A lightweight PHP + MySQL web application for searching manually curated circular RNA (circRNA) entries associated with metabolic diseases, with a primary focus on cardiovascular and diabetes-related conditions.
MDCircRNA is a curated disease-oriented circRNA dataset interface. The platform allows users to:
- Browse the project home page with context about the dataset.
- Search records by key biological attributes.
- View matched results in tabular form.
- Work with a locally hosted MySQL dump that contains disease-linked circRNA records.
This project is suitable as:
- A bioinformatics mini-database prototype.
- A student/researcher project for circRNA-disease mapping.
- A base template for future disease-genomics web tools.
- Search by circRNA identifier (DiseaseOncologyid)
- Search by host gene
- Search by disease type
- Search by disease name
- Structured output table containing:
- Disease metadata
- Host gene
- Species
- Expression pattern
- Detection method and confidence
- Sample type details
- Frontend: HTML, CSS, JavaScript
- Backend: PHP (mysqli)
- Database: MySQL / MariaDB
- Data Source File: Diseases MYSQL format.sql
- index_New1.php: Main landing page with navigation and search category links
- circular_rna.php: Query form page that accepts search text for selected category
- search.php: Executes SQL query and renders matching records in a table
- custom.js: Client-side helpers (home navigation, help text toggle)
- Diseases MYSQL format.sql: Full schema + seed dataset for diseases table
- image.jpg.jpeg: Local image asset used in the interface
- MDcircRNA.pdf: Supporting project document
- User opens index_New1.php.
- User selects a search category.
- App redirects to circular_rna.php with selected type.
- User enters search text and submits.
- search.php queries the diseases table and prints matching rows.
- PHP 8.x (or compatible)
- MySQL or MariaDB
- Local server environment (XAMPP, WAMP, Laragon, or Apache + PHP)
Place the project folder inside your local server root, for example:
- XAMPP: htdocs/Project2
Create a MySQL database with this exact name:
- circular rna
Important: The application code currently uses a database name with a space.
Import Diseases MYSQL format.sql into the circular rna database using phpMyAdmin or MySQL CLI.
Check credentials in the PHP files if needed:
- server: localhost
- username: root
- password: (empty by default)
- database: circular rna
Open in browser:
- Table name: diseases
- Primary key: ID
- Records include cardio and diabetes categories across multiple species (human, rat, mouse).
- SQL query input in search.php is not sanitized (SQL injection risk).
- Query column name is passed dynamically from request parameter.
- Some PHP/HTML sections can be improved for robustness and strict validation.
- Minor asset naming mismatch may occur if image file path and filename differ in deployment.
- Use prepared statements with whitelisted searchable columns.
- Centralize database configuration in one file.
- Add pagination and result count.
- Add input validation and error handling.
- Add responsive table styling and export options (CSV).
Project profile information (as requested):
- Name: Ruqia Arshad
- GitHub: https://github.com/ruqiaarshad135
- Role: Bioinformatician
- Focus: Computational Biology, Genomics, In-silico Studies
- Skills: Python, R, Bash, SQL
- Contact: ruqiaarshad135@gmail.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruqia-arshad-b9735a30a
No explicit license file is currently included in this repository. Add a LICENSE file (for example MIT) if you want open-source reuse terms to be clear.
Repository Name: MDCircRNA
Repository Description: A PHP-MySQL based circRNA disease database interface for searching curated cardio and diabetes-associated circular RNA records by identifier, host gene, disease type, and disease name.