Circulating Biomarkers and their Possible Role in Pathogenesis of Chronic Hepatitis B and C Viral Infections

The present study evaluated the plausible role of circulating biomarkers in immune pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis considered a priority in clinical hepatology. Total viral load of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients was quantified and correlation studies were performed with circulating levels of Th1/Th2 cytokines; C reactive protein and circulating nucleosomes; glutathione reductase (GR) and superoxide dismutase. To our knowledge, the study is first among its kind that validates strong positive correlation of viral load with IL-4, IL-6, GR in HBV and IL-6, IL-10, GR in HCV infections. Although, multi-centric studies including large cohorts are required for translating our findings to clinical practice, however, role of these biomarkers with potential diagnostic or prognostic significance might be helpful in clinical assessment of high-risk individuals, thereby, designing interventional strategies, towards development of personalized medicare. The results of our study also offer valuable insights of immune signaling mediators engaged in development of hepatocellular carcinoma.     

Biochemistry of Nitric Oxide

Nitric oxide (NO) a free radical having both cytoprotective as well as tumor promoting agent is formed from l-arginine by converting it to l-citrulline via nitric oxide synthase enzymes. The reaction product of nitric oxide with superoxide generates potent oxidizing agent, peroxynitrite which is the main mediator of tissue and cellular injury. Peroxynitrite is reactive towards many biomolecules which includes amino acids, nucleic acid bases; metal containing compounds, etc. NO metabolites may play a key role in mediating many of the genotoxic/carcinogenic effects as DNA damage, protein or lipid modification, etc. The basic reactions of nitric oxide can be divided as direct effect of the radical where it alone plays a role in either damaging or protecting the cell milieu and an indirect effect in which the byproducts of nitric oxide formed by convergence of two independent radical generating pathways play the role in biological reactions which mainly involve oxidative and nitrosative stress. Nitric oxide is also capable of directly interacting with mitochondria through inhibition of respiration or by permeability transition. Reaction of nitric oxide with metal ions include its direct interaction with the metals or with oxo complexes thereby reducing them to lower valent state. Excessive production of nitric oxide can be studied by inhibiting the synthetic pathway of nitric oxide using both selective or specific nitric oxide synthase inhibitor or non-selective nitric oxide synthase inhibitor with respect to isoforms of nitric oxide.     

Internal and external focus of attention in a novice form sport

In the current experiment, we examined optimal focus for novices during a movement sequence in which performance was measured on accurate movement form/technique. A novel gymnastics routine was practiced under either an internal skill-relevant, internal skill-irrelevant, external, or no attention focus. Retention and transfer tests were then completed. During acquisition, adopting an internal irrelevant focus significantly improved performance, whereas an external focus degraded performance. There were no significant group differences in the retention and transfer tests. This suggests that learning of movement form/technique did not benefit from a specific focus of attention. The results are interpreted via an attentional capacity viewpoint and the notion that form tasks do not always contain obvious movement effects central to common coding and the constrained action hypothesis.     

Perspectives of University Students and Faculty on remote education experiences during COVID-19- a qualitative study

Education and Information Technologies - Owing to COVID-19 the Ministry of Education in the United Arab Emirates mandated educational institutions to shift to remote learning. In this study the...     

Game-based learning platform to enhance cybersecurity education

Education and Information Technologies - Computer security competitions have been playing a significant role in encouraging students to get into cybersecurity, as well as enhancing the...     

Medical journals and effective dissemination of health research

Clinical medical journals have not been effective in meeting the information needs of practitioners and bridging the gap between clinical research and practice. The slow adoption of results of clinical research is at least partly due to the failure of clinical journals to disseminate information in a way that would motivate practitioners to change practice. Although implementation is primarily a local process, medical journals are in a unique position to advance implementation by modifying their focus and adjusting their contents. Strategies that may be useful include publication of pre‐appraised evidence summaries and ‘clinical bottom‐lines’ and giving importance to systematic reviews and large evaluative research articles as they represent higher levels of evidence and have greater potential to change practice. Clinical journals should encourage researchers to consider how and by whom the findings will be used and provide information on implications for implementation such as possible strategies that may work, cost‐effectiveness, side‐effects and potential barriers to implementation. Medical journal publishers should explore ways to cooperate so that findings of landmark clinical trials could be shared thus reducing the ‘scatter’ of medical information. Electronic media offers numerous advantages such as quick accessibility and linking of information, and medical journals should capitalize on such innovations. There is a paradigm shift in health care practice as evidence is consciously and explicitly incorporated into individual patient care. Medical journals need to change to reflect this change in practice and provide practitioners with valid and relevant information.     

Mycorrhizoremediation an enhanced form of phytoremediation

Study of plant roots and the diversity of soil micro biota, such as bacteria, fungi and microfauna associated with them, is important for understanding the ecological complexities between diverse plants, microbes, soil and climates and their role in phytoremediation of contaminated soils. The arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi （AMF） are universal and ubiquitous rhizosphere mi- croflora forming symbiosis with plant roots and acting as biofertilizers, bioprotactants, and biodegraders. In addition to AMF, soils also contain various antagonistic and beneficial bacteria such as root pathogens, plant growth promoting rhizobacteria including free-living and symbiotic N-fixers, and mycorrhiza helping bacteria. Their potential role in phytoremediation of heavy metal （HM） contaminated soils and water is becoming evident although there is need to completely understand the ecological complexities of the plant-microbe-soil interactions and their better exploitation as consortia in remediation strategies employed for contaminated soils. These multitrophic root microbial associations deserve multi-disciplinary investigations using molecular, biochemical, and physiological techniques. Ecosystem restoration of heavy metal contaminated soils practices need to incorporate microbial biotechnology research and development. This review highlights the ecological complexity and diversity of plant-microbe-soil combinations, particularly AM and provides an overview on the recent developments in this area. It also discusses the role AMF play in phytorestoration of HM contaminated soils, i.e. mycorrhizoremediation.     

Telling Them Their Own Stories: Legitimizing sexual and reproductive health education in rural Bangladesh

Most people in Bangladesh are rural, poor and underprivileged. The incidence of sexual disease has increased, but little has been done to educate rural people about sexual and reproductive health. In 1997, a sexual and reproductive health project was initiated within a collaborative research agreement between the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research (ICDDR,B) and the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), an indigenous non-governmental organization which pursues integrated rural development strategies. Qualitative in-depth interviews with 65 different women, men, boys and girls revealed significant sexual health problems and a lack of knowledge of sexual and reproductive health. The interviews were transformed into composite problem-solving picture stories and information about sexual and reproductive health. Stories mirrored respondents' interpretations of sexual behavior. Those who had achieved or ascribed legitimacy to talk about sex, e.g. traditional health providers, were trained to utilize the methods and materials. Qualitative evaluations revealed important changes in health providers' self-confidence, business and personal interactions as well as changes in clients' behavior. This project found that sexual and reproductive health education can be integrated into indigenous health activities if the sociocultural context in which sex, relationships, risks, diseases and communication occur is reflected in a program's content and methods. Unquestionably, there is a great need for sex education in rural Bangladesh.