Oral cancer is of major public health problem in India. Current investigation was aimed to identify the specific deregulated miRNAs which are responsible for development of resistance phenotype through regulating their resistance related target gene expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Cisplatin-resistant OSCC cell lines were developed from their parental human OSCC cell lines and subsequently characterised. The resistant cells exhibited enhanced proliferative, clonogenic capacity with significant up-regulation of P-glycoprotein (ABCB1), c-Myc, survivin, β-catenin and a putative cancer-stem-like signature with increased expression of CD44, whereas the loss of E-cadherin signifies induced EMT phenotype. A comparative analysis of miRNA expression profiling in parental and cisplatin-resistant OSCC cell lines for a selected sets (deregulated miRNAs in head and neck cancer) revealed resistance specific signature. Moreover, we observed similar expression pattern for these resistance specific signature miRNAs in neoadjuvant chemotherapy treated and recurrent tumours compared to those with newly diagnosed primary tumours in patients with OSCC. All these results revealed that these miRNAs play an important role in the development of cisplatin-resistance mainly through modulating cancer stem-cell-like and EMT-type properties in OSCC.

The use of catalytic amount of metal acetate or metal oxide in acetic acid is a new and highly efficient acetylating system for chemoselective N-acetylation of primary and secondary amines in excellent yields under reflux condition. No other solvent is required. The noted features of this method include mild reaction conditions, use of innocuous reagents, excellent yields, convenient work-up, and reuse of catalyst.

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A three-year-old girl was referred to our surgery department from a rural hospital in West Bengal for a suspected incarcerated rightsided inguinal hernia in March '2014. Her mother had first noticed a peanut sized swelling in the right groin 6-months back; it gradually enlarged to reach the present size [Table/ Fig-1]. Her parents sought medical attention because of moderate pain in her right groin for last 4-days. There were no complaints of abdominal pain, distension of abdomen or vomiting. The patient did not have any history of trauma to the right inguinal region. There was no change in her bowel and bladder habit in last four days. Local examination revealed a pear shaped 5 × 2.5 cm irreducible, fluctuent swelling in the right inguino-labial region. There was no expansile impulse on straining (crying). The swelling was transilluminant but no thrill or bruit was noted over the swelling. Overlying skin was normal and free from the groin lump. Her complete blood count and urinalysis was normal. A differential diagnosis of an inguinal hernia or hydrocele was made from the aforesaid clinical picture. Then the patient was shifted to our emergency operation theatre where ultrasonography of the right inguino-labial region revealed hypoechoic swelling with fine internal septations.Then she underwent surgical exploration through right groin transverse skin crease incision, where after cutting the skin and The inguinal canal is traversed by the spermatic cord in men and the round ligament of uterus in women. The round ligament is attached to the uterine cornu near the origin of fallopian tube at one end and to the ipsilateral labia majora at the other. The round ligament accompanies a pouch of parietal peritoneum in the inguinal canal, which is known as 'canal of nuck'. It is analogous to the processus vaginalis in males. Incomplete obliteration of the peritoneal pouch causes indirect inguinal hernia or hydrocele of the canal of nuck; a very rare condition in women. As these types of cases are rarely seen in surgical practice we present a case of such little-known developmental disorder in a three-year-old girl. She presented with irreducible, tender right inguino-labial swelling with tachycardia simulating incarcerated inguinal hernia, which necessitates emergency surgical exploration. On exploration it was found to be an encysted hydrocele of canal of nuck; so although rare, this entity should be considered in differential diagnosis in a female child presented with inguino-labial swelling. Keywords: Encysted hydrocele, Processus vaginalis, Round ligamentsubcutaneous tissue we encountered a cystic lesion. Then we open the right inguinal canal after cutting the external oblique aponeurosis to delineate the extension of the lesion. Cyst was extended down to the right labia majora and it was clearly seen to be an encysted hydrocele of canal of the nuck [Table/ Fig-2], without any evidence of associated inguinal hernia. The cyst was carefully dissected from the round ligament and ligation of canal of nuck done near deep ...

BackgroundNanotechnology is now regarded as a distinct field of research in modern science and technology with multifaceted areas including biomedical applications. Among the various approaches currently available for the generation of metallic nanoparticles, biogenic synthesis is of increasing demand for the purpose of green nanotechnology. Among various natural sources, plant materials are the most readily available template-directing matrix offering cost-effectiveness, eco-friendliness, and easy handling. Moreover, the inherent pharmacological potentials of these medicinal plant extracts offer added biomedical implementations of the synthesized metal nanoparticles.ResultsA robust practical method for eco-friendly synthesis of silver nanoparticles using aqueous leaf extract of Ocimum sanctum (Tulsi) as both reducing and capping agent, under the influence of direct sunlight has been developed without applying any other chemical additives. The nanoparticles were characterized with the help of UV-visible spectrophotometer and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The prepared silver nanoparticles exhibited considerable antibacterial activity. The effects were more pronounced on non-endospore-forming Gram-positive bacteria viz., Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Listeria monocytogenes than endospore-forming species Bacillus subtilis. The nanoparticles also showed prominent activity on Gram-negative human pathogenic Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and plant pathogenic Pantoea ananatis. A bactericidal mode of action was observed for both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria by the nanoparticles.ConclusionsWe have developed a very simple, efficient, and practical method for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles using aqueous leaf extract of O. sanctum under the influence of direct sunlight. The biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles making use of such a traditionally important medicinal plant without applying any other chemical additives, thus offers a cost-effective and environmentally benign route for their large-scale commercial production. The nanoparticles dispersed in the mother solution showed promising antibacterial efficacy.Graphical AbstractSunlight-induced rapid and efficient biogenic synthesis of silver nanoparticles using aqueous leaf extract of Ocimum sanctum Linn. with enhanced antibacterial activity.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13588-014-0018-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.