HPV16 E6/E7-mediated regulation of PiwiL1 expression induces tumorigenesis in cervical cancer cells.

Purpose: PiwiL1 has been reported to be over-expressed in many cancers. However, the molecular mechanism by which these proteins contribute to tumorigenesis and their regulation in cancer cells is still unclear. We intend to understand the role of PiwiL1 in tumorigenesis and also its regulation in cervical cells.

RXR agonist, Bexarotene, effectively reduces drug resistance via regulation of RFX1 in embryonic carcinoma cells.

Aberrant expression of multidrug resistance (MDR) proteins is one of the features of cancer stem cells (CSCs) that make them escape chemotherapy. A well-orchestrated regulation of multiple MDRs by different transcription factors in cancer cells confers this drug resistance. An in silico analysis of the major MDR genes revealed a possible regulation by RFX1 and Nrf2.

A waste to energy technology for Enrichment of biomethane generation: A review on operating parameters, types of biodigesters, solar assisted heating systems, socio economic benefits and challenges.

Anaerobic Digestion (AD) is one of the promising wastestoenergy (WtE) technologies that convert organic wastes to useful gaseous fuel (biogas). In this process methane is produced in the presence of methanogens (bacteria). The survival and activities of methanogens are based on several parameters such as pH, temperature, organic loading rate, types of biodigester.

RFX1: a promising therapeutic arsenal against cancer.

Regulatory factor X1 (RFX1) is an evolutionary conserved transcriptional factor that influences a wide range of cellular processes such as cell cycle, cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis, by regulating a number of target genes that are involved in such processes. On a closer look, these target genes also play a key role in tumorigenesis and associated events. Such observations paved the way for further studies evaluating the role of RFX1 in cancer.

Dynamic heart rate estimation using principal component analysis.

In this paper, facial images from various video sequences are used to obtain a heart rate reading. In this study, a video camera is used to capture the facial images of eight subjects whose heart rates vary dynamically, between 81 and 153 BPM. Principal component analysis (PCA) is used to recover the blood volume pulses (BVP) which can be used for the heart rate estimation.

Dynamic heart rate measurements from video sequences.

This paper shows how dynamic heart rate measurements that are typically obtained from sensors mounted near to the heart can also be obtained from video sequences. In this study, two experiments are carried out where a video camera captures the facial images of the seven subjects. The first experiment involves the measurement of subjects' increasing heart rates (79 to 150 beats per minute (BPM)) while cycling whereas the second involves falling heart beats (153 to 88 BPM).

Enhanced mu rhythm extraction using blind source separation and wavelet transform.

The mu rhythm is an electroencephalogram (EEG) signal located at the central region of the brain that is frequently used for studies concerning motor activity. Quite often, the EEG data are contaminated with artifacts and the application of blind source separation (BSS) alone is insufficient to extract the mu rhythm component. We present a new two-stage approach to extract the mu rhythm component.

Hereditary breast/ovarian cancer: clinicopathological characteristics and survival of BRCA2 positive and negative cases.

The clinical and pathological characteristics and prognostic outcome of patients with hereditary breast/ovarian cancer and BRCA2 mutations are poorly known. Hence, the present study aimed to correlate the BRCA2 mutation status with clinical characteristics and overall survival of 102 breast/ovarian cancer patients in Kerala, South India. All the coding regions of BRCA2 genes were PCR amplified and analyzed for mutations employing Conformation Sensitive Gel Electrophoresis and characterized by sequencing.

Contribution of XPD (Lys751Gln) and XRCC1 (Arg399Gln) polymorphisms in familial and sporadic breast cancer predisposition and survival: an Indian report.

The etiology of a significant proportion of familial breast cancers is still poorly understood, with known high penetrance gene mutations accounting for only a small proportion of the cases. The increased risk of breast cancer for the majority of women with a family history likely reflects shared minor low penetrant genetic factors. In the present case-control study undertaken to examine the influence of DNA damage repair gene polymorphisms in familial and sporadic breast cancer susceptibility, 219 Sporadic and 140 familial breast cancer patients and 367 controls were genotyped using PCRRFLP.

Glutathione S-transferase M1, T1 and P1 polymorphisms: susceptibility and outcome in lung cancer patients.

The glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are a superfamily of genes whose products are phase II enzymes, catalyzing the conjugation of reactive intermediates to soluble glutathione. Some of the GSTs are polymorphic and may play a role in lung cancer susceptibility. We investigated whether genetic polymorphisms of GSTM1, GSTP1 and GSTT1 genes modulated lung cancer risk and affect survival among lung cancer patients.

VEP optimal channel selection using genetic algorithm for neural network classification of alcoholics.

In this letter, neural networks (NNs) classify alcoholics and nonalcoholics using features extracted from visual evoked potential (VEP). A genetic algorithm (GA) is used to select the minimum number of channels that maximize classification performance. GA population fitness is evaluated using fuzzy ARTMAP (FA) NN, instead of the widely used multilayer perceptron (MLP).

p53 Arg72Pro polymorphism predicts survival outcome in lung cancer patients in Indian population.

In response to many forms of cellular stress, including DNA damage, the p53 protein functions to induce growth arrest, DNA repair, or apoptosis. Common allele variants in the TP53 gene modulate pathways of lung carcinogenesis and susceptibility to or prognosis of lung cancer. The prognostic role of the polymorphism was assessed in 422 subjects using PCR-RFLP.

Influence of germline polymorphisms of GSTT1, GSTM1, and GSTP1 in familial versus sporadic breast cancer susceptibility and survival.

Identifying genes associated with familial inheritance of breast cancer continues to be a major goal of current research as the known high penetrance genes could be attributable for only a small percentage of the risk. So, it is hypothesized that the low penetrance genes may also modify the risk for familial breast cancer. In the present case-control study, undertaken to examine the influence of polymorphisms of GSTs in familial and sporadic breast cancer susceptibility, 597 women including 222 sporadic breast cancer patients, 125 familial breast cancer patients and 250 females with no history of cancer as controls were genotyped by PCR based methods.

Prognostic importance of DNA repair gene polymorphisms of XRCC1 Arg399Gln and XPD Lys751Gln in lung cancer patients from India.

Purpose: Inter individual variation in lung cancer susceptibility may be modulated in part through genetic polymorphisms in the DNA repair genes, especially the genes involved in the Base Excision Repair (BER) and nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway. Two of the genetic polymorphisms, XRCC1Arg399Gln and XPD Lys751Gln have been extensively studied in the association with lung cancer risk, although published studies have been inconclusive.

Methods: In order to verify the role of the common variant alleles in the XPD gene, we have genotyped 211 lung cancer patients and 211 healthy controls using PCR-RFLP assays in a hospital based, case-control study in an Indian population.

Novel germline mutations in BRCA2 gene among 96 hereditary breast and breast-ovarian cancer families from Kerala, South India.

Purpose: Aim of the present study was to identify the genetic heterogeneity, prevalence and frequency of germline mutations of BRCA2 gene in Hereditary Breast/Ovarian cancer patients from Kerala, South India.

Methods: We analyzed 102 Breast/Ovarian cancer patients from 96 breast and/ovarian cancer families for BRCA2 gene mutations using Conformation-Sensitive Gel Electrophoresis (CSGE) followed by sequencing.

Results: Sequence variations in BRCA2 gene were detected in 27 (26.

Variable selection using genetic algorithm for analysis of near-infrared spectral data using partial least squares.

Genetic algorithm is used to perform variable selection to determine the ranges of wavelengths in NIR spectral data suitable to be used as predictors in multivariate calibration model via partial least squares. The NIR spectral data consists of three components of active substances, namely human serum albumin (HSA), γ-globulin and glucose. The wavelength selection is able to improve the calibration model by selecting the wavelengths that contains information or correlated with the concentration of substances, while others non-chosen wavelengths, which contribute no information or contain noises, are excluded from the calibration model.

Fish venom (Pterios volitans) peptide reduces tumor burden and ameliorates oxidative stress in Ehrlich's ascites carcinoma xenografted mice.

The present study was carried out to assess the effect of Pterios volitans venom (mixture of peptides) on Ehrlich's ascites carcinoma (EAC) and its influence on antioxidant status in the liver. Among six groups of albino mice, three were treated with sublethal doses of venom, along with the standard drug, 5-fluorouracil. In EAC-bearing mice, mean life span and antioxidants were significantly decreased, whereas, body weight, tumor volume, viable tumor cell count, lipid peroxidation and expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen were significantly increased.

Coronary angiography and angioplasty using the aberrant radial artery as an access site.

Objective: To study the suitability of the aberrant radial artery (ARA) as an access site for coronary angiography and angioplasty.

Background: In certain situations, the radial artery operator finds that the right radial artery in its usual location is unsuitable for a transradial procedure (TRP). In such cases, the ARA should be considered as an alternate access site.

Facile "green" synthesis, characterization, and catalytic function of beta-D-glucose-stabilized Au nanocrystals.

We present a straightforward, economically viable, and "green" approach for the synthesis and stabilization of relatively monodisperse Au nanocrystals with an average diameter of 8.2 nm (standard deviation, SD=2.3 nm) by using nontoxic and renewable biochemical of beta-D-glucose and by simply adjusting the pH environment in aqueous medium.

High resolution 1H NMR structural studies of sucrose octaacetate in supercritical carbon dioxide.

High pressure (HP), high resolution (HR), proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy has been utilized for the first time to investigate the solution structure of a carbohydrate based system, sucrose octaacetate (SOA), in supercritical CO2. The studies indicate that the average solution state conformation of the alpha-D-Glucopyranosyl ring of SOA in scCO2 medium is consistent with the 4C1 chair form, while the beta-D-fructofuranosyl ring adopts an envelope conformation. The investigations also suggest that scCO2 is a promising medium to study the solution structure and conformation of acetylated sugar systems.

Polar attributes of supercritical carbon dioxide.

Supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO(2)) is increasingly promoted as an environmentally benign alternative to conventional organic solvents. The supercritical state bridges the gap between liquid and gaseous states by offering gaslike diffusion rates and liquidlike solvent densities, thereby enabling potential opportunities as a reaction and separation medium in chemical industry. Understanding the solvent behavior of liquid and scCO(2) is of critical importance to enable the design of CO(2)-philic molecular systems and to expand the use of these solvent systems to a wider range of chemical processes.

Self-assembly of beta-D glucose-stabilized Pt nanocrystals into nanowire-like structures.

In this work we demonstrate the self-assembly of beta-D glucose-protected Pt nanocrystals (average particle size = 4.1 nm) into nanowire-like assemblies under ambient conditions.

Synthesis of Ag and AgI quantum dots in AOT-stabilized water-in-CO2 microemulsions.

Silver and silver iodide nanocrystals have been synthesized in the water-in-CO(2) reverse microemulsions formed by the commonly used surfactant, sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT), in the presence of 2,2,3,3,4,4,5,5-octafluoro-1-pentanol as cosurfactant. The nanometer-sized aqueous domains in the microemulsion cores not only act as nanoreactors, but the surfactant interfacial monolayer also helps the stabilization of the metal and semiconductor nanoparticles. The transmission electron microscopy results show that silver and silver iodide nanocrystals with average diameters of 6.

Synthesis of Ag2S quantum dots in water-in-CO2 microemulsions.

Ag2S nanocrystals with a mean diameter of 5.9 nm (sigma= 1.65 nm) and characteristic surface plasmon resonance absorption at 330 nm have been synthesized in water-in-supercritical CO2 reverse microemulsion using the commonly used AOT surfactant with 2,2,3,3,4,4,5,5-octafluoro-1-pentanol (F-pentanol) as cosurfactant.