Exploring risky health behaviors and vulnerability to sexually transmitted diseases among transnational undocumented labor migrants from Bangladesh: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: In Bangladesh, remittances constitute a substantial portion of the country's foreign exchange earnings and serve as a primary source of income. However, a considerable number of Bangladeshi citizens reside overseas without proper documentation, exposing them to significant challenges such as limited access to healthcare and socioeconomic opportunities. Moreover, their irregular migration status often results in engaging in risky health behaviors that further exacerbate their vulnerability. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the risky health behavior and HIV/STI susceptibility of Bangladeshi irregular international migrants residing across the globe with undocumented status. METHODS: Using a qualitative Interpretative Phenomenological Approach (IPA), 25 illegal migrants were interviewed who are currently living illegally or returned to their home country. The author used a thematic approach to code and analyze the data, combining an integrated data-driven inductive approach with a deductive approach. Concurrent processing and coding were facilitated by employing the Granheim model in data analysis. RESULTS: The study identified four risky health behaviors among irregular Bangladeshi migrants: hazardous living conditions, risky jobs, suicidal ideation, and tobacco consumption. Additionally, the authors found some HIV/STI risk behavior among them including engaging in unprotected sex, consuming alcohol and drugs during sexual activity, and having limited access to medical facilities. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study can be used by health professional, governments, policymakers, NGOs, and concerned agencies to develop welfare strategies and initiatives for vulnerable undocumented migrant workers.

Comprehensive exploration of Biochanin A as an oncotherapeutics potential in the treatment of multivarious cancers with molecular insights.

Cancer is considered a leading cause of mortality. This rising cancer death rate and several existing limitations like side effects, poor efficacies, and high cost of the present chemotherapeutic agents have increased the demand for more potent and alternative cancer treatments. This review elucidated a brief overview of Biochanin A (BCA) and its potentiality on various cancers with details of anticancer mechanism. According to our review, a number of studies including in silico, in vitro, pre-clinical, and clinical trials have tested to evaluate the efficacy of BCA. This compound is effective against 15 types of cancer, including breast, cervical, colorectal, gastric, glioblastoma, liver, lung, melanoma, oral, osteosarcoma, ovarian, pancreatic, pharynx, prostate, and umbilical vein cancer. The general anticancer activities of this compound are mediated via several molecular processes, including regulation of apoptosis, cell proliferation, metastasis and angiogenesis, signaling, enzymatic pathways, and other mechanisms. Targeting both therapeutic and oncogenic proteins, as well as different pathways, makes up the molecular mechanism underlying the anticancer action. Many signaling networks and their components, such as EFGR, PI3K/Akt/mTOR, MAPK, MMP-2, MMP-9, PARP, Caspase-3/8/9, Bax, Bcl2, PDL-1, NF-κB, TNF-α, IL-6, JAK, STAT3, VEGFR, VEGF, c-MY, Cyclin B1, D1, E1 and CDKs, Snail, and E-cadherin proteins, can be regulated in cancer cells by BCA. Such kind of anticancer properties of BCA could be a result of its correct structural chemistry. The use of BCA-based therapies as nano-carriers for the delivery of chemotherapeutic medicines has the potential to be very effective. This natural compound synergises with other natural compounds and standard drugs, including sorafenib, 5-fluorouracil, temozolomide, doxorubicin, apigenin, and genistein. Moreover, proper use of this compound can reverse multidrug resistance through numerous mechanisms. BCA has better drug-likeness and pharmacokinetic properties and is nontoxic (eye, liver, kidney, skin, cardio) in human bodies. As having a wide range of cancer-fighting mechanisms, synergistic effects, and good pharmacokinetic properties, BCA can be used as a supplementary food until standard drugs are available at pharma markets.

Expression patterns of prosaposin and its receptors, G protein-coupled receptor (GPR) 37 and GPR37L1 mRNAs, in the chick inner ear.

Prosaposin is a glycoprotein that is widely conserved in vertebrates. It serves as a precursor for saposins A, B, C, and D, which are necessary activators of lysosomal sphingolipid hydrolases. It can also act as a neurotrophic factor. Prosaposin plays a crucial role in the mammalian vestibuloauditory system because it prevents progressive deafness and severe vestibular dysfunction. Prosaposin can exhibit a neurotrophic effect through the G protein-coupled receptor (GPR), and GPR37 and GPR37L1 are its candidate receptors. In this study, we examined the expression patterns of prosaposin, GPR37, and GPR37L1 mRNAs in postnatal day 0 chick vestibuloauditory organs by in situ hybridization. Prosaposin mRNA expression was observed in all vestibular end organs, the vestibular and spiral ganglions, whereas no hybridization signal was observed in the auditory organ, namely basilar papilla. While GPR37L1 mRNA expression was observed in the oligodendrocytes/Schwann cells in the vestibular ganglion, GPR37 mRNA expression was observed in the crista ampullaris base region. These findings suggest that prosaposin expression in the auditory hair cells is acquired uniquely in mammals partly due to the loss of regeneration upon maturation and improved autophagic activity in mammalian auditory hair cells. In addition, as GPR37L1 expression in the chick glial cells differed from GPR37 expression in mammalian glial cells, the roles of GPR37 and GPR37L1 for prosaposin may differ between birds and mammals.

Social vulnerability, impacts and adaptations strategies in the face of natural hazards: insight from riverine islands of Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND: Bangladesh is one of the countries at risk of natural disasters due to climate change. In particular, inhabitants of its riverine islands (char) confront ongoing climatic events that heighten their vulnerability. This study aims to assess social vulnerability, impacts, and adaptation strategies to climate change in the riverine island areas of Bangladesh. METHODS: A mixed-method approach incorporating qualitative and quantitative procedures was used on data collected from 180 households of riverine islands in Gaibandha, Bangladesh. The social vulnerability of riverine island communities was assessed based on their adaptation capacity, sensitivity, and exposure to climatic stressors. RESULTS: The findings show that char dwellers' vulnerability, impacts, and adaptation capability to climate change vary significantly depending on their proximity to the mainland. Social vulnerability factors such as geographical location, fragile and low-grade housing conditions, illiteracy and displacement, climate-sensitive occupation and low-income level, and so on caused to the in-height vulnerability level of these particular areas. This study also displays that climate change and its associated hazards cause severe life and livelihood concerns for almost all households. In this case, the riverine dwellers employed several adaptation strategies to enhance their way of life to the disaster brought on changing climate. However, low education facilities, deficiency of useful information on climate change, poor infrastructure, and shortage of money are still the supreme hindrance to the sustainability of adaptation. CONCLUSION: The findings underscore the importance of evaluating the susceptibility of local areas to climate change and emphasize the need for tailored local initiatives and policies to reduce vulnerability and enhance adaptability in communities residing in char households.

Serum creatinine phosphokinase: A potential prognostic marker in assessing clinical severity with organophosphorus poisoning.

INTRODUCTION: Organophosphorus compound (OPC) poisoning undoubtedly being a major concern in cultivation sites of the developing world, including Bangladesh. Two potential biomarkers, for example, serum creatine phosphokinase (CPK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), are widely used in OPC poisoning severity indicators in patients. In this study, we sought to correlate the severity score of acute OPC poisoning with CPK or LDH level and subsequently explore their prognostic value. METHODS: This study was performed on a total of 70 patients with OPC poisoning admitted to the inpatient care unit at a territory-based hospital in Bangladesh. Sociodemographics and poison types were recorded, and severity was assessed according to Peradeniya Organophosphorus Poisoning (POP) scale. Serum CPK and LDH levels were measured and recorded. RESULTS: A total of seventy OPC patients were included with male to female ratio of 1.33:1, respectively, with a mean age of 28.7 ± 12.8 years. Chlorpyrifos and methylparathion were the most commonly utilized OP compounds, accounting for 42.9% and 28.6%, respectively. Among the OPC patients, the majority were married homemakers from rural areas. According to POP score, 55.7% and 37.1% of patients were categorized as mild and moderate, whereas very few were found to be severe. The mean serum CPK and LDH of OPC-patients at admission time were 235.6 ± 79.8 IU/L and 348.3 ± 154.1 IU/L, respectively. Serum CPK, atropine dose and hospital stay strongly correlated with clinical severity. CONCLUSION: We conclude that the serum CPK level strongly correlates with the degree of OPC poisoning and can be used as a predictor of the clinical intervention approaches.

RLLB/Alb ratio: a promising noninvasive diagnostic marker in assessing esophageal varices in cirrhotic patients.

BACKGROUND: Endoscopy has long been widely used to screen for esophageal varices (EV) in cirrhotic patients. Recurrent endoscopy is a significant burden for the healthcare system of the endoscopic unit as well as uncomfortable and high costs for patients. This study intended to prognosticate Right Liver Lobe Diameter/Serum Albumin Ratio (RLLD/Alb) as a non-invasive approach in the early diagnosis of EV among chronic liver disease (CLD) Bangladeshi patients enrolled in a specific hospital. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: A total of 150 admitted patients with CLD were included in the study. Patients were subjected through a comprehensive biochemical checkup and upper digestive endoscopic or ultrasonographic inspection. The correlation was evaluated between the RLLD/Alb ratio and esophageal varices grades. RESULTS: The upper digestive endoscopy demonstration among 150 patients resulted in no EV in 18%, while 24% of patients was identified as EV grade I, 20% as grade II, 20% as grade III, and 18% patients as grade IV. The mean value of the RLLD/Alb ratio was 4.89 ± 1.49 (range from 2.30 to 8.45). The RLLD/Alb ratio diagnosed the EV employing the cut-off value of 4.01 with 85.3% sensitivity and 68.8% specificity. Furthermore, it was positively correlated with the grading of EV, when this ratio increased the grading of EV increases and vice versa (r = 0.630, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The RLLD/Alb ratio is a non-invasive parameter giving exact guidance relevant to the ascertainment of the existence of EV and their grading in chronic liver disease patients.

The extent of the abundance of exosomal and non-exosomal extracellular miRNAs in the bovine follicular fluid.

Follicular fluid (FF) plays an important role during follicular development and it contains several bioactive molecules including extracellular microRNAs (ECmiRNAs) that may mediate cell-cell communication during follicular development. Yet, the distribution patterns of ECmiRNAs in FF is not well characterized. This study aims to investigate the distribution of ECmiRNAs in two major fractions, namely exosomal and non-exosomal, of bovine follicular fluid (bFF). Exosomal and non-exosomal fractions from bFF were separated using Exoquick™ exosomes precipitation kit. miRNA expression was evaluated using the human miRCURY LNA™ Universal RT miRNA PCR array system. Transmission electron microscopy and immunoblotting revealed that the isolated vesicles were exosomes. The real-time PCR-based expression analysis revealed that 516 miRNAs were detected in the exosomal fraction of bFF, while 393 miRNAs were detected in the non-exosomal fraction. Among the detected miRNAs, a total of 370 miRNAs were detected in both fractions, while 145 miRNAs and 23 miRNAs were solely detected in exosomal and non-exosomal fractions, respectively. Exploratory pathway analysis showed that the genes targeted by exosomal and non-exosomal miRNAs to be involved in MAPK, Wnt, FoxO, TGF-beta, Oxytocin, ErbB, PI3K-Akt, Neurotrophin signalling pathways which are believed to be involved in follicular development, cell proliferation, and meiotic resumption. The results of our study demonstrated that besides the exosomal fraction, non-exosomal fractions can carry a significant amount of miRNAs in bFF where the exosomal fraction carries a significantly higher number of detectable miRNAs.

Structural Consequence of Non-Synonymous Single-Nucleotide Variants in the N-Terminal Domain of LIS1.

Disruptive neuronal migration during early brain development causes severe brain malformation. Characterized by mislocalization of cortical neurons, this condition is a result of the loss of function of migration regulating genes. One known neuronal migration disorder is lissencephaly (LIS), which is caused by deletions or mutations of the LIS1 (PAFAH1B1) gene that has been implicated in regulating the microtubule motor protein cytoplasmic dynein. Although this class of diseases has recently received considerable attention, the roles of non-synonymous polymorphisms (nsSNPs) in LIS1 on lissencephaly progression remain elusive. Therefore, the present study employed combined bioinformatics and molecular modeling approach to identify potential damaging nsSNPs in the LIS1 gene and provide atomic insight into their roles in LIS1 loss of function. Using this approach, we identified three high-risk nsSNPs, including rs121434486 (F31S), rs587784254 (W55R), and rs757993270 (W55L) in the LIS1 gene, which are located on the N-terminal domain of LIS1. Molecular dynamics simulation highlighted that all variants decreased helical conformation, increased the intermonomeric distance, and thus disrupted intermonomeric contacts in the LIS1 dimer. Furthermore, the presence of variants also caused a loss of positive electrostatic potential and reduced dimer binding potential. Since self-dimerization is an essential aspect of LIS1 to recruit interacting partners, thus these variants are associated with the loss of LIS1 functions. As a corollary, these findings may further provide critical insights on the roles of LIS1 variants in brain malformation.

Novel Insight into the Potential Role of Acylglycerophosphate Acyltransferases Family Members on Triacylglycerols Synthesis in Buffalo.

Acylglycerophosphate acyltransferases (AGPATs) are the rate-limiting enzymes for the de novo pathway of triacylglycerols (TAG) synthesis. Although AGPATs have been extensively explored by evolution, expression and functional studies, little is known on functional characterization of how many members of the AGPAT family are involved in TAG synthesis and their impact on the cell proliferation and apoptosis. Here, 13 AGPAT genes in buffalo were identified, of which 12 AGPAT gene pairs were orthologous between buffalo and cattle. Comparative transcriptomic analysis and real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) further showed that both AGPAT1 and AGPAT6 were highly expressed in milk samples of buffalo and cattle during lactation. Knockdown of AGPAT1 or AGPAT6 significantly decreased the TAG content of buffalo mammary epithelial cells (BuMECs) and bovine mammary epithelial cells (BoMECs) by regulating lipogenic gene expression (p < 0.05). Knockdown of AGPAT1 or AGPAT6 inhibited proliferation and apoptosis of BuMECs through the expression of marker genes associated with the proliferation and apoptosis (p < 0.05). Our data confirmed that both AGPAT1 and AGPAT6 could regulate TAG synthesis and growth of mammary epithelial cells in buffalo. These findings will have important implications for understanding the role of the AGPAT gene in buffalo milk performance.

A Comprehensive Analysis and Anti-Cancer Activities of Quercetin in ROS-Mediated Cancer and Cancer Stem Cells.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) induce carcinogenesis by causing genetic mutations, activating oncogenes, and increasing oxidative stress, all of which affect cell proliferation, survival, and apoptosis. When compared to normal cells, cancer cells have higher levels of ROS, and they are responsible for the maintenance of the cancer phenotype; this unique feature in cancer cells may, therefore, be exploited for targeted therapy. Quercetin (QC), a plant-derived bioflavonoid, is known for its ROS scavenging properties and was recently discovered to have various antitumor properties in a variety of solid tumors. Adaptive stress responses may be induced by persistent ROS stress, allowing cancer cells to survive with high levels of ROS while maintaining cellular viability. However, large amounts of ROS make cancer cells extremely susceptible to quercetin, one of the most available dietary flavonoids. Because of the molecular and metabolic distinctions between malignant and normal cells, targeting ROS metabolism might help overcome medication resistance and achieve therapeutic selectivity while having little or no effect on normal cells. The powerful bioactivity and modulatory role of quercetin has prompted extensive research into the chemical, which has identified a number of pathways that potentially work together to prevent cancer, alongside, QC has a great number of evidences to use as a therapeutic agent in cancer stem cells. This current study has broadly demonstrated the function-mechanistic relationship of quercetin and how it regulates ROS generation to kill cancer and cancer stem cells. Here, we have revealed the regulation and production of ROS in normal cells and cancer cells with a certain signaling mechanism. We demonstrated the specific molecular mechanisms of quercetin including MAPK/ERK1/2, p53, JAK/STAT and TRAIL, AMPKα1/ASK1/p38, RAGE/PI3K/AKT/mTOR axis, HMGB1 and NF-κB, Nrf2-induced signaling pathways and certain cell cycle arrest in cancer cell death, and how they regulate the specific cancer signaling pathways as long-searched cancer therapeutics.

Impact of climate change on human health: evidence from riverine island dwellers of Bangladesh.

This study aims to explore the impact of climate change on health, including local adaptation strategies. A mixed-method approach has been used in this study. The results reveal that increasing the frequency of flooding, severity of riverbank erosion and drought, and rising disease outbreak are the highest indicators of climate change perceived by riverine island (char) dwellers, which is similar to the observed data. It also uncovers, approximately all respondents encounter several health-related issues during different seasons where prevailing cold and cough with fever, skin diseases, and diarrhoea are the leading ailments. Several adaptation strategies are accommodated by char inhabitants in order to enhance resilience against the climate change health impacts, but the paucity of money, disrupted communication, lack of formal health-care centre are the most obstacles to the sustainability of adaptation. This research recommends that healthcare-associated project should be performed through proper monitoring for exterminating char dwellers' health issues.

Cellular and Transcriptional Adaptation of Bovine Granulosa Cells Under Ethanol-Induced Stress In Vitro.

AIMS: Granulosa cells (GCs) are the major cellular component in a follicular microenvironment and play an indispensable role in ovarian function. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of ethanol exposure on the cellular and transcriptional changes of ovarian GCs. METHODS: For this purpose, bovine GCs were exposed to different concentrations of ethanol (0, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000) to mimic the effects of alcohol in in vitro. Subsequently, 100 and 1000 mM concentrations were discarded from further experiments, as 100 mM was not different from 50 mM, and 1000 mM was supertoxic to the cells. RESULTS: The results showed that there was a gradual loss of cell viability with the increase of the ethanol concentration, i.e. lowest viability was observed at the highest concentration (1000 mM), which is further supported by cell proliferation assay. Mitochondrial activity decreased significantly at higher concentrations. The expression of NRF2 decreased significantly (P < 0.05) in ethanol-exposed cells compared with the cells in the control group at the 6-h time point, whereas the expression was increased in 500 mM concentration at the 24-h time point. The expression of antioxidant genes, downstream to Nrf2-pathway activation, showed that overall expression pattern similar to NRF2. CONCLUSION: The result of this study prompted us to postulate that ethanol exposure decreases the ability of GCs to handle stress by downregulating the expression of genes involved in Nrf2-pathway.

Differential protein input in the maternal diet alters the skeletal muscle transcriptome in fetal sheep.

Maternal nutrition during pregnancy is one of the major intrauterine environmental factors that influence fetal development by significantly altering the expression of genes that might have a consequence on the physiological, morphological, and metabolic performance of the offspring in the postnatal period. The impact of maternal dietary protein on the expression of genes in sheep fetal skeletal muscle development is not well understood. The current study aims to investigate the impact of high and low maternal dietary protein on the holistic mRNA expression in the sheep fetal skeletal muscle. Dams were exposed to an isoenergetic high-protein diet (HP, 160-270 g/day), low-protein diet (LP, 73-112 g/day), and standard protein (SP, 119-198 g/day) diets during pregnancy. Fetal skeletal muscles were obtained at the 105th day of pregnancy and mRNA expression profiles were evaluated using Affymetrix GeneChip™ Ovine Gene 1.0 ST Array. The transcriptional analysis revealed a total of 323, 354, and 14 genes were differentially regulated (fold change > 2 and false discovery rate ≤ 0.05) in HP vs. SP, LP vs. HP, and SP vs. LP, respectively. Several myogenic genes, including MYOD1, MYH2, MYH1, are significantly upregulated, while genes related to the immune system, such as CXCL11, HLA-E, CXCL10, CXCL9, TLRs, are significantly downregulated in the fetal muscle of the HP group compared to those of SP and LP group. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that the majority of these genes are involved in pathways related to the immune system and diseases. The results of our study demonstrate that both augmented and restricted dietary proteins in maternal diet during pregnancy alter the expression of genes as well as the offspring's genetic marks.

Oxidative stress modulates the expression of apoptosis-associated microRNAs in bovine granulosa cells in vitro.

Despite its essential role in ovulation, oxidative stress (OS) has been found to be cytotoxic to cells, while microRNAs (miRNAs) are known as a major regulator of genes involved in cellular defense against cytotoxicity. However, a functional link between OS and miRNA expression changes in granulosa cells (GCs) remains to be investigated. Here, we investigate the OS modulation of apoptosis-associated miRNAs and their biological relevance in bovine GCs. Following the evaluation of cell viability, accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), cytotoxicity and mitochondrial activity, we used a ready-to-use miRNA PCR array to identify differentially regulated miRNAs. The results showed that exposure to 150 µM H2O2 for 4 h creates remarkable signs of OS in GCs characterized by more than 50% loss of cell viability, higher nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) nuclear translocation, significantly (p < 0.05) higher abundance of antioxidant genes, significantly (p < 0.001) higher accumulation of ROS, lower mitochondrial activity and a higher (p < 0.001) number of apoptotic nuclei compared to that of the control group. miRNA expression analysis revealed that a total of 69 miRNAs were differentially regulated in which 47 and 22 miRNAs were up- and downregulated, respectively, in stressed GCs. By applying the 2-fold and p < 0.05 criteria, we found 16 miRNAs were upregulated and 10 miRNAs were downregulated. Target prediction revealed that up- and downregulated miRNAs potentially targeted a total of 6210 and 3575 genes, respectively. Pathway analysis showed that upregulated miRNAs are targeting the genes involved mostly in cell survival, intracellular communication and homeostasis, cellular migration and growth control and disease pathways. Our results showed that OS modulates the expression of apoptosis-associated miRNAs that might have effects on cellular or molecular damages.

Sulforaphane protects granulosa cells against oxidative stress via activation of NRF2-ARE pathway.

Sulforaphane (SFN) has been considered as an indirect antioxidant and potential inducer of the Nrf2-ARE pathway. This study was conducted to investigate the protective role of SFN against oxidative stress in bovine granulosa cells (GCs). GCs were collected from antral follicles (4-8 mm) and cultured according to the experimental design where group 1 = control, group 2 = treated with SFN, group 3 = treated with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), group 4 = pretreated with SFN and then with H2O2 (protective) and group 5 = treated with H2O2 followed by SFN treatment (rescuing). Results showed that SFN pretreatment significantly increases cell viability and reduces cytotoxicity in GCs under oxidative stress. Following H2O2 exposure, expression of NRF2 was found to be significantly increased (p < 0.05) in SFN-pretreated cells, while no significant differences were observed between group 3 and group 5, although the expression was significantly increased compared to the control group. Moreover, the relative abundance of the NRF2 downstream target antioxidant genes (CAT, PRDX1, SOD1 and TXN1) were higher (fold change ranged from 7 to 14, p < 0.05) in sulforaphane pretreated GCs. Low level of ROS and lipid accumulation and higher mitochondrial activity were observed in GCs pretreated with SFN, whereas no such changes were observed in GCs treated with SFN after exposure to oxidative stress (group 5). Thus, we suggest that SFN pretreatment effectively protects GCs against oxidative damage through the activation of the NRF2-ARE pathway, whereas addition of SFN during oxidative insult failed to rescue GCs.

Correction to: Sulforaphane protects granulosa cells against oxidative stress via activation of NRF2-ARE pathway.

There is an error in the original publication of this paper. Figures 1-6 were shown in the wrong version, thus corrected figures provided were in this article.

Potential role of microRNAs in mammalian female fertility.

Since the first evidence for the involvement of microRNAs (miRNAs) in various reproductive processes through conditional knockout of DICER, several studies have been conducted to investigate the expression pattern and role of miRNAs in ovarian follicular development, oocyte maturation, embryo development, embryo-maternal communication, pregnancy establishment and various reproductive diseases. Although advances in sequencing technology have fuelled miRNA studies in mammalian species, the presence of extracellular miRNAs in various biological fluids, including follicular fluid, blood plasma, urine and milk among others, has opened a new door in miRNA research for their use as diagnostic markers. This review presents data related to the identification and expression analysis of cellular miRNA in mammalian female fertility associated with ovarian folliculogenesis, oocyte maturation, preimplantation embryo development and embryo implantation. In addition, the relevance of miRNAs to female reproductive disorders, including polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), endometritis and abnormal pregnancies, is discussed for various mammalian species. Most importantly, the mechanism of release and the role of extracellular miRNAs in cell-cell communication and their potential role as non-invasive markers in female fertility are discussed in detail. Understanding this layer of regulation in female reproduction processes will pave the way to understanding the genetic regulation of female fertility in mammalian species.

A Systematic Study on Structure and Function of ATPase of Wuchereria bancrofti.

BACKGROUND: Analyzing the structures and functions of different proteins of Wuchereria bancrofti is very important because till date no effective drug or vaccine has been discovered to treat lymphatic filariasis (LF). ATPase is one of the most important proteins of Wuchereria bancrofti. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) converts into adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and a free phosphate ion by the action of these ATPase enzymes. Energy releases from these dephosphorylation reactions drive the other chemical reactions in the cell. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study we worked on the protein ATPase of Wuchereria bancrofti which has been annotated from National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). Various computational tools and databases have been used to determine the various characteristics of that enzyme such as physiochemical properties, secondary structure, three-dimensional (3D) structure, conserved domain, epitope, and their molecular evolutionary relationship. RESULT: Subcellular localization of ATPase was identified and we have found that 55.5% are localized in the cytoplasm. Secondary and 3D structure of this protein was also predicted. Both structure and function analysis of ATPase of Wuchereria bancrofti showed unique nonhomologous epitope sites and nonhomologous antigenicity sites. Moreover, it resulted in 15 ligand drug-binding sites in its tertiary structure. CONCLUSION: Structure prediction of these proteins and detection of binding sites and antigenicity sites from this study would indicate a potential target aiding docking studies for therapeutic designing against filariasis.

Selective prosaposin expression in Langerhans islets of the mouse pancreas.

The islets of Langerhans are clusters of endocrine cells surrounded by exocrine acinar cells in the pancreas. Prosaposin is a housekeeping protein required for normal lysosomal function, but its expression level is significantly different among tissues. Prosaposin also exists in various body fluids including serum. Intracellularly, prosaposin activates lysosomes and may support autophagy, and extracellularly, prosaposin promotes survival of neurons via G protein-coupled receptors. In this study, prosaposin and its mRNA expression were examined in endocrine cells of the islets as well as in exocrine acinar cells in the pancreas of mice by in situ hybridization and immunostaining. High expression levels of prosaposin were found in Alpha, Beta and Delta cells in the islets, whereas prosaposin mRNA expression was faint or negative and prosaposin immunoreactivity was negative in exocrine acinar cells. The high expression levels of prosaposin in endocrine cells may indicate that prosaposin plays a crucial role in crinophagy, which is a characteristic autophagy in peptide-secreting endocrine cells, and/or that prosaposin is secreted from pancreatic islets. Since prosaposin has been reported in serum, this study suggests a new possible function of the Langerhans islets.

Exploring the multifaceted vulnerabilities of female street child labor in the capital city of Bangladesh.

Numerous children experience vulnerability due to their families' profound economic and socio-economic hardships. Among this demographic, females face heightened susceptibility, particularly those engaged in child labor. Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, hosts a substantial population of female child laborers, compounding their precarious circumstances. Hence this study utilizes a qualitative phenomenological approach to investigate the vulnerabilities affecting these female child laborers thoroughly. A total of 25 in-depth interviews were conducted with female child laborers in Dhaka city, following a semi-structured format. NVivo 14 software was instrumental in the systematic coding and analysis of the extensive text data, enhancing the reliability and validity of the findings. This study, therefore, explores various vulnerabilities faced by female child laborers in Dhaka city, including risky health behavior, abusive behavior, sexual harassment, school dropout, unhygienic dietary habits, hazardous work conditions, and substandard living environments. Their socio-economic conditions make them susceptible to physical and mental setbacks, exploitation, and loss of dignity. The study emphasizes the necessity for comprehensive support and breaking the cycle through educational, health, and social initiatives. It offers a detailed portrayal of the living conditions of female child laborers in Dhaka city, providing valuable insights and evidence-based policy prescriptions for policymakers and Non-Government Organizations to formulate effective policies and measures to safeguard this vulnerable community.