Toxicity evaluation of iron oxide nanoparticles to freshwater cyanobacteria Nostoc ellipsosporum.

The extensive usage of iron oxide nanoparticles (FeO NPs) in commercial and biomedical applications raises the risk of releasing their remains into the aquatic ecosystems and this could possibly cause cytotoxic effects on aquatic organisms. Thus, the toxicity assessment of FeO NPs on cyanobacteria, which are primary producers at the bottom of food chain in aquatic ecosystems, is essential to gain information about the potential ecotoxicological threat on aquatic biota. The present study investigated the cytotoxic effects of FeO NPs on Nostoc ellipsosporum using different concentrations (0, 10, 25, 50 and 100 mg L-1) to track the time-dependent and dose-dependent effects and compared with its bulk equivalent. In addition, the impacts of FeO NPs and bulk counterpart on cyanobacterial cells were assessed under nitrogen as well as nitrogen-deficient conditions, because of ecological role of cyanobacteria in nitrogen fixation. The study revealed that the highest protein content was observed in the control in both types of BG-11 media compared to treatments of nano and bulk particles of Fe2O3. A 23% reduction in protein in nanoparticle treatment and a 14% reduction in bulk treatment at 100 mg L-1 was observed in BG-11 medium. At same concentration, in BG-110 media, this decline was even more intense with 54% reduction in nanoparticle and a 26% reduction in bulk. Catalytic activity of catalase and superoxide dismutase was found to be linearly correlated with the dose concentration for nano and bulk form in BG-11 as well as BG-110 media. The increased levels of lactate dehydrogenase act as biomarker of the cytotoxicity brought on by nanoparticles. Optical, scanning electron, and transmission electron microscopy all demonstrated the cell entrapment, nanoparticle deposition on the cell surface, cell wall collapse and membrane degradation. A cause for concern is that nanoform was found to be more hazardous than bulk form.

An integrative approach toward identification and analysis of therapeutic targets involved in HPV pathogenesis with a focus on carcinomas.

BACKGROUND: Persistent infection of high-risk HPVs is known to cause diverse carcinomas, mainly cervical, oropharyngeal, penile, etc. However, efficient treatment is still lacking. OBJECTIVE: Identify and analyze potential therapeutic targets involved in HPV oncogenesis and repurposing drug candidates. METHODS: Integrative analyses were performed on the compendium of 1887 HPV infection-associated or integration-driven disrupted genes cataloged from the Open Targets Platform and HPVbase resource. Potential target genes are prioritized using STRING, Cytoscape, cytoHubba, and MCODE. Gene ontology and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis are performed. Further, TCGA cancer genomic data of CESC and HNSCC is analyzed. Moreover, regulatory networks are also deduced by employing NetworkAnalyst. RESULTS: We have implemented a unique approach for identifying and prioritizing druggable targets and repurposing drug candidates against HPV oncogenesis. Overall, hundred key genes with 44 core targets were prioritized with transcription factors (TFs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) regulators pertinent to HPV pathogenesis. Genomic alteration profiling further substantiated our findings. Among identified druggable targets, TP53, NOTCH1, PIK3CA, EP300, CREBBP, EGFR, ERBB2, PTEN, and FN1 are frequently mutated in CESC and HNSCC. Furthermore, PIK3CA, CCND1, RFC4, KAT5, MYC, PTK2, EGFR, and ERBB2 show significant copy number gain, and FN1, CHEK1, CUL1, EZH2, NRAS, and H2AFX was marked for the substantial copy number loss in both carcinomas. Likewise, under-explored relevant regulators, i.e., TFs (HINFP, ARID3A, NFATC2, NKX3-2, EN1) and miRNAs (has-mir-98-5p, has-mir-24-3p, has-mir-192-5p, has-mir-519d-3p) is also identified. CONCLUSIONS: We have identified potential therapeutic targets, transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulators to explicate HPV pathogenesis as well as potential repurposing drug candidates. This study would aid in biomarker and drug discovery against HPV-mediated carcinoma.

Evaluation of biphasic hydroxapatite and ß-tricalcium phosphate as a bone graft material in the treatment of periodontal vertical bony defects - A clinical and digital radiological measurement study.

Aims and Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate 2 bone graft materials, that is, biphasic hydroxyapatite and ß-tricalcium phosphate, in the treatment of periodontal vertical bony defects. In term of attachment level, probing depth and radiographic bone level changes. Also, a new digital method of radiographic assessment was used for measurement of vertical bone defect. Material and Methods: Ten subjects with periodontitis and having two or more vertical bony defects were enrolled in the study. Patients were classified randomly into 2 groups. Group I consisted of the experimental site where defect was filled with biphasic hydroxyapatite and ß-tricalcium phosphate graft and Group II consisted of control site where only the open flap debridement (OFD) was carried out. Clinical parameters were evaluated at baseline, 3 and 6 months; Radiographs were taken at baseline and 6 months after surgery. Results: Overall, by the end of 6 months, biphasic hydroxyapatite and ß-tricalcium phosphate and OFD treatment groups exhibited a significant reduction in probing depth almost by 75% and gain in clinical attachment level at follow-up. In the biphasic hydroxyapatite and ß-tricalcium phosphate group, radiographic bone level gain appeared to be greater than in the OFD group. Conclusion: In the present study, biphasic hydroxyapatite and ß-tricalcium phosphate have shown promising results and have showed reduction in probing depth, a resolution of osseous defects and gain in clinical attachment level when compared to open flap debridement.

Benchmarking and Assessment of Eight De Novo Genome Assemblers on Viral Next-Generation Sequencing Data, Including the SARS-CoV-2.

Viral genomics has become crucial in clinical diagnostics and ecology, not to mention to stem the COVID-19 pandemic. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) is pivotal in gaining an improved understanding of viral evolution, genomic epidemiology, infectious outbreaks, pathobiology, clinical management, and vaccine development. Genome assembly is one of the crucial steps in WGS data analyses. A series of different assemblers has been developed with the advent of high-throughput next-generation sequencing (NGS). Various studies have reported the evaluation of these assembly tools on distinct datasets; however, these lack data from viral origin. In this study, we performed a comparative evaluation and benchmarking of eight de novo assemblers: SOAPdenovo, Velvet, assembly by short sequences (ABySS), iterative De Bruijn graph assembler (IDBA), SPAdes, Edena, iterative virus assembler, and VICUNA on the viral NGS data from distinct Illumina (GAIIx, Hiseq, Miseq, and Nextseq) platforms. WGS data of diverse viruses, that is, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), dengue virus 3, human immunodeficiency virus 1, hepatitis B virus, human herpesvirus 8, human papillomavirus 16, rhinovirus A, and West Nile virus, were utilized to assess these assemblers. Performance metrics such as genome fraction recovery, assembly lengths, NG50, N50, contig length, contig numbers, mismatches, and misassemblies were analyzed. Overall, three assemblers, that is, SPAdes, IDBA, and ABySS, performed consistently well, including for genome assembly of SARS-CoV-2. These assembly methods should be considered and recommended for future studies of viruses. The study also suggests that implementing two or more assembly approaches should be considered in viral NGS studies, especially in clinical settings. Taken together, the benchmarking of eight de novo genome assemblers reported in this study can inform future public health and ecology research concerning the viruses, the COVID-19 pandemic, and viral outbreaks.

Role of Hyperbilirubinaemia as a Predictor of Complicated Appendicitis in Paediatric Population.

BACKGROUND: Acute appendicitis is a common surgical emergency amongst the paediatric population. Available diagnostic tools are focussed to make a diagnosis of acute appendicitis. A definitive predictive factor for the diagnosis of complicated appendicitis is lacking. Thus, this aims to analyse hyperbilirubinaemia as a predictor of complicated appendicitis amongst the paediatric population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective observational study was conducted in a tertiary hospital from November 2018 to October 2019. All children undergoing emergency appendectomy were included in the study. Preoperatively, patients were evaluated clinically, and routine investigations including total and direct serum bilirubin were sent. All patients were grouped as 'simple appendicitis' or 'complicated appendicitis' based on intra-operative and histological findings. Bilirubin level was compared between these groups and analysed. RESULTS: A total of 52 children fulfilling the inclusion criteria were included. The mean age was 13.2 ± 4.2 years, and the male: female ratio was 2.1:1. Thirty-four (65.4%) had simple appendicitis and 18 (34.6%) had complicated appendicitis. Total bilirubin was 23.83 ± 5.94 mmol/L in the complicated appendicitis group and 13.15 ± 3.29 mmol/L in the simple appendicitis group. Direct bilirubin was 5.28 ± 2.22 mmol/L in complicated appendicitis and 2.62 ± 0.83 mmol/L in simple one. Both total and direct bilirubin were significantly high in the complicated group (P < 0.001) compared to the simple appendicitis group. On the Receiver operating curve (ROC), the best cutoff value for total and direct bilirubin was 21 and 5.5 mmol/L, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of total and direct bilirubin were 72.2%, 100%, and 61.1%, and 85.3%, respectively. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that hyperbilirubinaemia is a good predictor for paediatric complicated appendicitis.

A Meta-analysis of Complication Rates Among Various Surgical Modifications of Pectoralis Major Myocutaneous Flap.

The purpose of this study is to aggregate and summarize the complication rates among various modified techniques of pectoralis major myocutaneous flap harvesting. Various databases were searched from its inception to September 2020. Studies describing surgical management of head and neck oncologic reconstruction using pectoralis major myocutaneous flap and its surgical modifications were included in study. All included studies: (1) described a pectoralis major flap harvesting technique categorized by author as conventional technique, bipaddle or bilobed flap, segmental flap, flap transfer using subclavicular route, skin paddle over Pectoralis Major, Flap with Multiple vascular supply, U shaped skin paddle, modified short incision technique; and (2) reported the number of postoperative complications in participants. Meta-analysis was performed in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. A total 183 studies were included. Segmental flap (0.20%), flap with multiple vascular supply (5.18%) and parasternal skin flap (6.38%) had the highest rates of total complications and were the only techniques to show a statistically significant increase in odds ratio compared with conventional technique (odds ratio 1.89, 9.05 and 7.26, respectively, P < 0.05). Bipaddle flap (57.48%) and u shaped skin flap (78.05%) show statistically significant decrease in odds ratio as compared to conventional technique. Among all the modifications in surgical technique of pectoralis major myocutaneous flap harvesting bipaddle flap and u shaped skin flap show least total complication rates. But on the contrary rates of partial flap necrosis and fistula are significantly higher in bipaddle flap as compared to conventional technique. As such, the choice of surgical technique should primarily be made based on the defect size, patient selection and surgeons' discretion rather than the presumed complication rate.

Single-stage surgical correction of a bilateral acquired coxa vara deformity in a young woman.

A 23-year-old female-treated patient of osteomalacia and secondary hyperparathyroidism with hypophosphatemia presented with a 5-year history of bilateral groin pain and stiffness of both hips and difficulty in walking. Plain radiographs of the pelvis showed bilateral coxa vara deformity. She was managed surgically by a single-stage bilateral subtrochanteric corrective osteotomy with the internal fixation. After the osteotomy healing at 3 months, the patient was pain free and walked comfortably with an increased range of hip motion.

Biosynthesis and extraction of high-value carotenoid from algae.

Algae possess a considerable potential as bio-refinery for the scale-up production of high-value natural compounds like-carotenoids. Carotenoids are accessory pigments in the light-harvesting apparatus and also act as antioxidants and photo-protectors in green cells. They play important roles for humans, like-precursors of vitamin A, reduce the risk of some cancers, helps in the prevention of age-related diseases, cardiovascular diseases, improve skin health, and stimulates immunity. To date, about 850 types of natural carotenoid compounds have been reported and they have approximated 1.8 billion US$ of global market value. In comparison to land plants, there are few reports on biosynthetic pathways and molecular level regulation of algal carotenogenesis. Recent advances of algal genome sequencing, data created by high-throughput technologies and transcriptome studies, enables a better understanding of the origin and evolution of de novo carotenoid biosynthesis pathways in algae. Here in this review, we focused on, the biochemical and molecular mechanism of carotenoid biosynthesis in algae. Additionally, structural features of different carotenoids are elaborated from a chemistry point of view. Furthermore, current understandings of the techniques designed for pigment extraction from algae are reviewed. In the last section, applications of different carotenoids are elucidated and the growth potential of the global market value of carotenoids are also discussed.

Optimising Hand Surgery during COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, most health-care personnel and resources are redirected to prioritize care for seriously-ill COVID patients. This situation may poorly impact our capacity to care for critically injured patients. We need to devise a strategy to provide rational and essential care to hand trauma victims whilst the access to theatres and anaesthetic support is limited. Our center is a level 1 trauma center, where the pandemic preparedness required reorganization of the trauma services. We aim to summarise the clinical profile and management of these patients and highlight, how we modified our practice to optimize their care. Methods: This is a single-centre retrospective observational study of all patients with hand injuries visiting the Department of Plastic Surgery from 22nd March to 31st May 2020. Patient characteristics, management details, and outcomes were analysed. Results: A total of 102 hand injuries were encountered. Five patients were COVID-19 positive. The mean age was 28.9 ± 14.8 years and eighty-two (80.4%) were males. Thirty-one injuries involved fractures/dislocations, of which 23 (74.2%) were managed non-operatively. Seventy-five (73.5%) patients underwent wound wash or procedure under local anaesthetic and were discharged as soon as they were comfortable. Seventeen cases performed under brachial-plexus block, were discharged within 24 hours except four cases of finger replantation/ revascularisation and one flap cover which were discharged after monitoring for four days. At mean follow-up of 54.4 ± 21.8 days, the rates of early complication and loss to follow-up were 6.9% and 12.7% respectively. Conclusions: Essential trauma care needs to continue keeping in mind, rational use of resources while ensuring safety of the patients and health-care professionals. We need to be flexible and dynamic in our approach, by utilising teleconsultation, non-operative management, and regional anaesthesia wherever feasible.

HPVomics: An integrated resource for the human papillomavirus epitome and therapeutics.

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) belongs to the Papillomaviridae family, which is divided into high-risk (HR), and low-risk (LR) HPVs based on their disease-causing competence. HR-HPVs 16 and 18 are known to cause distinct carcinomas like cervical and head and neck, whereas LR-HPVs are commonly associated with the genital warts. We have developed an integrative platform; HPVomics dedicated to the potential therapeutic regimens targeting all HPV genes including oncoproteins E6, E7 and E5. We primarily focused on eighteen HR-HPVs and eleven LR-HPVs. It mainly deals with therapeutically imperative elements, i.e., vaccine epitopes, siRNAs, sgRNAs, and anti-viral peptides. Simultaneously, it also comprises of genome browser, whole-genome sequences and annotation of HPVs with searching and filtering capabilities. Moreover, we have also developed an integrated support vector machine (SVM) based computational algorithm "HPVepi" for the prediction of HPV epitome. We hope that HPVomics (http://bioinfo.imtech.res.in/manojk/hpvomics/) will assist the scientific community engaged in HPV research.

Molecular Mechanism of Switching of TrkA/p75(NTR) Signaling in Monocrotophos Induced Neurotoxicity.

We demonstrate the role of molecular switching of TrkA/p75(NTR) signaling cascade in organophosphate pesticide-Monocrotophos (MCP) induced neurotoxicity in stem cell derived cholinergic neurons and in rat brain. Our in-silico studies reveal that MCP followed the similar pattern of binding as staurosporine and AG-879 (known inhibitors of TrkA) with TrkA protein (PDB ID: 4AOJ) at the ATP binding sites. This binding of MCP to TrkA led to the conformational change in this protein and triggers the cell death cascades. The in-silico findings are validated by observing the down regulated levels of phosphorylated TrkA and its downstream molecules viz., pERK1/2, pAkt and pCREB in MCP-exposed cells. We observe that these MCP induced alterations in pTrkA and downstream signaling molecules are found to be associated with apoptosis and injury to neurons. The down-regulation of TrkA could be linked to increased p75(NTR). The in-vitro studies could be correlated in the rat model. The switching of TrkA/p75(NTR) signaling plays a central role in MCP-induced neural injury in rBNSCs and behavioral changes in exposed rats. Our studies significantly advance the understanding of the switching of TrkA/p75(NTR) that may pave the way for the application of TrkA inducer/p75(NTR) inhibitor for potential therapeutic intervention in various neurodegenerative disorders.

Prediction and analysis of quorum sensing peptides based on sequence features.

Quorum sensing peptides (QSPs) are the signaling molecules used by the Gram-positive bacteria in orchestrating cell-to-cell communication. In spite of their enormous importance in signaling process, their detailed bioinformatics analysis is lacking. In this study, QSPs and non-QSPs were examined according to their amino acid composition, residues position, motifs and physicochemical properties. Compositional analysis concludes that QSPs are enriched with aromatic residues like Trp, Tyr and Phe. At the N-terminal, Ser was a dominant residue at maximum positions, namely, first, second, third and fifth while Phe was a preferred residue at first, third and fifth positions from the C-terminal. A few motifs from QSPs were also extracted. Physicochemical properties like aromaticity, molecular weight and secondary structure were found to be distinguishing features of QSPs. Exploiting above properties, we have developed a Support Vector Machine (SVM) based predictive model. During 10-fold cross-validation, SVM achieves maximum accuracy of 93.00%, Mathew's correlation coefficient (MCC) of 0.86 and Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) of 0.98 on the training/testing dataset (T200p+200n). Developed models performed equally well on the validation dataset (V20p+20n). The server also integrates several useful analysis tools like "QSMotifScan", "ProtFrag", "MutGen" and "PhysicoProp". Our analysis reveals important characteristics of QSPs and on the basis of these unique features, we have developed a prediction algorithm "QSPpred" (freely available at: http://crdd.osdd.net/servers/qsppred).

Richter's hernia after an intraperitoneal mesh repair.

For ventral hernia repair, laparoscopic surgery offers various advantages, including the application of a large mesh using the intraperitoneal approach. However, improper closure of the port site may lead to serious complications. Port-site hernia is a rare outcome of inadequate repair of the fascial or peritoneal layer, and Richter's hernia in a high risk patient, in the presence of an intraperitoneal mesh, is a particularly challenging scenario. Herein, we present a 58-year-old woman who, after a ventral hernia repair, was diagnosed with a small bowel hernia through a 10-mm port site. The patient complained of pain and mild swelling at the port site in the postoperative period, and her symptoms indicated intestinal obstruction. Clinical evaluation and abdominal X-ray confirmed the diagnosis, and early laparoscopic re-exploration and management were the key to a favorable outcome.

Peripheral ossifying fibroma, some rare findings.

The peripheral ossifying fibroma (POF) is a benign reactive gingival overgrowth; it occurs mainly in the anterior portion of maxilla in young adults, predominantly among females. The present report describes a case of POF in a male patient, which relapsed ten years later and of the lesion showed superficial bone erosion on surgical excision.

An unusual association of microcephalic osteodysplastic primordial dwarfism type I with cardiac and brain anomalies.

Less than 100 cases of primordial dwarfism have been reported worldwide out of which Microcephalic osteodysplastic primordial dwarfism type I comprise about <30 cases. We report a rare case of extreme growth failure in a neonate with primordial dwarfism of antenatal onset due to Microcephalic osteodysplastic primordial dwarfism type I. Our case is also unique in being associated with hitertho unreported association of subpulmonic ventricular septal defect and a dorsal interhemispheric cyst in the brain.

Nickel-mediated N-arylation with arylboronic acids: an avenue to Chan-Lam coupling.

An efficient use of NiCl(2)·6H(2)O, for the cross-coupling of arylboronic acids with various N-nucleophiles, has been demonstrated. The method is practical and offers an alternative to the corresponding Cu-mediated Chan-Lam process for the construction of the C-N bond.

Uptake and translocation of metals in Spinacia oleracea L. grown on tannery sludge-amended and contaminated soils: effect on lipid peroxidation, morpho-anatomical changes and antioxidants.

The plants of Spinacia oleracea L. grown on contaminated soil (CS) and different amendments of tannery sludge (TS) have shown high accumulation of metals in its edible part. The accumulation of toxic metal (Cr) in the leaves of the plants grown on CS was recorded as 40.67 microgg(-1)dw. However, the leaves of the plants grown on 100% TS have accumulated about two times (70.80 microgg(-1)dw) higher Cr than the 10% TS (31.21 microgg(-1)dw). Among growth parameters, the root length was more affected at 90 d than the shoot length, number of leaves and leaf area. The study of scanning electron micrographs showed 29.31% increase in stomatal length in the leaves of the plants grown on CS as compared to garden soil (GS), which served as control, however it decreased in the plants grown on higher amendments of TS. The decrease in MDA content at initial period of exposure and lower amendment was recorded in the leaves, whereas, significant increase (>10% TS onward) was observed with increase in tannery sludge ratio at 90 d as compared to GS. A coordinated increase in all the studied antioxidants (cysteine, non-protein thiol, ascorbic acid, carotenoid contents) was found up to 75 d of growth. At 90 d, most of the antioxidant decreased as compared to 75 d causing oxidative stress as evidenced by increased level of lipid peroxidation and decreased chlorophyll and protein contents. Maximum increase of 181.43% in MDA content and maximum decrease of 53.69% in total chlorophyll content was recorded in the leaves of the plants grown on 100% TS after 90 d of growth. The plants grown on CS have shown an increase in shoot length, number of leaves, leaf area, photosynthetic pigments and protein contents and in all the studied antioxidants. Thus, these plants are able to combat stress involving defense mechanism, resulting in healthy growth of the plants. The results are well coordinated as there is no change in the MDA content as compared to the plants grown on GS. In view of high Cr accumulation in edible part of S. oleracea grown on CS after irrigation with tap water, it is not advisable to use these plants for edible purposes. Summing up, it is recommended that the level of metals in the edible part should be checked instead of healthy growth as deciding parameter for consumption. It is demonstrated through this study that metal enriched plants have detoxification mechanism and grow well on organic matter enriched contaminated soil.