Search

Human genome project unveiled that only 1.5.-2.0.% of the genome is protein coding. ENCODE and related studies showed that most part of the genome transcribed into RNAs, and most of them do not code for a functional proteins, hence the name non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). ncRNAs are small ncRNAs (less than 200 nucleotides) and long ncRNAs (longer than 200 nucleotides up to 10 kb). They act as a direct link between highly ordered chromosome structures, gene expression and serve as a bridge between genome and chromatin modification complexes as guides, scaffolds, and decoys. Highly regulated hematopoietic differentiation is required for formation of all types of blood cells. Among a variety of lncRNAs only few hematopoitic lncRNAs have been studied extensivelyand most of them are not functionally characterized. The role of these lncRNAs remains partially undetermined but their involvement in the regulation of various genes and protein synthesis has been proved even in hematopoiesis. So, the present review is a mere effort to highlight the role of lncRNAs involved in the development and regulation of hematopoiesis.

Interleukin-32 theta (IL-32θ) is newly identified isoform of IL-32 which plays a vital role in inflammatory responses. Like IL-32α and IL-32β, IL-32θ isoform acts as an intracellular inflammatory modulator. It results in reduction of IL-1β production by attenuating the expression of PU.1 and inhibition of monocytes differentiation into macrophages. IL-32θ hinders TNF-α expression by inhibiting p38 MAPK and inhibitor of κB (IκB) as well. It also reserved STAT3-ZEB1 pathway leading to the inhibition of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and stemness. Hence, it can be concluded that IL-32θ is an anti-inflammatory cytokine that can act as a tumor suppressor and can play vital role in colon cancer therapies. IL-32θ also plays a crucial role in immune system responses and cellular differentiation during disease pathogenesis. To our best knowledge this is the first ever review to condense the importance, precise mode of action in disease progression and latent remedial implications of IL-32θ in several inflammatory disorders., Competing Interests: None.

Many studies have been carried out in order to determine the toxicity of medicinal plants. The objective of this study was to compare and analyze the hepatic response against two doses of Nerium oleander, (N. oleander) “kaner” leaf decoction. Aqueous leaf decoction was injected intramuscularly into both hind limbs of male rats (200∓10g), assigned into three categories (n=4): control group with no treatment; group I, injected with 5 ml/ kg; and group II injected with 10 ml/ kg of leaf decoction, respectively. Animals were sacrificed 6 h after administration and hepato-histological changes were then observed. The decoction induced an acute phase reaction reflected by a more significant recruitment of inflammatory cells in group II than in group I and controls, as observed by histological studies. These results indicated that both doses can induce an acute-phase condition. Hence, traditional practice of medicinal plants without preliminary dose assessment must not be administered.

A vast variety of nonstructural proteins have been studied for their key roles and involvement in a number of biological phenomenona. Interleukin-32 is a novel cytokine whose presence has been confirmed in most of the mammals except rodents. The IL-32 gene was identified on human chromosome 16 p13.3. The gene has eight exons and nine splice variants, namely, IL-32α, IL-32β, IL-32γ, IL-32δ, IL-32ε, IL-32ζ, IL-32η, IL-32θ, and IL-32s. It was found to induce the expression of various inflammatory cytokines including TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β as well as macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2) and has been reported previously to be involved in the pathogenesis and progression of a number of inflammatory disorders, namely, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), gastric inflammation and cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In the current review, we have highlighted the involvement of IL-32 in gastric cancer, gastric inflammation, and chronic rhinosinusitis. We have also tried to explore various mechanisms suspected to induce the expression of this extraordinary cytokine as well as various mechanisms of action employed by IL-32 during the mediation and progression of the above said problems.

Cytokines have always been of great interest due to their vast potential and participation in the progression and pathogenesis of various ailments. Interleukin-32 (IL-32) is a recently identified cytokine, whose gene is located on human chromosome 16 p13.3, with eight exons and six splice variants (IL-32α to IL-32ζ). IL-32α, the most abundant form, is secreted by different types of cells including T cells, natural killer (NK) cells, monocytes, endothelial cells and epithelial cells. It acts as a preferential mediator and effector of abnormal immune responses to multiple inflammatory and auto immune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), etc. It was found to stimulate the induction of various chemokines, pro-inflammatory cytokines including IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α and macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2). Hence, IL-32 mediates the crucial interplay among immune system and body cells during pathogenesis of various insults. The aim of the present effort is to summarize the role, mechanism of pathogenesis and potential therapeutic applications of IL-32 in different systemic infections and diseased conditions.

BACKGROUND Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) may have a role in the pathophysiology of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). So, the aim of this study was to assess the association between SIBO and IBS by using glucose breath test (GBT) in Kerman city as the first study in Iranian population. METHODS 107 patients with IBS and 107 healthy individuals were enrolled in our study. All the participants underwent GBT. A peak of H2 values >20 p.p.m above the basal value after glucose ingestion was considered suggestive of SIBO. SPSS software version 17 was used for data analysis. P value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. RESULTS Of the 107 patients with IBS, 40 had positive GBT (37.4%) compared with 14 (12.1%) out of the 107 control participants(p< 0.001). Dominant symptoms in patients with IBS were diarrhea in 36(33.6%), constipation in 12(11.2%), abdominal pain in 22(20.6%), bloating in 28(26.2%), and change in bowel habit in 9(8.4%) patients. There was not statistically significant difference among any of this IBS subgroups and positive GBT (p=0.44). CONCLUSION There is a positive association between IBS and SIBO. We suggest a Placebo-controlled bacterial eradication study for identifying the role of SIBO in IBS.

Background: Nerium oleander has been widely studied for medicinal purposes for variety of maladies. N. oleander has also been reported having noxious effects because of its number of components that may show signs of toxicity by inhibiting plasma lemma Na+, K+-ATPase. The present study was performed to scrutinize the toxic effect of N. oleander leaves extract and its clinical and pathological features in wistar rats., Results: Hematological analysis showed significant variations in RBCs count (P = 0.01), Hb (P = 0.001), Hct (P = 0.0003), MCV (P = 0.013), lymphocyte count (P = 0.015), neutrophil count (P = 0.003), monocyte count (P = 0.012) and eosinophil count (P = 0.006). Histopathological studies have shown that in T1 group noticeable infiltration of inflammatory cells was found with low level of vascular damage. In T2 group, increased proportion of binucleated and inflammatory cells, hepatic necrosis, widening of sinusoidal spaces and mild level of vascular damage was observed., Conclusion: Taken together these findings we can conclude that N. oleander leaves extract significantly affects on experimental animals due to its toxicity. Efforts must be exerted to purify different chemical components from extract with no inflammation as this plant is utilized in folk medicine with narrow therapeutic indices.

Objective: Assessment of social skills is a necessary requirement to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive and behavioral interventions. This paper reports the cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of the Farsi version of the social skills rating system-secondary students form (SSRS-SS) questionnaire (Gresham and Elliot, 1990), in a normative sample of secondary school students., Methods: A two-phase design was used that phase 1 consisted of the linguistic adaptation and in phase 2, using cross-sectional sample survey data, the construct validity and reliability of the Farsi version of the SSRS-SS were examined in a sample of 724 adolescents aged from 13 to 19 years., Results: Content validity index was excellent, and the floor/ceiling effects were low. After deleting five of the original SSRS-SS items, the findings gave support for the item convergent and divergent validity. Factor analysis revealed four subscales. RESULTS showed good internal consistency (0.89) and temporal stability (0.91) for the total scale score., Conclusion: Findings demonstrated support for the use of the 27-item Farsi version in the school setting. Directions for future research regarding the applicability of the scale in other settings and populations of adolescents are discussed.

Introduction: Breast cancer is an international health problem in the world over. Mammography screening behavior has critical role in early detection and decreasing of its mortality. Educational programs play an important role in promoting breast cancer screening behaviors and women health. Health belief models (HBM) is the most common models that have been applied in Mammography screening behaviors. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of breast cancer screening education using HBM on knowledge and health beliefs in 40 years women and older., Materials and Methods: In this Population-based controlled trial, 290 women of 40 years and older were divided randomly into experimental and control groups. Health beliefs determined using the Persian version of Champion's health belief model scale (CHBMS). Questionnaires were completed before and 4 weeks after intervention. Four educational sessions were conducted each session lasting 90 min by lecturing, group discussion, showing slide and educational film based on HBM constructs. The obtained data were analyzed by SPSS (version 18) and statistical test at the significant level of α = 0.05., Results: Mean scores of perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, barriers and self-efficacy of mammography and health motivation in the experimental group had significant differences in comparison with the control group after educational intervention (P ≤ 0.001)., Conclusion: The results of this study have confirmed the efficiency of educational intervention based on HBM in increasing of knowledge and health beliefs about breast cancer and mammography screening behavior. Hence, implementing appropriate educational programs with focus on benefits of Mammography in early detection of breast cancer and creating positive motivation for health among women, can increase their practice of having mammography screening.

To gain insight into the hepatohistological alterations in noninjured rat liver, Nerium oleander (N.O.) leaves extract was injected intramuscularly to induce an acute phase reaction (APR). Histopathological changes were studied after 3, 12, and 24 h time course of sterile muscle abscess. Tissue integrity and any infiltration of inflammatory cells in the liver were investigated by Hematoxylin and Eosin and ED1 peroxidase stainings. The administration of N.O. leaves extract (10 mL/kg) in H & E stained sections showed a general vacuolization of cytoplasm resulting loss of polarity with prominent nucleoli after 3 h of induction. At 12 h, eccentric nuclei were also observed in the sections. Marked infiltration of leucocytes with predominate macrophages was also found after 24 h as seen by ED1 positive staining. In the present study, a possible relationship between serum hepcidin and total iron level was also investigated in vivo. An early increase of hepcidin and total iron level (3 h) with a maximum at 12 h (P < 0.01; P < 0.001) was observed. These changes indicate that sterile muscle abscess may induce APR resulting in hepatic damage which is evident with the recruitment of inflammatory cells into the organ.

In this work, nanoporous titania top layers were deposited by dip-coating process on microporous alpha-alumina substrates using the sol-gel process. The alumina substrates were synthesized by slip casting method using Taguchi optimising approach. The microporous substrate was then used to coat nanoporous titania layers by the sol-gel method. The thickness, pore size, structure and permeability of the membranes were characterised using SEM, XRD, STA and Hg-Porosimetry. The process conditions to achieve defect-free nanoporous titania layers with the average pore size of about 4 nm coated on the microporous alumina substrates with the average pore size of about 270 nm were determined.

The inter-relationship of surface tension sigma, molar volume V, and critical temperature Tc has been examined using experimental values for eighteen liquid metals. Hard-sphere diameters a correlate with the equation a(5/2) = 8.9733 x 10(-19) V (sigma/Tc)(1/4) - 1.0459 x 10(-25). Unknown Tc may be estimated using surface tension and liquid density values.

A young lady with first-degree haemorrhoids was administered injection sclerotherapy with 5% phenol in almond oil. Soon after the injection, she developed syncope and later signs and symptoms of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). She was kept on ventilatory support for 4 days, made a smooth recovery and was successfully weaned off from the ventilator.

Background: As surgeons working in a developing country, we decided to review our experience with polyurethane stents instead of the more expensive ones on common urological procedures and analyzing our experience with respect to their usefulness versus their problems and outcome., Methods: This stusy was carried out at Armed Forces Institute of Urology, Rawalpindi and Combined Military Hospital, Kharian Cantonment, Pakistan through March 2002 through May 2004. During this period 342 of patients were operated requiring stent and 220 patients out of these had polyurethane as stent material for different urological operations., Results: Among the 220 patients who underwent polyurethane stenting, early complications included fever, infection, voiding symptoms while stent migration, encrustation and stent stiffness was encountered as later complications., Conclusion: The benefits of Polyurethane stents are its strength, versatility and low cost. Poor biodurability and biocompatibility only limit its use; these are reasonably effective in our setup but should only be used for short duration.

A 45 years old man presented with progressively increasing abdominal mass of two years duration. The mass had rapidly increased in size in the past five months. The patient was emaciated, with a grossly protuberant abdomen. The biopsy revealed fibrosarcoma. Extirpation of the tumour was contemplated. A huge 82 x 53 x 32 cm retroperitoneal mass was removed and the histopathology confirmed it as malignant triton tumour.

An unusual case of a 40-year-old infertile male is presented. On examination he had cryptorchidism with other normal secondary sexual characters. Ultrasonography and computerized tomography raised the suspicion of tumour in the right abdominal testis. On exploration, a uterus with cervix, fallopian tubes and abdominal testes were detected. This was confirmed histopathologically. Chromosomal analysis revealed 46XY.

Hydatid disease can involve any organ of the body and a high suspicion of this disease is justified in endemic regions. A case of massive splenic hydatid cyst with hepatic hydatidosis presented with 5 years history of abdominal distension with discomfort is reported. Clinically she had massive splenomegaly with hepatomegaly. Laboratory and radiological findings were diagnostic of hydatid disease of the liver and spleen. Peroperatively huge (35 x 20 cm) splenic hydatid cyst with two liver cysts was seen. Splenectomy was performed and hepatic lesions were subjected to endocystectomy with capsulorrhaphy.

Pendred syndrome is a rare inherited disorder of bilateral sensorineural deafness with goitre. Presence of follicular carcinoma thyroid makes it even rarer. A case of a young girl is described with the features of Pendred syndrome and euthyroid state. Follicular carcinoma of thyroid was detected on histopathology requiring re-tailoring of the management.