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Depleting agricultural land and water resources with growing human civilization demands an alternative way for faster and more sustainable crop production techniques to meet the current requirements. Recently, nanotechnology-aided hydroponic agriculture (aquaculture) systems have brought remarkable attention. In this context, the present investigation focuses on applying green synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles in soil-free aquaculture systems to stimulate the germination and growth of Oryza sativa L. TiO2 nanoparticles are synthesized using Dillenia indica fruit extract and characterized using various spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD) confirms the anatase phase of the synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles with an average crystallite size of 6.34 nm. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) images exhibit spherical morphology, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) analysis indicates the most nanoparticles of sizes below 10 nm. The BET surface analysis indicates the mesoporous nature of synthesized nanoparticles, and their pore sizes are distributed between 1 and 10 nm as confirmed by BJH analysis, which is very similar to the result obtained from HRTEM images. Green synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles in Hoagland nutrient solution enhance germination and growth of Oryza sativa L. via soil-free aquaculture relative to previously commercially produced TiO2 nanoparticles and other metal oxide nanoparticles. Among different concentrations of synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles, a particular concentration (10 mg/L) in the nutrient solution efficiently stimulates germination and growth for Oryza sativa L., relative to the control system. TiO2 nanoparticles with a higher specific surface area adsorb nutrients and facilitate nutrient translocation with improved water uptake inside plants, thus stimulating plant growth and increasing fresh and dry biomass.

Purpose T2* is the gold standard for iron quantification in liver as well as myocardium. In this study, we evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of myocardial T1 mapping for the assessment of myocardial iron overload (MIO) as compared to the T2* mapping in patients with thalassemia major (TM).

Traditional glycosylation methods using thioglycosides often require harsh conditions or expensive metal catalysts. This study presents a more sustainable alternative by employing copper, an earth-abundant catalyst. We developed diazo-based thioglycoside donors that, through copper catalysis, undergo intramolecular activation to form glycosyl sulfonium ions, leading to the generation of oxocarbenium ions. This versatile approach efficiently accommodates a variety of O-nucleophiles, including primary, secondary, and tertiary, as well as complex bioactive molecules. It is compatible with various glycosyl donors and protecting groups, including superarmed, armed, and disarmed systems. Notably, the methodology operates orthogonally to traditional thioglycoside and alkyne donors and has been successfully applied to the orthogonal iterative synthesis of trisaccharides. Mechanistic insights were gained by studying the electronic effects of electron-donating (OMe) and electron-withdrawing (NO2) groups on the donors, offering a valuable understanding of the intramolecular reaction pathway.

It is fascinating to design and develop an inorganic quantum dot (QDs) which exhibit luminescence features with ion concentration, temperature, and pH sensitivity dependence. Vanadium disulphide (VS2) belongs to the family of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), and is extensively studied owing to its layered characteristics features in sensing and filtrations technology, however, its fluorescence features have not been well studied so far. The current work describes a widely adopted eco-friendly hydrothermal approach for the synthesis of VS2-QDs. The average size of particles was determined to be ∼10 nm by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Zetasizer analysis. The synthetic approach adopted here facilitates in situ functionalization of QDs, which results in their high stability in aqueous medium and enhanced sensitivity towards their surroundings. As most of the QDs show the sensitivity towards pH, a thorough investigation of VS2 QDs for their pH dependent photoluminescence has been carried out. The VS2-QDs were discovered to exhibit a remarkable luminescence intensity that was found to be about 11 times higher in basic conditions (pH ∼ 13, QY = ∼4.80 %) as compared to that in acidic conditions (pH ∼ 1, QY = ∼1.10 %). The root cause of this ON/OFF florescence flipping may be related to the functional groups (such as −SO42−, −NH2, OH−, etc.) attached over the surface of QDs, acid etching, and protonation–deprotonation process. This paper highlights the pH dependent switching behaviour of VS2-QDs that could offer valuable information for designing a futuristic pH-based device for biomedical applications.

Abstract Major pathological features of Parkinson’s disease (PD) include increase in oxidative stress leading to the aggregation of α-synuclein, mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis of dopaminergic neurons. In addition, downregulation of the expression of neurotrophic factors like-Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) is also involved in PD progression. There has been a lot of interest in trophic factor-based neuroprotective medicines over the past few decades to treat PD symptoms. Rotenone, an insecticide, inhibits the mitochondrial complex I causing overproduction of ROS, oxidative stress, and aggregation of α-synuclein. It has been shown that BDNF and Tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB) interaction initiates the regulation of neuronal cell development and differentiation by the serine/threonine protein kinases like Akt and GSK-3β. Additionally, Transcription factor CREB (cAMP Response Element-binding protein) also determines the gene expression of BDNF. The homeostasis of these signalling cascades is compromised with the progression of PD. Therefore, maintaining the equilibrium of these signalling cascades will delay the onset of PD. Oleuropein (OLE), a polyphenolic compound present in olive leaves has been documented to cross blood brain barrier and shows potent antioxidative property. In the present study, the dose of 8, 16 and 32 mg/kg body weight (bwt) OLE was taken for dose standardisation. The optimised doses of 16 and 32 mg/kg bwt was found to be neuroprotective in Rotenone induced PD mouse model. OLE improves motor impairment and upregulate CREB regulation along with phosphorylation of Akt and GSK-3β in PD mouse. In addition, OLE also reduces the mitochondrial dysfunction by activation of enzyme complexes and downregulates the proapoptotic markers in Rotenone intoxicated mouse model. Overall, our study suggests that OLE may be used as a therapeutic agent for treatment of PD by regulating BDNF/CREB/Akt signalling pathway.

Introduction: Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is the preferred treatment for persistent disability due to hip pathologies and restoration of normal functions. Although there is a general consensus of using un-cemented implants for adults and elderly with good bone quality and cemented for senior citizen population, implant choice for middle aged group of 40 years to 60 years is still a subject of debate, especially in financial constrained situations. In our study, we have determined the implant survivorship and functional outcomes of cemented THA in patients between 40 and 60 years of age, at the minimum follow-up of 10 years with emphasis on standardization of cementing technique. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective study including 25 patients who had undergone cemented hip arthroplasty. Data were collected from five different surgical centres, whose orthopedic surgeons had common surgical training and were following a common cementing technique. Results: Mean Harris Hip Score of 25 hips at final follow-up was 90 and Visual Analog Scale 1.88. The functional outcome was good to excellent at final follow-up in 89% hips. There was a significant improvement in pain and activity level after surgery (P < 0.001) and maintained at the final follow-up. Conclusion: Our series provides evidence for utility of cemented hip implants in low functional demand patients along with emphasizing the importance of a good cementing technique for the long-term survival of cemented hip arthroplasty in the age group of 40–60 years.

In the race for feeding the growing population and making a commercial profit, food that is our daily need is manipulated and adulterated in many ways. Food forgery is real, and can cause a concerning impact on the health of an individual. Food forgery includes adulteration, tampering with the colour, flavour, the texture of food, tampering and mislabelling food packages, shortcuts in the farming and manufacturing process, excessive use of growth hormone, or pesticide, usage of substandard ingredients, and many more. Conventional methods for monitoring the quality of food are diligent, invasive, and time taking. Bio-photonic techniques such as infrared spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and imaging technology combined with computational power give a reliable, non-destructive, portable, non-invasive way to do online quality monitoring and shelf-life prediction of the food. Bio-photonics is the interdisciplinary field of science that studies the interaction of light with biological matters. Studying the emission, absorption, and scattering phenomenon of light when it interacts with the food can give us different aspects of food quantity and quality. These techniques have the potential to detect pathogens, contamination, and protein and lipid structural changes in food at the molecular level. This review article aims to summarize the different spectroscopic techniques and their challenges in analysing and monitoring the different aspects of food quality.

Background: Exposure of environmental toxin is linked to the onset of Parkinson's disease (PD), especially in majority of sporadic cases. One of such toxins, namely Rotenone has been widely investigated to produce the Parkinsonian model in laboratories. The toxin causes the death of the dopaminergic neurons, aggregation of α-Synuclein, oxidative stress, neuroinflammation and initiate other pathways leading to PD pathogenesis. Glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) is a pleiotropic serine/threonine protein kinase found in eukaryotes. One of the two isoforms of the enzyme; GSK-3β plays an important role in regulating the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, including PD. Whereas, Calcium (Ca2+) is found to regulate important cellular activities in all eukaryotic cells. However, an increased Ca2+ concentration is seen during ageing and the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Thus, maintaining the Ca2+ homoeostasis is very crucial for proper cell function. Methodology: Hence, behavioural tests were performed to assess the motor abnormalities; immunohistochemical and western blot analyses to identify the alteration in the protein expression; and mitochondrial complexes and antioxidants assay to detect the extent of mitochondrial dysfunction in Rotenone-induced Parkinsonian mouse model. Alternatively, the effect of Mucuna pruriens (Mp) and Ursolic acid (UA) in the PD mouse model was also observed. Results: Increased Ca2+level, and activation of GSK-3β was observed in the Rotenone-intoxicated mouse model of PD. The extract of Mp and UA, on the other hand shows neuroprotection through their anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties. However, their role in maintaining the Ca2+ level and GSK-3β signaling is not yet observed in PD. So, our study deals with the downregulated activity of GSK-3β and Ca2+ level upon the administration of Mp extract and UA, thereby providing neuroprotection to the PD mouse model. Conclusion: Thus, this study deals to explore further the neuroprotective activity of Mp and UA through GSK-3β/Calcium signaling by ameliorating mitochondrial dysfunction mediated apoptosis and inhibiting the overexpression of α-Synuclein in Rotenone-induced PD mouse model.

Background: Vaccine against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was rolled out in India to prevent the infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. We aimed at investigating the adverse events following immunization (AEFI) associated with the first dose of Covishield (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) vaccine in the elderly population (60 and above). Methodology: An observational study, conducted among 463 vaccinated individuals at multiple community health centers in Jaipur, of AEFIs associated with the first dose of Covishield vaccine. We investigated these AEFIs through telephonic interviews, using pharmacovigilance per forma provided from the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission, Ghaziabad. Results: Four hundred and sixty-three people responded to the telephone survey. About 7.7% (36/463) of the respondents experienced AEFIs. Of these, commonly reported systemic AEFI were fever (47.2%), fatigue (38.8%), dizziness (5.5%), and diarrhea (2.7%), and local AEFI were injection site soreness (27.7%) and itching with rash (2.7%) AEFI reported in the age group (60–70) was higher (8.7%, 26/297) than those above 70 (6.2%, 10/166). Females (9.9%, 20/202) were associated with higher AEFI than males (6.1%, 16/261). More than one-third (43.8%, 203/463, P = 0.001) were hesitant before vaccination. Respondents in the age group of 60–70 years (55.2%, 164/297) were more hesitant than those above 70 (23.4%, 39/166). There is no association between gender and AEFI status and age group and respondent's AEFI. Conclusion: Only 7.7% of the respondents experienced AEFIs associated with ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, though all were mild and self-limiting. There were no serious events requiring hospitalization, and most AEFIs improved within few days. Vaccine hesitancy among 43.8% of the respondents could be attributed to the unscientific information on social media.

India launched its coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination drive starting with healthcare workers. The aim of the study was to evaluate adverse events following immunization (AEFI) amongst the Geriatric population associated with two doses of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine. We also evaluated association of AEFI according to gender and elderly age groups. An observational study, conducted among 437 individuals vaccinated at multiple community healthcare centers in Jaipur, of AEFIs associated with both doses of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine, via telephonic interviews on the day of vaccination-Day 0, Day 7 and Day 15 from vaccination. 463 vaccinated individuals who responded for first dose AEFIs, and 437 (94.3% 437/463) responded to the telephone interview regarding the second dose. Of these, 5.5% (24/437) reported AEFIs for the second dose. Among 60 respondents who reported AEFI (both doses) fever (26) and fatigue (22) were the most reported systemic AEFI. Local AEFIs were injection site soreness (23). The AEFIs (both systemic and local) in respondents mostly lasted for 1-2 days. AEFI reported by respondents in the age group 60- 70 years was higher than those above 70 years. Female respondents were associated with higher AEFI than the males. The AEFIs of both the doses were observed in the first 2 days predominantly. Symptoms were minor, short lived and selflimiting. No serious adverse events attributable to vaccines were reported in our study. Adverse event following immunization is independent of gender and age distribution for both the doses.

The present study investigates the applicability of sequential anaerobic aerobic integrated settler-based biofilm reactor (SAABR) for the onsite treatment of domestic wastewater. The main aim of the study is to overcome the inherent flaws in an anaerobic system as well as enhancing the effluent quality by means of aerobic post-treatment. The sequential system consisted of an anaerobic settler is followed by two biofilters, anaerobic as well aerobic in series. The first biofilter is anaerobic and the second one is aerobic. The system was run on two hydraulic loading conditions (steady and non-steady flow) with a 24-hour hydraulic retention time (HRT) for the anaerobic system and a 2-hour HRT of aerobic filters. It was found that the performance of the system at steady flow stood at 93.9 ± 2.6, 93.3 ± 1.8, 91.2 ± 4.2, 75.8 ± 3.8 and 98.7 ± 1.1% in terms of total suspended solids (TSS), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN) and faecal coliform (FC), respectively while at non-steady flow, it decreased slightly. The Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) showed the presence of anaerobic bacteria in the system. The system is able to overcome the major flaws of the anaerobic systems and able to deliver high effluent quality. The study demonstrated that the sequential system can be a sustainable alternative for the onsite treatment of domestic wastewater, particularly in rural areas of the developing countries like India.

Induction of resistance to pathogen is associated with the colonization of root by Trichoderma spp. has been attributed as one of the major mechanisms contributing to pathogenic invasion. The present study sheds light on the defense network of brinjal plant bioprimed with Trichoderma spp. challenged with Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Plants treated with dual inoculation of Trichoderma harzianum and Trichoderma asperellum triggered further synthesis of TPC under S. sclerotiorum challenge with maximum increment recorded at 72 hours. In consortium treated and pathogen challenged plants, a higher amount of shikimic acid was observed at 72 hours, whereas other phenolics showed little differences among the treatments. The consortium treatment showed significantly higher defense related enzymes (Phenylalanine Ammonia Lyase, Peroxidase and Polyphenol Oxidase) activity than other treatments. The study signifies how Trichoderma spp. reprograms the host's defense network to provide robust protection against S. sclerotiorum. In the present case, overall protection was provided to the brinjal plants against the attack of S. sclerotiorum.

Acute Aortic thrombus with splenic infarction is a rare complication of COVID-19. This manuscript highlights the importance of early identification of this complication with abdominal imaging and early initiation of anticoagulation despite moderate severity of the disease.

In the present world of industrial revolution, spills of petroleum products­­­­ and oil are one of the major sources of the contamination in the ecosystem and cause serious health hazards for humans and livestock. Therefore, the removal of these pollutants has become necessity of the time. Applications of new techniques such as bioremediation and biodegradation, over conventional methods are much more promising for safe and sustainable environment. Aim-The aim of this study is to isolate and characterize microbial strains from effluent of Mathura Refinery – Indian Oil Corporation Limited, the microscopic and biochemical studies and their potential of bioremediation. Bacteria were isolated from Mathura refinery IOCL, Based on the biochemical studies six morphologically distinct bacterial strains with promising bioremediation role were identified. To check the degradation of crude oil sample by bacterial isolates Bushnallhass media and separation funnel method were performed. Six bacteria were isolates from Mathura refinery effluentsand all six bacteria have ability to degrade the crude oil in different range. Maximum potential to degrade the crude oil were identified in Pseudomonas. This study might be important in an important step towards bioremediation techniques

Abstract Background Bisphenol A (BPA), a major endocrine disruptor and a xenobiotic compound is used abundantly in the production of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. Human exposure to this compound is primarily via its leaching from the protective internal epoxy resin coatings of containers into the food and beverages. In addition, the plastics used in dental prostheses and sealants also contain considerable amount of BPA and have a high risk of human exposure. Since it is a well-known endocrine disruptor and closely mimics the molecular structure of human estrogen thereby impairing learning and memory. Withania somnifera (Ws), commonly known as Ashwagandha is known for its varied therapeutic uses in Ayurvedic system of medicine. The present study was undertaken to demonstrate the impairment induced by BPA on the spatial learning, working memory and its alleviation by Ws in Swiss albino mice. The study was conducted on thirty Swiss albino mice, randomly distributed among three groups: control, BPA and BPA + Ws. The behavioral recovery after treatment with Ws was investigated using the Y-maize and Morris water maize test. Whereas, for the estimation of recovery of NMDA receptor which is related to learning and memory in hippocampus region by western blot and immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, the oxidative stress and antioxidant level was assessed by biochemical tests like MDA, SOD and catalase. Results The study revealed that administration of Ws alleviated the behavioral deficits induced by BPA. Alongside, Ws treatment reinstated the number of NMDA receptors in hippocampus region and showed anti-oxidative property while ameliorating the endogenous anti-oxidant level in the brain. Conclusion These findings suggest that Ws significantly ameliorates the level of BPA intoxicated oxidative stress thereby potentially treating cognitive dysfunction which acts as the primary symptom in a number of neurodegenerative diseases.

Cloning and expression of a desired gene is indispensable in molecular biology studies. Expression vectors, in this regard, should offer much needed flexibility and choice of cloning strategies for both in vivo and in vitro protein expression experiments. Furthermore, availability of option to choose from various reporter tags allows one to be flexible during designing of an experiment in a more relevant manner. Thus, the need of a versatile expression system cannot be ignored. Although several different expression vectors are available for gene expression in mycobacteria, they lack the required versatility of expression and the inclusion of reporter tags. We here present the construction of a set of nine E. coli-Mycobacterium shuttle plasmids, which offer a combination of three mycobacterial promoter systems (heat shock inducible-hsp60, tetracycline-, and acetamide-inducible) along with three polypeptide tags (Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP), Glutathione S-transferase (GST) and hexa-histidine tag). These vectors offer the cloning of a target gene in all the nine given vectors in parallel, thus allowing the generation of recombinant plasmids that will express the target gene from different promoters with different tags. Here, while the hexa-histidine and GST tags can be used for protein purification and pull-down experiments, the GFP-tag can be used for protein localization within the cell. Additionally, the vectors also offer the choice of positioning of the reporter tag either at the N-terminus or at the C-terminus of the expressed protein, which is achieved by cloning of the gene at any of the two blunt-end restriction enzyme sites available in the vector. We believe that these plasmids will be extremely useful in the gene expression studies in mycobacteria by offering the choices of promoters and reporters. Our work also paves the way to developing more such plasmids with other tags and promoters that may find use in mycobacterial biology.

We estimate the elasticity of single polymer chains using atomic force microscope (AFM)-based oscillatory experiments. An accurate estimate of elasticity using AFM is limited by assumptions in describing the dynamics of an oscillating cantilever. Here, we use a home-built fiber-interferometry-based detection system that allows a simple and universal point-mass description of cantilever oscillations. By oscillating the cantilever base and detecting changes in cantilever oscillations with an interferometer, we extracted stiffness versus extension profiles for polymers. For polyethylene glycol (PEG) in a good solvent, stiffness–extension data showed significant deviation from conventional force–extension curves (FECs) measured in constant velocity pulling experiments. Furthermore, modeling stiffness data with an entropic worm-like chain (WLC) model yielded a persistence length of (0.5 ± 0.2 nm) compared to anomaly low value (0.12 nm ± 0.01) in conventional pulling experiments. This value also matched well with equilibrium measurements performed using magnetic tweezers. In contrast, polystyrene (PS) in a poor solvent, like water, showed no deviation between the two experiments. However, the stiffness profile for PS in good solvent (8M Urea) showed significant deviation from conventional force–extension curves. We obtained a persistence length of (0.8 ± 0.2 nm) compared to (0.22 nm ± 0.01) in pulling experiments. Our unambiguous measurements using interferometer yield physically acceptable values of persistence length. It validates the WLC model in good solvents but suggests caution for its use in poor solvents.

Radiation exposure during the course of treatment in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients can induce both structural and biochemical anomalies. The present study is focused on utilizing infrared imaging for the identification of the minor biochemical alterations in the oral mucosa. Chemical maps generated using glycoprotein band indicates its differential distribution along the superficial layer. Spectra extracted from this layer suggests changes in overall nucleic acid and protein content in response to the therapeutic irradiation. Discrimination among control and irradiated groups have been achieved using principal component analysis. Findings of this preliminary study further support prospective utilization of Fourier Transform InfraRed (FTIR) imaging as a non-destructive, label-free tool for objective assessment of the oral mucosa in patient groups with or without radiation therapy.

Withania somnifera is one of the most valuable medicinal plants used in Ayurvedic and other indigenous medicine systems due to bioactive molecules known as withanolides. As genomic information regarding this plant is very limited, little information is available about biosynthesis of withanolides. To facilitate the basic understanding about the withanolide biosynthesis pathways, we performed transcriptome sequencing for Withania leaf (101L) and root (101R) which specifically synthesize withaferin A and withanolide A, respectively. Pyrosequencing yielded 8,34,068 and 7,21,755 reads which got assembled into 89,548 and 1,14,814 unique sequences from 101L and 101R, respectively. A total of 47,885 (101L) and 54,123 (101R) could be annotated using TAIR10, NR, tomato and potato databases. Gene Ontology and KEGG analyses provided a detailed view of all the enzymes involved in withanolide backbone synthesis. Our analysis identified members of cytochrome P450, glycosyltransferase and methyltransferase gene families with unique presence or differential expression in leaf and root and might be involved in synthesis of tissue-specific withanolides. We also detected simple sequence repeats (SSRs) in transcriptome data for use in future genetic studies. Comprehensive sequence resource developed for Withania, in this study, will help to elucidate biosynthetic pathway for tissue-specific synthesis of secondary plant products in non-model plant organisms as well as will be helpful in developing strategies for enhanced biosynthesis of withanolides through biotechnological approaches.