Development of CCDs for REXIS on OSIRIS-REx

The Regolith x-ray Imaging Spectrometer (REXIS) is a coded-aperture soft x-ray imaging instrument on the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to be launched in 2016. The spacecraft will fly to and orbit the near-Earth asteroid Bennu, while REXIS maps the elemental distribution on the asteroid using x-ray fluorescence. The detector consists of a 2×2 array of backilluminated 1k×1k frame transfer CCDs with a flight heritage to Suzaku and Chandra. The back surface has a thin p[superscript +]-doped layer deposited by molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) for maximum quantum efficiency and energy resolution at low x-ray energies. The CCDs also feature an integrated optical-blocking filter (OBF) to suppress visible and near-infrared light. The OBF is an aluminum film deposited directly on the CCD back surface and is mechanically more robust and less absorptive of x-rays than the conventional free-standing aluminum-coated polymer films. The CCDs have charge transfer inefficiencies of less than 10[superscript -6], and dark current of 1e-/pixel/second at the REXIS operating temperature of –60 °C. The resulting spectral resolution is 115 eV at 2 KeV. The extinction ratio of the filter is ~10[superscript 12] at 625 nm.United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Strategic Astrophysics Technology Program (Grant NNX12AF22G)United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Contract NNG12FD70C)United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (IPR NNG12FC01I)United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Strategic Astrophysics Technology Program (IPR NNH12AU04I)United States. Air Force (Contract FA8721-05-C-0002

DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF A PHARMACOGENOMIC MODEL FOR BREAST CANCER TO STUDY THE VARIATION IN DRUG ACTION AND SIDE EFFECTS

Objective: The proneness of disease, as well as drug action and side effects, vary from person to person. This may be due to individual variations in the genome. The individual variation demands the need to design a population-specific 'predictive, preventive, participatory and personalized (p4)' pharmacogenomics drug molecule. The present work aims at designing a pharmacogenomic model for breast cancer to explain the individual variation in the proneness of the diseases and susceptibility towards drug action. Methods: The drug action and side effects of drugs were analyzed from clinical trial reports. The genes responsible for the drug action and the genes responsible for side effects have been identified and included in the variation analysis. The pharmacogenomic gene models have been designed by inducing population-specific genetic variations within the gene sequence. The 3D structures of the 'variation-specific' protein models have been generated by 'homology modelling.' These models have been used further for docking studies with the known drug molecules. The kinetic stability of the protein-ligand complexes obtained out of docking studies has been studied by the molecular dynamic simulation. Results: By the interaction studies and the computational analysis using the 'population-specific protein models,' the drug molecule, Capecitabine showed the highest binding affinity (–6.30kcal/mol) with the African population, Paclitaxel was found to be the most interacting with the European population with a binding affinity of–9.5603 kcal/mol, and Lapatinib is found to be the most suitable ligand for the American population with a binding affinity of–6.90 kcal/mol. These observations agree with the clinical trial data found in the 'ClinTrial database'. Conclusion: The designed models are found to be suitable for representing the respective population-specific target models. The interaction studies of known drug molecules with these population-specific target models correspond to the observations in the 'ClinTrial database.

Assessment of knowledge and attitude of cervical cancer among the youths in the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh – India

BACKGROUND: India suffers a quarter of the global burden of cervical cancer (CC) but is controllable by taking some precautions. The major issue is the low amount of participation among women in screening and vaccination for disease. The objective of the research is to evaluate knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) regarding CC among college going students residing in the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh—India. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a total of 380 subjects whose ages ranged from 15 to 25 and older. The questionnaires were circulated through google forms. The socio-demographic variables and KAP levels are represented by descriptive statistics. The Chi-square test is used to determine the relationship between sociodemographic factors and KAP levels. RESULTS: Among 380 subjects, 172 (54.7%) are aware of CC, 71% have poor knowledge, and 20% have good knowledge about CC. More than three-fourths of women 374 (98.4%) are not having regular practice towards CC. CONCLUSION: The awareness about CC is very low in the population, so prevention of CC relies on routine screening, proper vaccination, and treatment. Awareness programs and promoting knowledge about cervical health in social media are required