Alterations of serum cholesterol and serum lipoprotein in breast cancer of women

Fasting blood sample of 50 normal subjects (control) and 100 patients of breast cancer were investigated for serum total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, very low density lipoprotein, high density lipoprotein cholesterol:low density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio and total cholesterol:high density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio during breast cancer of women. Five cancer stages, types, age groups, parity and menopausal status were undertaken for the study. It was observed that there was a significant rise in serum total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein cholesterol whereas high density lipoprotein cholesterol and very low density lipoprotein cholesterol were not significant. The ratio of high density lipoprotein cholesterol:low density lipoprotein cholesterol and total cholesterol:high density lipoprotein cholesterol values increased significantly in breast cancer patients.     

Plasma vitamin E status in head and neck cancers

Plasma vitamin E and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations were estimated in a group of 25 patients (17 males and 8 females) with head and neck cancer and the results were compared with a group of normal healthy controls. Plasma vitamin E levels were found to be significantly reduced while MDA levels were increased in patients than the controls. The fall in vitamin E was nearly same in all the patients studied irrespective of the site, TNM stage, histopathology and character of lesion. The levels did not vary immediately after radiotherapy but were significantly increased 3 months after the radiotherapy. These preliminary data suggest that the cancer patients have suboptimal vitamin E status which may be a contributory factor for increased lipid peroxidation in such cases.     

Development and Experimental Application of an HPLC Procedure for the Determination of Capsaicin and Dihydrocapsaicin in Serum Samples from Human Subjects

Total capsaicins are extracted from 2 mL aliquots of serum or plasma using methyl-isobutyl ketone, evaporation of the extract to dryness and reconstitution with 200 μL of acetonitrile. The HPLC mobile phase is 40:60 water:acetonitrile. The absorbance of the eluent is monitored at 205 nm. Standardisation uses a known mixture of pure capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin. Accuracies are 98.9 and 100.6 % for capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin respectively. Inter batch reproducibility for both is 15 %. The limits of detection are 2.6 and 3.8 ng/mL for capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin respectively. Analyses of sera obtained previously from human subjects who had eaten chilli containing meals showed that in those that absorbed capsaicins (N = 30) then the median, mean and SD of their serum capsaicin were: 13.4, 18.9 and 16.3 ng/mL. The corresponding data for those sera (N = 13) that had measurable levels of dihydrocapsaicin were: 6.9, 7.5 and 3.6 ng/mL. This procedure is suitable for use in prospective studies of the metabolism of orally ingested chilli.     

Application of machine learning in higher education to assess student academic performance,at-risk,and attrition: A meta-analysis of literature

Education and Information Technologies - Recently, machine learning (ML) has evolved and finds its application in higher education (HE) for various data analysis. Studies have shown that such an...     

Study of the Concentration of Trace Elements Fe,Zn, Cu,Se and Their Correlation in Maternal Serum,Cord Serum and Colostrums

A study of iron, zinc, copper and selenium concentration levels was carried out in three compartments namely, maternal serum (MS), colostrums and cord blood serum (CS) of healthy Indian mothers (n = 42) who delivered healthy normal neonates without any congenital anomalies at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre hospital, Mumbai. Fe, Zn, Cu in maternal serum, cord blood and colostrums were estimated by flame atomic absorption spectrometry while Se was determined by graphite furnace absorption spectrometry. It was seen that there was a significant difference in the level of trace elements in the three compartments. The average levels of Fe in the three compartments were 1,132 ± 519, 2,312 ± 789 and 1,183 ± 602 μg/L while Zn was 514 ± 149, 819 ± 224 and 7,148 ± 2,316 μg/L respectively. Mean Cu values were 1,614 ± 295, 301 ± 77 and 392 ± 174 μg/L respectively while Se values were 70 ± 15, 36 ± 10 and 23 ± 8 μg/L respectively. The results indicated a positive correlation of Fe and Zn concentrations in MS versus CS which were (r = 0.386), (r = 0.572) respectively and Fe levels in MS and colostrums (r = 0.235). A few inter element correlations were found within compartments. Zn and Se showed a negative correlation in both MS (r = −0.489) and colostrums (r = −0.258) while a positive inter correlation of Fe and Zn was seen in MS (r = 0.44) and in CS (r = 0.54). This study gave us an overview of the serum and colostrum values of mother and neonates in Indian population, data of which are scarce.     

Lectin in agglutination and its role in detection of sugars on the surface of RBC of normal and cancer patients

In the present studies the property of Lectins as agglutinin and to bind sugars in the blood on normal and cancer cervix patients has been studied. Out of 36 lectins extracted from the seeds of various plants, 25 were non-specific haemagglutinins and 11 were non-reactive with the RBC of normal persons. The titre value greatly varied from 1∶4 to 1∶4096. The titre value of RBC of patients of carcinoma cervix (Stage III) was compared with the normal person’s RBC. Out of 25 non-specific haemagglutinins 16 lectins did not show any difference in titre value. Nine lectins agglutinated RBC of cancer patient at a higher dilution than the normal. On the contrary, 3 lectins agglutinated the cancerous patient’s RBC at a higher concentration than the normal (Control). Sugar specificity of 25 non-specific haemagglutinins was tested with 13 sugars separately. Haemagglutination Inhibition (HI) reaction showed marked difference in the RBC of normal and in carcinoma cervix patient. Four marked reactions were noticed. RBC of normal (N) and carcinoma patient (C) with positive HI reaction (C₊/N₊), with negative HI reaction (C_?/N_?); with C positive and N negative HI reaction (C₊/N_?) and with C negative and N positive HI reaction (C_?/N₊). Three lectins were specific to sugar moieties.Vicia faba JV II showed dissimilarity with fructose and glucose moiety and also indicated that cellulose is common in both RBC of normal and cancer cervix patient.Triticum vulgare lectin showed the difference in cellulose moiety.Linum usitatissimum lectin showed the difference in lactose moiety and indicated that melibiose is present in both. It was also observed that mannose gave positive HI reaction with lectins ofR. communis, L. esculentus, P. sativum, P. sativum Pusa 10,P. sativum R?1,D. lablab, A. indica, H. vulgare andZ. mays in the blood of cancer cervix patient suggesting that mannose perhaps is present in the RBC while it may not be present in the normal person’s RBC. Raffinose also gave the positive HI reaction with cancer patient’s blood and not with the normal person’s blood.     

COVID-19 and Gut Microbiota: A Potential Connection

Currently, world is facing a global outbreak causing a pandemic threat known as COVID-19. This infectious disease is triggered by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Gut microbiota harbours multi species community with a strong impact on host immune homeostasis. However, our knowledge about this gut microbiota and its symbiotic relationship with immune activation in association with SARS-CoV-2 is limited. Unbalanced bacterial flora with too many opportunistic infections can shift immune system towards a cascade of inflammatory responses leading to multi organ damage. This review will highlight immune-regulation via various mechanisms in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Diet has an unbelievable influence on gut microbiome that allows a new state of homeostasis to be reached through timing, frequency and duration of intake. This review article focuses on gut, lung microbiota and immunomodulation with specific attention on immune activation by gut microbiota.