Investigation of Photoelectrocatalytic and Magnetic Properties of Sr2YbRu1-xTaxO6 (x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1).

We report the effect of substitution of Ru by Ta in Sr2YbRuO6 on its magnetic and photoelectrocatalytic properties. The powder X-ray diffraction data, was satisfactorily refined in the monoclinic space group, P21/n. The DC magnetization studies indicated that Sr2YbRuO6 shows antiferromagnetic interaction through Yb-O-Ru orbital ordering, with the highest Weiss temperature, among Sr2YbRu1-xTaxO6 (x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, and 0.75) which have values of -148, -125, -118, and -102 K, respectively. The difference in observed and theoretical magnetic moments was found to increase as x increases. It was also observed that with the increase of Ta concentration in Sr2YbRu1-xTaxO6, the band gap increased almost linearly, from 1.78(1) eV (x = 0) to 2.08(1) (x = 0.75), and thereafter a sharp increase 2.65(1) eV (x = 1) was observed, with the lowering of energy level of valence band, along with disruption in orbital ordering as x increases. The photoelectrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) studies carried out on the series yield a maximum photocurrent density of 17 µA/cm2 and photoresponse current of 5.5 µA/cm2 at 0.8 V at an onset potential at 0.29 V vs Ag/AgCl for Sr2YbRuO6. The XPS analysis showed Ta and Ru to be in +5/+4 oxidation states, with the highest concentration of Ru4+ ion observed for Sr2YbRuO6. The presence of oxygen vacancies was confirmed by XPS as well as EPR studies.

Exploration of Lamiaceae in Cardio Vascular Diseases and Functional Foods: Medicine as Food and Food as Medicine.

In the current scenario, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the most life-threatening diseases that has caused high mortality worldwide. Several scientists, researchers, and doctors are now resorting to medicinal plants and their metabolites for the treatment of different diseases, including CVD. The present review focuses on one such family of medicinal plants, called Lamiaceae, which has relieving and preventive action on CVD. Lamiaceae has a cosmopolitan distribution and has great importance in the traditional system of medicine. Lamiaceae members exhibit a wide range of activities like antioxidant, antihyperlipidemic, vasorelaxant, and thrombolytic effect, both in vitro and in vivo-these are mechanisms that contribute to different aspects of CVD including stroke, heart attack, and others. These plants harbour an array of bioactive compounds like phenolic acids, flavonoids, alkaloids, and other phytochemicals responsible for these actions. The review also highlights that these plants are a rich source of essential nutrients and minerals like omega-3 and hence, can serve as essential sources of functional foods-this can have an additional role in the prevention of CVDs. However, limitations still exist, and extensive research needs to be conducted on the Lamiaceae family in the quest to develop new and effective plant-based drugs and functional foods that can be used to treat and prevent cardiovascular diseases worldwide.

Stromal and endothelial herpes simplex virus keratitis reactivation in the convalescent period of COVID-19 - A case report.

A 73-year-old lady presented with a white spot and redness in the left eye for 1 month and had been treated elsewhere as a case of fungal keratitis. She had severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viral infection 2 months before. Her past ocular history and examination gave a probable diagnosis of herpetic stromal and endothelial keratitis. She responded to oral acyclovir and topical steroid, leading to resolution of stromal edema and inflammation. Anterior chamber fluid polymerase chain reaction (PCR) confirmed pathogen herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1. HSV ocular reactivation after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been reported currently. The present report will add knowledge about this potential opportunistic ophthalmic infection during the recovery phase of COVID-19 disease.

A flavone from the ethyl acetate extract of Leea rubra leaves with DNA damage protection and antineoplastic activity.

Among the major constituents of Leea rubra (Family Vitaceae) leaves, phenolic and flavonoind compounds are most important for therapeutic purposes and the plant parts have been used in traditional medicine to treat several diseases for long. Thus, in order to scientifically confirm the traditional uses of the L. rubra leaves, the present study was designed to investigate the efficacy of the isolated flavones against AAPH induced oxidative damage to pUC19 DNA by gel electrophoresis and antineoplastic activity was evaluated on Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) bearing Swiss albino mice by evaluating percentage inhibition of cell growth, morphological changes of EAC cells and hematological parameters of the mice. The isolation was carried out by column chromatography and structure was revealed by 1H-NMR and 13C NMR. The result shows that, the isolated compound was identified as myricetin 4'-methoxy-3-O-α-l-rhamnopyranoside based on previously reported data. The isolated flavone effectively inhibited AAPH-induced oxidative damage to DNA; because it could inhibit the formation of circular and linear forms of the DNA. In anti-proliferative assay, 76% growth inhibition of EAC cells was observed as compare to the control mice (p<0.05) at a dose 100 mg/kg body weight. Thus the isolated flavone showed great importance as a possible therapeutic agent in preventing oxidative damage to DNA and the chronic diseases caused by such DNA damage, and can also become important in cancer chemotherapy.

Cellular angiofibroma of orbit- a rare tumor at the rarest location.

Cellular angiofibroma (CAF) is a rare, site-specific benign tumor of mesenchymal origin, which is exclusive of the genital region except very few reported cases of extragenital CAF. Very recently the first case report of orbital CAF has been published and we are presenting the second documented case of CAF in this unusual location, in a 37-year-old man. Magnetic resonance imaging with T2 weighted image revealed a hyper-intense globular mass in the superomedial extraconal region of the left orbit. Histopathology of the excised mass showed numerous bland spindle cells embedded in wispy collagen, suggesting spindle cell tumor. On immunohistochemistry, the specimen was strongly positive to CD34 but negative to desmin, SMA, S-100, C-kit, ERG, EMG, CD31, and CD63, that further confirmed the diagnosis of CAF. CAF is a rare mesenchymal tumor and to the best of the authors' knowledge, this would be the second documented case of orbital CAF.

Evaluation of Leea rubra Leaf Extract for Oxidative Damage Protection and Antitumor and Antimicrobial Potential.

BACKGROUND: The leaves of Leea rubra contain an abundance of phenolic constituents and have medicinal uses as antipyretic and diaphoretic agents and are also used in the treatment of stomach ache, rheumatism, arthritis etc. In spite of the traditional uses, data on the scientific evaluation of the plant are not sufficient. So, the present study was designed to evaluate the protective role of the extract against oxidative damage to DNA and human erythrocytes as well as antitumor and antibacterial activities against some resistant bacteria. METHODS: The protective activity of the ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) of the extract was investigated by evaluating the inhibition of oxidative damage of pUC19 plasmid DNA as well as hemolysis and lipid peroxidation damage to human erythrocytes induced by 2,2'-azobis-2-amidinopropane (AAPH). Antitumor activity was assessed by evaluating the percentage inhibition of cell growth, morphological changes of Ehrlich's ascites carcinoma (EAC) cells, and hematological parameters. Antimicrobial activity was determined by the disc diffusion method against different resistant microorganisms. RESULTS: EAF effectively inhibited AAPH-induced oxidative damage to DNA because it can inhibit the transformation of the supercoiled form of plasmid DNA to open circular and further linear form. The oxidative hemolysis caused by AAPH in human erythrocytes was inhibited by EAF extract in a time-dependent manner, and the production of malondialdehyde (MDA) was significantly reduced, which indicates the prevention of lipid peroxidation. In antitumor assay, 76% growth of inhibition of EAC was observed compared with the control mice (p < 0.05) at a dose of 100 mg/kg body weight. Antimicrobial activity was evaluated against two pathogenic resistant microorganisms (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa), and the highest antimicrobial activity was observed against Pseudomonas spp. CONCLUSION: EAF may have great importance in preventing oxidative damage to DNA, erythrocytes, and other cellular components as well as can be a good candidate in cancer chemotherapy and treating infectious diseases caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Chronic Conjunctival Chemosis-A New Ocular Side Effect of Crizotinib.

Crizotinib, a targeted molecular therapy drug which inhibits tyrosine kinase, is approved for treatment of non-small cell lung carcinoma which has some ocular side effects like photopsia and delayed dark adaptation.This report documents a unique case of persistent conjunctival chemosis likely due to side effects of crizotinib therapy. A 64-year-old gentleman on crizotinib for metastatic adenocarcinoma of the lung presented with conjunctival chemosis in right eye which appeared 1 month after uneventful clear corneal phacoemulsification surgery. The patient was on crizotinib 250 mg twice a day started 2 months before cataract surgery. Clinical examination revealed marked inferior bulbar conjunctival edema of the right eye. Anterior segment optical coherence tomography, slit-lamp photographs, and magnetic resonance imaging orbit and systemic investigation were done to rule out other causes of conjunctival edema. Magnetic resonance imaging shows conjunctival and preseptal edema around both eye and thinning of the optic nerve in the right eye. Anterior segment optical coherence tomography revealed elevated hyper-reflective thickened conjunctival layer with dilated empty thin wall dark spaces of varying caliber. Chemosis was persisted for the next 3 months and not responded to oral acetazolamide, topical steroid and decongestive eyedrops. After 3 months, crizotinib was discontinued by oncologist due to drug intolerance and surprisingly within 1 week, the conjunctival edema was disappeared totally. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first reported case of persistent unilateral non-inflammatory conjunctival chemosis caused by crizotinib. The physicians should be vigilant about these complications.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of different diagnostic procedures to detect gonococcus infection in resource-limited scenario.

Context: Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a Gram-negative diplococcus, an obligate human pathogen, and the etiologic agent of the sexually transmitted infection (STI), gonorrhoea. culture is the standard procedure for diagnosis, which may be supported by nucleic acid tests and microscopy. Aims: To determine the best possible method of diagnosis for Gonococcus infection in resource-limited settings. Settings and Design: The meta-analyses were designed to determine the difference in diagnosis between Culture and nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) and also between the different Amplification Tests and widely available Roche COBAS AMPLICOR test. Subjects and Methods: Databases searched were Pubmed, Medline, Google Scholar and Cochrane reviews. Risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence intervals was estimated for the dichotomous outcomes. The random-effect model was applied for all the studies in the analysis. Statistical Analysis Used: The meta-analysis was computed in RevMan Version 5.3, Copenhagen, Denmark. Results: In the first analysis, NAATs significantly improved the chances of detection in comparison to the standard culture and final RR was 1.24 (1.05-2.51), which put the diamond on the right of no-effect axis, indicating more positives by NAATs. In the second analysis, AMPLICOR had the more positive results, which may have indicated better detection rate, as well as less specificity and final RR was 0.809 (0.737-0.888), which put the diamond on the left of the non-effect axis, indicating more positives by AMPLICOR. Conclusions: In a resource-limited scenario like India, the syndromic management of STIs are considered to be the norm. A positive diagnosis is only given if the tests are confirmed by Culture, as it is still considered to be the gold standard of diagnosis. However, in many cases, due to suboptimal transportation and lack of proper handling, culture in unable to grow even if the patient is infected. In such cases, Nucleic Acid Tests should be able to detect an infection.

A Case of Reactivation of Herpes Simplex Virus Corneal Endotheliitis Following Periocular Botulinum Toxin A Injection.

Botulinum toxin type-A is a standard treatment of a variety of neurological disorders. Here, the authors report a rare ocular adverse effect after periocular Botulinum Toxin-A injection for hemifacial spasm. Three weeks after the injection, facial spasm was relieved, but the patient had dimness of vision OS. Examination revealed corneal edema, anterior-chamber reaction, keratic precipitates, and elevated intraocular pressure in OS suggesting reactivation of herpes simplex viral endotheliitis with trabeculitis. The case was successfully treated with oral acyclovir (400 mg) and topical fluorometholone 0.1% for 6 weeks. Pre- and posttreatment anterior segment optical coherence tomography clearly demonstrated the evidence of keratic precipitates. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of herpetic reactivation in the form of corneal endotheliitis with trabeculitis after Botulinum toxin-A injection. The aim of reporting this case is to alert the clinician about the possibility of such consequence of botulinum toxin injection.

Conjunctival stromal tumour (COST): anterior-segment OCT findings.

Conjunctival stromal tumour (COST) is a recently described rare conjunctival tumour of mesenchymal origin with only four publications describing a handful of cases thus far. In this report, we describe the anterior-segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) characteristics in a case of COST for the first time, in addition to the clinical and histopathological characteristics. The AS-OCT showed an elevated, dome-shaped hyporeflective homogenous lesion in the conjunctival stroma lined by hyperreflective outer layer with mild posterior shadowing, consistent with histological description of a paucicellular tumour with large myxoid collagenous material inside. Immunohistochemistry showed positive CD34 and vimentin but negative S100 and smooth muscle actin, thereby differentiating it from conjunctival myxoma.

Etiology of Vaginal/Cervical Discharge Syndrome: Analysis of Data from a Referral Laboratory in Eastern India.

CONTEXT: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and reproductive tract infections (RTIs) constitute important public health problem worldwide. Syndromic diagnosis of vaginal/cervical discharge (VCD) is often inaccurate leading to over- or under-treatment. AIMS: This study aimed to ascertain the laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of VCD and their relative frequency in a group of patients presenting to a STI clinic in eastern India and to determine the sensitivity and specificity of clinical diagnosis. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data of 5301 consecutive patients with VCD were analyzed for etiological diagnosis and the findings were compared with laboratory data of 3110 asymptomatic cases. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of clinical diagnosis of vaginal discharge syndrome were obtained considering the results of the laboratory diagnosis as gold standard. The strength of agreement was computed using Kappa statistic. RESULTS: Of 5301 cases of VCD, 90.83% had STI/RTIs. The most prevalent infection was trichomoniasis (35.23%), followed by bacterial vaginosis (33.05%) and vulvovaginal candidiasis (19.67%). Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of vaginal discharge as an indicator of STI/RTI were 85.5%, 99.0%, 99.3%, and 80%, respectively, with agreement of 90.49% and kappa value of 0.8, indicating "almost perfect" agreement. Many cases with VCD also suffered from other STIs such as herpes simplex virus-2, hepatitis B, human immunodeficiency syndrome, and syphilis and some asymptomatic cases suffered from one or more STIs. CONCLUSIONS: All patients with VCD with high-risk behavior should preferably undergo laboratory evaluation of the VCD syndrome to avoid over- or under-treatment.

Pr2FeCrO6: A Type I Multiferroic.

We synthesized double perovskite Pr2FeCrO6 by solid-state method. Analysis of its X-ray powder diffraction shows that the compound crystallizes in a centrosymmetric structure with space group Pbnm. Our X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) studies show that all the cations are present in +3 oxidation state. Magnetization studies of Pr2FeCrO6 show that the material is paramagnetic at room temperature and undergoes a magnetic transition below TCM = 250 K. We observe clear magnetic hysteresis loop, for example, below 150 K. A low remnant magnetization Mr, ∼0.05 µB/f. u., is inferred from the observed magnetic hysteresis loop. 57Fe Mössbauer study at 25 K shows a high hyperfine magnetic field of ∼53 T at the Fe nucleus, which corresponds to a magnetic moment of ∼6-7 µB/Fe. These two results together suggest a ferrimagnetic (nearly compensated or canted) ordering of the Fe moments. Mössbauer studies close to the ferrimagnetic ordering temperature suggest interesting magnetic relaxation effects. A dielectric anomaly observed at TCE = 453 K signals a ferroelectric ↔ paraelectric phase transition. We observe at room temperature a clear and well-defined ferroelectric hysteresis loop, PS = 1.04 µC/cm2, establishing ferroelectricity in the material. From these results, we conclude that Pr2FeCrO6 is a type I multiferroic (TCE > TCM).

Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) National Network Laboratory for Japanese Encephalitis.

AIM: Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus is the leading cause of viral neurologic disease and disability in Asia. In the present study JE virus-specific IgM in serum and CSF from acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) patients, attending Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMC and H), Dibrugarh, Assam from 2007 to 2009 were detected and different epidemiological parameters namely age, season and vaccination campaign were enumerated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study on patients with AES admitted in AMC and H, Dibrugarh, Assam was done during 2007 to 2009. The different epidemiological features were characterized depending on a pretested structured questionnaire called the clinical information form (CIF). Serum and CSF obtained were tested by a Panbio JE-Dengue IgM Combo ELISA kit and JEV Chex kit (Xycton). STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: A z-test was used for the statistical analytic assessment. RESULTS: Detection rate of JE was 39.4%, 51.1%, and 51.3% in the years 2007, 2008, and 2009 respectively. Cases of JE increased in the age group more than 15 years in the district where the vaccination program was undertaken. This increase of cases from pediatric to adults is also statistically significant by the z-test (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: There was an increase in AES cases and also JE cases from 2007 to 2009. JE also showed a seasonal variation with maximum cases in the months of July and August. Although vaccination campaigns with the live attenuated vaccine SA-14-14-2 have started and are protecting the under-15 children, there is a shift of disease pattern in the older population.