Spaceflight alters host-gut microbiota interactions.

The ISS rodent habitat has provided crucial insights into the impact of spaceflight on mammals, inducing symptoms characteristic of liver disease, insulin resistance, osteopenia, and myopathy. Although these physiological responses can involve the microbiome on Earth, host-microbiota interactions during spaceflight are still being elucidated. We explore murine gut microbiota and host gene expression in the colon and liver after 29 and 56 days of spaceflight using multiomics. Metagenomics revealed significant changes in 44 microbiome species, including relative reductions in bile acid and butyrate metabolising bacteria like Extibacter muris and Dysosmobacter welbionis. Functional prediction indicate over-representation of fatty acid and bile acid metabolism, extracellular matrix interactions, and antibiotic resistance genes. Host gene expression described corresponding changes to bile acid and energy metabolism, and immune suppression. These changes imply that interactions at the host-gut microbiome interface contribute to spaceflight pathology and that these interactions might critically influence human health and long-duration spaceflight feasibility.

Rapid Colorimetric and Fluorometric Discrimination of Maleic Acid vs. Fumaric Acid and Detection of Maleic Acid in Food Additives.

An anthracene thiazole based Schiff base L was synthesized and employed for fluorescence switch-on detection of maleic acid in aqueous DMSO. The non-fluorescent L (10-5 M) showed an instantaneous and selective fluorescence enhancement at 506 nm upon interaction with maleic acid (10-5 M). Other potential carboxylic acids (10-5 M), such as malic acid, citric acid, acetic acid, cinnamic acid, tartaric acid, succinic acid, fumaric acid, oxalic acid and malonic acid failed to alter the chromo-fluorogenic properties of L. Probe L can be employed to detect maleic acid down to 2.74 × 10-6 M. The probe L showed good linearity from 2.97 to 6.87 µM. Analytical utility of L was examined by detecting maleic acid in various food additives and drosophila larvae.

Protein interactions, molecular docking, antimicrobial and antifungal studies of terpyridine ligands.

Resistance to antibiotics/antibacterials/antifungals in pathogenic microbes has been developing over the past few decades and has recently become a commonplace public-health peril. Thus, alternative nontoxic potent antibiotic agents are covertly needed to control antibiotic-resistant outbreaks. In an effort to combat the challenges posed by the co-occurrence of multidrug resistance, two terpyridine ligands 4'-(4-N,N'-dimethylaminophenyl)-2,2':6',2″-terpyridine (L1) and 4'-(4-tolyl)-2,2':6',2″-terpyridine (L2) have been designed, prepared and confirmed their structure by spectral studies. Thereafter, antimicrobial assay was performed against gram positive and negative bacterial strains along with fungal strains. Both compounds L1 and L2 exhibited remarkable inhibitory activities against bacteria, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus at MIC values 6.25 and 3.125 µg/ml, respectively. In addition, in silico molecular docking studies were ascertained with bacterial DNA gyrase and fungal demethylase. Furthermore, both L1 and L2 could bind Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) protein and binding interaction has been studied with the help of UV-Visible and fluorescence spectroscopy. While fluorescence of BSA unperturbed in the presence of L2, an addition of L1 to the solution of BSA resulted significant quenching. The binding constant calculations at different temperature confirmed that the fluorescence quenching between BSA and L1 is predominantly static in nature. The toxicity of L1 and L2 was checked using Drosophila melanogaster. The toxicity analysis suggest both the dyes are non-cytotoxic in nature.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Borderline serous ovarian neoplasm: case report of a diagnostic challenge in intraoperative frozen sections.

Surface epithelial tumors of the ovary account for 25% of all ovarian neoplasms. When composed predominantly of fibrous stroma, with glands and cysts forming a minor component, their appearance on imaging is often complex; cystic- to solid-appearing masses often raise suspicion of a malignant tumor. An accurate frozen histopathological diagnosis of a benign cystadenofibroma of this tumor can facilitate appropriate surgical management. However, it is equally important to diagnose areas of borderline changes/malignancy arising in these tumors, particularly when large or complex surface and inner papillary areas with multilayering or stratification are seen microscopically. We present here a case of bilateral complex ovarian mass in a 68-year-old woman, which was equivocal for malignancy on radiology, per operative gross examination as well as on frozen section evaluation. It was finally diagnosed as a borderline serous tumor (BOT) in a cystadenofibroma on histopathological examination.

Waveguide design optimization for compact silicon photonic ferroelectric phase shifters.

In this paper, a new, to the best of our knowledge, design for a ferroelectric BaTiO3 cladded silicon photonic phase shifter with very small switching length for compact photonic integrated circuits (PICs) is proposed. The proposed design is based on the choice of a waveguide core with suitably slanted sidewalls in order to favor the desired polarization of ferroelectric cladding and to make guided modes spread toward the ferroelectric cladding with the consequence of further reduction in switching length compared to the conventional (rectangular core) structure. The proposed design also gives the additional benefit of having the identical switching length for both TE and TM modes with the same configuration. These results offer a viable strategy to realize compact non-volatile phase shifters for reconfigurable and programmable PICs.

Antibacterial nanostructures derived from oxidized sodium alginate-ZnO.

The present study describes synthesis, characterization and antibacterial application of oxidized sodium alginate (OSA)-zinc oxide (ZnO) hybrid nanostructures (OSA-ZnO). In continuation to our previous study on oxidized guar gum (OGG)-ZnO (OGG-ZnO) nanocomposite, in the present study we have chosen OSA to understand the role of polysaccharide charge type in designing the antibacterial material. The nanomaterial has been characterized using UV-visible, FTIR, XRD, SEM and TEM analyses. The nanostructure has shown crystalline nature having hexagonal phase with preferred (101) orientation, while TEM image indicated that the material has ~6 nm particle size. It exhibited very good antibacterial performance against Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis), Cellulomonas cellulans (C. cellulans), Staphylococcus typhi (S. typhi), and Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacterial strains, ZOI for B. subtilis, C. cellulans, S. typhi, and E. coli being 22, 18, 19.5 and 18.5 mm respectively. Under identical conditions, pure ZnO showed significantly lower ZOI for the corresponding bacterial strains (14, 12.5, 12 and 13.5 mm respectively), while native SA and OSA did not exhibit any biological activity.

Evaluation of highly conserved hsp65-specific nested PCR primers for diagnosing Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of a new nested set of primers designed for the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex targeting a highly conserved heat shock protein gene (hsp65). DESIGN: The nested primers were designed using multiple sequence alignment assuming the nucleotide sequence of the M. tuberculosis H37Rv hsp65 genome as base. Multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium species along with other non-mycobacterial and fungal species were included to evaluate the specificity of M. tuberculosis hsp65 gene-specific primers. RESULTS: The sensitivity of the primers was determined using serial 10-fold dilutions, and was 100% as shown by the bands in the case of M. tuberculosis complex. None of the other non M. tuberculosis complex bacterial and fungal species yielded any band on nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The first round of amplification could amplify 0.3 ng of the template DNA, while nested PCR could detect 0.3 pg. CONCLUSION: The present hsp65-specific primers have been observed to be sensitive, specific and cost-effective, without requiring interpretation of biochemical tests, real-time PCR, sequencing or high-performance liquid chromatography. These primer sets do not have the drawbacks associated with those protocols that target insertion sequence 6110, 16S rDNA, rpoB, recA and MPT 64.

In vitro reactivation of the cytokinetic contractile ring of fission yeast cells.

Cytokinesis is a process by which a mother cell is divided into two daughter cells after chromosome segregation. In both animal and fungal cells, cytokinesis is carried out by the constriction of the contractile ring made up of actin, myosin-II, and other conserved proteins. Detailed genetic and cell biological analysis of cytokinesis has led to the identification of various genes involved in the process of cytokinesis including the cytological description of the process. However, detailed biochemical analysis of the process is lacking. Critical questions that aim to understand aspects, such as the organization of actin and myosin in the contractile ring, the architecture of the ring, and the molecular process of ring contraction, remain unanswered. We have developed a method to address these aspects of cytokinesis. Using the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, we present a method whereby cell-ghosts containing functional contractile rings can be isolated and used to perform various biochemical analysis as well as detailed electron microscopy studies.

Onset of Inflammation With Ischemia: Implications for Donor Lung Preservation and Transplant Survival.

Lungs stored ahead of transplant surgery experience ischemia. Pulmonary ischemia differs from ischemia in the systemic organs in that stop of blood flow in the lung leads to loss of shear alone because the lung parenchyma does not rely on blood flow for its cellular oxygen requirements. Our earlier studies on the ischemia-induced mechanosignaling cascade showed that the pulmonary endothelium responds to stop of flow by production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). We hypothesized that ROS produced in this way led to induction of proinflammatory mediators. In this study, we used lungs or cells subjected to various periods of storage and evaluated the induction of several proinflammatory mediators. Isolated murine, porcine and human lungs in situ showed increased expression of cellular adhesion molecules; the damage-associated molecular pattern protein high-mobility group box 1 and the corresponding pattern recognition receptor, called the receptor for advanced glycation end products; and induction stabilization and translocation of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α and its downstream effector VEGFA, all of which are participants in inflammation. We concluded that signaling with lung preservation drives expression of inflammatory mediators that potentially predispose the donor lung to an inflammatory response after transplant.

Activity ratios of (234)U/(238)U and (226)Ra/(228)Ra for transport mechanisms of elevated uranium in alluvial aquifers of groundwater in south-western (SW) Punjab, India.

The concentrations of total dissolved uranium (U), its isotopic composition ((234)U, (235)U, (238)U) and two long lived Ra isotopes ((226)Ra and (228)Ra) in alluvial aquifers of groundwater were determined to investigate the groundwater flow pattern in the south-western (SW) Punjab, India. Particular attention was given to the spatial variability of activity ratios (ARs) of (234)U/(238)U and (226)Ra/(228)Ra to predict the possible sources and supply process of U into the water from the solid phase. The measured groundwater (234)U/(238)U ARs were ∼1 or >1 in the shallow zone (depth < 30 m) with high U concentration and <1 in the deeper zone (depth > 30 m) with relatively low U concentration. The simultaneous elevated U concentration and (234)U/(238)U ARs in waters were possibly due to differences in imprints of rock-water interactions under hydrologic conditions. However, (234)U/(238)U ARs < 1 clearly indicate the lack of recharge from surface water to groundwater leading to (234)U deficit in groundwater. This deficit might be also attributed to alpha recoil processes under strong dissolution. Overall, the decreasing pattern of (234)U/(238)U ARs observed from SE to SW or NW ward clearly indicates a groundwater flow paths from SE to SW/NW. Similarly, (226)Ra/(238)U ARs < 1 for all water samples reflect that the precursor (238)U is fairly mobile relative to (226)Ra. This might be due to unusually high amount of (238)U in groundwaters and subsequently the different geochemistry of the two isotopes. On the other hand, (226)Ra/(228)Ra ARs in groundwaters varied widely and observed about 50-300 times higher than (238)U/(232)Th ARs in granitic rocks or soils. Such elevation in ARs might be attributed to different dissolution properties of their parents during water-rock interactions or lattice damage during decay or local enrichments of uranium in the aquifers.

Primary epiphyseal and metaepiphyseal tubercular osteomyelitis in children A series of 8 case.

Clinical series of primary epiphyseal and metaepiphyseal tubercular osteomyelitis are few. The purpose of our study was to retrospectively review the presentation, healing response and functional results of 8 such cases in children. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The patients were evaluated for pain, deformity, range of motion, limb length discrepancy (if any) and recurrence. Serial radiographs of the region were studied to see remineralization, obliteration of radiological lesions, status of physis and remodeling of the growth plate. RESULTS: The mean patient age was 7.1 years. Average follow up was 3.7 years. The mean duration of symptom before presentation was 2.9 months (range, 0.5-8 months). Knee region was involved in 4, distal radius in 2, shoulder and distal fibula in 1 patient each. The lesions were either localized or diffuse depending upon physeal involvement and osseous destruction. At the last follow up, the involved joints were painfree and had useful range of motion. Limb length lengthening was seen in all knee patients. The diffuse variety resulted in premature physeal closure. The residual lucencies persisted for several years without any clinical manifestations. CONCLUSIONS: Primary epiphyseal and metaepiphyseal tuberculosis was relatively uncommon. The clinical outcome was good following curettage and multidrug antitubercular therapy. The epiphyseal and metaphyseal lucencies persisted for several months even after successful treatment. The diffuse variety lead to premature physeal closure. Limb length lengthening was common sequelae of tuberculosis of knee region.

Sino-Nasal Status in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Background. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a preventable and treatable disease with serious impact on quality of life (QoL). There are limited studies available supporting coexistence of sino-nasal involvement in COPD. Methods. A prospective study was conducted to evaluate sino-nasal status in patients with COPD (n=100) presenting to the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Jaipur from July 2011 to October 2012. COPD was diagnosed based on the Global initiative on Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) guidelines. Sino-nasal status was assessed by detailed history, radiograph of the para-nasal sinuses (PNS), nasal endoscopy and mucociliary clearance time. Results. Sino-nasal symptoms were present in 74 patients with COPD; nasal discharge (75.7%) being the most common. Tobacco smokers with COPD had a higher occurrence of sino-nasal symptoms (76.8%). Radiograph of para-nasal sinuses showed that maxillary sinus was most commonly involved. Nasal endoscopy revealed discharge in 63.5% cases. Nasal mucociliary clearance time was delayed (>11 to >40 min) in 98% cases. Nasal mucociliary clearance time was significantly delayed (>20 min) in COPD patients who were tobacco smokers as compared to non-smokers (53.7% versus 16.7%) and also related with increasing severity of COPD. Conclusions. Our observations suggest that sino-nasal involvement and delayed mucociliary clearance are common in patients with COPD, especially in tobacco smokers. Assessment of upper airway involvement in all the patients with COPD can help better therapeutic intervention and improvement in QoL.

Plasma Cell Gingivitis: An Occasional Case Report.

Plasma cell gingivitis, an infrequently observed oral condition, has been clinically characterized by diffuse gingival enlargement, erythema and sometimes desquamation. These lesions are usually asymptomatic, but invariably the patient will complain of a burning sensation in the gingiva and bleeding from the mouth. The diagnosis requires hematological screening in addition to clinical and histopathological examinations. This case report outlines one such case of plasma cell gingivitis in a 15-year-old female caused by use of an herbal, homemade toothpowder. The case presented here highlights the adverse effects and irrational use of herbal agents in dentifrices. At the same time, it emphasizes the need for comprehensive history taking, careful clinical examination and appropriate diagnostic tests in order to arrive at a definitive diagnosis and treatment plan for gingival conditions that are refractory to conventional therapy and to exclude certain malignancies and oral manifestations of systemic diseases.

Hair: an unusual foreign body in airways presenting with haemoptysis in an adult patient.

Haemoptysis is defined as expectoration of blood originating from the lungs or tracheo-bronchial tree. It is attributed to various causes like tuberculosis, bronchiectasis, lung cancer, mycetoma, foreign bodies etc. Various types of foreign bodies have been reported in the literature. We report the case of an adult female patient who presented with an episode of haemoptysis (150 mL) in whom flexible fibreoptic bronchoscopy revealed a single long hair at the carina going to left main bronchus. Following successful removal of this hair there were no further episodes of haemoptysis and the patient manifested clinical and radiological improvement.