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Background: Shivering is one of the most common side effects after cesarean section under neuraxial anesthesia due to inhibition of thermoregulatory control. However, it is often not treated. Aims & Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of low dose Dexmedetomidine on shivering in patients undergoing C-sections after spinal anesthesia. Materials & Methods: This randomized placebo controlled clinical study included 128 patients of ASA group II undergoing lower segment cesarean section under spinal anesthesia. They were randomly divided two groups as Group D received dexmedetomidine 20μg in 1ml normal saline intravenously and Group P received 1 ml of normal saline intravenously to all parturients after the clamping of umbilical cord. All patients were evaluated during and after surgery for hemodynamic changes, incidence of shivering, sedation score and any other side effects. Results: The incidence of shivering in group P (56.7%) was significantly higher than in group D (10%). The mean sedation score and hemodynamic changes were not significantly different between the two groups (P < 0.05). No significant adverse effects were noted. Conclusion: The administration of prophylactic intravenous low dose dexmedetomidine effectively reduces the incidence of perioperative shivering in patients undergoing lower segment cesarean section under spinal anesthesia without causing any remarkable side effects.

Background: Dentigerous cysts are among the most prevalent odontogenic cysts associated with impacted teeth, particularly impacted third molars. Understanding the clinicopathological correlation between impacted teeth and factors contributing to cyst formation is essential. Aim: This study aimed to investigate the clinicopathological correlation between impacted teeth and the factors associated with dentigerous cyst formation. Materials and Methods: The study analyzed a total of 30 cases, which were categorized into two subgroups: 16 cases of dental follicles and 14 cases of dentigerous cysts. Retrospective data were collected from the departmental archive, and demographic data along with clinical parameters were correlated. In addition, the Ki-67 index was assessed through immunohistochemical analysis for both study groups. Results: A clinical correlation between impacted teeth along with Ki-67 index in both dental follicles and dentigerous cysts was observed. Conclusion: Based on the findings, it is hypothesized that prophylactic extraction of impacted third molars should be mandatory, irrespective of their symptomatic or asymptomatic status.

There has been significant progress in the field of compressive sensing (CS) and its applications in various fields in recent years. Here, we have developed a CS-based active imaging system that does not require a pixelated array detector but instead uses a transmissive spatial light modulator as a programmable coded mask. Single-pixel cameras (SPCs) have many applications in fields such as terahertz (THz) and infrared (IR) imaging. With an increase in the number of pixels, array detectors can become expensive, especially in the THz and IR regimes. In this article, we have explored the concept of active illumination, which could be helpful in developing SPCs. The article focuses on the development of an active SPC, and the analysis of how coded masks affect the quality of the reconstructed image.

On the basis of a long-term analysis (2013–2021), we report the inter-annual and seasonal concentrations and possible sources of trace elements (TEs) in PM2.5 over Delhi, India. In all the PM2.5 samples, 19 major and trace elements were extracted: Na, Al, Fe, Ti, Mg, Cu, Zn, Cr, Mn, Ni, As, Mo, Cl, P, S, Ca, K, Pb, and Br. The total annual mean concentration (∑El in PM2.5) of major and trace elements was 17.4 ± 3.1 µg m−3, accounting for 13.9% of PM2.5. The enrichment factor (EF) and IMPROVE model analysis indicate the seasonal abundance of mineral/soil dust (Fe, Al, Ti, Na, Ca, and Mg) at the sampling location of Delhi. During the sampling period, the highest loading of trace elements was recorded in 2015 (19% of PM2.5) and the lowest in 2020 (9% of PM2.5), possibly due to limited activity during COVID-19 lockdown/unlock times. The major sources of elements (in PM2.5) were extracted by a principal component analysis (PCA) as crustal/soil/road dust, vehicular traffic/industrial emissions, combustion (solid + fossil fuels), and sodium magnesium salts in Delhi.

The air quality of the Himalayan region of India is deteriorating due to the increasing load of particulate matter that is emitted from various local and regional sources, as well as to the transit of dust-related pollutants from the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) and surrounding areas. In this study, the mineralogical characteristics of coarse mode particulate matter (PM10) was analyzed using the X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique from January to December 2019 over Nainital (29.39° N, 79.45° E; altitude: 1958 m above mean sea level), a central Himalayan region of India. XRD analysis of PM10 samples showed the presence of clay minerals, crystalline silicate minerals, carbonate minerals, and asbestiform minerals. It was shown that quartz minerals with significant levels of crystallinity were present in all the samples. Other minerals that are contributing to the soil dust were also observed in the analysis (CaFe2O4, CaCO3, CaMg(CO3)2, calcium ammonium silicate hydrate (C-A-S-H), gypsum, kaolinite, illite, augite, and montmorillonite). The minerals ammonium sulphate, hematite, and magnetite were also found in the samples and are suggested to be from biogenic and anthropogenic activities, including biomass burning, fuel combustion, vehicle exhaust, construction activities, etc. This study indicated that the majority of the minerals in PM10 that were present in this Himalayan region are from soil/crustal dust.

Trust “establishment (TE) among sensor nodes has become a vital requirement to improve security, reliability, and successful cooperation. Existing trust management approaches for large scale WSN are failed due to their low cooperation (i.e., dependability), higher communication and memory overheads (i.e., resource inefficient). This paper provides a new and comprehensive hybrid trust estimation approach for large scale WSN employing clustering to improve cooperation, trustworthiness, and security by detecting selfish sensor nodes with reduced resource (memory, power) consumption. The proposed scheme consists of unique features like authentication based data trust, scheduler based node trust, and attack resistant by giving the high penalty and minimum reward during node misbehavior. A task scheduling mechanism is employed for scheduling the significant task to reduce computation overhead. The proposed trust model would be capable to provide security against blackhole attack, grey hole attack, and badmouthing attack. Moreover, the proposed trust model feasibility has been tested with MATLAB. Simulation results exhibit the great performance of our proposed approach in terms of trust evaluation cost, prevention, and detection of malicious nodes with the help of analyzing consistency in trust values and communication” overhead.

Metal complexes are widely used in pharmaceutics, cosmetics, electronics, casting printing and power generation. One of the major challenges due to their long-term use as medicines is their accumulation in the body. This issue needs to be resolved to achieve better results of metal complexes as medicines. The use of metal-nanoparticles (MNPs) can be expected to reduce the toxicity of metals and their accumulation in the body. The aim of this paper is to give an insight into the variation induced in the cytotoxic activity of MNP–ligand complexes by replacing the respective heavy metals with their nanoparticles (NPs).

For the structure and functioning of bio-molecules, metals are important. The main focus of research remains the design and synthesis of novel metal-based complexes and metal ion binding to substances in search of novel medicines. Studies have established the well-defined geometry, thermodynamic stability and excellent coordination power of vanadium in different oxidation states. This paper summarizes the biological activities of vanadium complexes, particularly their anticancer activity. Future multidisciplinary research and analysis focused on comprehending the biochemistry of vanadium complexes with different ligands is required.

Sugarcane juice spoils quickly as a result of microbial contamination and enzymatic reactions. To maintain its quality during storage, synthetic preservatives are generally employed. However, their use has been linked to potential health hazards. In this regard, some plant based natural preservatives can be utilized as safe alternatives. Lemon juice (LJ), basil leaf extract (BE), mint leaf extract (ME), and lemongrass essential oil (LGEO) were used in this study. LJ, BE and ME were varied from 2 to 8% (v/v) and LGEO was ranged between 1 and 3% (v/v). The concentrations of these natural preservatives were optimized by multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) based on contrasting goals of maximizing soluble solids, phenolic content (PhC) and sensory acceptability score while minimizing pH, polyphenoloxidase (PPO) activity and bacterial count. The LGEO followed by LJ inhibited the microorganisms and oxidative enzymes at an appreciable level and ME was the least effective among all. At the same time, LJ offered more preferable sensory scores than others. The optimized concentration suggested by MOGA was 6.84% LJ and 1.05% LGEO which resulted in 10.3% rise in PhC, 49.3% PPO inactivation, 2 log cycle bacterial reduction and 3.5% sensory improvement in the raw juice. The changes in quality parameters during storage and correlations among them were effectively illustrated by principal component analysis. It was revealed from microbial safety analysis that sugarcane juice with storage stability of 26 days at 4 ºC could be prepared by addition of natural preservatives.

Recent advanced studies in neurodegenerative diseases have revealed several links connecting autophagy and neurodegeneration. Autophagy is the major cellular degradation process for the removal of toxic protein aggregates responsible for neurodegenerative diseases. More than 30 autophagy-related proteins have been identified as directly participating in the autophagy process. Proteins regulating the process of autophagy are much more numerous and unknown. To address this, in our present study, we identified a novel regulator (ARL6IP5) of neuronal autophagy and showed that the level of ARL6IP5 decreases in the brain with age and in Parkinson’s disease in mice and humans. Moreover, a cellular model of PD (Wild type and A53T mutant α-synuclein overexpression) has also shown decreased levels of ARL6IP5. ARL6IP5 overexpression reduces α-synuclein aggregate burden and improves cell survival in an A53T model of Parkinson’s disease. Interestingly, detailed mechanistic studies revealed that ARL6IP5 is an autophagy inducer. ARL6IP5 enhances Rab1-dependent autophagosome initiation and elongation by stabilizing free ATG12. We report for the first time that α-synuclein downregulates ARL6IP5 to inhibit autophagy-dependent clearance of toxic aggregates that exacerbate neurodegeneration.

This study presents the source apportionment of coarse-mode particulate matter (PM10) extracted by 3 receptor models (PCA/APCS, UNMIX, and PMF) at semi-urban sites of the Indian Himalayan region (IHR) during August 2018–December 2019. In this study, water-soluble inorganic ionic species (WSIIS), water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), carbon fractions (organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC)), and trace elements of PM10 were analyzed over the IHR. Nainital (62 ± 39 µg m−3) had the highest annual average mass concentration of PM10 (average ± standard deviation at 1 σ), followed by Mohal Kullu (58 ± 32 µg m−3) and Darjeeling (54 ± 18 µg m−3). The annual total ∑WSIIS concentration order was as follows: Darjeeling (14.02 ± 10.01 µg m−3) > Mohal-Kullu (13.75 ± 10.21 µg m−3) > Nainital (10.20 ± 6.30 µg m−3), contributing to 15–30% of the PM10 mass. The dominant secondary ions (NH4+, SO42−, and NO3−) suggest that the study sites were strongly influenced by anthropogenic sources from regional and long-range transport. Principal component analysis (PCA) with an absolute principal component score (APCS), UNMIX, and Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) were used for source identification of PM10 at the study sites of the IHR. All three models showed relatively similar results of source profiles for all study sites except their source number and percentage contribution. Overall, soil dust (SD), secondary aerosols (SAs), combustion (biomass burning (BB) + fossil fuel combustion (FFC): BB+FFC), and vehicular emissions (VEs) are the major sources of PM10 identified by these models at all study sites. Air mass backward trajectories illustrated that PM10, mainly attributed to dust-related aerosols, was transported from the Thar Desert, Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP), and northwestern region of India (i.e., Punjab and Haryana) and Afghanistan to the IHR. Transported agricultural or residual burning plumes from the IGP and nearby areas significantly contribute to the concentration of carbonaceous aerosols (CAs) at study sites.

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate and compare the possibility of regaining pulp sensibility and objectives of regeneration procedure in mature necrotic teeth using regenerative endodontics. Materials and Methods: A total of 36 mature necrotic teeth were selected and a regenerative endodontic procedure was performed. A total of four groups, each involving n = 9 teeth per group were randomly grouped as (1) periapical bleeding, (2) platelet-rich fibrin (PRF), (3) collagen, and (4) hydroxyapatite. Pulp testing and radiographic assessment of periapical healing (PH) were recorded at every 3-month interval for 1 year. Readings were compared as qualitative data using the Kruskal–Wallis test to see the inter-group significant difference. Results: Readings of pulp sensibility revealed non-significant results in all intervals. At 3 and 6 months, 22.3% in the PRF group and 11.15% in collagen group; and at 9 months, 44.4% in PRF group, 33.3% in the collagen group and 22.2% in hydroxyapatite group; and at 12-months, 66.6% in PRF, 44.4% in the collagen group, 33.3% in the hydroxyapatite group and 11.1% in the periapical bleeding group showed a positive response to the cold test. But all groups did not show a positive response to heat and electric pulp testing and showed good PH in all groups at the end of 12 months. Conclusions: The presence of sensibility to cold test is indicative of the formation of vital pulp-like tissues, which was the highest in the PRF group, followed by the collagen, hydroxyapatite and periapical bleeding groups.

Introduction: Thyroid disorders during childhood are quite common and presentations are nonspecific. Congenital hypothyroidism (CH), among all causes of childhood hypothyroidism, is the most important, as early detection and appropriate therapy can prevent the onset of brain damage. The delay in diagnosis is attributable to the lack of awareness, lack of available facilities, or newborn screening programs. Aims: This study aims to study the spectrum of clinical presentation of thyroid disorders in children in a tertiary care teaching hospital. Materials and Methods: A descriptive observational study was conducted for a 2-year period, from January 2018 to January 2020. All children who were referred to the pediatric endocrine out-patients clinic for suspected thyroid dysfunction were included in this study. Data on patients history, clinical examination including the presence of goiter and laboratory tests were collected and analyzed. Results: Of 86 children with suspected thyroid dysfunction, 32 had abnormal thyroid function tests. Six had CH, 19 had overt acquired hypothyroidism and six had subclinical acquired hypothyroidism. Thyroid peroxidase antibodies were elevated in 13 children with no gender predilection. There was a female preponderance across all the age groups but no gender predilection was noted in the CH group. Short stature was noted in 70.9% of cases, diminution in school performance in 58% and pallor in 29%. Goiter was observed in 9.6% of children. Conclusions: In our study, 80.6% had acquired hypothyroidism. The most common presenting feature was short stature which was observed in 70.9% of our children. Diminution of scholastic performance was the second common clinical feature which was observed in 58% of children.

Background: Communities play a crucial role in suicide prevention. Community knowledge and understanding are essential for planning intervention strategies at community level. Aims and Objectives: To study the knowledge and understanding of people in rural and suburban areas about suicide and its prevention. Methodology: On the basis of convenient sampling, two places in the periphery of Chandigarh were selected. The participants were recruited from among those who were attending the program on suicide prevention on the occasion of World Mental Health Week (2019) and were administered a questionnaire (developed after 2 focused group discussions) after taking their informed consent. Results: There were 90 participants predominantly from rural background (74.4%), males (70%), and in the age range of 40–50 years (37%). Majority of the males from middle socioeconomic status and rural background reported 11–20 cases of suicide every year in their area and which was statistically significant. About 87% agreed that mental illness was not the only cause of suicide, and most of them felt that suicide occurred due to financial problems (34%), stress (33%), depression (22%), mental illness (21%), family disputes (15%), and unemployment (15%). Majority (47%) of the respondents preferred to “talk with friends and near ones” for suicide prevention. Conclusion: Study concluded that there is inadequate knowledge about incidence of suicide in the rural and suburban community of Chandigarh.

The mutations of bacteria and viruses along with the resistance of various targets to the existing drugs have emerged as great challenges in the medical field. This imposes the need for novel drugs and medicines to resolve such threats. Metal complexes with thiosemicarbazone (TSC) ligands and their derivatives have been reported to show good medicinal values and appear to be beneficial in terms of producing less toxic and more effective drugs. Literature survey shows that the metals have selectivity for the target cells and their coordination influences the binding of the ligand with proteins and enzymes. The present article gives an insight into the importance of coordination of TSCs with transition and inner transition metals. It also correlates the variation in the biological activities with the nature of metal bound to the TSC moiety and the presence of substituents attached to the parent TSC. Various explored derivatives of biologically active TSC – metal complexes have been reviewed. This paper has reviwed the enhancement in the biological activity of different classes of metal- TSC derivative complexes compared to their precursors. The authors have tried to correlate the synergic effect exhibited by metal TSC complexes and explored their future use as combination drugs.

The magnetic activity of a star—which modulates the stellar wind outflow—shapes the immediate environments of orbiting (exo)planets and induces atmospheric loss, thereby impacting their habitability. We perform a detailed parameter space study using three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations to understand the effect of changing stellar wind magnetic field and planetary magnetic field strengths on planetary magnetospheric topology and atmospheric losses. It is observed that the relative strengths of stellar and planetary magnetic fields play a significant role in determining the steady-state magnetospheric configuration and atmospheric erosion. When the stellar field is strengthened or the planetary field is weakened, stellar magnetic field accumulation occurs at the dayside of the planet, forcing the magnetopause to shift closer to its surface. The magnetotail opens up, leading to the formation of Alfvén wings in the nightside wake region. We demonstrate how reconnection processes and wind conditions lead to the bifurcation of the magnetotail current sheet. With increasing stellar wind magnetic field strength, the dayside reconnection point approaches the planet, thereby enhancing mass loss. We establish an analytic equation relating the atmospheric mass-loss rates to stellar and planetary magnetic field strengths, which successfully explains the modeled behavior. Our results are relevant for understanding how the interplay of stellar and planetary magnetism influence (exo)planetary environments and their habitability in star–planet systems with differing relative magnetic field strengths or in a single star–planet system over the course of their evolution with age.

In today's era, it is said that an oral and maxillofacial surgeon with knowledge of aesthetic surgery is like two eyes on the face. Smile is recognized as a killer app for young adults, mainly in young females and people with less beautiful smile face embarrassment. Due to less harmonic smile, people suffer from mental trauma and depression. So many treatment options are advocated to overcome this problem, which included several surgical and nonsurgical methods. Here, we present a case report of a 15-year-old young girl who reported to us with a chief complaint of gummy smile. We advocated surgical lip repositioning procedure, and on 6-month follow-up, no relapse was observed.

Aim: The aim of this in vivo study was to evaluate and compare the soft and hard tissue changes in implant supported mandibular overdenture with three different attachment system. Settings and Design: In vivo – observation study. Materials and Methods: After evaluation of prosthetic space, fifteen edentulous subjects received two implants in the inter-foramina region of the mandible and were divided into 3 groups with 5 subjects each, delayed loading protocol was followed in all the patients. The crestal bone loss, modified sulcular bleeding index, plaque index values were evaluate with the attachments at baseline and after 6 months was measured in a standardised way. Statistical Analysis Used: Oneway ANOVA test and post hoc Bonferroni multiple test. Results: At the end of six months modified sulcular bleeding index and plaque index values was higher in Group 2 (bar and clip attachment) as compared to Group 1 (ball and socket attachment) and Group 3 (Kerator attachment) and crestal bone loss was equal in groups 1, 2 and 3. Analysis of variance with repeated measures showed significant differences in modified sulcular bleeding index and plaque index among the three attachment types. Conclusion: (1) Group 2 (bar-and-clip attachment) exhibited higher Modified Sulcular Bleeding Index and Plaque Index values than Group 1 (ball-and-socket attachment) and Group 3 (kerator attachment). (2) Crestal bone loss was equal in Group 1 (ball-and-socket attachment), Group 2 (bar-and-clip attachment), and Group 3 (kerator attachment).

One of the primary reasons for wearable exoskeleton rejection is user discomfort caused by misalignment between the coupled system, i.e., the human limb and the exoskeleton. The article focuses primarily on the solution strategies for misalignment issues. The purpose of this work is to facilitate rehabilitative exercise-based exoskeletons for neurological and muscular disorder patients, which can aid a user in following the appropriate natural trajectory with the least amount of misalignment. A double four-bar planar configuration is used for this purpose. The paper proposes a methodology for developing an optimum task-oriented upper-limb hybrid exoskeleton with low active degrees-of-freedom (dof) that enables users to attain desired task space locations (TSLs) while maintaining an acceptable range of kinematic performance. Additionally, the study examines the influence of an extra restriction placed at the elbow motion and the compatibility of connected systems. The findings and discussion indicate the usefulness of the proposed concept for upper-limb rehabilitation.

Aim and Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge of dental laboratory technicians regarding infection control and modes of infection control employed by them. Settings and Design: A self-assessment questionnaire-based survey was carried out among dental technicians to assess the knowledge and practice of infection control in dental laboratories. Materials and Methods: Survey instrument containing 16 questions were randomly distributed to 70 dental colleges of North India regarding knowledge of infection control methods and infection control practised in laboratories. Data were collected and analyzed. Results: The response showed that 30.76% of dental technicians receive 30–50 or more than 50 impressions in a week. About 96.15% of the technicians used a plastic bag to carry impressions. Twenty-five percent of the dental technicians were aware of infection control protocol. Fifty-five percent of the technicians received impressions while wearing gloves and 61.53% of the institutes had a separate receiving area. Nearly 71.15% of the technicians communicate with the doctor regarding the disinfection of impression received in the laboratory. Almost 30.76% of the dental technicians disinfect all the impressions and 67.30% technicians use immersion for disinfection of impressions. Only 38.46% responded that they immerse impressions for 10 min for disinfection. About 73.07% use gloves, 90.38% use mouth masks, 57.69% wear eye shields, and 88.46% wear aprons while working. Nearly 78.84% of the technicians received vaccination against hepatitis B virus. Almost 69.23% of the technicians change pumice slurry after regular intervals, and 75% do not add any disinfectant. Nearly 59.61% of technicians disinfect the prostheses before sending it to the clinic, and 42.30% disinfect them by immersion technique. About disposal of waste, 80.76% said that they dispose the waste properly. Conclusion: To summarize, most of the technicians were not aware of basic infection control protocols.

In maxillary defects, role of a prosthodontist is to rehabilitate the intra- and extra-oral structures and to endow with the normal function of mastication, speech, deglutition, and esthetics. Malignancies are common in the oral region and are treated usually through surgical intervention. Surgical intervention creates anatomical defects creating communication between oral and nasal cavity. Patients pose difficulties while performing normal functions such as swallowing and speaking, due to this communication. To overcome the problems encountered by the patient, obturators are fabricated. The main problem with rehabilitation of large defect is the weight of prosthesis; the prosthesis becomes very bulky and nonretentive due to its weight. Hollow obturators are fabricated to conquer this tribulation by different techniques. This case report describes a simplified method of fabrication of a definitive hollow bulb obturator for rehabilitation of a maxillary defect (Aramany's class I) by insertion of balloon.

Apicomplexan parasites, through their motor machinery, produce the required propulsive force critical for host cell-entry. The conserved components of this so-called glideosome machinery are myosin A and myosin A Tail Interacting Protein (MTIP). MTIP tethers myosin A to the inner membrane complex of the parasite through 20 amino acid-long C-terminal end of myosin A that makes direct contacts with MTIP, allowing the invasion of Plasmodium falciparum in erythrocytes. Here, we discovered through screening a peptide library, a de-novo peptide ZA1 that binds the myosin A tail domain. We demonstrated that ZA1 bound strongly to myosin A tail and was able to disrupt the native myosin A tail MTIP complex both in vitro and in vivo. We then showed that a shortened peptide derived from ZA1, named ZA1S, was able to bind myosin A and block parasite invasion. Overall, our study identified a novel anti-malarial peptide that could be used in combination with other antimalarials for blocking the invasion of Plasmodium falciparum.

Aminoacyl tRNA synthetases are central enzymes required for protein synthesis. These enzymes are the known drug targets in bacteria and fungi. Here, we for the first time report the functional characterization of threonyl tRNA synthetase (LdThrRS) of Leishmania donovani, a protozoan parasite, the primary causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis.Recombinant LdThrRS (rLdThrRS) was expressed in E. coli and purified. The kinetic parameters for rLdThrRS were determined. The subcellular localization of LdThrRS was done by immunofluorescence analysis. Heterozygous mutants of LdThrRS were generated in Leishmania promastigotes. These genetically manipulated parasites were checked for their proliferation, virulence, aminoacylation activity and sensitivity to the known ThrRS inhibitor, borrelidin. An in silico generated structural model of L. donovani ThrRS was compared to that of human.Recombinant LdThrRS displayed aminoacylation activity, and the protein is possibly localized to both the cytosol and mitochondria. The comparison of the 3D-model of LdThrRS to human ThrRS displayed considerable similarity. Heterozygous parasites showed restrictive growth phenotype and had attenuated infectivity. These heterozygous parasites were more susceptible to inhibition by borrelidin. Several attempts to obtain ThrRS homozygous null mutants were not successful, indicating its essentiality for the Leishmania parasite. Borrelidin showed a strong affinity for LdThrRS (KD: 0.04 μM) and was effective in inhibiting the aminoacylation activity of the rLdThrRS (IC50: 0.06 μM). Borrelidin inhibited the promastigotes (IC50: 21 μM) stage of parasites. Our data shows that LdThrRS is essential for L. donovani survival and is likely to bind with small drug-like molecules with strong affinity, thus making it a potential target for drug discovery efforts.

In this paper, application of fuzzy logic technique using triangular membership function for developing models for predicting compressive strength of concrete with partial replacement of cement with nanosilica has been carried out. For this, the data have been taken from various literatures and help in optimizing the constituents available and reducing cost and efforts in studying design to develop mixes by predefining suitable range for experimenting. The use of nanostructured materials in concrete can add many benefits that are directly related to the durability of various cementitious materials, besides the fact that it is possible to reduce the quantities of cement in the composite. Successful prediction by the model indicates that fuzzy logic could be a useful modelling tool for engineers and research scientists in the area of cement and concrete. Compressive strength values of concrete can be predicted in fuzzy logic models without attempting any experiments in a quite short period of time with tiny error rates.

BACKGROUND: Suppressors of cytokine signalling (SOCS) protein family are key regulators of cellular responses to cytokines and play an important role in the nervous system. The SOCS6 protein, a less extensively studied SOCS family member, has been shown to induce insulin resistance in the retina and promote survival of the retinal neurons. But no reports are available about the role of SOCS6 in neuritogenesis. In this study, we examined the role of SOCS6 in neurite outgrowth and neuronal cell signalling. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The effect of SOCS6 in neural stem cells differentiation was studied in neural stem cells and PC12 cell line. Highly elevated levels of SOCS6 were found upon neural cell differentiation both at the mRNA and protein level. Furthermore, SOCS6 over-expression lead to increase in neurite outgrowth and degree of branching, whereas SOCS6 knockdown with specific siRNAs, lead to a significant decrease in neurite initiation and extension. Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) stimulation which enhanced neurite outgrowth of neural cells resulted in further enhancement of SOCS6 expression. Jak/Stat (Janus Kinase/Signal Transducer And Activator Of Transcription) pathway was found to be involved in the SOCS6 mediated neurite outgrowth. Bioinformatics study revealed presence of putative Stat binding sites in the SOCS6 promoter region. Transcription factors Stat5a and Stat5b were involved in SOCS6 gene upregulation leading to neuronal differentiation. Following differentiation, SOCS6 was found to form a ternary complex with IGFR (Insulin Like Growth Factor-1 Receptor) and JAK2 which acted in a negative feedback loop to inhibit pStat5 activation. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The current paradigm for the first time states that SOCS6, a SOCS family member, plays an important role in the process of neuronal differentiation. These findings define a novel molecular mechanism for Jak2/Stat5 mediated SOCS6 signalling.