In this retrospective study, medical records pilot study, a cohort of patients (5F/2M), who were diagnosed with degenerative spondylolisthesis, underwent a novel sound-based vibratory treatment over a period of three months. Clinical outcomes included pain intensity and functional disability due to back pain improved from pre- to post-treatment. Clinical outcomes such as shoulder/pelvic tilt, leg length difference, and range of motion are discussed.

Background: Healthcare in Ghana is characterised by high expenditures, multiple professions and specialties, complicated processes, and diverse workforces, all of which highlight the importance of evaluating service efficiency through a robust performance appraisal system. Objective of the study: This study aimed to assess the efficiency of four regional hospitals in Ghana in 2020. Method: Secondary data of four regional hospitals on bed occupancy rates, average length of stay and bed turnover rates, among others, were collected from District Health Information Management System (DHIMS) for further analysis. Pabón Lasso charts were drawn using Microsoft Excel 2019 to evaluate the efficiency level of hospitals and wards. Results and conclusion: The study compared the performance of regional hospitals in 2020. The results showed that the Greater Accra and Brong Ahafo were inefficient, the upper East regional hospital was less efficient while the Eastern regional hospital was efficient. It was also found that the medical, maternity and surgical wards of the Brong Ahafo hospital were inefficient. The emergency ward was the most efficient unit in the eastern regional hospital while that of the Upper East region was inefficient. The medical and surgical units of the Greater Accra regional hospital were less efficient.

Soil carbon (C) cycling plays critical role in regulating global C budget and atmosphere CO2 concentration. The ongoing global warming potentially accelerates soil C loss induced by microbial respiration (MR) and makes soil a large C source to atmosphere. Quantifying the drivers of MR and its response to rising temperature (also called temperature sensitivity, Q10) is a high priority in order to improve the modelling and prediction of terrestrial C cycle under global warming. In this study, we applied a standardized soil sampling along 9 gradients from 400 m to 1100 m in a subtropical forest in South China, and conducted the incubation experiment at the same temperature ranges (from 10 °C to 25 °C) to measure MR and Q10, then the measured MR was adjusted by the field temperature of sampling site. Our objectives were to examine the response of MR and Q10 to the environmental change induced by elevational gradients in the subtropical forest, and then quantify their main drivers. We totally collected 54 abiotic and biotic factors relative to the MR and Q10. Our results showed that the incubated MR increased from low to high elevation. However, significantly elevational trend of the adjusted MR was not examined after adjusted by the field temperature of sampling sites, due to the tradeoff between increasing soil C concentration and declining temperature as elevation increased. We further found that the 9 elevational gradients did not cause significant change of Q10. The variation of Q10 was negatively dominated by soil C quality. Since climate warming is predicted faster at high elevation than that at low elevation, C loss from high elevation might be accelerated in the future and need more attentions in the further studies

Scientific publication metrics  are commonly used to assess the quality of scientific publications and works. These metrics can be used to assess the caliber and significance of a scientific publication as well as the productivity and accomplishment of a scientist's study. Citation metrics and the quantity of papers are closely associated, notwithstanding the importance of citations. Studies suggest many scientists are capable of publishing a scientific publication in just five days. This study critically investigates these so-called hyper prolific authors using the Stanford top 2% world scientists database. The findings clearly show that certain authors publish, on average, 100–200 publications annually, even those with a single author. A closer inspection uncovers this top 2% database's weakness and the fact that these authors from the field of medicine are actually journalists. Even Nobel laureates were ranked lower than some of these journalists. Subsequent inquiry reveals certain related researchers who publish more than 100 articles in environmental sciences per year and set records for the most highly cited papers ever. In order to ensure that the process of publishing a paper is carried out honestly and that the search of knowledge is not hampered by personal interests, it is decided that the scientific community has to develop ethical norms and procedures regarding the number of publications.

1) Individual variation in life-history traits can have important implications for the ability of populations to respond to environmental variability and change. 2) In migratory animals, flexibility in the timing of life-history events, such as juvenile emigration from natal areas, can influence the effects of population density and environmental conditions on habitat use and population dynamics. 3) We evaluated the functional relationships between population density and environmental covariates and the abundance of juveniles expressing different life-history pathways in a migratory fish, Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), in the Wenatchee River basin in Washington State, USA. 4) We found that the abundance of younger emigrants from natal streams was best described by an accelerating or near-linear function of spawners, whereas the abundance of older emigrants was best described by a decelerating function of spawners. This supports the hypothesis that emigration timing varies in response to density in natal areas, with younger-emigrating life-history pathways comprising a larger proportion of emigrants when densities of conspecifics are high. 5) We also observed positive relationships between winter stream discharge and abundance of younger emigrants, supporting the hypothesis that habitat conditions can also influence the prevalence of different life-history pathways. 6) Our results suggest that early emigration, and a resultant increase in the use of downstream rearing habitats, may increase at higher population densities and with greater winter precipitation. Winter precipitation is projected to increase in this system due to climate warming. 7) Characterizing relationships between life-history prevalence and environmental conditions may improve our understanding of species habitat requirements and is a necessary first step in understanding the dynamics of species with diverse life-history strategies. 8) As environmental conditions change – due to climate change, management, or other factors – resultant life-history changes are likely to have important demographic implications that will be challenging to predict if life-history diversity is not accounted for in population models.

Maternal lineages of mitochondrion DNA (mtDNA) are conceived as important components of intra- and inter-specific biodiversity and help us to disclose phylogeny and divergence time of many taxa. Species of the genus Capra are canonical mountain dwellers. Among these is Siberian ibex (Capra sibirica) that is regarded as a relic species and its intra-specific classification is controversial so far. We collected 54 samples in Xinjiang, China, and analyzed the mtDNA genes to shed light on the intra-specific relationships of the C. sibirica populations and estimated the divergence time. Intriguingly, we found that the mtDNA sequences of C. sibirica split into two main lineages in both phylogenetic and network analyses: the southern lineage, sister to C. falconeri, consisting of samples from India, Ulugqat, and Kagilik in Xinjiang; and the northern lineage further divided into four monophyletic clades A–D corresponding to their geographic origins. Samples from Urumqi, Sawan and Arturk formed a distinct monophyletic clade C within the northern lineage. The genetic distance between the C. sibirica clades ranges from 3 to 8.6 percent, with values of FST between 0.72 and 0.95, indicating notable differentiation. The split of the genus Capra occurred approximately 6.75 Mya during the late Miocene. The northern lineage diverged around 5.88 Mya, following the divergence of Clades A–D from 3.3 Mya to 1.9 Mya during the late Pliocene and early Pleistocene. The radiation between the southern lineage and C. falconeri occurred at 2.29 Mya during the early Pleistocene. Our results highlight the importance of extensive sampling when relating to genetic studies of alpine mammals and call for further genomic studies to draw definitive conclusions.

FIGURE 6 Principal component analysis biplots on the gene expression levels and anthocyanins of the cultivars: a) ‘Blue Congo’, b) ‘Synkeä Sakari’, c) ‘Rosamunda’, and c) ‘Van Gogh’ harvested at different stages of tuber development and affected by latitude, year and place of cultivation.

Title: Levels of CC motif chemokine 22 (CCL22) and IL-13, but not levels of IL-5, predict response to mepolizumab in asthmaSHORT TITLE: CCL22 and IL13 predict response to mepolizumab.KEY WORDS: asthma, CC motif chemokine 22, CCL22, IL-13, macrophage-derived cytokine, MDC, mepolizumab, asthma, predictor, response, biologics, monoclonal antibody, IL-5, IL17-B, IL-8, IL-23, IL-21, IP-10, TSLP,WORD COUNT: 590

Introduction: Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) using radiofrequency (RF) and cryoballoon (Cryo) ablation are standard approaches for rhythm control of symptomatic atrial fibrillation. Both strategies involve scar formation of the left atrium (LA). There have been few studies investigating the differences in residual fibrosis and scar formation in patients undergoing RF and Cryo using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR).     Methods: The current study is a sub-analysis of the control arm of the Delayed-Enhancement MRI Determinant of Successful Catheter Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation study (DECAAF II). The study was a multicenter, randomized, controlled, single blinded trial that evaluated atrial arrhythmia recurrence (AAR) between PVI alone and PVI plus CMR atrial fibrosis guided ablation. Pre-ablation CMR and 3–6-month post ablation CMR were obtained to assess baseline LA fibrosis and scar formation respectively.     Results: Of the 843 patients randomized in the DECAAF II trial, we analyzed the 408 patients in the primary analysis control arm that received standard PVI. Five patients received combined RF and Cryo ablations so were excluded from this sub-analysis. Of the 403 patients analyzed, 345 underwent RF and 58 Cryo. The average procedure duration was 146 minutes for RF and 103 minutes for Cryo (p = 0.001). The rate of AAR at ~15 months occurred in 151 (43.8%) patients in the RF group and 28 (48.3%) patients in the Cryo group (p = 0.62). On 3-month post CMR the RF arm had significantly more covered fibrosis (3.6% vs. 3.0%, p = 0.04) and scar (8.8% vs. 6.4%, p = 0.001) compared to Cryo. Patients with ≥ 6.5% LA scar on 3-month post CMR had less AAR independent of ablation technique (RF p = 0.009, Cryo p = 0.02). Cryo caused a greater percentage of right and left pulmonary vein (PV) scar (p = 0.04, p = 0.02) and less non-PV scar (p = 0.009) compared to RF. On Cox regression Cryo patients free of AAR had a greater percentage of left PV scar (p = 0.01) and less non-PV scar (p = 0.004) compared to RF free of AAR.     Conclusion: In this sub-analysis of the control arm of the DECAAF II trial, there was no significant difference in the rate of AAR in patients undergoing PVI alone between RF vs. Cryo. Post ablation LA scar ≥ 6.5% predicted freedom from AAR, independent of ablation technique. Cryo formed a greater percentage of PV scar and less non-PV scar compared to RF, which may have prognostic implications.

Abstract Secretory breast carcinoma (SBC) is an exceptionally rare type of breast carcinoma accounting for less than 0.15% of all breast cancers6and with varied presentations. There is a lack of consensus regarding the exact management and there is evolving role of targeted therapy with successful treatment outcomes. We present a case of SBC in a two year seven month old child with axillary lymph node(ALN) metastasis, oestrogen receptor(ER) positivity and the characteristic ETV6-NTRK3 fusion gene expression. She was managed by surgery followed by use of tamoxifen and targeted agent Larotrectinib. Chemoradiotherapy was avoided considering the age and doubtful benefit. We also summarise the pattern of presentation in SBC, treatment options and follow up which would aid in making treatment decisions in clinical practice. Keywords: Breast, Secretory carcinoma, ETV6-NTRK3 fusion, Larotrectinib

The biophysical effects of Suffruticosol B. on lung cancer cells were studied. The physical and mechanical changes due to the treatment were statistically analyzed based on areas measured from the images captured for each cell once free, trapped, and released. Measurements were conducted on the untreated A549 cells for comparisons. The result showed that the treatment damages the internal structure of the cells, resulting in the collapse of the spherically A549 cells as the average area indicated a relative increase with the length of the treatment period. The cells' response indicated that the elastic properties of the carcinoma cells had been reduced due to the treatment by Suffruticosol B. Changing the trap's power and time constant predicted interesting behavior for the A549 cells' relaxation rate. We have shown that Oligostilbene can play a role an effective in treating cancer.

Microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) with reinforcing effects is a useful building block in the fabrication of flexible and thin supercapacitors. Herein, a hybrid tin oxide-cellulose nanocomposite was hydrothermally produced and coated on MFC thin films to form a supercapacitor. The hybrid tin oxide-cellulose thin films were structurally analyzed using scanning electrode microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The cellulose thin film with the highest loading of hybrid tin oxide-cellulose nanocomposite exhibited a specific capacitance of 225.88 F/g at 100 mV/s and 486.38 F/g at 20 mV/s in the three-electrode electrochemical system. In addition, it revealed good cyclic stability up to 40 cycles run continuously with 95% cyclic retention. The high specific capacitance and superior cyclic stability could be related to the enhanced charge mobility and ion diffusion between the solid and electrolyte interface. The cellulose thin film coated with flower-like hybrid nanocomposite showed great potential in energy storage.

This work elucidated the structure and electrochemical performance of the layered cathode material Na xMn 0.5Co 0.5O 2 (NMC) with x~1 calcined at 650, 800 and 900 oC. XRD diffraction indicated that the NMC material possessed a phase transition from P3- to P2-type layered structure with bi-phasic P3/P2 at medium temperature. The sodium storage performance was evaluated by constant current charging/discharging. Specifically, P2-NMC exhibits the highest initial capacity of 156.9 mAh.g -1 with capacity retention of 76.2% after 100 cycles, which is superior to the initial discharge capacity is only 149.3 mAh.g -1 and severe capacity fading per cycle of P3-NMC, indicating high robust structure stability by calcined at the higher temperature. Additionally, the best performance of P2-NMC also demonstrated by the high-rate capability that delivered a capacity of 50 mAh.g -1 at charge/discharge rate up to 10C. The sodium diffusion coefficient of Na + ions into the P2-type layered structure obtained by Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) was in the range of 10 −13–10 −12 cm 2.s −1, which is inferior to the others. However, the structure stability of P2 phase contributed to the best prerformance in sodium-ion half-cell.

ABSTRACT Background: Real-world evidence on the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines marketed in China against the Omicron BA.2 variant remains scarce. Methods: A case-control study was conducted to estimate the vaccine effectiveness (VE) of COVID-19 vaccines marketed in China, including inactivated vaccines, an Ad5-nCoV vaccine, and a recombinant protein vaccine. The study included 414 participants infected with SARS-CoV-2 as cases and 828 individuals in close contact with COVID-19 patients as controls during the outbreak of the Omicron variant in April 2022 in Lu’an City, Anhui Province, China. Controls were selected from core close contacts based on a random sampling method with consecutive negative test results. Each case corresponded to two controls. Results: A total of 414 cases and 828 controls were included in this study. Compared to unvaccinated participants, the overall VE against Omicron BA.2 variant infection in the vaccinated group with any COVID-19 vaccine was 35.0% (95% CI: −9.1–61.3%), whereas the VE for booster vaccination was 51.6% (95% CI: 15.2–72.4%). Subgroup analysis showed that the overall VE of the Ad5-nCoV vaccine (65.8%, 95% CI: 12.8–86.6%) during the outbreak was higher than that of the inactivated vaccine (35.5%, 95%CI:-8.6–61.7%) and recombinant protein vaccine (13.0%, 95%CI:-76.1–57%). COVID-19 vaccines offered 46.8% (95% CI: 9.5–68.7%) protection for infection within 6 months, and no protection after 6 months. The VE of heterologous booster vaccination (76.4%, 95% CI: 14.3–93.5%) was considerably higher than that of homologous booster vaccination (51.8%, 95% CI: 9.6–74.3%). Conclusion: Booster vaccination of COVID-19 vaccines marketed in China offered more protection than full vaccination. A booster vaccination campaign for a booster dose after three doses of a recombinant protein vaccine must be urgently conducted. Keywords COVID-19 vaccines; Omicron; vaccine effectiveness; inactivated vaccine; Ad5-nCoV vaccine; recombinant protein vaccine

Aim. To investigate abnormalities in myocardial strain and classic echocardiographic indices and coronary flow reserve (CFR), in younger vs older CKD patients. Methods. Sixty consecutive CKD patients (<60 years old n=30, ≥60 years old n=30) and 30 healthy controls (age- and gender-matched with younger CKD patients) were recruited. An echocardiographic assessment including myocardial strain indices was performed at baseline and following dipyridamole administration in all participants. Results. Younger CKD patients had higher E/e’, left ventricular mass index and relative wall thickness and lower E’ (p<0.005 for all) compared to healthy controls. Older CKD patients had lower E/A and E’ (p<0.05 for both) compared to younger CKD patients; these differences did not remain significant after adjustment for age. CFR was higher in healthy controls compared to younger and older CKD patients (p<0.05 for both) without a significant difference between CKD groups. Dipyridamole-induced changes did not differ significantly among the 3 groups. Conclusions. Compared to healthy controls, impaired coronary microcirculation and left ventricular diastolic function, but not myocardial strain abnormalities, are found in young CKD patients and deteriorate with aging.

Social media platforms have seen a major boom in the past decade. Apart from entertainment and establishing social connections, the use of social media to read news articles has become prevalent. News has not only become less costly but also fast and accessible. However, accessing news via social media has its own demerits. It is next to impossible for the end users to establish the validity of the news articles. Manual review of each and every article on the internet is neither quick nor economically feasible, considering the vast amount of news articles that are published on day-to-day basis. Hence, there arises a need for quick and highly accurate machine learning models to detect the fake news articles. In this paper, we propose a method to detect fake news via Graph based Markov chains. We initiate the classification process by first segregating the fake news articles from the real ones, then training two separate Markov Chains for both the classes, and finally calculating the probability that a news article was generated by a given Markov Chain. Our approach of establishing similarity between a text sequence and a Markov chain relies on probabilistic and statistical calculations, attained by performing random walks on the Markov chains. Such an approach has proven to provide a high accuracy on multiple datasets.

Virtual street audits are increasingly used by social service providers, community leaders and social workers to support place-based decisions in urban settings. Analytical tools can potentially augment decision making by making relevant information accessible in context to place-based interventions aimed at improving community wellbeing. I investigated if it was possible to discover a quantitative stochastic model that can be a reasonable fit with empirical data about the relationship between physical urban locations and the volumes of public services supplied to those locations. I analysed the dataset of San Jose’s Police Department call centre data spanning 10 years. I found that the Borel-Tanner distribution is a reasonable fit in 7 out of 10 trials conducted in this study. Relatively few urban sites were attributed to a large proportion of service volumes.  There was  high spatial concentration within ‘high needs’ sites. A significant proportion of these sites persist over the 10 year period.  I plotted these sites on a map to demonstrate their applicability to virtual audit applications. 

Integrating biological material within soft microfluidic systems made of hydrogels offers countless possibilities in biomedical research to overcome the intrinsic limitations of traditional microfluidics based on solid, non-biodegradable, and non-biocompatible materials. Hydrogel-based microfluidic technologies have the potential to transform in vitro cell/tissue culture and modeling. However, most hydrogel-based microfluidic platforms are associated with device deformation, poor structural definition, reduced stability/reproducibility due to swelling, and a limited range in rigidity, which threatens their applicability. Herein, we describe a new methodological approach for developing a soft cell-laden microfluidic device based on enzymatically-crosslinked silk fibroin (eSF) hydrogels. Its unique mechano-chemical properties and high structural fidelity, make this platform especially suited for in vitro disease modelling, as demonstrated by reproducing the native dynamic 3D microenvironment of colorectal cancer and its response to chemotherapeutics. Results show that 14 wt% enzymatically-crosslinked silk fibroin microfluidic platform has outstanding structural stability and the ability to perfuse fluid while displaying in vivo-like biological responses. Overall, this work shows how the combination of enzymatically-crosslinked silk fibroin and microfluidics can be employed for developing soft lab-on-a-chip platforms with superior performance.

The past few decades have witnessed a major leap in knowledge relating to the role of tumor microenvironment in carcinogenesis and evolving behaviour of the tumor. Multiple factors within the tumor microenvironment modulate the cancer cells and the associated therapies. Stephen Paget first asserted that the microenvironment plays an important role in the growth of tumor metastasis. The most important player in the tumor microenvironment is cancer-associated fibroblast which significantly participates in the proliferation, invasion and metastasis of tumor cells. Cancer-associated fibroblasts show phenotypic and functional heterogeneity. Mostly cancer-associated fibroblasts originate from quiescent resident fibroblast or mesoderm-derived precursor cells (mesenchymal stem cells), although several alternate sources of origin have been noted, however, due to a lack of specific fibroblast-restricted markers, it is very difficult to trace lineage and identify the biological origin of distinct sub-types of CAFs. CAFs are predominantly shown by several studies to mainly act as tumor-promoting agents, however, tumour-inhibiting actions are also being validated by several studies. A more objectified and comprehensive functional and phenotypic classification of CAF is required, which will help in better way for tumor management. Here, in this review, we have tried to review the current status of CAF origin, along with phenotypic and functional heterogeneity, and recent progress in cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF) research.

A two-day-old female Warmblood foal (70 kg) presented with a closed, displaced Salter-Harris type-II fracture of the proximal physis of the left hind first phalanx. For fracture repair four 4.5 mm cortical screws and wire in a figure-of-8 pattern were applied on the lateral and medial aspect of the phalanx, respectively. A 4.5 mm cortical screw was additionally inserted in lag-fashion to engage the lateral metaphyseal spike. Three days postoperatively, medial axis deviation and implant infection were noted and revision surgery was performed. Previous implants were removed and two 4.5 mm transphyseal cortical lag-screws were placed in proximolateral-distomedial and dorsoproximal-plantarodistal direction. Postoperatively, the fracture healed rapidly and the implants were removed 6 weeks later. Nineteen months after implant removal the horse did not show any sign of lameness, despite a shortening of the proximal phalanx compared to the contralateral limb. In cases of postoperative implant instability and infection, implant removal often becomes necessary. However, new implants cannot be placed safely in the previous location. To avoid this problem, this report describes an alternative approach for screw positioning in case of previous implant infection in a Salter-Harris type-II fracture of the proximal physis of the first phalanx.

Background: We assessed whether the association between the risk of cerebrospinal fluid escape (CVE) and specific antiretroviral (ARV) classes, such as protease inhibitors, is due to suboptimal pharmacological profile generated by archived resistance-associated mutations (RAMs). Methods: A retrospective multicentric study on 300 adult people with HIV on antiretroviral therapy (ART) and available historical plasma genotype resistance testing (HGRT) for reverse transcriptase (RT) and protease genes between 2001 and 2021. The odds ratio for demographic, clinic-, and ART-related variables and CVE was estimated by multivariable modelling. HGRT-adjusted central nervous system effectiveness penetration (CPE) score was computed in modelling the risk. Results: Median age, plasma VL, and CD4 count were 49 years, <50 copies/mL, and 310 cells/μL. CVE was detected in 51 participants (17.0%). No difference in CVE prevalence was observed according to ART type, number of ARVs or ARV classes. Participants with CVE had more frequently plasma (52.9% vs 32.1%, p=0.005) and CSF RAMs in RT (n=63, 57.1% vs 28.6%, p=0.029), but not in protease gene. The presence of plasma RAMs in RT associated with increased odds of CVE in adjusted analyses (aOR 3.9, p<0.001) and in models restricted to plasma viral load ≤50 copies/mL (n=202; aOR 4.3 , p=0.003). CVE risk decreased by 40% per each point increase in HGRT-adjusted CPE score in multivariable models (p<0.001). Conclusions: Viruses harboring mutations appear to favor CVE and the impact of single ARV classes or type of ART regimens may lose significance when adjusted for the presence and effect of specific RAMs.

A document by Alaa Khedr. Click on the document to view its contents.

Background: Although the beneficial effects of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in heart failure (HF) are fully established in HF with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤ 35%, CRT strategy for HF with mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFmrEF) is controversial. Left bundle branch area pacing (LBBAP) is an emerging pacing modality and an alternative option to CRT, and the efficacy and safety are promising so far. The aim of this analysis was to perform a systematic review of the literature and meta‐analysis on impact of LBBAP strategy in HFmrEF, with LVEF between 35 % and 50%. Methods: PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library were searched for full-text articles on LBBAP from inception to July 17, 2022. The outcomes of interest were QRS duration, and LVEF at baseline and at follow-up in mid-range HF. Data were extracted and summarized. A random-effect model incorporating the potential heterogeneity was used to synthesize the results. Results: Out of 1065 articles, 8 met the inclusion criteria for 211 mid-range HF patients with an implant LBBAP across the 16 centers. The average implant success rate with lumenless pacing lead use was 91.3%, and 19 complications were reported among all 211 enrolled patients. During the average follow-up of 9.1 months, average LVEF were 39.8% at baseline and 50.5% at follow-up (MD: 10.90%, 95% CI: 6.56 - 15.23 P<0.01). Average QRS duration were 152.6ms at baseline and 119.3ms at follow-up (MD: -34.51ms, 95% CI: -60.00 to -9.02, P < 0.01). Conclusion: LBBAP could significantly reduce QRS duration and improve systolic function in patient with LVEF between 35 and 50%. Application of LBBAP as a CRT strategy for heart failure with mildly reduced ejection fraction may be a viable option.

The review summarizes data on genome protecting and genotoxic action of 1,4-dihydropyridines (DHP) with main focus on the compounds synthesized in the Latvian Institute of Organic synthesis. Most of these compounds manifest very low calcium channel blocking activity, thus considered to be “unusual” 1,4-DHP. Some of these compounds decrease spontaneous mutagenesis and frequency of mutations induced by chemical mutagens. Some water-soluble 1,4-DHP protect DNA against damage produced by hydrogen peroxide, radiation and peroxynitrite. In these molecules capability to protect DNA cohabitates with DNA-binding activity. Possible mechanisms of above effects are discussed.