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Objectives: Early integrated palliative care has shown to improve the quality of life in patients with cancer. During the past decade, pediatric palliative care has become an established area of medical expertise, however due to scant information available regarding the triggers for referral and referral practice very few children receive a formal palliative care consult. Materials and Methods: A retrospective audit of medical case records of pediatric oncology patients over a period of 1 year from September 30, 2019, to September 30, 2020, was conducted. Demographic details, diagnosis, staging, clinical parameters, reason for referral, and palliative care plan were captured in a predesigned pro forma. Results: Among 126 children with cancer, 27 (21.4%) patients were referred to palliative care. Majority 21 (77%) referrals were inpatient consults. Symptom management 17 (44.7%) was the most common trigger for referral followed by referrals for psychosocial support 12 (14.4%). Children with solid tumors 16 (59%) were more often referred than hematological malignancies. Among those needing end of life care, 8 (88.8%) out of 9 families preferred home than hospital. Conclusion: Low incidence of palliative care referral and presence of symptoms as a trigger for palliative care referral suggests gaps in the integrated approach. The study findings prompt a review of palliative care referral criteria and referral practice in a pediatric oncology setting.

Following injury and refractive surgery, corneal wound healing can initiate a protracted fibrotic response that interferes with ocular function. This fibrosis is related, in part, to the myofibroblast differentiation of corneal keratocytes in response to transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1). Previous studies have shown that changes in the mechanical properties of the extracellular matrix (ECM) can regulate this process, but the mechanotransductive pathways that govern stiffness-dependent changes in keratocyte differentiation remain unclear. Here, we used a polyacrylamide (PA) gel system to investigate how mechanosensing via focal adhesions (FAs) regulates the stiffness-dependent myofibroblast differentiation of primary corneal keratocytes treated with TGF-β1. Soft (1 kPa) and stiff (10 kPa) PA substrata were fabricated on glass coverslips, plated with corneal keratocytes, and cultured in defined serum free media with or without exogenous TGF-β1. In some experiments, an inhibitor of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) activation was also added to the media. Cells were fixed and stained for F-actin, as well as markers for myofibroblast differentiation (α-SMA), actomyosin contractility phosphorylated myosin light chain (pMLC), focal adhesions (vinculin), or Smad activity (pSmad3). We also used traction force microscopy (TFM) to quantify cellular traction stresses. Treatment with TGF-β1 elicited stiffness-dependent differences in the number, size, and subcellular distribution of FAs, but not in the nuclear localization of pSmad3. On stiff substrata, cells exhibited large FAs distributed throughout the entire cell body, while on soft gels, the FAs were smaller, fewer in number, and localized primarily to the distal tips of thin cellular extensions. Larger and increased numbers of FAs correlated with elevated traction stresses, increased levels of α-SMA immunofluorescence, and more prominent and broadly distributed pMLC staining. Inhibition of FAK disrupted stiffness-dependent differences in keratocyte contractility, FA patterning, and myofibroblast differentiation in the presence of TGF-β1. Taken together, these data suggest that signaling downstream of FAs has important implications for the stiffness-dependent myofibroblast differentiation of corneal keratocytes.

Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF) and Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 (FGF2) are receptor tyrosine kinase agonists that promote cell survival after tissue injury and angiogenesis, cell proliferation and migration during tissue repair and regeneration. Both ligands have potential as systemic treatments for ischemia-reperfusion injury, however clinical use of HGF and FGF2 has been limited by poor pharmacokinetic profiles, i.e., their susceptibility to serum proteases, rapid clearance and short half-lives. Previously, we reported vaso- and cardioprotective protein complexes formed between HGF and polyclonal, non-specific immunoglobulin (IgG) with therapeutic efficacy in a rat model of myocardial ischemia with reperfusion (MI/R). Here, using a pre-clinical porcine MI/R model, we demonstrate human HGF/IgG complexes provide significant myocardial salvage, reduce infarct size, and are detectable in myocardial tissue 24 h after intracoronary injection. Furthermore, we show that multiple daily infusions of HGF/IgG complexes after MI do not lead to production of HGF-specific auto-antibodies, an important concern for administered biologic drugs. In experiments to identify other growth factors that non-covalently interact with IgG, we found that human FGF2 associates with IgG. Similar to human HGF/IgG complexes, FGF2/IgG complexes protected primary human cardiac endothelial cells under simulated ischemia (1% oxygen and nutrient deprivation) for 48–72 h. Molecular modeling studies suggested that FGF2 and HGF both interact with the Fc domain of IgG. Also, we tested whether an Fc-fusion protein would bind FGF2 to form complexes. By native gel electrophoretic assays and biochemical pulldowns, we found that Jagged1, a Notch1 ligand that controls stem cell self-renewal and tissue regeneration, bound FGF2 when presented as a Jagged1- Fc fusion protein. Our results suggest that human growth factor/IgG and FGF2/Fc- fusion complexes have potential to provide a biologics platform to treat myocardial ischemia-reperfusion and other forms of tissue injury.

Following injury and refractive surgery, corneal wound healing can initiate a protracted fibrotic response that interferes with ocular function. This fibrosis is related, in part, to the myofibroblast differentiation of corneal keratocytes in response to transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF

Underwater medium is the most difficult medium for data communication while Electromagnetic waves, acoustic waves, and optical signals are some of the present modes of communication in water. Electromagnetic waves would suffer a significant loss, limiting them to short-range communication; optical waves on the other hand, have line-of-sight concerns. The proposed work employs a Light Fidelity (Li-Fi) data transmission technology in a water medium to address these issues. Visible light communication allows to use a wide range of frequencies to send messages, when compared to other transmission technologies, the data transfer rate is likewise relatively high. Electronic components and level converters are utilized to regulate flickering and communicate data on both the transmitter and receiver sides, when exposed to the outer environment, it will lose the signal due to noise. To help with noise level estimate and signal reconstruction, the proposed work employs a machine learning technique that uses an encrypted block chain approach to check for data loss and a weighted Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) algorithm to predict data from a Neural Network. The proposed work concludes that block chain can be the best way for data transfer in terms of minimizing errors while maintaining high accuracy.

Objective: The objective of this study was to find the potency and bioefficacy of Asiatic acid and triterpene against four different plant fungal pathogens using a structure-based drug designing approach. Methods: The pathogenic fungus which causes a dreadful effect on plants is reviewed from literature study, and its three-dimensional structures are retrieved from the protein data bank database. On the other hand, ligands are prepared. Finally, prepared fungal drug targets are docked with naturally isolated compounds using AutoDock tools. Results: Both compounds Asiatic acid and triterpene structures are complementary to bind at the active site of four different drug targets. Comparatively, it is more favorable for Avr2 effector protein from Fusarium oxysporum with Ki value of 126.60 μM, 1.76 μM, and dock score value of −5.32 kcal/mol and −7.85 kcal/mol for Asiatic acid and triterpene, respectively. Thus, interaction analysis was carried out only for these protein-ligand complexes. Conclusion: The computational biology study states that these two compounds can be the lead candidate for treating disease caused by plant fungal pathogen F. oxysporum. However, further study has to be done in vitro and in vivo to prove its same efficacy.

Current cryptographic techniques broadly specified as conventional cryptography is solely based on the solidity of the mathematical concepts. The advancements in quantum computing can use reversible logic to compute the keys and easily break the existing security in conventional computers. From the analysis of the network structure of Internet of Things (IOT) it is very clear that the entire backbone of the system would collapse if it is attacked or hacked. IOT is a wireless technology that connects “ANYTHING” around to the Internet. IOT is a revolution which should be protected from the attackers as it would lead to several losses which could even be fatal. Hence a strong provision for securing users data in IOT is a real challenge. This paper is attempted to review the fundamentals of Quantum Key Distribution, security aspects for IOT and to address how QKD can be used to secure a IOT system. The challenge encountered is to increase the range and increase the transmission rate of data in QKD systems and to check for a possible solution to adhere these systems with existing information security solutions

Studying drug utilization helps to develop twin concepts for therapeutic formulation and essential drug lists. The main preference of using Antiepileptic drug (AED) therapy is that patients can be seizure-free for their lifetime. Treating children with epilepsy remains a major challenge, despite having several AEDs. Hence, we aimed to study drug utilization patterns among pediatric patients with epilepsy. This prospective study was conducted on 150 patients lesser than 18 years of age, receiving antiepileptic drugs. A specially designed case record form was used to collect the data on socioeconomic status, disease data, and treatment details. The majority of the children were females (60.6%), ages ranged from day 1 to 4 years (56.6%). About 35.33% were skilled laborers followed by 32.23% semi-skilled. Around 49.3% of patients belonged to the lower-middle-class family and 41.33% were diagnosed to have generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS). The majority of the children were on monotherapy (81.33%) while 18.66% were on dual therapy or polytherapy. Regarding the usage of antiepileptic drugs, we found that 70.66% of children were on older AEDs like sodium valproate (27.33%) followed by clobazam (31.33%). Levetiracetam was the only new antiepileptic drug that was prescribed in 10% of patients. Monotherapy is considered as best modality, due to its low cost, safety profile, and lesser drug interactions. It can also improve drug treatment compliance and adherence. Along with older AEDs, there has been an increase in the utilization of newer AEDs, which help to broaden the therapeutic option towards the management of childhood epilepsy with a better safety profile.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are storage granules found in bacteria that are essentially hydroxy fatty acid polyesters. PHA molecules appear in variety of structures, and amongst all types of PHAs, polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is used in versatile fields as it is a biodegradable, biocompatible, and ecologically safe thermoplastic. The unique physicochemical characteristics of these PHAs have made them applicable in nanotechnology, tissue engineering, and other biomedical applications. In this review, the optimization, extraction, and characterization of PHAs are described. Their production and application in nanotechnology are also portrayed in this review, and the precise and various production methods of PHA-based nanoparticles, such as emulsion solvent diffusion, nanoprecipitation, and dialysis are discussed. The characterization techniques such as UV-Vis, FTIR, SEM, Zeta Potential, and XRD are also elaborated.

This paper presents an empirical analysis on the use of aqueous extract of Centratherum punctatum Cass (Astera ceae) for the production of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) from aqueous silver nitrate. Phytochemical analysis of the extract reve aled the presence of essential components such as flavonoids, alkaloids, carbohydrates, tannins and vitamin C, some of which serve as efficient reducing and capping agents for the reduction of silver nitrate to silver nanoparticles. The AgNPs synthesized w ere characterized by UV - Vis spectroscopy, FT - IR, XPS, SEM, TEM, Zetasizer and TG - DSC analyzer. In the present study , attempts have also been made to investigate the anti - inflammatory and anti - oxidant activity of the synthesized AgNPs. Anti - oxidant activit y was assessed using DPPH method. Anti - inflammatory potential was evaluated through in vitro inhibition of protein denaturation, protease activity and improved membrane stabilization property .

Aims The aim of this study was to evaluate the paracrine activity of human epicardial-derived cells (hEPDCs) to screen for secreted vasoprotective factors and develop therapeutics to treat vascular reperfusion injury. Methods and results Epicardial cells support cardiac development, repair, and remodelling after injury in part, through paracrine activity. We hypothesized that secreted ligands from hEPDCs would protect vascular integrity after myocardial infarction (MI) with reperfusion. During simulated ischaemia in culture (24–48 h), concentrated hEPDC-conditioned medium (EPI CdM) increased survival of primary cardiac endothelial cells. In a rat MI model, EPI CdM treatment reduced vascular injury in vivo after reperfusion. By phospho-receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) arrays, ELISA, and neutralizing antibody screens, we identified hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) as a key vasoprotective factor in EPI CdM. Unexpectedly, we observed that some of the HGF in EPI CdM formed complexes with polyclonal IgG. Following reperfusion, preparations of HGF/IgG complexes provided greater vascular protection than free HGF with IgG. HGF/IgG complexes localized to blood vessels in vivo and increased HGF retention time after administration. In subsequent screens, we found that ‘related to tyrosine kinase’ (RYK) receptor was phosphorylated after exposure of cardiac endothelial cells to HGF/IgG complexes, but not to free HGF with IgG. The enhanced protection conferred by HGF/IgG complexes was lost after antibody blockade of RYK. Notably, the HGF/IgG complex is the first ‘ligand’ shown to promote phosphorylation of RYK. Conclusion Early treatment with HGF/IgG complexes after myocardial ischaemia with reperfusion may rescue tissue through vasoprotection conferred by c-Met and RYK signalling.

Transplantation of culture-expanded adult stem/progenitor cells often results in poor cellular engraftment, survival, and migration into sites of tissue injury. Mesenchymal cells including fibroblasts and stromal cells secrete factors that protect injured tissues, promote tissue repair, and support many types of stem/progenitor cells in culture. We hypothesized that secreted factors in conditioned medium (CdM) from adult bone marrow-derived multipotent stromal cells (MSCs) could be used to prime adult cardiac stem/progenitor cells (CSCs/CPCs) and improve graft success after myocardial infarction (MI). Incubation of adult rat CPCs in CdM from human MSCs isolated by plastic adherence or by magnetic sorting against CD271 (a.k.a., p75 low-affinity nerve growth factor receptor; p75MSCs) induced phosphorylation of STAT3 and Akt in CPCs, supporting their proliferation under normoxic conditions and survival under hypoxic conditions (1% oxygen). Priming CSCs with 30× p75MSC CdM for 30 minutes prior to transplantation into subepicardial tissue 1 day after MI markedly increased engraftment compared with vehicle priming. Screening CdM with neutralizing/blocking antibodies identified connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and Insulin as key factors in p75MSC CdM that protected CPCs. Human CTGF peptide (CTGF-D4) and Insulin synergistically promoted CPC survival during hypoxia in culture. Similar to CdM priming, priming of CSCs with CTGF-D4 and Insulin for 30 minutes prior to transplantation promoted robust engraftment, survival, and migration of CSC derivatives at 1 week and 1 month after MI. Our results indicate that short-term priming of human CSCs with CTGF-D4 and Insulin may improve graft success and cardiac regeneration in patients with MI. Stem Cells 2014;32:674–683

Centratherum punctatum Cass., a herb belonging to the family Asteraceae has been traditionally used as a curative against diverse disorders like inflammation, tumor, depression, and hypertension. Though the medicinal properties of this plant have been attributed to the presence of flavonoids, glucosides, alkaloids, Vitamin C, etc., the molecular constituents of this plant and of the flavonoids that contribute to its medicinal activity have not been explored yet. This work attempts to evaluate the potential of Centratherum punctatum extract as an anti-inflammatory agent. Ethanolic extracts of Centratherum punctatum analyzed by High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) and Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) identified the presence of the flavones kaempferol, glycoside Isorhamnetin-3-O-rutinoside, and kaempferol-3-glucoside. The plant extract exhibited anti-oxidant property as confirmed by DPPH assay and IC50 value of 271.6 μg/mL during inhibition of protein denaturation, 186.8 μg/mL during RBC membrane stabilization, and 278.2 μg/mL for proteinase inhibition. Membrane stabilizing functions of flavones and flavones glycosides validated the anti-inflammatory potential of the extract. In silico evaluation using a rigorous molecular docking protocol with receptors of Cox2, TNF-α, Interleukin 1β convertase, and Histamine H1 predicted high binding affinity of the isoflavones and isoflavone glycosides of Centratherum punctatum Cass. The interactions have also been shown to compare well with that of known drugs valdecoxib through Gln178, His342, and Gly340, desloratadine (through Lys191 and Thr194) and belnacasin (through Asp288 and Gly287) proven to function through the anti-inflammatory pathway. This work establishes the anti-inflammatory potential of Centratherum punctatum Cass. extract as an alternative to existing therapeutic approach to inflammation through a systematic in silico approach supplementing the findings.

In Wireless sensor networks, Data Aggregation are vital techniques to attain potential power within the sensing element network. In some application such as: wireless sensing element network, data processing, cloud computing data aggregation is widely used. As the sensor nodes are battery driven, efficient power utilization is necessary to reduce the compromised nodes and traffic thereby reducing the data sent to base station by enhancing the network lifespan. A challenge to data aggregation is however to secure aggregative information from compromise node attacks and revealing throughout aggregating method to obtain exact aggregative results.

The microRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs which play an important role in gene regulation and are involved in several biological functions. Studies have shown that there are several hundreds of them across (human) genome. And one miRNA may be involved in several genes and several miRNA may target a gene. In this regard it is interesting to know whether these several known miRNAs show structural and functional similarities. Do they fall into recognisable groups with respect to their structure and function and does the length of miRNA follow evolutionary principles and are highly conserved?. This study with the help of statistical tools explores characterising, identification of (human) miRNA based on their structure and function, network analysis of their relationship and target genes and conservation of their length and sequence structure across species.

The intracellular delivery of growth factors increases opportunities for controlling cell behavior and maintaining tissue homeostasis. Recently, VEGFA was reported to enhance osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) through an intracrine mechanism, suggesting a new strategy to promote bone tissue formation in osteoporotic patients. The goal of this study was to design and fabricate ligand-conjugated alginate-graft-poly(ethylene glycol) microspheres for intracellular delivery and release of VEGFA in primary human MSCs to enhance osteogenic differentiation as a potential therapeutic. Three types of microspheres were synthesized and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, in vitro drug release kinetics, MSC uptake and internalization: alginate alone (Alg), alginate-graft-poly(ethylene glycol) (Alg-g-PEG) and alginate-graft-poly(ethylene glycol)-S-S-arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (Alg-g-RGD). Each of the different microsphere formulations successfully transported bioactive VEGFA into primary human MSCs within 48 h of culture, and significantly enhanced osteogenic differentiation compared to control treatments with empty microspheres (intracellular control) or non-encapsulated VEGFA (extracellular control). Adipogenic differentiation was not affected by the presence of VEGFA intracellularly or extracellularly. These results demonstrating the internalization of alginate-based microspheres and intracellular delivery of VEGFA support the efficacy of using this drug delivery and intracrine mechanism to control the fate of human MSCs and enhance osteogenic differentiation.

A general overview of adhesive bonding for optical elements addresses all the relevant parameters and properties. An extensive listing of references is associated with many of the critical topics. Technical literature addressing optical bonding has been difficult to find. This paper has conducted a search to aid engineers trying to solve these bonding problems. The user must first look at his/her options for fastening the optical element. Next, he/she must consider all the parameters that influence its cure, performance and survival. If an adhesive represents a good solution, the type of adhesive must be selected. Throughout this selection process, it is important to maintain priorities on critical parameters. Compromises must always be made and assigning priority levels will aid in making these decisions. Future work will establish a selection matrix weighing relevant factors in making the adhesive selection more logical.

Chromosomal abnormalities are often identified in people with neurodevelopmental disorders including intellectual disability, autism, and epilepsy. Ring chromosomes, which usually involve gene copy number loss, are formed by fusion of subtelomeric or telomeric chromosomal regions. Some ring chromosomes, including ring 14, 17, and 20, are strongly associated with seizure disorders. We report an individual with a ring chromosome 17, r(17)(p13.3q25.3), with a terminal 17q25.3 deletion and no short arm copy number loss, and with a phenotype characterized by intellectual disability and drug-resistant epilepsy, including a propensity for nonconvulsive status epilepticus.