Cancer as a cause of frequent illness and death possess a significant threat for the global public health. At a time where the existing conventional therapies such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery and monoclonal antibodies demand modifications due to their limitations such as toxicity and acquisition of resistance, microbial peptides have revived attention. Azurin is a bacterial cupredoxin secreted by Pseudomonas aeruginosa with the ability of preferential entry and cytotoxicity towards a wide variety of cancer cells in vivo and in vitro. It provides the promise of overcoming resistance due to being a multitargeted anticancer agent showing extracellular mode of action by interaction with several cell surface receptors and intracellular action by interacting with tumour suppressor p53 and interfering in its pathway. Tumour suppressor p53 is frequently mutated in Human cancers and thus the ability of azurin and its peptides to stabilise p53 to revive its functions opens up a revenue of opportunities for exploration in cancer therapeutics. This review aims to discuss about azurin and its peptide p28, the molecule which completed two Phase 1 clinical trials and tumour suppressor p53 for new prospects for the future.

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) are repeated patterns observed in bacterial DNA based on the natural defence mechanism of bacteria against any viral infection and plasmids. Targeted gene editing with the aid transcription activator-like effector nucleases and zinc-finger nucleases restricts its wide spared application due to convoluted protein structure designing. A CRISPR locus is organised of interspersed spacer and repeat sequences. Spacers are unique sequences originating from viral or plasmid DNA. CRISPR works in three phases (1) acquisition, (2) biogenesis and (3) targeting. Acquisition or adaptation involves the selection of foreign invading DNA (Protospacer). Biogenesis or expression and maturation integrate Protospacer into CRISPR loci transcribed and matured into crRNAs. During the targeting phase, crRNA forms a complex with cas9. There are three main classes of the CRISPR/cas9 system, i.e., type I, type II and type III, that have been discovered till date. All the data have been amalgamated through the following search engines such as PUBMED, Google Scholar and Medweb using keywords such as CRISPR/cas9 gene editing. The meta-analysis for the current study has been carried out by doing a systemic review starting from 2010 to 2017. CRISPR is currently the most adaptable and precise method employed for gene manipulation. Especially for the screening of mutant which increases in potency of T-cell cancer therapy, treatment for monogenic diseases, gene editing in embryos, zoonotic diseases such as malaria, eradication of HIV-1 genomes from T-cells can be possible. It can be used to understand how different genes influence disorders in the variety of animal systems. The natural bacterial protection mechanism is employed for gene editing due to expeditious scientific evolution and can be further availed for the treatment of various monogenic disorders. Embryo manipulation can be a divergent advancement in future, but due to social and ethical issues, this technique is to a halt.

Introduction: Lack of knowledge and malpractice with regard to cold, associated symptoms and subsequent management of this illness increase the economic burden and impair patient-related outcomes. The aim of this study was to assess the level of knowledge, practices and attitudes about the common cold and its treatment measures among the general public in different parts of Baghdad province, Iraq. Methodology: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted among 384 participants through an interview using a structured three-part questionnaire, consisting of 28 items assessing the demographic characteristics, practices, level of knowledge and attitude towards common cold. Results: A total of 384 participants were enrolled in this study. About 31.8% of the respondents stated that physicians were the most common source for the provision of education about the common cold and its management. Nearly 54.7% of the participants agreed that common cold is caused by a viral infection and 49.2% disagree about taking medications by the patient own-self without medical advice and the majority 61% agreed about taking medications from the community pharmacy. However, 40.6% of the respondents had negative attitudes regarding the use of antibiotics for common cold. There was a statistically significant difference towards common cold knowledge and attitude concerning education level (P = 0.02) and provision of proper education (P = 0.0001). Conclusion: The study revealed an acceptable level of knowledge and attitude about the common cold among the Iraqi community; however, there are gaps in the general knowledge about the use of antibiotics for the treatment of the cold.

Objective: The induction of type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rat model using the Sprague Dawley (SD) species is commonly performed for further laboratory experimental purposes. Various laboratory conditions or even other environments provide different outcomes in achieving the model utilising the previous protocol. Materials and Methods: We performed an experimental animal study. Researchers administered a revamped induction regimen involving a variation of a high-fat diet (HFD) with several low-dose streptozotocin injections and a glucose drink immediately after injection. Results: HFD-fed rats have demonstrated severe hyperglycaemic status, though they were further evaluated to assess their insulin sensitivity. Analysing subgroups, HFD with glucose drink indicated poor insulin sensitivity after 2 h of intraperitoneal insulin injection. Poor glucose clearance revealed insulin resistance in the rat model (P = 0.026). Different dietary courses and fasting blood glucose were found not significant, P < 0.05. Complementary glucose in HFD was much more likely to cause hyperglycaemic characteristic, although HFD alone did not indicate many discrepancies in hyperglycaemic condition χ2 (2, N = 216) =181.385, P < 0.01. The extra glucose in HFD greatly decreased glucose clearance efficiency, although HFD alone did not demonstrate a clear correlation with the glucose clearance rate, χ2 (2, N = 1003) =700.638, P < 0.01. In addition, the hyperglycaemic state was conversely correlated with insulin sensitivity (r = −0.727, P < 0.001). Conclusion: This approach provides an alternative T2DM induction technique in SD rats. The key features of T2DM, including hyperglycaemic state and insulin insensitivity, were successfully developed in the animal model.

Background: Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a disorder which is associated with increased risk of development of type 2 diabetes, hypertension and gynaecological cancers in later life. Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the difference in the prevalence of PCOS in urban and rural north Indian adolescent girls aged 12–19 years. Materials and Methods: Fifty each urban and rural adolescent girls aged between 12 and 19 years presenting to the Gynaecology Outpatient Department with varied menstrual complaints were included in the study. Clinical history, menstrual history, chief complaints, sociodemographic history and history of physical activity were taken. Clinical examination and anthropometric measurements were taken. Ultrasonography for polycystic ovaries was done. Biochemical examination was also done. Results: The prevalence of PCOS symptoms was higher in urban group than in rural group. The environmental determinants of PCOS, i.e., obesity, an obesogenic diet and lack of physical activity, were more prevalent in urban group than rural group. Conclusion: Modification of environmental factors in both urban and rural populations at this younger age group can lead to overall reduction in the prevalence of PCOS and long-term complication associated with it like type 2 diabetes mellitus, endometrial cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Background and Objective: The present study was intended to compare the preventive and therapeutic effects of injection granisetron and injection ondansetron on the incidence of intraoperative nausea and vomiting and post-operative nausea and vomiting (IONV and PONV) in patients undergoing lower segment caesarean section under spinal anaesthesia. Materials and Methods: It was a hospital-based single-blind comparative study among 90 women undergoing caesarean section with spinal anaesthesia. One group of 45 women has been given 2 mg granisetron IV, while another group of 45 women was given ondansetron 4 mg IV. IONV, PONV and adverse events among both the groups were studied. Results: IONV was found among 13.33% of persons in ondansetron group, while it was 8.89% among the granisetron group. Early and late PONV was low in the granisetron group as compared to ondansetron group. Headache, drowsiness and constipation were low in the granisetron group as compared to the ondansetron group. Conclusion: Granisetron 2 mg IV is better in preventing intraoperative as well as PONV as compared to ondansetron 4 mg IV.

Introduction: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a method of treatment for patients suffering from depressive disorders, bipolarity, and schizophrenia and is accompanied by hyperdynamic responses. This study aimed to find intravenous anaesthesia with profound effects but fewer side effects. Materials and Methods: This study was an interventional clinical trial, in which 35 patients were categorised into three groups each being treated in three sessions (105 cases in total). Group A received distilled water + propofol 1mg/kg, Group B received remifentanil 1 µg/kg + propofol 1mg/kg and Group C received ketamine + propofol (ketofol) 1 with the dose of 1 mg/kg. Then, the patients were investigated in terms of hemodynamic changes and recovery time in the first 10 min. Results: There were no significant differences in the three groups of the study in terms of the patients' heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen saturation percentage (P = 0.598, P = 0.283 and P = 0.172, respectively). However, there was a significant difference (P = 0.0001) amongst the three groups in terms of recovery time as Group C (ketofol) had the lowest recovery time and Group B (remifentanil + propofol) had the highest recovery time. Moreover, there was a significant difference across the three groups regarding the agitation score showing that sole propofol resulted in the lowest amount of agitation in the three groups (P = 0.026). The highest amount belonged to Group C. Conclusions: The ketofol compound had the lowest recovery time, and the remifentanil + propofol compound had the highest recovery time in ECT candidate patients. Sole propofol caused the lowest amount of agitation and ketofol caused the highest amount of agitation in the patients.

Background: In India, though pharmacovigilance programme had been introduced way back in 2003, still there are very less cases reported regarding adverse drug reaction (ADR), especially by dental professionals. This led to the necessity to find out the knowledge regarding ADR amongst the dentists and the reasons for underreporting. Moreover, as ADRs are more common and severe amongst paediatric population when compared to adults, this electronic survey was carried out to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices amongst the students pursuing masters in paediatric dentistry. Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted amongst post-graduate students registered with Indian Society of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry. A Google Form with covering letter which included specified instruction format, informed consent, covering letter with clear description of the purpose of the study and questions in different categories were mailed. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse responses. The association of knowledge and attitude with respect to position of paediatric dentists was analysed with Chi-square test. Results: The questionnaire was completed by 274 participants. Ninety per cent of participants were aware that ADR can be caused by the drugs available in the market and such drugs can be banned post availability in the market. Only 20% of the participants were aware of PvPI app but 75% participants opted for online reporting of ADR. Nearly 81% of participants believed that ADR should be reported the moment it is observed and this reporting is basically for the safety of the patients. Nearly 90% of participants agreed that dental materials can cause ADR due to either lack of knowledge to identify ADR and the procedure of reporting or the fear of legal issues. Almost only 4% of the participants have ever attended an ADR workshop. Conclusion: The general knowledge of ADR is prevalent amongst the participants, but there is strong evidence of underreporting and lack of reporting system information.

Background: Acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is the most devastating form of coronary artery disease (CAD). The aim of the present study was to assess the risk factors, clinical presentation, angiographic profile and 30-day outcomes of young patients (aged ≤35 years) with STEMI. Materials and Methods: Between 1 March, 2019 and 29 February, 2020, a total of 75 young patients aged ≤35 years old, with acute STEMI were included in the study. All patients underwent coronary angiography and were evaluated for clinical presentation, risk factors for CAD, management and in hospital and 30-day outcome. Results: The mean age of patients was 31 ± 4.5 years and 96% were male. The most common cardiovascular risk factor was smoking (66.7%), followed by dyslipidaemia (61%), family history of CAD (40%) and obesity (33.3%). Diabetes mellitus (9.3%) and hypertension (14.7%) were less common. Novel risk factors such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, lipoprotein (a) and hyperhomocysteinaemia were having significant association to young myocardial infarction (MI). The most common location of MI was the anterior wall (68%). Significant CAD was found in 86.7% of patients. Most patients had single vessel disease (68%) with left anterior descending being the most common vessel involved (53.3%). There was no mortality during hospitalisation or 30-day period. Conclusion: Acute MI in young (≤35 years) almost exclusively occurs in male and smoking is the most common cardiovascular risk factor. Young patients have less extensive coronary involvement and favourable outcomes.

Introduction: Fibro-calcific plaque is one of the earliest representations of atherosclerosis in the ageing pulmonary trunk. It may vary in the different parts of the pulmonary trunk and may increase with age. Materials and Methods: One hundred and twenty pulmonary trunks of adult human forensic bodies were taken. Histological slides were formed, and occurrence of fibro-calcific plaque was observed in the different segments of the pulmonary trunk were microscopically. Data were statically analysed using the ANOVA and P-test methods. Results: There was an increase in the occurrence of fibro-calcific plaque in each segment of the pulmonary trunk up to the middle age, but there is a decrease in older age group except in the distal segment which show continuous increase with all age groups. Our results show agreement with previous workers. Conclusion: There was no significant difference in the occurrence of fibro-calcific plaque in different segments of the pulmonary trunk, and it increases up to middle age and show some decrease in the older age group in the pulmonary trunk.