Curcuma Longa in the Treatment of Symptomatic oral lichen planus: A non-randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: Oxidative stress has been suggested as pathogenesis of oral lichen planus (OLP), implicating the vital role of antioxidants in its treatment. Curcumin, naturally found in turmeric has potent antioxidant and inflammatory properties and can be useful in reducing spread and subsiding burning and pain sensation in patients with OLP. The present study was done to evaluate the role of curcumin in the treatment of symptomatic OLP compared with the control group. Materials and Method: A total of 40 patients with symptomatic OLP were divided into 2 groups of 20 subjects each. Group A was treated with curcumin oral gel and a multivitamin capsule containing zinc, whereas Group B was given multivitamin containing zinc only. Patients were followed-up twice, that is, after 1 month and 3 months. A modified REU (reticulation/keratosis, erythema and ulceration) score for spread and Visual analogue scale for pain/burning sensation was used and the difference of score was calculated by t test. Results: During F1 period, 0.61 (Group A) and 0.19 (Group B) points improvement and in F2 period, the REU score further increased significantly to 1.36 (Group A) and 0.43 (Group B), respectively. The mean score reduction in Visual analogue scale during F1 period was 1.71 and 0.71, which further increased significantly to 2.88 and 1.24 during F2 period in Groups A and B, respectively. Conclusion: Curcumin, an active ingredient of turmeric is commercially available in gel form to treat different oral lesions and significantly effective in reducing spread and providing symptomatic relief in OLP without any adverse effects.

OsCPK29 interacts with MADS68 to regulate pollen development in rice.

Pollen development and its germination are obligatory for the reproductive success of flowering plants. Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CPKs, also known as CDPKs) regulate diverse signaling pathways controlling plant growth and development. Here, we report the functional characterization of a novel OsCPK29 from rice, which is mainly expressed during pollen maturation stages of the anther. OsCPK29 exclusively localizes in the nucleus, and its N-terminal variable domain is responsible for retaining it in the nucleus. OsCPK29 knockdown rice plants exhibit reduced fertility, set fewer seeds, and produce collapsed non-viable pollen grains that do not germinate. Cytological analysis of anther semi-thin sections during different developmental stages suggested that pollen abnormalities appear after the vacuolated pollen stage. Detailed microscopic study of pollen grains further revealed that they were lacking the functional intine layer although exine layer was present. Consistent with that, downregulation of known intine development-related rice genes was also observed in OsCPK29 silenced anthers. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that OsCPK29 interacts in vitro as well as in vivo with the MADS68 transcription factor which is a known regulator of pollen development. Therefore, phenotypic observations and molecular studies suggest that OsCPK29 is an important regulator of pollen development in rice.

Buckwheat-enriched diet alleviates bisphenol A mediated oxidative stress via modulation of sirtuin 1 and antioxidant status in experimental rats.

Present study investigated effect of dietary buckwheat in alleviating bisphenol A (BPA) mediated oxidative stress, concomitant sirtuin1 levels in serum, stomach, and liver of rats. Experimental group A and B ingested standard diet, C and D consumed buckwheat (30%); group A and C drank normal water, B and C had BPA contamination (10 mg L-1). Sirtuin1 mean B/A ratio nearing unity in all tissues reveals inertness of BPA towards sirtuin1. Dietary buckwheat improved sirtuin1 levels both in normal (mean C/A ratio of serum, 1.65; liver, 1.24; stomach, 1.78) and BPA fed state (mean D/B ratio of serum, 1.9; liver, 1.26; stomach, 1.75). Buckwheat augmented antioxidant status in BPA fed rats as seen in mean D/B ratio of serum (catalase, 2.4; glutathione reductase (GR), 1.33; Thiols, 1.2), liver (catalase, 2; GR, 2.5; Thiols, 1.36) and stomach (catalase, 1.31; GR, 1.5; Thiols, 1.33). Therefore, buckwheat counters BPA-led oxidative stress and modulates sirtuin1.

Association between depression, anxiety and quality of life among patients with diabetes mellitus and/or hypertension in a tertiary care railway hospital in India: A cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: Comorbid depression and anxiety have been found to be highly present in patients suffering from chronic physical illnesses such as diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HTN). These comorbid psychiatric conditions further reduce the quality of life (QOL) in the sufferers. The present study aimed to assess the association between depression, anxiety, and QOL among patients with DM and/or HTN. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was carried out in the outpatient setting of the medicine department of the tertiary care referral hospital of East Central Indian Railways. One hundred and twenty-three individuals of DM and/or HTN of more than 1-month duration were assessed for depression, anxiety, and QOL using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the World Health Organization QOL Brief (WHOQOL-BREF) version scale. RESULTS: The mean age of the sample (53.7% had HTN, 12.2% had diabetes, and 34.1% had both HTN and diabetes) which comprised 87% males was 50.20 (±6.0) years. The mean HADS (anxiety and depression) scores were 3.6 for both (range 0-14). Nearly 10.6% and 17.1% of the samples had scores above the cutoff for HADS anxiety and depression subscales. The WHOQOL-BREF scores were highest for the environmental domain and were lower for psychological, physical, and social domains. The HADS anxiety and depressive scores correlated significantly negatively with the WHOQOL-BREF physical and psychological domains. Female gender and the presence of an additional medical illness were significantly associated with higher HADS depression scores. CONCLUSION: Fair proportion of patients with HTN and/or diabetes has been affected with higher anxiety and depressive scores, which predicted a poor QOL. This calls for early identification of these mental health issues in sufferers of depression and HTN, which will facilitate an early holistic management.

Role of Hsp90 and ATP in modulating apyrase activity and firefly luciferase kinetics.

The present manuscript describes a novel bioassay consisting of apyrase and heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) without additional co-chaperone supplementation; intended for high-throughput screening of anti-cancer drugs and prognosis of stress. In this regard, Hsp90 and adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) mediated firefly luciferase (FLuc) kinetics was investigated using apyrase and FLuc as client proteins. Bioluminescent assay containing Hsp90, ATP, and apyrase led to complete loss of luminescence at 50 °C which indicates the protective role of Hsp90 against thermal denaturation. Similarly, the assay sample comprising Hsp90, ATP, and FLuc showed 2 fold increments in luminescence than their counterparts. Introduction of bovine serum albumin (BSA) to the pre-incubated assay mixture led to an initial rise in the luminescence (28%) in comparison to the sample containing Hsp90, ATP and FLuc. Therefore, FLuc based HTS assays are not suitable for clinical samples which may contain stabilizing agents. However, thermally denatured FLuc and apyrase could not regain their active conformation even when Hsp90 and ATP were introduced in the assay system. This observation justifies the role of Hsp90 to be protective rather than a reparation agent when acts without co-chaperones.

Pharmaceutico-analytical Study of Kushtae Shangarf Prepared with Jozbua (Myristica fragrans Houtt.) and Phitkari (Alum).

INTRODUCTION: Kushta of Shangarf (KS) is in therapeutic use since long time in Unani and Ayurvedic medicine. It requires extensive assessment with respect to its safety and processing because of the presence of mercury. KS prepared with Shangarf (HgS), Phitkari (alum), and Jozbua (Myristica fragrans Houtt.) was selected for the study. It is indicated as tonic, increases blood production, and improves complexion of face. Preparation of KS by classical and contemporary method and its comparative physicochemical analysis was attempted in this work. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Kushta was prepared by incinerating the drugs kept inside Buta in Bhatti with 24kg of Uple (cow-dung cakes) and also in muffle furnace. Samples obtained were evaluated by Unani specifications (test), powder characterizations, loss on drying, pH, ash value, solubility, particle size, and qualitative estimation of organic and inorganic constituents, X-ray diffraction (XRD), quantitative estimation by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry, and so on. RESULTS: Physicochemical standards set in were comparable in KS prepared by classical method (KSCM) and in KS prepared by muffle furnace method (KSMFM), except water-soluble ash and solubility in water were found slightly more in KSMFM. XRD study revealed the presence of aluminum oxide phase and absence of mercury in both the samples. Quantitative estimation of elements in both the samples in decreasing order are as follows: sulfur > aluminum > calcium > iron > arsenic. Arsenic was found more than iron in KSCM at parts per million level. CONCLUSION: Preliminary understanding suggests that muffle furnace method could be a better option with respect to safety and ease of preparation. Shangarf incinerated above 900°C with Phitkari and Jaiphal did not show presence of mercury in both the samples, indicating KS prepared by incinerating at higher temperature can be safer than unroasted preparation. Studied formulation can be recommended or used for its indications without the concern of mercury toxicity.

bHLH142 regulates various metabolic pathway-related genes to affect pollen development and anther dehiscence in rice.

Apposite development of anther and its dehiscence are important for the reproductive success of the flowering plants. Recently, bHLH142, a bHLH transcription factor encoding gene of rice has been found to show anther-specific expression and mutant analyses suggest its functions in regulating tapetum differentiation and degeneration during anther development. However, our study on protein level expression and gain-of-function phenotype revealed novel aspects of its regulation and function during anther development. Temporally dissimilar pattern of bHLH142 transcript and polypeptide accumulation suggested regulation of its expression beyond transcriptional level. Overexpression of bHLH142 in transgenic rice resulted in indehiscent anthers and aborted pollen grains. Defects in septum and stomium rupture caused anther indehiscence while pollen abortion phenotype attributed to abnormal degeneration of the tapetum. Furthermore, RNA-Seq-based transcriptome analysis of tetrad and mature pollen stage anthers of wild type and bHLH142OEplants suggested that it might regulate carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, cell wall modification, reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis and cell death-related genes during rice anther development. Thus, bHLH142 is an anther-specific gene whose expression is regulated at transcriptional and post-transcriptional/translational levels. It plays a role in pollen maturation and anther dehiscence by regulating expression of various metabolic pathways-related genes.