Interfacial nanoarchitectonics of nickel phosphide supported on activated carbon for transfer hydrogenation of nitroarenes under mild conditions.

Metal phosphides are promising catalysts for hydrogenation reactions due to their unique ability to generate active hydrogen species which are essential for desired reactions. In this work, the hydrogenation potential of nickel phosphide (Ni2P) is explored for the transfer hydrogenation of aromatic nitro compounds using hydrazine hydrate as hydrogen source. The Ni2P was supported on activated carbon (AC) to facilitate highly exposed active reaction sites. The as-synthesized Ni2P-AC catalyst showed excellent catalytic potential for the hydrogenation of nitro compounds to corresponding amines with 100% conversion efficiency and resulted in excellent yields. The reaction conditions were optimized by varying different reaction parameters, such as time, temperature, solvents, catalyst amount and hydrogen sources. The developed reaction protocol is highly selective for nitro compounds having reduction susceptible functional groups like -Cl, -Br, -CHO, etc. The structure-activity relationship of the Ni2P-AC was also examined which suggested that both acidic and basic sites present in Ni2P-AC catalyst plays crucial role in hydrogenation reaction. Besides, an in-depth insight into the reaction mechanism illustrates that the reaction proceeds via N-phenyl hydroxylamine as the reaction intermediate. In addition, decent recyclability and stability of Ni2P-AC catalyst demonstrates its highly versatile nature for potential large-scale applications. The use of highly efficient Ni2P-AC catalyst for hydrogenation reactions can lead the way towards sustainable and effective industrial organic catalysis.

Towards Understanding the Key Signature Pathways Associated from Differentially Expressed Gene Analysis in an Indian Prostate Cancer Cohort.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most prevalent cancers among men in India. Although studies on PCa have dealt with genetics, genomics, and the environmental influence in the causality of PCa, not many studies employing the Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) approaches of PCa have been carried out. In our previous study, we identified some causal genes and mutations specific to Indian PCa using Whole Exome Sequencing (WES). In the recent past, with the help of different cancer consortiums such as The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC), along with differentially expressed genes (DEGs), many cancer-associated novel non-coding RNAs have been identified as biomarkers. In this work, we attempt to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) including long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) associated with signature pathways from an Indian PCa cohort using the RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) approach. From a cohort of 60, we screened six patients who underwent prostatectomy; we performed whole transcriptome shotgun sequencing (WTSS)/RNA-sequencing to decipher the DEGs. We further normalized the read counts using fragments per kilobase of transcript per million mapped reads (FPKM) and analyzed the DEGs using a cohort of downstream regulatory tools, viz., GeneMANIA, Stringdb, Cytoscape-Cytohubba, and cbioportal, to map the inherent signatures associated with PCa. By comparing the RNA-seq data obtained from the pairs of normal and PCa tissue samples using our benchmarked in-house cuffdiff pipeline, we observed some important genes specific to PCa, such as STEAP2, APP, PMEPA1, PABPC1, NFE2L2, and HN1L, and some other important genes known to be involved in different cancer pathways, such as COL6A1, DOK5, STX6, BCAS1, BACE1, BACE2, LMOD1, SNX9, CTNND1, etc. We also identified a few novel lncRNAs such as LINC01440, SOX2OT, ENSG00000232855, ENSG00000287903, and ENST00000647843.1 that need to be characterized further. In comparison with publicly available datasets, we have identified characteristic DEGs and novel lncRNAs implicated in signature PCa pathways in an Indian PCa cohort which perhaps have not been reported. This has set a precedent for us to validate candidates further experimentally, and we firmly believe this will pave a way toward the discovery of biomarkers and the development of novel therapies.

Identification of Plausible Candidates in Prostate Cancer Using Integrated Machine Learning Approaches.

Background: Currently, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is commonly used as a prostate cancer (PCa) biomarker. PSA is linked to some factors that frequently lead to erroneous positive results or even needless biopsies of elderly people. Objectives: In this pilot study, we undermined the potential genes and mutations from several databases and checked whether or not any putative prognostic biomarkers are central to the annotation. The aim of the study was to develop a risk prediction model that could help in clinical decision-making. Methods: An extensive literature review was conducted, and clinical parameters for related comorbidities, such as diabetes, obesity, as well as PCa, were collected. Such parameters were chosen with the understanding that variations in their threshold values could hasten the complicated process of carcinogenesis, more particularly PCa. The gathered data was converted to semi-binary data (-1, -0.5, 0, 0.5, and 1), on which machine learning (ML) methods were applied. First, we cross-checked various publicly available datasets, some published RNA-seq datasets, and our whole-exome sequencing data to find common role players in PCa, diabetes, and obesity. To narrow down their common interacting partners, interactome networks were analysed using GeneMANIA and visualised using Cytoscape, and later cBioportal was used (to compare expression level based on Z scored values) wherein various types of mutation w.r.t their expression and mRNA expression (RNA seq FPKM) plots are available. The GEPIA 2 tool was used to compare the expression of resulting similarities between the normal tissue and TCGA databases of PCa. Later, top-ranking genes were chosen to demonstrate striking clustering coefficients using the Cytoscape-cytoHubba module, and GEPIA 2 was applied again to ascertain survival plots. Results: Comparing various publicly available datasets, it was found that BLM is a frequent player in all three diseases, whereas comparing publicly available datasets, GWAS datasets, and published sequencing findings, SPFTPC and PPIMB were found to be the most common. With the assistance of GeneMANIA, TMPO and FOXP1 were found as common interacting partners, and they were also seen participating with BLM. Conclusion: A probabilistic machine learning model was achieved to identify key candidates between diabetes, obesity, and PCa. This, we believe, would herald precision scale modeling for easy prognosis.

Cataract surgery in eyes with associated coloboma: Predictors of outcome and safety of different surgical techniques.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to report the outcome of cataract surgery with different surgical techniques in eyes with coexisting coloboma and to define factors of prognostic importance. Methods: Retrospective case sheet review of patients presenting between January 2016 and December 2018, who underwent cataract surgery in eyes with coexisting coloboma. Results: Of the 3,30,231 cases operated during the study period, 280 eyes of 276 patients had associated colobomatous malformation. The prevalence of coloboma in eyes undergoing cataract surgery was 0.085%. The mean age of the patients was 46.4 years (range 19 -88 years). Phacoemulsification (PE) was performed in 130 eyes (46.4%), manual small incision cataract surgery (M-SICS) was done in 115 eyes (41.1%), and 35 eyes (12.5%) underwent intra capsular cataract extraction. Intra-operative complications were noted in 26 (9%) eyes. Incidence of intra-operative and post-operative complications was comparable between PE and M-SICS groups (p = 0.94). The mean corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) improved from logMAR 1.71 ± 0.62 to 0.87 ± 0.61 (p = 0.00009). On multivariate analysis, microcornea (p = 0.002), type 1 and 2 coloboma (p < 0.001), and intraoperative complications (p = 0.001) were associated with poor visual outcome. Conclusion: Favorable functional outcomes can be achieved with phacoemulsification in eyes with softer cataract and corneal diameter >8 mm and with M-SICS in eyes with hard cataracts and corneal diameter of 6-8 mm. PE should be considered as the primary choice whenever permissible by the corneal diameter and severity of nuclear sclerosis. Poor functional outcomes were seen in eyes with smaller corneal diameter, extensive chorioretinal coloboma, and intraoperative complications.

A Pilot Study on the Whole Exome Sequencing of Prostate Cancer in the Indian Phenotype Reveals Distinct Polymorphisms.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the third most common cancer among men in India, and no next-generation sequencing (NGS) studies have been attempted earlier. Recent advances in NGS have heralded the discovery of biomarkers from Caucasian/European and Chinese ancestry, but not much is known about the Indian phenotype/variant of PCa. In a pilot study using the whole exome sequencing of benign/PCa patients, we identified characteristic mutations specific to the Indian sub-population. We observed a large number of mutations in DNA repair genes, viz. helicases, TP53, and BRCA besides the variants of unknown significance with a possibly damaging rare variant (rs730881069/chr19:55154172C/TR136Q) in the TNNI3 gene that has been previously reported as a semi-conservative amino acid substitution. Our pilot study attempts to bring an understanding of PCa prognosis and recurrence for the Indian phenotype.

Immediate and Long-Term Follow Up Results of Balloon Aortic Valvuloplasty in Congenital Bicuspid Aortic Valve Stenosis Among Young Patients.

BACKGROUND: The study aim was to investigate the immediate and long-term results of balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV) in young patients (aged ≤20 years) with congenital bicuspid aortic valve presenting with severe aortic stenosis. METHODS: The study involved a single tertiary care center-based retrospective data analysis of immediate and long-term outcomes in patients following balloon valvuloplasty between 2000 and 2011. A total of 92 young patients (mean age 12.7 years; 95% CI 8.3-16.7 years) with aortic stenosis due to congenital bicuspid aortic valve and who underwent BAV were studied. RESULTS: The mean follow up period was 5.7 ± 1.3 years. Intervention resulted in successful BAV (≥50% reduction in baseline gradient) in 79 patients (85.9%; group A) and partially successful BAV (<50% reduction in baseline gradient) in eight patients (8.7%; group B). BAV failed in five patients (5.4%; group C). The mean left ventricular systolic pressure was decreased from 155.6 mmHg (95% CI 132.7-186.3 mmHg) to 100.9 mmHg (95% CI 82.1-119.6 mmHg; p <0.001), and the mean aortic valve gradient from 40.7 mmHg (95% CI 25.12-56.22 mmHg) to 17.2 mmHg (95% CI 15.83- 21.23 mmHg; p <0.001). Mean changes in aortic valve area and mean gradient were significantly different between successful BAV groups (A and B) and the failed BAV group (p = 0.001). Different grades of aortic regurgitation were noted in 32 patients (34.78%) after BAV (severe regurgitation in 2.18%). A post hoc analysis showed sustained gradient reductions at one- and five-year follow up investigations (p <0.05). The need for surgery was much lower in the successful BAV groups. CONCLUSIONS: The success of BAV in bicuspid aortic valve stenosis in younger patients was approximately 85%. Although 10% of patients developed re-stenosis and required surgical intervention, the majority did well during the follow up period. It was concluded that BAV is a viable option in adolescents and young children with bicuspid aortic valve without severe calcification.

Post-operative Adult Onset Tic Disorder: A Rare Presentation.

Tics are rapid and repetitive muscle contractions resulting in stereotype movements and vocalizations that are experienced as involuntary. Onset before 18-year is a diagnostic criterion for tic disorders. Children and adolescents may exhibit tic behaviors after a stimulus or in response to an internal urge. Tic behaviors increase during physical or an emotional stress. Adult onset tic disorders are reported by infections, drugs, cocaine, toxins, chromosomal disorders, head injury, stroke, neurocutaneous syndromes, neurodegenerative disorders and peripheral injuries. Only few cases have yet been reported having onset after surgery though surgery brings both physical and emotional stress to the patient. We report a case of a 55-year-old lady who developed tic disorder as post-operative event of cataract surgery. Our patient had a dramatic response to haloperidol which is in contrast to all earlier reports.