Study of Changes in Serum Alkaline Phosphatase Level during Postmenopausal Period of Women in Bangladesh

The study was designed to evaluate the serum alkaline phosphatase level may be altered in postmenopausal women. This case-control study was carried out in the Department of the Biochemistry, Mymensingh Medical College, Bangladesh from January 2015 to December 2015. The subjects were selected on the basis of inclusion and exclusion criteria by purposive (non-random) method. This study included 50 postmenopausal women as case. The results were compared with 50 apparently healthy pre-menopausal women as control. All statistical analysis was done by SPSS windows package. The values were expressed as Mean±SD. Statistical significance of difference between two groups was evaluated by using student's unpaired t-test. Serum alkaline phosphatase level was analyzed. Serum alkaline phosphatase was determined by using colorimetric method. The mean value of serum alkaline phosphatase was 325.56±76.79 U/L respectively in Group B (Case) and 136.50±76.50 U/L respectively in Group A (Control). The level of serum alkaline phosphatase was significantly increased in Group B (Case). Menopause has an effect on serum alkaline phosphatase which leads to increased risk of development of osteoporosis. This study may facilated the clinicians and gynaecologists to update their knowledge in regard to serum alkaline phosphatase level of women associated with menopause.

Thermal plasma processing of Moringa oleifera biochars: adsorbents for fluoride removal from water

Anthropogenic activities accelerate fluoride contamination in groundwater, which largely affects public health. Though biochars have been explored for defluoridation, the plasma technology-based production of biochars has not received as considerable attention as other methods and it is also important that biochars be tested on groundwater samples. In the present study, for the first time, we report the preparation of biochars from different parts of Moringa oleifera using thermal plasma processing and demonstrate fluoride adsorption in both synthetic and contaminated groundwater. Water samples were collected from different locations in Nuapada district of Odisha such as Kotamal-Makardampada (20°24'46''N 82°37'19''E), Pandrapathar (20°34'41''N 82°39'25''E), Karlakot-Kadobhata (20°22'52''N 82°37'24''E), Kotamal-Jhakarpada (20°24'35''N 82°37'20''E), and Dohelpada (20°33'50''N 82°38'57''E). The Moringa leaf samples are processed at 1600 °C for 3 min in an inert atmosphere under a continuous flow of argon to get suitable biochars. The plasma-synthesized biochars contain larger exposed surfaces, which are efficient for the adsorption of fluoride. The prepared biochars were highly porous, amorphous, and contain > 72% carbon, which increases the efficiency of defluoridation due to the surface adsorbate site exposed. XRD of the samples showed the presence of calcium hydroxide, magnesium oxide, and calcium oxide, and large peaks of carbon. Raman data showed the double bond of carbon with oxygen in the form of carbonyl bonds, thioether, and sulfhydryl bonds, which contribute to the protonated site for the adsorption of fluoride, and assist in water penetration and swelling of biochars. The biochar of Moringa oleifera is very efficient for the adsorption of fluoride from standard samples as well as groundwater samples up to a concentration of 6 ppm. Conclusively, the present investigation shows that Moringa oleifera leaves are a good alternative adsorbent that could be used for the removal of fluoride from groundwater samples with > 85% removal in 18 h using 1 g biochar for 100 mL or 10 g biochar for 1 L water containing 4 ppm fluoride. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the thermal plasma-based production of Moringa biochars for the removal of fluoride from drinking water.

Heavy metals contamination in sediments of Bharalu river, Guwahati, Assam, India: A tributary of river Brahmaputra

This study aimed to assess heavy metals in the surface sediments of the Bharalu river, India. Metal concentrations ranged from 6.65-54.6 mg/kg for Ni, 25.2-250.0 mg/kg for Zn, 83.3-139.1 mg/kg for Pb, and 11940.0-31250.0 mg/kg for Fe. The level of metal contamination was assessed using sediment quality guidelines, geo-accumulation index (Igeo), enrichment factor (EF), pollution Load Index (PLI),Nemerow's pollution index (PIN), and potential ecological risk index. Pb exceeded the sediment quality guidelines at all sites indicating a potential threat to the river ecosystem. (Igeo) and EF also showed moderate to severe enrichment for Pb. Potential ecological risk (RI) showed low risk in the sediments, and Pb is the major contributor to ecological risk. Overall, pollution indices revealed comparably higher contamination of the sediments in the downstream sites than in the upstream site. PCA and correlation matrix analysis indicated both anthropogenic and natural origins for metals. Among anthropogenic sources, urban discharges and waste dumping could be mainly attributed to metal contamination in the river sediments. These findings may aid in developing future river management methods explicitly aimed at tackling heavy metal pollution to prevent further damage to the river ecosystem.

Integrated multiplex network based approach for hub gene identification in oral cancer

Background: The incidence of Oral Cancer (OC) is high in Asian countries, which goes undetected at its early stage. The study of genetics, especially genetic networks holds great promise in this endeavor. Hub genes in a genetic network are prominent in regulating the whole network structure of genes. Thus identification of such genes related to specific cancer types can help in reducing the gap in OC prognosis. Methods: Traditional study of network biology is unable to decipher the inter-dependencies within and across diverse biological networks. Multiplex network provides a powerful representation of such systems and encodes much richer information than isolated networks. In this work, we focused on the entire multiplex structure of the genetic network integrating the gene expression profile and DNA methylation profile for OC. Further, hub genes were identified by considering their connectivity in the multiplex structure and the respective protein-protein interaction (PPI) network as well. Results: 46 hub genes were inferred in our approach with a high prediction accuracy (96%), outstanding Matthews coefficient correlation value (93%) and significant biological implications. Among them, genes PIK3CG, PIK3R5, MYH7, CDC20 and CCL4 were differentially expressed and predominantly enriched in molecular cascades specific to OC. Conclusions: The identified hub genes in this work carry ontological signatures specific to cancer, which may further facilitate improved understanding of the tumorigenesis process and the underlying molecular events. Result indicates the effectiveness of our integrated multiplex network approach for hub gene identification. This work puts an innovative research route for multi-omics biological data analysis.

Primary Amyloidosis

Introduction/Objective

Amyloid light chain (AL) results from the deposition of immunoglobulin light chain fragments, and can lead to dysfunction in multiple organs. Our patient was being investigated for unknown malignancy with high differential for plasma cell neoplasm for severe amyloidosis leading to renal failure, uncontrolled ascites and thickening of the skin. The patient died of progressive liver and renal failure. Our autopsy findings show severe amyloidosis deposition in spleen, heart, kidney and liver with no significant plasma cells in the bone marrow, the findings correlate with a rare condition of primary AL amyloidosis.

Methods

63 years old man with no past medical history presenting with progressive leg swelling with 15 pounds weight loss. He was admitted to another hospital a month ago. Patient was a smoker with a pack in 2-3 days for 38 years, occasional alcohol intake with no history of heavy alcohol use and no drug use. The patient worked as a chef and lived with his wife. Physical examination shows temporal wasting with cachecxia, had difficulty in staying upright and wanting to sleep when presented to the emergency department. Physical examination was significant for decreased breath sound bilaterally, more on left side, central weakness noted given difficultly sitting upright from laying down flat. Also, there were some lymphadenopathy in the jugular digastric region. Laboratory showed an increase elevation in alkaline phosphatase to the 1000s along with elevated LDL to 300s, nephrotic range proteinuria. Chest X-ray showed left pleural effusion and CT chest and abdomen showed slight hepatosplenomegaly with hypoattenuation and focal calcification. Autopsy finding indicated heavy spleen (260 grams) with a stiff and hard texture. Liver weighs in upper limit of normal (1660 grams) with a yellow firm surface. There is significant amyloid deposition in spleen. Also, moderate amyloid deposition was seen in all the organs including liver, kidney, heart and, also in the skin. No definite lesion was seen in the gross, nor cancer cells found in the microscopy examination. Bone marrow examination did not reveal plasma cells, ruling out the possibility of multiple myeloma or plasma cell dyscrasia.

Conclusion

This is a rare case of AL primary amyloidosis with aggressive progression and poor prognosis not associated with plasma cell neoplasm.

Case Report: Coexistence of Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma and Adenoid Basal Carcinoma in the Uterine Cervix

Introduction/Objective

Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) and adenoid basal carcinoma (ABC) are very rare tumors, accounting for less than 1% of all cervical adenocarcinomas. ACC is an aggressive neoplasm and has poor prognosis while ABC has a favorable prognosis. Coexistence of ACC or ABC and squamous intraepithelial lesion/invasive squamous cell carcinoma in the uterine cervix has been reported in the literature; however, coexistence of ACC and ABC in the uterine cervix is very rare.

Methods

Case presentation: Here we present a case of coexistence ACC and ABC in a 66-year-old woman who suffered from heavy bloody vaginal discharge for one year with weight fluctuations. The cervical exam and CT scan showed a friable mass at the uterine cervix, measuring up to 5.5 cm, and cervical mass punch biopsy was performed. Histopathological examination of the specimen revealed an intact nonkeratinizing stratified squamous epithelium overlying proliferation of nests punctuated by small round spaces, resembling cribriform pattern in the stroma. The tumor cells were small and basaloid with hyperchromatic nuclei and scant cytoplasm. Palisading of tumor cells at the peripheral of the tumor nests were observed in some areas. Mitotic figures and necrosis were not seen.

Immunohistochemical stains were performed and showed two distinct patterns of ACC and ABC. ACC tumor cells were positive for CD117, focally positive for CAM5.2 and S100, and negative for p63. ABC tumor cells were positive for p63 and EMA and negative for CD117 and S100. Both ACC and ABC components were positive for p16, Sox 10, BCL-2 and vimentin and negative for CK7, p40, CEA and ER. PAS stain showed positive staining in the basement membrane-like material in ACC component. A final pathologic diagnosis of coexistence of ACC and ABC of the uterine cervix were made.

Conclusion

Literature review revealed that this was an exceedingly rare case of coexistence of ACC and ABC in the uterine cervix. It is extremely important to correctly diagnose ACC and ABC as there is very poor prognosis in the former and good prognosis in the latter.

Biological Factors Affecting Thrombocytopenia In Hepatitis C Infected Patients

Introduction/Objective

Thrombocytopenia is one of the major extra-hepatic manifestations of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. There are numerous studies suggesting several pathophysiology mechanisms explaining the association of thrombocytopenia with HCV infection; however occasional presence of thrombocytopenia with normal liver function, or presence of significance hepatic damage with normal platelet count has not been well explained. Biological factors, such as ethnicity, age, smoking status and gender have been suggested as the probable causes, but not enough studies exist showing such predispositions. The goal of this study is to evaluate the association of degree of thrombocytopenia with liver function abnormalities in different ethnicity in HCV infected patients.

Methods

Forty -five patients with thrombocytopenia and HCV infection were included. Data was collected on ALT level, ethnicity, platelet count, and liner regression study was performed. Clinical predictors included in the analysis were age, gender, liver fibrosis stage, smoking status and ALT level. Results: Severe thrombocytopenia (<80,000) is associated with severity of liver function. Moderate and mild thrombocytopenia does not depend on liver function abnormalities. Moreover, there is an increases incidence of moderate and severe thrombocytopenia among Hispanics Latinas. Also, the incidence of mild thrombocytopenia (>110,000/ µL) is not significantly different among people of different ethnicity infected with HCV.

Results

Our study suggests that chronic HCV infection is associated with variable degree on thrombocytopenia., and only severe thrombocytopenia (platelet count < 80,000/ µL) can be explained by liver function abnormalities.

Conclusion

As liver disease advances, platelet count decreases only in patients with platelet count is below 80,000 / µL and, it is more prominent in Hispanic/Latina population.

Impact of seasonal thermal stress on physiological and blood biochemical parameters in pigs under different dietary energy levels

The present study was formulated to find out the status of important season related thermal stress biomarkers of pure-bred (Hampshire) and crossbred (50% Hampshire × 50% local) pigs under the agro-climatic condition of Assam State, India. The experiment was also aimed to study the role of different level of energy ration (110, 100, and 90% energy of NRC feeding standard for pig) in variation of physiological and biochemical parameters in two genetic groups of pigs in different seasons. The metabolizable energy value were 3260, 2936.5, and 3585.8 kcal/kg in grower ration and 3260.2, 2936.6, and 3587 kcal/kg in finisher ration for normal energy (NE), low energy (LE) and high energy (HE), respectively. Both the genetic group of animals were housed separately under intensive system of management. Each pen was measuring 10' × 12' along with an outer enclosure. Six weaned piglets (almost similar body weight of average 10.55 kg) of each group were kept in a separate pen. However, after attainment of 35 kg body weight, the animals of a group were divided in two pens of three animals each. The present experiment indicated that average ambient temperature during summer months (27.33-29.51 °C) was above the comfort zone for pigs (22 °C). The significantly (P < 0.01) higher relative humidity (RH) (%) was recorded in outdoor environment (87.26-91.10%) and in the morning time (86.60-91.10%). The temperature humidity index (THI) during the study period was found to be indicative of thermal stress to the experimental animals during summer (79.55-82.56). Physiological parameters viz., respiration rate (RR) and rectal temperature (RT) were significantly (P < 0.01) higher in summer season (43.75-72.12 breaths/min. and 102.29-103.23 °F) and non-significantly higher values were recorded in Hampshire pigs. It was also found that the significantly (P < 0.01) lower RR as well as RT was recorded in the pigs fed with high energy (HE) ration during summer season. Serum triiodothyronine (T₃) and thyroxine (T₄) concentrations were significantly (P < 0.01) lower during summer, while both the genetic groups showed significantly (P < 0.01) higher concentration of serum cortisol during summer season. It was also observed that thyroid hormone and cortisol concentrations were maintained in groups of pig fed vegetable oil incorporated HE diet during summer. From the present study, it is found that the increasing the energy level of the ration might be helpful to minimize the effects of thermal stress during summer.