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Introduction Conduct bibliometric analyses documenting the output of National Institutes of Health (NIH) tobacco-related and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tobacco regulatory science (FDA-TRS) research portfolios. Aims and Methods PubMed identifiers for publications between 2015 and 2020 citing tobacco funding by NIH and/or FDA were imported into NIH iCite generating measures of productivity and influence, including number of citations, journal, relative citation ratios (RCR), and comparison of research influence across Web of Science (WoS) disciplines. Coauthorship and measures of centrality among and between NIH and FDA-supported investigators gauged collaboration. Results Between FY 2015 and 2020, 8160 publications cited funding from NIH tobacco-related grants, 1776 cited FDA-TRS grants and 496 cited Common funding (ie, both NIH and FDA-TRS funding). The proportion of publications citing NIH grants declined while those citing FDA-TRS or Common funding rose significantly. Publications citing Common funding showed the highest influence (mean RCR = 2.52). Publications citing FDA-TRS funding displayed higher median RCRs than publications citing NIH funding in most WoS categories. Higher translational progress was estimated over time for FDA-TRS and Common publications compared to NIH publications. Authors citing Common funding scored highest across all collaboration measures. Conclusions This study demonstrates the high bibliometric output of tobacco research overall. The rise in publications citing FDA-TRS and Common likely reflects increased funding for TRS research. Higher RCRs across WoS subject categories and trends towards human translation among FDA-TRS and Common publications indicate focus on research to inform regulation. This analysis suggests that FDA support for TRS has expanded the field of tobacco control resulting in sustained productivity, influence, and collaboration. Implications This paper is the first effort to better describe the impact of tobacco research resulting from the addition of FDA funding for TRS in the past decade. The analysis provides impetus for further investigation into the publication topics and their focus which would offer insight into the specific evidence generated on tobacco control and regulation.

Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disorder associated with impaired bone microarchitecture leading to fragility fractures. Long-term usage of parathyroid hormone (PTH) enhances bone resorption and leads to osteosarcoma in rats which limits its exposure to maximum 2 years in human. Notably, the anabolic effects of PTH do not endure in the absence of sustained administration. Studies in our lab identified osteogenic and antiresorptive activity in medicarpin, a phytoestrogen belonging to the pterocarpan class. Considering dual-acting property of medicarpin and limitations of PTH therapy, we envisaged that medicarpin sequential treatment after PTH withdrawal could serve as promising therapeutic approach for osteoporosis treatment. As PTH exerts its bone anabolic effect by increasing osteoblast survival, our study aims to determine whether medicarpin amplifies this effect of PTH. Our results show that PTH withdrawal led to reduced bone mineral density and bone parameters, while sequential treatment of medicarpin after PTH withdrawal significantly enhanced these parameters. Remarkably, these effects were more pronounced than 8-week PTH treatment. Sequential therapy also significantly increased P1NP levels and decreased CTX levels and TRAP positive cells compared to PTH 8W group where CTX levels were quite high due to bone resorptive action of PTH. Protein expression studies revealed that medicarpin along with PTH betters the antiapoptotic potential compared to PTH alone, through augmentation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate-PKA-CREB pathway. These results proclaim that medicarpin sequential treatment prevented the reduction in bone accrual and strength accompanying PTH withdrawal and also aided in antiapoptotic role of PTH. The study points toward the potential use of medicarpin as a replacement therapeutic option postdiscontinuation of PTH.

The research of energy-storage systems has been encouraged in the last ten years by the rapid development of portable electronic gadgets. Hybrid-ion capacitors are a novel kind of capacitor-battery hybrid energy storage device that has earned a lot of interest because of their high power density while maintaining energy density and a long lifecycle. Mostly, lithium-based energy storage technology is now being studied for use in electric grid storage. But the price increment and intermittent availability of lithium reserves make lithium-based commercialization unstable. Therefore, sodium-based technologies have been proposed as potential substitutes for lithium-based technologies. Sodium-ion capacitors (SICs) are acknowledged as potential innovative energy storage technologies which have lower standard electrode potentials and lower costs than lithium-ion capacitors. However, the large radius of the sodium ion also contributes to unfavorable reaction kinetics, low energy density, and brief lifespan of SICs. Recently, transition metal oxide (TMO)-based candidates have been considered potential due to the large theoretical capacity, environmental friendliness, and low cost for SICs. This brief study summarizes current advancements in research of TMOs and sodium-based TMOs as electrode candidates for SIC applications. Also, we have covered in detail the state of the exploration and upcoming prospects of TMOs for SICs.

Even after a decade of research on MoS2, it is still quite challenging to obtain high quality MoS2 films using a controlled synthesis technique. Out of all the available methods chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has proven to be a reliable technique to produce MoS2 thin films. The CVD growth process is sensitive to variety of parameters involved in the process. In the present work, we report the effect of pressure, temperature, gas flow, and position of substrate on the growth of MoS2 films. After several failures, the technique is optimized to synthesize high quality MoS2 films on quartz substrate. Further, the films are characterized using XRD, UV-Vis Spectroscopy, Photoluminescence Spectroscopy and Raman Spectroscopy. The main objective of this work is to formulate a method that produces MoS2 films using thermal CVD process by optimizing various parameters.

The study investigated the influence of asset classes like bond, commodity, venture capital, and real estate on the performance of equity as an asset class. The bond index, commodity index, U.S. venture capital index, and real estate index data was taken only for the USA market. The study revealed that U.S. equity market doesn’t perform in isolation and is highly related to other asset classes except bond/debt asset class. Therefore, it can be concluded that equity market doesn’t work in isolation and it related to performance of other asset classes in the financial market.

The aim of this present investigation is to study the effect of foliar application of nano fertilizers N, Zn and Cu on soil properties including chemical and biological properties after harvest of maize (Zea mays L.) crop. The field experiment was carried out during June-October 2020 season at Instructional Farm, Rajasthan College of Agriculture, MPUAT, Udaipur which lies in agro-climatic zone IV-a of Rajasthan, India. The field was designed in a randomized block design having 12 treatments which were replicated thrice. The treatments include the various combination of conventional and nano fertilizers of N, Zn and Cu. The result showed that the plots treated with nano fertilizers found better nutrient and biological status in post harvest soil. The foliar application of two sprays of Nano N + Nano Zn + Nano Cu at 21 and 42 days after sowing (DAS) plus 50% N and Zn through conventional fertilizers along with 100% PK (T12) significantly (P=.05) increased the availability of macronutrients (N and K), micronutrients (Zn and Cu), microbial population (bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes) as well as the dehydrogenase and acid phosphatase enzyme activity in post harvest soil of maize over control. The result of this investigation shows that 50% recommended dose of conventional fertilizers can be reduced by 2 sprays of nano fertilizers which reduces the harmful effects of conventional fertilizers and maintained the soil health.

Here, nickel cobalt oxide micro-flowers (NCO-F) have been prepared by the hydrothermal method for their application as electrode material in supercapacitors. The electrochemical performance of the prepared material has been studied in three different aqueous electrolytes (1 M Na2SO4, 1 M KOH, and 1 M Na2SO4 with hydroquinone (Hq) and benzoquinone (Bq) as redox additives). The NCO-F shows maximum specific capacitance in 1 M KOH (470 Fg−1) followed by 1 M Na2SO4 with Hq and Bq additives (173 Fg−1) and 1 M Na2SO4 (101 Fg−1) at the scan rate of 5 mVs−1. However, the higher value of energy density and power density is obtained in 1 M Na2SO4 (35.80 Whkg−1 at 424 Wkg−1). This is because of the higher potential window possessed by NCO-F in 1 M Na2SO4. The results illustrate that the role of the potential window is important which in turn is governed by the type of electrolyte.

Nowadays researchers are much interested in bioceramics for their use as biological implants. Researchers have succeeded to derive few bioceramic materials which show good biological response with living tissues. Few of the bioceramics are zirconia, hexagonal boron nitride and hydroxyapatite. Herein, the effects of zirconia nanoparticles and hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets in hydroxyapatite powder on the structural, mechanical, and biological properties were investigated. In this study, the formation of a potential composite with desired mechanical and biological properties is strongly anticipated. The present study is also proposed to provide further faces to improve osteogenic properties of the scaffolding material without altering the established mechanical and biological properties. Three different compositions in the system [(95-x)HAp-x(ZrO2)-5hBN] (x = 10, 20, 30) were prepared using a simple solid-state reaction technique. In the samples, significant phase was identified for HAp [Calcium Phosphate Hydroxide: Ca5(PO4)3(OH)]. SEM analysis of the composites revealed well-connected and uniform distribution of ZrO2 and HAp nanoparticles on h-BN sheets. The composite samples 65H30Z5B9h (65HAp-30ZrO2-5hBN sintered at 900 °C) and 65H30Z5B1T (65HAp-30ZrO2-5hBN sintered at 1000 °C) showed improved mechanical and tribological behaviors. These samples exhibited excellent mechanical properties like compressive strength, Young's modulus, toughness and density. The obtained values were 2.154 MPa, 0.0182 MPa, 553.82 MJ/m3, 2.29 g/cm3 for 65H30Z5B9h and 3.798 MPa, 0.0832 MPa, 231.59 MJ/m3, 2.31 g/cm3 for 65H30Z5B1T respectively. Cytotoxicity of the composites was studied on Drosophila fly and Mice calvarial osteoblasts cells at five different concentrations. Toxic effect of the composite 65H30Z5B1T on the fly was confirmed by phenotypic observations, trypan blue staining, pupal count, and larval crawling speed. Composite 65H30Z5B1T was found to be toxic in this study, but the composite 65H30Z5B9h was not. Further, cell viability, alkaline phosphates, and mineralization tests confirmed non-toxic property and enhanced osteogenic activities for the composite sample 65H30Z5B9h.

Introduction This study explores how the emergence of FDA-funded Tobacco Regulatory Science (TRS) research complements and perhaps influenced the direction of tobacco research supported by NIH. Aims and Methods New NIH- and FDA-funded tobacco projects awarded in fiscal years (FY) 2011–2020 were identified using internal NIH databases of awarded grants. Project abstracts and research aims were coded by the authors to characterize research domains and tobacco products studied. Results Between FY 2011 and 2020, NIH funded 1032 and FDA funded 322 new tobacco projects. For the years and grant activity codes studied, the number of new NIH tobacco projects declined while FDA’s increased; combined the number of new projects held steady. Much of NIH research included smoking combustibles (43.7%). The most common products in FDA research were cigarettes (74.8%) and e-cigarettes/ENDS (48.1%). Most NIH (58.6%) and FDA (67.7%) projects included research on the determinants of tobacco use. Another area of apparent overlap was health effects (29.5% NIH and 30.1% FDA). Projects unique to NIH included treatment interventions (33.3%), disease pathology/progression (17.8%) and neurobiology (18.9%). A minority of both NIH and FDA projects included populations particularly vulnerable to tobacco product use. Conclusions In total, support for new tobacco research supported by NIH and FDA combined remained steady for the time period covered, though there was a concomitant decline in NIH tobacco projects with the increase in FDA-funded TRS projects for the activity codes studied. Despite the apparent overlap in some areas, both NIH and FDA support research that is unique to their respective missions. Implications NIH continues to support tobacco research that falls within and outside of FDA’s regulatory authorities. This research still is needed not only to bolster the evidence base for regulatory decisions at the national and state levels, but also to advance a comprehensive scientific agenda that can inform multiple levels of influence on tobacco control, use and addiction. It will be important to continue monitoring FDA-funded TRS and NIH-funded tobacco research portfolios to ensure that the level of support for and focus of the research is sufficient to address the burden of tobacco-related morbidity and mortality.

A Chlorella sp. was isolated from a brackish water high-altitude lake of the Northern-Western Himalayas and selected on the basis of its ability to secrete substantial amount of exopolysaccharide (EPS). The purified EPS was estimated to have molecular weight (Mw) of approximately 1.52 × 105 Da with polydispersity of 2.315 and showed amorphous dense morphology. The production of the EPS was maximized to ≅ 460 mg L−1 through nutrient optimisation. The monosaccharide composition of EPS showed the presence of hexose (glucose, galactose mannose), pentose (xylose, arabinose), deoxy (rhamnose), amino (galactosamine) and acid (galacturonic acid and glucuronic) sugars. The one-dimensional proton NMR and FT-IR analysis confirmed the presence of aliphatic groups. The pseudo-plastic rheology and the antioxidant activity of the EPS suggested its suitability for industrial applications. Importantly, the isolated polysaccharide exhibits its potential for easy and single pot biosynthesis of polysaccharide-capped gold-nanoparticles (AuNPs). The polysaccharide-capped AuNPs displayed exceptional stability at extended pH range and high salinity and suggest that this algal EPS can be utilized for its biotechnological application.

Chebulinic acid (CA), a plant ellagitannin derived from Triphala, is reported to exhibit both anti-inflammatoryanti-oxidant activity apart from anti-tumour property. However, its role in inflammatory bone loss conditions was unexplored. We hypothesized that CA may prevent the bone loss under inflammatory conditions induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in 10-week-old male C57BL/6J mice. Micro-CT analysis and histomorphometric evaluations were carried out where it was found that CA significantly improved the bone micro-architectures by enhancing trabecular connectivity and strength of the bone. CA also increased the bone regeneration as examined by calcein labelling and ex-vivo mineralisation along with maintaining the bone serum markers. Further, CA ameliorated the reduction in osteoblast cell differentiation, proliferation and viability after LPS stimulation. DCFDA and Mitosox staining revealed that CA presented remarkable protective effects against LPS treatment by attenuating oxidative stress, both at cellularmitochondrial levels. In addition, CA significantly decreased the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and down-regulated the phosphorylation of NFκB and IκBα, indicating that CA could attenuate the inflammatory impairment to primary osteoblast cells by suppressing the NFkB signalling pathway. Taken together, the protective role of CA against LPS-induced bone lossinhibitory effect on total ROS levels hold promise as a potential novel therapeutic strategy for the inflammatory diseases in bones.

Osteoporosis is a major health problem in postmenopausal women globally. This study determined the mechanism through which coelogin stimulates osteoblastogenesis and its osteoprotective and bone regenerating potential. Coelogin effect on primary calvarial osteoblast cells was determined by measuring alkaline phosphatase activity, mineralization, osteoblast survival, and apoptosis and protein expression studies. The osteoprotective effect of coelogin was also evaluated on osteopenic adult female Swiss mice. At autopsy, bones were collected for dynamic and histomorphometry studies. Serum samples were also collected for assessment of serum parameters. Coelogin treatment led to increased osteoblast proliferation, survival, differentiation, and mineralization in osteoblast cells. Coelogin supplementation to Ovx mice promoted new bone formation, prevented Ovx-induced deterioration of bone microarchitecture, and enhanced bone regeneration. In addition, signaling studies revealed that coelogin treatment activates the ER-Erk and Akt-dependent signaling pathways which stimulate the osteoblastogenesis in osteoblast cells.

Abstract Bone healing and regeneration is a complex process that recapitulates embryonic skeletal development and is delayed in diseases like osteoporosis. Bone healing therapies like recombinant bone morphogenetic-2 protein (rhBMP-2) and parathyroid hormone (PTH), an approved bone anabolic therapy reduces fracture risks but are fraught with high cost and several side effects. Thus, there is an unmet need for cost-effective bone healing agents. In this study, we have synthesized 3-piperidinylethoxypterocarpan (3-PEP) which is a hybrid of bone supplement ipriflavone and anti-resorptive drug raloxifene and evaluated its bone regeneration and healing potential. Prior to studies in animal models, the potency of 3-PEP was confirmed in calvarial osteoblast cells. Bromodeoxy uridine cell proliferation and cell viability assay revealed that 3-PEP at 100 pM concentration increased the proliferation and survival of osteoblasts simultaneously inhibiting the apoptosis by involving activation of BCL-2 by phosphorylation at Ser70 site through MEK-ERK pathway. In vivo studies were conducted in estrogen-deficient ovariectomized Balb/c mice and drill hole injury was generated in the mid diaphysis of the femur in all the animals. Treatment with 3-PEP commenced the next day onward and terminated at 7 and 15 days. Micro-CT analysis and calcein labeling of newly generated bone at the drill hole injury site showed that 3-PEP promotes bone healing and new bone formation at a dose of 5 mg/kg at the injury site. These data were also corroborated in non-ovariectomized Balb/c mice cortical defect model. Owing to the side effects associated with rhBMP-2 and PTH, along with the expenses involved, our study proposes an alternative therapeutic option for bone healing.

Post-translational modifications such as phosphorylation, nitrosylation, and pupylation modulate multiple cellular processes in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. While protein methylation at lysine and arginine residues is widespread in eukaryotes, to date only two methylated proteins in Mtb have been identified. Here, we report the identification of methylation at lysine and/or arginine residues in nine mycobacterial proteins. Among the proteins identified, we chose MtrA, an essential response regulator of a two-component signaling system, which gets methylated on multiple lysine and arginine residues to examine the functional consequences of methylation. While methylation of K207 confers a marginal decrease in the DNA-binding ability of MtrA, methylation of R122 or K204 significantly reduces the interaction with the DNA. Overexpression of S-adenosyl homocysteine hydrolase (SahH), an enzyme that modulates the levels of S-adenosyl methionine in mycobacteria decreases the extent of MtrA methylation. Most importantly, we show that decreased MtrA methylation results in transcriptional activation of mtrA and sahH promoters. Collectively, we identify novel methylated proteins, expand the list of modifications in mycobacteria by adding arginine methylation, and show that methylation regulates MtrA activity. We propose that protein methylation could be a more prevalent modification in mycobacterial proteins.

This experiment was conducted to determine the fasting effects on anthropometric parameters and salivary antioxidant properties in girls and boys. Saliva samples were collected from eighteen healthy girls (control-09 & fasting-09 girls) and twelve healthy boys (control-06 & fasting-06 boys). Saliva was collected four times from all the subjects at a time interval of two hours. For anthropometric parameters, body weight, body temperature, pulse rate (PR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was measured during each saliva collection time. Antioxidant parameters of all the saliva samples were evaluated. Most of the anthropometric parameters like temperature, PR, SBP, and DBP of the fasting group was significantly (p

The global population depends on fairly a small number of crops including wheat, rice and maize for food and nutrition, leaving a wealth of genetic resources neglected. Owing to ever increasing demands of the growing world, food production must be increased but research evidences suggests that climate change has adversely affected crop yields, thereby impacting whole agriculture. Exploring the potential reservoir of underutilized crops would provide a highly diversified agricultural production system in sustaining food and nutritional security under climate change. Buckwheat (Fagopyrum sp.) is one such crop representing a broad gene pool harboring diverse genetic resources for future agriculture due to their suitability to marginalized environments. Research advancements suggest that buckwheat has immense potential of commercialization due to presence of essential nutrients and therapeutics. With a balance of bioactive components and nutraceuticals, it has the ability to withstand various environmental stresses to make it a suitable candidate crop for future nutritional security initiatives. Despite such potential, efforts pertaining to genetic improvement, including breeding and molecular techniques are not exemplary. In this review, we present a comprehensive coverage of buckwheat germplasm research done till date along with a tangible perspective of integrating breeding and omics-driven approaches to accelerate higher genetic gains. The implementation of this strategy could enhance the nutritional benefits and adaptation to changing climates for future needs.

Introduction: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women globally and in India. Papillary lesions of the breast constitute around 5% of all the breast lesions. They encompasses a morphologically heterogeneous group of lesions, all of which share a growth pattern characterised by the presence of arborescent fibrovascular stalks lined by epithelial cells with or without a layer of myoepithelial cells. Invasive papillary carcinoma is an invasive adenocarcinoma which has predominant papillary morphology >90% in the invasive component. Invasive micropapillary carcinoma is a rare type accounting for only 0.9 to 2.0% of all invasive breast tumours. Encapsulated papillary carcinoma consists of fibrous capsule surrounding a nodule composed of delicate fibrovascular stalks, covered by monomorphic population of neoplastic epithelial cells. Micropapillary carcinoma is characterized by higher incidence of lymph node metastasis and lymphovascular invasion resulting in poor prognosis. The purpose of this study is to share the last 13 years experience regarding papillary lesions of breast in the department of pathology in our institute. Material and Methods: A 13-year (2006-2019) retrospective review of database of patients diagnosed with breast cancer was performed. The medical records of 8 patients with papillary breast cancer who underwent surgery were retrieved and their clinical data, surgical treatment and pathological findings were reviewed. Results: A total of 884 patients underwent mastectomy for invasive breast cancer during the 13 year period. Out of 884 patients, eight were diagnosed with papillary carcinoma breast (0.90%). Amongst the eight, three were diagnosed as invasive papillary carcinoma, two as encapsulated papillary carcinoma and rest three as invasive micropapillary carcinoma. The mean age of presentation was 63.3 (range 45-80) years. The tumour size ranged between 3.5 to 6cm in its greatest dimension. Two out of eight patients had lymph node metastasis with no distant metastasis. Conclusion: Papillary carcinoma of the breast is a rare entity, the reported incidence of pure micropapillary carcinomas is 0.9 to 2% of all breast cancers. It is associated commonly with lymph node metastasis at the time of presentation and have relatively poor prognosis. Much lower prevalence of papillary carcinoma breast was seen in our institutional study.