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Investigations of Molecular Evolutionary Mechanisms in Partially Sequenced Heat Shock Protein70 Homologue-Coding Gene of Olive Leaf Yellowing-Associated Virus Isolates from Tunisia

Abstract:

Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) using new designed primers pair for Heat Shock Protein70 homologue (HSP70h) of Olive leaf yellowing-associated virus revealed 667 amplified product of 10 olive accessions collected from various olive-growing regions in Tunisia. Amplicons were cloned and sequenced. The sequences were deposited in the international databases. Pairwise sequence comparisons among 10 Tunisian isolates along with a reference sequence (AJ440010) extracted from GenBank revealed a nucleotide identity of 86.06-99.40 and an amino acid similarity of 91.89-99.55. Sequence multiple alignments were searched for evidence of recombination using three methods, ie. Differences of Sums of Squares (DSS) implemented in TOPALi v2.5 software and Single Breakpoint (SBP) along with GARD, a genetic algorithm, both incorporated in HyPhy package. All used methods pointed out the presence of putative breaking points in partially sequence...

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Thyroid Transcription Factor-1 Activity is Required for the Proliferation of Human Thyroid Cancer Cells 8505C

Abstract:

Thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1) is known to play key roles in thyroid organogenesis, in thyroid cell proliferation and in the expression of genes involved in thyroid differentiated function. Many human thyroid cancer cell lines keep producing TTF-1 despite the loss of differentiated gene expression, raising a question about the role of the factor in these cells. In order to investigate this point, we used a chimeric protein acting as a functional antagonist of TTF-1 transcriptional activity that was expressed conditionally in 8505C cells originating from an anaplastic thyroid carcinoma. We observed a growth arrest of 8505C thyroid cancer cells when the endogenous TTF-1 transcriptional activity was inhibited. It correlated with decreased levels of several mRNAs encoding positive effectors of cell proliferation like CDK1 and cyclinB1, and increased levels of various mRNAs encoding negative regulators of cell division like CDKN2B and DUSP6. In conclusion, the ...

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Role of Echo-Planar Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Diagnosis of Cholesteatoma

Abstract:

Objective:

We compared preoperative data of physical examination, CT and diffusion MRI findings of temporal bone with our intraoperative observations. We investigated the diagnostic efficiency of single-shot spin echo echoplanar diffusion MRI (SS SE EPI) on primary cholesteatoma.

Methods:

33 patients with chronic otitis media who had been admitted to Otolaryngology Department of Haydarpasa Numune Training and Research Hospital between June 2010 and September 2011 were involved in this study. All patients did undergo otoscopic and audiometric examination. After imaging of temporal bone by CT and diffusion MRI, patients were operated and intraoperative observations were recorded. Patients with intraoperatively approved cholesteatoma were defined as group 1 and those without cholesteatoma were defined as group 2. Peri...

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Acute Bilateral Hydro Nephrosis after the Use of Dapagliflozin

Abstract:

Background

Dapagliflozin; the new oral hypoglycemic agent; is a sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor that acts by inhibiting glucose reabsorption in the proximal tubule of the nephron. Main reported side effects are osmotic diuresis, dehydration, urinary tract and genital infections. Here, we report a case of acute bilateral hydronephrosis after the introduction of dapagliflozin.

Case Presentation

A 52 year old nurse lady, with 15 year history of type2 diabetes mellitus (T2 DM) complicated by type4-renal tubular acidosis, hypertension, proteinuria, and hyperlipidemia. Patient had two episodes of UTI’s in 2011 required full urologic work up, were successfully treated with simple courses of oral antibiotics. CT pyelography done in 2011 was normal. Dapagliflozin was added to her therapeutic regimen in M...

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Exploring the use of an iPhone App: A Novel Approach to Dietary Assessment

Abstract:

Recent advancements in smartphone technology have provided new methods of dietary assessment. An iTunes application (app) called Meal Snap lets users take pictures of the meal they eat, and then estimates the calories of the food items eaten. We conducted a pilot study to explore the user-friendliness and calorie estimation functions of the Meal Snap app. Two female nutrition graduate students pilot-tested the Meal Snap app. Using the app, each student took pictures of foods and drinks consumed daily for two weeks. The data were analyzed using the Nutritionist ProTM software, version 4.4.0. The mean daily caloric intake obtained from the Meal Snap was then compared with that of Nutritionist ProTM. Paired samples t-tests and correlations were carried out using SPSS, version 19.Results indicated there was no significant difference in mean daily caloric consumption between Meal Snap and Nutritionist ProTM (p= 0.706). Additional...

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MicroRNA-1285 Might Potentially Regulate OCT4 Gene Expression by Direct Targeting of its Promoter

Abstract:

The human OCT4 gene encodes a transcription factor that maintains pluripotency and self-renewal in Embryonic Stem (ES) cells. This gene generates several known transcripts by alternative promoter and alternative splicing (OCT4A, OCT4B and OCT4B1). Even though OCT4A is the main isoform responsible for stemness properties, several recent controversial studies claimed that this isoform is expressed in cancer cell lines and differentiated cells, in addition to the ES cells. Our in silico studies revealed that OCT4A promoter has a completely match binding site for hsa-miR-1285. This microRNA was detected in the human embryonic stem cells for the first time and further studies showed that miR-1285 can target some tumor suppressor genes,(TSGs), such as p53, and oncogenic genes, such as TGM2.

Additional bioinformatics analysis of short RNA sequencing data from ENCODE cell lines showed that miR-1285 is expr...

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Obesity and Asthma: Nutrition Risk Factors In Adolescents

Abstract:

The objective of this study was to confirm the nutritional risk factors for asthma and obesity in adolescents using a cross-sectional survey. We included male and female adolescents aged 10 to 19 years of age in this study. The indicators of nutritional status used in this study were body mass index, the height-for-age index, and arm and waist circumferences. We used a food frequency questionnaire to estimate the average consumption of sodium. Physical activity was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, and asthma characteristics were evaluated using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC). Factors associated with asthma in bivariate and multivariate analyses were assessed using the Poisson regression analysis. The significance level was set at 5%, and the analyses were performed using the SPSS statistical package. We evaluated 1362 students with an average age of 15.65 ± 1.24 years. There was a positive ris...

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An Observational Study of Practice Among Food Manufacturers in Defining Serving Sizes of Chocolate Confectionery Products Sold in UK Supermarkets

Abstract:

Objective

To provide data on the consistency of recommended serving sizes of single bars and bags of chocolate confectionery products sold in UK supermarkets, in terms of weight and energy content.

Methods

Data were obtained from supermarket websites on the weight, calorific content and recommended serving size of all products classified as single bars or bags of chocolate confectionery products in at least two of the three supermarkets with the largest share of the grocery market in the United Kingdom.

Results

The number of servings per product varies from 1 to 3. Recommended serving sizes vary widely in terms of weight and energy content (ranges 18-83.4g and 88-265kcal respectively). Recommended serving sizes vary even between...

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The Early Use of Blinding in Therapeutic Clinical Research of Neurological Disorders

Abstract:

We sought to identify early uses of blinding in therapeutic clinical trials of neurological disorders by multiple search methods. A 1784 report by Benjamin Franklin and others described the evaluation of the use of Mesmerism to treat neurological and other syndromes including headache and epilepsy, using blindfolds and screens. This report demonstrated the usefulness of blinding to reduce bias in clinical research, yet despite this early discovery, blinding was not widely accepted or routinely used until the 20th century. Blinded clinical trials began to be used for various neurological syndromes in the 1950s, sporadically at first and then increasing in frequency in subsequent years. The reason for this delay is unclear, but we propose several hypotheses.

...

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Undergraduate Student’s Perception of HIV/AIDS.A Case of Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, NIGERIA

Abstract:

Perception of Human Immunodeficiency Virus has been topical due to its central place in determining attitudes and care for people living with HIV/AIDS and having implications for the containment of the epidemic. People living with HIV/AIDS face social stigmatization due partly to misconception in the perception of the disease and people living with it and students are not left out in this stigmatization and discrimination.

This study aimed at exploring the perception of HIV/AIDS by the students of Obafemi Awolowo University. The study utilized quantitative methodology –questionnaires to elicit information from 160 students on their perception of the disease. The sampling technique was quota sampling technique in which 40 students were randomly selected from each hostel out of the 4 selected hostels.

The findings were that majority of the respondents view the disease and people living with it negatively (53.9) and dangerous (30.9) a...

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