EGFR Mutation Analysis in Non-small Cell Lung Carcinoma Patients: A Liquid Biopsy Approach

In the era of the targeted therapy identification of EGFR mutation detection in lung cancer is extremely helpful to predict the treatment efficacy of EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Unfortunately, the inadequacy and quality of the biopsy samples are the major obstacles in molecular testing of EGFR mutation in lung cancer. To address this issue, the present study intended to use liquid biopsy as the non-invasive method for EGFR mutation detection. A total of 31 patients with an advanced stage of lung cancer were enrolled in the study from which cell-free DNA (cfDNA) and FFPE tissue DNA was extracted. Extracted DNA samples were analyzed for further EGFR exon specific mutation analysis by ARMS-PCR. Data were analyzed statistically using SPSS software. In cfDNA samples, the prevalence of wild type EGFR was 48% while the prevalence of TKI resistant and TKI sensitive mutations were 3%. Conversely, in tissue DNA samples, the prevalence of wild type, TKI sensitive and TKI resistant mutations were 48%, 19%, and 3%, respectively. The overall concordance of EGFR mutation between cfDNA and tissue DNA was 83%. McNemar’s test revealed that there was no significant difference between EGFR expression of cfDNA and tissue DNA samples. Additionally, the significant-high incidence of TKI resistant mutations was observed in tobacco habituates, indicating the role of carcinogens present in the tobacco in developing resistant mutations. In conclusion, our data suggest that evaluation of EGFR mutation from cfDNA samples is practicable as a non-invasive tool in patients with advanced-stage of lung cancer.     

Characterization of Human Serum Immunoglobulin G Modified with Singlet Oxygen

Reactive oxygen species, as singlet oxygen (¹O₂), is continuously being generated by aerobic organisms, and react actively with biomolecules. At excessive amounts, ¹O₂ induces oxidative stress and shows carcinogenic and toxic effects due to oxidation of lipids, proteins and nucleic acids. In our study, immunoglobulin G (IgG) was modified by ¹O₂ generated by the ultraviolet (UV) irradiation of methylene blue. The modified IgG was characterized by UV spectroscopy, carbonyl content determination, thermal denaturation and electrophoretic study. Oxidation induced by modification of IgG by ¹O₂ also analyzed by scavenging studies. It was found that ultraviolet absorption spectra of modified IgG shows marked hyperchromicity. The carbonyl content was found to be high in modified IgG as compared to native IgG which confirms its oxidation. Thermal denaturation of modified protein sample shows decrease in Tm value by 3 °C and less intensity banding pattern on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The quenching effect of sodium azide provides clue for modification of IgG by methylene blue, as it is known ¹O₂ scavenger. Hence, the IgG modified with ¹O₂ may be one of the etiological pathogenic factors for rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes.     

Influences on the survival of new consumer magazines

This study tracks magazines started from 1981 to 1983 that have survived to the present. It finds that magazines started by entrepreneurs, rather than media firms, and magazines that were consumer driven, rather than advertising driven, were more likely to survive.     

Role of Computers in Educating Young Children: U.S. and Japanese Teachers’ Perspectives

This study was conducted with kindergarten teachers in the United States and Japan with respect to their beliefs about the role of computers in educating young children. Overall findings indicated significant differences in responses of teachers in the two countries. Generally, U.S. teachers had a more positive attitude toward computers in educating young children, while the Japanese teachers had more concerns. The teachers’ own sense of competence with computers was not related to their beliefs about computers and young children in either country. Respondents from both countries identified a lack of resources and clear guidelines for integrating computers in the classroom as challenges. These findings highlighted the need for training of early childhood teachers in integrating and using computers in the classroom.     

Intergenerational effects of war trauma among Palestinian families mediated via psychological maltreatment

We tested the hypothesis that intergenerational effects of parents’ war trauma on offspring's attachment and mental health are mediated by psychological maltreatment. Two hundred and forty children and their parents were sampled from a war-prone area, Gaza, Palestine. The parents reported the number and type of traumatic experiences of war they had had during their lifetime before the child's birth and during a current war when the child was 10–12 years old. The children reported their war traumas, experiences of psychological maltreatment, attachment security, and symptoms of posttraumatic stress (PTSS), depression, and aggression. The direct and indirect intergenerational effects of war trauma were tested in structural equation models. The hypotheses were confirmed for father's past war exposure, and disconfirmed for mother's war exposure. The father's past war trauma had a negative association with attachment security and positive association with the child's mental health problems mediated by increased psychological maltreatment. In contrast, the mother's past war trauma had a negative association with the child's depression via decreased psychological maltreatment. The mother's current war trauma had a negative association with the child's depression and aggression via decreased psychological maltreatment. Among fathers, past war exposure should be considered as a risk factor for psychological maltreatment of children and the associated attachment insecurity and mental health problems. Among mothers, war exposure as such could be given less clinical attention than PTSS in the prevention of psychological maltreatment of children.     

Indian and English Children's Understanding of the Distinction between Real and Apparent Emotion

24 preschool and 24 school-entry children in Bombay, India, and 24 preschool and 24 school-entry children in Oxford, England, were tested on their ability to distinguish between real and apparent emotion in response to stories involving child-adult and child-child interactions. Younger Indian girls did better than younger English girls, and the data reveal effects due to age, culture, gender, and story type which suggest a more social model of the understanding of emotion than has been proposed by other researchers using this methodology.