Adolescent and Young Adults with Gastric Cancer (AYA-GC)-The Dilemma of an Under-Represented Group: A Multi-Institutional Analysis from the Indian Subcontinent.

Soumya Surath PandaGastric cancer (GC) is often ignored at a young age, which frequently leads to tragic consequences. The worldwide incidence of GC is increasing at a young age. In view of the limited Indian publication, we sought to characterize clinicopathological parameters and risk factors in the adolescents and young adults (AYA) population. Retrospective data from six centers (which are part of the Network of Oncology Clinical Trials in India) from 2015 to 2020 were collected from patient (18-39 years of age) records. This study was approved by the institutional ethical committee of individual centers. All statistical analyses were performed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS (Version 20). Data interpretation along with the analysis of obtained results was carried out using the following tests: Qualitative data was expressed in terms of frequency/percentage. One-hundred fifty-two AYA GC patients were enrolled. The 31 to 39 years age group was most affected in which 76.3% were females. The majority of patients were nonalcoholic (93.4%), nonsmokers (98.0%), and without a family history (98.0%). The most common (MC) presenting symptom was abdominal pain (67.1%). MC site was antrum (48%). Among esophagogastric junction cancers, the majority were type I and II Siewert classifications (77% [20/26] patients in cardia), MC histology-signet ring cell (67.1%) followed by diffuse-type (65.1%). Most were poorly differentiated (65.1%) and were diagnosed at an advanced stage (III & IV= 54.6%). This is one of our country's first large multicenter studies on GC in the AYA population. There was a higher female prevalence, aggressive tumor behavior and the majority of patients were diagnosed at a more advanced stage. The majority were nonsmokers with a negative family history. Awareness among general people, researchers, clinicians, and policymakers must be improved to better the loss of life years in the younger population.

Clinicopathologic Profile and Treatment Outcomes of Colorectal Cancer in Young Adults: A Multicenter Study From India.

PURPOSE: Colorectal cancer (CRC) in young adults is a rising concern in developing countries such as India. This study investigates clinicopathologic profiles, treatment patterns, and outcomes of CRC in young adults, focusing on adolescent and young adult (AYA) CRC in a low- and middle-income country (LMIC). METHODS: A retrospective registry study from January 2018 to December 2020 involved 126 young adults (age 40 years and younger) with CRC. Patient demographics, clinical features, tumor characteristics, treatment modalities, and survival outcomes were analyzed after obtaining institutional ethics committees' approval. RESULTS: Among 126 AYA patients, 62.70% had colon cancer and 37.30% had rectal cancer. Most patients (67%) were age 30-39 years, with no significant gender predisposition. Females had higher metastatic burden. Abdominal pain with obstruction features was common. Adenocarcinoma (65%) with signet ring differentiation (26%) suggested aggressive behavior. Limited access to molecular testing hindered mutation identification. Capecitabine-based chemotherapy was favored because of logistical constraints. Adjuvant therapy showed comparable recurrence-free survival in young adults and older patients. For localized colon cancer, the 2-year median progression-free survival was 74%, and for localized rectal cancer, it was 18 months. Palliative therapy resulted in a median overall survival of 33 months (95% CI, 18 to 47). Limited access to targeted agents affected treatment options, with only 27.5% of patients with metastatic disease receiving them. Chemotherapy was generally well tolerated, with hematologic side effect being most common. CONCLUSION: This collaborative study in an LMIC offers crucial insights into CRC in AYA patients in India. Differences in disease characteristics, treatment patterns, and limited access to targeted agents highlight the need for further research and resource allocation to improve outcomes in this population.

Role of phytocompounds as the potential anti-viral agent: an overview.

Viral diseases are the most notorious infective agent(s) causing morbidity and mortality in every nook and corner for ages; viruses are active in host cells, and specific anti-virus medicines' developments remain uncanny. In this century of the biological era, human viruses act predominantly as versatile spreaders. The infection of the present COVID-19 virus is up in the air; blithely, the integument of medicinal chemistry approaches, particularly bioactive derived phytocompounds could be helpful to control those human viruses, recognized in the last 100 years. Indeed, natural products are being used for various therapeutic purposes. The major bioactive phytocompounds are chemically containing coumarin, thiosulfonate, steroid, polysaccharide, tannin, lignin, proanthocyanidin, terpene, quinone, saponin, flavonoid, alkaloid, and polyphenol, that are documented for inhibitory action against several viral infections. Mostly, about 20-30% of plants from tropical or temperate regions are known to have some antiviral activity. This comprehensive analysis of bioactive-derived phytocompounds would represent a significant impact and might be helpful for antiviral research and the current state of viral treatments.

Role of hormone receptors and HER2 as prospective molecular markers for breast cancer: An update.

This review provides an updated account on the current methods, principles and mechanism of action of therapies for the detection of molecular markers of therapeutic importance in the prognosis of breast cancer progression and recurrence, which includes estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor2 (HER2). Indeed, hormone-receptors namely, ER, PR, proto-oncogene HER2 are the basic molecular markers that are recognized and established prognostic factors and predictors of response, for therapeutic practice. These markers can be detected by using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), which are established, faster and cost effective detection methods. These molecular markers along with clinicopathological prognostic parameters give the best prediction of the prognosis of cancer recurrence and progress. Finally, hormone receptors and HER2 as molecular markers are of prime therapeutic importance and have the capability to take part in future drug development techniques.

Artificial Intelligence-Based Portable Bioelectronics Platform for SARS-CoV-2 Diagnosis with Multi-nucleotide Probe Assay for Clinical Decisions.

In the context of the recent pandemic, the necessity of inexpensive and easily accessible rapid-test kits is well understood and need not be stressed further. In light of this, we report a multi-nucleotide probe-based diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 using a bioelectronics platform, comprising low-cost chemiresistive biochips, a portable electronic readout, and an Android application for data acquisition with machine-learning-based decision making. The platform performs the desired diagnosis from standard nasopharyngeal and/or oral swabs (both on extracted and non-extracted RNA samples) without amplifying the viral load. Being a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction-free hybridization assay, the proposed approach offers inexpensive, fast (time-to-result: ≤ 30 min), and early diagnosis, as opposed to most of the existing SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis protocols recommended by the WHO. For the extracted RNA samples, the assay accounts for 87 and 95.2% test accuracies, using a heuristic approach and a machine-learning-based classification method, respectively. In case of the non-extracted RNA samples, 95.6% decision accuracy is achieved using the heuristic approach, with the machine-learning-based best-fit model producing 100% accuracy. Furthermore, the availability of the handheld readout and the Android application-based simple user interface facilitates easy accessibility and portable applications. Besides, by eliminating viral RNA extraction from samples as a pre-requisite for specific detection, the proposed approach presents itself as an ideal candidate for point-of-care SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis.

Targeting Some Enzymes with Repurposing Approved Pharmaceutical Drugs for Expeditious Antiviral Approaches Against Newer Strains of COVID-19.

At present, global vaccination for the SARS-CoV2 virus 2019 (COVID-19) is 95% effective. Generally, viral infections are arduous to cure due to the mutating nature of viral genomes, with the consequent quick development of resistance, posing significant fatalities or hazards. The novel corona viral strains are increasingly lethal than earlier variants, as those evolve faster than imagined. Despite the emergence of several present innovative treatment options, the vaccines, and available drugs, the latter still are the needs of the time. Therefore, repurposing the approved pharmaceutical drugs of a well-known safety profile would be ascertained to provide faster antiviral approaches for the newer strains of COVID-19. Recently, a combination of remdesivir, which has a competitively inhibitory effect on the nucleotide uptake in the virus, and the merimepodibs, an inhibitor of the enzyme inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase, which has a role in the synthesis of nucleotides of guanine bases, is in use in phase 2 clinical trials. However, new investigations suggest that using remdesivir, there is no statistically significant difference with uncertain clinical importance for moderate COVID-19 patients. Herein, an intellectual selection of approved drugs based on the safety profile is described, to target any essential enzymes that are required for the virus-receptor contact, fusion, and/or different stages of the life cycle of this virus, should help to screen drugs against newer strains of COVID-19.Graphical abstract.

Biodegradation of Indanthrene Blue RS dye in immobilized continuous upflow packed bed bioreactor using corncob biochar.

The current study describes the aerobic biodegradation of Indanthrene Blue RS dye by a microbial consortium immobilized on corn-cob biochar in a continuous up-flow packed bed bioreactor. The adsorption experiments were performed without microbes to monitor the adsorption effects on initial dye decolorization efficiency. The batch experiments were carried out to estimate the process parameters, and the optimal values of pH, temperature, and inoculum volume were identified as 10.0, 30 °C, and 3.0 × 106 CFU mL-1, respectively. During the continuous operation, the effect of flow rate, initial substrate concentration, inlet loading rate of Indanthrene Blue RS on the elimination capacity, and its removal efficiency in the bioreactor was studied. The continuous up-flow packed bed bioreactor was performed at different flow rates (0.25 to 1.25 L h-1) under the optimal parameters. The maximum removal efficiency of 90% was observed, with the loading rate varying between 100 and 300 mg L-1 day-1. The up-flow packed bed bioreactor used for this study was extremely useful in eliminating Indanthrene Blue RS dye using both the biosorption and biodegradation process. Therefore, it is a potential treatment strategy for detoxifying textile wastewater containing anthraquinone-based dyes.

Obesity as potential breast cancer risk factor for postmenopausal women.

Breast cancer is the second highest prevalent cancer globally after lung cancer with 2.09 million cases during 2018. Adults about 1.9 billion were overweight and over 650 million out of these were obese during 2016. There is a significant relationship between breast cancer risk and obesity. Premature menopause and premenopausal obesity diminish the risk whereas postmenopausal obesity amplifies the risk, because adipose tissue acts as the major reservoir for estrogen biosynthesis after menopause. Lofty estrogen levels in serum along with enhanced peripheral site production of estrogen have been viewed as major reasons of developing breast cancer in overweight postmenopausal women. This review explains body fat as a peripheral site for estrogen biosynthesis, estrogen exposure affecting body fat distribution, and the mechanism of estrogen production from body fats.

Enhanced degradation of anthraquinone dyes by microbial monoculture and developed consortium through the production of specific enzymes.

The current study investigates the decolorization of Indanthrene Blue RS dye and the optimization of process parameters needed for effective decolorization by the bacterial consortium. The pure culture of strain TS8, PMS, and NCH has been isolated from the textile wastewater sample collected from local textile processing units outlet and dye contaminated soil from Odisha, India. A bacterial consortium-BP of Bacillus flexus TS8 (BF), Proteus mirabilis PMS (PM), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa NCH (PA) were developed. The physicochemical parameters were optimized to attain maximum decolorization efficacy. Degradation of Indanthrene Blue RS and the formation of metabolites were confirmed through UV-vis spectroscopy, FT-IR, and GC-MS analysis. The developed consortium-BP showed an enhanced decolorization of Indanthrene Blue RS dye with an Average decolorization rate of 11,088 µg h-1 within 9 h compared to the individual strains under aerobic conditions. The supplementation of agricultural residual wastes showed increased decolorization efficiency of consortium-BP. Higher reduction in TOC and COD removal (≥ 80%) determined the mineralization of Indanthrene Blue RS by consortium-BP. Significant induction of various oxidoreductive enzymes in consortium-BP compared to that of Individual strains indicates their involvement in the overall decolorization and degradation process, with the higher protein concentration in the intracellular enzymes. Studies on the phytotoxicity effect revealed the non-toxic nature of the degraded products formed on mineralization of Indanthrene Blue RS by consortium-BP. This study represents a new approach for enhanced biodegradation using consortium-BP in treating textile wastewaters containing anthraquinone dyes.

Correlation of expression of hormone and HER2 receptors with various clinico-pathological prognostic parameters and with each other in malignant breast lesion.

BACKGROUND: Estrogen receptors (ER), progesterone receptors (PR) and the human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) are basic breast cancer molecular markers that are also best recognized prognostic factors and predictors of type of targeted therapy to be given. The objectives are to study the correlation of expression of hormone and HER2receptors with various clinico-pathological prognostic parameters like patient's age at diagnosis, menopausal status, tumor size, histological grade and lymph node status of tumor and with each other in malignant breast lesion. METHODS: For this study histopathology (HP) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) slides of excised specimens of 330 female patients with a palpable breast lump deposited to the pathology department of a hospital as a part of routine diagnostic procedure, were evaluated under the guidance of trained doctors who have minimum 5 years of experience in oncopathology. The author has no direct involvement with patients, informed consent was not necessary and data were collected after getting permission from concerned authority. RESULTS: This study finds significant relationship between hormone receptors and all clinico-pathological prognostic parameters taken for comparison except age at diagnosis. HER2 status has significant relationship with all clinico-pathological prognostic parameters; hormone and HER2 status suggests an inverse relationship. CONCLUSIONS: Mien of hormone receptors expression in breast cancer is related with better prognostic factors such as older age, postmenopausal status, smaller tumor size, low histological grade and negative lymph node status, however the opposite is correct for HER2. Hormone receptors and HER2 have an inversely proportionate relationship with each other.

Diagnostic accuracy of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in detecting breast malignancy with the clinical location of lumps.

The objectives were to study the diagnostic accuracy of FNAC in detecting malignancy in palpable breast lumps and know the relationship of the tumor with the quadrants of the breast (clinical location of breast lumps). FNAC slides of 420 female patients with a palpable breast lump were evaluated. Relationship of tumor with the quadrants of the breast was as follows: upper outer 57.14%, upper inner 13.33%, lower outer 11.9%, lower inner 6.67%, and central quadrant 10.95%. The sensitivity, specificity, disease prevalence, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and diagnostic accuracy of FNAC in this study were calculated as 93.42%, 100%, 57.86%, 100%, 91.71%, and 96.19%, respectively.

Response surface methodology mediated optimization of Indanthrene Blue RS by a novel isolated bacterial strain Bacillus flexus TS8.

The enhanced decolorization and detoxification of Indanthrene Blue RS dye, under aerobic conditions, by a novel isolated anthraquinone-degrading bacterium, Bacillus flexus TS8, has been presented in this paper. The optimal decolorization conditions were determined by response surface methodology based on Box-Behnken design. The results indicated that the strain TS8 possessed the highest decolorization efficacy at pH 10.26, temperature 30.97 ºC and an inoculum size of 10.48% (v/v). It also revealed that about 98.01% of 100 mg/L of Indanthrene Blue RS could be decolorized within 24 hr under these optimized conditions. The subsequent degradation of the dye and the formation of metabolites were studied using analytical techniques such as UV-Vis spectroscopy, FTIR, and ESI/LC-MS analysis. The UV-Vis analysis of the colorless bacterial cells demonstrated that Bacillus sp. TS8 possessed this decolorizing activity through biodegradation. The degraded products obtained from ESI/LC-MS analysis were identified as 1-hydroxyanthracene-9, 10-dione (m/z-224), 1, 4-di-hydroxyanthracene-9, 10-dione (m/z-240), and phthalic acid (m/z-168). This study investigated the highest decolorization efficacy of strain TS8 to be utilized in the biological treatment of wastewaters containing anthraquinone dyes. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Enhanced decolorization of anthraquinone dye wastewater. Ninety-eight percentage of dye decolorization was obtained within 24 hr. Optimization of process parameters through the response surface methodology. ESI/LC-MS analysis identified phthalic acid as the end product of Indanthrene Blue RS degradation. Degradation pathway for Indanthrene Blue RS is outlined.

Statistical optimization for lipase production from solid waste of vegetable oil industry.

The production of biofuel using thermostable bacterial lipase from hot spring bacteria out of low-cost agricultural residue olive oil cake is reported in the present paper. Using a lipase enzyme from Bacillus licheniformis, a 66.5% yield of methyl esters was obtained. Optimum parameters were determined, with maximum production of lipase at a pH of 8.2, temperature 50.8°C, moisture content of 55.7%, and biosurfactant content of 1.693 mg. The contour plots and 3D surface responses depict the significant interaction of pH and moisture content with biosurfactant during lipase production. Chromatographic analysis of the lipase transesterification product was methyl esters, from kitchen waste oil under optimized conditions, generated methyl palmitate, methyl stearate, methyl oleate, and methyl linoleate.

Dielectrophoretic separation of micron and submicron particles: a review.

This paper provides an overview on separation of micron and submicron sized biological (cells, yeast, virus, bacteria, etc.) and nonbiological particles (latex, polystyrene, CNTs, metals, etc.) by dielectrophoresis (DEP), which finds wide applications in the field of medical and environmental science. Mathematical models to predict the electric field, flow profile, and concentration profiles of the particles under the influence of DEP force have also been covered in this review. In addition, advancements made primarily in the last decade, in the area of electrode design (shape and arrangement), new materials for electrode (carbon, silicon, polymers), and geometry of the microdevice, for efficient DEP separation of particles have been highlighted.