piRNAs: the “Bodyguards” of Fertility

Among the small non coding RNAs classes, piRNAs are of particular interest because of their role in allowing the normal reproduction of individuals, from Drosophila to mouse. The reduction of piRNAs in the germ cells is sufficient to cause the sterility of fruit flies. This damaging effect arises from the spread of transposable elements, normally silenced by the piRNAs, into the genome. The DNA damages caused from mobile elements are directly related to the reproductive deficits.

Application of Competency Assessment Tool (CAT) in Geriatric medicine

The relative percentage of elderly population on a global level has escalated at a slow but steady rate. In such conditions, it becomes imperative to devise newer and better clinical methods and tools that can help in imparting health care and improving quality of life of geriatric patients. The Competency Assessment Tool (CAT) is one such method that helps in assessing the real time physiological and psychological conditions of geriatric patients so that an appropriate treatment and management regimen may be designed.

Impact of psychosocial support on well being of HIV infected older adults in Ibadan

Older adults in sub-Sahara African societies are vulnerable group of people due to life experience of hardship, malnutrition, poverty and high susceptibility to chronic diseases like HIV epidemic. Hence, there are very few strategies that currently address the hidden psychosocial problem of HIV among the older adult’s ages 50 years and above. The study investigates the perceived impact of psychosocial supports on the general well-being of older adults in Ibadan.

The study was conducted among older adults attending the General Out-Patient clinic (GOP) and Geriatric Centre of University College Hospital, Ibadan. The study purposively selected 120 older adults ages 50 years and above at the GOP clinic and Geriatric Centre. Ethical consent was received from UCH research ethical committee. The study used a self-constructed instrument tagged Psychosocial Support of HIV/AIDS Older Adults Questionnaire (PSHOAQ). The reliability of the instrument yielded r=0.84 Crobanch Alpha. Four research hypotheses were tested with ANOVA.

Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) encoded AC2 associates with host mirnas by directly interacting with AGO1

Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV; Family: Geminiviridae, Genus: Begomovirus) infecting tomato and causes severe yield loss (~40% to 90%) (Saikia and Muniyappa, 1989). This family of viruses may contain monopartite (DNA-A) or bipartite (DNA-A and DNA-B) circular ssDNA genomes. The DNA-A component encodes six open reading frames (ORFs) namely AC1, AC2, AC3, AC4, AV1 and AV2 while, only two proteins BC1 and BV1 are encoded by DNA-B component (Dry et al, 1993; Padidam et al, 1995). AC2 encodes for a 15 kDa protein that functions as a pathogenicity factor and acts as an RSS (Voinnet et al, 1999; Kumar et al, 2014; Kumar et al, 2015).