Genetic Polymorphisms Associated With Breast Cancer in Malaysian Cohort

Genome-wide association studies have discovered multiple single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with the risk of common diseases. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the replication of previously published SNPs that showed statistical significance for breast cancer in the Malaysian population. In this case–control study, 80 subjects for each group were recruited from various hospitals in Malaysia. A total of 768 SNPs were genotyped and analyzed to distinguish risk and protective alleles. A total of three SNPs were found to be associated with increased risk of breast cancer while six SNPs showed protective effect. All nine were statistically significant SNPs (p ≤ 0.01), five SNPs from previous studies were successfully replicated in our study. Significant modifiable (diet) and non-modifiable (family history of breast cancer in first degree relative) risk factors were also observed. We identified nine SNPs from this study to be either conferring susceptibility or protection to breast cancer which may serve as potential markers in risk prediction.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s12291-013-0414-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Oxidant-antioxidant status in colorectal cancer patients—Before and after treatment

Erythrocyte antioxidant glutathione and malondialdehyde levels in erythrocytes and plasma glutathione S-transferase levels were estimated in patients with colorectal cancer and compared to controls. Further, the patients underwent four weeks of radiotherapy with adjuvant chemotherapy. The same parameters were estimated after four weeks of radiotherapy and compared with pretreatment levels. It was observed that there was a decrease in erythrocyte glutathione and malondialdehyde levels in patients with colorectal cancer compared to controls, but not in case of GST. However, after chemoradiotherapy, there were no statistically significant differences in all the parameters studied.     

Serum glycoconjugates and ceruloplasmin in cancer of uterine cervix

The present study was done to assess the levels of glycoconjugates and ceruloplasmin in sera of patients with cervical cancer. Serum hexoses, hexosamines, sialic acid and fucose are elevated in a variety of inflammatory and neoplastic conditions. All the glycoconjugates, except fucose were increased in serum of patients compared to controls. Also, hexoses and sialic acid levels were high in patients with later stages of cancer compared to patients with early stage disease (P=<0.0001, P=0.03). Serum ceruloplasmin was increased in patients with early stage cancer (51.5mg/dl) and with late stage cancer (61mg/dl) compared to controls (38mg/dl). The elevated glycoconjugates may be the result of inflammatory reaction associated with neoplasia, as serum ceruloplasmin (an acute phase reactant) is also increased in these patients.     

Blockchain-based online education content ranking

Education and Information Technologies - Nowadays, internet technology plays a vital role in all the fields of our daily lives ranging from the world economy, professional careers, higher...     

Review：Recent advances in nonlinear control technologies for shape memory alloy actuators

This paper reviews recent developments in nonlinear control technologies for shape memory alloy (SMA) actuators in robotics and their related applications. SMA possesses large hysteresis, low bandwidth, slow response, and non-linear behavior, which make them difficult to control. The fast response of the SMA actuator mostly depends upon, (1) type of controller, (2) rate of addition and removal of heat, and (3) shape or form of the actuator. Though linear controllers are more desirable than nonlinear ones, the review of literature shows that the results obtained using nonlinear controllers were far better than the former one. Therefore, more emphasis is made on the nonlinear control technologies taking into account the intelligent controllers. Various forms of SMA actuator along with different heating and cooling methods are presented in this review, followed by the nonlinear control methods and the control problems encountered by the researchers.     

Effect of ethanolic leaf extract of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Trianthema portulacastrum</Emphasis> L. On aflatoxin induced hepatic damage in rats

The aim of this study was to investigate the ethanolic leaf extract of Trianthema portulacastrum L. (Family: Aizoaceae) on aflatoxin induced hepatic damage in rats. Aflatoxin intoxication in rats significantly (p < 0.001) elevated the levels of serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT), serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and total bilirubin, which indicated acute hepatocellular damage and biliary obstruction. Ethanolic leaf extract of T. portulacastrum showed dose dependent decrease in the levels of SGPT, SGOT, ALP and total bilirubin. Minimum effective dose of extract was found to be 100 mg/kg body weight. Results obtained from histopathological studies also supported hepatoprotective activity against aflatoxin-induced hepatotoxicity. Thus the study demonstrates that T. portulacastrum possess antihepatotoxic effect against aflatoxin.     

Evaluation of oxidative stress, antioxidants and prolactin in infertile women

The objective of the study was to estimate the serum concentrations of oxidative stress markers-lipid hydroperoxide (MDA-Malondialdehyde), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), nitrite; and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) — a measure of total antioxidant capacity in serum. Serum nitrite levels were high in fertile women than in infertile women (p<0.001), whereas MDA was high in infertile women than in fertile group (p<0.018). On classifying the entire group of women with infertility based on the etiology, serum MDA and LDH levels were higher in women with infertility due to unexplained factor than in women with other causes contributing to infertility compared to controls (p<0.001, p<0.02). A positive correlation among serum prolactin and nitrite suggested that hyperprolactinemia could contribute to infertility by inducing oxidative damage. Serum FRAP levels showed no significant difference in the groups studied. Lipid peroxidation was high in women with unexplained infertility which may be due to hyperprolactinemia.     

Using restaurant reviews to teach how to write literature reviews

Courses: Any communication course requiring a literature review, including, but is not limited to, Communication Research Methods and Communication Theory.

Objectives: After completing this activity, students should be able to write better literature reviews by (1) locating a range of resources; (2) identifying a variety of relevant information (that directly relates to the question at hand) from within a popular social medium; (3) identifying relevant information from scholarly works and making informed judgments about what information should be used or discarded; and (4) synthesizing information from disparate sources, drawing appropriate inferences and conclusions from the available research to communicate a point clearly.     

Biochemical activity of selenium and glutathione on country made liquor (CML) induced hepatic damage in rats

The serum and hepatic enzymes of rats were studied after exposed to country made liquor (CML) along with two chelating agents (glutathione and Selenium). There was a significant increase in several serum enzyme levels (viz., aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, sorbitol dehydrogenase, glutamate dehydrogenase, bilirubin) and decrease in various hepatic enzymes (Succinic dehydrogenase, Glucose 6-phosphatase, 5'Nucleotiease, Acid phosphatase, Acid ribonuclease, Cytochrome P-450) due to repeated administration of CML (2ml/100g of body weight). Results of this study revealed that the GSH and Se could give a significant protective action in serum and hepatic enzymes of CML exposed rats.