COVID vaccine hesitancy among the tribal population and its determinants: A community-based study at berhampore block of Murshidabad District, West Bengal.

Background: On January 16, 2021, India rolled out the COVID vaccination drive. A successful and effective vaccination campaign requires much more than the availability of a safe and effective vaccine. This includes identifying vulnerable populations with lower vaccine confidence and identifying the drivers of vaccine hesitancy. Objective: This study aims to find out vaccine hesitancy among the tribal population regarding COVID-19 vaccination. Methods: It was an observational descriptive cross-sectional study, conducted at Manindranagar and Hatinagar gram panchayat of Berhampore Block of Murshidabad district, West Bengal, from June 2021-November 2021, among tribal people aged >18 years. A total of 198 tribal people were selected by applying the probability proportional to size sampling method. Participants were interviewed using predesigned, pretested, and semi-structured schedules. Potential predictors of hesitancy were investigated using the multivariate logistic regression model. Results: Vaccine hesitancy was present among 36.9% of the study participants. Fear of side effects (78.1%) was the most common reason of vaccine hesitancy. Only 30.8% of them received at least one dose of vaccine. Vaccine hesitancy was associated with decreased family income in the last 1 year (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 8.23), knowledge regarding vaccine (AOR = 0.41), adherence to COVID-appropriate behavior (AOR = 0.45), and trust on the local health-care worker (AOR = 0.32). Conclusion: Vaccine hesitancy among the tribal population is driven by a lack of knowledge and awareness. Their economic status, attitudes toward the health system, and accessibility factors may also play a major role in vaccine hesitancy. Extensive information, education, and communication activity, more involvement of health-care workers in the awareness campaign, and establishment of vaccination centers in tribal villages may be helpful.

Factors influencing contribution of geriatric persons in the society: A glance from a rural area of West Bengal.

Background: To facilitate healthy aging in India, it is important not only to acknowledge older people's contribution but also to understand their perception regarding their impact in the society along with society's attitude toward them. Objectives: This study aims to assess their self-perceived contribution in the society and the factors related with their contribution. Methods: It was an observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study, conducted at Amdanga block of North 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, during July 2021-June 2022. A total 0f 384 geriatrics were interviewed by the house-to-house survey with the help of a predesigned, pretested and semi-structured schedule. Potential predictors of contribution were investigated using the multivariate logistic regression model. Results: 78.9% of participants had contribution in the society. 85.9% were taking care of family members when they were sick. 93.2% were sharing their opinion with the family members. 86.5% were participating in various social works. 79.1% were suffering from at least one physical health problem. With increase in the number of health problems, chances of good contribution decreases. In case of self-perceived contribution in the society family type, employment, physical health and social participation are influencing the most. Conclusion: Elderly people are taking care of not only family members, but even relatives and neighbors also. They are sharing their knowledge and experience with family members and in the society. They are also contributing financially. Employment and proper health-care infrastructure for geriatric may be helpful to maximize their contribution.

Tuning the Electronic Structure of Cobalt Selenide on Copper Foam by Introducing a Ni Buffer Layer for Highly Efficient Electrochemical Water Splitting.

The development of a cost-effective, remarkably competent, and durable bifunctional electrocatalyst is the foremost requirement of water splitting to generate H2 fuel as a renewable energy technology. Three-dimensional porous copper foam (Cuf) when electrochemically decorated with transition metal selenide results in a highly active electrocatalyst for adequate water electrolysis. In terms of water splitting, the role of cobalt selenide and Cuf has already proven to be remarkable. The introduction of a Ni buffer layer between Cuf and cobalt selenide (Cuf@Ni-CoSe2) acts as a valve to enhance the electron thrust from the substrate to the material surface with no compromise in the overall material conductivity, which not only increases the efficiency and activity but also improves the stability of the catalyst. The self-supported synthesized catalyst material showed an admirable activity toward the oxygen evolution reaction and hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline media. The performance of the catalyst was found to be significantly better than that of the noble catalyst RuO2. The catalyst was very stable up to 93 h and attained a full cell voltage of only 1.52 V at a current density of 10 mA cm-2. Therefore, for large-scale hydrogen production, this as-synthesized catalyst hss the potential to replace conventional fossil fuel-based energy systems.

Inter-Electronic Interaction between Ni and Mo in Electrodeposited Ni-Mo-P on 3D Copper Foam Enables Hydrogen Evolution Reaction at Low Overpotential.

Electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) via water electrolysis has been considered the most effective and sustainable route to produce clean hydrogen. Designing and structure optimization are the two important parameters to develop an affordable, easy to fabricate, and stable non-noble metal electrocatalyst for the production of hydrogen as a clean, sustainable, and green fuel. Herein, we have synthesized Ni-Mo-P on copper foam (Cuf) via a facile single-step electrodeposition method, which can show stratospheric efficiency toward HER with a Tafel slope of 67 mV dec-1 and a very low overpotential of only 53 mV at a current density of 20 mA cm-2. Cuf acts as a conducting substrate support and the existence of the inter-electronic effect between Ni and Mo results in substantial catalytic activity toward hydrogen generation. In addition to this, the catalyst shows long time stability of around 97.5 h with almost negligible degradation under the applied overpotential for HER in alkaline media. This work features the significance of structure design and construction of non-noble metal catalysts via a simple method for efficient hydrogen generation.

Diversity of Antimicrobial Peptide Genes in Bacillus from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands: Untapped Island Microbial Diversity for Disease Management in Crop Plants.

Taxonomic and functional characterization of a total of 90 bacterial isolates representing bulk and rhizosphere soils of diverse niches of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India were carried out. Twelve bacterial isolates were found promising for the biological suppression of agriculturally important fungal and bacterial plant pathogens such as Ralstonia solanacearum, Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae, and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed their identity as belonging to Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, and Lysinibacillus sphaericus. The isolates were positive for plant growth promotion (PGP) traits including siderophore production, and nutrient solubilization especially phosphorous, zinc, and potassium. Interestingly, the PCR test confirmed the presence of 62 antimicrobial peptides (AMP) biosynthesis genes specific to the genus Bacillus. Whilst all tested species of Bacillus harboured the bacD biosynthesis gene, the B. subtilis (Ba_Abi), and B. amyloliquefaciens (Ba_Abi) harboured the maximum AMP biosynthesis genes analysed in the study. Upon in planta evaluation, the biocontrol potential of the bacterial isolates against leaf spot disease of chilli was observed. The study culminated in the isolation and identification of diverse Bacillus species for exploitation as bioinoculants for plant health management programmes.

Validation of a questionnaire on problematic use of smartphones among a rural population of West Bengal.

BACKGROUND: While a smartphone can be a hugely productive tool, excessive use of this device can interfere with work, education, our physical and mental health, and productivity. Nowadays, we do not just use our smartphones, but we rely on them. OBJECTIVES: The present study aims to develop and validate an instrument measuring the problematic use of smartphones among adults in a rural area of West Bengal, India. METHODS: The questionnaire on problematic use of smartphone is a self-designed tool. The items were selected by literature review. The psychometric properties of the questionnaire were assessed by content validity, construct validity, and reliability. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to identify the factors. RESULTS: Forty-two items were generated by literature review. After final analysis, the main questionnaire contained 28 items with 5 domains, namely "impulsive use of phone," "dependence," "impaired control," "denial," "decreased productivity," and "emotional attachment." The Cronbach's alpha value for three domains was found to be >0.7 and >0.8 for the other three domains. CONCLUSION: Excessive mobile phone use is associated with various adverse consequences which is emerging as a public health problem in a large number of population in India. Problematic use of smartphone questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool to assess the pattern of mobile use among Indian population.

A No-Sweat Strategy for Graphene-Macrocycle Co-assembled Electrocatalyst toward Oxygen Reduction and Ambient Ammonia Synthesis.

Toward the realm of sustainable energy, the development of efficient methods to enhance the performance of electrocatalysts with molecular level perception has gained immense attention. Inspite of untiring attempts, the production cost and scaling-up issues have been a step back toward the commercialization of the electrocatalysts. Herein, we report a one-pot electrophoretic exfoliation technique with minimum time and power input to synthesize iron phthalocyanine functionalized high-quality graphene sheets (G-FePc). The π-stacked co-assembly excels in oxygen reduction performance (major criterion for fuel cells) with a high positive E1/2 of 0.91 V (vs RHE) and a reproducible reduction peak potential of 0.90 V (vs RHE). An overpotential as low as 29 mV dec-1 and complete tolerance toward the methanol crossover effect confirm the authentication of the catalytic performance of our designed catalyst G-FePc. The catalyst simultaneously exhibits hydrogen storage efficacy by means of nitrogen fixation, yielding 27.74 µg h-1 mgcat-1 NH3 at a potential of -0.3 V (vs RHE) in an acidic electrolyte. The structure-function relationship of the catalyst is revealed via molecular orbital chemistry for the bonding of the Fe(II) active center with O2 and N2 during catalysis.

Unravelling the Role of Fe-Mn Binary Active Sites Electrocatalyst for Efficient Oxygen Reduction Reaction and Rechargeable Zn-Air Batteries.

Transition-metal atoms and/or heteroatom-doped carbon nanostructures is a crucial alternative to find a nonprecious metal catalyst for electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Herein, for the first time, we demonstrated the formation of binary (Fe-Mn) active sites in hierarchically porous nanostructure composed of Fe, Mn, and N-doped fish gill derived carbon (Fe,Mn,N-FGC). The Fe,Mn,N-FGC catalyst shows remarkable ORR performance with onset potential (Eonset) of 1.03 V and half-wave potential (E1/2) of 0.89 V, slightly better than commercial Pt/C (Eonset = 1.01 V, E1/2 = 0.88 V) in alkaline medium (pH > 13), which is attributed to the synergistic effect of Fe-Mn dual metal center as evidenced from X-ray absorption spectroscopic study. We proposed that the presence of Fe-Mn binary sites is actually beneficial for the O2 binding and boosting the ORR by weakening the O═O bonds. The homemade rechargeable Zn-air battery performance reveals the open-circuit voltage of 1.41 V and a large power density of 220 mW cm-2 at 260 mA cm-2 current density outperforming Pt/C (1.40 V, 158 mW cm-2) with almost stable charge-discharge voltage plateaus at high current density. The present strategy enriches a route to synthesize low-cost bioinspired electrocatalyst that is comparable to/better than any nonprecious-metal catalysts as well as commercial Pt/C.

Universal Approach for Electronically Tuned Transition-Metal-Doped Graphitic Carbon Nitride as a Conductive Electrode Material for Highly Efficient Oxygen Reduction Reaction.

The rational design of electronically tuned transition-metal-doped conductive carbon nanostructures has emerged as a potential substitution of a platinum-group-metal (PGM)-free electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). We report here a universal strategy using a one-step thermal polymerization reaction for transition-metal-doped graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) without any conductive carbon support as a highly efficient ORR electrocatalyst. X-ray absorption spectroscopy evidences the presence of Fe-Nx active sites with a possible three-coordinated Fe atom with N atoms. The as-prepared Fe-g-C3N4 with improved surface area, graphitic nature, and conductive carbon framework exhibits a superior electrochemical performance toward ORR activity in an alkaline medium. Interestingly, it displays a 0.88 V (vs reversible hydrogen electrode, RHE) half-wave potential (E1/2) with a four-electron-transfer pathway and excellent stability outperforming platinum/carbon (Pt/C) in an alkaline medium. More impressively, when the Fe-g-C3N4 catalyst is used as a cathode material in a zinc-air battery, it presents a higher peak power density (148 mW cm-2) than Pt/C (133 mW cm-2), which further established the importance of the low-cost material synthesis approach toward the development of an earth-abundant PGM-free catalyst for fuel-cell and air battery fabrication.

Factors causing stress among students of a medical college in Kolkata, India.

BACKGROUND: Medical students feel a significant amount of stress due to a variety of factors. Few studies have explored the relative size of these various stressors to identify which are most important. This study was undertaken to quantify the magnitude of various sources of stress among students of a medical college at Kolkata, West Bengal, and also to assess the reliability of Medical Students' Stressor Questionnaire (MSSQ-40) in this context. METHODS: We evaluated the degree of stress along various dimensions using the MSSQ-40, a scale to measure stress among medical students that has been validated in other countries. Differences in stress and its causal factors were analyzed across demographic subgroups. The reliability of the MSSQ-40 was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of stress was 91.1% and the vast majority of students (94.9%) were stressed due to academic reasons. Academic related stress was found to be higher among students who are not conversant with the local language, experienced a change in medium of teaching from secondary school to medical school, and resided in a hostel. The MSSQ-40 in general, and its academic-related stress domain specifically, were found to be reliable in our setting. DISCUSSION: Early detection and remedying stressors will help to build physical and mental health in medical students. Language training early during the medical course might reduce academic stress among our students. Further studies should relate individuals' stress with their academic performance.

Let's 'play' with molecular pharmacology.

BACKGROUND: Understanding concepts of molecular mechanisms of drug action involves sequential visualization of physiological processes and drug effects, a task that can be difficult at an undergraduate level. Role-play is a teaching-learning methodology whereby active participation of students as well as clear visualization of the phenomenon is used to convey complex physiological concepts. However, its use in teaching drug action, a process that demands understanding of a second level of complexity over the physiological process, has not been investigated. We hypothesized that role-play can be an effective and well accepted method for teaching molecular pharmacology. METHODS: In an observational study, students were guided to perform a role-play on a selected topic involving drug activity. Students' gain in knowledge was assessed comparing validated pre- and post-test questionnaires as well as class average normalized gain. The acceptance of role-play among undergraduate medical students was evaluated by Likert scale analysis and thematic analysis of their open-ended written responses. RESULTS: Significant improvement in knowledge (P < 0.001) was noted in the pre- to post-test knowledge scores, while a high gain in class average normalized score was evident. In Likert scale analysis, most students (93%) expressed that role-play was an acceptable way of teaching. In a thematic analysis, themes of both strengths and weaknesses of the session emerged. DISCUSSION: Role-play can be effectively utilized while teaching selected topics of molecular pharmacology in undergraduate medical curricula.

Community engagement and social participation in dengue prevention: A cross-sectional study in Dhaka City.

Background: Dengue is a major public health concern in Bangladesh. This study aimed to assess the perceptions and practices of community members in Dhaka regarding community engagement and social participation for dengue prevention. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Dhaka City from May 2022 to December 2022. The respondents were randomly selected. The association between community participation and prevention practices was tested using the χ 2 test. Results: The findings of this study indicate that the majority of participants (92%) believed that community effort would be relied upon in the event of a dengue outbreak. Environmental cleaning campaigns were the preferred approach, and religious leaders viewed them positively. This study also revealed significant variations in knowledge levels, with those involved in community efforts and mass gatherings demonstrating greater knowledge. This study sheds light on the demographic factors that influence dengue knowledge and provides valuable insights into the development of targeted public health interventions. Conclusion: The study revealed negative perceptions and limited participation in dengue prevention among participants, with the majority demonstrating a poor understanding of preventive measures. While some showed positive attitudes towards community engagement, significant disparities existed in participation, highlighting the need for targeted educational campaigns and enhanced community mobilization efforts. Moreover, the importance of multisectoral collaboration is emphasized, underscoring the need for coordinated efforts among health departments, NGOs, religious institutions, and community leaders to effectively combat dengue transmission. Recommendations include ongoing educational initiatives, targeted interventions to promote community involvement, and fostering collaboration across sectors to strengthen dengue prevention efforts and to safeguard public health.

Blastocyst or Blastomycosis?: A Rare Presentation of Disseminated Blastomycosis With Cardiac Involvement in Pregnancy.

Disseminated blastomycosis with cardiac manifestations is exceedingly rare. Here we present the first known case of disseminated, cardiac blastomycosis in a pregnant patient. Antifungal medications and a multidisciplinary, nonsurgical approach were successful in eradicating the fungal cardiac mass and in preventing vertical transmission to the fetus. (Level of Difficulty: Advanced.).

Challenging Case of Transcatheter Mitral Valve-in-Valve-in-Valve Replacement.

BACKGROUND A 39-year-old man with a complex valvular history of recurrent methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis with 2 surgical mitral valve replacements (in 2016 and 2017) followed by transcatheter mitral valve replacement (in 2019) presented with orthopnea, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, chest pain, cough, and progressively worsening dyspnea on exertion. CASE REPORT Extensive workup was performed, including transesophageal echocardiogram, which revealed a malfunctioning, severely stenotic bioprosthetic valve. Left and right heart catheterization revealed mild non-obstructive coronary artery disease and severe pulmonary hypertension. Given the patient's complex medical history, he was deemed to be at an elevated risk for repeat sternotomy and repeat valve replacement surgery. Therefore, he underwent a percutaneous transcatheter mitral valve replacement with a 26-mm SAPIEN 3 Edwards valve placed within the previous 29-mm SAPIEN valve. Post-procedural imaging revealed a well-placed valve with an improved mitral valve gradient. CONCLUSIONS This is one of the few rare cases of mitral valve-in-valve via a transcatheter mitral valve replacement approach with successful deployment of a SAPIEN 3 tissue heart valve. The patient experienced significant reversal of heart failure symptoms and improved exertional tolerance following deployment of the valve and was eventually discharged home in a stable condition.

Reduced IFN-γ levels along with changes in hematologic and immunologic parameters are key to COVID-19 severity in Bangladeshi patients.

The manifestation of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity and mortality has been associated with dysregulation of the immune response, often influenced by racial disparities and conferred by changes in hematologic and immunologic parameters. These biological and hematologic parameters as well as cytokine profiles were investigated in a cohort of 61 COVID-19-positive patients (categorized into mild, moderate, and severe groups) from Bangladesh using standard analytical methods. The data reported that the interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-6 levels were significantly increased, whereas the levels of interferon (IFN)-γ were significantly reduced in patients with severe COVID-19 (p < 0.05) compared with those in patients with mild and/or moderate COVID-19. The extent of erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR); neutrophil count; and levels of ferritin, C-reactive protein (CRP), and D-dimer (p < 0.05) were found to be significantly increased, whereas the white blood cell (WBC), lymphocyte, eosinophil, and platelet counts (p < 0.05) were observed to be significantly reduced in patients with severe COVID-19 compared with those in the patients in other 2 groups. Our study exhibited a significantly higher IL-6-to-lymphocyte ratio in patients with severe COVID-19 than in those with mild and moderate COVID-19. The calculated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), and ferritin-to-ESR ratio were significantly increased in patients with severe COVID-19. The increase in the IL-4 and IL-6 levels along with CRP and D-dimer levels may envisage a hyperinflammatory environment and immune dysregulation, which contribute to prolonged viral persistence, leading to severe disease. However, the reduced level of IFN-γ can be attributed to a less fatality toll in Bangladesh compared with that in the rest of the world.

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel 3'-Difluorovinyl Taxoids.

A series of 3'-difluorovinyl taxoids with C10 modifications, as well as those with C2 and C10 modifications, were strategically designed to block the metabolism by cytochrome P-450 3A4 enzyme and synthesized. These novel difluorovinyl taxoids were evaluated for their cytotoxicity against drug-sensitive human breast (MCF7), multidrug-resistant (MDR) human ovarian (NCI/ADR), human colon (HT-29) and human pancreatic (PANC-1) cancer cell lines. 3'-Difluorovinyl taxoids exhibit several to 16 times better activity against MCF7, HT-29 and PANC-1 cell lines and up to three orders of magnitude higher potency against NCI/ADR cell line as compared to paclitaxel. Structure-activity relationship study shows the critical importance of the C2 modifications on the activity against MDR cancer cell line, while the C10 modifications have a rather minor effect on the potency with some exceptions. The effect of the C2 modifications on potency against MCF7 cell line increases in the following order: H < F < Cl

Electronic interplay: synergism of binary transition metals and role of M-N-S site towards oxygen electrocatalysis.

Towards rational catalyst development, a binary Fe-Co centre has been coordinated with S and N in a nanocarbon matrix. An electronic drift between Fe-Co and an extended +R effect from the S dopants towards the metals through the pz orbital of N are beneficial for oxygen electrocatalysis and a zinc-air battery.

Tumour necrosis factor-α -308G/A polymorphism is associated with insulin secretory defects in Bangladeshi prediabetic/diabetic subjects.

Objectives: Tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, an adipocytokine, is closely linked to impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and insulin resistance (IR) in type 2 diabetes (T2D) subjects. The relationship between the polymorphisms in the TNF-α gene and IR in Bangladeshi prediabetes and T2D subjects has not yet been fully identified. This study aims to reveal the association between TNF-α gene polymorphism and IR in hyperglycaemic patients of Bangladeshi origin. Methods: In our study, 106 IGT, 100 T2D, and 109 healthy subjects of Bangladeshi origin were recruited to identify the impact of TNF-α gene polymorphism at position -308 with a G>A transition using PCR and subsequent restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Results: The -308G>A TNF-α genotype frequency distribution within the control, IGT, and T2D groups showed a significant association (χ2 = 21.077; P = 0.001), although allele frequency distribution within the groups showed a statistically non-significant difference (χ2 = 1.696; P = 0.091). ß-cell functional deficiency (HOMA-B%) was observed to be significantly (P = 0.034) lower in subjects with a variant genotype. In addition, our results indicate that the study subjects' body mass index (BMI) and residence status were positively correlated (P ≤ 0.05) with -308G>A TNF-α gene polymorphism. Conclusions: Therefore, it can be concluded that -308G>A TNF-α gene polymorphism may have a causative relationship with lower insulin secretory capacity and higher BMI in Bangladeshi IGT and T2D populations, while the urban population's lifestyle might be associated with this polymorphism.

Metal-Free Pyrene-Based Conjugated Microporous Polymer Catalyst Bearing N- and S-Sites for Photoelectrochemical Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

The development of an efficient, sustainable, and inexpensive metal-free catalyst for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) via photoelectrochemical water splitting is very demanding for energy conversion processes such as green fuel generators, fuel cells, and metal-air batteries. Herein, we have developed a metal-free pyrene-based nitrogen and sulfur containing conjugated microporous polymer having a high Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area (761 m2 g-1) and a low bandgap of 2.09 eV for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline solution. The π-conjugated as-synthesized porous organic material (PBTDZ) has been characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), solid-state 13C (cross-polarization magic angle spinning-nuclear magnetic resonance) CP-MAS NMR, N2 adsorption/desorption analysis, field-emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) experiments. The material acts as an efficient catalyst for photoelectrochemical OER with a current density of 80 mA/cm2 at 0.8 V vs. Ag/AgCl and delivered 104 µmol of oxygen in a 2 h run. The presence of low bandgap energy, π-conjugated conducting polymeric skeleton bearing donor heteroatoms (N and S), and higher specific surface area associated with inherent microporosity are responsible for this admirable photoelectrocatalytic activity of PBTDZ catalyst.

New-generation taxoid SB-T-1214 inhibits stem cell-related gene expression in 3D cancer spheroids induced by purified colon tumor-initiating cells.

BACKGROUND: Growing evidence suggests that the majority of tumors are organized hierarchically, comprising a population of tumor-initiating, or cancer stem cells (CSCs) responsible for tumor development, maintenance and resistance to drugs. Previously we have shown that the CD133high/CD44high fraction of colon cancer cells is different from their bulk counterparts at the functional, morphological and genomic levels. In contrast to the majority of colon cancer cells expressing moderate levels of CD133, CD44 and CD166, cells with a high combined expression of CD133 and CD44 possessed several characteristic stem cell features, including profound self-renewal capacity in vivo and in vitro, and the ability to give rise to different cell phenotypes. The present study was undertaken for two aims: a) to determine stem cell-related genomic characteristics of floating 3D multicellular spheroids induced by CD133high/CD44high colon cancer cells; and b) to evaluate CSC-specific alterations induced by new-generation taxoid SB-T-1214. RESULTS: Selected CSC phenotype was isolated from three independent invasive colon cancer cell lines, HCT116, HT29 and DLD-1. A stem cell-specific PCR array assay (SABiosciences) revealed that colonospheres induced by purified CD133high/CD44high expressing cells display profound up-regulation of stem cell-related genes in comparison with their bulk counterparts. The FACS analysis has shown that the 3D colonospheres contained some minority cell populations with high levels of expression of Oct4, Sox2, Nanog and c-Myc, which are essential for stem cell pluripotency and self-renewal. Single administration of the SB-T-1214 at concentration 100 nM-1 microM for 48 hr not only induced growth inhibition and apoptotic cell death in these three types of colon cancer spheroids in 3D culture, but also mediated massive inhibition of the stem cell-related genes and significant down-regulation of the pluripotency gene expression. PCR array and FACS data were confirmed with western blotting. Importantly, viable cells that survived this treatment regimen were no longer able to induce secondary floating spheroids and exhibited significant morphological abnormalities. CONCLUSIONS: We report here that a new-generation taxoid SB-T-1214 possesses significant activity against colon cancer spheroids induced by and enriched with drug resistant tumorigenic CD133high/CD44high cells and efficiently inhibited expression of the majority of stem cell-related genes. Our data indicates that the previously observed long-term efficacy of SB-T-1214 against drug resistant colon tumors in vivo may be explained by the down-regulation of multiple stem cell-related genes in the tumorigenic cell population, in addition to its known efficacy as a mitotic poison against proliferating cancer cells.