P66shc and its downstream Eps8 and Rac1 proteins are upregulated in esophageal cancers

Members of Shc (src homology and collagen homology) family, p46shc, p52shc, p66shc have known to be related to cell proliferation and carcinogenesis. Whereas p46shc and p52shc drive the reaction forward, the role of p66shc in cancers remains to be understood clearly. Hence, their expression in cancers needs to be evaluated carefully so that Shc analysis may provide prognostic information in the development of carcinogenesis. In the present study, the expression of p66shc and its associate targets namely Eps8 (epidermal pathway substrate 8), Rac1 (ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate1) and Grb2 (growth factor receptor bound protein 2) were examined in fresh tissue specimens from patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and esophageal adenocarcinoma using western blot analysis. A thorough analysis of both esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma showed p66shc expression to be significantly higher in both types of carcinomas as compared to the controls. The controls of adenocarcinoma show a higher basal expression level of p66shc as compared to the controls of squamous cell carcinoma. The expression level of downstream targets of p66shc i.e., eps8 and rac1 was also found to be consistently higher in human esophageal carcinomas, and hence correlated positively with p66shc expression. However the expression of grb2 was found to be equal in both esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. The above results suggest that the pathway operated by p66shc in cancers does not involve the participation of Ras and Grb2 as downstream targets instead it operates the pathway involving Eps8 and Rac1 proteins. From the results it is also suggestive that p66shc may have a role in the regulation of esophageal carcinomas and represents a possible mechanism of signaling for the development of squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of esophagus

E3B1/ABI-1 Isoforms Are Down-Regulated in Cancers of Human Gastrointestinal Tract

The expression of E3B1/ABI-1 protein and its role in cancer progression and prognosis are largely unknown in the majority of solid tumors. In this study, we examined the expression pattern of E3B1/ABI-1 protein in histologically confirmed cases of esophageal (squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma), gastro-esophageal junction, colorectal cancers and corresponding normal tissues freshly resected from a cohort of 135 patients, by Western Blotting and Immunofluorescence Staining. The protein is present in its phosphorylated form in cells and tissues. Depending on the extent of phosphorylation it is either present in hyper-phosphorylated (M. Wt. 72 kDa) form or in hypo-phosphorylated form (M. Wt. 68 kDa and 65 kDa). A thorough analysis revealed that expression of E3B1/ABI-1 protein is significantly decreased in esophageal, gastro-esophageal junction and colorectal carcinomas irrespective of age, gender, dietary and smoking habits of the patients. The decrease in expression of E3B1/ABI-1 was consistently observed for all the three isoforms. However, the decrease in the expression of isoforms varied with different forms of cancers. Down-regulation of E3B1/ABI-1 expression in human carcinomas may play a critical role in tumor progression and in determining disease prognosis.</jats:p

Nanotechnology for Environmental Control and Remediation

The chapter emphasizes nanotechnology, which is an emerging field that covers a wide range of technologies that are presently under development in nanoscale. Nanotechnology offers the potential of novel nanomaterials for treatment of surface water, ground water, and waste water contaminated by toxic metal ions, organic and inorganic solutes, and microorganisms. The advantages of the use of nanomaterials, which are related to their properties that are completely different from the bulk materials, make them extremely attractive and give them enormous potential. Among the areas that are influenced by nanotechnology, environmental remediation is highlighted in this chapter. This chapter emphasizes several nanomaterials (Zero valent iron, titanium dioxide, nanoclays, nanotubes, dendrimers, ferritin, metalloporphyrinogens, and SAAMS) and their application in water treatment, purification, and disinfection. The use of nanoparticles in environmental remediation, which inevitably leads to the release of nanoparticles into the environment and subsequent ecosystems, is also explained. </jats:p

Mhd Stagnation Point Flow and Heat Transfer of Cu –Water Nanofluid over A Stretching Sheet

A comprehensive study of Magnetohydrodynamics flow (stagnation Point) with heat transferal properties of Cu–Water nanofluid along a stretched sheet in the existence of a transverse magnetic field is analyzed. The governing equalities along with their conditions on boundary points are firstly converted to ordinary differential equations of non-linear category by similarity transformations. Lastly finite difference discretization is utilized. The flow and heat transfer parameters, namely: stretching parameter, magnetic parameter, the Prandtl number and solid volume fraction are investigated by tablular and graphical representation.</jats:p

The Potential Geographical Indications in Pakistan

Geographical Indications (GI) are signs or tags that are used on agricultural, manufactured and natural goods in order to distinguish and protect them. The protection of such GI’s gives owners and cultivators due recognition in the world, and the buyers become aware of the original product belonging to a specific area. Pakistan enacted its GI law in 2020, and despite great potential, there have still been a very minute number of GI registrations. Pakistan is a diverse country rich in culture, values, and identities. There are numerous potential Geographical indications that have not been registered in the country due to various impediments in the processes of its registration. In order to register Geographical Indications in Pakistan, there are several barriers that must be overcome, including lack of knowledge, lack of technology, lack of a connection between IP tribunals and the business community, a dearth of subject-matter specialists, etc. Pakistani gemstones, fruits, delicacies, footwear, sports products, cutlery, sweets, traditional outfits and headgear are thought to be registered as strong GI's in the nation. These potential Geographical Indications, if registered, could earn a great amount of money for the national exchequer and improve the dilapidated financial condition of the country.</jats:p

Temporal Analysis and Prediction of Ambient Air Quality Using Remote Sensing, Deep Learning, and Geospatial Technologies

As of today, increased air pollution has disrupted the air quality levels, deeming the air unsafe to breathe. Traditional systems are hefty, costly, sparsely distributed, and do not provide ubiquitous coverage. The interpolation used to supplement low spatial coverage induces uncertainty especially for pollutants whose concentrations vary significantly over small distances. This chapter proposes a solution that uses satellite images and machine/deep learning models to timely forecast air quality. For this study, Lahore is chosen as a study area. Sentinel 5-Precursor is used to gather data for Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), and Carbon Monoxide (CO) for years 2018-2021. The data is processed for several AI models, where convolutional neural networks (CNN) performed the best with mean squared error (MSE) 0.0003 for the pollutants. The air quality index (AQI) is calculated and is shown on web portal for data visualization. The trend of air quality during COVID-19 lockdowns is studied as well, which showed reduced levels of NO2 in regions where proper lockdown is observed. </jats:p

Wastewater Pollution From the Industries

Water is one of the most precious natural resources of the earth, without which the living beings cannot survive. Water is important for the sustenance of human civilization. Man uses water for many purposes like drinking, cleaning, washing, bathing, heating, rearing cattle, and farming. Mankind, for the bettering of themselves and society, advanced towards industries and industrial products. But this progress towards industrialization not only utilizes huge amounts of fresh water, but returns water to the environment with pollutants, which changes its natural quality. Thus, mankind is heading towards misery, instead of comfort. Effective measures need to be taken to prevent, minimize, and control water pollution before it becomes too late. </jats:p

Impact of promoter CD14 C&gt;T 159 gene single nucleotide polymorphism and outcome of sepsis

Introduction: A genetic polymorphism has been identified inside the CD14 Promoter sequence. It consists of a C to T transition at base pair -159 from the major transcription site. Subjects carrying the T allele have been shown to have significantly higher soluble CD14 levels than do carriers of the C allele. Consequently, genetic variations in CD14 particularly polymorphism located on the promoter region are thought to have functional effects and increased susceptibility to sepsis.Methods: Our study was a case control study in which a total of 85 samples were included out of which 50 were sepsis free controls and 35 cases of sepsis. Both the cases and controls were selected from Surgical Intensive Care Unit of Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Srinagar. Age more than 80 years, cardiac failure, liver insufficiency and cancer patients were excluded from the study. 5ml of blood from peripheral vein was obtained from each subject in EDTA containing vials and DNA extraction was done by salting out method.Results: The TT genotype frequency was significantly higher in sepsis than in control (P=0.025) and appeared to be genetic risk factor for increased susceptibility to sepsis. The frequency of mutant T allele observed in cases was 36(51.4%) and 35(35%) in controls. This observation showed a highly statistically significant of rare allele T between cases and controls (P=0.033). Patients with increased Total Leucocytes Count (TLC) were more significantly associated with combined (CT+TT) against CC against those patients with normal TLC (P&lt;0.01). The cases had a higher frequency of the rare allele (CT+TT = 80%) than the controls (64%) and this difference showed statistically insignificant association with CT + TT combination against CC (P=0.11).Conclusion: The present study suggested that CD14-159C&gt;T may be a risk factor for the development of sepsis in Kashmiri Population.Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.15(4) 2016 p.538-545</jats:p