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Human gut bacteria can degrade arabinoxylans, polysaccharides found in dietary fiber. Here, Pereira et al. identify a bacterial gene cluster encoding esterases for degradation of complex arabinoxylans. The action of these enzymes results in accumulation of ferulic acid, a phenolic compound with antioxidative and immunomodulatory properties.

Abstract Bedia community has been engaged in singing and dancing as ‘rai’ folk artists during the rule of monarchy in central India. It is mentioned in colonial literature that Bedia were a nomadic tribe and often engaged in criminal activities too. After the end of monarchy and change in the laws of the state, Bedias had nothing left for their survival. Therefore, Bedia women engaged in prostitution. Prostitution gradually became their primary source of livelihood. They trained their daughters to become prostitutes in the future. Girls were introduced into this profession as soon as they reached puberty. These girls worked at dance bars and also as professional sex workers in metro cities and villages. Their fathers and brothers worked as pimps/agents for the girls and their clients. Their families survived on the female’s earnings. Bedia community inhabits many villages of Madhya Pradesh and central India. Since these villages are close to the city, customers find it easy to visit prostitutes regularly, and occasionally prostitutes also visit a customer on demand. Bedia women have been vulnerable victims of their community’s traditional and cultural practices. Prostitution has a social stigma and is seen as immoral by other communities. Thus, Bedias are never accepted by other communities due to their disreputable professional practices. This paper deals with the historical understanding of the Bedia as sex workers and the contemporary situation of a particular community. The data was collected through ethnographic fieldwork from two villages (Habla and Fatehpur) and secondary sources. In particular, we shall discuss the socio-cultural aspects, family and kinship, lifestyle, the status of women, and domination of culture in this paper.

Primary Intracranial Malignant Melanoma (PIMM) is a very rare neoplasm and accounts for 1% of all melanomas and 0.1% of all intracranial tumours. It carries a poor prognosis with overall poor survival. Diagnosis on mere imaging findings of an intracranial melanoma is a daunting task. Multimodality treatment with surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy have proved to be effective in improving clinical outcome in these patients.

Osteochondromas are capped benign bony neoplasm that forms on the outer surface of the bone. They are most commonly found in appendicular skeletal but rare in the spine. The cervical spine is commonly involved in spinal osteochondromas. Here we discuss a case of a 24-year-old male with osteochondroma arising from the posterior arch of C2 (axis) vertebra presenting with myelopathy. Most of the cases are asymptomatic needing only observation. Surgery is needed in case of progressive neurologic deficit. It is recommended to do an en bloc resection of the lesion along with cartilage cap to prevent recurrence and spinal stabilization with arthrodesis to avoid postoperative kyphosis.

Internet-enabled technologies for robotics education are gaining importance as online platforms facilitating and promoting skill training. Understanding the use and design of robotics is now introduced at university undergraduate levels, but in developing economies establishing usable hardware and software platforms face several challenges like cost, equipment etc. Remote labs help providing alternatives to some of the challenges. We developed an online laboratory for bioinspired robotics using a low-cost 6 degree-of-freedom robotic articulator with a neuro-inspired controller. Cerebellum-inspired neural network algorithm approximates forward and inverse kinematics for movement coordination. With over 210000 registered users, the remote lab has been perceived as an interactive online learning tool and a practice platform. Direct feedback from 60 students and 100 university teachers indicated that the remote laboratory motivated self-organized learning and was useful as teaching material to aid robotics skill education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ICT-enabled virtual and remote labs have become a platform augmenting user engagement in blended education scenarios enhancing University education in rural India. A novel trend is the use of remote laboratories as learning and teaching tools in classrooms and elsewhere. This paper reports case studies based on our deployment of 20 web-based virtual labs with more than 170+ online experiments in Biotechnology and Biomedical engineering discipline with content for undergraduate and postgraduate education. Via hands-on workshops and direct feedback using questionnaires, we studied the role of remote lab experiments as learning and teaching tools. Although less reliable than direct feedback, we also included online feedback to perceive blended and remote learning styles among various users. Student and teacher user groups suggested significant usage adaptability of experimental process and indicated usage of remote labs as supplementary tools for complementing laboratory education. Usage analysis implicated the role of online labs as interactive textbooks augmenting student interaction and positive correlates to learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Poor oral health and untreated oral conditions are not readily identifiable by general population and morbid oral status is widely accepted as a norm, creating a significant impact on quality of life. Oral diseases are a major public health concern due to their high prevalence and neglect. The outlook of people towards oral health and disease, therefore, has an important influence on dental health. Methods: A structured questionnaire was posed to general Indian population. 1008 completed responses were collected and analyzed for association amongst discreet variables using Pearson’s Chi-square test and a P-value below 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The relationship between dental awareness and demographic variables like gender, socioeconomic background, and education are discussed. Awareness amongst rural and less educated populations is low. The children face dental neglect, people are unaware of the need for regular dental visits and systemic correlation of poor oral hygiene. Females are more aware of hygiene practices than male population. Conclusion: The present study found that there is an immediate need to create awareness amongst general population about the necessity to follow proper oral healthcare measures, especially amongst rural and less educated groups, parents of young children, pregnant females, and the elderly.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a highly prevalent chronic liver disease in most parts of the world affecting one-third of the western population and a growing cause for end-stage liver diseases such as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Majorly driven by obesity and diabetes mellitus, NAFLD is more of a multifactorial disease affected by extra-hepatic organ crosstalk. Non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) progressed to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) predisposes multiple complications such as fibrosis, cirrhosis, and HCC. Although the complete pathogenic mechanisms of this disease are not understood, inflammation is considered as a key driver to the onset of NASH. Lipotoxicity, inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and intestinal dysbiosis trigger both hepatic and systemic inflammatory cascades simultaneously activating immune responses. Over a few years, extracellular vesicles studied extensively concerning the pathobiology of NAFLD indicated it as a key modulator in the setting of immune-mediated inflammation. Exosomes and microvesicles, the two main types of extracellular vesicles are secreted by an array of most mammalian cells, which are involved mainly in cell-cell communication that are unique to cell type. Various bioactive cargoes containing extracellular vesicles derived from both hepatic and extrahepatic milieu showed critical implications in driving steatosis to NASH reaffirming inflammation as the primary contributor to the whole process. In this mini-review, we provide brief insights into the inflammatory mediators of NASH with special emphasis on extracellular vesicles that acts as drivers of inflammation in NAFLD.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is a highly aggressive cancer with mortality running parallel to its incidence and has limited therapeutic options. Chronic liver inflammation and injury contribute significantly to the development and progression of HCC. Several factors such as gender, age, ethnicity, and demographic regions increase the HCC incidence rates and the major risk factors are chronic infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV), carcinogens (food contaminants, tobacco smoking, and environmental toxins), and inherited diseases. In recent years evidence highlights the association of metabolic syndrome (diabetes and obesity), excessive alcohol consumption (alcoholic fatty liver disease), and high-calorie intake (nonalcoholic fatty liver disease) to be the prime causes for HCC in countries with a westernized sedentary lifestyle. HCC predominantly occurs in the setting of chronic liver disease and cirrhosis (80%), however, 20% of the cases have been known in patients with non-cirrhotic liver. It is widely believed that there exist possible interactions between different etiological agents leading to the involvement of diverse mechanisms in the pathogenesis of HCC. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of HCC development and progression is imperative in developing effective targeted therapies to combat this deadly disease. Noteworthy, a detailed understanding of the risk factors is also critical to improve the screening, early detection, prevention, and management of HCC. Thus, this review recapitulates the etiology of HCC focusing especially on the nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)- and alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD)-associated HCC.

BACKGROUND:Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) or Kala-azar has been a major public health problem in Bihar, India, for several decades. A few VL infected districts including Vaishali have reported >600 cases annually. Hence, in 2015, the Government of India entrusted ICMR-Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, to implement an integrated control strategy for achieving the VL elimination target (

Abstract The intracellular actions of interferon (IFN)-regulated proteins, including IFN-induced proteins with tetratricopeptide repeats (IFITs), attribute a major component of the protective antiviral host defense. Here we applied genomics approaches to annotate the chicken IFIT locus and currently identified a single IFIT (chIFIT5) gene. The profound transcriptional level of this effector of innate immunity was mapped within its unique cis-acting elements. This highly virus- and IFN-responsive chIFIT5 protein interacted with negative sense viral RNA structures that carried a triphosphate group on its 5′ terminus (ppp-RNA). This interaction reduced the replication of RNA viruses in lentivirus-mediated IFIT5-stable chicken fibroblasts whereas CRISPR/Cas9-edited chIFIT5 gene knockout fibroblasts supported the replication of RNA viruses. Finally, we generated mosaic transgenic chicken embryos stably expressing chIFIT5 protein or knocked-down for endogenous chIFIT5 gene. Replication kinetics of RNA viruses in these transgenic chicken embryos demonstrated the antiviral potential of chIFIT5 in ovo. Taken together, these findings propose that IFIT5 specifically antagonize RNA viruses by sequestering viral nucleic acids in chickens, which are unique in innate immune sensing and responses to viruses of both poultry and human health significance.

In a multicenter study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research, 1,646 samples of wheat grain collected from rural and urban areas of 10 states representing different geographical regions of India were analyzed for aflatoxin (AFBI). AFB, concentrations of ⩾5 µg kg-1 were recorded in 40.3% of the samples, and concentrations above the Indian permissible regulatory limit of 30 µg kg-1 were found in 16% of the samples. The proportion of samples with AFB1 concentrations above the Indian regulatory limit ranged from 1.7 to 55.8% in different states, with the minimum in Haryana and the maximum in Orissa. The variation in wheat contamination among states seems to be mainly the result of unsatisfactory storage conditions. Median AFB1 concentrations of 11, 18, and 32 µg kg-1 were observed in samples from Uttar Pradesh, Assam, and Orissa, respectively; concentrations in other states were <5 µg kg-1. The maximum AFB1 concentration of 606 µg kg-1 was observed in a sample from the state of Uttar Pradesh. The calculated probable daily intakes of AFB, through consumption of contaminated wheat for the population in some states were much higher than the suggested provisional maximum tolerable daily intake. Human health hazards associated with such AFB1 exposure over time cannot be ruled out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under a multi-centre study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research, 1511 samples of parboiled rice were collected from rural and urban areas of 11 states representing different geographical regions of India. These samples were analysed for contamination with aflatoxin B 1. The presence of aflatoxin B 1 at levels?=?5?µg?kg -1 was found in 38.5% of the total number of samples of the parboiled rice. About 17% of the total samples showed the presence of aflatoxin B 1 above the Indian regulatory limit of 30?µg?kg -1 . No statistically significant difference in percentage of samples contaminated with >30?µg?kg -1 was observed between pooled rural (19.4%) and urban (14.5%) data. A median value of 15?µg?kg -1 of aflatoxin B 1 was observed in samples from Assam, Bihar and Tripura. In all other states surveyed the median value was [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under a multicentre study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research, 1712 samples of wheat grain/flour were collected from urban and rural areas in 11 states representing different geographical regions of India. These samples were analysed for residues of DDT (2,2- bis ( p -chlorophenyl)-1,1,1-trichloro ethane) and different isomers of HCH (1,2,3,4,5,6-hexachloro cyclohexane, a mixture of isomers) by gas–liquid chromatography. Residues of DDT were detected in 59.4% of 1080 samples of wheat grain and in 78.2% of 632 samples of wheat flour. Different isomers of HCH were present in about 45–80% of the samples of wheat grain/flour. Medians of DDT and total HCH, respectively, for pooled samples of wheat grain were 0.013 and 0.035?mg?kg -1 , while those for wheat flour were 0.01 and 0.02?mg?kg -1 . Estimated daily intakes of DDT and different isomers of HCH through the consumption of wheat contaminated at their median and 90th percentiles constituted a small proportion of their acceptable daily intakes. Amongst the pesticide residues analysed, statutory maximum residue limits have been fixed only for ?-HCH in wheat in India, as 0.1?mg?kg -1 in wheat grain and zero in wheat flour. Residue levels of ?-HCH exceeded these maximum residue limits in five of 1080 samples of wheat grain and in 340 of 632 samples of wheat flour. The failure to meet the requirement of the ?-HCH maximum residue limit in large number of wheat flour samples was attributed to the fixation of practically unachievable zero limit. Comparing the previous studies and the present one, the levels of residues of DDT and HCH in wheat were significantly decreased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nickel was deposited galvanostatically at 0·23, 0·77, 1·55, 3·1 and 5·4 A dm-2 current densities at room temperature. An XRD technique was employed for evaluating the grain size and preferred orientation of the nickel deposit. The cross-sections of the nickel deposits were subjected to microhardness and microstructure analysis. Nanosize alumina was prepared by a solution combustion technique, and the powder was characterised by XRD and particle size analysis. The particle size of Al2O3 powder synthesised by the combustion process was 30 nm. XRD confirmed the presence of pure α-Al2O3. Combustion synthesised alumina (CSA) powder was codeposited in the nickel matrix at various current densities, as in the case of nickel. Similarly, commercially available 0·05 μm Al2O3 containing a mixture of α and β phases was codeposited in nickel matrix. The Ni–Al2O3 nanocomposite coatings were characterised by XRD, microhardness measurement and image analysis. The results obtained with nickel and Ni–Al2O3 composite coatings are compared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Controlling macromolecular assembly across length scales during solution coating of semiconducting polymers is still a challenge. Here the authors show a biomineralization inspired dynamic templating method that expedites polymer nucleation and assembly which allows for surface reconfiguration.

Abstract Interferons (IFNs) are essential components of the host innate immune system and define first-line of defence against pathogens. In mammals, several type I IFNs are identified, however, only limited data is available on the repertoire of IFNs in avian species. Here we report the characterization of chicken IFN-κ (chIFN-κ) near the type I IFN locus on the sex-determining Z chromosome. Genetic, evolutionary and syntenic analyses indicate that chIFN-κ is a type I IFN with conserved genetic features and promoter binding sites. chIFN-κ regulated the IFN-stimulated response element signalling pathways and activated a panel of IFN-regulated genes, antiviral mediators and transcriptional regulators. Priming of chicken primary fibroblasts and tracheal organ cultures with chIFN-κ imparted cellular protections against viral infections both in vitro and ex vivo. To determine whether chIFN-κ defines the antiviral state in developing chicken embryos, we used replication-competent retroviral RCAS vector system to generate transgenic chicken embryos that constitutively and stably expressed chIFN-κ. We could demonstrate that chIFN-κ markedly inhibited the replication of avian RNA viruses in ovo. Collectively, these results shed the light on the repertoire of IFNs in avian species and provide functional data on the interaction of the chIFN-κ with RNA viruses of poultry and public health importance.