Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biochemical Characterization of Multiple Myeloma Patients across ISS Stages – A Data Base Workup from a Tertiary Care Hospital in India

Background: Multiple myeloma (MM) is slowly becoming a huge medical burden, challenging the health-care systems of Asian countries. Because of the unavailability of widespread access to various modalities of investigations, and paucity of well compiled data on common presenting features and various laboratory parameters in various stages of MM in India, the diagnosis is usually delayed till complications begin to occur. This study is an attempt to fill this gap and to establish database for future reference. Methods: The study was conducted in a tertiary health care centre over a span of 3 years and 94 patients diagnosed as MM with complete workup including beta2 microglobulin (β2M), bone marrow plasma cell percentage, serum protein electrophoresis, serum and urine Immunofixation and serum Free Light Chains (FLC) were included. The various laboratory parameters were statistically analyzed across ISS stages I, II and III. Results: We found a male to female ratio of 1.47:1. The mean age of patients was 55.5±11.78 yrs. Backache was the most frequent presentation (30%) of the patients followed by generalized weakness (22%). The percentage of plasma cells, hemoglobin, urea, creatinine, uric acid, calcium and β2M showed significant difference across the stages. 38.3% of the patients were in stage III, 29.8% in stage II and 31.9% in stage I. IgGκ type constituted 70%, other fraction being IgGλ (10%), IgMκ (10%), IgAκ (5%) and IgAλ (5%). M band was not seen in 11% of patients.Conclusion(s): The presentation of MM is nonspecific and patient can come with varied presentations at onset. We have biochemically characterized the three stages of MM and this will form a basis for further larger studies on these lines and to develop stage-based algorithms for early and better diagnosis and prognosis of MM.
Asthma, Anxiety and Depression are they walking together? Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study

Background/Objectives: The association between asthma and mental health disorders is well known, both anxiety and depression being the most common ones. The aim is to determine the proportion of anxiety and/or depression in an asthmatic population compared to a non-asthmatic one in a Primary Care centre. Secondary objectives: Assess the association between the severity of asthma and its level of control and anxiety and/or depression.
Antibiogram and pathogen isolation from vaginal discharge in dairy cows with metritis

Sutcu ineklerde fertilite basarisi cogunlukla postpartum donemde uterus sagligi ile iliskilidir. Ancak, ineklerde uterusun normal isleyisi siklikla patojen bakterilerin uterus lumenini kontamine etmesiyle riske atilir. Uterus enfeksiyonlarina neden olan en yaygin bakteri turleri Escherichia (E) coli, Trueperella (T) pyogenes, Streptococcus spp , Fusobacterium (F) necrophorum, Bacteroides ve Prevotella dir. En sik karsilasilan uterus hastaliklarindan biri metritis’tir. Bu calismanin amaci, metritisli ineklerin vaginal akintilarindan bakteri izolasyonu ve bu bakterilere karsi etkili antibiyotikleri tespit etmekti. Sunulan calismada 3 ile 6 yas arasinda 15 adet metritisli multipar Holstein sutcu inek kullanildi. Metritis, dogumdan sonraki ilk 21 gun icinde ates (> 39.5 ° C), sulu kirmizi-kahverengi ve kokulu uterus akintisi ve sistemik hastalik belirtileri ile karakterize edildi. Metritisli ineklerden mikrobiyolojik analiz ve antimikrobiyal hassasiyet testi icin streil sartlarda vajinal svab alindi. Analizlerde, E. coli (%35.29), T. pyogenes (%29.41), Streptococcus spp (%17.65) ve Staphylococcus (S) aureus (%17.65) dahil olmak uzere dort farkli bakteri turu izole edildi. Antiogram testinde 13 antimikrobiyal ajan kullanildi ve en etkili antimikrobiyal ajanlarin florfenikol, seftiofur, oksitetrasiklin, linkomisin ve penisilin oldugu tespit edildi. Ayrica bazi bakteri turlerinin antimikrobiyal ajanlara karsi direnc gosterdigi belirlendi. Sonuc olarak, metritis etkenlerinin ve antimikrobiyal ajanlarin etkilerinin inekten inege degistigi goruldu. Bu nedenle, infertiliteye neden olan uterus enfeksiyonlarinin etken izolasyonu ve dogru antibiyotiklerin secimi ile kisitlanabilecegi dusunuldu.
The perceptions of parents and caregivers on the causes of disabilities in children with cerebral palsy: A qualitative investigation

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of parents and caregivers on the causes of disabilities in children with cerebral palsy in selected areas of the Cape Metropolitan. A qualitative research design was chosen for the investigation. Data collection was by semi-structured interviews. The results showed that the range of variation in the beliefs of the parents and caregivers concerning the cause of the childi? ½s disability and the stigma attached was quite considerable. However, the majority of the informants hardly knew the causes of disabilities while only a few informants seemed to have known. It is recommended that health professionals who work with fam ilie s directly could play a major role in preventing unnecessary stressful situations by providing adequate information about the child as condition in terms of aetiology and the likely prognosis. Helping and working with such families require a multidisciplinary effort, effective communication among families and professionals, and knowledge of community resources
Awareness of Operating Room Personnel’s Towards HBV/HIV at Omdurman Teaching Hospital, Sudan

Background : Operating room personnel’s are at risk to blood and body fluid (BBF) of patients, through accidental sharps and needle stick injuries. Preventive measure, awareness, reporting of incidence and post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) are ways to avoid mortality and morbidity. Objectives: To assess the level of awareness regarding HIV/HBV among operating room surgical personnel. Methodology: This is a prospective observational study, conducted at Omdurman Teaching Hospital during a period from June - Nov 2012. Study population was operating room personnel’s. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS computer package version 19. Results: Participants were 88; medical staff 77.3%, while the paramedics 22.7%. Almost 96% of the participants agreed that they will apply the standard precaution measures when operating on known HBV/HIV patients. On accidental NSI, over 90% of the operating room personnel’s (ORP) will adopt the simple PEP. Reporting the incidence to the infection control department (ICD) of the hospital will be done by 64.8%. On sharp injury 23% mention they will test the blood of the patient only. More than 40% of the ORP didn’t complete their HBV vaccination only 37% of the house-surgeons were vaccinated. HIV/HBV prevention program was attended by 28.4% ll’111of the ORP. Conclusion: There is fair level of awareness among medical doctors and paramedics towards universal precautions and needle stick injuries. The knowledge of PEP needs to be emphasized. Clear policy for reporting and protocol for PEP are needed. Vaccination coverage is very poor.
Comparative genetic and chemical profiling performed on Alstonia scholaris in China and its implications to standardization of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Validity of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is oppugned very often because of the bugs of quality, effectiveness, and repeatability. Standardization of TCMs is one way to make a change. How to realize standardization of TCMs and with what measures to shape the quality control system, is provoking much debate in the TCM field. Genetic and chemical profiling were comparatively performed on Alstonia scholaris in China through amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis and alkaloid high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) scanning, aiming to evaluate the attributes of chemical and DNA fingerprinting as applicable tools for quality control of TCMs and explore theoretic strategy of TCM standardization. Each individual of A. schlolaris displayed a unique AFLP or HPLC profile, indicating well individual-distinguishing ability of the two techniques. Patterns of variance structure disclosed by the HPLC and AFLP profiling were similar, and more than 50% of alkaloid loci were kept constant across any single population, suggesting a genetic basis of the alkaloid secondary metabolism in the plant and justifying DNA fingerprinting as a qualified identifier for quality control of the TCM. Compared to the alkaloid HPLC scanning, the AFLP analysis produced much more loci with lower polymorphic loci percentage, suggesting that AFLP can be more statistically informative and with moderate sensitivity. In passing, a strategy pursuing genetically identical TCMs by popularizing plantation of selected germplasm of medicinal plants was suggested for TCM standardization. Key words: Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), standardization, Alstonia scholaris, alkaloid scanning, genetic profiling.
In Silico Analysis of Envelope Dengue Virus-2 and Envelope Dengue Virus-3 Protein as the Backbone of Dengue Virus Tetravalent Vaccine by Using Homology Modeling Method

Problem statement: Dengue fever, which was caused by Dengue virus infection, had became a major public health problem in the tropic and subtropical countries. Dengue virus (DENV) had four serotypes (DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3 and DENV-4), based on their immunogenic in the human body. Preventive measure will be necessary to decrease the prevalence of dengue fever, by developing modern vaccine. Approach: This research was focused on in silico study of dengue virus vaccines, by using envelope (E) protein of DENV-2 and DENV-3 as their backbones. T cell epitope prediction was determined by using MULTIPRED server and B cell epitope prediction was determined by using Conformational Epitope Prediction server (CEP). Homology modeling study of E DENV-3 protein as the vaccine backbone had produced six dengue vaccine peptides (HMM Vaccine 1-6). Moreover, homology modeling study of E DENV-2 protein as vaccine backbone had produced six dengue vaccine peptides (ANN vaccine 1-6). Results: The BLAST analysis of HMM and ANN vaccines had produced 93% and 91% identity, respectively. The Ramachandran Plot of both vaccines had shown less than 15% non glycine residue in the disallowed region, therefore it showed the solid stability of the proteins. The VAST analysis of E DENV-3 backbone vaccines had determined, that HMM4 and HMM6 had the highest structure similarity with native E DENV-3. HMM4 and HMM6 had the highest VAST score of 64.5. Moreover, the VAST analysis of E DENV-2 backbone vaccines had determined, that ANN1, ANN3, ANN4, ANN5 and ANN6 had the highest structure similarity with native E DENV-2. ANN1, ANN3, ANN4, ANN5 and ANN6 have the highest VAST score of 64.7. Conclusion/Recommendation: It could be inferred from this research that HMM4; HMM6; ANN1; ANN3; ANN4; ANN5; and ANN6 were the best in silico vaccine design, based on their similarity with native E DENV Proteins. This research could be applied for the wet laboratory and computerised vaccine design.
Molecular cloning and characterization of Dbr1, a 2-alkenal reductase from Artemisia annua.

The molecular genetics of carbon–carbon double bond reduction in the plant Artemisia annua L. was studied. Expressed sequence tags from this plant were investigated for sequences with similarity to known double-bond reductases. This resulted in the isolation of a cDNA, corresponding to the gene A. annua Dbr1 (Double bond reductase1), encoding a member of the medium chain dehydrogenase/reductase protein superfamily with sequence similarity to tobacco allyl alcohol dehydrogenase. Recombinant A. annua Dbr1 protein was purified from Escherischia coli and shown to catalyze the reduction of the carbon–carbon double bond of 2-alkenals. This activity included the reduction of the double bond at C11–C13 in the artemisinin precursor artemisinic aldehyde, albeit with unnatural stereochemistry. The substrate specificity, product stereochemistry, and expression pattern of A. annua Dbr1 point to its involvement in planta in the detoxification of 2-alkenals, which may be generated under oxidative stress conditions.
Defining the neural correlates of pain and analgesia in health and disease

Chronic neuropathic pain affects up to 8% of the United Kingdom population and is a difficult condition to manage. It is established and maintained through many mechanisms, including central sensitisation (CS) in the spinal cord and brainstem. Neuropathic pain manifests as spontaneous pain, sensory loss and evoked hypersensitivity. The development of novel treatments for neuropathic pain is challenging, in part due to inadequate experimental models of clinically relevant pain. The use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques for imaging acute and increasingly tonic states enables the assessment of the neural correlates of evoked hypersensitivity and persistent pain, with the goal of developing appropriate biomarkers to test new therapies. This thesis develops novel techniques for the assessment of ongoing pain states and their modulation by therapies. We first identified a suitable human experimental model of CS using topical capsaicin, and an fMRI pipeline for the investigation of supraspinal involvement in pain hypersensitivity. In a placebo-controlled study, we then demonstrated the improved sensitivity of fMRI above subjective reports in detecting the efficacy of a known analgesic as compared to an ineffective active compound in a small cohort. To translate this to the more clinically relevant symptom of spontaneous pain, we developed and validated the use of a multi-inversion time pseudo-continuous arterial spin labelling (ASL) imaging and analysis pipeline for the neural assessment of tonic states and the absolute quantification of cerebral blood flow (CBF). Current evidence from structural and functional studies suggests a direct role for the posterior insula cortex in the encoding of nociception and pain. Using the ASL pipeline, we found that only a CBF change in the posterior insula region was correlated with the changing perception of persistent capsaicin-induced pain, and in a separate experiment showed that suppression of CBF in this region by gabapentin was related to the drug's suppression of subjective pain perception. We also demonstrated in a cohort of phantom limb patients that pain relief resulting from transcranial direct current stimulation of the deprived sensorimotor cortex is neurally represented by a decrease in posterior insula CBF. In a separate study, we showed that baseline CBF in the periaqueductal grey can predict individuals who are most vulnerable to pain and hypersensitivity following the induction of capsaicin-related CS. Taken together, these findings suggest that fMRI can be used as a tool to assess the efficacy of established and novel analgesics, with the midbrain reticular formation and posterior insula cortex being prime candidates as biomarkers of CS mechanisms and persistent pain respectively. Relatedly, ASL-fMRI may also be an effective technique for evaluating individuals' susceptibility to pain following inflammation or injury.
Real brains in virtual worlds: Validating a novel oddball paradigm in virtual reality

Electroencephalography (EEG) research is typically conducted in controlled laboratory settings. This limits the generalizability to real-world situations. Virtual reality (VR) sits as a transitional tool that provides tight experimental control with more realistic stimuli. To test the validity of using VR for event-related potential (ERP) research, we used a well-established paradigm, the oddball task. Standard stimuli were presented 80% of the time and target stimuli which were responded to, 20% of the time. For our first study, we compared traditional to VR stimulus presentation using standard visual and auditory oddball tasks. We found that ERPs collected using VR head mounted displays and typical monitors were comparable on measures of latency, amplitude, and spectral composition. In a second study, we implemented a novel depth-based oddball task. We demonstrated that typical oddball ERPs elicited by the presentation of near and far stimuli. Interestingly, we observed significant differences in early ERPs components between near and far stimuli, even after controlling for the effects of the oddball task. Current results suggest that VR can serve as a valid means of stimulus presentation in novel or otherwise inaccessible environments for EEG experimentation. We demonstrated the capability of the depth-based oddball to reliably elicit P3 responses. We also found an interaction between the depth at which objects are presented and early ERP responses. Further research is warranted to better explain this influence of depth on the ERP components.
Assessing climate adaptation options for cereal-based systems in the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains, South Asia

Abstract New farming systems and management options are needed in South Asia as the intensive rice–wheat production system is set to become increasingly unsustainable under climate change. In the current study, six cropping systems options/treatments varying in tillage, crop establishment method, residue management, crop sequence and fertilizer and water management were evaluated using a cropping systems model under current (1980–2009) and future (2030 and 2050) climate scenarios in the state of Bihar, India. The treatments were current farmers' practice (CP), best fertilizer and water management practices, zero tillage (ZT) with no crop residue retention, ZT with partial crop residue retention (ZTPR), future conservation agriculture-based rice–wheat intensive cropping system (FCS-1) and future conservation agriculture-based maize–wheat intensive cropping system (FCS-2). The results indicate that climate change is likely to reduce rice–wheat system productivity under CP by 4% across Bihar. All the crop management options studied increased yield, water productivity and net returns over that of the CP under the current and future climate scenarios. However, the ZTPR treatment gave significantly higher relative yield, lower annual yield variability and a higher benefit-cost-ratio than the other treatments across cropping system components and climate periods. Although all the new cropping system treatments had a positive yield implication under the current climate (compared to CP), they did not contribute to adaptation under the future climate except FCS-2 in wheat. It is concluded that adaptation to future climate must integrate both cropping system innovations, and genetic improvements in stress tolerance.
Production of a polyclonal antibody against acrylamide for immunochromatographic detection of acrylamide using strip tests

Objective: To produce, purify, and characterize a polyclonal antibody against acrylamide (anti-AA) for an application to immunochromatographic strip tests for AA. Materials and Methods: Polyclonal anti-AA was prepared by injecting N-acryloxysuccinimideconjugated bovine serum albumin hapten-antigen into New Zealand white rabbits. The antibody was purified using protein A, characterized using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and conjugated with gold nanoparticles (AuNP). The conjugated antibody was then characterized using UV–Vis and FTIR spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Immunochromatographic strip tests were performed using sample pads, conjugated pads, test zones, control zones, and absorbent pads. Strip tests were finally validated using standard AA solutions followed by the application of various concentrations of coffee samples Results: Using SDS-PAGE, the purified anti-AA antibody was resolved at 50 and 25 kDa, indicating the presence of heavy and light chains, respectively. The conjugation of anti-AA with AuNP was confirmed using wavelength shifts in UV–Vis and FTIR spectra, and TEM analyses revealed increased diameters of AuNPs after conjugation. The immunochromatographic strip test was sensitive to 1 mgml-1 standard AA. Various concentrations of coffee samples resulted in red color differences in the test zone. High and low coffee concentrations produced thick and thin red lines, respectively. Conclusion: Purified anti-AA can be conjugated with AuNP to produce strip tests for detecting AA in coffee samples. The present immunochromatographic strip tests quantitatively showed increasing intensities of red lines with increasing AA concentrations.
GDNF/RET signaling pathway activation eliminates Lewy Body pathology in midbrain dopamine neurons

Neurodegenerative diseases are associated with proteostasis disturbances and accumulation of fibrillar proteins into insoluble aggregates. Progressive age-related degeneration of dopamine neurons is a primary cause of motor dysfunctions in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and substantial evidence supports critical involvement of α-synuclein (α-syn) in the etiology of PD. α-syn is a cytosolic protein present in high concentrations in pre-synaptic neuronal terminals and a primary constituent of intracellular protein aggregates known as Lewy Neurites or Lewy Bodies. Progression of Lewy pathology is a characteristic feature in the PD brains caused by the prion-like self-templating properties of misfolded α-syn. Modelling Lewy pathology progression with application of exogenously prepared α-syn preformed fibrils, we discovered that glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) prevented formation of α-syn aggregates in dopamine neurons in culture and in vivo after viral vector expression of GDNF. These effects were abolished by CRISPR/Cas9-mediated deletion of receptor tyrosine kinase Ret, the major GDNF signaling pathway. Similar to GDNF, expression of mutated constitutively active RET (RET_MEN2B) was able to protect dopamine neurons. GDNF protection against α-syn pathology progression was abolished by Src and attenuated by Akt pathway inhibitors. For the first time, we have shown the neurotrophic factor-mediated protection against the misfolded α-syn propagation in dopamine neurons, uncovered underlying receptor and intracellular signaling pathways. These results for the first time demonstrate that activation of GDNF/RET signaling can be an effective therapeutic approach to prevent Lewy pathology spread at early stages of PD.
The complete plastid genome of Zenia insignis Chun (Leguminosae)

Abstract Zenia insignis Chun is a rare and threatened species of the monotypic genus Zenia Chun in the subfamily Dialioideae of Leguminosae. The complete plastid genome of Zenia insignis was sequenced for the first time which also represents the first complete plastid genome of the subfamily Dialioideae. The total length of this genome is 159,358 bp with a large single copy (LSC) region (88,507 bp), a small single copy (SSC) region (18,689 bp), and two inverted repeat regions (IRs, 26,081 bp). We recovered 128 functional genes, including 83 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes and 8 rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis strongly supported a sister relationship between Z. insignis and the clade consisting of Caesalpinioideae and Papilionoideae.