Vulnerable victims of sexual assault.

Sexual assault is one of the heinous crimes of present day society. Although it has always been evident, in recent times there has been a steady increase in the rate of sexual assault cases. The aim of this study was to identify the groups most at risk. Therefore it includes only cases of sex offences and sex offences with kidnapping. Information was obtained by interviewing the victims and accompanying persons, and from records submitted by the investigating officers. Our study reveals sexual assault commonly occurs among the age group of 16-19 years (60.8%), mostly at night (53.23%), inside the house (87%) and usually by a close acquaintance (61%). The majority of the victims were unmarried (84.7%), lived in rural areas (65.2%), were unemployed (93.5%), of less educated or illiterate groups (88%) and found to be mentally fit (97%). The victims were mostly drawn from low socio-economic groups.

Prognostic significance of p53 and Bcl-2 in acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

p53 and Bcl-2 protein accumulation and mutations have been found in a wide variety of cancers including different types of leukemia, with varying frequencies. The objective of our study is to find out the correlation between p53 and Bcl-2 protein expression with respect to overall survival of patient taking clinical features and hematological parameters into consideration. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients, 100 de novo and 10 relapse, were investigated taking different percentage of stained lymphocytes of patients into consideration. Immunocytochemistry and western blot analysis were used to investigate protein expression. PCR-SSCP technique was used to detect point mutations in exon 5, 6, 7 and 8 of p53 gene. P53 protein expression is of prognostic significance in univariate analysis and when combine with Bcl-2 expression data it provides additional information about overall survival. p53 and Bcl-2 failed to provide additional prognostic information in multivariate analysis. None of the samples shows mutation in exon 5, 6, 7 and 8 of p53 gene. Contrary to previous reports, p53 negativity was associated with lower relapse-free survival. Lower p53 expression was associated with improved disease-free survival. The correlation of p53 and Bcl-2 expression data with respect to clinical outcome may shed new sight into the biological significance of p53/Bcl-2 protein.

Rearrangement of p53 gene with overexpressed p53 protein in primary cervical cancer.

The frequency of p53 mutations is low and there is evidence of p53 protein overexpression even without p53 mutations in cervical cancers. This suggests that alternative mechanisms other than p53 mutation could be responsible for tumourigenesis of the uterine cervix. Therefore, an attempt has been made in the present investigation to analyze mutation and rearrangement of p53 gene in primary cervical cancers. The results indicated absence of mutation and presence of rearrangement in about 35% of cervical cancer patients. However, p53 overexpression in 50% of patients was demonstrated by immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis. Further, rearrangement of p53 has been correlated with p53 mRNA and p53 protein status. The results indicated presence of overexpressed p53 protein in the samples with rearranged p53 gene. Thus, it is presumed that rearrangement of p53 might lead to production of defective p53 protein by affecting the level of p53 protein and this might have a role in the process of tumourigenesis. This study reports for the first time rearrangement of p53 in cervical cancers.

Analysis of risk factors of dowry death--a south Indian study.

Dowry deaths in the newly married brides are a burning problem of southern India. The objective of the current study was to identify the risk groups. This prospective study was carried out on 140 cases. Results revealed that majority of the victims (83%) were young aged between 18 and 26 years, childless (65.7%) and mostly died within 4 years of marriage (77.2%). About 80% of the victims were illiterates (53%), house wives of rural background (62.9%) and from middle socio-economic group (81%). Husband alone or along with in laws (75%) and joint family (85%) were mainly responsible for death. The common causes of death implicated are hanging, burning and poisoning. Mostly the place of occurrence was in-laws house. Suicidal deaths accounted in 57% and the rest being homicide. At the end some potential risk factors and their remedial measures suggested.

Estimation of length of humerus from its fragmentary portions.

The objective of the present study was to estimate the length of humeri from measurements of their fragments in south Indian population. This is important in forensic investigations and in archaeological studies particularly when the fragmentary portions are examined. For this purpose 200 adult humeri, 100 each of either sex in dried and fully ossified condition were taken for study. Each of the humerus bone was fragmented into five fragments by drawing imaginary lines with reference to their specific anatomical landmarks. The fragments are H2 (a-b), H3 (b-c), H4 (c-d), H5 (d-e) and H6 (e-f). After applying necessary statistical analysis a definite mathematical correlation in forms of proportion and regression equation was established between each fragment to the total length of humerus (H1). All the formulae thus derived for each of the fragments of bones are not only significant but also possess a high degree of prediction. Among all the fragments, the longest fragmentary portion i.e.H4 (c-d) predicts the highest percentage of accuracy (H1=166+0.712 H4 M, H1=90.2+1.06 H4F) followed by H2 (a-b) in calculating the total length of humerus (H1=307+0.330 H2M, H1=243+1.73 H2F). In conclusion, our study demonstrated that length of the humerus can be estimated from measures of different fragments.

Suicide in India: a four year retrospective study.

Suicide is one of the ten leading causes of death in the world, accounting for more than a million deaths annually. The purpose of the study was to identify the risk groups. In the four-year period from January 2000 to December 2003, 588 suicide victims were autopsied. Information was obtained by interviewing the acquaintances of the victim, perusal of hospital records and the autopsy findings. All the cases were analyzed as to sex, age, and methods of suicide, seasonal variation, diurnal variation and other sociological aspects. The present study depicts a suicidal rate of 11.76 per 100,000 population. Males and females were almost equally the sufferers. The largest number of victims were found in the age group of 21-30 years. Hanging and poisoning constituted the two major modes of suicides (63%). Majority of the victims were mentally sound, married and were from rural background. Victims were mostly drawn from low socioeconomic status (48%). Less educated or illiterates were usually the victims. Suicidal note was detected in 5% of cases. Suicidal tendency and alcohol intake could not be encountered in most of the cases. Indoor incidence was almost double of the outdoor incidence, mostly seen in rainy season (43%) and occurred almost equally during day and night. Financial burden (37%) and marital disharmony (35%) were the principal reasons for the suicide.

Alteration of p73 in pediatric de novo acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

The frequency of p73 mutation is low in hematologic malignancies as well as solid tumors. Aberrant DNA methylation of multiple promoter associated CpG islands is a frequent phenomenon in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). In the present study, we scanned for mutations in the exons 4, 5, 6, and 7 of p73 gene. Using PCR-based methylation analysis, we have explored the prevalence of methylation of this pathway in a cohort of children with ALL (N=120). One pediatric patient showed mutation in exon 4, two showed mutation in exon 5, and none of the patients showed mutation in exons 6 and 7. Methylation of p73 gene is absent in the patients studied. Expression level of p73 m RNA was also examined in 40 ALL samples using reverse transcriptase/polymerase chain reaction. All the patients showed p73 mRNA expression. However, p73 overexpression was observed in 58% of pediatric patients as demonstrated by immunocytochemistry and Western blot analysis. Further, mutation of p73 has been correlated with p73 m RNA and p73 protein status. The results show the presence of overexpressed protein in the samples with mutated p73 gene. Thus, it is presumed that mutation of p73 might lead to production of defective p73 protein and this might have a role in the process of leukemogenesis of ALL. Methylation of p73 does not play a role in pediatric ALL patients of our population. This report is the first demonstrating the presence of p73 gene mutations in exons 4 and 5 with overexpression of p73 protein and absence of p73 methylation in pediatric ALL patients of eastern Indian population.

Significance of intracellular arsenic trioxide for therapeutic response in acute promyelocytic leukemia.

Arsenic trioxide (As2O3) is an effective drug for treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) and malignant tumors. However, it is not commonly known to researchers that sensitivity has been associated with As2O3 concentration in target cells. Cell lines and cell strains of leukemia and solid cancer cells were treated with different concentrations of As2O3, and the concentrations were compared to apoptosis detected by FITC-annexin V and propidium iodide (PI) double staining. Results showed that intracellular and intercellular concentrations of arsenic in different cell lines differed. Our study noted that the cell lines had concentrations of arsenic trioxide in decreasing order, as follows: APL primary cell > K562 > CML primary cell > HL-60 > AML-M2 primary cell > HeLa > H-22. Higher intracellular As2O3 concentrations in cell lines APL, NB4, and K562 can be obtained by treating in culture medium with lower As2O3 concentration for longer times than the transient higher concentration. These results indicate that different leukemia and solid carcinoma cell lines have different intracellular arsenic concentrations, which correlate with different sensitivities to As2O3 in clinical treatment. The intracellular As2O3 concentration is higher; in addition, we note apoptosis, a very important observation in our study. As2O3 inhibited the growth of these cell lines significantly. Novel techniques by maintaining continuous low but effective arsenic levels inside the target leukemic cells in APL may improve the complete remission rate and overall survival with minimum cost and drug toxicity.

Alteration of p73 in acute myelogenous leukemia.

The frequency of p73 mutation is low in hematologic malignancies as well as solid tumors. In the present study, we scanned for mutations in the exons 4, 5, 6, and 7 of p73, as well as methylation of the CpG island in the untranslated region of exon 1, in 100 de novo AML patients. Four patients showed mutation in exon 5 and one in exon 6, and none of the patients showed mutation in exons 4 and 7. None of the patients showed p73 gene methylation. The expression level of p73 mRNA was also examined in 40 AML samples using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Only six AML patients showed p73 mRNA expression, as analyzed by RT-PCR analysis. However, p73 over-expression in 30% of patients was demonstrated by immunocytochemistry and Western blot analysis. Further, mutation of p73 has been correlated with p73 mRNA and p73 protein status. The results show the presence of over-expressed p73 mRNA and protein in the samples with mutated p73 gene. Thus, it is presumed that mutation of p73 might lead to production of defective p73 protein and p73 mRNA, and this might have a role in the process of leukemogenesis of AML. This report is the first demonstrating the presence of mutations in p73 gene in acute myelogenous leukemia.