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Abstract Background and purpose Intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) is a powerful tool, which might go a long way in reducing radiation doses to critical structures and thereby reduce long term morbidities. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of IMRT in reducing the dose to the critical normal tissues while maintaining the desired dose to the volume of interest for thoracic malignancies. Materials and methods During the period January 2002 to March 2004, 12 patients of various sites of malignancies in the thoracic region were treated using physical intensity modulator based IMRT. Plans of these patients treated with IMRT were analyzed using dose volume histograms. Results An average dose reduction of the mean values by 73% to the heart, 69% to the right lung and 74% to the left lung, with respect to the GTV could be achieved with IMRT. The 2 year disease free survival was 59% and 2 year overall survival was 59%. The average number of IMRT fields used was 6. Conclusion IMRT with inverse planning enabled us to achieve desired dose distribution, due to its ability to provide sharp dose gradients at the junction of tumor and the adjacent critical organs.

Background: The standard method of repair of paraumbilical hernia (PUH) is by the Mayo technique, using a double-breasted flap of the rectus sheath. The reproducibility of this technique in the hands of others is highly variable. The present study describes and evaluates the application of a Prolene mesh plug in the repair of PUH. The use of a mesh plug in hernia repair is not a new concept with previous investigators yielding consistently excellent results in the repair of femoral and inguinal hernias.Methods: The study is a retrospective analysis of hospital records and telephone interviews of 34 patients having undergone PUH repair using the mesh plug technique in the period March 1998- May 2002. There were 20 males and 14 females with a median age of 53 years (range 34-86 years). Seventy-six percent (26) of the patient sample was obese (median BMI 33). Whenever possible local anaesthetic was used. Principal outcome measures studied were post-operative complications, recurrences, length of stay in hospital, post-operative analgesia, duration of drain, return to normal activities and patient satisfaction.Results: Post-operative complications encountered included one case of seroma and a single wound infection with recurrence. Ninety-seven percent (32) of patients were satisfied with the procedure.Conclusion: Mesh plug repair can be performed with minimal postoperative complications, low recurrence rate, minimal post-operative pain and achieving excellent patient satisfaction. Prosthetic mesh plug repair under local anaesthetic could become the standard treatment for PUH in adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AimsDryness of the mouth is one of the most distressing chronic toxicities of radiation therapy in head and neck cancers. In this study, parotid function was assessed in patients with locally advanced head and neck cancers undergoing intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) with or without chemotherapy. Parotid function was assessed with the help of a questionnaire and parotid scintigraphy, especially with regards to unilateral sparing of the parotid gland.Materials and methodsIn total, 19 patients were treated with compensator-based IMRT between February 2003 and March 2004. The dose to the clinical target volume ranged between 66 and 70 Gy in 30-35 fractions to 95% of the isodose volume. Ipsilateral high-risk neck nodes received an average dose of 60 Gy and the contralateral low-risk neck received a dose of 54-56 Gy. Eight of 19 patients also received concomitant chemotherapy.ResultsSubjective toxicity to the parotid glands was assessed with the help of a questionnaire at 0, 3 and 6 months and objective toxicity was assessed with parotid scintigraphy at 0 and 3 months. The mean dose to the ipsilateral parotid gland ranged from 19.5 to 52.8 Gy (mean 33.14 Gy) and the mean dose to the contralateral gland was 11.1-46.6 Gy (mean 26.85 Gy). At a median follow-up of 13 months, 9/19 patients had no symptoms of dryness of the mouth (grade I), 8/19 had mild dryness of the mouth (grade II) and only 2/19 had grade III xerostomia, although the parotid gland could only be spared on one side in most of the patients.ConclusionsMinimising the radiation dose to one of the parotid glands with the help of IMRT in patients with advanced head and neck cancers can prevent xerostomia in most patients and parotid scintigraphy is a useful method of documenting xerostomia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the ethyl acetate fraction of amla (EAFA) extract on valproic acid (VPA)-induced postnatal autism in BALB/c mice. Our study revealed that mice treated with VPA on postnatal day 14 (PND14) showed significant abnormal behaviours such as social interaction, social affiliation, anxiety, and motor coordination compared to the control group, while EAFA extract treatment (100 mg/kg) ameliorated these symptoms. Our study highlights the protective effect of EAFA extract on improving behavioural alterations, significantly restoring anti-oxidative enzymes such as GST and GR, and reducing MDA and NO levels. Furthermore, the EAFA-treated group significantly lowered the proinflammatory markers (IL-1β and TNF-α) and the expression of up-regulated 5-HT1D, 5-HT2A, and D2 receptor proteins. Based on histopathological studies, the percentage of neuronal injury in the EAFA-treated group as well as cellular structural changes were reduced using SEM analysis. In conclusion, the present study suggests that treatment with EAFA extract ameliorates VPA-induced autism due to its anti-oxidant and neuroprotective activity., Competing Interests: The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Dr. Sukesh Narayan Sinha reports financial support was provided by 10.13039/501100001411ICMR - 10.13039/501100024390National Institute of Nutrition. Dr. Sukesh Narayan Sinha reports a relationship with 10.13039/501100001411ICMR - 10.13039/501100024390National Institute of Nutrition that includes: funding grants. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Biomonitoring of pesticide exposure has become a public concern because of its potential health effects. The present study investigated the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory levels and their associated health effects in agricultural areas in Telangana, India. This cross-sectional included 341 exposed participants and 152 control participants from agricultural areas. A structured questionnaire was completed and blood and urine samples were collected to measure pesticides, dialkyle phosphate (DAP) metabolites, and AChE activity using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. twenty-eight pesticides were detected in blood samples at concentrations ranging 0.42-45.77 ng/mL. Six DAP metabolites were also measured in urine, and all DAP metabolites were significantly higher in the exposed group. AChE activity is significantly reduced in individuals exposed for >10 years, raising concerns regarding possible neurological disorders. These results emphasise the urgent need to investigate the health effects of pesticides exposure, especially in agriculture., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:Sukesh Narayan Sinha reports financial support was provided by National Institute of Nutrition. Sukesh Narayan Sinha reports a relationship with National Institute of Nutrition that includes: employment. All the authors have read this paper very carefully and agree to submit it to the Environmental Research. There is no conflict of interest on our part., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The dataset represent the results of a cross-sectional study conducted in Telangana, India, to investigate the effects of pesticide exposure in agricultural regions. This study includes 341 pesticides exposed participants and 152 controls in three districts of Telangana including 15 farming villages. Blood and urine samples were analysed to determine various pesticide concentrations present in blood including organophosphates, carbamates and pyrethroids group of pesticides, and six dialkyl phosphate (DAP) metabolites, including dimethyl phosphate (DMP), diethyl phosphate (DEP), dimethyl thiophosphate (DMTP), dimethyldithiophosphate (DMDTP), diethylthiophosphate (DETP) and diethyldithiophosphate (DEDTP) were analysed in urine samples.In addition the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity were measured using advanced analytical methods. The data provide information on pesticide profiles, exposure biomarkers and the relationship between exposure duration and AChE activity. These study results emphasise the importance and addressing pesticide-related health problems in farmers for proactive measures to mitigate the harmful effects of pesticide exposure in agriculture., (© 2024 The Author(s).)

Aflatoxin (AF) poisoning of staple foods, such as rice, is caused by fungal contamination by Aspergillus species. These AFs are genotoxic, carcinogenic and suppress the immune system. Hence, the present study was conducted to elucidate the prevalence of AF contamination in rice samples collected from local markets of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The rice samples collected were analysed for AF by using HPLC-fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD). Based on AF contamination levels and dietary intake of rice, the health risk was assessed by the margin of exposure (MOE) and liver cancer risk in adults, adolescence and children. The percentage detected contamination with AFB 1 and AFB 2 of rice samples was 54% and 34%, with the concentration ranging between 0-20.35 µg/kg and 0-1.54 µg/kg, respectively. Three rice samples exceeded the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) total AF acceptable limit of 15 µg/kg. The average MOE values were 53.73, 50.58 and 35.69 (all <10,000) for adults, adolescence and children, respectively. The average liver cancer risk associated with rice consumption in the population of Hyderabad was found to be 0.27, 0.28 and 0.40 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cases/year/100,000 individuals in adults, adolescence and children, respectively. This study revealed an adverse health risk to population of Hyderabad due to consumption of AF contaminated rice.

For the simultaneous determination of monoamine neurotransmitters (NTs) like dopamine, serotonin, noradrenaline, and epinephrine, and their metabolites (metanephrine, normetanephrine, 3-methoxytyramine, vanillylmandelic acid, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, homovanillic acid, and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid), a robust liquid chromatography method coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was introduced as the analytical method. This analytical method proved to be accurate for the simultaneous measurement of the amounts of 11 NTs and their metabolites in biological samples. The method proved to be more efficient and better than the previously reported method in terms of precision, recovery, sample requirement, and extraction procedure. The reported method requires only 100 μL of blood and 200 μL of urine, and the extraction procedure requires acetonitrile precipitation, filtration, drying, and reconstitution in water. The separation of all analytes was performed on an C18 column (4.6 mm × 150 mm and 1.8 μm). A 10 min gradient elution program with a mobile phase consisting of phase A (0.2% formic acid in water) and phase B (methanol) was used. The positive ionization mode was used for the detection of all analytes in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM). The proposed method was validated with an internal standard and yielded lower limits of detection and quantification ranges of 0.0182-0.0797 ng/mL and 0.0553-0.2415 ng/mL, respectively, with a good linearity ( R 2 ) between 0.9959 and 0.9994. The recoveries ranged from 73.37% to 116.63% in blood and from 80.9% to 115.33% in urine. For the NTs and metabolites, the intra- and interday % CV were 0.24-9.36 and 0.85-9.67, respectively. The developed LC-MS/MS method was successfully used for the determination of trace amounts of endogenous compounds in human blood and urine samples.

This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the adverse effects of pesticide use in humans, such as non-communicable diseases, using acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and pesticide concentrations in blood samples. A total of 353 samples (290 case and 63 control) were collected from participants with >20 years of experience in agricultural pesticide use. The pesticide and AChE concentrations were determined using Liquid Chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and Reverse Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography (RP-HPLC). Various health risks from pesticide exposure were assessed, including dizziness or headache, tension, anxiety, confusion, loss of appetite, loss of balance, concentration difficulties, irritability, anger, and depression. These risks may be influenced by the duration and intensity of exposure, the type of pesticide, and environmental factors in the affected areas. A total of 26 pesticides were detected in the blood samples from the exposed population, including 16 insecticides, three fungicides, and seven herbicides. Pesticide concentrations ranged from 0.20 to 12.12 ng/mL, and were statistically significant between the case and control groups (p < 0.05, p < 0.01, and p < 0.001). A correlation analysis was performed to determine statistically significance between pesticide concentration and symptoms of non-communicable diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, obesity, and diabetes. The estimated AChE levels in case and control blood samples were 21.58 ± 2.31 and 24.13 ± 1.08 U/mL, respectively (mean ± SD). The AChE levels were significantly lower in case samples than in controls (p < 0.001), which is considered to be an effect of long-term pesticide exposure, and is the cause of Alzheimer's disease (p < 0.001), Parkinson's disease (p < 0.001), and obesity (p < 0.01). Chronic exposure to pesticides and low levels of AChE are somewhat related to non-communicable diseases., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Sukesh Narayan Sinha reports financial support was provided by National Institute of Nutrition. Sukesh Narayan Sinha reports a relationship with National Institute of Nutrition that includes: employment. All the authors have read this paper very carefully and agree to submit it to the Science of the Total Environment for publication. There is no conflict of interest on our part., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Various parts of neem (Azadirachta indica) have high demand in several industries. However, the inadequate supply of sources hampers the commercialization of different neem products. In this scenario, the current research was undertaken to produce genetically stable plants through indirect organogenesis., Methods and Results: Several explants like shoot tips, internodal segments, and leaves, were cultivated on MS media with different growth regulators. Maximum callus formation was achieved using 1.5 mg/L NAA, 0.5 mg/L 2,4-D and 0.2 mg/L both for Kn and BAP in combination with shoot tip (93.67%). These calli showed an organogenic potentiality on MS medium having coconut water (15%) without growth regulators. This medium along with 0.5 mg/L Kn and 0.1 mg/L both for BAP and NAA yielded the maximum adventitious shoot production with shoot tip-derived callus (95.24%). These calli further produced the most buds per shoot (6.38) and highest average shoot length (5.46 cm) with 0.5 mg/L both for BAP and Kn and 0.1 mg/L NAA in combination after the fifth subculture. The 1/3 strength of MS media was found to be best along with 0.5 mg/L IBA and 0.1 mg/L Kn in combination to generate maximum root response (92.86%), roots per shoot (5.86) and longest average root length (3.84 cm). The mean plant survival after initial hardening was 83.33% which increased to 89.47% after secondary hardening. The lack of variation in ISSR markers among the regenerated trees is evidence of clonal fidelity between hardened plants., Conclusions: This protocol will accelerate the propagation of neem for utilization of its sources., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Objective and Design: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an idiopathic inflammatory condition of the digestive system marked by oxidative stress, leukocyte infiltration, and elevation of inflammatory mediators. In this study, we demonstrate the protective effect of ethyl gallate (EG), a phytochemical, and propyl gallate (PG), an anti-oxidant, given through normal drinking water (DW) and copper water (CW) in various combinations, which had a positive effect on the amelioration of DSS-induced ulcerative colitis in C57BL/6 J mice., Materials and Methods: We successfully determined the levels of proinflammatory cytokines and anti-oxidant enzymes by ELISA, tracked oxidative/nitrosative stress (RO/NS) by in vivo imaging (IVIS) using L-012 chemiluminescent probe, disease activity index (DAI), and histopathological and morphometric analysis of colon in DSS-induced colitis in a model., Results: The results revealed that oral administration of ethyl gallate and propyl gallate at a dose of 50 mg/kg considerably reduced the severity of colitis and improved both macroscopic and microscopic clinical symptoms. The level of proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, and IFN-γ) in colonic tissue was considerably reduced in the DSS + EG-treated and DSS + PG-treated groups, compared to the DSS alone-treated group. IVIS imaging of animals from the DSS + EG and DSS + PG-treated groups showed a highly significant decrease in RO/NS species relative to the DSS control group, with the exception of the DSS + PG/CW and DSS + EG + PG/CW-treated groups. We also observed lower levels of myeloperoxidase (MPO), nitric oxide (NO), and lipid peroxidation (LPO), and restored levels of GST and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in DSS + EG-DW/CW, DSS + PG/DW, and DSS + EG + PG/DW groups compared to DSS alone-treated group. In addition, we showed that the EG, PG, and EG + PG treatment significantly reduced the DAI score, and counteracted the body weight loss and colon shortening in mice compared to DSS alone-treated group. In this 21-day study, mice were treated daily with test substances and were challenged to DSS from day-8 to 14., Conclusion: Our study highlights the protective effect of ethyl gallate and propyl gallate in various combinations which, in pre-clinical animals, serve as an anti-inflammatory drug against the severe form of colitis, indicating its potential for the treatment of IBD in humans. In addition, propyl gallate was investigated for the first time in this study for its anti-colitogenic effect with normal drinking water and reduced effect with copper water., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

To monitor human exposure to pesticides, experts commonly measure their metabolites in urine, particularly dialkyl phosphates (DAPs), which include diethyl phosphate (DEP), Diethyl thiophosphate (DETP), diethyl dithiophosphate (DEDTP), dimethyl phosphate (DMP), dimethyl thiophosphate (DMTP) and dimethyl dithiophosphate (DMDTP)to monitor the metabolites of organophosphates. These DAP metabolites are a urinary biomarker for assessing pesticide exposure and potential health risks. This study presented a new screening method combining ultrafast liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (UFLC-MS/MS) to detect six DAP metabolites in human urine. The study also compared standard sample extraction methods, namely, liquid-liquid extraction (LLE); quick, easy, cheap, effective, ruggedand safe (QuEChERS); and lyophilization. After a comprehensive analysis of the methods used to extract the analytes, including recovery rate, repeatability and reproducibility, the liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) method was found to be the best. It had a high recovery rate, was easy to handle, required less sample volume and had a short extraction time. Therefore, the LLE method was chosen for further analysis. The results showed excellent performance with high recoveries between 93% and 102%, precise repeatability (RSD) between 0.62% and 5.46% and acceptable reproducibility values (RSD) between 0.80% and 11.33%. The method also had limits of detection (LOD) ranging from 0.0201 ng/mL to 0.0697 ng/mL and limits of quantification (LOQ) ranging from 0.0609 ng/mL to 0.2112 ng/mL. Furthermore, the UFLC-MS/MS method was validated based on the SANTE guidance and successfully analyzed 150 urine samples from farmers and non-farmers. This validated method proved useful for biomonitoring studies focusing on OP pesticide exposure. It offers several advantages, such as a reduced need for samples, chemicals and materials, and a shorter analysis time. The method is sensitive and selective in detecting metabolites in human urine, making it a valuable approach for the practical and efficient assessment of pesticide exposure.

Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were widely used in the past for pest control in agricultural lands and vector control programs in India. Due to their persistence and toxic impacts, we have quantified twenty OCPs in surface water, groundwater, and surface sediment samples along the Krishna River Basin (KRB), flowing through Peninsular India. Samples were collected along the urban, peri-urban, and rural transects of the KRB to understand the relation between the occurrence of pesticidal organochlorine pollutants based on the land use and land cover (LULC) and asses potential risk. Diagnostic ratios revealed ongoing Lindane usage in rural and peri-urban transects. On the contrary, the urban transect of the Musi River (MR) showed fresh inputs of technical HCH. The ratios of (p,p'-DDE+ p,p'-DDD)/ΣDDT >0.5 and α/β-Endosulfan < 2.33 for most of the sites across the three transects for surface water, groundwater, and sediment indicate past DDT and Endosulfan usage across KRB. Excluding p,p'-DDE, and heptachlor in most of the sites, the logK OC ' was higher than logK OC for other OCPs in the urban transect. However, for all the OCPs, the logK OC ' was lower than logK OC in the peri-urban and rural transects of KRB thereby indicating that riverine sediment is acting as a sink for OCPs. The Krishna River annually transport about 0.24 tons HCH, 0.11 tons of DDT and 0.1 tons of Endosulfan. Despite having low water discharge, the compound-specific fluxes of the Wyra river are higher than the other two tributaries. Ecotoxicological risk assessment based on the Hazard Quotient suggested DDT pose higher risks to scud (zooplankton) and dinoflagellate and diatom (phytoplankton) whereas Endosulfan poses a threat to Bluegill (fish)., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest 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., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Ficus religiosa LQuery. has several ornamental, medicinal, and economical applications. The in vivo propagation of this species has shown various limitations. Due to this reason, the present study efforts on genetically uniform artificial seed production from in vitro developed shoot tips of this species. The in vivo shoot tips were cultivated on Murashige and Skoog (MS) media containing different growth regulators. The maximum shoot response (93.67%) and the longest shoot length (3.85 cm) were exhibited with 0.5 mg L -1 6-furfuryl-amino purine (Kn), 0.2 mg L -1 benzyladenine (BA) and 0.1 mg L -1 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) in combination. A treatment of 3% sodium alginate and 75 mM calcium chloride having a polymerization time of 15 min was exhibited to be superior for artificial seed production of these in vitro grown shoot tips. Artificial seed-derived micro shoots yielded the highest root response (94.44%) and roots per shoot (4.61) with 0.5 mg L -1 indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and 0.1 mg L -1 BA in combination on ½-strength MS media. In comparison to 4 °C-kept artificial seeds, 24 °C-stored artificial seeds had superior germination potential across all storage times. The soil:organic manure (1:1) generated 90% of plantlet survival after 28 days of primary hardening than other mixtures tested. The secondary hardening displayed 92% of plant survival after 60 days. The banding patterns of ISSR analysis between the mother plant and hardened plants were discovered to be monomorphic. This methodology provides a promising and affordable approach to the large-scale plant production of this significant species., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Institute of Plant Genetics Polish Academy of Sciences.)

Objective: In the present study we reported oxidation of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and validation of oxidized product by a validated ultra high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) method., Methods: Two hundred milligrams of EGCG was oxidized in 5 mL of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and was identified by a validated UHPLC method with precision and robustness. Confirmation of parameters like C-H stretching and mass was carried out using infrared spectroscopy and mass spectroscopy, respectively. Identification of oxidized EGCG (O-EGCG) was done by UHPLC., Results: The infrared spectroscopy chromatograms observed less intensity C-H stretching as compared to O-EGCG. The mass of EGCG and O-EGCG were 459.09 and 915.16, respectively. Structure elucidation revealed a loss of one proton in O-EGCG as compared to EGCG. Validation of the developed method was specific, with linear correlation coefficient 0.9981 and 0.9917, respectively for EGCG and O-EGCG, the accuracy rate of 95.2%-99.6% for EGCG, and 99.18%-101.5% for O-EGCG., Conclusion: Together, the results of this study demonstrate the formation of a dimer also the UHPLC method developed for identification of both EGCG and O-EGCG is validated as per the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) guidelines., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Obesity (Ob) depicts a state of energy imbalance(s) being characterized by the accumulation of excessive fat and which predisposes to several metabolic diseases. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) represent a promising option for addressing obesity and its associated metabolic co-morbidities. The present study aims at assessing the beneficial effects of human placental MSCs (P-MSCs) in mitigating Ob-associated insulin resistance (IR) and mitochondrial dysfunction both in vivo and in vitro. Under obesogenic milieu, adipocytes showed a significant reduction in glucose uptake, and impaired insulin signaling with decreased expression of UCP1 and PGC1α, suggestive of dysregulated non-shivering thermogenesis vis-a-vis mitochondrial biogenesis respectively. Furthermore, obesogenic adipocytes demonstrated impaired mitochondrial respiration and energy homeostasis evidenced by reduced oxygen consumption rate (OCR) and blunted ATP/NAD + /NADP + production respectively. Interestingly, co-culturing adipocytes with P-MSCs activated PI3K-Akt signaling, improved glucose uptake, diminished ROS production, enhanced mitochondrial OCR, improved ATP/NAD + /NADP + production, and promoted beiging of adipocytes evidenced by upregulated expression of PRDM16, UCP1, and PGC1α expression. In vivo, P-MSCs administration increased the peripheral blood glucose uptake and clearance, and improved insulin sensitivity and lipid profile with a coordinated increase in the ratio of ATP/ADP and NAD + and NADP + in the white adipose tissue (WAT), exemplified in WNIN/GR-Ob obese mutant rats. In line with in vitro findings, there was a significant reduction in adipocyte hypertrophy, increased mitochondrial staining, and thermogenesis. Our findings advocate for a therapeutic application of P-MSCs for improving glucose and energy homeostasis, i.e., probably restoring non-shivering thermogenesis towards obesity management., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Several methods have been reported to estimate Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) enzyme activity in blood samples. The Ellman assay is the most important among all but with several shortcomings, and there is a need to develop a method which is accurate, sensitive and quick for analyzing AChE. Therefore, we have developed an assay utilizing RP-HPLC with UV detection for the determination of AChE activity. This method measured the conversion of 1-naphthol acetate to 1-naphthol to estimate AChE activity in blood samples. Performance was judged on the basis of reproducibility, sensitivity, accuracy, and the ability to screen enzyme activity within 20minutes. A series of experiments were performed, varying the concentration of blood and substrate, with optimal sensitivity using 50 μM substrate and 10μL blood. The validation parameters such as linearity (R2 of ≥ 0.9842 for 1-naphthol and ≥ 0.9897 for 1-naphthol acetate), precision (94.21-96.41%), accuracy (85.2%-99.6% and 82.6%-99.3% for 1-naphthol and 1-naphthol acetate respectively), and robustness were validated according to International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines. Blood samples were collected from healthy people, farmers exposed to spraying of pesticides, and suicidal patients who ingested pesticides and were hospitalized and were analyzed by the developed method. The AChE level was approximately 21 units/mL compared to 24units/mL in controls, whereas suicidal patients showed the least AChE levels of 1 unit/mL. The employment of this method is recommended for estimating AChE level on various matrices., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2022 Sinha et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: Acute open wounds constitute a significant part of general practice. With an expanding global market of dressing products, selection of wound dressings remains an area of concern among doctors entering general practice., Objective: The aim of this article is to describe a practical guide for choosing appropriate dressings when treating acute open wounds in general practice., Discussion: Although dressing is an essential element of standard wound care, it is important to remember that dressing alone does not heal the wound. Judicious selection of dressings based on wound characteristics, physical properties of dressings and their costs, shelf life and availability are important for delivering appropriate care towards timely healing of acute wounds.

Background: Artocarpus heterophyllus is an important tropical agroforestry species that bears multiple applications. However, the population of this species is reduced due to various anthropogenic activities. For this reason, in vitro approach is needed to propagate or conserve this species as in vivo propagation methods face various obstacles. In this respect, the present investigation was undertaken to produce genetically stable jackfruit trees through in vitro technology. In vivo grew shoot tips were harvested on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing several plant growth regulators to achieve this., Results: The 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) at the concentration of 1.5 mg L -1 , indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) at 0.5 mg L -1 , and α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) at 0.1 mg L -1 in combination on MS media yielded superior shoot response (94.44%), longest shoot length (4.02 cm), and the maximum number of shoots per explant (4.78). They were further multiplied by repeated subculturing on the same media composition and the third subculture resulted in a maximum number of shoots (5.92) with the largest shoot length (5.85 cm). Among the different media screened for rooting, the ¼ MS media yielded 94.44% rooting response, the longest root length (3.78 cm), and the maximum number of roots per shoot (8.44) with 0.1 mg L -1 NAA, 0.5 mg L -1 IBA and 0.1 mg L -1 BAP in combination. Primary hardening showed 88.89% of plant survival under greenhouse conditions after 4 weeks of incubation having a sterilized mixture of garden soil and vermiculite mixture (1:1, w/w). It increased to 90.60% after the secondary hardening process in a vermiculite-soil mixture (2:1; w/w). No polymorphism was detected on random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) profiling between the mother plant and hardened plants, indicating high genetic stability among the clones., Conclusions: This is the first report of the genetic fidelity study of in vitro grown regenerants of A. heterophyllus. This study established a micropropagation protocol for genetically uniform in vitro regeneration of this species to supply plant resources to various industries or conservation of elite germplasm., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The aim of this study was to investigate the sociodemographic characteristics of patients based on the poison chosen and different types of organophosphorus compounds. The data were collected to explore the sociodemographic characteristics of organophosphate (OP)-poisoned patients based on the source, site, and route of poisoning, education level, occupational status, and the purpose of poisoning. Furthermore, we estimated the serotonin and dopamine levels in the plasma samples of patients, and survival plots were also described. During the study of OP pesticide poisoning in 116 human subjects and 5 healthy volunteers, we observed, based on the survival plot, that75.9% of the patients were discharged, and the remaining patients died (24.1% of the patients) due to respiratory failure followed by cardiac arrest. Our findings suggest that the serotonin levels significantly (p < 0.01 and p < 0.001) decreased from 12 to 36 h, whereas the dopamine levels slightly increased from 12 to 36 h in the group with OP poisoning compared to the control group. Based on these findings, this study may aid in deciphering the precise mechanism by which pesticides cause behavioural changes that influence serotonin and dopamine levels in OP-poisoned patients. The purpose of this work was to serve as a small reminder of the risk to public health associated with organophosphate pesticides., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Excoecaria agallocha is a dioecious mangrove species, reported to have various medicinal properties. This study compares the gender-related biological activities between the sexes of E. agallocha in accordance with morpho-biochemical parameters which indicate their fitness over various environmental stresses as well as some information about the investment of their resources over defence and growth. For this investigation, mature sun leaves of E. agallocha were collected from each sex from three different ecological regions like Bokkhali, Jharkhali, and Kolkata, West Bengal. The comparative study found that leaf of female plants yielded more compounds than males and also resulted in higher anti-bacterial, reducing power, total antioxidant, and lipid peroxidation activities. Female leaves also showed higher concentrations of biochemical constituents like chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total carotenoids, total phenolic compounds and total protein content than male leaves. However, leaf area of all-male leaves in all sites was found to be greater than female leaves. The differences in growth rate and secondary metabolite content-based defences between sexes suggest that females invest resources in defences or resistance (Relative electrolytic leakages and TBARS content), whereas male invests their resources in growth (Leaf area) or tolerance. The present study strongly suggests that the female plant's yields are more beneficial in terms of medicinal properties as compared to the male plant., (© Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2022.)