Primary sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis.

Sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis also known as cocoon abdomen is a rare chronic inflammatory condition of the peritoneum in which the bowel loops are encircled by a membrane (cocoon formation) within the peritoneal cavity leading to intestinal obstruction. It can be primary (idiopathic) or secondary (chemotherapy, beta-blockers, peritoneal dialysis, shunts, tuberculosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, etc.). The symptomatology report includes recurrent episodes of abdominal pain and vomiting. We present here a case of a 32-year-old male who presented with complaints of being unable to pass stools, vomiting (3-4 times), and abdomen pain for 4 days. This case is considered worth mentioning due to its rarity, lack of identification of secondary causes, and diminutive mention of histopathological aspect.

Protein Engineering in Cyanobacterial Biotechnology: Tools and Recent Updates.

Cyanobacteria have emerged as a microbial cell factory to produce a variety of bioproducts, including peptides and proteins. Cyanobacteria stand out among other organisms due to their photoautotrophic metabolism and ability to produce a wide range of metabolites. As photoautotrophic hosts can produce industrial compounds and proteins by using minimal resources such as sunlight, atmospheric carbon dioxide, and fewer nutrients, cyanobacteria are cost-effective industrial hosts. Therefore, the use of protein engineering tools for rational protein design, and the desired modification of enzyme activity has become a desirable undertaking in cyanobacterial biology. Protein engineering can improve their biological functions as well as the stability of their intracellular proteins. This review aims to highlight the success of protein engineering in the direction of cyanobacterial biotechnology and outlines the emerging technologies, current challenges, and prospects of protein engineering in cyanobacterial biotechnology.

Stature estimation from the scapula measurements using 3D-volume rendering technique by regression equations in the Northern Indian population.

The present study assessed the correlation between the stature and scapular measurements from both sides in order to develop population-specific regression equations to estimate the stature from measurements of the scapula in a contemporary Northern Indian population individually for the left and right sides. A total of 597 cadavers underwent postmortem multidetector computed tomography and subsequent medicolegal autopsy in our department between August 2021 and August 2022. Two hundred samples (100 males and 100 females) were randomly collected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Six linear anthropometric measurements of the scapula from either side were measured using the 3D volume-rendered technique by an electronic cursor. Each anthropometric measurement showed a significant difference between males and females (p < 0.05). Regression analysis was applied to match the taken measurements against stature. The accuracy to predict stature ranged from 3.99 to 4.94 cm for males and from 4.49 to 5.27 cm for females, respectively. Left-sided measurements were better predictors of stature than the right side in both genders. The results of this study indicate that scapular measurements could be useful to estimate the stature of Northern Indian individuals, particularly in scenarios of disaster victim identification lacking long bones, which are considered to be better predictors to date.

Codon Usage Provide Insights into the Adaptation of Rice Genes under Stress Condition.

Plants experience different stresses, i.e., abiotic, or biotic, and to combat them, plants re-program the expression of growth-, metabolism-, and resistance-related genes. These genes differ in their synonymous codon usage frequency and show codon usage bias. Here, we investigated the correlation among codon usage bias, gene expression, and underlying mechanisms in rice under abiotic and biotic stress conditions. The results indicated that genes with higher expression (up- or downregulated) levels had high GC content (≥60%), a low effective number of codon usage (≤40), and exhibited strong biases towards the codons with C/G at the third nucleotide position, irrespective of stress received. TTC, ATC, and CTC were the most preferred codons, while TAC, CAC, AAC, GAC, and TGC were moderately preferred under any stress (abiotic or biotic) condition. Additionally, downregulated genes are under mutational pressure (R2 ≥ 0.5) while upregulated genes are under natural selection pressure (R2 ≤ 0.5). Based on these results, we also identified the possible target codons that can be used to design an optimized set of genes with specific codons to develop climate-resilient varieties. Conclusively, under stress, rice has a bias towards codon usage which is correlated with GC content, gene expression level, and gene length.

How 'eye' helped in von Hippel-Lindau syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome is a rare autosomal dominantly inherited multisystemic oncologic syndrome, presenting predominantly with angiomatosis in embryologically similar neurologic tissue such as retina, cerebellum and adrenals. Retinal hemangioblastomas are the hallmark ophthalmic finding. In this case report, we describe the importance of timely diagnosis, thorough systemic examination and treatment of bilaterally asymmetrical retinal hemangioblastomas in a young adult male. CASE PRESENTATION: A 31-year-old male presented with painless diminution of vision in both eyes, associated with eyestrain and headache. Multiple asymmetric retinal lesions and dilated feeder vessels were noted on ophthalmoscopic examination and confirmed by fluorescein angiography to be retinal hemangioblastomas. Comprehensive systemic examination revealed cerebellar hemangioblastomas and multiple pancreatic and renal cysts. Treatment of retinal lesions was done by combination therapy of argon laser photocoagulation and cryopexy, which lead to a good visual outcome. Subsequently, neurosurgical resection of cerebellar hemangioblastoma proved to be lifesaving for the patient. CONCLUSION: RHBs are the earliest, easiest and the most frequently detected manifestation of VHL. Identification of ocular manifestations play a pivotal role in early diagnosis and timely intervention in VHL syndrome, thereby significantly reducing associated morbidity and mortality. Therefore, an ophthalmologist's role is crucial in the management of these potentially deadly tumours.

Pathways to the first contact with mental health services among patients with schizophrenia: A cross-sectional observational study.

Background: Schizophrenia is a mental illness with a profound impact on patient and their caregivers. There is increasing evidence that delay in the commencement of treatment following the onset of illness may be related to the pathways; patients navigate before accessing mental health services. Aim: The aim of this study is to assess the pathways of care to the first contact with mental health services among patients with schizophrenia. Methods: A total of 150 diagnosed schizophrenia patients aged 12-60 years were recruited as per inclusion and exclusion criteria. The sociodemographic details were gathered using semistructured sociodemographic data sheets; semistructured pathways to care questionnaire and positive and negative syndrome scale for schizophrenia were administered. Results: The most common first pathway to care was faith healers. The education of the head of family, socioeconomic status, rural background, and occupational status of patients have a significant impact on the first pathway of psychiatric care. The findings suggest that while planning mental health services, emphasis should be made on collaboration between psychiatric and nonpsychiatric services. Conclusion: The pathways patient choose depend on a number of factors like their socio-cultural background, belief about the supernatural causation of psychiatric illness, stigma associated with psychiatric illness, lack of knowledge about the mental illness, and influence of close family relatives on the choice of treatment.

A systematic review on potential microbial carbohydrases: current and future perspectives.

Various studies have shown that the microbial proteins are often more stable than belongs to other sources like plant and animal origin. Hence, the interest in microbial enzymes has gained much attention due to many potential applications like bioenergy, biofuel production, biobleaching, bioconversion and so on. Additionally, recent trends revealed that the interest in isolating novel microbes from harsh environments have been the main focus of many scientists for various applications. Basically, industrially important enzymes can be categorized into mainly three groups: carbohydrases, proteases, and lipases. Among those, the enzymes especially carbohydrases involved in production of sugars. Carbohydrases include amylases, xylanases, pectinases, cellulases, chitinases, mannases, laccases, ligninases, lactase, glucanase, and glucose oxidase. Thus, here, an approach has been made to highlight five enzymes namely amylase, cellulase, laccase, pectinase, and xylanase from different sources with special emphasis on their properties, mechanism, applications, production optimization, purification, molecular approaches for its enhanced and stable production, and also biotechnological perspectives of its future development. Also, green and sustainable catalytic conversion strategies using nanoparticles of these enzymes have also been discussed. This review will provide insight into the carbohydrases importance and their usefulness that will help to the researchers working in this field.

Co-inoculation of biochar and arbuscular mycorrhizae for growth promotion and nutrient fortification in soybean under drought conditions.

Drought is significant abiotic stress that affects the development and yield of many crops. The present study is to investigate the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and biochar on root morphological traits, growth, and physiological traits in soybean under water stress. Impact of AMF and biochar on development and root morphological traits in soybean and AMF spores number and the soil enzymes' activities were studied under drought conditions. After 40 days, plant growth parameters were measured. Drought stress negatively affected soybean growth, root parameters, physiological traits, microbial biomass, and soil enzyme activities. Biochar and AMF individually increase significantly plant growth (plant height, root dry weight, and nodule number), root parameters such as root diameter, root surface area, total root length, root volume, and projected area, total chlorophyll content, and nitrogen content in soybean over to control in water stress. In drought conditions, dual applications of AMF and biochar significantly enhanced shoot and root growth parameters, total chlorophyll, and nitrogen contents in soybean than control. Combined with biochar and AMF positively affects AMF spores number, microbial biomass, and soil enzyme activities in water stress conditions. In drought stress, dual applications of biochar and AMF increase microbial biomass by 28.3%, AMF spores number by 52.0%, alkaline phosphomonoesterase by 45.9%, dehydrogenase by 46.5%, and fluorescein diacetate by 52.2%, activities. The combined application of biochar and AMF enhance growth, root parameters in soybean and soil enzyme activities, and water stress tolerance. Dual applications with biochar and AMF benefit soybean cultivation under water stress conditions.

Sudden death of an egg donor during oocyte retrieval due to ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.

Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS) is uncommon among oocyte donors during in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure and is rarely associated with death. We report a case of a 23-year-old oocyte donor who suddenly died on the operation table during oocyte retrieval. She had no risk factors in her menstrual history, laboratory, or clinical parameters. The antagonist cycle, triggered with the GnRH agonist protocol, was carried out. The cause of death at autopsy was attributed to respiratory failure due to acute massive pulmonary edema, which developed due to the complication of OHSS. Only a few autopsy cases associated with OHSS have been published, but, as far as we know, no clinical or autopsy cases of sudden death caused by OHSS have been reported.

Sudden death of an egg donor during oocyte retrieval due to ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome

ABSTRACT Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS) is uncommon among oocyte donors during in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure and is rarely associated with death. We report a case of a 23-year-old oocyte donor who suddenly died on the operation table during oocyte retrieval. She had no risk factors in her menstrual history, laboratory, or clinical parameters. The antagonist cycle, triggered with the GnRH agonist protocol, was carried out. The cause of death at autopsy was attributed to respiratory failure due to acute massive pulmonary edema, which developed due to the complication of OHSS. Only a few autopsy cases associated with OHSS have been published, but, as far as we know, no clinical or autopsy cases of sudden death caused by OHSS have been reported.

Study of dynamic behaviour of psychological stress during COVID-19 in India: A mathematical approach.

In this study, a new attempt has been made using mathematical modelling to study dynamic behaviour and estimate the final size of spread of the psychological stress arising due to sudden outbreak of COVID-19 in India. The proposed mathematical model examines and includes different behaviours of transition from one process to another in current situation and study their propagation mode. We propose a mathematical model, where two different type of psychological stresses occur due to COVID-19 situation and its impact on people's life such as their mental well being and happiness. We present some sufficient conditions for the vanishing or spreading of the psychological stress through qualitative and quantitative analysis. The basic reproduction number ( R 0 ) of the model is computed and the local and the global stabilities of different equilibria are studied. Moreover, to better understand the level of psychological stress and decreasing mental well-being during the COVID-19 outbreak in India, we also conducted an online survey. Our findings establish several factors associated with level of psychological impact and mental health status. Based on the empirical analysis, we found that psychological stress has a significant negative influence on mental well being. Further, this study confirms that coping strategies with stress have significantly contributed towards the betterment in the mental well-being of the people. Numerical simulations are also given to illustrate the theoretical results. The results of the present study can be generalized to the society, Government, and others that they can adopt different strategies to avoid stressful situations during COVID-19 outbreak. The findings suggest that policy-makers, Government officials should focus on coping strategies to combat with pandemic disease.

Comparative analysis of the coordinated motion of Hsp70s from different organelles observed by single-molecule three-color FRET.

Cellular function depends on the correct folding of proteins inside the cell. Heat-shock proteins 70 (Hsp70s), being among the first molecular chaperones binding to nascently translated proteins, aid in protein folding and transport. They undergo large, coordinated intra- and interdomain structural rearrangements mediated by allosteric interactions. Here, we applied a three-color single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) combined with three-color photon distribution analysis to compare the conformational cycle of the Hsp70 chaperones DnaK, Ssc1, and BiP. By capturing three distances simultaneously, we can identify coordinated structural changes during the functional cycle. Besides the known conformations of the Hsp70s with docked domains and open lid and undocked domains with closed lid, we observed additional intermediate conformations and distance broadening, suggesting flexibility of the Hsp70s in adopting the states in a coordinated fashion. Interestingly, the difference of this distance broadening varied between DnaK, Ssc1, and BiP. Study of their conformational cycle in the presence of substrate peptide and nucleotide exchange factors strengthened the observation of additional conformational intermediates, with BiP showing coordinated changes more clearly compared to DnaK and Ssc1. Additionally, DnaK and BiP were found to differ in their selectivity for nucleotide analogs, suggesting variability in the recognition mechanism of their nucleotide-binding domains for the different nucleotides. By using three-color FRET, we overcome the limitations of the usual single-distance approach in single-molecule FRET, allowing us to characterize the conformational space of proteins in higher detail.

Increasing postpartum IUCD coverage through a QI initiative: a step towards reducing the unmet need of postpartum contraception.

BACKGROUND: Unintended pregnancies have a negative impact on the health and economy of a nation, which can be prevented by effective family planning (FP) services. Postpartum intrauterine device (PPIUCD) is a safe and effective FP method which allows women to obtain long-acting contraception before discharge from the point of delivery. We observed poor coverage of deliveries with PPIUCD at our facility. This was the trigger to initiate a quality improvement (QI) initiative to increase the PPIUCD coverage from current rate of 4.5%-10% in 3-month period. METHOD: A fishbone analysis of the problem was done and the following causes were identified: lack of focused counselling for FP, lack of sensitisation and training of resident doctors and inconsistent supply of intrauterine contraceptive devices (IUCDs). A QI team was constituted with representatives from faculty members, residents, interns, nursing officers and FP counsellors. The point of care quality improvement methodology was used. INTERVENTIONS: Daily counselling of antenatal women was started by the counsellors and interns in antenatal wards. A WhatsApp group of residents was made initially to sensitise them; and later for parking of problems and trouble shooting. The residents were provided hands-on training at skills lab. Uninterrupted supply of IUCDs was ensured by provision of buffer stock of IUCDs with respective store keepers. RESULT: The PPIUCD insertion rates improved from 4.5% to 19.2% at 3 months and have been sustained to a current 30%-35% after 1 ½ years of initiation of the project tiding through the turbulence during the COVID-19 pandemic using QI techniques. CONCLUSION: Sensitisation and training of residents as well as creation of awareness among antenatal women through targeted counselling helped improve PPIUCD coverage at the facility. QI initiatives have the potential to facilitate effective implementation of the FP programmes by strategic utilisation of the resources.

Mathematical modeling and analysis for controlling the spread of infectious diseases.

In this work, we present and discuss the approaches, that are used for modeling and surveillance of dynamics of infectious diseases by considering the early stage asymptomatic and later stage symptomatic infections. We highlight the conceptual ideas and mathematical tools needed for such infectious disease modeling. We compute the basic reproduction number of the proposed model and investigate the qualitative behaviours of the infectious disease model such as, local and global stability of equilibria for the non-delayed as well as delayed system. At the end, we perform numerical simulations to validate the effectiveness of the derived results.

Engineering disease resistant plants through CRISPR-Cas9 technology.

Plants are susceptible to phytopathogens, including bacteria, fungi, and viruses, which cause colossal financial shortfalls (pre- and post-harvest) and threaten global food safety. To combat with these phytopathogens, plant possesses two-layer of defense in the form of PAMP-triggered immunity (PTI), or Effectors-triggered immunity (ETI). The understanding of plant-molecular interactions and revolution of high-throughput molecular techniques have opened the door for innovations in developing pathogen-resistant plants. In this context, Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)-CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) has transformed genome editing (GE) technology and being harnessed for altering the traits. Here we have summarized the complexities of plant immune system and the use of CRISPR-Cas9 to edit the various components of plant immune system to acquire long-lasting resistance in plants against phytopathogens. This review also sheds the light on the limitations of CRISPR-Cas9 system, regulation of CRISPR-Cas9 edited crops and future prospective of this technology.

Author Correction: Dimethyl disulfide exerts antifungal activity against Sclerotinia minor by damaging its membrane and induces systemic resistance in host plants.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

A comparative analysis of the complete chloroplast genomes of three Chrysanthemum boreale strains.

BACKGROUND: Chrysanthemum boreale Makino (Anthemideae, Asteraceae) is a plant of economic, ornamental and medicinal importance. We characterized and compared the chloroplast genomes of three C. boreale strains. These were collected from different geographic regions of Korea and varied in floral morphology. METHODS: The chloroplast genomes were obtained by next-generation sequencing techniques, assembled de novo, annotated, and compared with one another. Phylogenetic analysis placed them within the Anthemideae tribe. RESULTS: The sizes of the complete chloroplast genomes of the C. boreale strains were 151,012 bp (strain 121002), 151,098 bp (strain IT232531) and 151,010 bp (strain IT301358). Each genome contained 80 unique protein-coding genes, 4 rRNA genes and 29 tRNA genes. Comparative analyses revealed a high degree of conservation in the overall sequence, gene content, gene order and GC content among the strains. We identified 298 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 106 insertions/deletions (indels) in the chloroplast genomes. These variations were more abundant in non-coding regions than in coding regions. Long dispersed repeats and simple sequence repeats were present in both coding and noncoding regions, with greater frequency in the latter. Regardless of their location, these repeats can be used for molecular marker development. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the evolutionary relationship of the species in the Anthemideae tribe. The three complete chloroplast genomes will be valuable genetic resources for studying the population genetics and evolutionary relationships of Asteraceae species.

Comparative Analysis of the Complete Chloroplast Genome of Mainland Aster spathulifolius and Other Aster Species.

Aster spathulifolius, a common ornamental and medicinal plant, is widely distributed in Korea and Japan, and is genetically classified into mainland and island types. Here, we sequenced the whole chloroplast genome of mainland A. spathulifolius and compared it with those of the island type and other Aster species. The chloroplast genome of mainland A. spathulifolius is 152,732 bp with a conserved quadripartite structure, has 37.28% guanine-cytosine (GC) content, and contains 114 non-redundant genes. Comparison of the chloroplast genomes between the two A. spathulifolius lines and the other Aster species revealed that their sequences, GC contents, gene contents and orders, and exon-intron structure were well conserved; however, differences were observed in their lengths, repeat sequences, and the contraction and expansion of the inverted repeats. The variations were mostly in the single-copy regions and non-coding regions, which, together with the detected simple sequence repeats, could be used for the development of molecular markers to distinguish between these plants. All Aster species clustered into a monophyletic group, but the chloroplast genome of mainland A. spathulifolius was more similar to the other Aster species than to that of the island A. spathulifolius. The accD and ndhF genes were detected to be under positive selection within the Aster lineage compared to other related taxa. The complete chloroplast genome of mainland A. spathulifolius presented in this study will be helpful for species identification and the analysis of the genetic diversity, evolution, and phylogenetic relationships in the Aster genus and the Asteraceae.

Genome Assembly of Azotobacter chroococcum Strain W5, a Free-Living Diazotroph Isolated from India.

Azotobacter chroococcum strain W5 (MTCC 25045) is an effective diazotrophic bacterium with plant growth-promoting traits. Here, we report the draft genome assembly of this biologically and agronomically evaluated A. chroococcum strain. The genome assembly in 55 contigs is 4,617,864 bp long, with a G+C content of 66.83%.