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Background: Cytogenetics is evolving and different molecular mechanisms we know now have proved to be of diagnostic and prognostic significance in both acute lymphoid (ALL) and myeloid leukaemia (AML). This study aims to find out and compare the occurrence of different cytogenetics in paediatric acute leukaemia. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of diagnosed B-ALL and AML patients presenting at The Indus Hospital. We studied FISH and karyotype in B-ALL and FISH in AML patients. FISH analysis shows a total of 69 (12.8%) of B ALL patients had cytogenetic abnormalities. BCR-ABL1 was positive in 5.1%, ETV6/RUNX1T1 in 8.6% and KMT2A in 2.3% individuals. Karyotype reveals hyper diploidy in 24.3%, Monosomy in 1.94%, and t (1:19) and t (17:19) were observed in 5.8 % and 0.24% cases respectively. FISH analysis in AML cases reveal positivity of t (8:21) in 26.4%, INV (16) in 6.1% while PML-RARA t(15:17) was done on morphological suspicion in 17 cases; all of which showed positivity; making 7.9% of the total AMLs. The study demonstrated a wide spectrum of heterogeneity in paediatric acute leukaemia. Conclusion: Hyperdiploidy was the most common cytogenetic abnormality. We report a lower incidence of t (12:21), compared to the world. We showed a higher prevalence of RUNX1/RUNX1T1 in young children. The prevalence of core binding factor AML was 32.5%.

Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a serious respiratory disorder and has challenged public health organizations everywhere. To effectively target government interventions, the most vulnerable persons to coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), the development of serious health indications and mortality must be identified. We conducted a thorough literature review to provide the existing position of technical information in these domains, stressing the necessity for a united worldwide approach, touching forward and learning for upcoming diseases. Medline, Embase and Global Health, and the Web of Science, were searched by the end of August 2021. The search criteria were SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19-specific. A broad array of descriptions has been recycled regarding the harshness of the condition. Furthermore, multiple countries took various public health steps to control the transmission of COVID-19. In this review, we are enlisting the countries and their short- andlong-term public health responses to combat this pandemic. We also described four key sections of public health responses, i-e, monitoring, public education, crowd control and establishment of health care facilities followed by various countries to prevent the pandemic.

Hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell gene therapy (HSPC-GT) is proving successful to treat several genetic diseases. HSPCs are mobilized, harvested, genetically corrected ex vivo, and infused, after the administration of toxic myeloablative conditioning to deplete the bone marrow (BM) for the modified cells. We show that mobilizers create an opportunity for seamless engraftment of exogenous cells, which effectively outcompete those mobilized, to repopulate the depleted BM. The competitive advantage results from the rescue during ex vivo culture of a detrimental impact of mobilization on HSPCs and can be further enhanced by the transient overexpression of engraftment effectors exploiting optimized mRNA-based delivery. We show the therapeutic efficacy in a mouse model of hyper IgM syndrome and further developed it in human hematochimeric mice, showing its applicability and versatility when coupled with gene transfer and editing strategies. Overall, our findings provide a potentially valuable strategy paving the way to broader and safer use of HSPC-GT.

Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) is a very rare hematological malignancy in children. It usually manifests with skin lesions on face, scalp or trunk with frequent involvement of peripheral blood, bone marrow and lymph nodes. Due to rarity and wide clinical spectrum, these cases are difficult to diagnose and require extensive immunophenotypic workup. It is only recently recognized as a distinct clinico pathological entity and literature pertaining to pediatric experience is limited. We report a case of BPDCN in an eleven years old boy presented with skin nodules on cheek and forehaed. This case is reported to improve the knowledge of physicians regarding this rare disease. Diagnosis was established by bone marrow biopsy and flowcytometry that revealed expression of BPDCN’s pathognomonic markers CD4, CD56 and CD123. Standard treatment has not been defined to date however acute lymphoblastic leukemia type chemotherapy followed by stem cell transplant showed some optimistic results in children. Owing to our limited resources and poor prognosis of the disease with low overall survival rates patient was kept on palliation.

In this paper, the synthesis and characterisation of photoluminescent graft copolymers of poly(p-phenyleneethynylene) (PPE) with grafted poly(n-butyl acrylate) (PnBA) side chains is presented. The grafted copolymer exhibited the desired intrinsic physical properties of the grafted side chain polymer while preserving the optical properties of PPE. Grafting from the conjugated macroinitiator was conducted utilising activators regenerated by an electron transfer (ARGET) atom transfer radical polymerisation (ATRP) technique. The novel physical and optical properties of the grafted copolymer are reported and the enhancement of the quantum yield both in the solid and solution state can be attributed to the prevention of interchain interactions of the PPE chains. The enhancement of the photophysical properties observed upon grafting is greater than that seen in a similar PPV system.

To explore new scaffolds for the treat of Alzheimer's disease appears to be an inspiring goal. In this context, a series of varyingly substituted flavonols and 4-thioflavonols have been designed and synthesized efficiently. All the newly synthesized compounds were characterized unambiguously by common spectroscopic techniques (IR, 1H-, 13C NMR) and mass spectrometry (EI-MS). All the derivatives (1-24) were evaluated in vitro for their inhibitory potential against cholinesterase enzymes. The results exhibited that these derivatives were potent selective inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), except the compound 11 which was selective inhibitor of butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), with varying degree of IC50 values. Remarkably, the compounds 20 and 23 have been found the most potent almost dual inhibitors of AChE and BChE amongst the series with IC50 values even less than the standard drug. The experimental results in silico were further validated by molecular docking studies in order to find their binding modes with the active pockets of AChE and BChE enzymes.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a neurotropic and neurovirulent arbovirus that has severe detrimental impact on the developing human fetal brain. To date, little is known about the factors required for ZIKV infection of human neural cells. We identified ZIKV host genes in human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived neural progenitors (NPs) using a genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 knockout screen. Mutations of host factors involved in heparan sulfation, endocytosis, endoplasmic reticulum processing, Golgi function, and interferon activity conferred resistance to infection with the Uganda strain of ZIKV and a more recent North American isolate. Host genes essential for ZIKV replication identified in human NPs also provided a low level of protection against ZIKV in isogenic human astrocytes. Our findings provide insights into host-dependent mechanisms for ZIKV infection in the highly vulnerable human NP cells and identify molecular targets for potential therapeutic intervention.

In this study, we have demonstrated a suitable methodology towards tailoring the optical and physical properties of poly(phenylene vinylene)s (PPVs) by grafting poly(n-butyl acrylate) side chains to yield highly processable PPVs with the physical characteristics of the grafted polymer. Grafting from the PPV macroinitiators was conducted using activators regenerated by electron transfer (ARGET) atom transfer radical polymerisation (ATRP) technique. The resulting graft copolymers showed significant enhancement of photoluminescence quantum yield in both solution and in the solid state while exhibiting lower glass transition temperature and dry adhesive properties compared to the ungrafted PPVs, thereby signifying the methodology as an attractive tool for fabricating functional conjugated polymers with desired physical characteristics.

This study is aimed at developing an effective and potentially industrially applicable methodology for dry adhesion enhancement of bioinspired adhesive materials. Recently developed Activator Re-Generation through Electron Transfer Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (ARGET ATRP) was employed to graft poly(ethyl acrylate), poly(n-butyl acrylate) and poly(n-hexyl acrylate) polymer brushes on poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) substrates in presence of a structurally similar sacrificial initiator. Attenuated Total Reflection-Fourier Transformed Infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (NMR), and ellipsometry were used to confirm the grafting and controlled growth of polymer chains on PDMS surfaces and in solution. A nanoindenter was used to measure adhesion on the PDMS samples at retraction rates of 10–50 nm/s and indentation depths of 100–500 nm. The polymer brushes were also grafted on PDMS micropillars of 20 μm in diameter with aspect ratio of 3, to test applicability of the developed method on bioinspired microstructured surfaces. A significant increase in adhesion was observed in all flat and micropatterned samples after the grafting resulting in achieving 20 kPa of adhesion strength in the flat samples. The study suggests that the investigated ARGET ATRP procedure can be used to produce cost effective dry adhesive surfaces.

Recent advances in organic electronic devices have reached new milestones in performance and function, and they are used in applications ranging from displays to sensory devices. However, they still present limitations in mechanical flexibility and electrical durability following the damage caused during their lifetime. Herein, we present a simple route to prepare conducting polymer composites that can address some of these issues through solvent vapour-induced healing of cracks formed within conducting polymer composites. Conducting polymer composites were prepared by solution blending of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-containing urea segmented copolymer. The bicomponent composites with various weight fractions of neutral P3HT were used to demonstrate their electroactivity whereas the electrical conductivity, mechanical and solvent vapour-induced self-healing studies were carried out with composites with various weight fractions of FeCl3-doped P3HT. A mechanically bisected free-standing film with 30 wt% of doped P3HT was observed to be readily healed through exposure to solvent vapour at room temperature, with a mechanical healing efficiency of 55 ± 24% and restoration of electrical conductivity up to 82 ± 1%.

Polymerizations of aniline were conducted in the mixtures of water and polar organic solvents (50 vol.%): acetone, acetonitrile, dimethylsulfoxide and ethanol, by using ammonium peroxydisulphate as an oxidant, without added acid. Course of reactions was followed by recording the temperature and pH changes of the reaction systems. The influence of the organic co-solvents and the reaction time on the molecular structure, molecular weights, morphology and properties of synthesized polyaniline (PANI) samples was studied by elemental analysis, laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry (LDI-MS), gelpermeation chromatography (GPC), FTIR, Raman and UV vis spectroscopies, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and electrical conductivity measurements. The results were compared with those obtained for PANI prepared under the same reaction conditions in water without a co-solvent. Supplementary material: [http://cherry.chem.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/3422]

In this report we demonstrate that modification of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) surfaces with polymer brushes offers a promising route towards materials with improved, bioinspired dry adhesive surfaces. To that end, poly(2-ethylhexyl acrylate) brushes were grafted from PDMS surfaces by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) and also on silicon wafers in the presence of a structurally similar sacrificial initiator. Attenuated Total Reflection-Fourier Transformed Infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (NMR), Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC) and ellipsometric studies confirmed the presence and regular growth of polymer chains both in solution and on PDMS and silicon surfaces respectively. Adhesion of the modified PDMS surfaces was tested using Hysitron TI-950 Triboindenter at indentation depths of 50–500 nm and retraction rates of 5–50 nm/s. Finally, micro-fabricated pillars (diameter = 18 μm) were grafted with the polymer brushes. All samples showed a significant increase in adhesion after grafting. Micro patterned PDMS surface has also shown a marked increase in adhesion after grafting of the polymer brushes as compared to non-grafted PDMS.

Diblock copolymers composed of monomers of tert-butyl acrylate and a side-chain azobenzenecontaining monomer, 4-[(E)-(4-nitrophenyl)diazenyl]phenyl prop-2-enoate were synthesized using atom transfer radical polymerization technique. Experimental strategy involved synthesis of block of tert-butyl acrylate macroinitiator followed by addition of second block of azobenzene-containing monomer to prepare desired block-copolymer. GPC analysis indicated narrow molecular weight distributions with degree of polymerization found in good agreement with targeted value. Prepared block copolymers of varying chain lengths can potentially be used to obtain morphologies that can find useful applications for biomedical applications including intriguing photo-switchable drug delivery systems.

In this chapter the impact of the significant institutional determinants (obtained from Chap. 2) is then estimated on real economic growth, both directly, and also indirectly, through the channel of macroeconomic stability. Results mainly validate that institutional determinants overall play a positive role in reducing macroeconomic instability, and through it, and also independently, enhance real economic growth.

Taking a panel data of IMF member countries, this chapter primarily focuses on the IMF programme countries, during 1980–2009; a time period during which the number of IMF programmes witnessed an increasing trend. Firstly, important determinants of economic- and political institutional quality in IMF programme countries are estimated by applying the System-GMM approach, so as to find significant determinants among them. Here, a parliamentary form of government, aggregate governance level, civil liberties, openness, and property rights all enhance overall institutional quality. Specifically, greater monetary- and investment freedom are conducive for political institutional quality, while military in power impacts negatively. Moreover, economic growth is conducive for enhancing economic institutional quality.

Pakistan has been selected in this chapter as a representative example of a frequent user of IMF resources. Here, by applying the Vector Autoregression (VAR) model techniques, various counterfactual scenarios are estimated for a period of 1980–2014, to see impact of a significant institutional determinant (from Chap. 2), KOF index of globalization on macroeconomic instability and real economic growth. Results highlight that through enhanced focus on institutional quality determinants, macroeconomic instability can be reduced, and hence higher growth rate of GDP can be achieved.

The current study attempts to explore significant determinants of institutional quality—economic and political—in the case of non-programme and programme countries. The period of analysis is 1980–2009, as the activity of IMF increased during this time. Results primarily indicate that the military in power significantly reduces institutional quality, while improvement in property rights, openness, aggregate governance and real GDP growth all remain highly important in improving institutional quality, while enhancement in monetary and investment freedom also help and hence need to be focused upon by IMF programmes.

Geckos' feet are extensively micro-structured, enabling geckos to adhere strongly to most surfaces and perform various manoeuvres even while upside down. Inspired by the structure of geckos' feet, a large number of biomimetic dry adhesives have been reported. Polymers brushes can offer a molecular scale attachment to surfaces; here we studied the effect of polymer brushes on adhesion. Atom transfer radical polymerisation (ATRP) was used to graft poly(butyl acrylate) brushes on a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) surface using a surface-bound ATRP initiator. Growth of the polymer brushes was verified by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. To study the effect of polymer brushes, the samples were tested for pull-off adhesion with and without the grafted chains. The polymer-grafted PDMS showed an increase in adhesion compared to unmodified PDMS. Results suggest that carefully selected polymer brushes will enhance the adhesion of microstructured biomimetic adhesives.

In the field of hematology, gene therapies based on integrating vectors have reached outstanding results for a number of human diseases. With the advent of novel programmable nucleases, such as CRISPR/Cas9, it has been possible to expand the applications of gene therapy beyond semi-random gene addition to site-specific modification of the genome, holding the promise for safer genetic manipulation. Here we review the state of the art of ex vivo gene editing with programmable nucleases in human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). We highlight the potential advantages and the current challenges toward safe and effective clinical translation of gene editing for the treatment of hematological diseases.