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Surojit Karmakar, Pradipta Pal, Girdhari Lal National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS), Pune, MH, 411007, IndiaCorrespondence: Girdhari LalNational Centre for Cell Science (NCCS), NCCS Complex, Ganeshkhind, Pune, MH, 411007, IndiaTel +91-20-2570-8292Fax +91-20-2568-2259Email glal@nccs.res.inAbstract: Natural killer (NK) cells are the most potent arm of the innate immune system and play an important role in immunity, alloimmunity, autoimmunity, and cancer. NK cells recognize “altered-self” cells due to oncogenic transformation or stress due to viral infection and target to kill them. The effector functions of NK cells depend on the interaction of the activating and inhibitory receptors on their surface with their cognate ligand expressed on the target cells. These activating and inhibitory receptors interact with major histocompatibility complex I (MHC I) expressed on the target cells and make decisions to mount an immune response. NK cell immune response includes cytolytic activity and secretion of cytokines to help with the ongoing immune response. The advancement of our knowledge on the expression of inhibitory and activating molecules led us to exploit these molecules in the treatment of cancer. This review discusses the importance of activating and inhibitory receptors on NK cells and their clinical importance in cancer immunotherapy.Keywords: natural killer cells, innate immune system, oncogenic transformation, cancer, activating and inhibitory receptors

Background Segment-specific variations of carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) have not been assessed in South Asian populations. The purpose of this study was to determine if segment-specific CIMTs or a composite-CIMT score is a better risk predictor of coronary heart disease in South Asian populations. Methods A comparative prospective study was conducted from November 2019 to October 2020 in a hospital in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Based on pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria, cases (having a diagnosis of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD), n = 338) and controls (non-CHD group, n = 356) were recruited. Ultrasound examination of the common carotid (CCA), the carotid bulb (CB) and the internal carotid segments (ICA) of the carotid vessels was conducted by a radiologist, and CIMTs were measured. A composite-CIMT score defined as the average value of all six segments of the left and right sides was derived. Results 694 participants were enrolled (male n = 399, 57.5%). The mean (±SD) age of the study sample was 60.2 (±9.86) years. There were variations in segment-specific values between the left and right vessels. The mean composite-CIMT value of the CHD group was significantly higher than that of the non-CHD group. A composite-CIMT score of 0.758 had a sensitivity of 98.4% and a specificity of 64.6% in distinguishing CHD from non-CHD groups (Area under the curve (AUC): 0.926). Conclusions Carotid artery segment-specific CIMT variations were present in this population. The composite CIMT score is better than segment-specific CIMTs in predicting CHD and may be used to predict CHD in this population.

The field experiments were conducted during Rabi 2013-14 and 2014-15 to screen out twelve varieties/entries of coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) for their relative susceptibility against aphids. None of the varieties/entries escaped the infestation of aphids. The build-up of aphid infestation started from second half of December and reached to its maximum in the first to third week of February in both years and then gradually declined. On the basis of grade index of mean aphid population, coriander varieties RCr- 684 (25.45 aphids/plant), RCr-446 (26.45 aphids/plant), ACr-1 (26.60 aphids/plant), RCr- 436 (41.75 aphids/plant), Gujarat Coriander-2 (42.45 aphids/plant), Pant Haritma (43.50 aphids/plant) and Gujarat Coriander-1 (43.70 aphids/plant) were categorized as least susceptible, Rajendra Swati and RCr-41 were moderately susceptible, whereas, Swati (CS-6), Sadhna (CS-4) and Sindhu (CS-2), 73.88, 70.60 and 69.50 aphids/plant, respectively were categorized as highly susceptible varieties of coriander against aphids under field conditions. Coriander variety RCr-684 received maximum yield (16.82 and 16.63 q/ha) for both the years followed by ACr-1 and RCr-446.

Background: Lateral epicondylitis, commonly known as tennis elbow, is characterized by pain and functional limitations at the elbow due to overuse. This study focuses on evaluating the effects of Tyler twist wrist extensor-strengthening exercises, aiming to provide insights into an effective intervention for this condition. Objective: This study aimed to determine the effects of Tyler twist wrist extensor strengthening exercises on pain, disability, and grip strength in patients with lateral epicondylitis. Methodology: A randomized controlled trial was conducted at Cina Medical Center Rawalpindi from February 2022 to January 2023. Fifty-two participants meeting the inclusion criteria were assigned to either Group A or Group B. Group A received eccentric Tyler twist exercises in addition to conventional physiotherapy, while Group B received conventional physiotherapy alone. Pain, functional disability, and grip strength were assessed at baseline, the second week, and the fourth week. Data was analyzed with SPSS version 25. Demographics and descriptive data is presented in form of percentages, frequencies and mean + SD. Normality of the data is determined via Shapiro Wilk Test. We applied mixed-way ANOVA to find the interaction between two groups. Results: Within-group analysis demonstrated a significant improvement in pain, functional disability, and grip strength for both groups (p-value < 0.01). Between-group analysis revealed a significant difference in pain, functional disability, and grip strength. Conclusion: The addition of eccentric Tyler twist exercises to conventional therapy showed a statistically significant difference in terms of pain, functional disability, and grip strength in patients with lateral epicondylitis. Keywords: Extensor Carpi Radialis Brevis, Lateral Epicondylitis.

The reactivity of 1-(chloromethyl)-4-fluoro-1, 4-diazabicyclo(2.2.2)octane bis(tetrafluoroborate) was investigated by fluorination of several organic substrates. For this purpose, several steroidal enol acetates, silyl enol ethers, olefins, carbanions, aromatic compounds and sulfides were selected. The fluorination reactions were carried out in different conditions and the product yields were presented.

A synthesis scheme for 5-fluoropyrimidines is presented. The synthesis involves the use of the electrophilic fluorinating agent 1-(chrloromethyl)-4-fluoro-1,4-diazabicyclo(2.2.2.)octane bis(tetrafluoroborate)-SELECTFLUOR. The reagent is reacted with the pyrimidine bases uracil and thymine to generate the corresponding fluorohydrins. The novel method presents a direct route to producing 5-fluoropyrimidine nucleosides.

Post-disaster recovery is a multifaceted system essential for rebuilding communities and infrastructure. Despite its importance, many limitations obstruct powerful recuperation, main to tremendous loss of life and monetary assets. This paper synthesizes varied approaches in the direction of sustainable restoration, highlighting the increasing reliance on technology for disaster management. Image processing strategies, pivotal in addressing these demanding situations, are reviewed across studies. Those strategies range from SLIC segmentation and Random forest classification to advanced deep learning models together with U-net and YOLOv8, machine learning algorithms like SVM, and image category methodologies along with bi-temporal analysis. Comparative evaluation reveals that those strategies presents promising consequences, with accuracies starting from 75% to over 94%. The paper gives a framework for understanding the role of various image processing strategies in improving disaster control strategies, emphasizing their implications for future studies and application.

Byline: A. Raghunath, S. Sampath, B. Devi, B. Chandramouli, G. Lal, Yasha. Chickabasaviah, Rose. Bharath Rathke's cleft cyst is a rare benign sellar lesion. The exact preoperative diagnosis of this [...]

Introduction: Tennis with a normal 17.9 million players is one of the most renowned games with a colossal addition in young tennis players as of late. The prevalence of groin injury increases rapidly in tennis players due to demand of rapid change in direction. Material & Methods: Once ethical approval was taken from Institutional review Board (REC/Letter-00722), a Randomized Clinical Trial (RCT) was conducted on 22 players through nonprobability purposive sampling in Pakistan Tennis Federation, Islamabad. Players were randomly divided into two groups by sealed and envelop method. Group A received Holmich protocol while group B received myofascial release technique. Other than demographics, functional tests like hip range of motion, visual analogue scale, t-test, Edgren sidestep test and triple hop test were conducted to assess the techniques given to groups. Data was analysed using SPSS 21. Trial is registered in US clinical trial registry (NCT04642300). Results: The results of the study show that there was no significant difference between Myofascial release technique and holmich protocol in athletes with groin pain (P value˃0.05). Mean age of the tennis players was 23.14±4.5 in years. Pre and post comparison of both interventions shows significant effect in Range of motion, Pain, Agility and hop test. (P value˂0.01). Conclusion: From the results it can be seen that there was no significance between the two techniques. So in conclusion both techniques can be used to treat groin pain and get successful results.

Introduction: It has been well documented that there is great difference between male and female according to body shape and other characteristics like ability to perform work, muscular power and strength. There is almost no study conducted on female cricket participants under the age of twenty. This study was designed to determine effects of periodized resistance training on sprinting speed, agility, power in domestic young female cricketers. Material & Methods: This was a parallel group randomized control trail that utilized purposive sampling to recruit 46 participants. Data was collected from Abdul-Qadeer cricket academy, Kinnaird College for women.46 young female cricketers completed the study, of which 23 were in experimental group and 23 were in control group. In experimental group, 8 week of resistance training program had been introduced in addition to their regular training sessions, while control group only followed their regular training sessions. To evaluate the speed, agility and power tests such as (run a three test, Illinois agility test, sergeant jump test and seated medicine ball throw) were performed before and after the experimental or control training. Results: Periodized resistance training significantly increase (p = 0.01) sprinting speed measured by run a three test. Post intervention mean±SD of Illinois agility test was 19.817±1.579 that shows significant effect of periodized resistance training on agility (p=0.001). Post intervention mean±SD of sergeant jump test was 7.782±2.448 which shows significant effect of periodized resistance training on power of lower limb (p=0.001). Post intervention mean±SD of seated medicine ball throw was 28.194±3.878 that shows that there is no significant effect of periodized resistance training on power of upper limb (p=0.89). Conclusion: This study concluded that sprinting speed, agility and power of lower limb is improved by periodized resistance training.

Earlier work was mostly focused on the therapeutic properties of Cuminum cyminum seeds commonly known as cumin obtained from local market with no genetic purity. Present study was conducted for evaluating therapeutic potential of cumin seeds in relation to their genetic variability. Methanol and hexane seed extracts of cumin genotypes GC-1, GC-4, RZ-19, RZ-209 and RZ-341 were tested on albino mice for evaluating therapeutic properties. Both seed extracts were found to possess antimicrobial, antiinflammatory, antidiabetic, hypolipidemic and antihypertensive properties, which varied significantly among the 5 genotypes. Hexane seed extract of cumin genotype RZ-209 and RZ-341 possessed enhanced antibacterial properties while methanol extract of RZ-341 was highly effective as a hypolipidemic. Genotypes GC-1 and GC-4 exhibited greater antihypertensive and antifungal activity, respectively. Antiinflammatary activity was higher in methanol extract of genotype GC-1 whereas antidiabetic activity was high in hexane extract of genotype GC-1. This study provided experimental evidence for the use of cumin extracts for treating various ailments as well as provided basis to identify suitable genotypes of this important spice for a particular therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the proposed work is to accurately estimate the glottal closure instants (GCIs) and glottal opening instant (GOIs) from electroglottographic (EGG) signals. This work also addresses the issues with existing EGG-based GCI/GOI detection methods. GCIs are the instants at which excitation to the vocal tract is maximum and GOIs, on the other hand, have minimum excitation compared to GCIs. Both these instants occur instantaneously with a fundamental frequency defined for each glottal cycle in a given EGG signal. Accurate detection of these instants from the EGG signal is essential for the performance evaluation of GCIs and GOIs estimated from the speech signal directly. This work proposes a new method for accurate detection of GCIs and GOIs from the EGG signal using variational mode decomposition (VMD) algorithm. The EGG signal has been decomposed into sub-signals using the VMD algorithm. It is shown that VMD captures the center frequency close to the fundamental frequency of the EGG signal through one of its modes. This property of the corresponding mode helps to estimate GCIs and GOIs from the same. Besides, instantaneous pitch frequency is estimated from the obtained GCIs. The proposed method has been evaluated on the CMU-arctic database for GCI/GOI estimation and the Keele pitch extraction reference database for instantaneous pitch frequency estimation. The effectiveness of the proposed method is confirmed by comparison with state-of-the-art methods. Experimental results show that the proposed method has better accuracy and identification rate compared to state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pervasiveness of global endemic of type II diabetes, driven by population development, increasing obesity, urbanization, and other additional unidentified factors may be crumpled in the next 20yrs. The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation of ESR in diabetic and non-diabetic patients of cardiovascular diseases. It is a co-relational study conducted at KRL hospital Islamabad from February 2018 to September 2018. The study population compromised a total of 180 cases aged 45 to 50 years were taken, in which 60 cases of CVD with DM, 60 cases of CVD without DM and 60 normal healthy population were taken. All patients and controls gave written informed consent. All subjects went through a general physical examination, and a questionnaire was used to collect the records about demographics and past medical history and existing use of medications. In the presented study, Pearson's Correlation between ESR of healthy and ESR of CVD without DM shows a weak correlation between these two variables i.e., 0.127 with a p-value of 0.503. We also establish that there is a direct intermediate relationship between ESR of healthy and ESR of CVD with DM. High level of ESR in CVD patients might indicate the prognosis of DM. To confirm this further researches and studies must be conducted in this area