A 3D dual-echo spiral sequence for simultaneous dynamic susceptibility contrast and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI with single bolus injection.

PURPOSE: Perfusion MRI reveals important tumor physiological and pathophysiologic information, making it a critical component in managing brain tumor patients. This study aimed to develop a dual-echo 3D spiral technique with a single-bolus scheme to simultaneously acquire both dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) and dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) data and overcome the limitations of current EPI-based techniques. METHODS: A 3D spiral-based technique with dual-echo acquisition was implemented and optimized on a 3T MRI scanner with a spiral staircase trajectory and through-plane SENSE acceleration for improved speed and image quality, in-plane variable-density undersampling combined with a sliding-window acquisition and reconstruction approach for increased speed, and an advanced iterative deblurring algorithm. Four volunteers were scanned and compared with the standard of care (SOC) single-echo EPI and a dual-echo EPI technique. Two patients were scanned with the spiral technique during a preload bolus and compared with the SOC single-echo EPI collected during the second bolus injection. RESULTS: Volunteer data demonstrated that the spiral technique achieved high image quality, reduced geometric artifacts, and high temporal SNR compared with both single-echo and dual-echo EPI. Patient perfusion data showed that the spiral acquisition achieved accurate DSC quantification comparable to SOC single-echo dual-dose EPI, with the additional DCE information. CONCLUSION: A 3D dual-echo spiral technique was developed to simultaneously acquire both DSC and DCE data in a single-bolus injection with reduced contrast use. Preliminary volunteer and patient data demonstrated increased temporal SNR, reduced geometric artifacts, and accurate perfusion quantification, suggesting a competitive alternative to SOC-EPI techniques for brain perfusion MRI.

Biodiversity and Bioactive Potential of Actinomycetes from Unexplored High Altitude Regions of Kargil, India.

The effectiveness of currently available antimicrobials and anticancer medications is steadily declining due to the emergence of drug resistance. Since actinobacteria are important producers of bioactive substances, we have isolated them from the soil samples of exotic North-Western Himalayan terrains. Out of 128 isolates, 39 strains were prioritized based on their bioactive potential. The diversity analysis revealed higher abundance distribution of actinomycetes in the soil of an open field (68.7%), followed by the mountainside (34.9%), from which most of the bioactive strains were obtained. The extract of the strain S26-11 was found to be highly active against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis with a MIC of 0.5 µg/mL and 1 µg/mL respectively. A cytotoxicity assay (sulforhodamine B) was performed on a series of cancer cell lines (PC-3, MCF-7, A-549, and HCT-116). The extract of the strain S26-11 showed cytotoxic activity against all cancer cell lines with an IC50 of 2 µg/mL against PC-3, 1.9 µg/mL against MCF-7, 0.52 µg/mL against A-549, and 0.83 µg/mL against HCT-116. Moreover, the antioxidant activity was assessed using a DPPH-based assay and the results revealed that the S17-8 isolate showed the highest antioxidant activity with IC50 of 114.136 µg/mL. The Response Surface Methodology (RSM) had helped to optimize the physical parameters for scaling up of the bioactive strain S26-11. The unexplored soil niches of Kargil (UT, Ladakh), India, is rich in actinomycetes which are having potential bioactivities, would be worth to explore for the discovery of bioactive compounds. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12088-023-01133-1.

Exploring the Potential of Bee-Derived Antioxidants for Maintaining Oral Hygiene and Dental Health: A Comprehensive Review.

Honey bee products comprise various compounds, including honey, propolis, royal jelly, bee pollen, bee wax and bee venom, which have long been recognized for their pharmacological and health-promoting benefits. Scientists have discovered that periodontal disorders stem from dental biofilm, an inflammatory response to bacterial overgrowth produced by dysbiosis in the oral microbiome. The bee products have been investigated for their role in prevention of oral diseases, which are attributed to a myriad of biologically active compounds including flavonoids (pinocembrin, catechin, caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) and galangin), phenolic acids (hydroxybenzoic acid, hydroxycinnamic acid, p-coumaric, ellagic, caffeic and ferulic acids) and terpenoids. This review aims to update the current understanding of role of selected bee products, namely, honey, propolis and royal jelly, in preventing oral diseases as well as their potential biological activities and mechanism of action in relation to oral health have been discussed. Furthermore, the safety of incorporation of bee products is also critically discussed. To summarize, bee products could potentially serve as a therapy option for people suffering from a variety of oral disorders.

Immune Control of Avian Influenza Virus Infection and Its Vaccine Development.

The avian influenza A virus (AIV) is naturally prevalent in aquatic birds, infecting different avian species and transmitting from birds to humans. Both AIVs, the H5N1 and H7N9 viruses, have the potential to infect humans, causing an acute influenza disease syndrome in humans, and are a possible pandemic threat. AIV H5N1 is highly pathogenic, whereas AIV H7N9 has comparatively low pathogenicity. A clear insight into the disease pathogenesis is significant to understand the host's immunological response, which in turn facilitates the design of the control and prevention strategies. In this review, we aim to provide comprehensive details on the pathogenesis and clinical features of the disease. Moreover, the innate and adaptive immunological responses to AIV and the recent studies conducted on the CD8+ T cell immunity against AIVs are detailed upon. Further, the current status and advancement in the development of AIV vaccines, along with the challenges, are also discussed. The information provided will be helpful in combating the transmission of AIV from birds to humans and, thus, preventing severe outbreaks leading to pandemics worldwide.

Correction to "LC-PDA-MS/MS-Based Dereplication Guided Isolation of a New Optical Isomer of 19,20-Epoxycytochalasin-N and Its Cytotoxic Activity".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c03037.].

Year-round sustainable biomass production potential of Nannochloris sp. in outdoor raceway pond enabled through strategic photobiological screening.

Microalgae cultivation utilizes the energy of sunlight to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) for producing renewable energy feedstock. The commercial success of the biological fixation of carbon in a consistent manner depends upon the availability of a robust microalgae strain. In the present work, we report the identification of a novel marine Nannochloris sp. through multiparametric photosynthetic evaluation. Detailed photobiological analysis of this strain has revealed a smaller functional antenna, faster relaxation kinetics of non-photochemical quenching, and a high photosynthetic rate with increasing light and temperatures. Furthermore, laboratory scale growth assessment demonstrated a broad range halotolerance of 10-70 parts per thousand (PPT) and high-temperature tolerance up to 45 °C. Such traits led to the translation of biomass productivity potential from the laboratory scale (0.2-3.0 L) to the outdoor 50,000 L raceway pond scale (500-m2) without any pond crashes. The current investigation revealed outdoor single-day peak areal biomass productivity of 43 g m-2 d-1 in summer with an annual (March 2019-February 2020) average productivity of 20 g m-2 d-1 in seawater. From a sustainability perspective, this is the first report of successful round-the-year (> 347 days) multi-season (summer, monsoon, and winter) outdoor cultivation of Nannochloris sp. in broad seawater salinity (1-57 PPT), wide temperature ranges (15-40 °C), and in fluctuating light conditions. Concurrently, outdoor cultivation of this strain demonstrated conducive fatty acid distribution, including increased unsaturated fatty acids in winter. This inherent characteristic might play a role in protecting photosynthesis machinery at low temperatures and in high light stress. Altogether, our marine Nannochloris sp. showed tremendous potential for commercial scale cultivation to produce biofuels, food ingredients, and a sustainable source for vegetarian protein.

LC-PDA-MS/MS-Based Dereplication Guided Isolation of a New Optical Isomer of 19,20-Epoxycytochalasin-N and Its Cytotoxic Activity.

The Rosellinia sanctae-cruciana extract was subjected to detailed liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry studies. A total of 38 peaks were annotated to m/z 508.26, m/z 510.28, m/z 524.26, m/z 526.28, m/z 540.26, m/z 542.27, and m/z 584.28 [M + H]+. The accurate mass, mutually supported UV/vis spectra, and database search identified these compounds as cytochalasins. Systematic dereplication helped identify a peak at m/z 540.26 [M + H]+ as the new compound. Further, the identified compound was purified by high-performance liquid chromatography and characterized by 2D NMR to be 19,20-epoxycytochalasin N1, a new optical isomer of 19,20-epoxycytochalasin-N. It exhibited substantial cytotoxicity with IC50 values ranging from 1.34 to 19.02 µM. This study shows a fast approach for dereplicating and identifying novel cytochalasin metabolites in crude extracts.

Evaluation of Nutritional, Phytochemical, and Mineral Composition of Selected Medicinal Plants for Therapeutic Uses from Cold Desert of Western Himalaya.

The aim of this study was to determine the elemental and nutritive values of leaf parts of 10 selected wild medicinal plants, Acer pictum, Acer caecium, Betula utilis, Oxalis corniculata, Euphorbia pilosa, Heracleum lanatum, Urtica dioica, Berberis lycium, Berberis asiaticaand, and Quercus ilex, collected from the high hills of the Chitkul range in district Kinnaur, Western Himalaya. The nutritional characteristics of medicinal plant species were analyzed by using muffle furnace and micro-Kjeldahl methods, and the mineral content in plants was analyzed through atomic absorption spectrometry. The highest percentage of used value was reported in Betula utilis (0.42) and the lowest in Quercus ilex (0.17). In this study, it was found that new generations are not much interested in traditional knowledge of ethnomedicinal plants due to modernization in society. Therefore, there is an urgent need to document ethnomedicinal plants along with their phytochemical and minerals analysis in study sites. It was found that rural people in western Himalaya are dependent on wild medicinal plants, and certain steps must be taken to conserve these plants from extinction in the cold desert of Himalayan region. They are an alternative source of medicine because they contain saponin, alkaloid, and flavonoid etc. as well as minerals. The leaves used for analysis possesses good mineral content, such as Na, N, K, P, Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn, Ca, Mg, and S. Hence, in the current study it was observed that medicinal plants are not only used for therapeutic purposes, but they can also be used as nutritional supplements.

Beneficial Role of Antioxidant Secondary Metabolites from Medicinal Plants in Maintaining Oral Health.

Plant-derived phytochemicals have been touted as viable substitutes in a variety of diseases. All over the world, dentists have turned to natural remedies for dental cure due to the negative possessions of certain antibacterial mediators used in dentistry. Antimicrobial and other drugs are currently in use, but they show some side effects. Since ancient times, antioxidant EOs have been used for different ailments and have grown in popularity over time. Several in vitro, in vivo, and clinical trials have shown the safety and effectiveness of antioxidant essential oils (EOs) in oral health obtained from medicinal plants. The current review of literature provides a summary of secondary metabolites, more specifically EOs from 20 most commonly used medicinal plants and their applications in maintaining oral health. Dental caries and periodontal diseases are the most common and preventable global infectious diseases, with diseases of the oral cavity being considered major diseases affecting a person's health. Several clinical studies have shown a connection between oral diseases and oral microbiota. This review discusses the role of antioxidant secondary metabolites in inhibiting the growth of oral pathogens and reducing the formation of dental plaque, and as well as reducing the symptoms of oral diseases. This review article contributes a basic outline of essential oils and their healing actions.

Effectiveness of diabetes education including insulin injection technique and dose adjustment through telemedicine in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

AIMS: To study the feasibility of diabetes education through telemedicine in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) hospitalized for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) management. METHODS: This was a prospective study of 100 patients with DM who were admitted in a COVID isolation ward for management of COVID-19. Patients managed with multiple subcutaneous insulin injections were eligible. During teleconsultation, diabetes education including insulin injection technique was given by a diabetes educator via a phone call (audio and video) during hospitalization. They were also re-assessed after 2 weeks of discharge from the hospital via teleconsultation or in-person. RESULTS: Out of 100 patients, 72.0% had prior history of diabetes while 28.0% were newly diagnosed. The median age of our cohort was 56 years and median duration of diabetes was 7.0 years. Telemedicine as a mode of consult for diabetes education was accepted by 96.0% of patients during hospitalization. At 2 weeks' follow-up, 77.0% patients were following insulin instructions correctly and were satisfied with this mode of consultation. CONCLUSION: Diabetes education using telemedicine as a technology is feasible, acceptable, and effective in the management of most patients with DM. Telemedicine appears to be an effective way to replace routine visits in special situations.

Empowering blue economy: From underrated ecosystem to sustainable industry.

With increasing demand for resources to achieve global food-water-energy nexus and rapid decline in land-based sources, oceans represent both solution and boost to sustainable environment and economy. In addition to fundamental part of earth's ecosystem for uncatalogued diversity of life, oceans are undervalued economy powerhouse with gross marine product value. With sustainable management of existing assets including shipping, transportation, manufacturing, fisheries, tourism and exploration of new business like marine biotechnology and renewable energy, the ocean or blue economy has potential to fulfill sustainable development goals (SDG). In spite of recognition of blue economy as a new economic frontier, investments by existing industries and emergence of new ones are limited and less known, hence require more in depth attention and scientific understanding. In the present study, authors present a systematic comparative assessment of blue economy sectors with distinct challenges and strategies to be further explored and implemented for industrial deployment. The conceptualization of integrated routes of bio(economy) by the current study can act as gateway for key stakeholders, i.e. governance, bluepreneurs (scientists and industries) to prioritize technologies for sustainable applications of marine resources.

A review of biochemical and thermochemical energy conversion routes of wastewater grown algal biomass.

Microalgae are recognized as a potential source of biomass for obtaining bioenergy. However, the lack of studies towards economic viability and environmental sustainability of the entire production chain limits its large-scale application. The use of wastewaters economizes natural resources used for algal biomass cultivation. However, desirable biomass characteristics for a good fuel may be impaired when wastewaters are used, namely low lipid content and high ash and protein contents. Thus, the choice of wastewaters with more favorable characteristics may be one way of obtaining a more balanced macromolecular composition of the algal biomass and therefore, a more suitable feedstock for the desired energetic route. The exploration of biorefinery concept and the use of wastewaters as culture medium are considered as the main strategic tools in the search of this viability. Considering the economics of overall process, direct utilization of wet biomass using hydrothermal liquefaction or hydrothermal carbonization and anaerobic digestion is recommended. Among the explored routes, anaerobic digestion is the most studied process. However, some main challenges remain as little explored, such as a low energy pretreatment and suitable and large-scale reactors for algal biomass digestion. On the other hand, thermochemical conversion routes offer better valorization of the algal biomass but have higher costs. A biorefinery combining anaerobic digestion, hydrothermal carbonization and hydrothermal liquefaction processes would provide the maximum possible output from the biomass depending on its characteristics. Therefore, the choice must be made in an integrated way, aiming at optimizing the quality of the final product to be obtained. Life cycle assessment studies are critical for scaling up of any algal biomass valorization technique for sustainability. Although there are limitations, suitable integrations of these processes would enable to make an economically feasible process which require further study.

Post-harvest calcium chloride treatments influence fruit firmness, cell wall components and cell wall hydrolyzing enzymes of Ber (Ziziphus mauritiana Lamk.) fruits during storage.

Ber fruits of two varieties having variable shelf lives viz. Umran (8-9 days) and Kaithali (4-5 days) given post-harvest treatments of calcium chloride (1% and 2%) were analyzed for various cell wall components, cell wall hydrolyzing enzymes and fruit firmness at 2 days interval until complete decay. There was a continuous decrease in cellulose, hemicellulose and pectin contents during storage in both the varieties with more reduction in Kaithali, a variety having short shelf-life. The decline in cell wall components was accompanied by parallel increase in activities of cellulase, polygalacturonase (PG) and pectin methylesterase (PME). Post-harvest treatment of Ber fruits with calcium chloride resulted in significantly lowering of activities of cellulase (20-22%), PG (23-29%) and PME (25-28%) thereby retaining higher cell wall components viz. cellulose (9-11%), hemicellulose (7-8%) and pectin (12-13%) as compared to their respective control in both the varieties. The delay in cell wall hydrolysis, as mediated by calcium chloride corresponded to the higher retention of fruit firmness.

Development and performance evaluation of an algal biofilm reactor for treatment of multiple wastewaters and characterization of biomass for diverse applications.

A modified algal biofilm reactor (ABR) was developed and assessed for high biomass productivity and treatment potential using variable strength wastewaters with accumulation of specialized bio-products. The nonwoven spun bond fabric (70GSM) was selected as suitable biofilm support on the basis of attachment efficiency, durability and ease of harvesting. The biomass productivity achieved by ABR biofilms were 4gm-2d-1, 3.64gm-2d-1 and 3.10gm-2d-1 when grown in livestock wastewater (LSW), domestic grey water (DGW) and anaerobically digested slurry (ADS), respectively. Detailed characterization of wastewater grown biomass showed specific distribution of biomolecules into high lipid (38%) containing biomass (DGW grown) and high protein (44%) biomass (LSW and ADS grown). The feasibility assessment of ABR in terms of net energy return (>1) favored its application in an integrated system for treatment and recycling of rural wastewaters with simultaneous production of biomethane, livestock feed supplement and bio fertilizers.

Algae mediated treatment and bioenergy generation process for handling liquid and solid waste from dairy cattle farm.

In the present work four algae were tested for their biomass production potential in neat livestock wastewater. Chroococcus sp.1 was found to be the best for biomass production under controlled (2.13 g L(-1)) and outdoor conditions (4.44 g L(-1)) with >80% of nutrients removal. The produced biomass was then digested with cattle dung as cosubstrate. Interestingly, up to 291.83 ± 3.904 mL CH4 g(-1) VS fed was produced during codigestion studies (C/N ≈ 13.0/1). In contrast to this, only 202.49 ± 11.19 and 141.70 ± 2.57 mL CH4 g(-1) VS fed was recorded with algae (C/N ≈ 9.26/1) and cattle dung (C/N ≈ 31.56/1) alone, respectively. The estimated renewable power generation potential of the investigated coupled process was around 333.79-576.57 kW h d(-1) for a dairy farm with 100 adult cattle. However, further scale-up and testing is needed to make this process a reality.

Nanobiotechnology can boost crop production and quality: first evidence from increased plant biomass, fruit yield and phytomedicine content in bitter melon (Momordica charantia).

BACKGROUND: Recent research on nanoparticles in a number of crops has evidenced for enhanced germination and seedling growth, physiological activities including photosynthetic activity and nitrogen metabolism, mRNA expression and protein level, and also positive changes in gene expression indicating their potential use in crop improvement. We used a medicinally rich vegetable crop, bitter melon, as a model to evaluate the effects of seed treatment with a carbon-based nanoparticle, fullerol [C60(OH)20], on yield of plant biomass and fruit characters, and phytomedicine contents in fruits. RESULTS: We confirmed the uptake, translocation and accumulation of fullerol through bright field imaging and Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy. We observed varied effects of seed treatment at five concentrations, including non-consequential and positive, on plant biomass yield, fruit yield and its component characters, and content of five phytomedicines in fruits. Fullerol-treatment resulted in increases up to 54% in biomass yield and 24% in water content. Increases of up to 20% in fruit length, 59% in fruit number, and 70% in fruit weight led to an improvement up to 128% in fruit yield. Contents of two anticancer phytomedicines, cucurbitacin-B and lycopene, were enhanced up to 74% and 82%, respectively, and contents of two antidiabetic phytomedicines, charantin and insulin, were augmented up to 20% and 91%, respectively. Non-significant correlation inter se plant biomass, fruit yield, phytomedicine content and water content evidenced for separate genetic control and biosynthetic pathways for production of plant biomass, fruits, and phytomedicines in fruits, and also no impact of increased water uptake. CONCLUSIONS: While our results indicated possibility of improving crop yield and quality by using proper concentrations of fullerol, extreme caution needs to be exercised given emerging knowledge about accumulation and toxicity of nanoparticles in bodily tissues.

Formation and cell translocation of carbon nanotube-fibrinogen protein corona.

The binding of plasma fibrinogen with both single-walled and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs and MWNTs) has been examined. Specifically, our absorbance study indicated that MWNTs were coated with multi-layers of fibrinogen to render a "hard protein corona," while SWNTs were adsorbed with thin layers of the protein to precipitate out of the aqueous phase. In addition, static quenching as a result of energy transfer from fluorescently labeled fibrinogen to their nanotube substrates was revealed by Stern-Volmer analysis. When exposed to HT-29 cells, the nanotubes and fibrinogen could readily dissociate, possibly stemming from their differential affinities for the amphiphilic membrane bilayer.

Interaction of lipid vesicle with silver nanoparticle-serum albumin protein corona.

The physical interaction between a lipid vesicle and a silver nanoparticle (AgNP)-human serum albumin (HSA) protein "corona" has been examined. Specifically, the binding of AgNPs and HSA was analyzed by spectrophotometry, and the induced conformational changes of the HSA were inferred from circular dichroism spectroscopy. The fluidity of the vesicle, a model system for mimicking cell membrane, was found to increase with the increased exposure to AgNP-HSA corona, though less pronounced compared to that induced by AgNPs alone. This study offers additional information for understanding the role of physical forces in nanoparticle-cell interaction and has implications for nanomedicine and nanotoxicology.