Bacteriome of Moist Smokeless Tobacco Products Consumed in India With Emphasis on the Predictive Functional Potential.

Smokeless tobacco products (STPs) carry assorted microbial population that contributes to carcinogens synthesis like tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs). Extensive exploration of microbiota-harboring STPs is required to understand their full carcinogenic potential. Here, we applied 16S rRNA gene sequencing to investigate bacteriome present in moist STPs immensely consumed in India (, and ).

Seroprevalence of IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 among the general population and healthcare workers in India, June-July 2021: A population-based cross-sectional study.

Background: India began COVID-19 vaccination in January 2021, initially targeting healthcare and frontline workers. The vaccination strategy was expanded in a phased manner and currently covers all individuals aged 18 years and above. India experienced a severe second wave of COVID-19 during March-June 2021.

Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Dots for Selective and Rapid Gene Detection of Human Papillomavirus Causing Cervical Cancer.

According to WHO, cervical cancer is considered as one of the most frequently diagnosed cancers and the fourth main source of cancer death in women in 2020 worldwide. Hence, there is a need for development of cervical cancer screening with new rapid and cost-effective methods. Although there are few methods available for HPV identification, these techniques are less sensitive, time-consuming, and costly.

Detection of human papillomavirus infection in oral cancers reported at dental facility: assessing the utility of FFPE tissues.

Incidence of human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oral cancers is on the rise. However, epidemiological data of this subset of cancers are limited. Dental hospital poses a unique advantage in detection of HPV-positive oral malignancies.

Smokeless tobacco quitting during COVID-19: A mixed-methods pilot study among participants screened for a cessation trial in India.

Introduction: COVID-19 and subsequent country-wide lockdown has impacted smokeless tobacco (SLT) product availability in India. We aimed to examine SLT quitting during COVID-19 lockdown among SLT users who consented to be enrolled in a cessation programme.

Methods: Between January-March 2020, we screened 227 exclusive SLT users to be enrolled in a randomized-controlled feasibility study on SLT cessation.

Evidence-Based Health Behavior Interventions for Cholera: Lessons from an Outbreak Investigation in India.

In rural India, since 2014, the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission) has ensured construction of more than 100 million toilets and is now focusing on reinforcement of sanitation behaviors. We report a cholera outbreak in a remote village in western India where open defecation was implicated in causation. A water pipeline was damaged in the vicinity of a stream flowing from a site of open defecation.

Congenital Transformation Zone Mimicking Cervical Premalignant Lesion.

Introduction: Congenital transformation zone (CTZ) of the uterine cervix is a non-neoplastic, rare condition resembling high-grade lesions on colposcopic examination which leads to diagnostic dilemmas.Case DescriptionA multiparous woman was screened for cervical cancer. Visual inspection using acetic acid was positive for which further evaluation with colposcopy was done.

Cervical Cancer Screening: Is the Age Group 30-65 Years Optimum for Screening in Low-Resource Settings?

Background: An Operational Framework document for population-wide screening of common cancers in India was launched in 2016. The target age for screening is 30-65 years for cervical, breast and oral cancers. This study was designed to review the frequency and distribution of cervical lesions among women aged 21-29, 30-65 and > 65 years.

Prevalence of Tobacco Use in Young Adult Literate Girls of 18-25 Years in Meghalaya, India: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Several national-level surveys have recognized a high prevalence of tobacco use in North-eastern (NE) India. However, information on tobacco use in specific population subgroups still lacks from the region. The present study determines the prevalence and influence of determinants like education and family income on tobacco use in senior school and college-going girls in Shillong, Meghalaya.

Exosomes: A Forthcoming Era of Breast Cancer Therapeutics.

Despite the recent advancements in therapeutics and personalized medicine, breast cancer remains one of the most lethal cancers among women. The prognostic and diagnostic aids mainly include assessment of tumor tissues with conventional methods towards better therapeutic strategies. However, current era of gene-based research may influence the treatment outcome particularly as an adjunct to diagnostics by exploring the role of non-invasive liquid biopsies or circulating markers.

Incidence of melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancers in Indian and the global regions.

Background: Incidence of common types of skin cancers in India is not reported and its comparison with global load would be helpful statistics.

Aim: The aim of this study is to summarize and report recent skin cancer incidence in India and to compare it with the incidence globally.

Materials And Methods: Age-specific rates and age-adjusted rates (AARs) of the incidence of skin cancer for all ages (0-75 years) were collected from India and the world, respectively, from the National Cancer Registry Programme and GLOBOCAN 2018.

Comparison of asynchronous and synchronous methods of online teaching for students of medical laboratory technology course: A cross-sectional analysis.

Background: In the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the closure of educational institutions has imposed a situation of potential gap in learning. Since training of medical and paramedical students is vital in creation of our army of these frontline health-care workers, this study was aimed at comparing the asynchronous and synchronous methods of online teaching for imparting training to students of medical laboratory technology (MLT).

Materials And Methods: This cross-sectional study included 33 students of the 1-year batch of MLT course at a tertiary level hospital.

EGFRisopred: a machine learning-based classification model for identifying isoform-specific inhibitors against EGFR and HER2.

The EGFR kinase pathway is one of the most frequently activated signaling pathways in human cancers. EGFR and HER2 are the two significant members of this pathway, which are attractive drug targets of clinical relevance in lung and breast cancer. Therefore, identifying EGFR- and HER2-specific inhibitors is one of the important challenges in cancer drug discovery.

Mutational analysis in international isolates and drug repurposing against SARS-CoV-2 spike protein: molecular docking and simulation approach.

The novel SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2) is spreading, as the causative pathogen of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). It has infected more than 1.65 billion people all over the world since it was discovered and reported 3.

Project ECHO Cancer Initiative: a Tool to Improve Care and Increase Capacity Along the Continuum of Cancer Care.

Solving health problems requires not only the development of new medical knowledge but also its dissemination, particularly to underserved communities. The barriers to effective dissemination also contribute to the disparities in cancer care experienced most everywhere. This concern is particularly acute in low and middle-income countries which already bear a disproportionate burden of cancer, a situation that is projected to worsen.

Optimization of Man Power Deployment for Covid-19 Screening in a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Study of Utility of Queuing Analysis.

Objectives: The recent Covid-19 pandemic has burdened the healthcare facilities, especially in the presence of limited infrastructure. We aimed at applying a queuing model to the Covid-19 screening area so as to optimize the screening services and ensuring that no patient is refused the service.

Methods: The mean arrival time of patients, number of physicians, mean screening time and queue characteristics were observed and entered in the M/M/c/K queuing model using R programming to optimize the number of physicians required in the screening area.

Role of Red Cell Indices in Screening for Beta Thalassemia Trait: an Assessment of the Individual Indices and Application of Machine Learning Algorithm.

Antenatal screening for beta thalassemia trait (BTT) followed by counseling of couples is an efficient way of thalassemia control. Since high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is costly, other cost-effective screening methods need to be devised for this purpose. The present study was aimed at evaluating the utility of red cell indices and machine learning algorithms including an artificial neural network (ANN) in detection of BTT among antenatal women.

The Milan System for Reporting Salivary Gland Cytopathology: An outcome of retrospective application to three years' cytology data of a tertiary care hospital.

Objectives: Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of the salivary gland lesions has diverse and sometimes overlapping features that pose a diagnostic challenge for the cytopathologists. The Milan System for Reporting Salivary Gland Cytopathology (MSRSGC) has been introduced to bring uniformity in the reporting of salivary gland FNAC and improve the clinic-pathologic communication resulting in better patient management. The aim of the present study was to assess the application of the MSRSGC on FNAC specimens of salivary gland lesions at a tertiary care hospital.

Role of epigenetics in carcinogenesis: Recent advancements in anticancer therapy.

The role of epigenetics in the etiology of cancer progression is being emphasized for the past two decades to check the impact of chromatin modifiers and remodelers. Histone modifications, DNA methylation, chromatin remodeling, nucleosome positioning, regulation by non-coding RNAs and precisely microRNAs are influential epigenetic marks in the field of progressive cancer sub-types. Furthermore, constant epigenetic changes due to hyper or hypomethylation could efficiently serve as effective biomarkers of cancer diagnosis and therapeutic development.

Areca nut consumption with and without tobacco among the adult population: a nationally representative study from India.

Objective: Areca nut is one of the most widely consumed substances globally, after nicotine, ethanol and caffeine and classified as carcinogenic to humans. This study examines the disparity and determinants of areca nut consumption with and without tobacco in India.

Design: Nationally representative cross-sectional study.

Turmeric in the management of oral submucous fibrosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Turmeric exhibits a big promise as a therapeutic agent in the management of oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF). The primary aim of our study is to synthesize the evidence of the use of turmeric/curcumin in the management of OSMF. The secondary goal of this study is to assess the limitations of previous studies to identify gaps in evidence for future research and give an evidence-based recommendation regarding the usage of turmeric/curcumin for OSMF patients and outline the direction of research.

Impact of smokeless tobacco-associated bacteriome in oral carcinogenesis.

Smokeless tobacco products possess a complex community of microorganisms. The microbial community ferment compounds present in the smokeless tobacco products and convert them into carcinogens like tobacco-associated nitrosamines. However, the potential of smokeless tobacco products associated bacteriome to manipulate systemic inflammation and other signaling pathways involved in the etiology of oral cancer will be a risk factor for oral cancer.

Insights into the role of complement regulatory proteins in HPV mediated cervical carcinogenesis.

The persistent infection of high-risk Human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) induced cervical cancer remains a challenge in women worldwide including India. Recent advances in cancer research have paved the way for advanced cancer treatment modalities including immunotherapy by manipulating the function or number of cytotoxic T cells. It is well established that anaphylatoxins like C3a and C5a of complement system influence tumor growth by evading apoptosis leading to progression of cancer.

SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among the general population and healthcare workers in India, December 2020-January 2021.

Background: Earlier serosurveys in India revealed seroprevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) of 0.73% in May-June 2020 and 7.1% in August-September 2020.

Barriers to optimal and appropriate use of uterotonics during active labour and for prevention of postpartum haemorrhage in public health care facilities: An exploratory study in five states of India.

Objective: The main objective is to understand the practices regarding use of uterotonics during active labour and for prevention of postpartum haemorrhage and the barriers for its optimal and appropriate use at different levels of health facilities in five states of India.

Study Design: Mixed methods approach comprising of cross-sectional observational study of existing practices of uterotonics use during labour and early postpartum period for 1479 vaginal deliveries at 56 facilities. Quantitative data was collected using pre-tested proformas filled by on-site observers and qualitative data was collected by in-depth interviews of 125 maternity care providers of the observed facilities.