Microbial Functional Diversity and the Associated Biogeochemical Interactions Across Miami-Dade County, Florida Soils

Decomposition of soil organic matter by microbial processes results in carbon sequestration within soils and/or carbon loss via atmospheric emission of carbon dioxide and methane. Natural as well as anthropogenic factors have been documented to impact soil microbial diversity and the associated biogeochemical functions. The soil microbial communities co-inhabiting Miami-Dade County soils, Florida are under threat because of the ongoing restoration efforts in the adjoining Florida Everglades Parks, predicted climatic changes such as sea-level rise and high rainfall, as well as urbanization. Therefore, an improved understanding of the current microbial functional communities is essential to better assess the impact of soil communities when anthropogenic or climatic disturbances occur. The objectives of the current study were to characterize the biodiversity and distribution of: a) cellulose degrading microbial community, and b) methanogenic guilds responsible for producing the gas methane, across four different Miami-Dade County, Florida soil types using the high throughput technique of GeoChip 5.0 functional microarray. In addition, the influence of vegetation cover, organic content, soil moisture content, pH, and soil texture in shaping the soil functional microbial community was also investigated. The function of cellulose degradation was distributed across wide range of taxonomic lineages with the majority belonging to the bacterial groups of Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Alphaproteobacteria, and Gammaproteobacteria, whereas Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were the only detected fungal phyla. The cellulolytic bacterial community correlated more with the vegetation cover while fungal groups showed influence of moisture and organic content as well as percent silt. Six out of the seven methanogenic orders, with the greatest numbers found in the Methanomicrobiales, Methanosarcinales, and Methanomassiliicoccales, were identified across all four soil types of Miami-Dade. The abundance of the mcrA gene sequences was significantly greater with respect to soil moisture content. Additionally, the recently classified order Methanomassiliicoccales was identified across all four soils, including soils with lower moisture content not thought to provide ideal redox conditions to support methanogens. The greater number of correlation network interactions amongst the methanogenic guilds in the Florida Everglades wetlands versus the urbanized Miami-Dade County soils depicted the impact of the historical drainage of the Florida Everglades on the methanogenic community. Overall, the current study characterized the biodiversity of cellulolytic and methanogenic organisms across dry and saturated soils of Miami-Dade County and demonstrated that microbial guilds were functionally redundant and were influenced to some extent by the soil abiotic factors. Also, results from network analyses provide a platform to assess the future impacts of disturbances on the microbial community

Paget’s Disease of Maxilla: A Case Report

Paget disease of bone (PDB) is an idiopathic, chronic progressive disease of the bone, characterized by disordered pattern of bone resorption and formation. It has been observed to manifest itself as both monostotic and polyostotic disease. The scientific literature does not report a lot of cases on the incidence of this disease involving the jaws. In India, however a few cases have been reported in the recent times. Paget’s disease manifests itself as an asymptomatic disorder until it progresses onto the advanced stage where it becomes painful. Thus, its diagnosis on radiographs in the early stage is of paramount importance in order to deter its complications which may not only end up in disability but also can be fatal to life

Association of inflammatory biomarkers with lung cancer in North Indian population

Background: Lung cancer is characterized by uncontrolled cell growth of the lung tissues. It is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide.Objectives: The study aimed to determine the circulating CRP, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8 levels in lung cancer and healthy control and also established association between these biomarkers with the smoking status as well as the stages of the disease.Methodology: 51 lung cancer patients and 51 healthy controls were enrolled in this case-control study. The serum levels of CRP, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8 were measured in lung cancer patients and healthy control groups.Results: The levels of serum CRP, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8 were significantly higher in lung cancer patients when compared with controls(P<0.0001). The levels of these biomarkers were also significantly higher in stage iii/iv as compared to stage i/ii(P<0.001). Significant difference in the levels of these biomarkers were also found in smoker and non-smoker lung cancer patients as compared to controls(P<0.001).Conclusion: CRP, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8 are the promising biomarkers in the identification of lung cancer patients. The study also supports the association of inflammatory markers to lung cancer risk. Hence these findings suggest the levels of these biomarkerscould be a useful tool for guiding the diagnosis of lung cancer.Keywords: Lung cancer, biomarker, inflammation, stage, smoking

In-vitro Antioxidant Activity and Antimicrobial Activity of Hydroalcoholic Extracts of Vernonia cinerea

The aim of present study was to estimate the in vitro antioxidant potential and antimicrobial activity of hydroalcoholic extract of Vernonia cinerea. Antioxidant activity was assessed by using 2, 2- diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) assay using ascorbic acid as standard antioxidant. The extract was found to scavenge effectively the free radicals. The total flavonoid contents were determined by established methods and were found to be 0.547 mg/100mg in quercitin equivalents. Antimicrobial activity was performed against 2 stains of human pathogenic bacteria by well diffusion method. Hydroalcoholic extract of Vernonia cinerea showed good antimicrobial activity against gram positive bacteria. The antioxidant activities may be attributed to the presence of significant amounts of flavonoid compounds. Results indicated that hydroalcoholic extract of Vernonia cinerea possess significant antioxidant effect in dose dependent manner, followed by the hydroalcoholic extract of Vernonia cinerea possessed good antimicrobial activity. Keywords: Antioxidant activity, Radical scavenging activity, Free radicals, Antimicrobial activity

A comparative study of circulating plasma lipid components and superoxide dismutase activity in pre and postmenopausal women

Background: Menopause is associated with increased oxidative stress and decreased antioxidative activity in females which leads to increased risk of cardiovascular and many other diseases. The objective was to compare the lipid profiles and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity of pre and postmenopausal women in an attempt to establish the fact that menopause is associated with increased oxidative stress.Methods: A hospital based cross-sectional study was done at the department of obstetrics and gynaecology and biochemistry, Shri Mahant Indiresh Hospital, Dehradun, India. Out of total of 120 women, 60 women were in premenopausal group aged between 30-45 years and 60 women of 55-70 years of age group in post menopause status. Assessment of lipid profile was done by an automated chemistry analyzer (Vitors 5, I FS) and SOD activity was measured by colorimetric activity kit. Statistical analysis was done by Standard Microsoft Excel software.Results: Mean serum SOD level in premenopausal women was 4.80±1.73 U/ml and in postmenopausal was 1.35±0.58 U/ml. This variation was found to be extremely significant (p <0.0001). Changes in lipid components in pre and postmenopausal women showed that total cholesterol and triglycerides levels were higher in postmenopausal than premenopausal participants. These variations were also significant (p = 0.0003). Levels of HDL-C were lower in postmenopausal women than pre-menopausal group with a mean±SD of 51.5±12.20 mg/dl and 54.05±14.03mg/dl respectively.Conclusions: Findings of this study corroborate the hypothesis that gradual loss of ovarian function is associated with a decrease in antioxidant status. Menopause also leads to changes in lipid components, which can predispose women to cardiovascular diseases

A stochastic multi-interval scheduling framework to quantify operational flexibility in low carbon power systems

Operational flexibility is required in power systems to mitigate load-generation imbalances. Inflexibility either results in infeasible scheduling or shift resources from their economic operating point. System operators must estimate flexibility requirement, assess its availability from committed resources, and take corrective measures to handle upcoming inflexibility events. Various metrics are integrated with economic dispatch to quantify different facets of flexibility — ramp, power, and energy. Consideration of all three facets is essential for its adequate assessment, but is often neglected in literature and requires an in-depth investigation. Further, existing literature hardly consider resources’ day-ahead scheduling decisions while evaluating flexibility for real-time operations. This results in erratic assessment of available flexibility. In this context, the paper proposes a comprehensive metric to quantify flexibility in terms of ramp, power, and energy insufficiency by simultaneously considering their system-wide requirement and availability. A Resource Flexibility Index based on operating range and ramping capability of resources is proposed for accurate indication of available flexibility. The proposed metric is integrated with real-time stochastic multi-interval scheduling framework that considers day-ahead operational constraints. Netload forecast and associated uncertainty are characterized using Long Short-Term Memory and Markov Chain Monte Carlo techniques. Results highlight that the flexibility index is proportional to system’s netload variability handling capability and average inflexibility can be reduced up to 97% with the utilization of emerging resources and ramp products. The proposed tools are of value to power system planners and operators to manage netload intermittency

STING-dependent interferon signatures restrict osteoclast differentiation and bone loss in mice

Stimulator of interferon genes (STING) is a key mediator of type-I interferon (IFN-I) signaling in response to a variety of stimuli, but the contribution of STING to homeostatic processes is not fully characterized. Previous studies showed that ligand activation of STING limits osteoclast differentiation in vitro through the induction of IFNβ and IFN-I interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs). In a disease model (SAVI) driven by the V154M gain-of-function mutation in STING, fewer osteoclasts form from SAVI precursors in response to receptor activator of NF-kappaB ligand (RANKL) in an IFN-I-dependent manner. Due to the described role of STING-mediated regulation of osteoclastogenesis in activation settings, we sought to determine whether basal STING signaling contributes to bone homeostasis, an unexplored area. Using whole-body and myeloid-specific deficiency, we show that STING signaling prevents trabecular bone loss in mice over time and that myeloid-restricted STING activity is sufficient for this effect. STING-deficient osteoclast precursors differentiate with greater efficiency than wild types. RNA sequencing of wild-type and STING-deficient osteoclast precursor cells and differentiating osteoclasts reveals unique clusters of ISGs including a previously undescribed ISG set expressed in RANKL naïve precursors (tonic expression) and down-regulated during differentiation. We identify a 50 gene tonic ISG signature that is STING dependent and shapes osteoclast differentiation. From this list, we identify interferon-stimulated gene 15 (ISG15) as a tonic STING-regulated ISG that limits osteoclast formation. Thus, STING is an important upstream regulator of tonic IFN-I signatures shaping the commitment to osteoclast fates, providing evidence for a nuanced and unique role for this pathway in bone homeostasis

Association of inflammatory biomarkers with lung cancer in North Indian population

Background: Lung cancer is characterized by uncontrolled cell growth of the lung tissues. It is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Objectives: The study aimed to determine the circulating CRP, TNF-\u3b1, IL-6 and IL-8 levels in lung cancer and healthy control and also established association between these biomarkers with the smoking status as well as the stages of the disease. Methodology: 51 lung cancer patients and 51 healthy controls were enrolled in this case-control study. The serum levels of CRP, TNF-\u3b1, IL-6 and IL-8 were measured in lung cancer patients and healthy control groups. Results: The levels of serum CRP, TNF-\u3b1, IL-6 and IL-8 were significantly higher in lung cancer patients when compared with controls(P&lt;0.0001). The levels of these biomarkers were also significantly higher in stage iii/iv as compared to stage i/ii(P&lt;0.001). Significant difference in the levels of these biomarkers were also found in smoker and non-smoker lung cancer patients as compared to controls(P&lt;0.001). Conclusion: CRP, TNF-\u3b1, IL-6 and IL-8 are the promising biomarkers in the identification of lung cancer patients. The study also supports the association of inflammatory markers to lung cancer risk. Hence these findings suggest the levels of these biomarkers could be a useful tool for guiding the diagnosis of lung cancer. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v19i2.39 Cite as: Gaur P, Bhattacharya S, Kant S, Kushwaha RAS, Garg R, Singh G, Pandey S, Sharma S. Association of inflammatory biomarkers with lung cancer in North Indian population. Afri Health Sci.2019;19(2): 2147-2155. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v19i2.3

Genetic landscape of common epilepsies: advancing towards precision in treatment

Epilepsy, a neurological disease characterized by recurrent seizures, is highly heterogeneous in nature. Based on the prevalence, epilepsy is classified into two types: common and rare epilepsies. Common epilepsies affecting nearly 95% people with epilepsy, comprise generalized epilepsy which encompass idiopathic generalized epilepsy like childhood absence epilepsy, juvenile myoclonic epilepsy, juvenile absence epilepsy and epilepsy with generalized tonic-clonic seizure on awakening and focal epilepsy like temporal lobe epilepsy and cryptogenic focal epilepsy. In 70% of the epilepsy cases, genetic factors are responsible either as single genetic variant in rare epilepsies or multiple genetic variants acting along with different environmental factors as in common epilepsies. Genetic testing and precision treatment have been developed for a few rare epilepsies and is lacking for common epilepsies due to their complex nature of inheritance. Precision medicine for common epilepsies require a panoramic approach that incorporates polygenic background and other non-genetic factors like microbiome, diet, age at disease onset, optimal time for treatment and other lifestyle factors which influence seizure threshold. This review aims to comprehensively present a state-of-art review of all the genes and their genetic variants that are associated with all common epilepsy subtypes. It also encompasses the basis of these genes in the epileptogenesis. Here, we discussed the current status of the common epilepsy genetics and address the clinical application so far on evidence-based markers in prognosis, diagnosis, and treatment management. In addition, we assessed the diagnostic predictability of a few genetic markers used for disease risk prediction in individuals. A combination of deeper endo-phenotyping including pharmaco-response data, electro-clinical imaging, and other clinical measurements along with genetics may be used to diagnose common epilepsies and this marks a step ahead in precision medicine in common epilepsies management

A panel of blood-based circulatory miRNAs with diagnostic potential in patients with psoriasis

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease with keratinocyte hyperproliferation and T cells as key mediators of lesional and systemic inflammatory changes. To date, no suitable differential biomarkers are available for the disease diagnosis. More recently, microRNAs have been identified as critical regulators of lesional and systemic immune changes in psoriasis with diagnostic potential. We have performed expression profiling of T cell-specific miRNAs in 38 plasma samples from psoriasis vulgaris patients and an equal number of age- and gender-matched healthy subjects. Our findings have identified a panel of five blood-based circulatory miRNAs with a significant change in their expression levels, comprising miR-215, miR-148a, miR-125b-5p, miR-223, and miR-142-3p, which can differentiate psoriasis vulgaris patients from healthy individuals. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for all five miRNAs individually and in combination exhibited a significant disease discriminatory area under the curve with an AUC of 0.762 and a p &lt; 0.0001 for all the miRNAs together. Statistically, all five miRNAs in combination depicted the best-fit model in relation to disease severity (PASI) compared with individual miRNAs, with the highest R2 value of 0.94 and the lowest AIC score of 131.8. Each of the miRNAs also exhibited a significant association with at least one of the other miRNAs in the panel. Importantly, the five miRNAs in the panel regulate one or more immune-inflammation pathways based on target prediction, pathway network analysis, and validated roles in the literature. The miRNA panel provides a rationalized combination of biomarkers that can be tested further on an expanded cohort of patients for their diagnostic value