The recent discovery that cell-free DNA can be shed into the bloodstream as a result of tumour cell death has generated great interest. Numerous studies have demonstrated tumour-specific alterations in DNA recovered from plasma or serum of patients with various malignancies, a finding that has potential for molecular diagnosis and prognosis. The implication is that tumour-derived nucleic acids ...

MicroRNAs are non-coding small RNAs that regulate gene expression by Watson-Crick base pairing to target messenger RNA (mRNA). They are involved in most biological and pathological processes, including tumorigenesis. The binding of microRNA to mRNA is critical for regulating the mRNA level and protein expression. However, this binding can be affected by single-nucleotide polymorphisms that can ...

Cancer is an umbrella term used to describe a variety of diseases in which cells start dividing abnormally. These cells then spread through blood and lymph system to invade other tissues of the body. There exist more than 100 different types of cancer. Depending upon the site of origin, cancer can be grouped as carcinoma (starting in the skin or tissue lining of internal organs), sarcoma (cance...

BACKGROUND The largest outbreak of sporotrichosis occurred between 1938 and 1947 in the gold mines of Witwatersrand in South Africa. Here, we describe an outbreak of lymphocutaneous sporotrichosis that was investigated in a South African gold mine in 2011. METHODOLOGY Employees working at a reopened section of the mine were recruited for a descriptive cross-sectional study. Informed consent w...

Stalactites (CaCO3 and salt) from water seeps are frequently encountered in ceilings of mine tunnels whenever they intersect water-bearing faults or fractures. To determine whether stalactites could be mineralized traps for indigenous fracture water microorganisms, we analyzed stalactites collected from three different mines ranging in depth from 1.3 to 3.1 km. During sampling in Beatrix gold m...

DOI: 10.17014/ijog.8.1.73-99 Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and electron microprobe analysis (EMPA) techniques were used to determine the mineralogy chemistry of dominant sulphide associated gold deposits at Fairview Gold Mine Barberton Greenstone Belt (BGB). The rocks ore mineral associations indicate mesothermal (orogenic) conditions for deposit. whole...

The focus of this research work is on the determination of the impact of mining on the groundwater quality in the historical mining region of SW Ashanti region in Ghana. This work describes the characteristics of the groundwater chemistry and pollution of the aquifer in the gold-ore bearing formation, which is highly weathered and fractured. The fractures control the permeability and depth of t...

The Agh-Dareh and Zarshouran mines are two known active gold deposits in Takab, NW Iran. In the present study, the potentials of two species of Astragalus (A. microcephalus from Agh-Dareh and A. effusus from Zarshouran mines), as the dominant plants grown in these areas, were assessed for the bio-accumulation of the major, trace, and rare earth elements (REEs). The plant and soil samples were c...

Mine and processing sites in the mesothermal gold deposits of the Reefton gold field, New Zealand, generate extremely high dissolved As concentrations (up to 59 mg/L). Attenuation of these waters takes place by at least one of the three mechanisms: (1) precipitation of the secondary arsenic mineral scorodite, (2) chemisorption onto iron oxyhydroxide (HFO) and (3) dilution with regional catchmen...