Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase C677T Polymorphism and Risk for Male Infertility in Asian Population

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is a critical enzyme of folate pathway and required for DNA synthesis and methylation. MTHFE C677T polymorphisms is reported as risk factors for various diseases and disorders like birth defects, metabolic, neurological, psychiatric disorders, and cancers. Several studies have investigated association between the MTHFR C677T polymorphism and male infertility. To assess the risk associated with MTHFR C677T polymorphism in Asian population, a meta-analysis was performed. Included articles were collected from the following electronic databases: PubMed, Google Scholar, and Science direct up to March 2015. Risk was estimated as pooled odds ratios (ORs) with confidence intervals (CIs) for assessment. Seventeen case–control studies involving 4392 breast infertile males and 3667 fertile males were found suitable for the inclusion in the present meta-analysis. Results showed that the C677T polymorphism was significantly associated with male infertility in Asian population using all the five genetic models (OR_{T vs. C} (allele contrast model) = 1.86, 95% CI 1.7–2.0; OR_{TT vs. CC} (homozygote model) = 1.96, 95% CI 1.67–2.30; OR_{CT vs. CC} (co-dominant model) = 1.40, 95% CI 1.18–1.62; OR_{TT+CT vs. CC} (dominant model) = 1.53, 95% CI 1.30–1.77; OR_{TT vs. CT+CC} (recessive model) = 1.67, 95% CI 1.44–1.92). In conclusion, results of present meta-analysis strongly supported an association between C677T polymorphism and male infertility in Asians.     

Comparative Study of Two ELISA Kits for Estimation of Antibodies to Hepatitis B Virus in Human Normal Immunoglobulin and Specific Immunoglobulin Intended for Intravenous or Intramuscular Use

Current study is conducted to evaluate method verification of two locally available kits manufactured by DSI & BIORAD for quantitative estimation of Hepatitis B virus antibodies in human normal immunoglobulin by using International standard of National Institute of Biological Standards and Control. Four analyst perform five sets of test in duplicate analysing accuracy, precision, and limit of detection, sensitivity and specificity. Our results suggest that both DSI and BIORAD kits fulfil the validation criteria and are sensitive to detect up to 10 mIU concentration precisely and accurately. DSI kit is more precise at concentration 100 mIU and economically 4–5 times cheaper in local market; on the other hand, BIORAD kits provide larger detection range up to 1000 mIU.     

Introducing gross pathology to undergraduate medical students in the dissecting room

Pathology and anatomy are both sciences that contribute to the foundations of a successful medical career. In the past decade, medical education has undergone profound changes with the development of a core curriculum combined with student selected components. There has been a shift from discipline‐based teaching towards problem‐based learning. Both anatomy and pathology are perceived to have suffered from this educational shift. The challenge is to introduce methods of learning for these subjects into an integrated student‐centered curriculum. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of pathology in 12 donor cadavers in the dissecting room of the Bute Medical School, University of St Andrews. All of the cadavers had multiple pathologies (between three to four conditions) ranging from common to rare disorders. A number of prostheses and surgical interventions were also noted. This small study confirms that cadaveric dissection provides an excellent opportunity for the integration of anatomy, pathology, and clinical medicine into the early clinical training of undergraduate medical students. The identification of disease in a cadaver provides an excellent introduction to the gross features of a disease process, but does not substitute for the detailed study of a process later in the curriculum. Anat Sci Educ 3: 97–100, 2010. © 2010 American Association of Anatomists.     

[minus]plastic: influencing pro‐environmental attitudes among Singaporean youth

Plastics have much to offer as a modern convenience, but lack of responsible plastic waste management habits can lead to potentially harmful environmental effects. Past environmental initiatives revealed a lack of understanding about youth attitudes towards pro‐environmental issues. [minus]plastic, an online public environmental promotional campaign, encouraged Singaporean youth to recognize the importance of, adopt positive attitudes towards and subsequently adopt the practice of responsible plastic management. We propose the Temporal Incentives Model of Social Influence, based on Prochaska and DiClemente's stages of change model, to guide social campaign design. A pre‐post quantitative research design showed that the pre‐contemplation, contemplation and preparation stages progressed significantly after the campaign. The findings suggest that stimuli incorporating specialized information and small action steps allow migration to successive stages. With the strong presence of internet culture among Singaporean youth, the online medium was found effective in altering the attitudes of the campaign target audience, while exposure to the campaign messages proved useful in encouraging environmental learning among youth.     

The impact of electronic communication technology on written language

Communication technology is changing things. Language is no exception. Some language researchers argue that language is deteriorating due to increased use in electronic communication. The present paper investigated 100 randomly selected electronic mails （e-mails） and 50 short messaging system （SMS） messages of a representative sample of international students in University Putra Malaysia （UPM） to find out the impact of these two specific modes of electronic communication on written language use. The e-mails from UPM International Students Association （UPM-ISA） yahoo group were content analyzed. A non-probability convenience sampling was used to select the 50 short message services sent to the researcher about different subject matters by Malaysian and international students at UPM. Then, they were also content analyzed. The results indicated that the language used in students＇ e-mails and SMS messaging was full of spoken-like spelling, unconventional use of punctuation and abbreviations, and ungrammatical sentences. However, the more in-depth content analysis of the data revealed that the written language is being creatively adapted, developed, and enhanced to suit the conditions of the electronic communication age. Syntactical and lexical reductions are just strategies used to reduce effort, time and space.     

Design of M-channel cosine modulated filter bank using modified Exponential window

In this paper, an improved Exponential window is developed for designing M-channel cosine-modulated pseudo QMF banks. The Exponential window is modified by adding third parameter (ρ), which improves the spectral characteristic of a window in terms of smaller ripple ratio, wider main lobe width with improved side lobe roll-off ratio. When it is exploited for designing multi-channel cosine modulated filter banks, the modified Exponential window gives better performance for higher band as compared to lower band. In addition to this, the modified Exponential window performs better performance at lower stopband attenuation. When compared with modified Cosh and Kaiser windows, the modified Exponential windows performs better in terms of amplitude distortion, aliasing distortion (AD) and computational time (CPU time) for the same design specifications. Several examples are included to illustrate the effectiveness of this window in the field multirate systems designing.     

Emerging Trend of Mutation Profile of rpoB Gene in MDR Tuberculosis, North India

The present study was conducted on North Indian population to observe rpoB gene mutation profile in multidrug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This was an observational study. 30 cases of MDR-TB proven by culture and drug sensitivity were selected. DNA sequencing of 81 bp (codon 507–533) long RRDR of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was done to detect the sites of mutation. Out of 30 cases, 24 showed a single mutation in the RRDR region of rpoB gene in which 16 (53.33 %) showed mutation in codon 531(TCG→TTG), 5 cases (16.66 %) showed mutation in codon 526(CAC→TAC), mutation in codon 516(GAC→GTC, AAC) was present in 3 cases (10 %). It was also observed that mutation in more than one codon was present in 4 cases (13.33 %), which included deletion at codon 509(AGC→–GC), mutation at 513(CAA→CTA), 516, 526, 529(CGA→CTA) and 531. No mutation was detected in RRDR in 2 cases (6.66 %). Our finding of 13.33 % cases with multiple sites of mutation in RRDR region is in contrast to earlier studies done in North India which showed single mutation detected in RRDR of rpoB gene that highlights the emerging change in the trend of mutation profile of rpoB gene in rifampicin resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis.     

Co-inheritance of HbD Iran/Beta Thalassemia IVS1–5 (G?>?C) Trait in a Punjabi Lady with Diabetes

The present report describes the molecular study of HbD ^Iran (beta) 22 Glu → Gln associated with β-Thalassemia IVS1–5 (G > C) found in India, and the first case in which mutation has been identified using mass spectrometry. Given the apparent ethnic origin and the mobility of the variant hemoglobin at alkaline pH, hemoglobin D-Punjab would be suspected, but HPLC excluded this possibility. Further characterization of hemoglobinopathy was made by using nondenaturing gel electrophoresis and matrix assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry and IVS1–5 being validated by reverse dot blot hybridization followed by sequencing of the β-globin gene.     

The battle for rap: problems and possibilities in teacher education

This qualitative study examined preservice teachers’ (PSTs’) ideas and beliefs regarding the use of rap for instructional purposes in P-12 classrooms, and the ways in which they proposed to use rap in the teaching of middle and high school social studies. Participants included the instructor of a social studies methods course, and thirteen PSTs enrolled in the course. The findings suggest that PSTs view rap as a phenomenon that must be approached in a careful manner, and that is best suited to content areas other than social studies. The findings also suggest that PSTs’ proposed uses of rap represent P-12 education as an uncritical, teacher-centric endeavor which serves to perpetuate the status quo.     

On using wearable tri-axial accelerometers to examine the striking phase kinematics of expert specialist drag flickers on-field

Analysing player kinematics during a match using “gold-standard” 3D video-based motion analysis techniques is a difficult prospect indeed. The development of small, wireless, wearable sensors offers the potential to reduce the challenges of measuring kinematics during match-play without hindering performance. The present study examined the viability of using wireless tri-axial accelerometers to examine whether key performance measures of drag flicks executed by expert specialist drag-flickers are predicted by the kinematics of the striking phase. Linear mixed models were used to examine whether the speed and accuracy of players’ drag flicks were predicted by the duration of stick-ball contact, and the kinematics of the lead lower limb at stick-ball contact and ball release. Results revealed that stick and lead lower limb kinematics significantly predicted shot accuracy but not shot speed. Shorter drag-time predicted more accurate flicks (p = 0.03) as did a more vertical leg at stick-ball contact (p = 0.016) and a more horizontal thigh at ball release (p = 0.001). This may indicate that there are more ways to produce fast drag flicks than accurate ones. This study illustrates that wireless tri-axial accelerometers can be used on-field to measure the effects of kinematics on key performance measures.