Unravelling the molecular tapestry of pterygium: insights into genes for diagnostic and therapeutic innovations.

Pterygium, an ocular surface disorder, manifests as a wing-shaped extension from the corneoscleral limbus onto the cornea, impacting vision and causing inflammation. With a global prevalence of 12%, varying by region, the condition is linked to UV exposure, age, gender, and socioeconomic factors. This review focuses on key genes associated with pterygium, shedding light on potential therapeutic targets. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), especially MMP2 and MMP9, contribute to ECM remodelling and angiogenesis in pterygium. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays a crucial role in angiogenesis and is elevated in pterygium tissues. B-cell lymphoma-2, S100 proteins, DNA repair genes (hOGG1, XRCC1), CYP monooxygenases, p53, and p16 are implicated in pterygium development. A protein-protein interaction network analysis highlighted 28 edges between the aforementioned proteins, except for VEGF, indicating a high level of interaction. Gene ontology, microRNA and pathway analyses revealed the involvement of processes such as base excision repair, IL-17 and p53 signalling, ECM disassembly, oxidative stress, hypoxia, metallopeptidase activity and others that are essential for pterygium development. In addition, miR-29, miR-125, miR-126, miR-143, miR-200, miR-429, and miR-451a microRNAs were predicted, which were shown to have a role in pterygium development and disease severity. Identification of these molecular mechanisms provides insights for potential diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for pterygium.

Analog and Digital Protocols for Functional Prosthetic Rehabilitation of Post-COVID-19 Rhino-Orbito Cerebral Mucormycosis Maxillofacial Defects: A Case Series.

The current study aims to present our clinical observations and experience gathered during the diagnosis, clinical presentation, medical/surgical treatment, and functional prosthetic rehabilitation of cases of rhino-orbital/cerebral Mucormycosis patients. Mucormycosis is an aggressive, life-threatening invasive fungal infection that occurs in people who are immune-compromised. The rise of ROCM during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India suggests a more effective association between Mucormycosis and the SARS-CoV-2 delta variant. The treatment strategy for Mucormycosis is an early diagnosis which is critical for a successful outcome. The initial step is to reduce or remove underlying risk factors followed by surgical excision and debridement of the afflicted tissues supplemented with antifungal medication. The first-line antifungal treatment is Liposomal Amphotericin B. Postsurgical resection defects are rehabilitated by either removable partial prosthesis (obturators) or by fixed zygomatic implant/patient-specific implant supported prosthesis. Management of ROCM requires a multidisciplinary approach. This case series highlights detailed medical, surgical, and functional prosthetic management modalities adopted by our team in managing such a dreaded disease which may be used as a tool for the formulation of standardized prevention and management/treatment/rehabilitation protocols in the future so that disease morbidity and mortality be reduced and an endemic outbreak could be averted.

A Case Series of Prosthetic Rehabilitation of Post-COVID Rhinorbitocerebral Mucormycosis Ocular Defects: A Digital and Analog Experience.

Removal of a part of or the entire orbit results in facial defect, causing psychological trauma to the patient, apart from anatomic loss. This case series presents 6 clinical cases of prosthetic rehabilitation of ocular defects related to post-COVID-19 ROCM by both analog and digital workflow. The basic objective of this case series was to achieve a well retained, user-friendly, maxillofacial ocular prosthesis with esthetic accuracy. Unique size and shape of the ocular defect in each case, variety of skin tones, age range of patients and compromised neuromuscular control made each of the six cases challenging. This clinical series apart from proposing a digital & analog algorithm for rehabilitating ocular defects also illustrates analog workflow for 4 cases and digital workflow for 2 cases for fabrication of ocular prosthesis.

Application of ionic liquid and alkali pretreatment for enhancing saccharification of sunflower stalk biomass for potential biofuel-ethanol production.

Biorefining of lignocellulosic biomass to fuels/chemicals has recently gained immense research momentum. Current study reports sequential pretreatment of sunflower stalk (SFS) biomass in a combinatorial regime involving alkali (NaOH) and ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium chloride. The pretreatment enhanced the enzymatic digestibility, and resulted in increased sugar yield (163.42 mg/g biomass) as compared to standalone pretreatment using alkali (97.38 mg/g biomass) or ionic liquid (79.6 mg/g biomass). Ultrastructural and morphological analysis (FTIR and SEM) of pretreated biomass showed that the combined ionic liquid and alkali pretreatment causes more drastic alterations in the biomass ultrastructure as compared to alone ionic liquid or alkali pretreatment. Thus, combined pretreatment led to ease of enzymatic saccharification and consequent increased sugar yield, and this observation was corroborated by physicochemical analysis of the pretreated biomass. The pretreated SFS biomass was subjected to consolidated bioprocessing for its direct conversion to bioethanol in a single vessel.

Functional Characterization of Potential Probiotic Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated from Kalarei and Development of Probiotic Fermented Oat Flour.

Considerable variations among probiotics with respect to their health benefitting attributes fuel the research on bioprospecting of proficient probiotic strains from various ecological niches especially the poorly unexplored ones. In the current study, kalarei, an indigenous cheese-like fermented milk product, and other dairy-based sources like curd and raw milk were used for isolation of lactic acid bacteria (LAB). Among 34 LAB isolates, 7 that could withstand simulated gastrointestinal (GI) conditions were characterized for functional probiotic attributes, viz. adhesion ability, aggregation and coaggregation, extracellular enzyme producing capability, antibacterial activity against pathogens and antibiotic resistance. The isolate M-13 (from kalarei) which exhibited most of the desirable probiotic functional properties was identified as Lactobacillus plantarum based on 16S ribosomal DNA sequence analysis and designated as L. plantarum M-13. The sequence was submitted to GenBank (accession number KT592509). The study presents the first ever report of isolation of potential probiotic LAB, i.e. L. plantarum M-13 from indigenous food kalarei, and its application for development of potential probiotic fermented oat flour (PFOF). PFOF was analysed for parameters like viability of L. plantarum M-13, acidity and pH. Results show that PFOF serves as a good matrix for potential probiotic L. plantarum M-13 as it supported adequate growth of the organism (14.4 log cfu/ml after 72 h of fermentation). In addition, appreciable acid production by L. plantarum M-13 and consequential pH reduction indicates the vigorous and active metabolic status of the potential probiotic organism in the food matrix. Thus, study shows that fermented oat flour may possibly be developed as a potential probiotic carrier especially in view of the problems associated with dairy products as probiotic vehicles.

Phytase-Producing Potential and Other Functional Attributes of Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolates for Prospective Probiotic Applications.

Wide variations among multifaceted-health benefitting attributes of probiotics fueled investigations on targeting efficacious probiotics. In the current study, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from poultry gut, feces of rat, chicken, human infants, and fermented foods were characterized for desired probiotic functional properties including the phytase-producing ability which is one of the wanted characteristics for probiotics for potential applications for upgrading animal nutrition, enhancing feed conversion, and minimizing anti-nutritional properties. Among 62 LAB isolates Weissella kimchii R-3 an isolate from poultry gut exhibited substantial phytase-producing ability (1.77 U/ml) in addition to other functional probiotic characteristics viz. hydrophobicity, autoaggregation, coaggregation with bacterial pathogens, and antimicrobial activity against pathogens. Survival of W. kimchii R-3 cells (in free and calcium alginate encapsulated state) was examined sequentially in simulated gastric and intestinal juices. Encapsulated cells exhibited better survival under simulated gut conditions indicating that encapsulation conferred considerable protection against adverse gut conditions. Furthermore, simulated gastric and intestinal juices with pepsin and pancreatin showed higher survival of cells than the juices without pepsin and pancreatin. W. kimchii R-3 due to its significant functional probiotic attributes may have prospective for commercial applications in human/animal nutrition.