Molecular Biology articles list

A comparative study of social and economic aspect of migration

India is a country of immense diversity. It is home to people of many different racial, languages, ethnic, religious, and national backgrounds. Groups of people in India differ from each other not only in physical or demographic characteristics but also in distinctive patterns of behavior and these patterns are determined by social and cultural factors like language, region, religion, and caste. Apart from behaviour, economic development, level of education and political culture of the people in various social segments differ from region to region. More you can say that economy and cultures have been enriched by the contributions of migrants from round the globe. In an increasingly globalised world, migratory movements is continuously shaping the countries all over the world. Some countries like India and Ireland, which set the example of economic development and social integration, have the positive impact of the migration by globalisation and some countries like USA, which recently witness racism, xenophobia and discrimination have the negative impact on the migrants. It does not mean India do not face fragmentation and USA do not have cohesion. USA have many stories which show successful integration process, that facilitated the lives of immigrant communities, but being a developed country it still suffers from cultural alienation. In these countries, borders are built within borders to create cultural divides that do not allow people to integrate. Recently, this problem has become more prominent due to the rise of terrorism, clash of cultures in the world, leading to the glorification of stereotypes. People are becoming less accepting towards anyone who does not belong to their region. Migration does not stop after people move from one place to another place. The main question start after that ‘now what’ they will do. That is why this topic needs to be discussed thoroughly in order to find better solutions. This paper will begin with an analysis of different approaches to Migration, discuss the target groups for integration policies, provide indicators of the current situation of migrants and proceed to an analysis of integration tools: legislation, social policies and participatory processes. It will focus not only on the impact of migration but also on social integration, mix culture like indo-western culture in a comparative basis.

Ekta Meena

A comparative study of social and economic aspect of migration

India is a country of immense diversity. It is home to people of many different racial, languages, ethnic, religious, and national backgrounds. Groups of people in India differ from each other not only in physical or demographic characteristics but also in distinctive patterns of behavior and these patterns are determined by social and cultural factors like language, region, religion, and caste. Apart from behaviour, economic development, level of education and political culture of the people in various social segments differ from region to region. More you can say that economy and cultures have been enriched by the contributions of migrants from round the globe. In an increasingly globalised world, migratory movements is continuously shaping the countries all over the world. Some countries like India and Ireland, which set the example of economic development and social integration, have the positive impact of the migration by globalisation and some countries like USA, which recently witness racism, xenophobia and discrimination have the negative impact on the migrants. It does not mean India do not face fragmentation and USA do not have cohesion. USA have many stories which show successful integration process, that facilitated the lives of immigrant communities, but being a developed country it still suffers from cultural alienation. In these countries, borders are built within borders to create cultural divides that do not allow people to integrate. Recently, this problem has become more prominent due to the rise of terrorism, clash of cultures in the world, leading to the glorification of stereotypes. People are becoming less accepting towards anyone who does not belong to their region. Migration does not stop after people move from one place to another place. The main question start after that ‘now what’ they will do. That is why this topic needs to be discussed thoroughly in order to find better solutions. This paper will begin with an analysis of different approaches to Migration, discuss the target groups for integration policies, provide indicators of the current situation of migrants and proceed to an analysis of integration tools: legislation, social policies and participatory processes. It will focus not only on the impact of migration but also on social integration, mix culture like indo-western culture in a comparative basis.

Ekta Meena

Study of temperature variation in human peripheral region during wound healing process due to plastic surgery

In this paper, investigations are made to analyze the human body temperature during wound healing process due to surgery. Wound is considered after the skin graft. Skin graft is a technique used in plastic surgery. Skin is the first line of defense between the human and environment, it is very susceptible to damage. Internal body or core temperature (Tb) is one of the clinical vital signs along with pulse and respiratory rates. Any disturbance in body temperature will drive complexities in wound healing process. These studies are important in the mechanism of establishing the limits of thermal regulation of human body during the healing process in different situations and conditions. The Finite element method is used to analyze tissues temperature for normal tissues (donor site) and abnormal tissues (tissues after surgery). Appropriate boundary conditions have been framed. Numerical results are obtained using Crank Nicolson Method.

Manisha Jain

Metapuf: a challenge response pair generator

Physically unclonable function (PUF) is a hardware security module preferred for hardware feature based random number and secret key generation. Security of a cryptographic system relies on the quality of the challenge-response pair, it is necessary that the key generation mechanism must unpredictable and its response should constant under different operating condition. Metastable state in CMOS latch is undesirable since it response becomes unpredictable, this feature used in this work to generate a unique response. A feedback mechanism is developed which forces the latch into the metastable region; after metastable state, latch settle to high or state depends on circuit internal condition and noise which cannot be predicted. Obtained inter hamming variation for 8 PUF is 51% and average intra hamming distance is 99.76% with supply voltage variation and 96.22% with temperature variation.

Abhishek Kumar

Intersection of caste and gender based subjugation

One of the unique features of Indian society is prevalence of caste system which was originated thousands of years back to demarcate the people engaged in different occupation or jobs. Initially it was not much rigid but gradually people belonging to upper castes for their own selfish means to maintain their monopoly made this arrangement hereditary and started treating people of lower castes disgracefully. For preservation of this system, people started controlling their women to prevent inter-caste marriages and the concept of endogamy came up. This robbed away many types of freedom from women. For women belonging to lower castes, this situation is worse as they are doubly subjugated on the basis on caste as well as gender. Men belonging to their own caste treat them as secondary beings. This paper throws light on this intersection. How intersection of these two kinds of inequalities place them at the lowest position in Indian society. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar rises as their leader who all his life worked for empowerment of downtrodden section of society. He argues that education is the primary tool for evading these differences among people. He further emphasizes to adopt the concept of exogamy to break the backbone of Indian caste system and to immediately leave a religion or culture which legitimizes such system of inequality among people of the same land.

Swati sharma

Intersection of caste and gender based subjugation

One of the unique features of Indian society is prevalence of caste system which was originated thousands of years back to demarcate the people engaged in different occupation or jobs. Initially it was not much rigid but gradually people belonging to upper castes for their own selfish means to maintain their monopoly made this arrangement hereditary and started treating people of lower castes disgracefully. For preservation of this system, people started controlling their women to prevent inter-caste marriages and the concept of endogamy came up. This robbed away many types of freedom from women. For women belonging to lower castes, this situation is worse as they are doubly subjugated on the basis on caste as well as gender. Men belonging to their own caste treat them as secondary beings. This paper throws light on this intersection. How intersection of these two kinds of inequalities place them at the lowest position in Indian society. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar rises as their leader who all his life worked for empowerment of downtrodden section of society. He argues that education is the primary tool for evading these differences among people. He further emphasizes to adopt the concept of exogamy to break the backbone of Indian caste system and to immediately leave a religion or culture which legitimizes such system of inequality among people of the same land.

Swati sharma

In silico studies of 2-(4-(aminomethyl)phenyl)isoindoline-1,3-dione schiff base derivatives as potential inhibitors against main protease covid-19 enzyme

The 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is spreading worldwide, with a spectacular increase in death missing any effective therapeutic treatment up to now. Molecular docking is a recognized computational tool to assist in early drug discovery and development. Molecular docking analysis was carried out using 2-(4-(aminomethyl)phenyl)isoindoline-1,3-dione Schiff base conjugates with SARS-CoV-2 protease enzyme and COVID-19 main protease in apo form 6M03). The compounds with the best normalized docking scores to protease enzyme (6LU7) were ARG3 (-8.1 kcal/mole), ARG7 (-8.1 kcal/mole) and ARG6 (-8.0 kcal/mole). The best docking ligands for main protease in apo form (6M03) were ARG7 (-8.7 kcal/mole), ARG6 (-8.6 kcal/mole) and ARG3 (-8.4 kcal/mole). The structural similarity between these conjugates inspired us to perform in silico studies to check their possible binding interactions with essential SARS-CoV-2 proteins. These studies provide insight into the potential binding between Schiff base derivatives and SARS-CoV-2 proteins to provide an insight for finding an effective therapy. Finally, ADMET calculations were performed for the Schiff base compounds to predict their pharmacokinetic profiles.

Mediterranean Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Pharmacogenetic determinants of human liver microsomal aminopyrine metabolism and the role of cytochrome p450 2d6

Aminopyrine (AM) has been used as a model substrate for investigation of drug metabolism. The major metabolic route is N-demethylation that was confirmed in liver microsomes. The aim of the present study was to identify the human cytochrome P-450 enzyme (CYP) mediating the N-demethylation of 4-di-methylaminoantipyrine (4-DMAA) to 4-methylaminoantipyrine (4-MAA). The contribution of human CYP to the metabolism of (4-DMAA) to (4-MAA) in human was investigated using virus expressed human CYP, human liver microsomes with chemical inhibition studies. The substrate of 4-dimethylaminantipyrine was employed at different concentrations (11.5, 23, 46, 115 and 230 µmol per l) with varying concentrations of selective inhibitors of CYP (CYP1A2), (CYP3A4), (CYP2C8),(CYP2A6), (CYP2D6), (CYP2C19) and (CYP1A1). 4-DMAA and 4-MAA were analysed by HPLC and enzyme kinetic parameters (Km and Vmax) were calculated from the concentration data. The transformation of 4-dimethylaminoantipyrine to 4-methyaminoantipyrine by microsomes prepared from baculovirus-expressed human CYP was pronounced with CYP2D6. The metabolism of 4-dimethylaminoantipyrine was inhibited by 60.0% and 55.17% by a concentration of 100 µmo per l of the known CYP2D6 inhibitors quinidine and moclobemide. The corresponding Ki values were 0.050 and 0.11 mM, respectively. The corresponding IC50 values were 0.06 and 0.13 mM, respectively. The enzyme CYP2D6 apparently has an important role in N-demethyl-ation of 4-dimethylaminoantipyrine.

Mediterranean Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

The effects of severe hypobaric hypoxia and inhibition of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (hif-1) on biomarkers of cardiac and skeletal muscle injury in rats

The goal of the present study was to investigate the molecular mechanisms that underlie heart andskeletal muscle damage in male Wistar rats weighing 200–250 g in response to a 3-h exposure to 180 mm Hg(5% O2) in the model of severe hypobaric hypoxia. It has been demonstrated that the level of the cardiac bio-marker troponin I in the blood plasma of rats exposed to severe hypobaric hypoxia for 3 h increased signifi-cantly compared to the control group, indicating myocardial injury. At the same time, the administration ofthe HIF-1α transcription factor inhibitor did not affect the plasma level of troponin I. In contrast, the releaseof the non-specific biomarker myoglobin into the bloodstream did not increase in response to hypoxia com-pared to the control animals. In addition, 24 h after the exposure to severe hypobaric hypoxia the serum myo-globin level was significantly lower in animals administered with the HIF-1α inhibitor topotecan than in ratsthat did not receive topotecan. Therefore, it may be assumed that the inhibition of the HIF-1α transcriptionfactor 10 min before exposure to severe hypobaric hypoxia reduces skeletal muscle damage. The mechanismsthat affect the adaptation of heart and skeletal muscles to hypoxia are discussed.

Даниил Федоров

Live bird markets in nigeria: a potential reservoir for h9n2 avian influenza viruses

Since 2006, multiple outbreaks of avian influenza (AI) have been reported in Nigeria involving different subtypes. Surveillance and molecular epidemiology have revealed the vital role of live bird markets (LBMs) in the dissemination of AI virus to commercial poultry farms. To better understand the ecology and epidemiology of AI in Nigeria, we performed whole-genome sequencing of nineteen H9N2 viruses recovered, from apparently healthy poultry species, during active surveillance conducted in nine LBMs across Nigeria in 2019. Analyses of the HA gene segment of these viruses showed that the H9N2 strains belong to the G1 lineage, which has zoonotic potential, and are clustered with contemporary H9N2 identified in Africa between 2016 and 2020. We observed two distinct clusters of H9N2 viruses in Nigeria, suggesting different introductions into the country. In view of the zoonotic potential of H9N2 and the co-circulation of multiple subtypes of AI virus in Nigeria, continuous monitoring of the LBMs across the country and molecular characterization of AIVs identified is advocated to mitigate economic losses and public health threats.

Bitrus Inuwa

Exploring performance parameters of artificial allosteric protein switches

Biological information processing networks rely on allosteric protein switches that dynamically interconvert biological signals. Construction of their artificial analogues is a central goal of synthetic biology and bioengineering. Receptor domain insertion is one of the leading methods for constructing chimeric protein switches. Here we present an in vitro expression-based platform for the analysis of chimeric protein libraries for which traditional cell survival or cytometric high throughput assays are not applicable. We utilise this platform to screen a focused library of chimeras between PQQ-glucose dehydrogenase and calmodulin. Using this approach, we identified 50 chimeras (approximately 23% of the library) that were activated by calmodulin-binding peptides. We analysed performance parameters of the active chimeras and demonstrated that their dynamic range and response times are anticorrelated, pointing to the existence of an inherent thermodynamic trade-off. We show that the structure of the ligand peptide affects both the response and activation kinetics of the biosensors suggesting that the structure of a ligand:receptor complex can influence the chimera's activation pathway. In order to understand the extent of structural changes in the reporter protein induced by the receptor domains, we have analysed one of the chimeric molecules by CD spectroscopy and hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry. We concluded that subtle ligand-induced changes in the receptor domain propagated into the GDH domain and affected residues important for substrate and cofactor binding. Finally, we used one of the identified chimeras to construct a two-component rapamycin biosensor and demonstrated that core switch optimisation translated into improved biosensor performance.

Cagla Ergun Ayva

Modulation of tcdd induced cyp1a1 mrna by the co-repressor smrt

Environmental factors are known to influence carcinogenesis. Pollutants, such as heterocyclic amines (HAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are examples of environmental borne procarcinogens. Procarcinogens are not active carcinogens although, they require bio-activation, via enzymes such as cytochrome P450 (CYP) to transform to active product. CYP1A1 isoform, regulated by aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) plays a significant role in the bio-activation of PAHs and HAs. AhR has multiple co-activators and co-repressors for AhR that have been identified S remarkably. Silencing mediator for retinoid and thyroid hormone receptors (SMRT) was designated as a major co-repressor for AhR. In the present study, it is examined the effect of SMRT over expression on the cyp1a1 mRNA levels in murine hepatoma Hepa 1c1c7 cell line. Hepa 1c1c7 cells were maintained in Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) and competent cells have successfully been produced using calcium chloride method. Cells were transformed using plasmid DNA and Lipofectamine. TCDD (2, 3, 7, 8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin) was employed as an inducing agent for CYP1A1. The total cellular RNA was isolated and real-time PCR of Cyp1a1 was conducted. A statistical analysis was conducted by using one-way analysis of variance followed by Student-Newman-Keuls test. The results showed that cells transfected with the co-repressor SMRT has lower TCDD-mediated induction of cyp1a1 mRNA without affecting constitutive Cyp1a1 mRNA levels, i.e., SMRT was able to significantly decrease inducible Cyp1a1 mRNA levels in Hepa 1c1c7 cells. The present findings also demonstrated that calcium chloride is a convenient method for routine transformation. Thus, this study opens a new avenue for the management of carcinogenesis involving CYP1A1 inducing carcinogens.

Mediterranean Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Effect of dietary flavonoids on amine incorporation activity of transglutaminase 2 enzyme

Transglutaminase 2 (TG2) is an inducible transamidating acyltransferase that catalyzes Ca2+-dependent protein modifications. TG2 enzyme disruption has been implicated in several different disease processes and disorders such as Huntington and Parkinson’s diseases, cancers such as breast, ovarian and pancreatic cancers. Coeliac disease (CD) is the one disease state that TG2 activity plays a crucial role. To date, a gluten-free diet is the only accepted form of therapy for CD. Because of the important role of TG2 enzyme in the initiation of CD, therefore, this study was aimed at the identification of TG2 inhibitors from natural sources, as a potential intervention in CD therapy. Competitive amine inhibitors are the most widely used TG2 inhibitors because they are commercially available, chemically stable and relatively non-toxic in living systems. The natural products chosen for this study were dietary flavonoids. Flavonoids were extracted from different food samples. The flavonoids food extracts were subjected to the TG2 activity assays to examine their effect on the enzyme activity. The assays were carried out under optimal conditions of pH, Ca2+ and with N, N-dimethylcasein (acyl-donor) or casein (acyl-acceptor) as acyl-donor substrates and biotin cadaverine (acyl-acceptor) or TVQQEL as (acyl-donor) substrates. TG activity was measured by two different microplate assays, Biotin-labeled cadaverine incorporation assay and Biotin-labeled peptide cross-linking assay. In the TG2 amine incorporation activity, all of food extracts display a significant inhibition effect towards the human recombinant transglutaminase2 (hrTG2) and guinea pig transglutaminase 2 (gplTG2) (20 - 50% of inhibition). While in the TG2 cross-linking activity, the majority of food extracts displayed an inhibition effect on the gplTG2 cross-linking activity (50 - 70% of inhibition) but only the strawberry and kale extracts showed an effect on hrTG2 activity (40 - 50% of inhibition). The inhibition of TG2 activity can be considered as a potential therapeutic target in the treatment of CD.

Mediterranean Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Assessment of heavy metals in eggplant fruit from urban and rural areas of bangladesh

Dietary intake of contaminated food with heavy metals may cause severe risk for the human health. Heavy metals affect adversely a human health. The current study assessed the concentrations of heavy metals including Cu, Zn, Pb and Ni in eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) of urban and rural areas in Bangladesh. The experimental samples of fresh eggplant fruits were collected from six local markets in Jashore, Bangladesh, and the tissues were extracted with nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide. Trace elements in eggplant fruits were estimated with atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Obtained result show that Heavy metal concentrations were high in the urban areas compared to rural areas. Heavy metals in the eggplant fruits of rural and urban areas were: Pb (2.74-18.64), Cu (10.20-67.16), Ni (46.63-148.46), and Zn (86.65-148.73) mg.kg-1 respectively. The concentrations of Pb, Ni and Zn in eggplant were at an excess of safe limits according to the Food and Agriculture and World Health Organizations. While, Cu was lower than the maximum safe limit. The present study concluded that growing eggplants in Jashore areas are heavily contaminated with Pb, Ni and Zn that would be hazardous for consumer’s health. The result of this study will be beneficial for the agricultural policy makers in Bangladesh to take appropriate action and reduce the heavy metal toxicity among fresh food products.

Arafat Hassan Razon