Abstract Introduction Temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD) present with a multitude of symptoms that can range from headaches to shoulder pain. Patients frequently present with pain in the ear, dizziness, and vertigo. It is noted that some patients who report TMDs also have a history of sleep disturbances, which is noted in cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) as a reduction in the oropharyngeal airway volume. Objective To evaluate the airway volume in pre- and posttreatment of TMD with the use of neuromuscular orthotics made with ultra-low frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (ULF-TENS). Methods A total of 15 patients were evaluated for TMDs using the related criteria. Those included were treated with ULF-TENS with evaluation of the airway volume both pre- and posttreatment using CBCT and the Dolphin 3D volume analysis software. Results While the symptoms were shown to be significantly reduced in patients who were treated with this particular modality, the airway volume varied in those who reported a reduction after a period of 3 months and those that reported after a period of 6 months. Conclusion Posttreatment evaluation of the airway should be done after a period of 6 months for a more objective evaluation. A multidisciplinary evaluation of the patient is required in such cases.

Abstract Background/aims: Hypoxia microenvironment plays a crucial role during tumor progression and it tends to exhibit poor prognosis and make resistant to various conventional therapies. HIF-1α acts as an important transcriptional regulator directly or indirectly associated with genes involved in cell proliferation, angiogenesis, apoptosis and energy metabolism during tumor progression in hypoxic microenvironment. This study was aimed to investigate the expression pattern of the hypoxia associated genes and their association during breast cancer progression under hypoxic microenvironment in breast cancer cells. Methods: Cell proliferation in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines treated with different concentration of CoCl2 was analyzed by MTT assay. Flow cytometry was performed to check cell cycle distribution, whereas cell morphology was examined by phase contrast microscopy in both the cells during hypoxia induction. Expression of hypoxia associated genes HIF-1α, VEGF, p53 and BAX were determined by semiquantitative RT-PCR and real-time PCR. Western blotting was performed to detect the expression at protein level. Results: Our study revealed that cell proliferation in CoCl2 treated breast cancer cells were concentration dependent and varies with different cell types, further increase in CoCl2 concentration leads to apoptotic cell death. Further, accumulation of p53 protein in response to hypoxia as compare to normoxia showed that induction of p53 in breast cancer cells is HIF-1α dependent. HIF-1α dependent BAX expression during hypoxia revealed that after certain extent of hypoxia induction, over expression of BAX conquers the effect of anti-apoptotic proteins and ultimately leads to apoptosis in breast cancer cells. Conclusion: In conclusion our results clearly indicate that CoCl2 simulated hypoxia induce the accumulation of HIF-1α protein and alter the expression of hypoxia associated genes involved in angiogenesis and apoptosis.

The current state of the art in medical genetics is to identify and classify the functional (deleterious) or non-functional (neutral) single amino acid substitutions (SAPs), also known as non-synonymous SNPs (nsSNPs). The primary goal is to elucidate the mechanisms through which functional SAPs exert their effects, and ultimately interrogating this information for association with complex phenotypes. This work focuses on coagulation factors involved in the coagulation cascade pathway which plays a vital role in the maintenance of homeostasis in the human system. We developed an integrated coagulation variation database, CoagVDb, which makes use of the biological information from various public databases such as NCBI, OMIM, UniProt, PDB and SAPs (rsIDs/variant). CoagVDb enriched with computational prediction scores classify SAPs as either deleterious or tolerated. Also, various other properties are incorporated such as amino acid composition, secondary structure elements, solvent accessibility, ordered/disordered regions, conservation, and the presence of disulfide bonds. This specialized database provides integration of various prediction scores from different computational methods along with gene, protein, and disease information. We hope our database will act as a useful reference resource for hematologists to reveal protein structure-function relationship and disease genotype-phenotype correlation.

Oral cancer is commonly preceded by premalignant lesions and conditions. The clinician's ability to identify lesions at an increased risk of cancer development is critical for its control. The purpose of this study was to compare the expression of tumor suppressor gene p53, proliferation marker Ki-67, and oncogene c-erbB2 and to evaluate the relevance of their co-expression in the diagnosis of, and prognosis for, oral leukoplakia. In the present study, the expression of biomarkers was studied immunohistochemically in 55 cases of leukoplakia (26 without dysplasia, 29 with dysplasia) and 10 cases of normal epithelia. The Labeling Indices (LI) of p53 and Ki-67 were found to increase significantly with an increase in the grade of dysplasia. A significant correlation was also found between the LI of p53 and that of Ki-67. It was also observed that c-erbB2 expression was only cytoplasmic, indicating incomplete receptor degradation. Hence, it can be concluded from the present study that the increased expression of p53 and Ki-67 with an increase in the grade of dysplasia suggests that their co-expression may be used for the identification of high-risk lesions. Also, c-erbB2 has no pathogenetic role in early carcinogenesis in the studied population, although incomplete receptor degradation, as evidenced by cytoplasmic staining, may indicate an early change.

The present study was designed to evaluate the cardioprotective potential of aqueous flower extract of Bombax ceiba L., Malvaceae (BC), on the basis of biochemical and histopathological parameters in Adriamycin (Adr) induced myocardial infarction in rats and to compare with vitamin E, a known cardioprotective antioxidant. Male Wister rats were used as in vivo model for the study. BC was administered orally to Wister rats at different doses (150 mg/kg, 300 mg/kg and 450 mg/kg, b.w.) for six days/week for four weeks. Thereafter, all the groups except saline were administered Adr (20 mg/kg, i.p.). There was a significant decrease in myocardial superoxide dismutase, catalase and reduced glutathione in animals treated with Adr. Concurrently marked increase in extent of lipid peroxidation was reported. Co-treatment of BC/vitamin E and Adr resulted in an increase in the cardiac antioxidant enzymes and reduction in lipid peroxidation as compared to Adr-treated animals. Adr showed significant decrease (p<0.001) in the level of cardiac marker enzymes [Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and Serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT)] in heart homogenate with corresponding increase in their level in serum. In BC/vitamin E treated groups significant increase (p<0.001) of LDH in heart homogenate and decrease of SGOT and LDH in serum were observed. Microscopic studies in Adr-treated animals revealed mitochondrial swelling, leukocyte infiltration, lipid inclusions and myofibrillar loss whereas the pre-treatment with BC/vitamin E led to a lesser degree of Adr-induced histological alterations. These findings suggest that aqueous flower extract of BC has protective effect against Adr-induced cardiotoxicity and may have potential as a cardioprotective agent.

The present work was undertaken to study the effects of 24-epibrassinolide (0, 10-10, 10-8 and 10-6 M) on growth (shoot length and number of leaves), protein content and activities of antioxidative enzymes [guaiacol peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.7), catalase (EC 1.11.1.6), glutathione reductase (EC 1.6.4.2), ascorbate peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.11), superoxide dismutase (EC 1.15.1.1), monodehydroascorbate reductase (EC 1.1.5.4) and dehydroascorbate reductase (EC 1.8.5.1)] in leaves of 60 days-old Brassica juncea L. plants treated with different concentrations of Cr metal. It was observed that treatment of different concentrations (0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 mM) of Cr metal alone decreased the shoot length and number of leaves and regulated the enzyme activities and protein concentration of plants. However, seed-presoaking treatments of 24-epibrassinolide improved the growth and stimulated the activities of antioxidant enzymes and protein content in leaves of B. juncea plants thus indicating the stress-ameliorative properties of 24-epibrassinolide.