Molecular Biology and Genetics / Moleküler Biyoloji ve Genetik
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11147/9
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Article Assessment of Undergraduate Health Students' Perception and Satisfaction on Training and Participation in Community Health Outreach(Springer, 2023) Adegbore, Abidemi Kafayat; Adedokun, Amudatu Ambali; Adegoke, Juliet Ifeoluwa; Lawal, Maruf Ayobami; Oke, MuseAimThe need to improve training of health professionals has increased in recent years due to increasing frequencies of public health events. Consequently, a descriptive cross-sectional survey was carried out to determine the level of satisfaction and knowledge acquired by undergraduate students in the health sciences during a community health outreach program.Subject and methodsStudents were invited to complete an online-administered questionnaire (consisting of both open- and closed-ended questions) to assess their perceptions and experiences on the community health outreach program. Additionally, the survey was carried out to assess the quality of training provided and obtain suggestions for further improvements. Responses were collected and analysed using Microsoft Excel.ResultsMost respondents (>83%) reported satisfaction with the community diagnosis and community intervention briefing and training sessions. All respondents reported familiarity with standard community health outreach instruments and were capable of identifying environmental health risk factors that may contribute to the spread of communicable diseases. Interestingly, respondents reported greater appreciation of health challenges faced by rural communities. However, respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the duration of the outreach program (24%) and funding (15%).ConclusionAlthough respondents reported overall satisfaction with the organization and execution of the health outreach program, certain aspects of the program were deemed unsatisfactory. Despite the shortcomings, we believe that our student-centred learning strategy is readily adaptable for training future healthcare professionals and improving health literacy of rural communities, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.Book Part Citation - WoS: 10Synteny Among Solanaceae Genomes(Springer, 2016) Frary, Amy; Doğanlar, Sami; Frary, AnneThe Solanaceae was among the first plant families to be analyzed via comparative mapping and thus was a pioneer in the realm of synteny studies. Analyses of chromosome content and organization have employed a range of techniques, including linkage mapping of genes and molecular markers, physical mapping via fluorescence in situ hybridization, and sequencing of relatively small genomic segments as well as the complete sequencing of the tomato genome. Early comparisons in the family involved tomato and its close relative potato and have extended outward to include eggplant, pepper, tobacco, and petunia. Not surprisingly, the degree of synteny among these species is a function of the time since their divergence, with inversion, translocation, and transposition being the chief mechanisms of chromosome rearrangement. The results of this work provide important insight into the modes and tempo of plant genome evolution while serving a practical purpose as well: knowledge of genome synteny and colinearity makes it easier to leverage resources from one species to another in this agronomically important family.Book Part Citation - Scopus: 9Differential Expression of Toxoplasma Gondii Micrornas in Murine and Human Hosts(Springer, 2016) Allmer, Jens; Saçar Demirci, Müşerref Duygu; Bağcı, CanerMicroRNAs are short RNA sequences involved in post-transcriptional gene regulation. MicroRNAs are known for a wide variety of species ranging from bacteria to plants. It has become clear that some cross-kingdom regulation is possible especially between viruses and their hosts. We hypothesized that intracellular parasites, like Toxoplasma gondii, similar to viruses would be able to modulate their host’s gene expression. We were able to show that T. gondii produces many putative pre-miRNAs which are actually transcribed. Furthermore, some of these expressed pre-miRNAs have a striking resemblance to host mature miRNAs. Previous studies indicated that T. gondii infection coincides with increased abundance of some miRNAs. Here we were able to show that many of these miRNAs have close relatives in T. gondii which may not be distinguishable using PCR. Taken together, the similarity to host miRNAs, their confirmed expression, and their upregulation during infection, it suggests that T. gondii actively transfers miRNAs to regulate its host. We conclude, that this type of cross-kingdom regulation may be possible, but that targeted analysis is necessary to consolidate our computational findings. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016. All rights are reserved.Book Part Citation - Scopus: 4Epigenetics of Breast Cancer: Dna Methylome and Global Histone Modifications(Springer, 2016) Meşe, Gülistan; Yalçın Özuysal, ÖzdenBreast cancer, a heterogeneous disease comprised of tumors with different histological characteristics and clinical outcomes, is the leading cause of cancer deaths in women. Heterogeneous nature of the breast cancer demands delicate approaches to diagnose and follow the most appropriate strategy for clinical management. Based on microarray analysis of mRNA expression, four main molecular subtypes were identified: (a) luminal A, (b) luminal B, (c) basal-like, and (d) ERBB2(+). Even though molecular subtypes provided novel insights into our understanding of breast cancer heterogeneity, there is still room for improvement for better diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic approaches. In this sense, epigenetics, specifically DNA methylation and histone modifications, have emerged as prominent candidates since several epigenetic factors were observed to be recurrently mutated in cancers including breast cancer. Recent advances in the field implicated that DNA methylation profiles and histone modifications are strongly associated with breast tumor subtypes and patient prognosis. Therefore, understanding contributions of epigenetics to breast cancer biology will lead to better diagnostic and prognostic strategies and will enable development of novel therapeutic approaches. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016.