Origin, evolution, and maintenance of gene-strand bias in bacteria.

Gene-strand bias is a characteristic feature of bacterial genome organization wherein genes are preferentially encoded on the leading strand of replication, promoting co-orientation of replication and transcription. This co-orientation bias has evolved to protect gene essentiality, expression, and genomic stability from the harmful effects of head-on replication-transcription collisions. However, the origin, variation, and maintenance of gene-strand bias remain elusive. Here, we reveal that the frequency of inversions that alter gene orientation exhibits large variation across bacterial populations and negatively correlates with gene-strand bias. The density, distance, and distribution of inverted repeats show a similar negative relationship with gene-strand bias explaining the heterogeneity in inversions. Importantly, these observations are broadly evident across the entire bacterial kingdom uncovering inversions and inverted repeats as primary factors underlying the variation in gene-strand bias and its maintenance. The distinct catalytic subunits of replicative DNA polymerase have co-evolved with gene-strand bias, suggesting a close link between replication and the origin of gene-strand bias. Congruently, inversion frequencies and inverted repeats vary among bacteria with different DNA polymerases. In summary, we propose that the nature of replication determines the fitness cost of replication-transcription collisions, establishing a selection gradient on gene-strand bias by fine-tuning DNA sequence repeats and, thereby, gene inversions.

A droplet vitrification cryopreservation protocol for conservation of hops (Humulus lupulus) genetic resources.

Hops (Humulus lupulus L.) is essentially used in the brewing industry as it contributes to flavor, and aroma of beer. However, the genetic diversity of hops is increasingly threatened by diseases, environmental changes, and urbanization. Cryopreservation has emerged as a pivotal strategy for safeguarding and maintaining the genetic diversity of hops. The present work presents a comprehensive study on the cryopreservation of hops, focusing on the development and optimization of a droplet vitrification based cryopreservation protocol. Shoot tips excised from one month old in vitro cultures were precultured on 0.3 M sucrose, dehydrated in a loading solution followed by treatment with PVS2 solution for different durations. Significant effect of PVS2 dehydration was observed on post-thaw survival and regeneration after cryoconservation with maximum 50% post-thaw regeneration observed in shoot tips dehydrated in PVS2 for 30 min. Genetic fidelity of the regenerated plants was confirmed using 30 ISSR markers. Reproducibility of the developed protocol was tested on seven other accessions and post thaw regeneration ranging from 43 to 70% was observed across the accessions. The present study reports a highly efficient protocol for conservation of hops germplasm. The results indicate that droplet vitrification can be used as a reliable and sustainable approach for hop genetic preservation, with high survival rates and minimal genetic alterations observed in cryopreserved samples. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on DV based cryopreservation of hops germplasm.

Estimation of the electrochemical active site density of a metal-free carbon-based catalyst using phosphomolybdate (PMo12) as an adsorbate.

A method to estimate the electrochemical active site density (SD) of carbon (C) and nitrogen-doped carbon (N/C-900) using phosphomolybdate (PMo12) as a probe molecule is proposed. The complete coverage of the active sites by the probe molecules is established irrespective of the adsorbate concentration (1, 5, or 10 mM), potential cycling (1 or 10 cycles) and cleaning time (2, 5, or 10 min). A conversion factor derived from a smooth and polished glassy carbon disk of known geometrical area is used to estimate the electrochemical active surface area (ECSA) of the carbon catalyst from the SD. The relatively higher SD values estimated from DC voltammetry than from large-amplitude Fourier-transform alternating-current voltammetry (FTacV) is indicative of the contribution of capacitive charge in the former. Adsorbed probe molecules (PMo12) can readily be desorbed from the catalyst surface by cycling the electrode to lower potentials. The active site density of N/C-900 (∼0.36 × 1019 sites g-1) is higher than that of C (∼0.17 × 1019 sites g-1).

Loss of p53 epigenetically modulates epithelial to mesenchymal transition in colorectal cancer.

Epithelial to Mesenchymal transition (EMT) drives cancer metastasis and is governed by genetic and epigenetic alterations at multiple levels of regulation. It is well established that loss/mutation of p53 confers oncogenic function to cancer cells and promotes metastasis. Though transcription factors like ZEB1, SLUG, SNAIL and TWIST have been implied in EMT signalling, p53 mediated alterations in the epigenetic machinery accompanying EMT are not clearly understood. This work attempts to explore epigenetic signalling during EMT in colorectal cancer (CRC) cells with varying status of p53. Towards this, we have induced EMT using TGFß on CRC cell lines with wild type, null and mutant p53 and have assayed epigenetic alterations after EMT induction. Transcriptomic profiling of the four CRC cell lines revealed that the loss of p53 confers more mesenchymal phenotype with EMT induction than its mutant counterparts. This was also accompanied by upregulation of epigenetic writer and eraser machinery suggesting an epigenetic signalling cascade triggered by TGFß signalling in CRC. Significant agonist and antagonistic relationships observed between EMT factor SNAI1 and SNAI2 with epigenetic enzymes KDM6A/6B and the chromatin organiser SATB1 in p53 null CRC cells suggest a crosstalk between epigenetic and EMT factors. The observed epigenetic regulation of EMT factor SNAI1 correlates with poor clinical outcomes in 270 colorectal cancer patients taken from TCGA-COAD. This unique p53 dependent interplay between epigenetic enzymes and EMT factors in CRC cells may be exploited for development of synergistic therapies for CRC patients presenting to the clinic with loss of p53.

Endometriosis and Depression: A Double Agony for Women.

Background: Endometriosis is defined as a condition in which a formation of abnormal endometrial tissue outside the uterus takes place. Irrespective of any ethnic and socioeconomic class, the prevalence of the diseases has been seen among women of reproductive age. Endometriosis has been seen adversely affect the physical, psychological, social, and career of women. Summary: This paper aims to identify and describe the experiences and outcomes of endometriosis healthcare by reviewing the existing literature on social and psychological effects of endometriosis. The study serves the purpose of providing insights on women's dual suffering (mental and social health) and critical comments on the present state of knowledge in order to make future recommendations for psycho-social research. The review included systematic search of the articles from various disciplines like, biology, psychology, sociology, anthropology, etc. A structured process of screening with specific inclusion and exclusion criteria was used to select the articles. The analysis of the articles resulted that woman diagnosed with endometriosis reported poor quality of life and the following symptoms such as anxiety, stress, Chronic Pelvic Pain (CPP), anxiety, dyspareunia, and dysmenorrhea. However, depression appears prominent among women diagnosed with endometriosis. There are few strategies mentioned that can be used to deal with endometriosis. Key Message: The most promising causes of endometriosis include abnormality in immune functioning, atypical endometriotic growth, genetics, epigenetic, embryogenetic theory, and endocrine disruptors. The ill effects have been noted in the following domains of women's life such as work, close relationships, social well-being, and education, deteriorating their quality-of-life manifold. Psychological intervention is required to deal with the disorder as only medical treatment with pain may not be sufficient. Though, the condition can be improved by providing awareness regarding the severity of the disorder at the school and community levels.

Vagal nerve stimulator-associated sleep disordered breathing secondary to vagal-induced laryngospasm in pediatric populations: Case presentation and systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is a well-documented complication of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) in the literature. Yet, a formal consensus on its management has not been established, particularly in the pediatric population. This study aims to evaluate the current literature on VNS-associated SDB in order to further characterize its presentation, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment. METHODS: A literature review from 2001 to November 8, 2021 was conducted to search for studies on SDB during vagal nerve stimulation in pediatric populations. RESULTS: Of 277 studies screened, seven studies reported on pediatric patients with VNS-associated SDB. Several investigators found on polysomnogram that periods of apnea/hypopnea correlated with VNS activity. When VNS settings were lowered or turned off, symptoms would either improve or completely resolve. CONCLUSION: VNS-associated SDB is a well described complication of VNS implantation, occurring due to an obstructive process from vagal stimulation and laryngeal contraction. Diagnosis can be made via polysomnogram. Recommended treatment is through adjustment of VNS settings. However, those who are unable to tolerate this, or who have had pre-existing obstructive issues prior to VNS, should pursue other treatment options such as non-invasive positive pressure or surgery directed by DISE findings.

Astrocytes mediate cell non-autonomous correction of aberrant firing in human FXS neurons.

Pre-clinical studies of fragile X syndrome (FXS) have focused on neurons, with the role of glia remaining largely underexplored. We examined the astrocytic regulation of aberrant firing of FXS neurons derived from human pluripotent stem cells. Human FXS cortical neurons, co-cultured with human FXS astrocytes, fired frequent short-duration spontaneous bursts of action potentials compared with less frequent, longer-duration bursts of control neurons co-cultured with control astrocytes. Intriguingly, bursts fired by FXS neurons co-cultured with control astrocytes are indistinguishable from control neurons. Conversely, control neurons exhibit aberrant firing in the presence of FXS astrocytes. Thus, the astrocyte genotype determines the neuronal firing phenotype. Strikingly, astrocytic-conditioned medium, and not the physical presence of astrocytes, is capable of determining the firing phenotype. The mechanistic basis of this effect indicates that the astroglial-derived protein, S100ß, restores normal firing by reversing the suppression of a persistent sodium current in FXS neurons.

Influence of Nitrogen Doping into Carbon on the Activation Barrier of ORR in Alkaline Medium: An Investigation Based on Eyring Analysis.

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is investigated on metal-free carbon (Vulcan XC-72) and nitrogen-doped (∼≤1%) carbon (N/C-900) in 0.1 M KOH. The product distribution (O2 to OH- and HO2-) as a function of overpotential (η) in the temperature range of 293-323 K is analyzed using a rotating ring-disk electrode (RRDE) assembly. The kinetic current due to reduction of O2 to HO2- is estimated and used in the Eyring analysis to determine the change in enthalpy of activation (ΔH#). It is shown that doping of carbon with nitrogen (even with ≤1 wt %) causes substantial increase in the number of active sites (almost 2-fold) and reduction in ΔH# at any η. Moreover, ΔH# is a stronger function of η on N/C-900 as compared to that on the carbon surface.

Development of an automated combined positive score prediction pipeline using artificial intelligence on multiplexed immunofluorescence images.

Immunotherapy targeting immune checkpoint proteins, such as programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1), has shown impressive outcomes in many clinical trials but only 20%-40% of patients benefit from it. Utilizing Combined Positive Score (CPS) to evaluate PD-L1 expression in tumour biopsies to identify patients with the highest likelihood of responsiveness to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for several solid tumour types. Current CPS workflow requires a pathologist to manually score the two-colour PD-L1 chromogenic immunohistochemistry image. Multiplex immunofluorescence (mIF) imaging reveals the expression of an increased number of immune markers in tumour biopsies and has been used extensively in immunotherapy research. Recent rapid progress of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based imaging analysis, particularly Deep Learning, provides cost effective and high-quality solutions to healthcare. In this article, we propose an imaging pipeline that utilizes three-colour mIF images (DAPI, PD-L1, and Pan-cytokeratin) as input and predicts the CPS using AI techniques. Our novel pipeline is composed of three modules employing algorithms of image processing, machine learning, and deep learning techniques. The first module of quality check (QC) detects and removes the image regions contaminated with sectioning and staining artefacts. The QC module ensures that only image regions free of the three common artefacts are used for downstream analysis. The second module of nuclear segmentation uses deep learning to segment and count nuclei in the DAPI images wherein our specialized method can accurately separate touching nuclei. The third module of cell phenotyping calculates CPS by identifying and counting PD-L1 positive cells and tumour cells. These modules are data-efficient and require only few manual annotations for training purposes. Using tumour biopsies from a clinical trial, we found that the CPS from the AI-based models shows a high Spearman correlation (78%, p = 0.003) to the pathologist-scored CPS.

Comparison of Bond Strength of Metal and Ceramic Brackets with or without Primer.

Background: Bonding is an integral part of orthodontic treatment. Orthodontic bonding could be accomplished without the use of primer, it might be possible to reduce the risk of occupational exposure to primer and will save time. So it is very important to know whether primer is required or not. Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate and compare the shear bond strength (SBS) of metallic and ceramic brackets bonded with and without primer application and to check for residual adhesive post debonding. Material and Method: A total of 100 extracted human premolar teeth were divided into 2 main groups A and B which were further subdivided into: Group A1 - metallic brackets bonded with primer; Group A2 - ceramic brackets bonded with primer; Group B1 - metallic brackets bonded without primer; group B2 - ceramic brackets bonded without primer. The SBS of these brackets was measured. Result: The SBS of group A2 was significantly higher than the other groups, group A1 was the second highest, group B3 was the third highest and group B4 was the least significant. The adhesive remnant index was lowest on failure of ceramic brackets bonded with primer. Conclusion: SBS of ceramic brackets bonded without primer is superior to SBS of metallic bracket bonded without primer and metallic brackets bonded with primer was superior than metallic bonded without primer.

Microplastic profusion in food and drinking water: are microplastics becoming a macroproblem?

Microplastics are extremely complex, and as the food chain comes full circle, it is dreaded that these could have a deleterious influence on humans. Although the risk of plastics to humans is not yet established, their occurrence in food and water destined for human consumption has been reported. The prevalence of micro-sized plastics in the ecosystem and living organisms, their trophic transfer along the food web, and the discernment of food species as competent indicators have become research priorities. The scale of the issue is massive, but what are the main culprits and causes, and could there be a solution in sight for this global problem? Despite the massive amount of research in the field, a collation of available data and pertinent hazard evaluation remains difficult. In order to identify the knowledge gaps and exposure pathways, several traits related to food chain assessment are presented with the goal of properly evaluating and managing this emerging risk. We apprehend three possible noxious consequences of small plastic particles, firstly, due to the plastic particles themselves; secondly, due to the extrication of tenacious organic pollutants adsorbed onto the plastics; and thirdly, due to the leaching of components such as monomers and additives from the plastics. The exigency for the standardization of protocols to bring about consistency in data collection and analysis, involving solutions, stakeholder costs, and benefits, are discussed. Harmonized methods will enable meticulous assessment of the impacts and threats that microplastics pose to the biota and increase the comparability between studies. We emphasize the contribution of the "honest broker" in science, providing an overarching analysis to devise the most viable solutions to microplastic pollution for private and public leadership to utilize.

The effect of synthetic acetylhexapeptide-8 (AH8) on sebaceous function.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the in vitro and clinical effects of topical acetylhexapeptide-8 (AH8) on the appearance of oily skin. METHOD: In vitro SEB-1 human sebocyte cell lines were exposed to different concentrations of AH8, then the lipid content of the sebocytes was measured. For the randomized, controlled, split-face clinical study, participants received AH8 10% lotion formulated in Cetaphil Moisturizing Facial Lotion on one side of their face and the control vehicle lotion on the other side of their face. Facial oiliness was assessed by a trained physician using a three-point grading system, high-resolution digital photographs, and a sebumeter (SM815). Participants also filled out self-assessments of their skin oiliness. RESULTS: The in vitro experiments showed that sebocyte lipid content significantly decreased after AH8 treatment (p < 0.05 at 0.00005% AH8, p = 0.09 at 0.0005% AH8, p < 0.05 at 0.005% AH8, and p < 0.001 at 0.025% AH8). In the clinical study, participants trended towards a 10% reduction (p = 0.16) in sebum production after AH8 treatment in comparison to the vehicle treatment. CONCLUSION: AH8 inhibits the accumulation of lipids in sebocytes in vitro without altering cell proliferation or SREBP-1 expression. Topical AH8 trended towards decreased sebum production in human participants. The use of AH8 may serve as a promising agent to reduce sebocyte lipid production and the appearance of oily skin. RÉSUMÉ: Objectif Cette étude vise à évaluer les effets in vitro et cliniques de l'acétylhexapeptide-8 (AH8) topique sur l'aspect de la peau grasse. Méthode Des lignées cellulaires de sébocytes humains SEB-1 in vitro ont été exposées à différentes concentrations d'AH8, à la suite de quoi la teneur en lipides des sébocytes a été mesurée. Pour l'étude clinique randomisée, contrôlée, en hémi-visage, les participants ont reçu une lotion AH8 10 % formulée dans la lotion hydratante pour le visage Cetaphil d'un côté de leur visage et la lotion témoin de l'autre côté de leur visage. Le sébum du visage a été évalué par un médecin formé à l'aide d'un système de classification à trois points, de photographies numériques à haute résolution et d'un sébumètre (SM815). Les participants ont également rempli des auto-évaluations du sébum de leur peau. Résultats Les expériences in vitro ont montré que la teneur en lipides des sébocytes diminuait significativement après le traitement par AH8 (p < 0.05 à 0.00005 % AH8, p = 0.09 à 0.0005 % AH8, p < 0.001 à 0.025 % AH8). Dans l'étude clinique, les participants avaient tendance à voir leur production de sébum diminuer de 10 % (p = 0.16) après le traitement par AH8, par rapport au traitement par excipient. Conclusion L'AH8 inhibe l'accumulation de lipides dans les sébocytes in vitro sans altérer la prolifération cellulaire ou l'expression de SREBP-1. L'AH8 topique tendait à diminuer la production de sébum chez les participants humains. L'utilisation d'AH8 peut servir d'agent prometteur pour réduire la production de lipides sébocytaires et l'apparence de peau grasse.

Roadmap to sustainable plastic waste management: a focused study on recycling PET for triboelectric nanogenerator production in Singapore and India.

This study explores the implications of plastic waste and recycling management on recyclates for manufacturing clean-energy harvesting devices. The focus is on a comparative analysis of using recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) for triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) production, in two densely populated Asian countries of large economies, namely Singapore and India. Of the total 930,000 tonnes of plastic waste generated in Singapore in 2019, only 4% were recycled and the rest were incinerated. In comparison, India yielded 8.6 million tonnes of plastic waste and 70% were recycled. Both countries have strict recycling goals and have instituted different waste and recycling management regulations. The findings show that the waste policies and legislations, responsibilities and heterogeneity in collection systems and infrastructure of the respective country are the pivotal attributes to successful recycling. Challenges to recycle plastic include segregation, adulterants and macromolecular structure degradation which could influence the recyclate properties and pose challenges for manufacturing products. A model was developed to evaluate the economic value and mechanical potential of PET recyclate. The model predicted a 30% loss of material performance and a 65% loss of economic value after the first recycling cycle. The economic value depreciates to zero with decreasing mechanical performance of plastic after multiple recycling cycles. For understanding how TENG technology could be incorporated into the circular economy, a model has estimated about 20 million and 7300 billion pieces of aerogel mats can be manufactured from the PET bottles disposed in Singapore and India, respectively which were sufficient to produce small-scale TENG devices for all peoples in both countries.

Dynamic protein and polypeptide hydrogels based on Schiff base co-assembly for biomedicine.

Stimuli-responsive biopolymer hydrogels are promising building blocks for biomedical devices, attributable to their excellent hydrophilicity, biocompatibility, and dynamic responsiveness to temperature, light, pH, and water content. Although hydrogels find interesting applications as drug carriers, therapeutic adhesives, scaffolds for tissue engineering, inks for bioprinting, and biosensors, conventional chemically crosslinked hydrogels often lack adaptive and biomimetic properties needed for diverse biomedical applications. Using dynamic and reversible crosslinks such as the Schiff base bond, biomimetic hydrogels featuring structurally dynamic behaviours, such as shape memory, self-healing properties, and dynamic mechanical resilience, can be developed for in vivo therapy. Natural proteins and polypeptides are non-toxic, biodegradable, and biocompatible biopolymers that serve fundamental structural and biochemical functions in the human body. Besides natural polypeptides, easily processible synthetic polypeptides are protein analogues with widely tunable sequences that form secondary structures. Therefore, natural proteins and synthetic polypeptides are excellent candidates for fabricating Schiff base-linked biomedical hydrogels. This review outlines the functional properties, design approaches, and applications of Schiff base-linked protein and polypeptide hydrogels in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, wound dressing, drug delivery, bioprinting, and biosensors. The review ends with an outlook of future developments for potential applications of Schiff base-linked protein and polypeptide hydrogels in and beyond biomedicine.

Structure, stability, and electro-optic features of nematic drops in 1

Binary mixtures of the mesogen [1″,7″-bis(4-cyanobiphenyl-4'-yl)heptane] and a long chain amphiphile (e.g., 2-octadecoxypropanol) are examined for the structure, stability, and electro-optical behavior of nematic drops dispersed in the isotropic phase, in planar cells. Subjected to tangential boundary conditions, the drops adopt, besides the escaped concentric and untwisted bipolar geometries, the less common bound vortex geometry with a pair of half-strength disclination lines. The concentric drop, as it grows, switches its axis from an in-layer to the layer-normal direction corresponding to the stablest of all geometries. Bipolar drops in equilibrium have their axes parallel to the easy axis of the cell. Obliquely oriented bipolar drops rotate to attain the equilibrium disposition by the shorter of the clockwise and anticlockwise routes, the extent of rotation decreasing exponentially with time. The bipolar structure is marginally less stable than the concentric, and transforms to the latter geometry occasionally. In bound vortex drops, the separation between the lines varies as the drop diameter, the bipolar and concentric geometries appearing as the limiting cases. The complex course of Fréedericksz transition in all the different types of drops terminates in the division of the original large drop into many smaller drops, each with a surface charge 2, in conformity with the Poincaré-Hopf theorem. In low frequency electric fields, concentric drops exhibit flexoelectro-optic rotation in evidence of their escaped character.

Evaluation of mHealth Apps for Diverse, Low-Income Patient Populations: Framework Development and Application Study.

BACKGROUND: The use of mobile technology or smartphones has grown exponentially in the United States, allowing more individuals than ever internet access. This access has been especially critical to households earning less than US $30,000, the majority of whom indicate that smartphones are their main source of internet access. The increasing ubiquity of smartphones and virtual care promises to offset some of the health disparities that cut through the United States. However, disparities cannot be addressed if the medical information offered though smartphones is not accessible or reliable. OBJECTIVE: This study seeks to create a framework to review the strengths and weaknesses of mobile Health (mHealth) apps for diverse, low-income populations. METHODS: Focusing on smoking cessation, diabetes management, and medication adherence as models of disease management, we describe the process for selecting, evaluating, and obtaining patient feedback on mHealth apps. RESULTS: The top 2 scoring apps in each category were QuitNow! and Smoke Free-Quit Smoking Now for smoking cessation, Glucosio and MyNetDiary for diabetes management, and Medisafe and MyMeds for medication adherence. CONCLUSIONS: We believe that this framework will prove useful for future mHealth app development, and clinicians and patient advisory groups in connecting culturally, educationally, and socioeconomically appropriate mHealth apps with low-income, diverse communities and thus work to bridge health disparities.

Predicting Pancreatic Cancer in the UK Biobank Cohort Using Polygenic Risk Scores and Diabetes Mellitus.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is known to be associated with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), particularly new-onset DM (NODM). Others have developed polygenic risk scores (PRS) associated with PDAC risk. We aimed to compare the performance of these PRS in an independent cohort to determine if they can discriminate between NODM and long-standing DM patients with PDAC. METHODS: Cases (1042) and matched cancer-free controls (10,420) were drawn from the UK Biobank. Five PRS models were calculated using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from previous studies (Nakatochi, Galeotti, Molina, Jia, and Rashkin) and a combination of these. Regression models were used to assess the association between PDAC and PRS adjusted for ancestry, smoking, DM, waist circumference, and family history of digestive cancer. Receiver operator characteristic curves and area under the curve metrics (AUC) were used to assess the performance of each PRS for classifying PDAC risk. RESULTS: The combined PRS model achieved the highest AUC (0.605), and significantly improved a clinical risk model in this cohort (AUC = 0.83; P = .0002). Individuals within the fifth quintile have a 2.74-fold increased risk of developing PDAC vs those in the first quintile (P < .001), and have a 3.05-fold increased risk of developing PDAC if they have DM vs those without DM (P < .001). The positive predictive value was 11.9% in participants without DM, 23.9% with long-standing DM, and 86.7% with NODM. CONCLUSIONS: The PDAC-related common genetic variants are more strongly associated with DM. This PRS has the potential for targeting individuals with NODM for PDAC secondary screening measures.

Spatial-context-aware RNA-sequence prediction from head and neck cancer histopathology images.

Molecular profiling of the tumor in addition to the histological tumor analysis can provide robust information for targeted cancer therapies. Often such data are not available for analysis due to processing delays, cost or inaccessibility. In this paper, we proposed a deep learning-based method to predict RNA-sequence expression (RNA-seq) from Hematoxylin and Eosin whole-slide images (H&E WSI) in head and neck cancer patients. Conventional methods utilize a patch-by-patch prediction and aggregation strategy to predict RNA-seq at a whole-slide level. However, these methods lose spatial-contextual relationships between patches that comprise morphology interactions crucial for predicting RNA-seq. We proposed a novel framework that employs a neural image compressor to preserve the spatial relationships between patches and generate a compressed representation of the whole-slide image, and a customized deep-learning regressor to predict RNA-seq from the compressed representation by learning both global and local features. We tested our proposed method on publicly available TCGA-HNSC dataset comprising 43 test patients for 10 oncogenes. Our experiments showed that the proposed method achieves a 4.12% higher mean correlation and predicts 6 out of 10 genes with better correlation than a state-of-the-art baseline method. Furthermore, we provided interpretability using pathway analysis of the best-predicted genes, and activation maps to highlight the regions in an H&E image that are the most salient of the RNA-seq prediction.Clinical relevance-The proposed method has the potential to discover genetic biomarkers directly from the histopathology images which could be used to pre-screen the patients before actual genetic testing thereby saving cost and time.