study, bacterial population viewing was carried out using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). RESULTS: It was observed that on treatment with the oral-rinses the bacterial population of S.mitis, S.sanguinis and A.viscosus (adherence) was significantly reduced where the reduction was less for EO-based oral-rinse compared with that of CHX and curcumin PS in the following se- quence EO<CHX<PS (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: From the results, it appears that curcumin photosensitizer and oral-rinses contain CHX to be preferably used before-meal and EO after-meal

Welfare of Pet Birds and Potential Zoonoses

The human-animal interaction had long been established and currently emerged in multiple aspects including housing of animals for food and as pets. The “pet birds” are the wild or exotic birds having high genetic value and are housed under captivity as companions or for ornamental purposes. The commonly housed pet birds are either passeriformes or psittaciformes. These birds are housed under conditions to meet standard requirements for welfare of pet birds. Besides the pet birds and human relationship, these birds are potential carriers or transmitters of several pathogens considered responsible for zoonotic diseases. The range of the zoonotic diseases consisted of bacterial, viral, parasitic and fungal diseases. The mode of transmission is also an important entity for understanding the spread mechanism of zoonotic diseases. The transmission and spread is predominantly through the direct contact and in the few conditions through the vectors; termed as vector-borne transmission. Altogether, in this chapter, the authors have discussed different aspects of welfare of pet birds, categories of zoonotic diseases along with mode of transmission and spread of zoonoses. At the last, few aspects of welfare of pet birds and prevention and control guidelines of zoonoses are suggested for the personal biosafety and public health