Risk Factors Linked to Development of Cardiomyopathy in Adults with Beta- Thalassemia Major in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Beta-thalassemia major is a genetic disorder adversely affecting the life of the patient and the whole family. Repeated blood transfusions are required to maintain the hemoglobin level, which create a state of iron overload in the body leading to ectopic iron deposition in the heart, liver, pancreas and other organs. Thalassemia cardiomyopathy is the most dreaded complication of this resultant iron overload. The present study was a cross-sectional study involving 77 patients with thalassemia major, whose age, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure (BP), hemoglobin, serum ferritin levels were correlated with their twodimensional echocardiographic findings. Out of the total 77 patients, 63 had diastolic dysfunction, 6 had systolic dysfunction and remaining 8 had normal left ventricular function. The mean age of the patients was 22.42 years and their mean BMI was 16.82. Patients with systolic dysfunction had lower hemoglobin and higher serum ferritin levels as compared to other patients. The study concluded that cardiac dysfunction is seen more in younger age, higher BMI, lower BP, low hemoglobin levels and raised serum ferritin levels. Thus, early intensive iron chelation therapy should be provided to all the patients to curb this dreaded complication

Open Issues, Research Challenges, and Survey on Education Sector in India and Exploring Machine Learning Algorithm to Mitigate These Challenges

The nation's core sector is education. But dealing with problems in educational institutions, particularly in higher education, is a challenging task. The growth of education and technology has led to a number of research challenges that have attracted significant attention as well as a notable increase in the amount of data available in academic databases. Higher education institutions today are worried about outcome-based education and various techniques to assess a student's knowledge level or capacity for learning. In general, there are more contributors in the academic field than there are authors. Research is being done in this field to determine the best algorithm and features that are crucial for predicting the future outcomes. This survey can help educational institutions assess themselves and find any gaps that need to be filled in order to fulfil their purpose and vision. Machine Learning (ML) approaches have been explored to solve the issues as higher education systems have grown in size

XYLOGLUCAN CONJUGATED FUNCTIONALIZED GRAPHENE OXIDE AS A NANO CARRIER SYSTEM FOR pH RESPONSIVE TARGETED DRUG DELIVERY OF FUCOIDAN

Objective: Marine polysaccharides are materializing in the field of biomedicine owing to its promising properties, including high biocompatibility, excellent biodegradability, nontoxic nature, abundance and low cost. Fucoidan (FU), a sulphated marine polysaccharide extracted from brown seaweed, shows a promising application prospect as an anticancer model drug. In order to enhance the stability, biocompatibility and drug loading capacity, xyloglucan was chosen as a targeting ligand, conjugated onto the surface of chitosan functionalized graphene oxide for targeted delivery of fucoidan. Methods: Firstly, Graphene oxide (GO) was prepared by modified Hummer’s method and functionalized with chitosan (CS) via amidation process, further conjugated with xyloglucan (XG). The resulting conjugate, GO-CS-XG, was used to deliver fucoidan through a nanocarrier drug delivery method. The developed GO-CS-XG-FU nanosystem was analyzed for its physiochemical characterization, morphology, hemolytic activity, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activity. Results: The FU loading efficiency and capacity were 75.7% and 83.4%, respectively. XG ligands on the nanoparticle may lead the nanoparticles to actively target cancer cells. Hemolytic activity of the FU-loaded GO-CS-XG nanosystem shows negligible activity, thus making it a potential candidate for biomedical applications. In vitro drug release analysis of FU from GO-CS-XG was lesser at physiological pH but under acidic conditions, it was significantly increased. Results of in vitro cell viability studies indicate that the efficiency of fucoidan was improved upon conjugation with the nanosystem (GO-CS-XG) against human histiocytic lymphoma (U 937) cell line. Conclusion: As a result, we propose a new multifunctional graphene-based targeted platform by using xyloglucan polysaccharide as targeting nanomaterial for pH-responsive anticancer drug delivery with high efficacy

Characterization of coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) varieties using SDS-PAGE and RAPD markers

In an experiment, sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) were evaluated separately as a tool for characterizing coriander varieties. The SDS-PAGE electrophoresis of total soluble seed proteins revealed a total of 7 bands with Rm value ranging from 0.347 to 0.926. A polymorphism of 71.4% was recorded among 20 varieties of coriander. The maximum dissimilarity value was shown by Sindhu. Varieties like Sadhana, Sindhu, RCr-436 and RCr-684 were observed different from the rest of the coriander varieties whereas, RCr-436 and RCr-684 could not be differentiated from each other. Twenty random primers were used for polymorphism studies based on DNA fingerprinting analysis of eighteen coriander varieties. These primers gave amplification and a total of 9 bands were produced with an average of 4.5 bands per primer. A total of 73 polymorphic bands and 17 monomorphic bands were observed thus, showing 81.1% polymorphism among all the varieties. The highest number of bands was generated by the primer OPC-3 and OPC-6 followed by OPC-2, OPC-7 and OPC-20 while the lowest number of band was produced by OPC-19. The variety GC-2 is highly diverse from other varieties. The dendrogram based on protein electrophoresis grouped the varieties into two major clusters whereas RAPD analysis showed clear-cut difference among coriander varieties. Both techniques grouped coriander varieties like Swathi, CS-6, H.Surbhi and RCr-446 in one cluster.Key words: Coriandrum sativum L., SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, RAPD, varietal characterization

Evaluation of diagnostic efficacy of hepatobiliary scintigraphy as a diagnostic procedure in pediatric practice with special reference to cholestatic jaundice

Background: The objective was to assess the diagnostic efficacy of hepatobiliary scintigraphy (Tc99 mebrofenin) in case of cholestatic jaundice in pediatric practice.Method: Study conducted on 45 cases from 0-6 yrs. of age. Out of 45 pt 20 pt excluded from study Hepatobiliary Scintigraphy (Tc99m Mebrofinin) was performed in 25 cases. Injection of Tc99m mebrofinin (1-2 mCi) IV was given to each subject. Dynamic hepatic scan was done upto initial 1 hour study and additional delayed images were taken at 4 & 24 hrs only in case of non-visualization of tracer in the intestine after initial 1 hr. study.Results: In this study hepatobiliary scintigraphy was 100% sensitive, 93.73% specific, 80% positive predictive values, 100% negative predictive value, 6.23% false positive result and virtually no false negative result for biliary atresia. Conclusion: It is concluded that Tc99m mebrofenin hepatobiliary scintigraphy has proven to be reliable noninvasive imaging modality in evaluating cholestatic jaundice in pediatric practice as it carries a high sensitive & specific value, good positive & no negative predictive value, few false positive & virtually no false negative results.

Critical review of multimorbidity outcome measures suitable for low-income and middle-income country settings: perspectives from the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases (GACD) researchers.

OBJECTIVES: There is growing recognition around the importance of multimorbidity in low-income and middle-income country (LMIC) settings, and specifically the need for pragmatic intervention studies to reduce the risk of developing multimorbidity, and of mitigating the complications and progression of multimorbidity in LMICs. One of many challenges in completing such research has been the selection of appropriate outcomes measures. A 2018 Delphi exercise to develop a core-outcome set for multimorbidity research did not specifically address the challenges of multimorbidity in LMICs where the global burden is greatest, patterns of disease often differ and health systems are frequently fragmented. We, therefore, aimed to summarise and critically review outcome measures suitable for studies investigating mitigation of multimorbidity in LMIC settings. SETTING: LMIC. PARTICIPANTS: People with multimorbidity. OUTCOME MEASURES: Identification of all outcome measures. RESULTS: We present a critical review of outcome measures across eight domains: mortality, quality of life, function, health economics, healthcare access and utilisation, treatment burden, measures of 'Healthy Living' and self-efficacy and social functioning. CONCLUSIONS: Studies in multimorbidity are necessarily diverse and thus different outcome measures will be appropriate for different study designs. Presenting the diversity of outcome measures across domains should provide a useful summary for researchers, encourage the use of multiple domains in multimorbidity research, and provoke debate and progress in the field

Genetic variants associated with subjective well-being, depressive symptoms, and neuroticism identified through genome-wide analyses

Very few genetic variants have been associated with depression and neuroticism, likely because of limitations on sample size in previous studies. Subjective well-being, a phenotype that is genetically correlated with both of these traits, has not yet been studied with genome-wide data. We conducted genome-wide association studies of three phenotypes: subjective well-being (n = 298,420), depressive symptoms (n = 161,460), and neuroticism (n = 170,911). We identify 3 variants associated with subjective well-being, 2 variants associated with depressive symptoms, and 11 variants associated with neuroticism, including 2 inversion polymorphisms. The two loci associated with depressive symptoms replicate in an independent depression sample. Joint analyses that exploit the high genetic correlations between the phenotypes (P = 0.8) strengthen the overall credibility of the findings and allow us to identify additional variants. Across our phenotypes, loci regulating expression in central nervous system and adrenal or pancreas tissues are strongly enriched for association

Genome-wide meta-analysis of 241,258 adults accounting for smoking behaviour identifies novel loci for obesity traits

Few genome-wide association studies (GWAS) account for environmental exposures, like smoking, potentially impacting the overall trait variance when investigating the genetic contribution to obesity-related traits. Here, we use GWAS data from 51,080 current smokers and 190,178 nonsmokers (87% European descent) to identify loci influencing BMI and central adiposity, measured as waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio both adjusted for BMI. We identify 23 novel genetic loci, and 9 loci with convincing evidence of gene-smoking interaction (GxSMK) on obesity-related traits. We show consistent direction of effect for all identified loci and significance for 18 novel and for 5 interaction loci in an independent study sample. These loci highlight novel biological functions, including response to oxidative stress, addictive behaviour, and regulatory functions emphasizing the importance of accounting for environment in genetic analyses. Our results suggest that tobacco smoking may alter the genetic susceptibility to overall adiposity and body fat distribution.Peer reviewe

Global, regional, and national burden of colorectal cancer and its risk factors, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Funding: F Carvalho and E Fernandes acknowledge support from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. (FCT), in the scope of the project UIDP/04378/2020 and UIDB/04378/2020 of the Research Unit on Applied Molecular Biosciences UCIBIO and the project LA/P/0140/2020 of the Associate Laboratory Institute for Health and Bioeconomy i4HB; FCT/MCTES through the project UIDB/50006/2020. J Conde acknowledges the European Research Council Starting Grant (ERC-StG-2019-848325). V M Costa acknowledges the grant SFRH/BHD/110001/2015, received by Portuguese national funds through Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), IP, under the Norma Transitória DL57/2016/CP1334/CT0006.proofepub_ahead_of_prin