Identification of a novel nucleolin related protein (NRP) gene expressed during rat spermatogenesis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Nucleolin is a major nucleolar phosphoprotein involved in various steps of ribosome biogenesis in eukaryotic cells. As nucleolin plays a significant role in ribosomal RNA transcription we were interested in examining in detail the expression of nucleolin across different stages of spermatogenesis and correlate with the transcription status of ribosomal DNA in germ cells.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>By RT PCR and western blot analysis we found that nucleolin is strongly down regulated in meiotic spermatocytes and haploid germ cells. We have identified a new nucleolin related protein (NRP) gene in the rat genome, which is over expressed in the testis and is up regulated several fold in meiotic spermatocytes and haploid germ cells. The NRP protein lacks the acidic stretches in its N terminal domain, and it is encoded in rat chromosome 15 having a different genomic organization as compared to nucleolin gene present on chromosome 9. We have also found NRP genes encoded in genomes of other mammalian species. We performed run-on transcription assay where we have observed that rDNA is transcribed at much lower level in meiotic spermatocytes and haploid spermatids as compared to diploid cells. By siRNA knock down experiments we could also demonstrate that NRP can support rDNA transcription in the absence of nucleolin.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We have identified a new nucleolin variant over expressed in germ cells in rat and analyzed its domain structure. We attribute that the transcriptional activity of rDNA genes in the late spermatogenesis is due to the presence of this variant NRP. The expression of this variant in the germ cells in the absence of nucleolin, could have additional functions in the mammalian spermatogenesis which needs to be investigated further.</p

The Evolution of Coursebook Evaluation Checklists

Evaluation is one among the five pillars in language teaching. Evaluating teaching materials is a very important professional activity for all ELT teachers. Teachers use textbooks as valuable resources to productively lead teaching and learning activities and to assist students in achieving learning objectives more effectively. According to Tomlinson, the materials evaluation process has two concerns: to examine how the books work for better understanding in the classroom and to present how the pedagogical practices and acquisition are applied. This paper discusses the guidelines for evaluation of the textbook at all stages, i.e., pre-use evaluation, in-use evaluation, and post -use evaluation. Hence, the connectedness between the course book writers and the users in the real classroom can become stronger

Child Protection System and Challenges in Pakistan

Child protection refers to preventing and responding to child abuse and exploitation, that is, child labour, trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation, and harmful customary practices. This paper is about child protection issues in Pakistan, one of the South Asian countries in the Indian sub-continent. Pakistan has agreed to provide children with special protection, as a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the child [UNCRC]. Consequently, it is mandatory for the state to protect children. The authors review both internal and external factors affecting child protection in Pakistan in addition to outlining the challenges faced by South Asian countries in the realm of child protection. It then draws recommendations for efficient child protection system in Pakistan

ASCL1 (achaete-scute homolog 1 or achaete-scute complex homolog 1)

Review on ASCL1 (achaete-scute homolog 1 or achaete-scute complex homolog 1), with data on DNA, on the protein encoded, and where the gene is implicated

Securing Healthcare: A Fusion of AI and Blockchain for Medical Data Protection

Today's digital environment places a high value on data, which includes intellectual property, private consumer information, and long-term corporate strategies. It is crucial to protect this priceless asset from the suspicious eyes of hackers. A complete strategy must be used to address the six major areas of governance, discovery, protection, compliance, detection, and reaction in order to accomplish comprehensive data security. The foundation for data security is laid by governance first and foremost, which calls for the creation of strong policies, data classification processes, an exhaustive list of all available data assets, and a sturdy infrastructure. The next crucial step in guaranteeing data safety is to identify the data's sources, whether they be databases, files, or network systems. Encryption, diligent key management, strict access control measures, and trustworthy data backup procedures must all be put into place in order to protect data efficiently from unauthorized access or breaches. A crucial aspect of compliance is the creation of accurate reports and the preservation of crucial documents. However, the modern cyberspace is a complicated maze of dispersed data, controlled by unrelated organizations lacking in mutual trust. It is difficult to enable safe data sharing and authentication over the internet due to this complex environment, especially when working with massive amounts of data and artificial intelligence systems. The combination of blockchain technology and artificial intelligence (AI) presents a strong solution to this problem. The effectiveness of using AI and blockchain to strengthen the security of medical data is examined in this article. We want to give end users a secure environment by utilizing these cutting-edge technologies, protecting the integrity and security of private medical data in a society that is becoming more linked

IMPACT OF NOISE, OTHER AIR POLLUTANTS AND METEOROLOGICAL FACTORS ON MENTAL HEALTH ADMISSIONS IN HOSPITAL

A few environmental components, including air contamination, noise in populated regions, and meteorological-type factors, may have huge effect on human health. These factors might impact the ascent in crisis hospital confirmations because of these variables, since a few examinations lately have demonstrated the connection between different mental sicknesses and these conditions. It is conceivable that the elevated degrees of air contamination are to be faulted for the developing mental health issues among the metropolitan populace in arising countries. It is unprecedented to find enormous scope exact investigations that investigate this case on a public level. To check this suspicion, we fabricated an everyday mental health metric using the amount of mental-health-related look on Baidu, the greatest web crawler in China. Our examination shows that openness to air contamination for a more drawn out timeframe impacts individuals' mental health. Men, people in their center years, and the individuals who are hitched are more vulnerable to the pessimistic impacts of air contamination on mental health, as per heterogeneity examinations.

Interobserver agreement of radiologists assessing the response of rectal cancers to preoperative chemoradiation using the MRI tumour regression grading (mrTRG)

AIM: To investigate whether the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tumour regression grading (mrTRG) scale can be taught effectively resulting in a clinically reasonable interobserver agreement (>0.4; moderate to near perfect agreement). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study examines the interobserver agreement of mrTRG, between 35 radiologists and a central reviewer. Two workshops were organised for radiologists to assess regression of rectal cancers on MRI staging scans. A range of mrTRGs on 12 patient scans were used for assessment. RESULTS: Kappa agreement ranged from 0.14–0.82 with a median value of 0.57 (95% CI: 0.37–0.77) indicating good overall agreement. Eight (26%) radiologists had very good/near perfect agreement (κ>0.8). Six (19%) radiologists had good agreement (0.8≥κ>0.6) and a further 12 (39%) had moderate agreement (0.6≥κ>0.4). Five (16%) radiologists had a fair agreement (0.4≥κ>0.2) and two had poor agreement (0.2>κ). There was a tendency towards good agreement (skewness: 0.92). In 65.9% and 90% of cases the radiologists were able to correctly highlight good and poor responders, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The assessment of the response of rectal cancers to chemoradiation therapy may be performed effectively using mrTRG. Radiologists can be taught the mrTRG scale. Even with minimal training, good agreement with the central reviewer along with effective differentiation between good and intermediate/poor responders can be achieved. Focus should be on facilitating the identification of good responders. It is predicted that with more intensive interactive case-based learning a κ>0.8 is likely to be achieved. Testing and retesting is recommended

Application of the rainbow trout derived intestinal cell line (RTgutGC) for ecotoxicological studies: molecular and cellular responses following exposure to copper.

There is an acknowledged need for in vitro fish intestinal model to help understand dietary exposure to chemicals in the aquatic environment. The presence and use of such models is however largely restrictive due to technical difficulties in the culturing of enterocytes in general and the availability of appropriate established cell lines in particular. In this study, the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) intestinal derived cell line (RTgutGC) was used as a surrogate for the "gut sac" method. To facilitate comparison, RTgutGC cells were grown as monolayers (double-seeded) on permeable Transwell supports leading to a two-compartment intestinal model consisting of polarised epithelium. This two-compartment model divides the system into an upper apical (lumen) and a lower basolateral (portal blood) compartment. In our studies, these cells stained weakly for mucosubstances, expressed the tight junction protein ZO-1 in addition to E-cadherin and revealed the presence of polarised epithelium in addition to microvilli protrusions. The cells also revealed a comparable transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) to the in vivo situation. Importantly, the cell line tolerated apical saline (1:1 ratio) thus mimicking the intact organ to allow assessment of uptake of compounds across the intestine. Following an exposure over 72 h, our study demonstrated that the RTgutGC cell line under sub-lethal concentrations of copper sulphate (Cu) and modified saline solutions demonstrated uptake of the metal with saturation levels comparable to short term ex situ gut sac preparations. Gene expression analysis revealed no significant influence of pH or time on mRNA expression levels of key stress related genes (i.e. CYP3A, GST, mtA, Pgp and SOD) in the Transwell model. However, significant positive correlations were found between all genes investigated suggesting a co-operative relationship amongst the genes studied. When the outlined characteristics of the cell line are combined with the division of compartments, the RTgutGC double seeded model represents a potential animal replacement model for ecotoxicological studies. Overall, this model could be used to study the effects and predict aquatic gastrointestinal permeability of metals and other environmentally relevant contaminants in a cost effective and high throughput manner