Nigella sativa or black seed is used as a medicinal plant around the globe. Oil and seeds have a long tradition of folklore use in various medicinal and food systems. The conventional therapeutic use of Nigella sativa, in different ways, has been reported in several studies to treat different diseases including influenza, headache, hypertension, diabetes, inflammation, eczema, fever, cough, asthma, bronchitis, and fever. Based on previously reported potential therapeutic uses of N. sativa compounds, and keeping in mind the dire need of time for the development of potent antiviral, a combined docking, ADMET properties calculation, molecular dynamics, and MM-PBSA approaches were applied in the current study to check the therapeutic potentials of N. sativa chief constituents against COVID-19. Among the studied compounds, we found that dithymoquinone (DTQ), with binding affinity of À8.6 kcal/mol compared to a positive control (chloroquine, À7.2 kcal/mol) , has the high potential of binding at SARS-CoV-2:ACE2 interface and thus could be predicted as a plausible inhibitor to disrupt viral-host interactions. Molecular dynamics simulation of 100 ns well complemented binding affinity of the compound and revealed strong stability of DTQ at the docked site. Additionally, MM-PBSA also affirms the docking results. Compound DTQ of the present study, if validated in wet lab experiments, could be used to treat COVID-19 and could serve as a lead in the future for development of more effective natural antivirals against COVID-19.

Cell cycle is maintained almost all the times and is controlled by various regulatory proteins and their complexes (Cdk+Cyclin) in different phases of interphase (G1, S and G2) and mitosis of cell cycle. A number of mechanisms have been proposed for the initiation and progression of carcinogenesis by abruption in cell cycle process. One of the important features of cancer/carcinogenesis is functional loss of these cell cycle regulatory proteins particularly in CDKs and cyclins. We hypothesize that there is a direct involvement of these cell cycle regulatory proteins not only at the genetic level but also proteins level, during the initiation of carcinogenesis. Therefore, it becomes significant to determine inconsistency in the functioning of regulatory proteins due to interaction with carcinogen 4-(Methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK). Hence, we investigated the interaction efficiency of NNK, against cell cycle regulatory proteins. We found a different value of ΔG (free energy of binding) among the studied proteins ranging between -3.29 to -7.25 kcal/mol was observed. To validate the results, we considered Human Oxy-Hemoglobin at 1.25 Å Resolution, [PDB_ID:1HHO] as a +ve control, (binding energy -6.06 kcal/mol). Finally, the CDK8 (PDB_ID:3RGF) and CDK2 (PDB_ID:3DDP) regulatory proteins showing significantly strong molecular interaction with NNK -7.25 kcal/mol, -6.19 kcal/mol respectively were analyzed in details. In this study we predicted that CDK8 protein fails to form functional complex with its complementary partner cyclin C in presence of NNK. Consequently, inconsistency of functioning in regulatory proteins might lead to the abruption in cell cycle progression; contribute to the loss of cell cycle control and subsequently increasing the possibility of carcinogenesis.

Table of contents O1 Regulation of genes by telomere length over long distances Jerry W. Shay O2 The microtubule destabilizer KIF2A regulates the postnatal establishment of neuronal circuits in addition to prenatal cell survival, cell migration, and axon elongation, and its loss leading to malformation of cortical development and severe epilepsy Noriko Homma, Ruyun Zhou, Muhammad Imran Naseer, Adeel G. Chaudhary, Mohammed Al-Qahtani, Nobutaka Hirokawa O3 Integration of metagenomics and metabolomics in gut microbiome research Maryam Goudarzi, Albert J. Fornace Jr. O4 A unique integrated system to discern pathogenesis of central nervous system tumors Saleh Baeesa, Deema Hussain, Mohammed Bangash, Fahad Alghamdi, Hans-Juergen Schulten, Angel Carracedo, Ishaq Khan, Hanadi Qashqari, Nawal Madkhali, Mohamad Saka, Kulvinder S. Saini, Awatif Jamal, Jaudah Al-Maghrabi, Adel Abuzenadah, Adeel Chaudhary, Mohammed Al Qahtani, Ghazi Damanhouri O5 RPL27A is a target of miR-595 and deficiency contributes to ribosomal dysgenesis Heba Alkhatabi O6 Next generation DNA sequencing panels for haemostatic and platelet disorders and for Fanconi anaemia in routine diagnostic service Anne Goodeve, Laura Crookes, Nikolas Niksic, Nicholas Beauchamp O7 Targeted sequencing panels and their utilization in personalized medicine Adel M. Abuzenadah O8 International biobanking in the era of precision medicine Jim Vaught O9 Biobank and biodata for clinical and forensic applications Bruce Budowle, Mourad Assidi, Abdelbaset Buhmeida O10 Tissue microarray technique: a powerful adjunct tool for molecular profiling of solid tumors Jaudah Al-Maghrabi O11 The CEGMR biobanking unit: achievements, challenges and future plans Abdelbaset Buhmeida, Mourad Assidi, Leena Merdad O12 Phylomedicine of tumors Sudhir Kumar, Sayaka Miura, Karen Gomez O13 Clinical implementation of pharmacogenomics for colorectal cancer treatment Angel Carracedo, Mahmood Rasool O14 From association to causality: translation of GWAS findings for genomic medicine Ahmed Rebai O15 E-GRASP: an interactive database and web application for efficient analysis of disease-associated genetic information Sajjad Karim, Hend F Nour Eldin, Heba Abusamra, Elham M Alhathli, Nada Salem, Mohammed H Al-Qahtani, Sudhir Kumar O16 The supercomputer facility “AZIZ” at KAU: utility and future prospects Hossam Faheem O17 New research into the causes of male infertility Ashok Agarwa O18 The Klinefelter syndrome: recent progress in pathophysiology and management Eberhard Nieschlag, Joachim Wistuba, Oliver S. Damm, Mohd A. Beg, Taha A. Abdel-Meguid, Hisham A. Mosli, Osama S. Bajouh, Adel M. Abuzenadah, Mohammed H. Al-Q...

Objective: To investigate the epidemiology and spectrum of upper gastrointestinal (UGI) tract injuries, as well as to assess the burden of Corrosive intake patients who presented to an Islamabad tertiary care hospital.Study Design: Descriptive cross-sectional.Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out at the Department of Gastroenterology of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad, Pakistan from January 2021 to December 2021.Materials and Methods: A retrospective descriptive study was carried out at the department of Gastroenterology using patient records. After taking a thorough history, patients were admitted in the hospital, which was followed by a physical examination, necessary investigations, and an initial emergency management. The study did not include any follow-up cases. Corrosive ingestion induced tissue damage was assessed via endoscopy using Zargar’s classification. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 26.Results: The total number of patients who were brought to emergency department with corrosive ingestion during one year were 74. There were 45 females (60.81%) and 29 male patients (39.19%). Age ranged from 13 to 60 years (mean 27.01 ± 18.91) with highest incidence in the age group of 21-30 years which was 44.59 % followed by 11-20 age Group (28.28 %).  41 patients were unmarried (55.41%), whereas 33 were married (44.59 %). Corrosive ingestion was most common in illiterate patients (44.59 %). 46 patients (62.16%) confessed that they ingested corrosive substance intentionally while 28 (37.84 %) claimed it happened due to accidental ingestion. Washroom cleaner was found to be the most commonly used corrosive Agent (90.54%). The most common sites that sustained corrosive injuries were the oropharynx and oesophagus, while the duodenum was found to be the least affected with normal endoscopic examination in the majority of the patients (51.35 %).Conclusion:  In developing countries, corrosive ingestion is a major public health concern, with a high proportion of suicidal ingestions. It is particularly common in suicidal young people with easy access to washroom cleaners. The seriousness of this problem emphasises the importance of pursuing multidisciplinary solutions. In addition, strict action and stringent legislation by governing bodies are required in developing countries to limit adults' unrestricted access to hazardous corrosive elements.

Thyroid nodules are solid lumps filled with fluid that develop inside the thyroid gland. Due to their small size, the majority of them go undetected and are asymptomatic. However, some of them are cancerous. Objectives: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of Fine needle aspiration followed by histopathology and sonographic features of thyroid nodule Methods: In this study, 274 participants were included. All of them were detected with the solitary euthyroid nodule. All the patients considered in the present study had normal values of T4 and TSH as euthyroid nodules were supposed to be studied. All the participants were subjected to undergo a USG as per the TIRADS system and FNAC wherever it was applicable. The biopsy report of the excised sample was considered a gold standard. Result: The classification of FNAC was more specific than the TIRADS system, however, the sensitivity of both the classification was the same. Micro-calcification was most specific and sensitive in the individuals that underwent a USG. Irregular margins had a specificity of 88% and nodules taller-than-wider in shape were 91% specificity. A total of 7 patients had shown benign features on cytology, whereas, they were suspiciously malignant on USG (TIRADES 4 and 5) and showed malignancy in final evaluation after the surgery. Conclusion: The sensitivity of both FNAC and USG in the diagnosis of malignancy of thyroid nodule is equal, however, the specificity of FNA is more (90%). FNAC is a minimally invasive procedure that can be opted for the differentiation of benign and malignant lesions with an accuracy of 86%. Patients showing high-risk features on sonography are subjected to repeat the FNAC and they should also be referred for a surgical biopsy to make a definitive diagnosis.