Meditation-A Slippery Slope for Psychosis: A Case Series With Review of Evidence.

ABSTRACT: The practice of meditation has been traditionally viewed as a self-regulatory approach that aids in psychological well-being. Over the last decade, mindfulness-based meditation has gained a separate therapeutic significance in various mental health conditions. There has also been considerable understanding of the adverse effects of meditation over the years. Despite this, there is still underreporting of the altered behavioral presentations arising possibly because of intensive and unguided meditation practices. We present two cases of meditation-related psychosis with different clinical presentations. The write-up highlights the need for tailoring the meditation practices after evaluation of mental state of the individuals and early detection of "at-risk" mental states. There should be regular screening of emergence of any unwanted effects during the course of meditation and the guides should be able to detect the early warning signs of psychosis.

Periodic Environmental Disturbance Drives Repeated Ecomorphological Diversification in an Adaptive Radiation of Antarctic Fishes.

AbstractThe ecological theory of adaptive radiation has profoundly shaped our conceptualization of the rules that govern diversification. However, while many radiations follow classic early-burst patterns of diversification as they fill ecological space, the longer-term fates of these radiations depend on many factors, such as climatic stability. In systems with periodic disturbances, species-rich clades can contain nested adaptive radiations of subclades with their own distinct diversification histories, and how adaptive radiation theory applies in these cases is less clear. Here, we investigated patterns of ecological and phenotypic diversification within two iterative adaptive radiations of cryonotothenioid fishes in Antarctica's Southern Ocean: crocodile icefishes and notoperches. For both clades, we observe evidence of repeated diversification into disparate regions of trait space between closely related taxa and into overlapping regions of trait space between distantly related taxa. We additionally find little evidence that patterns of ecological divergence are correlated with evolution of morphological disparity, suggesting that these axes of divergence may not be tightly linked. Finally, we reveal evidence of repeated convergence in sympatry that suggests niche complementarity. These findings reflect the dynamic history of Antarctic marine habitats and may guide hypotheses of diversification dynamics in environments characterized by periodic disturbance.

Exploring the Synergistic Association Between Oral Health Status and Oral Health Literacy Among College Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION: Oral health is often viewed as a significant component for an indication of good general health or for good well-being together with a decent quality of life. Health literacy is considered a crucial factor in improvising a good life or excellent health. Oral health literacy (OHL) is the ability necessary for people to identify the factors that lead to poor oral health, learn and put into practice the essentials of effective oral self-care behaviors, and communicate with oral healthcare professionals in order to schedule appointments, put their names on waiting lists for dental care, and locate the dentist's office. AIM AND OBJECTIVES: To evaluate students' oral health, their OHL, to determine the relationship between their oral health status and OHL, and finally to suggest preventive measures for the benefit of public health. MATERIALS AND METHOD: At Teerthanker Mahaveer University, a cross-sectional study involving 1500 participants, ages 18 to 25, was conducted on students studying nursing, physiotherapy, paramedicine, engineering, and law. Their informed consent was obtained. The Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Dentistry (REALD-99) was used to gauge OHL levels, and the WHO's 1997 Oral Health Survey was used for their clinical evaluation. RESULTS: The mean REALD score was significantly higher in nursing students (88.32±6.46), followed by physiotherapy college (82.46±9.11), paramedical college (70.54±10.95), law college (46.52±7.74), and least in engineering college (38.80±10.65). The difference in the REALD score based on college was statistically significant. Along with this, the REALD score showed a correlation with gender and location too. Except for fluorosis, all the clinical parameters of dental caries, gingival bleeding, and pockets, loss of attachment, dental fluorosis, and dental enamel were associated with OHL. CONCLUSION: The results of the current study showed a relationship between educational attainment, clinical parameters examined, and OHL, leading to the conclusion that higher OHL is related to better oral health. So, we can conclude that maintaining good oral health requires OHL.

Salinity Alleviation and Reduction in Oxidative Stress by Endophytic and Rhizospheric Microbes in Two Rice Cultivars.

Increased soil salinity poses serious limitations in crop yield and quality; thus, an attempt was made to explore microbial agents to mitigate the ill effects of salinity in rice. The hypothesis was mapping of microbial induction of stress tolerance in rice. Since the rhizosphere and endosphere are two different functional niches directly affected by salinity, it could be very crucial to evaluate them for salinity alleviation. In this experiment, endophytic and rhizospheric microbes were tested for differences in salinity stress alleviation traits in two rice cultivars, CO51 and PB1. Two endophytic bacteria, Bacillus haynesii 2P2 and Bacillus safensis BTL5, were tested with two rhizospheric bacteria, Brevibacterium frigoritolerans W19 and Pseudomonas fluorescens 1001, under elevated salinity (200 mM NaCl) along with Trichoderma viride as an inoculated check. The pot study indicated towards the presence of variable salinity mitigation mechanisms among these strains. Improvement in the photosynthetic machinery was also recorded. These inoculants were evaluated for the induction of antioxidant enzymes viz. CAT, SOD, PO, PPO, APX, and PAL activity along with the effect on proline levels. Modulation of the expression of salt stress responsive genes OsPIP1, MnSOD1, cAPXa, CATa, SERF, and DHN was assessed. Root architecture parameters viz. cumulative length of total root, projection area, average diameter, surface area, root volume, fractal dimension, number of tips, and forks were studied. Confocal scanning laser microscopy indicated accumulation of Na+ in leaves using cell impermeant Sodium Green™, Tetra (Tetramethylammonium) Salt. It was found that each of these parameters were induced differentially by endophytic bacteria, rhizospheric bacteria, and fungus, indicating different paths to complement one ultimate plant function. The biomass accumulation and number of effective tillers were highest in T4 (Bacillus haynesii 2P2) plants in both cultivars and showed the possibility of cultivar specific consortium. These strains and their mechanisms could form the basis for further evaluating microbial strains for climate-resilient agriculture.

Virulence and pathogenicity determinants in whole genome sequence of Fusarium udum causing wilt of pigeon pea.

The present study deals with whole genome analysis of Fusarium udum, a wilt causing pathogen of pigeon pea. The de novo assembly identified a total of 16,179 protein-coding genes, of which 11,892 genes (73.50%) were annotated using BlastP and 8,928 genes (55.18%) from KOG annotation. In addition, 5,134 unique InterPro domains were detected in the annotated genes. Apart from this, we also analyzed genome sequence for key pathogenic genes involved in virulence, and identified 1,060 genes (6.55%) as virulence genes as per the PHI-BASE database. The secretome profiling of these virulence genes indicated the presence of 1,439 secretory proteins. Of those, an annotation of 506 predicted secretory proteins through CAZyme database indicated maximum abundance of Glycosyl hydrolase (GH, 45%) family proteins followed by auxiliary activity (AA) family proteins. Interestingly, the presence of effectors for cell wall degradation, pectin degradation, and host cell death was found. The genome comprised approximately 895,132 bp of repetitive elements, which includes 128 long terminal repeats (LTRs), and 4,921 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) of 80,875 bp length. The comparative mining of effector genes among different Fusarium species revealed five common and two specific effectors in F. udum that are related to host cell death. Furthermore, wet lab experiment validated the presence of effector genes like SIX (for Secreted in Xylem). We conclude that deciphering the whole genome of F. udum would be instrumental in understanding evolution, virulence determinants, host-pathogen interaction, possible control strategies, ecological behavior, and many other complexities of the pathogen.

Psychiatric comorbidity and quality of life in patients with epilepsy on anti-epileptic monotherapy and polytherapy.

Objective: The bio-psycho-social factors affecting the quality of life in patients with epilepsy can be numerous but are often overlooked. The behavioral side effects of anti-seizure medications can be one such potential factor. The aim of the study is to address the effect of the number of anti-seizure medications on the development of psychiatric comorbidity and quality of life in patients with adequate seizure control. Materials and Methods: The study recruited 100 participants with generalized tonic-clonic seizures from a tertiary care center in North India, who were seizure-free from the last 1 month. The study participants were divided into two groups based on whether they were on monotherapy or polytherapy. The two groups were matched for their socio-demographic and clinical profile. We assessed for psychiatric comorbidity in each group using Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. All the study participants were given Hindi translated version of quality of life in the epilepsy-31 questionnaire for objective assessment of the quality of life. Results: The patients receiving anti-epileptic polytherapy had significantly higher prevalence of psychiatric comorbidity than patients on monotherapy. Furthermore, the patients on polytherapy scored significantly less on the cognitive domain of quality of life as well as the overall quality of life domain in the epilepsy-31 questionnaire. Conclusion: The patients with epilepsy must be evaluated for psychiatric comorbidity and side effect profile of anti-seizure medications to improve the quality of life. This is particularly more important for patients who are on anti-epileptic polytherapy even if the seizure control is adequate.

Mephentermine Misuse: An Impending Crisis among Sportspersons.

Mephentermine is a sympathomimetic amine, frequently used as a vasopressor. It is structurally comparable to amphetamines, and World Anti-Doping Agency has prohibited its use as a performance-enhancing drug. However, its illegal consumption by several sportspersons and those appearing for physical endurance tests is a growing concern for health-care professionals. We present a case of misuse of intravenous mephentermine by a young male who abruptly increased its amount a few days prior to the sports competition and developed acute psychosis. The case report highlights the need for strict regulations for procuring methamphetamine and effective treatment strategies for managing its misuse.

Transcriptome Analysis to Understand Salt Stress Regulation Mechanism of Chromohalobacter salexigens ANJ207.

Soil salinity is one of the major global issues affecting soil quality and agricultural productivity. The plant growth-promoting halophilic bacteria that can thrive in regions of high salt (NaCl) concentration have the ability to promote the growth of plants in salty environments. In this study, attempts have been made to understand the salinity adaptation of plant growth-promoting moderately halophilic bacteria Chromohalobacter salexigens ANJ207 at the genetic level through transcriptome analysis. In order to identify the stress-responsive genes, the transcriptome sequencing of C. salexigens ANJ207 under different salt concentrations was carried out. Among the 8,936 transcripts obtained, 93 were upregulated while 1,149 were downregulated when the NaCl concentration was increased from 5 to 10%. At 10% NaCl concentration, genes coding for lactate dehydrogenase, catalase, and OsmC-like protein were upregulated. On the other hand, when salinity was increased from 10 to 25%, 1,954 genes were upregulated, while 1,287 were downregulated. At 25% NaCl, genes coding for PNPase, potassium transporter, aconitase, excinuclease subunit ABC, and transposase were found to be upregulated. The quantitative real-time PCR analysis showed an increase in the transcript of genes related to the biosynthesis of glycine betaine coline genes (gbcA, gbcB, and L-pro) and in the transcript of genes related to the uptake of glycine betaine (OpuAC, OpuAA, and OpuAB). The transcription of the genes involved in the biosynthesis of L-hydroxyproline (proD and proS) and one stress response proteolysis gene for periplasmic membrane stress sensing (serP) were also found to be increased. The presence of genes for various compatible solutes and their increase in expression at the high salt concentration indicated that a coordinated contribution by various compatible solutes might be responsible for salinity adaptation in ANJ207. The investigation provides new insights into the functional roles of various genes involved in salt stress tolerance and oxidative stress tolerance produced by high salt concentration in ANJ207 and further support the notion regarding the utilization of bacterium and their gene(s) in ameliorating salinity problem in agriculture.

Comparative evaluation of audio-visual and verbal education method on OHRQoL, dental anxiety, dental neglect of diabetes mellitus patients attending a teaching hospital in India.

AIM: The aim of this study was to compare audio-visual and verbal education on oral health related quality of life, dental anxiety and dental neglect, on diabetes mellitus patients attending Teerthanker Mahaveer Hospital, Moradabad. MATERIALS AND METHOD: The current longitudinal interventional study was conducted to check the efficiency of audio-visual and verbal education on OHRQoL, Dental anxiety and dental neglect, on diabetes mellitus patients attending Teerthanker Mahaveer Hospital, Moradabad, U.P., India. A 14-item questionnaire, OHIP-14, with emphasis on seven proportions of impact was used to collect information on OHRQoL. Corah Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS) will be used to collect data on Dental Anxiety. A prevalidated revised proforma of Dental Neglect Scale (DNS) was used to gather information on Dental Neglect. The questionnaire was a six-question instrument related to dental problems. After collecting the initial baseline data, the sample was divided into two groups: verbal education group (n = 1030) and audio-visual education group (n = 1030). Then oral health education (OHE) was provided verbally to Group I patients and OHE with audio-visual aids was given to Group II patients visiting Teerthanker Mahaveer Hospital. OHE was repeated every 2 months. At every 6, 12 and 18 months, questionnaire was repeated to evaluate the effectiveness of OHE. Inspection will be conducted under natural daylight in hospital premises. To avoid the disruption while conducting the examination, adequate supply of instruments was taken. Instruments were sterilized by autoclaving in the college. RESULTS: A total of 1926 patients attended all the follow-up and review examinations. Subject dropout for Group I was 2% with 1009 at 6th month; 3% with 978 at 12th month and 1% with 967 at 18th month. Subject dropout rate for Group II was 3% with 999 at 6th month; 0% with 999 at 12th month and 4% with 959 at 18th month. The difference of subject dropout among the groups was not statistically significant (P = 0.23). Group mean total OHIP-14 score after 18 months was recorded as 15.36 ± 8.61, whereas in Audio-visual education group mean total OHIP-14 score after 18 months was recorded as 14.42 ± 7.59. At the end of study mean DAS score for DAS ≥15 (severe anxiety) was found to be 1.95 ± 2.18 in verbal education group, whereas in audio-visual education group mean DAS score for DAS ≥15 (severe anxiety) was found to be 2.24 ± 1.98. At the end of the study mean DN score for DNS ≥15 (severe Dental Neglect) was found to be 3.54 ± 2.63 in verbal education group, whereas audiovisual education group mean DN score for DNS ≥15 (severe Dental Neglect) was found to be 2.59 ± 2.75. CONCLUSION: The quality of life is a factor that can be considerably affected by oral health, which in turn reflects the general health of an individual. The main part of oral disease prevention is done by use of personal oral hygiene measures and maintaining oral hygiene. It is the duty of dental professionals to motivate, show and instruct patients to maintain appropriate oral health and oral hygiene. The study concludes that the program of this kind may be beneficial in improving many dimensions of dental health of an individual that includes physical health, emotional well-being, OHRQoL, inter-personal relationship and the fear related to dental treatment.

A rapid colorimetric LAMP assay for detection of Rhizoctonia solani AG-1 IA causing sheath blight of rice.

Rhizoctonia solani is one of the most devastating pathogens. R. solani AG-1 IA causes sheath blight in rice, maize, and other Gramineous plants. Accurate identification is essential for the effective management of this pathogen. In the present study, a set of four primers were designed viz. RSPG1, RSPG2, RSPG4, and RSPG5 for polygalacturonase (PG) gene, an important virulence factor in phytopathogenic fungi. All four primer sets showed specific amplification of 300 bp (RSPG1F/R), 375 bp (RSPG2F/R), 500 bp (RSPG4F/R) and 336 bp (RSPG5F/R) amplicons. q-PCR detection using each primer sets could detect up to 10 pg of DNA. We also designed six primers (RS_pg_F3_1/RS_pg_B3_1, RS_pg_FIP_1.1/RS-pg_BIP_1.1, and RS_pg_LF_1/RS_pg_LB_1) for PG gene. Further, a colorimetric LAMP assay developed yielded visual confirmation of the pathogen within 45 min of sample collection when coupled with rapid high throughput template preparation method (rHTTP) from infected samples. The sensitivity of the LAMP assay was as low as 1.65 fg/µl of template DNA and could effectively detect R. solani AG-1 IA from diseased plant tissues and soil samples. The LAMP assay was highly specific for R. solani as it did not show any amplification with other AG groups of R. solani and closely related fungal and bacterial outgroups. This study will help in designing an effective point of care diagnostic method for early monitoring of R. solani and thereby planning timely preventive measures against the pathogen.

noxB-based marker for Alternaria spp.: a new diagnostic marker for specific and early detection in crop plants.

Alternaria species are a major plant pathogen and their precise detection and identification is crucial for effective management. In the present study, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based diagnostic technique has been developed for detection of Alternaria species. Four primers were designed for four genes viz. noxB, AMK1, AKT3 and NIK1. In gradient PCR, only the primer sets for noxB gene showed specific amplicon of ~ 200 bp in all the isolates of Alternaria, while no amplification was observed in related fungal species such as Ulocladium botrytis, Ulocladium consortiale, Stemphylium vesicarium, Cochliobolus tuberculatus, Curvularia prasadii, and Bipolaris sorokiniana. The noxB primer set was used as diagnostic marker to discriminate and diagnose Alternaria species in nine different crop plants. Real-time assay revealed that the primer set was able to detect Alternaria noxB genes in leaves with no characteristic visible symptoms. Through real-time PCR, the noxB gene of Alternaria could be detected even in 0.5 ng of host DNA. This is the first report of noxB gene for molecular detection of Alternaria spp.

Draft genome sequence of a cold-adapted phosphorous-solubilizing Pseudomonas koreensis P2 isolated from Sela Lake, India.

The draft genome sequence of a cold-adapted phosphorus-solubilizing strain Pseudomonas koreensis P2 isolated from the Sela Lake contains 6,436,246 bp with G + C content of 59.8%. The genome sequence includes 5743 protein coding genes, 68 non-protein coding genes, 1007 putative proteins, 5 rRNA genes, 64 tRNAs and two prophage regions in 40 contigs. Besides these, genes involved in phosphate solubilization, siderophore production, iron uptake, heat shock and cold shock tolerance, multidrug resistance and glycine-betaine production were also identified.

Draft Genome Sequence of Halotolerant Bacterium Chromohalobacter salexigens ANJ207, Isolated from Salt Crystal Deposits in Pipelines.

Chromohalobacter salexigens ANJ207 was isolated from a salt crystal and is known to tolerate up to 30% NaCl concentration. Here, we report the de novo draft assembly of C. salexigens ANJ207. The genome was determined to have 3.66 Mb represented in 13 scaffolds, with a total of 3,406 genes predicted.

First De Novo Draft Genome Sequence of the Pathogenic Fungus Fusarium udum F02845, Associated with Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L. Millspaugh) Wilt.

Fusarium udum F02845 is a destructive fungal pathogen which causes pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L. Millspaugh) wilt. Here we report the first de novo draft assembly of Fusarium udum F02845, isolated from an infected pigeonpea stem. The genome was determined to be 56.38 Mb in size, with a G+C content of 42.44%, and predicted to have 712 scaffolds with a total number of 11,829 genes.