Altered expression of GLS2 indicates a poor prognosis and correlates with clinicopathological features of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Glutamine metabolism, governed by enzymes including glutaminase (GLS1 and GLS2), has a pivotal role in cancer progression. The objective of this study was to determine whether GLS2 transcription levels are associated with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) when compared to matched adjacent normal tissues. Primary tumour and adjacent normal tissues were collected from 51 OSCC patients, and GLS2 mRNA expression analysis was conducted using real-time qPCR. Additionally, The Cancer Genome Atlas-Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (TCGA-HNSCC) dataset was utilized to examine GLS2 expression in relation to clinicopathological features, the prognosis, and tumour immune cell infiltration. A significantly reduced expression of GLS2 mRNA was found in the OSCC tissues when compared to the matched adjacent normal tissue samples (P < 0.001), which aligned with the results from the TCGA-HNSCC dataset and immunohistochemistry. Moreover, GLS2 mRNA expression was associated with clinicopathological features including tumour stage, grade, and human papillomavirus status (all P < 0.05), predicted a poorer prognosis (P = 0.024), and was correlated with tumour immune cell infiltration (all P < 0.05) in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Functional pathway analysis indicated its involvement in cell proliferation and metabolic cycles. GLS2 dysregulation is linked to oral cancer, suggesting its potential as a predictive prognostic marker for OSCC. Furthermore, targeting glutaminases via GLS2 may represent a promising therapeutic strategy for OSCC treatment.

Management of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment with coexisting macular hole: a comparison of vitrectomy with and without internal limiting membrane peeling.

PURPOSE: To compare the outcomes of vitrectomy with or without internal limiting membrane peeling for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment and coexisting macular hole. METHODS: Thirty-one consecutive patients (31 eyes) with macula-off retinal detachment, peripheral breaks and a coexisting macular hole were prospectively enrolled over a 3-year period. All patients underwent vitrectomy with encirclage and gas or silicone oil tamponade. The 17 patients who underwent internal limiting membrane peeling for macular hole constituted Group A and the remaining 14 patients constituted Group B. The main outcome measures were change in best-corrected visual acuity, retinal reattachment, macular hole closure, and type of macular hole closure. RESULTS: The two groups were comparable in preoperative demographics and clinical parameters. The retinal reattachment rate was 100% in both the groups. Macular hole closed in 14 of 17 eyes (82.4%) in Group A and 13 of 14 eyes (92.9%) in Group B (P = 0.607). A flat-open configuration of macular hole closure was observed in 8 of 14 eyes (57%) in Group A and 3 of 13 eyes (27.5%) in Group B (P = 0.188). Mean logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution best-corrected visual acuity improved to 1.0 ± 0.3 (20/200; range, 0.8-1.7) in Group A and 0.6 ± 0.2 (20/80; range, 0.3-1.1) in Group B (P < 0.0001). Ten patients achieved best-corrected visual acuity of ≥ 20/80 in Group B and none in Group A (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: The anatomical and visual outcomes of vitrectomy without internal limiting membrane peeling in macular hole in retinal detachment were similar to or better than the outcomes obtained with internal limiting membrane peeling.

Use of waste fish oil biodiesel blended with aluminium oxide nanoparticle in IC engines: an experimental on performance, combustion and emission study.

Alternate fuels are in great need as the world's natural resources are depleting with continuous consumption. Furthermore, with a continuous increase in the use of conventional fuel which emits a large number of harmful pollutants to the environment and thus increasing global warming, the need for alternative fuel is in great need. This investigation thus focused on the impact identification on the use of biodiesel from fish waste-based biodiesel [BDWFO (Bio-Diesel of Waste Fish Oil)] with Nanoparticles in single cylinder water cooled IC engine. The fish wastes in fish processing industries/fish markets are used to produce oil and its biodiesel is produced by the transesterification method. The individual BDWFO, Diesel, and blends of 20% of BDWFO were tested with the engine. Then another two combinations of fuel created 200 ppm of 40 nm Aluminium Oxide nanoparticles (AN) mixed with BDWFO, blends of 20% of BDWFO. These five fuels were considered to study the engine performance, combustion, and emissions from the exhaust. The experimental results confirmed the presence of aluminium oxide nanoparticles in BDWFO provides improved engine performance and reduced emissions from exhaust gas except for CO2.

A comparison of brilliant blue G, trypan blue, and indocyanine green dyes to assist internal limiting membrane peeling during macular hole surgery.

PURPOSE: To compare surgical outcomes with three dyes, brilliant blue G (BBG), trypan blue (TB) and indocyanine green (ICG), used to facilitate internal limiting membrane peeling during macular hole surgery. METHODS: This comparative, interventional cases series consisted of 50 eyes of 50 patients with senile idiopathic macular holes, who underwent vitrectomy with internal limiting membrane peeling using BBG (n = 15), TB (n = 20), or ICG (n = 15). The cases involving use of BBG and TB were enrolled prospectively and concurrently, and the cases using ICG were selected through chart reviews. We compared the intraoperative surgical facilitation with the 3 dyes and the surgical outcomes in terms of macular hole closure and visual improvement at 6 months. RESULTS: The 3 groups were similar in mean age, sex distribution, preoperative best-corrected visual acuity, and duration of follow-up (P = 0.957, 0.974, 0.939, and 0.5524, respectively). Of the 3 dyes, BBG appeared to provide greatest intraoperative facilitation: most convenient to use and remove, and similar to ICG in terms of internal limiting membrane staining. Six months postoperatively, macular hole closed in 100%, 95%, and 86% eyes (P = 0.48) and visual improvement occurred in 80%, 85%, and 33% eyes (P = 0.005) in BBG, TB, and ICG groups, respectively. The BBG and TB groups also had a better final best-corrected visual acuity than ICG group (P = 0.05) and smaller percentage of visual decline (5% and 6.7% vs. 40% respectively; P = 0.049). CONCLUSION: Brilliant blue G was comparable with TB in optimizing visual and functional outcomes, while it was similar to ICG in ease of internal limiting membrane peeling.

Generating spatially entangled itinerant photons with waveguide quantum electrodynamics.

Realizing a fully connected network of quantum processors requires the ability to distribute quantum entanglement. For distant processing nodes, this can be achieved by generating, routing, and capturing spatially entangled itinerant photons. In this work, we demonstrate the deterministic generation of such photons using superconducting transmon qubits that are directly coupled to a waveguide. In particular, we generate two-photon N00N states and show that the state and spatial entanglement of the emitted photons are tunable via the qubit frequencies. Using quadrature amplitude detection, we reconstruct the moments and correlations of the photonic modes and demonstrate state preparation fidelities of 84%. Our results provide a path toward realizing quantum communication and teleportation protocols using itinerant photons generated by quantum interference within a waveguide quantum electrodynamics architecture.

Indian Guidelines for Indications and Timing of Intervention for Common Congenital Heart Diseases: Revised and Updated Consensus Statement of the Working Group on Management of Congenital Heart Diseases. Abridged Secondary Publication.

JUSTIFICATION: A number of guidelines are available for management of congenital heart diseases from infancy to adult life. However, these guidelines are for patients living in high income countries. Separate guidelines, applicable to Indian children, are required when recommending an intervention for congenital heart diseases, as often these patients present late in the course of the disease and may have co-existing morbidities and malnutrition. PROCESS: Guidelines emerged following expert deliberations at the National Consensus Meeting on Management of Congenital Heart Diseases in India, held on 10th and 11th of August 2018 at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. The meeting was supported by Children's HeartLink, a non-governmental organization based in Minnesota, USA. OBJECTIVES: To frame evidence based guidelines for (i) indications and optimal timing of intervention in common congenital heart diseases; (ii) follow-up protocols for patients who have undergone cardiac surgery/catheter interventions for congenital heart diseases. RECOMMENDATIONS: Evidence based recommendations are provided for indications and timing of intervention in common congenital heart diseases, including left-to-right shunts (atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect, atrioventricular septal defect, patent ductus arteriosus and others), obstructive lesions (pulmonary stenosis, aortic stenosis and coarctation of aorta) and cyanotic congenital heart diseases (tetralogy of Fallot, transposition of great arteries, univentricular hearts, total anomalous pulmonary venous connection, Ebstein anomaly and others). In addition, protocols for follow-up of post surgical patients are also described, disease wise.

Guidelines for the management of common congenital heart diseases in India: A consensus statement on indications and timing of intervention.

INTRODUCTION: A number of guidelines are available for management of congenital heart diseases from infancy to adult life. However, these guidelines are for patients living in high-income countries. Separate guidelines, applicable to Indian children, are required when recommending an intervention for congenital heart diseases, as often these patients present late in the course of the disease and may have co-existing morbidities and malnutrition. PROCESS: Guidelines emerged following expert deliberations at the National Consensus Meeting on Management of Congenital Heart Diseases in India, held on the 10th and 11th of August, 2018 at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to frame evidence-based guidelines for (i) indications and optimal timing of intervention in common congenital heart diseases and (ii) follow-up protocols for patients who have undergone cardiac surgery/catheter interventions for congenital heart diseases. RECOMMENDATIONS: Evidence-based recommendations are provided for indications and timing of intervention in common congenital heart diseases, including left-to-right shunts, obstructive lesions, and cyanotic congenital heart diseases. In addition, protocols for follow-up of postsurgical patients are also described.

Early closure of macular hole secondary to rhegmatogenous retinal detachment with internal limiting membrane peeling.

The authors report rapid closure of macular holes secondary to rhegmatogenous retinal detachment with internal limiting membrane peeling. Four patients with macular hole and macula-off rhegmatogenous retinal detachment underwent belt buckling, vitrectomy, and silicone oil tamponade. The internal limiting membrane was removed using trypan blue dye. Preoperative visual acuity ranged from hand motions to 4/60. Optical coherence tomography was performed preoperatively and postoperatively on day 1 and at each visit. One day postoperatively, the retina was attached and macular holes were closed. Follow-up ranged from 6 to 12 months (mean: 9.5 months). Visual acuity improved significantly in all patients.

Optical coherence tomography findings in valsalva retinopathy.

PURPOSE: To demonstrate the plane of premacular hemorrhage in Valsalva retinopathy with optical coherence tomography DESIGN: Observational case report METHODS: Two young men with Valsalva stress-related premacular hemorrhage were evaluated by OCT scans, taken just above the level of sedimented blood. RESULTS: In both cases, OCT demonstrated two distinct membranes: a highly reflective band immediately above the premacular hemorrhage, corresponding to the internal limiting membrane, and an overlying patchy membrane with low optical reflectivity consistent with posterior hyaloid. CONCLUSION: OCT supported the clinical impression that the plane of premacular hemorrhage in Valsalva retinopathy is probably under ILM. Larger case studies are required to confirm this finding.

Device closure of residual ventricular septal defect after repair of tetralogy of fallot using the amplatzer duct occluder.

Residual ventricular septal defect after surgical repair for tetralogy of Fallot can occasionally be hemodynamically important requiring re-intervention. Transcatheter closure using ventricular septal defect devices is an attractive option for such defects. We describe two such cases where the Amplatzer duct occluder was used as an innovative, less costly alternative for closure of residual membranous ventricular septal defects. Complete occlusion of the residual ventricular septal defect with significant symptomatic improvement could be accomplished in both patients.

mRNA phenotyping of the major ligands and receptors of the EGF supergene family in human ovarian epithelial cells.

mRNA amplification phenotyping (MAPPing) was used to determine the level of mRNA expression of the major EGF-related ligands (EGF, TGF-alpha, and Amphiregulin) and receptors (EGF-receptor and erbB-2) of the EGF supergene family in three ovarian carcinoma lines (OVCA 429 and 433, and NIH:OVCAR-8) under serum-supplemented and reduced serum (minimal medium with 2% fetuin) growth conditions. mRNA levels of TGF-alpha, EGF-R, and erbB-2 were particularly high, and increased approximately 2-3 orders of magnitude when grown in serum, consistent with an autocrine involvement of these genes in ovarian epithelial growth in vitro. Moreover, even when grown without serum, OVCA 429 and NIH:OVCAR-8 expressed elevated levels of mRNA for erbB-2.

ErbB receptor expression and growth response to heregulin beta 1 in five ovarian carcinoma lines.

SKOV-3, NIH:OVCAR-3, NIH:OVCAR-8, Ovca 429 and Ovca 433 ovarian carcinoma cell lines were examined to correlate biological behavior (growth in monolayer and soft agar) with erbB family receptor expression levels and response to recombinant Heregulin beta1 (Hrg). While all lines expressed variable amounts of each receptor, erbB-3 and to a lesser extent erbB-2 were constitutively tyrosine phosphorylated in all lines. Hrg beta1 treatment enhanced only erbB-3 tyrosine phosphorylation; however, the addition of Hrg in low serum did not stimulate ovarian cell growth, unlike all three breast cancer cell lines examined. In addition, all five of the ovarian carcinoma cell lines expressed Hrg mRNA by RT-PCR, unlike two of the three breast cancer cell lines. These results suggest the apparent importance of erbB-3 and endogenous Hrg in ovarian carcinoma cell growth in vitro.

Tyrosine phosphorylated proteins in chronic myelogenous leukemia.

An aberrantly expressed and highly active abl tyrosine kinase (p210bcr-abl) appears critical for the development and pathogenesis of chronic myelogenous-leukemia (CML). CML cells and cell lines each displayed a similar spectrum of phosphotyrosyl proteins. Analysis of these proteins by glycerol-gradient ultracentrifugation showed that many apparently existed as multimeric complexes. Confirming this, several of these proteins co-immunoprecipitated, along with the p210bcr-abl, with antibody to abl. Included were co-precipitating proteins identified as the p120 ras GTPase-activating protein (GAP) and the p62 protein that binds both to GAP and to a number of other tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins having peptide regions homologous to the second domain of src. Because p62, ras GAP and ras are involved in growth-factor and oncogene activation of cells, this pathway may also play an important role in CML.

Intrinsically conducting polymer nanowires for biosensing.

Nanomaterials are commonly exploited to increase the sensitivity of sensors. Conductive polymers are emerging as promising sensing materials as they are easy to functionalize with the appropriate sensing probes, and also act as signal transducers. By constraining the material into one dimensional nanowires, extraordinary sensitivity is achieved. This review deals with the fabrication of these electrically conductive polymer nanowire (ECPNW) sensors and their use for detecting nucleic acid sequences, proteins and pathogens.

Emergency balloon dilation or stenting of critical coarctation of aorta in newborns and infants: An effective interim palliation.

BACKGROUND: Management of native uncomplicated coarctation in neonates remains controversial with current evidence favoring surgery. The logistics of organizing surgical repair at short notice in sick infants with critical coarctation can be challenging. METHODS AND RESULTS: We reviewed data of 10 infants (mean age of 2.9 +/-1.6 weeks) who underwent catheter intervention for severe coarctation and left ventricular (LV) dysfunction between July 2003 and August 2007. Additional cardiac lesions were present in 7. Mean systolic gradient declined from 51+/-12 mm Hg to 8.7+/-6.7 mm Hg after dilation. The coarctation segment was stented in five patients. Procedural success was achieved in all patients with no mortality. Complications included brief cardiopulmonary arrest (n =1), sepsis (n = 1) and temporary pulse loss (n = 2). LV dysfunction improved in all patients. Average ICU stay was 5+/-3.4 days and hospital stay was 6.5+/-3.4 days. On follow-up (14.1+/-10.5 months), all developed restenosis after median period of 12 weeks (range four to 28 weeks). Three (two with stents) underwent elective coarctation repair, two underwent ventricular septal defect (VSD) closure and coarctation repair and one underwent pulmonary artery (PA) banding. Two patients who developed restenosis on follow-up were advised surgery, but did not report. Two (one with stent) underwent redilatation and are being followed with no significant residual gradients. CONCLUSION: Balloon dilation +/- stenting is an effective interim palliation for infants and newborns with critical coarctation and LV dysfunction. Restenosis is inevitable and requires to be addressed.

Congenital coronary artery anomalies: diagnosis with 64 slice multidetector row computed tomography coronary angiography: a single-centre study.

Retrospective review of the congenital coronary artery (CA) anomalies detected by a 64-slice multidetector row computed tomographic (MDCT) angiography. The type of the anomaly, imaging characteristics, clinical relevance and the superiority of the MDCT over conventional coronary angiography are discussed. Multidetector row computed tomographic coronary angiography was carried out by the usual technique with 70 cc of non-ionic contrast agent and retrospective electrocardiogram gating. The volume data obtained were reconstructed in axial plane, along with volume-rendered three-dimensional reconstruction and virtual angioscopy in selected patients. The images were analysed by a radiologist, experienced in cardiac CT, and an experienced cardiologist. A retrospective review of the records was carried out, and subjects with congenital coronary anomalies were included in the study. Between 15 November 2005 and 27 February 2007, 1495 MDCT coronary angiograms were carried out. Eleven of them were found to have coronary anomalies. Five had absent left main CA. Two had interarterial course of the left main CA artery passing in between the right ventricular outflow tract and the root of aorta. In one patient, there was aberrant origin of right CA from the left aortic sinus with subsequent interarterial course and another one had aberrant origin of circumflex artery from the right aortic sinus. One patient each of congenitally absent circumflex artery and atresia of the right CA were found. Sixty-four slice MDCT coronary angiography provided accurate depiction of anomalous vessel origin and course along with the complex anatomical relation with the adjacent structures. CT can be considered as a first-line imaging method for delineating coronary arterial anomalies.