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Studies on floral morphology, phenology and biology of wild melon revealed that the ratio of staminate and pistillate flowers was 3.40:1. The longevity of the male flowers were between 5 and 6 days, whereas, female flowers between 6 and 7 days. Anthesis was observed from 4.00 am to 10.00 am, while, the anther dehiscence started from 5.00 am which was continued to 7.00 am. The peak anthesis was observed from 8.00 am to 9.00 am and anther dehiscence from 6.00 am to 6.30 am. Freshly opened flowers showed pollen viability up to 98.35%, decreased upon closure and crashed to 17.48% in 3 days. Pollen germination was occurred after 15 minutes of incubation and continued up to 24 h of incubation. The stigma receptivity lasts from one to two days of anthesis. Major pollinator of wild melons observed was honey bee, mostly visited between 9:00 am to 6:00 pm.

Alopecia areata (AA) is a T-cell-mediated autoimmune illness characterized by intermittent, non-scarring hair loss, Alopecia totalis(AT) is a type of AA characterized by total hair loss on the face and scalp. Unfortunately, it is projected that 10–15 % of people with AA will advance to total hair loss on the scalp (AT) or hair loss on the scalp and body Alopecia Universalis (AU) only 10 % of patients with AT/AU recover completely. Treatment for severe AA is often unsatisfactory. The most popular AT/AU therapy techniques were topical steroid application and oral steroid administration. We present a case of Alopecia totalis that was treated with cupping therapy and ayurvedic treatments such as Punarnava Mandoor, manjistadi Kashaya, asanadi gana Kashaya, purnachandrodaya rasa, a churna combo, and Malatyadi and Dhurdhurapatradi taila for external application over scalp. The treatment's effectiveness is due to the synergistic action of all the herbs and the immunostimulant activity of cupping.

Solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is a rare mesenchymal tumor of fibroblastic origin commonly occurring in pleura. It can occur at many extrapleural sites but is rare in orbit. Most cases are benign and recurrence is not unusual in the head and neck and orbit and is usually due to incomplete surgical excision. However, malignant transformation (MT) in orbital SFT is extremely unusual. We present a case of orbital SFT in adult male who developed recurrence with MT eight years after initial surgical excision. He underwent left orbital exenteration. The recurrent tumor revealed features of malignancy with areas exhibiting morphology typical of SFT. The immunochemistry confirmed the diagnosis of SFT with MT. The patient was given adjuvant radiation and was disease free for the last 18 months. Identification of malignancy in orbital SFT is important for the patient to receive appropriate postoperative treatment, as seen in the present case.

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are currently being used in a number of applications, including agriculture. In agricultural regions all throughout the world, drought poses a serious danger to crop production and development. The outcome of this experiment showed that the treatment of 250 ppm ZnO NPs provides drought resistance by considerably improving physiological and biochemical traits, viz., shoot and root length, RWC, MSI, Zn content, total chlorophyll and protein content, biomass accumulation, osmolytes content, and antioxidant enzyme activities. Similar results were found by gene expression analysis. The expression of drought-responsive genes (DHN, DREB, P5CS, BADH, SOD, CAT, APX, bZIP and NAC) were highly upregulated in ZnO- treated plants compared with non-ZnO treated root and leaf tissues of plants under stress and non-stress conditions. The osmoregulation-related genes (P5CS and BADH) were highly expressed in ZnO treated plants over non-ZnO treated samples in both conditions (stress and control). However, the relative accumulation of these genes was higher root tissues compared to leaf tissues. According to the results, ZnO NPs caused an instantaneous rise in P5CS and BADH expression, which function as stress signaling molecules and trigger the production of genes that are responsive to drought. This results in the activation of the defense system and a greater ability to withstand stress. ZnO NPs in general may, under drought conditions, influence the expression of genes that are drought-inducible via both ABA-dependent and ABA-independent pathways.

Background and Objectives: PON1 is a multi-functional antioxidant protein that hydrolyzes a variety of endogenous and exogenous substrates in the human system. Growing evidence suggests that the Leu55Met and Gln192Arg substitutions alter PON1 activity and are linked with a variety of oxidative-stress-related diseases. Materials and Methods: We implemented structural modeling and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation along with essential dynamics of PON1 and molecular docking with their endogenous (n = 4) and exogenous (n = 6) substrates to gain insights into conformational changes and binding affinity in order to characterize the specific functional ramifications of PON1 variants. Results: The Leu55Met variation had a higher root mean square deviation (0.249 nm) than the wild type (0.216 nm) and Gln192Arg (0.202 nm), implying increased protein flexibility. Furthermore, the essential dynamics analysis confirms the structural change in PON1 with Leu55Met vs. Gln192Arg and wild type. Additionally, PON1 with Leu55Met causes local conformational alterations at the substrate binding site, leading to changes in binding affinity with their substrates. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the structural consequences of the variants, which would increase understanding of the role of PON1 in the pathogenesis of oxidative-stress-related diseases, as well as the management of endogenous and exogenous chemicals in the treatment of diseases.

Human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV), a group of retroviruses belonging to the oncovirus family, has long been associated with various inflammatory and immunosuppressive disorders. At present, there is no approved vaccine capable of effectively combating all the highly pathogenic strains of HTLV that makes this group of viruses a potential threat to human health. To combat the devastating impact of any potential future outbreak caused by this virus group, our study employed a reverse vaccinology approach to design a novel polyvalent vaccine targeting the highly virulent subtypes of HTLV. Moreover, we comprehensively analyzed the molecular interactions between the designed vaccine and corresponding Toll-like receptors (TLRs), providing valuable insights for future research on preventing and managing HTLV-related diseases and any possible outbreaks. The vaccine was designed by focusing on the envelope glycoprotein gp62, a crucial protein involved in the infectious process and immune mechanisms of HTLV inside the human body. Epitope mapping identified T cell and B cell epitopes with low binding energies, ensuring their immunogenicity and safety. Linkers and adjuvants were incorporated to enhance the vaccine's stability, antigenicity, and immunogenicity. Initially, two vaccine constructs were formulated, and among them, vaccine construct-2 exhibited superior solubility and structural stability. Molecular docking analyses also revealed strong binding affinity between the vaccine construct-2 and both targeted TLR2 and TLR4. Molecular dynamics simulations demonstrated enhanced stability, compactness, and consistent hydrogen bonding within TLR-vaccine complexes, suggesting a strong binding affinity. The stability of the complexes was further corroborated by contact, free energy, structure, and MM-PBSA analyses. Consequently, our research proposes a vaccine targeting multiple HTLV subtypes, offering valuable insights into the molecular interactions between the vaccine and TLRs. These findings should contribute to developing effective preventive and treatment approaches against HTLV-related diseases and preventing possible outbreaks. However, future research should focus on in-depth validation through experimental studies to confirm the interactions identified in silico and to evaluate the vaccine's efficacy in relevant animal models and, eventually, in clinical trials.

Carrot (Daucus carota L.) is a highly consumed vegetable rich in carotenoids, known for their potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immune-protecting properties. While genetic and molecular studies have largely focused on wild and Western carrot cultivars (cvs), little is known about the evolutionary interactions between closely related Eastern and Western cvs. In this study, we conducted comparative transcriptome profiling of root tissues from Eastern (UHSBC-23-1) and Western (UHSBC-100) carrot cv. to better understand differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with storage root development and vascular cambium (VC) tissue patterning. Through reference-guided TopHat mapping, we achieved an average mapping rate of 73.87% and identified a total of 3544 DEGs (p < 0.05). Functional annotation and gene ontology classification revealed 97 functional categories, including 33 biological processes, 19 cellular components, 45 metabolic processes, and 26 KEGG pathways. Notably, Eastern cv. exhibited enrichment in cell wall, plant-pathogen interaction, and signal transduction terms, while Western cv. showed dominance in photosynthesis, metabolic process, and carbon metabolism terms. Moreover, constructed gene regulatory network (GRN) for both cvs. obtained orthologs with 1222 VC-responsive genes of Arabidopsis thaliana. In Western cv, GRN revealed VC-responsive gene clusters primarily associated with photosynthetic processes and carbon metabolism. In contrast, Eastern cv. exhibited a higher number of stress-responsive genes, and transcription factors (e.g., MYB15, WRKY46, AP2/ERF TF connected via signaling pathways with NAC036) were identified as master regulators of xylem vessel differentiation and secondary cell wall thickening. By elucidating the comparative transcriptome profiles of Eastern and Western cvs. for the first time, our study provides valuable insights into the differentially expressed genes involved in root development and VC tissue patterning. The identification of key regulatory genes and their roles in these processes represents a significant advancement in our understanding of the evolutionary relations and molecular mechanisms underlying secondary growth of carrot and regulation by vascular cambium.

This paper presents a deep learning approach to identify and classify various defects in the laser-directed energy manufactured components. It mainly focuses on the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) architectures, such as VGG16, AlexNet, GoogLeNet and ResNet to perform the automated classification of defects. The main objectives of this research are to manufacture components using the laser-directed energy deposition process, prepare a dataset of horizontal wall structure, vertical wall structure and cuboid structure with three defective classes such as voids, flash formation, and rough textures, and one non-defective class, use this dataset with a deep learning algorithm to classify the defect and use the efficient algorithm to detect defects. The next objective is to compare the performance parameters of VGG16, AlexNet, GoogLeNet and ResNet used for classifying defects. It has been observed that the best results were obtained when the VGG16 architecture was applied to an augmented dataset. With augmentation, the VGG16 architecture gave a test accuracy of 94.7% and a precision of 80.0%. The recall value is 89.3% and an F1-Score is 89.5%. The VGG16 architecture with augmentation is highly reliable for automating the defect detection process and classifying defects in the laser additive manufactured components.

Introduction: The incidence of orthopaedic implantation and implantation associated infections were correspondingly increasing among the elderly and trauma patients. The resistance among the pathogens pose a unique challenge to the clinicians in the management of the infection. Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase (ESBL), AmpC beta-lactamases (AmpC), Metallo Beta-Lactamases (MBL) and Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) producing bacterial pathogens are responsible for a high rate of relapsing infections and outbreaks of nosocomial infections. Aim: To focus on accounting the incidence of ESBL, AmpC, MBL and MRSA and its antibiogram for effective management of implant associated infection. Materials and Methods: The present study was a prospective observational study which was conducted using various samples like pus, wound swab, serous discharge. These samples were collected under aseptic precautions in sterile containers for the period of one year (February 2015-February 2016). A total of 200 samples were inoculated on Blood agar and McConkey agar and identified. The isolates were tested for detection of ESBL, AmpC, MBL and MRSA as per standard protocol. The statistical analysis was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 20.0 Chicago, USA. Results: Most commonly used implants were intramedullary interlocking nail 138 (65.7%) followed by dynamic compression plates 23 (11.0%) and anatomical plates 18 (8.6%). Of the total of 200 samples, 190 (95%) samples yielded monomicrobial isolates and 10 (5%) samples yielded polymicrobial isolate. gram negative isolates 108 (51.4%) were marginally higher than gram positive isolates 102 (48.6%). The predominant isolate was S. aureus 81 (38.5%) followed by Klebsiella spp. 28 (13.3%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa 21 (10.0%). In gram negative isolates, 76 (70.4%) were ESBL and/or AmpC producers. Of which, 48 (44.4%) were ESBL and AmpC co-producers. There were no MBL producing isolates. In gram positive isolates, majority were S. aureus 81 (79.4%) followed by Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus 21 (20.6%). Out of 81 S. aureus isolates, 46 (56.8%) were MRSA. Out of 21 CoNS, majority 17 (81%) isolates were methicillin-resistant. Implant failures were observed in 28 (14%) cases. Out of 28, majority 12 (42.8%) of the implant failures were MRSA. Conclusion: High rates of ESBL, AmpC and MRSA infections associated with implant surgeries indicate the necessity to formulate antibiotic policies and control measures. ESBL and AmpC producing strains were found to show higher rates of resistance to the various class of antibiotics when compared to non-ESBL and non-AmpC producers. MRSA isolates were found to show higher rates of resistance to various classes of antibiotics when compared to MSSA.

Abstract Ce/ZnO crystallites along with bare ZnO were prepared by solution free mechanochemical method and characterized with powder XRD, SEM, EDX, XPS, UV–Visible and Photoluminescence (PL) spectra. The visible light photocatalytic performance of these materials was investigated for H2 evolution with the aqueous 10vol% methanol solution under one sun conditions using solar simulator. X-ray diffraction data suggests the hexagonal wurtzite structure for Ce/ZnO crystallites and the incorporation of Ce4+ ion in ZnO is supported by the shifting of XRD peaks to lower Bragg angles that indicate lattice expansion. With the increase of Ce content in ZnO, the crystallite size of Ce/ZnO decreases and the specific surface area increases. UV–Visible spectra propose the decrease in optical band gap of Ce incorporated ZnO with the increase of Ce content up to 3 mol. %. The XPS analysis supports the incorporation of Ce4+ in Ce/ZnO. The PL spectra propose that, with the insertion of Ce ions into ZnO, intensity of UV emission band decreases that reflects the low recombination rate of photogenerated charge carriers, which is responsible for higher photocatalytic H2 production. The extent of hydrogen production is affected by calcination temperature of Ce/ZnO. 2 mol. % Ce incorporated ZnO calcined at 600 °C produces43 μmolh−1 g−1 of hydrogen.

Background: Free radicals lead to inflammation, which in turn could intervene several chronic diseases including cancer. The promising scientific finding for anti-cancer properties of honey is an area of great interest. Objective: The present study was designed to investigate the in vitro biological effects (cytotoxic, and anti-inflammatory through differential inhibition of metalloproteinases and antioxidant) of unifloral Ajwain honey along with its physicochemical properties (pH, moisture, ash content, electrical conductivity, color, protein). Materials and methods: Three Ajwain honey samples (AJ-1, AJ-2, and AJ-3) were collected from different geographical origins of Western Ghats of India. Melissopalynological analysis was carried out to confirm uniflorality. Physicochemical analysis for ash, moisture content, pH, electrical conductivity, color, and total protein was estimated. Total polyphenol, total flavonoid content, and ferric reducing ability of plasma assay were determined using appropriate methods. The cytotoxic effect was assessed against breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231) by 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and the anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated by gelatin zymography of matrix metalloproteinases MMP-2 and MMP-9 proteins. Results: Melissopalynological analysis confirmed pollens from Ajwain plant's and so-called Ajwain honey. MTT assay depicted inhibitory trend for all honey samples across the concentrations (6.25–100 mg/ml) as compared to untreated cells. Gelatin zymography of metalloproteinases (MMP-2 and MMP-9) showed inhibitory tendency in all Ajwain honey samples. The AJ-3 honey sample had the highest inhibition at 0.625%. A significant correlation between honey color, pH, and protein content was perceived throughout the study. Conclusion: This study highlights the in vitro biological evidence for possible therapeutic application of Ajwain honey samples in cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant management as well as can be considered a potent source of supplements in human nutrition.

Identifying causal variants and genes in genome-wide association studies remains a challenge, an issue that is ameliorated with larger sample sizes. Here the authors meta-analyze kidney function genome-wide association studies to identify new loci and fine-map loci to home in on variants and genes involved in kidney function.

Background Presence of extramural venous invasion (EMVI) is a poor prognostic factor for rectal cancer as per literature. However, India-specific data are lacking. Aim The aim of the study is to determine the prognostic significance of EMVI in locally advanced rectal cancer on baseline MRI. Materials and Methods We retrospectively reviewed 117 MRIs of operable non-metastatic locally advanced rectal cancers in a tertiary cancer institute. Three dedicated oncoradiologists determined presence or absence of EMVI, and its length and thickness, in consensus. These patients were treated as per standard institutional protocols and followed up for a median period of 37 months (range: 2–71 months). Kaplan-Meier curves (95% CI) were used to determine disease-free survival (DFS), distant-metastases free survival (DMFS), and overall survival (OS). Univariate analysis was performed by comparing groups with log-rank test. Results EMVI positive cases were 34/114 (29%). More EMVI-positive cases developed distant metastasis compared with EMVI-negative cases (14/34–41% vs. 22/83–26%). The difference, however, was not statistically significant (p = 0.146). After excluding signet-ring cell cancers (n = 14), EMVI showed significant correlation with DMFS (p = 0.046), but not with DFS or OS. The median thickness and length of EMVI was 6 and 14 mm, respectively in patients who developed distant metastasis, as compared with 5 and 11 mm in those who did not, although this difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion EMVI is a predictor of distant metastasis in locally advanced non-metastatic, non-signet ring cell rectal cancers. EMVI can be considered another high-risk feature to predict distant metastasis.

Birds are capable of morphing their wings across different flight modes and speeds to improve their aerodynamic performance. In light of this, the study aims to investigate a more optimized solution compared to conventional structural wing designs. The design challenges faced by the aviation industry today require innovative techniques to improve flight efficiency and minimize environmental impact. This study focuses on the aeroelastic impact validation of wing trailing edge morphing, which undergoes significant structural changes to enhance performance as per mission requirements. The approach to design-concept, modeling, and construction described in this study is generalizable and requires lightweight and actively deformable structures. The objective of this work is to demonstrate the aerodynamic efficiency of an innovative structural design and trailing edge morphing concept compared to conventional wing-flap configurations. The analysis revealed that the maximum displacement at a 30-degree deflection is 47.45 mm, while the maximum stress is 21 MPa. Considering that the yield strength of ABS material is 41.14 MPa, this kerf morphing structure, with a safety factor of 2.5, can withstand both structural and aerodynamic loads. The analysis results of the flap and morph configurations showed a 27% efficiency improvement, which was confirmed through the convergence criteria in ANSYS CFX.

Single-nucleus RNA sequencing (sNucRNA-seq) is an emerging technology that has been rapidly adopted and demonstrated to be a powerful tool for detailed characterization of each cell- and sub cell-types in complex tissues of higher eukaryotes. sNucRNA-seq has also been used to dissect cell-type-specific transcriptional responses to environmental or developmental signals. In plants, this technology is being utilized to identify cell-type-specific trajectories for the study of several tissue types and important traits, including the single-cell dissection of the genetic determinants regulating plant–microbe interactions. The isolation of high-quality nuclei is one of the prerequisite steps to obtain high-quality sNucRNA-seq results. Although nuclei isolation from several plant tissues is well established, this process is highly troublesome when plant tissues are associated with beneficial or pathogenic microbes. For example, root tissues colonized with rhizobium bacteria (nodules), leaf tissue infected with bacterial or fungal pathogens, or roots infected with nematodes pose critical challenges to the isolation of high-quality nuclei and use for downstream application. Therefore, isolation of microbe-free, high-quality nuclei from plant tissues are necessary to avoid clogging or interference with the microfluidic channel (e.g., 10× Genomics) or particle-templated emulsion that are used in sNucRNA-seq platforms. Here, we developed a simple, effective, and efficient method to isolate high-quality nuclei from soybean roots and root nodules, followed by washing out bacterial contamination. This protocol has been designed to be easily implemented into any lab environment, and it can also be scaled up for use with multiple samples and applicable to a variety of samples with the presence of microbes. We validated this protocol by successfully generating a barcoded library using the 10× Genomics microfluidic platform from tissue subjected to this procedure. This workflow was developed to provide an accessible alternative to instrument-based approaches (e.g., fluorescent cell sorting) and will expand the ability of researchers to perform experiments such as sNucRNA-seq and sNucATAC-seq on inherently heterogeneous plant tissue samples.

In the original publication [...]

Periapical granulomas (PGs) respond well to endodontic treatment. In case of refractory response to the treatment apicectomy and finally, extraction is the treatment of choice. Herein, we present a case of endodontically failed PG with an excessive amount of Mott cells (MCs). MCs are plasma cells with spherical aggregates in their cytoplasm. The extensive accumulation of MCs in a periapical lesion is hitherto underreported and might elucidate the cause of refractory treatment outcomes of certain periapical lesions. The lesion was diagnosed with immune PG with multiple MCs. To the best of our literature search, there have been only two similar reports till date. Additional case reports and long-term follow-up are necessary to understand the nature and significance of such lesions. This article aspires to further the awareness regarding such unique presentation to aid appropriate diagnosis and also highlights the importance of subjecting apicectomy specimen to histopathological examination.

Introduction: Worldwide, stroke is the third most common cause of death after coronary heart disease and all cancer deaths. All the physicians have a role to play in the prevention of stroke by encouraging the reduction in risk factors. Ischemic stroke accounts for >80% of total stroke events. There is growing evidence that high serum uric acid and homocysteine levels contribute to the pathogenesis of ischemic stroke, and early identification of individuals at risk could be of help in primary prevention strategies. Aims: The aim was to study the association between levels of serum uric acid and homocysteine and acute ischemic stroke and to compare them with control subjects. Materials and Methods: A case–control study was carried out among 100 subjects, which included 50 cases of first-time ischemic stroke and 50 healthy controls attending the outpatient department and casualty, in whom serum uric acid levels, serum homcysteine, and other associated risk factors were evaluated. Results: The overall mean age of the case population was 55.84 ± 15.57 years and control was 59.92 ± 11.62 years. Among the 50 cases of first-time ischemic stroke and 50 controls, males constituted 32 (64%) and 30 (60%), respectively. The mean uric acid level in case population was 5.32 ± 1.09 mg/dl and in controls was 3.21 ± 1.01 (P = 0.001). The mean homocysteine level in case population was 20.85 ± 10.85 μmol/l and in controls was 8.10 ± 3.54 (P = 0.001). Among the case population, 28 (56%) were found to have hypertension, followed by smoking 19 (38%), diabetes mellitus 18 (36%), and alcoholism 13 (26%). Conclusion: Significant elevation of both uric acid and homocysteine in a cohort of stroke patients when compared to the control group was found. Thus, it is concluded from the present study that an elevated uric acid and homocysteine level appears to be an important risk factor for stroke. Hypertension was found to be the most common modifiable risk factor.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 virus) disease had first appeared in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and since then, it has emerged as a global threat to humanity. An early diagnosis and isolation are the most significant measures required to prevent its spread. Recent anecdotal evidence has suggested impairment of olfactory and gustatory sensations associated with corona virus disease (COVID-19). Angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 is an important aspect for the manifestations seen in this deadly viral disease. The associated olfactory and gustatory dysfunction can also lead to partial and/or complete loss of the ability to smell and taste in the early stages of disease onset. Evidence has also suggested that the presence of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid in human saliva makes it the carrier of the infectious viral disease and aids in its diagnosis. The present review focuses on the listed clinical manifestations in the form of olfactory and gustatory impairment in SARS-CoV-2 virus disease.

Background: Ingestive appetitive behaviour has been less delved into in research. Considering the connection of food hoarding with energy balance, unperplexing its exact neurophysiological mechanism will help in combating obesity. With evidence of noradrenaline as a neuromodulator in the septum, it may act on the septal circuitry to influence hoarding behaviour. Aim and Objectives: To evaluate the role of noradrenaline as a septal neuromodulator in the hoarding behaviour of laboratory rats. Material and Methods: Adult male Wistar rats (n=20) were employed in this study. Using stereotaxic techniques, noradrenaline was injected in the septum of the experimental group (n=10), and 0.9% normal saline was injected in the septum of the control group (n=10). Hoarding scores before and after injecting the chemicals were recorded. Results: It was found that noradrenaline significantly decreased (p < 0.01) the food hoarding scores (7.75 ± 3.95) as compared to baseline hoarding scores (24.12 ± 10.69). The control group did not show any significant change when the hoarding scores were compared before and after the injection of 0.9% normal saline. Conclusion: Intraseptal noradrenaline modulates septal network activity with inhibitory effect on hoarding behaviour.

Abstract Background Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by protozoan forms called Leishmania which infect animals and humans. The drugs have been in use since half a century due to which there have been mutations in the microbe-facilitating drug resistance. So this provides a reason for searching for effective drugs for the disease. In the current work, an effort has been to find such drugs that act on disease-relevant receptors by similarity indexing method, molecular docking, and dynamics studies. The study focused on the rapid expansion of potential anti-leishmanial compounds that could function as novel natural compound structures for future drug Results Similarity indexing of existing drugs with natural compounds using Tanimoto clustering resulted in 4 compounds with similarity index of greater than 0.7 (70% similarity). The molecular docking of the resulted compounds was carried out with therapeutic targets CYP51 and GP63 proteins. N-methyltyrosyl-N-methyltyrosyl-leucyl-alanine from Streptomyces griseus showed higher binding affinity in comparison to inhibitor and other selected natural compounds. Simulation studies revealed that the binding configuration of the compound with targets was highly stable all through 10 ns of simulation time with intact hydrogen bonding. Conclusions The molecular docking and molecular dynamics studies for the selected natural bioactive compound N-methyltyrosyl-N-methyltyrosyl-leucyl-alanine from Streptomyces griseus showed better binding affinity with the selected therapeutics targets and can be further considered for in vitro and in vivo studies which may lead to a possible new drug for the treatment of Leishmaniasis.

Abstract Flexible biosensors with high accuracy and reliable operation in detecting pH and uric acid levels in body fluids are fabricated using well-engineered metal-doped porous carbon as electrode material. The gold nanoparticles@N-doped carbon in situ are prepared using wool keratin as both a novel carbon precursor and a stabilizer. The conducting electrode material is fabricated at 500 °C under customized parameters, which mimics A–B type (two different repeating units) polymeric material and displays excellent deprotonation performance (pH sensitivity). The obtained pH sensor exhibits high pH sensitivity of 57 mV/pH unit and insignificant relative standard deviation of 0.088%. Conversely, the composite carbon material with sp 2 structure prepared at 700 °C is doped with nitrogen and gold nanoparticles, which exhibits good conductivity and electrocatalytic activity for uric acid oxidation. The uric acid sensor has linear response over a range of 1–150 µM and a limit of detection 0.1 µM. These results will provide new avenues where biological material will be the best start, which can be useful to target contradictory applications through molecular engineering at mesoscale.

Myelolipoma is a rare variant of lipoma which is a benign tumor. It mimics well differentiated liposarcoma clinically and on imaging studies. Postoperative histopathological examination plays an important role in diagnosing myelolipoma. We report a case of 50 year male with rare pre-sacral retroperitoneal myelolipoma which was challenging to differentiate from liposarcoma. Following surgical resection no further treatment was needed.

A two-year field trial on lac production on Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp. was conducted on the research field of Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh of India following randomized block design during 2019-20 and 2020-21. After harvest of C. cajan seeds and lac as cash crops, the left-over wood of C. cajan was evaluated for fuelwood (as an energy stove) for the small and marginal farm households. The mean dry weight of total fuelwood (including shoot+root) varied from 1196.67 to 1393.67 g plant-1 in pooled data.The estimated mean weight of total fuelwood (root+shoot) of C. cajan varied from 1447.98 to 1686.34 kg ha-1 in pooled mean of both the years. The value of total (shoot+root) dry fuelwood per plant varied from Rs. 7,239.85 to Rs. 8,431.70 in pooled mean of both the years. This total fuelwood can fulfill daily household requirement of fuelwood upto 3 years (891 to 1037 days) @ 4.06 kg day-1 household-1.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared in May 2021 that SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted not only by close contact with infectious respiratory fluids from infected people or contaminated materials but also indirectly through air. Airborne transmission has serious implications for the control measures we can deploy, given the emergence of more transmissible variants. This emphasizes the need to deploy a mechanism to reduce the viral load in the air, especially in closed and crowded places such as hospitals, public transport buses, etc. In this study, we explored ultraviolet C (UVC) radiation for its ability to inactivate the SARS-CoV-2 particles present in aerosols and designed an air disinfection system to eliminate infectious viruses. We studied the virus inactivation kinetics to identify the UVC dosage required to achieve maximum virus inactivation. Based on the experimental data, UVC-based devices were designed for the sanitization of air through HVAC systems in closed spaces. Further, a risk assessment model to estimate the risk reduction was applied which showed that the use of UVC radiation could result in the reduction of the risk of infection in occupied spaces by up to 90%.

The photocatalytic degradation of Acid Red 26 was examined utilizing a graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) catalyst and a UV-A light in this study. We investigated how successfully the photocatalytic approach removed Acid Red 26 from synthetic and actual municipal wastewater. Both aqueous matrices allowed for extremely high clearance rates. Wastewater degraded at a slower rate than the other matrices, this might be ascribed to the wastewater’s complicated chemical composition. Using a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), the IPs in both synthetic and actual municipal effluent were determined. The photocatalytic degradation mechanisms of Acid Red 26 are hypothesised to comprise oxidation, dealkylation, and methoxy group cleavage based on the observed intermediate products (IPs). Using proven scavengers, we were also able to investigate the role of reactive species in the degradation process and illustrate the significance of h+ and O2• in the reaction. Chlorococcum sp. and Dunaliella tertiolecta microalgae were also utilised to assess the development of ecotoxicity. We observed low toxicity throughout the process when clean water was used as the matrix, with no production of hazardous IPs. In the case of actual municipal wastewater, there was an early rise in toxicity, which scientists believe was caused by the matrix’s chemical make-up. To lower the toxicity, a heterogeneous photocatalysis was used, and at the end of the treatment, nearly full detoxification was obtained.