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Objective: To assess QT interval abnormalities among children with breath-holding spells., Methods: This case control study included 204 children (104 cases of breath-holding spells and 100 healthy children) younger than 3 years. Breath-holding spells were evaluated for age of onset, type (pallid/cyanotic), triggering factors, frequency and presence of family history. Twelve- lead surface electrocardiogram (ECG) was analyzed for QT interval (QT), corrected QT interval (QTc), QT dispersion (QTD) and QTc dispersion (QTcD) in milliseconds., Results: The mean (SD) QT, QTc, QTD and QTcD interval in milliseconds were 320 (0.05), 420 (0.07), 61.15 (16.20), 102.3 (17.24), respectively for breath-holding spells as compared to control group [300 (0.02), 370 (0.03), 38.6(14.28), 78.6 (14.28), respectively] (P<0.001). Similarly, pallid breath-holding spells had prolonged mean (SD) QT, QTc, QTD and QTcD interval in milliseconds [380 (0.04), 520 (0.08), 78.88 (10.78), 123.33 (10.28), respectively] as compared to cyanotic spells [310 (0.04), 400 (0.04), 57.44 (14.64), 97.90 (15.03), respectively] (P<0.001). The mean QTc interval was 590 (0.03) and 400 (0.04) milliseconds in prolonged and non-prolonged QTc group, respectively (P<0.001)., Conclusion: Abnormal QT, QTc, QTD and QTcD were observed among children with breath-holding spells. ECG should be strongly considered, especially in pallid, frequent spells occurring at younger age and having positive family history, to identify long QT syndrome.

Computer vision in consideration of automated and robotic systems has come up as a steady and robust platform in sewer maintenance and cleaning tasks. The AI revolution has enhanced the ability of computer vision and is being used to detect problems with underground sewer pipes, such as blockages and damages. A large amount of appropriate, validated, and labeled imagery data is always a key requirement for learning AI-based detection models to generate the desired outcomes. In this paper, a new imagery dataset S-BIRD (Sewer-Blockages Imagery Recognition Dataset) is presented to draw attention to the predominant sewers' blockages issue caused by grease, plastic and tree roots. The need for the S-BIRD dataset and various parameters such as its strength, performance, consistency and feasibility have been considered and analyzed for real-time detection tasks. The YOLOX object detection model has been trained to prove the consistency and viability of the S-BIRD dataset. It also specified how the presented dataset will be used in an embedded vision-based robotic system to detect and remove sewer blockages in real-time. The outcomes of an individual survey conducted at a typical mid-size city in a developing country, Pune, India, give ground for the necessity of the presented work.

In order to achieve the food demand of a growing population, agricultural productivity needs to be increased by employing safe strategies. In the present study we have evaluated ZnONPs that were synthesized from the culture supernatant of Bacillus subtilis. Bio mimetically synthesized ZnONPs showed a surface resonance peak of 355 nm corresponding to NPs formation. Further, NPs were examined for their size, shape and element confirmation by DLS, AFM, SEM, TEM and EDAX, which confirmed the synthesized NPs were nearly spherical in size with average diameter of 32 nm by TEM. Surface charge of + 34.3 mV was observed for NPs with a low poly-dispersity index of 0.21. In vitro efficacy studies against fungi Colletotrichum capsici, Sclerotium rolfsii, Alternaria solani and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cicero showed up to 99% mycelial growth inhibition at 0.125% ZnONPs. Further, in-vitro disk-diffusion assay showed inhibition zones of 23 ± 0.4 mm and 12.67 ± 0.24 mm for Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. punicae (Xap) and Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) bacterial cultures. Plant toxicity study was observed that ≤ 0.14% NPs concentration was safe under greenhouse conditions. Overall, the present study emphasizes the potential effect of ZnONPs against agricultural pathogens which play an important role in agriculture production., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

With type 2 diabetes presenting at younger ages, there is a growing need to identify biomarkers of future glucose intolerance. A high (20%) prevalence of glucose intolerance at 18 years was seen in women from the Pune Maternal Nutrition Study (PMNS) birth cohort. We investigated the potential of circulating microRNAs in risk stratification for future pre-diabetes in these women. Here, we provide preliminary longitudinal analyses of circulating microRNAs in normal glucose tolerant (NGT@18y, N = 10) and glucose intolerant ( N = 8) women (ADA criteria) at 6, 12 and 17 years of their age using discovery analysis (OpenArray™ platform). Machine-learning workflows involving Lasso with bootstrapping/leave-one-out cross-validation identified microRNAs associated with glucose intolerance at 18 years of age. Several microRNAs, including miR-212-3p, miR-30e-3p and miR-638, stratified glucose-intolerant women from NGT at childhood. Our results suggest that circulating microRNAs, longitudinally assessed over 17 years of life, are dynamic biomarkers associated with and predictive of pre-diabetes at 18 years of age. Validation of these findings in males and remaining participants from the PMNS birth cohort will provide a unique opportunity to study novel epigenetic mechanisms in the life-course progression of glucose intolerance and enhance current clinical risk prediction of pre-diabetes and progression to type 2 diabetes.

Lead (Pb 2+ ), a ubiquitously present heavy metal toxin, has various detrimental effects on memory and cognition. However, the molecular processes affected by Pb 2+ causing structural and functional anomalies are still unclear. To explore this, we employed behavioral and proteomic approaches using rat pups exposed to lead acetate through maternal lactation from postnatal day 0 (P0) until weaning. Behavioral results from three-month-old rats clearly emphasized the early life Pb 2+ exposure induced impairments in spatial cognition. Further, proteomic analysis of synaptosomal fractions revealed differential alteration of 289 proteins, which shows functional significance in elucidating Pb 2+ induced physiological changes. Focusing on the association of Small Ubiquitin-like MOdifier (SUMO), a post-translational modification, with Pb 2+ induced cognitive abnormalities, we identified 45 key SUMO target proteins. The significant downregulation of SUMO target proteins such as metabotropic glutamate receptor 3 (GRM3), glutamate receptor isoforms 2 and 3 (GRIA 2 and GRIA3) and flotilin-1 (FLOT1) indicates SUMOylation at the synapses could contribute to and drive Pb 2+ induced physiological imbalance. These findings identify SUMOylation as a vital protein modifier with potential roles in hippocampal memory consolidation and regulation of cognition., Data Availbility: The mass spectrometry proteomics data have been deposited to the ProteomeXchange Consortium via the PRIDE partner repository with the dataset identifier PXD034212&#34., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2022 The Authors.)

With the aid of a plant disease forecasting model, the emergence of plant diseases in a given region can be predicted ahead of time. This makes it easier to take proactive steps to reduce losses before they occur. The proposed model attempts to find an association between agrometeorological parameters and the occurrence of the four types of rice diseases. Rice is the staple food of people in Maharashtra. The four major diseases that occur on rice crops are focused on this paper (namely Rice Blast, False Smut, Bacterial Blight and Brown Spot) as these diseases spread rapidly and lead to economic loss. This research paper demonstrates the usage of artificial neural network (ANN) to detect, classify and predict the occurrence of rice diseases based on diverse agro-meteorological conditions. The results were carried out on two cases of dataset split that is 70-30% and 80-20%. The various types of activation function (AF) such as sigmoid, tanH, ReLU and softmax are implemented and compared based on various evaluation metrics such as overall Accuracy, Precision, Recall and F1 score. It can be concluded that the softmax AF applied to 70-30% split of dataset gives the highest accuracy of 92.15% in rice disease prediction., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© 2021 Patil and Kumar.)

Aim: Studies on the changes in the presentation and management of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) during the COVID-19 pandemic from low- and middle-income countries are limited. We sought to determine the changes in the number of admissions, management practices, and outcomes of AMI during the pandemic period in India., Methods & Results: In this two-timepoint cross-sectional study involving 187 hospitals across India, patients admitted with AMI between 15th March to 15th June in 2020 were compared with those admitted during the corresponding period of 2019. We included 41,832 consecutive adults with AMI. Admissions during the pandemic period (n = 16414) decreased by 35·4% as compared to the corresponding period in 2019 (n = 25418). We observed significant heterogeneity in this decline across India. The weekly average decrease in AMI admissions in 2020 correlated negatively with the number of COVID cases (r = -0·48; r 2  = 0·2), but strongly correlated with the stringency of lockdown index (r = 0·95; r 2  = 0·90). On a multi-level logistic regression, admissions were lower in 2020 with older age categories, tier 1 cities, and centers with high patient volume. Adjusted utilization rate of coronary angiography, and percutaneous coronary intervention decreased by 11·3%, and 5·9% respectively., Conclusions: The magnitude of reduction in AMI admissions across India was not uniform. The nature, time course, and the patient demographics were different compared to reports from other countries, suggesting a significant impact due to the lockdown. These findings have important implications in managing AMI during the pandemic., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Nothing to declare for all the authors., (Copyright © 2021 Cardiological Society of India. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease, where insulin-producing β-cells in the pancreas are inappropriately recognized and destroyed by immune cells. Islet transplantation is the most successful cell-based therapy for T1D individuals who experience frequent and severe life-threatening hypoglycemia. However, this therapy is extremely restricted owing to the limited availability of donor pancreas. In recent years, significant progress has been made in generating β-cells from stem/progenitor cells using different approaches of in vitro differentiation. The insulin production from such in vitro generated β-cells is still far less than that observed in islet β-cells. We employed a novel strategy to improve the efficiency of progenitor cell differentiation by performing partial mouse pancreas resection after transplanting in vitro generated insulin-producing cells under the kidney capsule of these mice. Pancreas resection (pancreatectomy) has been shown to induce regenerative pathways, leading to regeneration of almost the entire resected pancreas over 3-5 weeks in mice. We found that in our method, regenerating mouse pancreas promotes better graft differentiation/maturation and insulin production from transplanted cells. In this chapter, we detail the protocols used for transplantation of in vitro differentiated cells in immunocompromised mice, partial pancreatectomy in host (NOD scid) mice, and assessment of graft function. We believe that our protocols provide a solid platform for further studies aimed at understanding growth/differentiation molecules secreted from regenerating pancreas that promote graft maturation.

New highly sensitive optically stimulated luminescent phosphors with NaCl moiety and dopants Ca,Cu,P/Mg,Cu,P are developed. These phosphors show very high optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) sensitivity. The dose response for NaCl:Ca,Cu,P is linear up to 1.2 Gy and for NaCl:Mg,Cu,P is slightly sub linear from 0.2 Gy. These phosphors show 30% fading during first 4 and later signal gets stabilised with no further signal loss. These sensitive phosphors will find applications in radiation dosimetry using OSL., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Salvia miltiorrhiza roots (SMRs), the main component of cell wall from the residual waste extraction, differ depending on the forming ways of monosaccharides. The extraction from 8% sodium hydroxide solution (H-8) was characterized by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), monosaccharide composition, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The structure model of hemicellulose-based polysaccharides (HBPs) was derived by combining one-dimensional and two-dimensional NMR. Monosaccharides difference and correlation were performed by partial least square analysis (PLS). Seven H-8s exhibited optimal inhibitory activities, which varied based on different sources of Danshen. The backbone structure indicated that 4-β-D-Xylp served as the main chain connected by 3-α-L-Araf or 5-α-L-Araf-1, 4-β-D-Galp, and β-D-Glcp branch, as well as α-L-Rhap, α-D-GalpA and α-D-GlcpA fragments. The variation of HBPs in terms of the structure and bioactivity of SMRs correlated with different cultivation sites can be a new approach to optimize and utilize the medical materials by chemical and biological aspects of natural macromolecules., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare they have no conflict of known competing interests., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: COVID-19 pandemic has affected around 20million patients worldwide and 2.0 million cases from India. The lockdown was employed to delay the pandemic. However, it had an unintentional impact on acute cardiovascular care, especially acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Observational studies have shown a decrease in hospital admissions for AMI in several developed countries during the pandemic period. We aimed to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on the AMI admissions patterns across India., Methods: In this multicentric, retrospective, cross-sectional study, we included all AMI cases admitted to participating hospitals during the study period 15th March to 15th June 2020 and compared them using a historical control of all cases of AMI admitted during the corresponding period in the year 2019. Major objective of the study is to analyze the changes inthe number of hospital admissions for AMI in hospitals across India. In addition, we intend to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on the weekly AMI admission rates, and other performance measures like rates of thrombolysis/primary percutaneous interventions (PCI), window period, door to balloon time, and door to needle time. Other objectives include evaluation of changes in the major complications and mortality rates of AMI and its predictors during COVID-19 pandemic., Conclusions: This CSI-AMI study will provide scientific evidence about the impact of COVID-19 on AMI care in India. Based on this study, we may be able to suggest appropriate changes to the existing MI guidelines and to educate the public regarding emergency care for AMI during COVID-19 pandemic., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors are solely responsible for the design of the study, the conduct of the study, drafting and editing of the paper, and its final contents., (Copyright © 2020 Cardiological Society of India. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Acute iron poisoning and chronic iron overload consequences in significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Treatment of acute iron poisoning and chronic iron overload can be challenging and care providers are often tackled with management dilemmas. Iron chelating agents are commonly prescribed for patients with iron deficiency anemia. In this review article, different analytical techniques are reported used for qualitative and quantitative analysis of iron chelating agents like, deferiprone, deferoxamine, and deferasirox. Efforts are taken to collect all related articles published till October 2018. This review discusses all analytical methods, its advantages and disadvantages as well as its applications. This article will help you to know about basic analytical techniques as well as advanced hyphenated techniques practiced for determination of iron chelating agents in different matrices. The techniques discussed in this review follow the ICH guidelines for method validation.

The main objective of the present study is to investigate potential effects of PCA in OBX induced depressive-like behavior in rat model. PCA was administered at a dose of 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg, by per oral in OBX and sham operated rats. Behavioral (ambulatory and rearing activity and immobility time), neurochemical [serotonin (5-HT), dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (NE) and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression], biochemical (MDA formation, IL-6, TNF-α and antioxidants) changes in hippocampus and cerebral cortex along with serum corticosterone were investigated. Experimental findings reveals that OBX subjected rats showed alteration in behaviors like, increase in immobility time, ambulatory and rearing behaviors significantly, reduced BDNF level, 5-HT, DA,NE and antioxidant parameters along with increased serum corticosterone, MDA formation, IL-6, and TNF-α in hippocampus and cerebral cortex compared to sham operated rats. Administration of PCA significantly attenuated behavioral and neurobiochemical alterations, thus, its antidepressant-like activity is largely mediated through modulation of neurotransmitter, endocrine and immunologic systems, mainly by improvements of BDNF, 5-HT, DA, NE, reduced MDA, IL-6, and TNF-α in hippocampus and cerebral cortex.

Objective: This investigation was undertaken to optimize the effective extraction of total phenolics content (TPC), total flavonoids content (TFC), and antioxidant activity from the Mucuna macrocarpa (MM) beans. An ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) technique with water as an effective solvent was proposed for the response surface methodology (RSM) optimization., Methods: A three-level, two-factor central composite design (CCD) was employed to reveal the optimal points of variables. Different extraction times (5, 10, 15 minutes) and ultrasonic power levels (10, 20, 30 W) were used for the optimization. The experimental runs given by the RSM were evaluated for TPC, TFC, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity (RSA), and N,N-dimethyl-p-phenylenediamine (DMPD) RSA and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP)., Results: The predicted times for maximum extraction of TPC (186.61 mg GAE g -1 ), TFC (148.87 mg QUE g -1 ), and DPPH RSA (99.37%), and DMPD RSA (50.58%) and FRAP (2.38 O.D. at 593 nm) were 12.57, 12.84, 12.43, 12.97, and 13.24 min, and ultrasonic power levels were found to be 27.30, 26.76, 26.22, 27.03, and 27.84 W, respectively. Reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) analysis of phenolics compounds from the RSM optimized sample showed tannic acid (48.09 ± 1.92 mg/g), gallic acid (1.17 ± 0.19 mg/g), p-coumaric acid (0.56 ± 0.03 mg/g), and p-hydroxybenzoic acid (0.049 ± 0.01 mg/g) content., Conclusion: Water and ultrasonication were found to be an effective extraction solvent and technique. RSM was effectively employed to investigate the optimal process conditions for the maximum extraction of TPC, TFC, and antioxidant compounds from the MM beans. Further, MM beans can be explored as a prominent antioxidant source for the treatment of several disorders.

Naringinase has high industrial importance, and the progress in naringinase research is still quite slow. The unavailability of an effective, simple screening method, which will be applicable to different microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes, is one of the main reasons for this gap. Therefore, a simple plate assay was developed for effective screening of microorganisms for naringinase by exposing to iodine vapors. This plate assay will fill the technological void for simple screening method and will lead to screen more potent industrially important naringinase-producing microorganisms., (© 2019 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.)

Phase dependent optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) is studied in Cu-doped Sr4Si3O8Cl4. The Study shows that samples in which amount of contributing strontium metasilicate phase in Cu-doped Sr4Si3O8Cl4 is less, show intense OSL while those samples in which strontium metasilicate phase is more show weak OSL. The observed Cu luminescence is also found to be phase dependent. Sample in which Sr4Si3O8Cl4 phase is dominant, the observed Cu luminescence is around 350 nm whereas an additional longer wavelength band around 450 nm is observed when the strontium metasilicate phase is present in significant amount. The relatively phase pure, Cu-doped Sr4Si3O8Cl4 shows good OSL properties. The sensitivity of such material is 3.89 times more compared to commercial Al2O3:C (Landauer Inc.). High sensitivity, good linearity and reusability, along with low fading make this material as good OSL phosphor and may find applications in OSL based radiation dosimetry.

The optically stimulated luminescence, thermoluminescence and photoluminescence in various Cu and Ag doped zinc based fluoropervoskites are studied. In all the samples, photoluminescence of Cu+ and Ag+ is observed which could be attributed to 3d94 s1←→3d10 and 4d95 s1←→5d10 transitions, respectively. The observed emission is double humped and the main emission band shifts to the lower wavelength side with increasing ionic size of the alkali ion. All the studied fluoropervoskites show reasonable OSL sensitivity. Highest sensitivity is observed for Cu doped ZnNaF3 and is 25% compared to commercial Al2O3:C. Weak thermoluminescence is observed in all samples. In all Ag doped samples the TL peak is observed at 200°C whereas for Cu doped samples peak is observed at 150°C, and correlated with the OSL. The samples show good linear dose response in the 10 mGy-1.2 Gy range and show good reusability characteristics. This study will lead to the development of zinc-based fluoropervoskite phosphors for the radiation dosimetry using OSL.

In the present study, sorption and detoxification of malachite green (MG) dye was executed using biochar resulting after pyrolysis of agro-industrial waste at 400, 600 and 800 °C. Maximum sorption of MG dye (3000 mg/L) was observed on the sugarcane bagasse biochar (SCB) prepared at 800 °C. The interactive effects of different factors like dye concentration, time, pH and temperature on sorption of MG dye were investigated using response surface methodology (RSM). Optimum MG dye concentration, contact time, temperature and pH predicted through Box-Behnken based RSM model were 3000 mg/L MG dye, 51.89 min, 60 °C and 7.5, respectively. ANOVA analysis displayed the non-significant lack of fit value (0.4566), whereas, the predicted correlation coefficient values (R 2 0.8494) were reasonably in agreement with the adjusted value (R 2 0.9363) demonstrating highly significant model for MG dye sorption. The applicability of this model was also checked through F- test (30.39) with lower probability (0.0001) value. Furthermore, the characterization of SCB was performed using fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surfaces (BET), total organic carbon (TOC) and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Phyto-toxicity and cytogenotoxicity studies showed successful removal of MG dye using SCB. In addition, the batch sorption studies for reutilization of SCB revealed that the SCB was effective in removal of MG for five repeated cycles. This technology would be effective for treating the toxic textile effluent released from the textile industries., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Silymarin, a plant-derived polyphenolic flavonoid of Silybum marianum, elicited significant antidepressant-like activity in an acute restraint stress model of depression. It improved monoamines, mainly 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) levels in the cortex, dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) in the cerebellum in mice. The present study was undertaken to explore the antidepressant potential of silymarin in chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) induced depressive-like behavior in mice, and to find out its probable mechanism(s) of action, mainly neurogenesis, neuroinflammation, and/or oxidative stress. The mice were subjected to CUMS for 28 days (4 weeks) and administered with silymarin (100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg), or fluoxetine or vehicle from days 8 to 28 (3 weeks simultaneously). Animals were evaluated for behavioral changes, such as anhedonia by sucrose preference test, behavioral despair by forced swim test, and exploratory behaviors by an open field test. In addition, neurobiochemical alterations, mainly monoamines, 5-HT, NE, DA, neurotrophic factor BDNF, and cytokines, IL-6, TNF-α, oxidant-antioxidant parameters by determining the malondialdehyde formation (an index of lipid peroxidation process), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activity in hippocampus and cerebral cortex along with serum corticosterone were investigated. Our findings reveal that mice subjected to CUMS exhibited lower sucrose preference, increase immobility time without affecting general locomotion of the animals, and reduce BDNF, 5-HT, NE, and DA level, increased serum corticosterone, IL-6 and TNF-α along with an oxidant-antioxidant imbalance in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex. Silymarin significantly reversed the CUMS-induced changes in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex in mice. Thus, the possible mechanism involved in the antidepressant-like activity of silymarin is correlated to the alleviation of monoaminergic, neurogenesis (enhancing 5-HT, NE, and BDNF levels), and attenuation of inflammatory cytokines system and oxidative stress by modulation of corticosterone response, restoration of antioxidant defense system in cerebral cortex and hippocampus.

Background: Epilepsy is one in every of the foremost important chronic neurological disorders with high incidence worldwide. Several epileptic patients don't seem to be fully treated with currently available marketed medicines likewise so many drugs have shown unfavorable side effect and drug interaction. Therefore, there are continuing interests to seek out new anticonvulsant drugs., Methods: Literature search was carried out to indentify isatin containing derivatives as anticonvulsant drugs., Results: Common synthetic schemes were studied to design and develop isatin derives anticonvulsant agents. Various structural features essential for the design of isatin compounds were reported. Anticonvulsant activity is evaluated by different tests were identified and their results can be considered for the design of novel isatin derivatives as anticonvulsants., Conclusion: In outline, isatin has been proved to be an excellent hybrid building the molecule with interesting biological activities. Among the prospect of derivatizing the N1, C2 and C3 positions, along with substitution on the aromatic ring, the synthetic modification for isatin is almost endless. Despite the fact that isatin derivatives are well-studied compounds, new derivatives are continually being discovered on the basis of known AEDs, isatin has been fused with other bioactive drug fragments and subsequently investigated as hybrid/dual action drugs and selectively targeted against convulsion., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.)

Till date, drugs that have been used to manage Parkinson's disease (PD) have only shown symptomatic relief with several adverse effects besides their inability to prevent neurodegeneration. Neuroinflammation plays an important role in the advancement of PD and can be targeted for its effective treatment. Researchers have suggested that herbal plants exhibiting the anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties are therefore beneficial to human health. Conventionally, Mucuna pruriens (Mp) seeds are used for maintaining male virility in India. Reportedly, Mp is used as a rejuvenator drug having neuroprotective property. Our study aimed to investigate effects of aqueous extract of Mp (100 mg/kgbwt) on neuroinflammation, orally administered to mice intoxicated with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) as well as the molecular mechanism involved in the progression of PD. In this study, we have observed significant behavioral abnormalities beside decreased antioxidant defense in MPTP intoxicated mice. We have also observed significant increase in inflammatory parameters like Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein, Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase, Intercellular Cell Adhesion Molecule, and Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha in substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) of parkinsonian mice, while Mp treatment has notably reduced these inflammatory parameters. Mp also inhibited the MPTP induced activation of NF-κB and promoted pAkt1 activity which further prevented the apoptosis of the dopaminergic neurons. Moreover, Mp exhibited significant antioxidant defense by inhibiting the lipid peroxidation and nitrite level, and by improving catalase activity and enhancing GSH level in nigrostriatal region of mouse brain. Mp also recovered the behavioral abnormalities in MPTP treated mice. Additionally, Mp treatment considerably increased the immunoreactivity of Tyrosine Hydroxylase and Dopamine Transporter in SNpc of parkinsonian mice. Our high performance liquid chromatography analysis of the Mp seed extract have shown L-DOPA, gallic acid, phytic acid, quercetin, and catechin equivalents as the major components which might cause neuroprotection in PD mice. Our result suggested that Mp extract treatment containing L-DOPA and a mixture of rich novel phytochemicals significantly alleviates the MPTP induced neurotoxicity by NF-κB and pAkt pathway. The findings observed thereby indicate that Mp extract have suggestively ameliorated MPTP induced neuroinflammation, restored the biochemical and behavioral abnormalities in PD mouse and thus provided a scientific basis for its traditional claim.

The Maillard reaction between hydroxyurea (a primary amine-containing drug) and lactose (used as an excipient) was explored. The adduct of these compounds was synthesized by heating hydroxyurea with lactose monohydrate at 60 °C in borate buffer (pH 9.2) for 12 h. Synthesis of the adduct was confirmed using UV-visible spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared, differential scanning calorimetry, high-pressure liquid chromatography, and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry studies. An in silico investigation of how the adduct formation affected the interactions of hydroxyurea with its biological target oxyhemoglobin, to which it binds to generate nitric oxide and regulates fetal hemoglobin synthesis, was carried out. The in silico evaluations were complemented by an in vitro assay of the anti-sickling activity. Co-incubation of hydroxyurea with deoxygenated blood samples reduced the percentage of sickled cells from 38% to 12 ± 1.6%, whereas the percentage of sickled cells in samples treated with the adduct was 17 ± 1.2%. This indicated loss of anti-sickling activity in the case of the adduct. This study confirmed that hydroxyurea can participate in a Maillard reaction if lactose is used as a diluent. Although an extended study at environmentally feasible temperatures was not carried out in the present investigation, the partial loss of the anti-sickling activity of hydroxyurea was investigated along with the in silico drug-target interactions. The results indicated that the use of lactose in hydroxyurea formulations needs urgent reconsideration and that lactose must be replaced by other diluents that do not form Maillard adducts.

Silymarin is a polyphenolic flavonoid of Silybum marianum, exhibited neuroprotection and antidepressant like activity in acute restraint stressed mice. The main objective of the present study is to investigate possible antidepressant like activity of silymarin in experimentally induced depressive behavior in rats. The depressive behaviors were induced in rats by olfactory bulbectomized (OBX) technique. Wistar rats were administered with silymarin at a dose of 100mg/kg and 200mg/kg, by per oral in OBX and sham operated rats. Behavioral (ambulatory and rearing activity and immobility time), neurochemical [serotonin (5-HT), dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (NE) and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) level], biochemical (MDA formation, IL-6, TNF-α and antioxidants) changes in hippocampus and cerebral cortex along with serum corticosterone were investigated. Rats subjected to OBX elicited significant increase in immobility time, ambulatory and rearing behaviors, reduced BDNF level, 5-HT, DA, NE and antioxidant parameters along with increased serum corticosterone, MDA formation, IL-6, and TNF-α in hippocampus and cerebral cortex compared to sham operated rats. Administration of with silymarin significantly attenuated immobility time, ambulatory and rearing behaviors, serum corticosterone and improved BDNF expression, 5-HT, DA, NE and antioxidant paradigms in cerebral cortex as well as hippocampus. In addition, silymarin attenuated IL-6, and TNF-α significantly in hippocampus and cerebral cortex in OBX rats. Thus, silymarin exhibits anti-depressant-like activity in OBX rats due to alterations in several neurotransmitters, endocrine and immunologic systems, including BDNF, 5-HT, DA, NE, MDA formation, IL-6, and TNF-α in hippocampus and cerebral cortex as well as serum corticosterone., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) was studied in rare earth doped SrBPO 5 for the possible applications in radiation dosimetry using optically stimulated luminescence. The study shows that the sensitivity of the Eu doped SrBPO 5 shows good OSL and the sensitivity is comparable to that of Al 2 O 3 :C. It is observed that annealing has a profound effect on the OSL sensitivity. Slowly cooled Eu doped sample shows highest sensitivity and is 77% compared to that Al 2 O 3 :C whereas lowest sensitivity is observed in the quenched sample. Other properties like good linearity and low fading will make this phosphor suitable for the applications in radiation dosimetry using OSL., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Metal quinolates, Liq Alq 3 Znq 2 Mgq 2 exhibit efficient luminescence in blue green region and find applications as emission layer in OLEDs. In most of these quinolates the excitation spectra are broad in the range 350 to 410 nm, just short of emission spectra of efficient GaN based blue LEDs. In this paper we report metal quinolates synthesized by slightly modified method in which the excitation gets extended beyond 450 nm so that there is better overlap between emission spectra of blue LED and the excitation spectra. Therefore these phosphors may be used for PC-LED applications.

Studies were carried out to assess the correlation between thermoluminescence (TL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) of this phosphor. It was observed that the OSL and TL glow curve consists of a wide distribution of traps having different photo-ionization cross-sections, trap depths and frequency factors. In case of Al doped sample, some of the traps up to 200°C are assumed to act as a source traps for the observance of OSL due to thermal transfer of charge carriers into the deep traps beyond 480°C. This suggests that Al impurities play an important role in the thermal transfer OSL process. As most of the work on this phenomenon is done on natural materials (mainly quartz) in which aluminum is a natural impurity, this study will explain the role of Al in this phenomenon., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

We investigate light-induced changes in thickness and roughness of photosensitive polymer brushes containing azobenzene cationic surfactants by atomic force microscopy (AFM) in real time during light irradiation. Because the cis-state of azobenzene unit requires more free volume than its trans counterpart, the UV light-induced expansion of polymer thin films associated with the trans-to-cis isomerism of azobenzene groups is expected to occur. This phenomenon is well documented in physisorbed polymer films containing azobenzene groups. In contrast, photosensitive polymer brushes show a decrease in thickness under UV irradiation. We have found that the azobenzene surfactants in their trans-state form aggregates within the brush. Under irradiation, the surfactants undergo photoisomerization to the cis-state, which is more hydrophilic. As a consequence, the aggregates within the brush are disrupted, and the polymer brush contracts. When subsequently irradiated with blue light the polymer brush thickness returns back to its initial value. This behavior is related to isomerization of the surfactant to the more hydrophobic trans-state and subsequent formation of surfactant aggregates within the polymer brush. The photomechanical function of the dry polymer brush, i.e., contraction and expansion, was found to be reversible with repeated irradiation cycles and requires only a few seconds for switching. In addition to the thickness change, the roughness of the brush also changes reversibly between a few Angstroms (blue light) and several nanometers (UV light). Photosensitive polymer brushes represent smart films with light responsive thickness and roughness that could be used for generating dynamic fluctuating surfaces, the function of which can be turned on and off in a controllable manner on a nanometer length scale.

OSL in doped NaF is studied. Study shows that NaF:Mg,Cu,P phosphor possess good OSL properties having sensitivity comparable to that of commercially available Al2O3:C (Landauer Inc.). For the luminescence averaged over 3s the obtained OSL is 37% of that commercial available Al2O3:C. Of the several phosphors investigated, phosphor with impurities concentration Mg(0.01mol%), Cu(0.2mol%), P(1mol%) shows good OSL sensitivity good linearity in the 10mGy to 1Gy dose range and negligible fading. This sample shows a intense single TL peak around 350°C which gets depleted by 14% after the OSL readout. This imply that maximum OSL is coming from deep traps giving stability to the signal. The ease of preparation along with other good OSL properties will make this phosphor suitable for radiation dosimetry applications using OSL., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Genus Mucuna which is native to China and Eastern India comprises of perennial climbing legume with long slender branches, trifoliate leaves and bear green or brown pod covered with soft or rigid hairs that cause intense irritation. The plants of this genus are agronomically and economically important and commercially cultivated in India, China and other regions of the world. The high degrees of taxonomical confusions exist in Mucuna species that make authentic identification and classification difficult. In the present study, the genetic diversity among the 59 accessions of six species and three varieties of M. pruriens has been assessed using DNA fingerprinting based molecular markers techniques namely randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), inter simple sequence repeats (ISSR) and combined dataset of RAPD and ISSR. Also, genetic relationship among two endemic species of Mucuna namely M. imbricata and M. macrocarpa and two varieties namely IIHR hybrid (MHR) and Dhanwantari (MD) with other species under study was investigated by using cluster analysis and principal coordinate analysis. The cluster analysis of RAPD, ISSR and combined dataset of RAPD and ISSR clearly demonstrated the existence of high interspecific variation than intra-specific variation in genus Mucuna. The utility and efficacy of RAPD and ISSR for the study of intra species and interspecies genetic diversity was evident from AMOVA and PCoA analysis. This study demonstrates the genetic diversity in Mucuna species and indicates that these markers could be successfully used to assess genetic variation among the accessions of Mucuna species.

A new low-Z lithium fluoride-based optical stimulated luminescent (OSL) phosphor is developed. The phosphor shows good OSL properties, and its sensitivity is comparable with that of the commercial Al2O3:C (Landauer, Inc.) phosphor. For the luminescence averaged over initial 3 s, blue stimulated luminescence (BSL) and green stimulated luminescence (GSL) sensitivities were found to be 0.27 and 4 times, respectively, than that of Al2O3:C (Landauer, Inc.). The BSL decay is fast, and the whole signal decays within 3 s; the GSL decay is relatively slow, and the signal decays in 25 s. The fast decay, good sensitivity, good linearity and its near tissue equivalence (Zeff ∼8.14) will make this phosphor suitable for radiation dosimetry particularly in personnel as well as in medical dosimetry., (© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

A new Al2O3:C,Cu,P phosphor is developed by the combustion synthesis technique which exhibits entirely different OSL properties as compared to that of the commercial alumina. No thermoluminescence (TL) is observed in this phosphor which also differentiates the present phosphor from the commercially available Al2O3:C (Landauer). The phosphor shows good optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) sensitivity for ionizing radiation with a fast OSL decay as compared to the commercial Al2O3:C. The phosphor heated in air followed by heating under the reactive atmosphere exhibits maximum sensitivity amongst several other phosphors. On the basis of area integration method; integrated over initial 3s, the sensitivity of this phosphor is about 67% of that of commercial Al2O3:C., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The Indian Council of Medical Research had, on May 31, 2011, called for research proposals on severely acute malnourished (SAM) children to generate evidence for the development of practical and scalable regimens to medically rehabilitate children suffering from SAM, without serious complications, at the home/community level and/or peripheral inpatient facilities. The primary outcomes of the proposed research study are recovery from SAM in the short term, as well as sustenance of recovery (for at least six months after the initiation of treatment). The secondary outcomes are the acceptability, feasibility and safety of the regimes being tested. It was suggested that the studies be designed as individual or cluster randomised or quasi randomised controlled trials (RCTs). This paper analyses the methodological, operational, and most importantly, ethical challenges and implications of conducting community-based RCTs involving SAM children. The paper dwells in detail on why and how the RCT design is inappropriate and unsuitable for studying the effectiveness of home-based management of SAM children in the community.

We report on degrafting of surface-anchored poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) brushes from flat silica-based substrates using tetrabutylammonium fluoride (TBAF) and determining their molecular weight distribution (MWD) using size exclusion chromatography (SEC). The grafted PMMA layer was synthesized using surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) of MMA for polymerization times ranging from 6 to 24 h. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ellipsometry, and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry were employed in tandem to characterize the degrafting process. The SEC eluograms were fit to various polymer distributions, namely Zimm-Schulz, ATRP in continuous stirred tank reactor, Wesslau, Schulz-Flory, and Smith et al. The ATRP model gives the best fit to the experimental data. The dry PMMA brush thickness and the number-average molecular weight (obtained from the MWD) suggest that the grafting density of the PMMA grafts is independent of polymerization time, indicating well-controlled/living growth of MMA. The observed polydispersity index (PDI) was higher than that generally observed in bulk grown polymers under similar conditions, indicating an effect due to chain confinement and crowding. We detect small but noticeable dependence of the polymer brush grafting density on the inhibitor/catalyst ratio. Higher inhibitor/catalyst ratio offers better control with lower early terminations, which results in a small increase in the apparent grafting density of the chains.

A new Cu,P-doped, sodium fluorosilicate-based optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) phosphor is developed. This phosphor shows good OSL properties, and the sensitivity is comparable with that of the commercial Al(2)O(3):C (Landauer, Inc.) phosphor. For the luminescence averaged over initial 1 s, blue-stimulated luminescence and green-stimulated luminescence sensitivities were found to be 0.76 and 3.8 times, respectively, of Al(2)O(3):C (Landauer, Inc.) with 28 % of post-irradiation fading in 3 days and nil thereafter. The simple preparation procedure, fast decay, very good sensitivity and moderate fading will make this phosphor suitable for radiation dosimetry, using OSL., (© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

We report on quantitative determination of the molecular weight distribution (MWD) and grafting density (σ P ) of polymer assemblies grown by controlled radical polymerization from flat substrates as a function of polymerization time and the ratio between the inhibitor and catalyst species. Specifically, we grow poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) brushes on flat silica-based surfaces by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP), cleave the PMMA grafts quantitatively using tetrabutyl ammonium fluoride (TBAF), and analyze their MWD by size exclusion chromatography equipped with a high-sensitivity differential refractive index detector. The polymer growth and degrafting processes are followed by ellipsometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry. The σ P is independent of polymerization time and increases with increasing SI-ATRP inhibitor/catalyst ratio. Specifically, σ P increases from 0.48 ± 0.06 to 0.58 ± 0.06 chains/nm 2 as the inhibitor/catalyst molar ratio increases from 0 to 0.015, respectively, providing evidence that high inhibitor/catalyst ratio offers better control of the SI-ATRP reaction, by lowering number of terminations, and leading to denser PMMA brush assemblies.

Context and Objective: The herb fenugreek, Trigonella foenum-graecum Linn (Fabaceae), seeds have been traditionally used in the treatment of diabetes but its effect on oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory cytokines in the improvement of exocrine function of diabetes has not been studied. The effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Trigonella foenum-graecum seeds (HEF) on alloxan-induced type-II diabetic rat model was investigated., Materials and Methods: Effect of HEF (500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg), glimepiride (4 mg/kg), and combination of HEF (500 mg/kg) + glimepiride (2 mg/kg), on alloxan-induced diabetic rats was evaluated by assaying (blood glucose, serum protein, glycosylated hemoglobin, muscle and liver glycogen, glucose uptake by diaphragm, liver glucose transport, serum pancreatic enzymes (α-amylase, lipase), pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6), antioxidant enzymes [glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD)], lipid peroxides (liver and pancreas), and histoarchitecture (liver, pancreas)., Results: Treatment with HEF (at different doses), glimepiride, and HEF + glimepiride increased body weight and glucose uptake, reduced plasma glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, liver glucose transport, pro-inflammatory cytokines, pancreatic enzymes and restored depleted glycogen (muscle, liver) and total protein significantly (p < 0.01) and dose dependently, including prevention of lipid peroxidation and restoration of GSH and SOD (liver and pancreas). Treatment with HEF + glimepiride potentiated hypoglycemic activity of glimepiride. Histoarchitecture of liver and pancreas showed marked improvement., Conclusion: Present experimental findings suggest that HEF possesses promising hypoglycemic activity, presumably by amelioration of oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory cytokines. HEF may be useful as an adjuvant with clinically effective antidiabetic drugs in the management of type-II diabetes.