Reversal of hypermethylation and reactivation of the RARβ2 gene by natural compounds in cervical cancer cell lines

Reactivation of tumour suppressor genes that have been silenced by promoter methylation is a very attractive molecular target for cancer therapy. The treatment of a squamous cervical cancer cell line, SiHa, with 20 μM curcumin and genistein resulted in demethylation of promoter of the RARβ2 gene and led to the reactivation of the gene. The degree of methylation as observed by MSP decreased as the time period of treatment was increased from 72 h to 6 days. In HeLa cells (an adenocarcinoma cervical cancer cell line) there was also reversal of hypermethylation of the RARβ2 gene after six days of treatment with 20 μM curcumin. However, allyl sulphide treatment (20 μM) did not cause the reversal of hypermethylation until 72 h of treatment in the SiHa cell line. This is the first report to show the reversal of hypermethylation of the RARβ2 gene by genistein and curcumin in cervical cancer cell lines. Furthermore, these compounds acted as doublepronged agents as they caused apoptosis in the treated cervical cancer cell lines in addition to reversal of promoter hypermethylation.

Role of gray scale and color Doppler in differentiating benign from malignant ovarian masses

Objectives:

To evaluate prospectively the relative usefulness of color Doppler and gray scale sonography in differentiating benign from malignant ovarian masses and evaluation of scoring systems Sassone and Alcazar for differentiating benign from malignant ovarian masses.

Methods:

Study was conducted during the period of Jan 2006 to Oct 2007 in department of obstetrics and gynaecology, New civil Hospital, Surat. The study was conducted mainly with the help of department of radio-diagnosis. The study include 100 patient clinically suspected to have ovarian neoplasm and referred to department of radio-diagnosis where evaluation with Ultrasonography and Doppler was done. The efficacy of scoring systems were evaluated by histopathological examination of mass or fine needle aspiration cytology or presence of malignant cells in ascetic fluid.

Results:

Sassone's scoring system was able to identify 72 out of 78 benign masses and 18 out of 22 malignant masses.where as Alcazar system with use of colour Doppler was able to identify 75 out of 78 benign and 21 out of 22 malignant ovarian masses. Sensitivity and specificity of sassone is 81.8%,92.3% respectively, where as that of Alcazar is 95.5%, 96.2% respectively.

Conclusion:

Using both gray scale and colour Doppler in differentiating benign from malignant ovariam masses is giving results with more accuracy and Alcazar system is better performing than sassone's scoring systems.

Modern Rutherford experiment: tunneling of the most neutron-rich nucleus

A modern variation of the Rutherford experiment to probe the tunneling of exotic nuclear matter from the measurement of the residues formed in the bombardment of (197)Au by extremely neutron-rich (8)He nuclei is presented. Using a novel off-beam technique the most precise and accurate measurements of fusion and neutron transfer involving reaccelerated unstable beams are reported. The results show unusual behavior of the tunneling of (8)He compared to that for lighter helium isotopes, highlighting the role of the intrinsic structure of composite many-body quantum systems and pairing correlations.

Exploring fusion at extreme sub-barrier energies with weakly bound nuclei

Results of measurement of residues formed in fusion of (6)Li with (198)Pt in the energy range of 0.68 < E/V(b) < 1.3 using a new sensitive off-beam technique are reported. The fusion excitation function and the derived average angular momenta do not indicate a change of slope at deep sub-barrier energies, contrary to recent observations. The present results for a system with weakly bound projectile confront the current understanding of the fusion hindrance at these low energies, underlying the role of internal reorganization on the dynamical path towards fusion.

Calorimetric low temperature detectors for low-energetic heavy ions and their application in accelerator mass spectrometry

The energy-sensitive detection of heavy ions with calorimetric low temperature detectors was investigated in the energy range of E=0.1-1 MeV/amu, commonly used for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). The detectors used consist of sapphire absorbers and superconducting aluminum transition edge thermometers operated at T approximately 1.5 K. They were irradiated with various ion beams (13C, 197Au, 238U) provided by the VERA tandem accelerator in Vienna, Austria. The relative energy resolution obtained was DeltaE/E=(5-9) x 10(-3), even for the heaviest ions such as 238U. In addition, no evidence for a pulse height defect was observed. This performance allowed for the first time to apply a calorimetric low temperature detector in an AMS experiment. The aim was to precisely determine the isotope ratio of 236U/238U for several samples of natural uranium, 236U being known as a sensitive monitor for neutron fluxes. Replacing a conventionally used detection system at VERA by the calorimetric detector enabled to substantially reduce background from neighboring isotopes and to increase the detection efficiency. Due to the high sensitivity achieved, a value of 236U/238U=6.1 x 10(-12) could be obtained, representing the smallest 236U/238U ratio measured at the time. In addition, we contributed to establishing an improved material standard of 236U/238U, which can be used as a reference for future AMS measurements.

Designer peptides: learning from nature

Recent advances in designing peptide ligands for therapeutic targets are making peptides an attractive alternative to small molecules and proteins. It is now common to see peptides developed with affinities comparable to antibodies and specificities much better than small molecules or antibodies. This is especially true in the case of tumor targeting cytotoxic drugs or targeted diagnostics where peptides can be used as a delivery vehicle for drugs or diagnostics. Moreover, lessons learned from nature in understanding peptide ligands are proving to be useful in designing better antibodies and small molecule therapeutics.

Do we Need to Review Outcome Measures in Schizophrenia to Capture ‘Real-life’ Situation?

Introduction:

Outcome measures in schizophrenia are defining aspects for deciding the status of recovery based upon which people’ scientific body forms opinions. It is also important in dealing with stigma related to schizophrenia. Recently the concept of ‘recovery’ and’ outcome’ has come under scientific scrutiny. Literature does not show a consistent pattern in outcome. Both short term and long-term outcome show variability, which is often, explained by cultural factors. It has been generally considered that devolved countries have poor outcome than developing, non-industrialized countries. This view has also been challenged recently. The paper draws from the conceptual aspects if our outcome measure are capturing ‘real-life’ situation. We conducted two studies in Mumbai, India:1.

1n and 2n transfer with the Borromean nucleus 6He near the Coulomb barrier

Angular distributions for 1n and 2n transfer are reported for the 6He+65Cu system at E_{lab}=22.6 MeV. For the first time, triple coincidences between alpha particles, neutrons, and characteristic gamma rays from the targetlike residues were used to separate the contributions arising from 1n and 2n transfer. The differential cross sections for these channels, elastic scattering, and fusion were analyzed using a coupled reaction channels approach. The large measured ratio of the 2n-to-1n cross section and the strong influence of 2n transfer on other channels indicate that the dineutron configuration of 6He plays a dominant role in the reaction mechanism.

Evidence for a three-phonon giant resonance state in 40Ca nuclei

Inelastic scattering of 40Ca on 40Ca at 50 MeV/A has been measured in coincidence with protons at the GANIL facility. The SPEG spectrometer was associated with 240 CsI(Tl) scintillators of the INDRA 4pi array, allowing for the measurement of complete decay events. The missing energy method was applied to these events. For events with excitation energy between 42 and 55 MeV, a direct decay branch by three protons towards the low energy states of 37Cl gives the first evidence for a 3-phonon state built with giant resonances.

Enhanced nucleophilic reactivity of hydroxamate ions in some novel micellar systems for the cleavage of Parathion

The reactivity of three alpha-nucleophiles, i.e. N-phenylbenzohydroxamate, benzohydroxamate and salicylhydroxamate ions towards cleavage of p-nitrophenyldiethyl phosphorothioate (Parathion) is considerably enhanced in the presence of cationic surfactant, i.e. cetyltrimethylammonium bromide. The esterolytic properties of N-phenylbenzohydroxamate ion for parathion have also been examined in two novel surfactants, viz. cetyltriphenylphosphonium bromide and cetyldimethyl ethanol ammonium bromide. The cetyldimethyl ethanol ammonium bromide is more reactive. The rate-surfactant profiles have been fitted with pseudophase model.

Doppler findings In castleman disease - A rare case

Castleman′s disease is a rare, benign disease of unknown cause that induces reactive lymph node hyperplasia. It has two histologic subtypes: hyaline vascular and plasma cellular. A definitive diagnosis necessitates tissue biopsy. A specimen may be even misdiagnosed as lymphoma in frozen section. Surgery is the treatment of choice for the solitary form, whereas chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and steroids are proposed for the multicentric type. When this condition affects the neck, it usually presents as a solitary neck mass. Multiple neck masses are an uncommon presentation of Castleman disease affecting the neck. Most Castleman′s disease lesions appear as nonspecific, well-defined hypoechoic masses on sonography. Sonography remains useful for the evaluation of cervical and axillary Castleman′s diseases, in which the depiction of prominent peripheral vessels and penetrating feeding vessels on Doppler sonograms can suggest the diagnosis of this uncommon disease. Castleman′s disease of the neck on CT and MRI scan has been described as well-circumscribed homogeneous mass lesion with moderate to intense enhancement.

A distinct strategy to generate high-affinity peptide binders to receptor tyrosine kinases

We describe a novel and general way of generating high affinity peptide (HAP) binders to receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), using a multi-step process comprising phage-display selection, identification of peptide pairs suitable for hetero-dimerization (non-competitive and synergistic) and chemical synthesis of heterodimers. Using this strategy, we generated HAPs with K(D)s below 1 nM for VEGF receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) and c-Met. VEGFR-2 HAPs bound significantly better (6- to 500-fold) than either of the individual peptides that were used for heterodimer synthesis. Most significantly, HAPs were much better (150- to 800-fold) competitors than monomers of the natural ligand (VEGF) in various competitive binding and functional assays. In addition, we also found the binding of HAPs to be less sensitive to serum than their component peptides. We believe that this method may be applied to any protein for generating high affinity peptide (HAP) binders.

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome

A57-year-old man presented to the medical admissions unit of the authors' hospital with headache and blurred vision. His blood pressure recorded at the time of admission was 234/124 mmHg. Fundoscopy revealed early papilloedema and laboratory examination revealed raised levels of serum creatinine and urinary proteins. The patient reported a similar episode of headache and blurred vision 6 weeks before admission.