Axion Paradigm with Color-Mediated Neutrino Masses.

We propose a generalized Kim-Shifman-Vainshtein-Zakharov-type axion framework in which colored fermions and scalars act as two-loop Majorana neutrino-mass mediators. The global Peccei-Quinn symmetry under which exotic fermions are charged solves the strong CP problem. Within our general proposal, various setups can be distinguished by probing the axion-to-photon coupling at helioscopes and haloscopes. We also comment on axion dark-matter production in the early Universe.

Architectural analysis of root system and phytohormone biosynthetic genes expression in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) inoculated with Penicillium oxalicum.

In this study, a fungal plant growth promoter Penicillium oxalicum T4 isolated from non-rhizosphere soil of Arunachal Pradesh, India, was screened for different plant growth promoting traits in a gnotobiotic study. Though inoculation improved the overall growth of the plants, critical differences were observed in root architecture. Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope, Scanning electron microscope and the stereo microscopic study showed that inoculated wheat plants could develop profuse root hairs as compared to control. Root scanning indicated improvement in cumulative root length, root area, root volume, number of forks, links, crossings, and other parameters. A confocal scanning laser microscope indicated signs of endophytic colonization in wheat roots. Gene expression studies revealed that inoculation of T4 modulated the genes affecting root hair development. Significant differences were marked in the expression levels of TaRSL4, TaEXPB1, TaEXPB23, PIN-FORMED protein, kaurene oxidase, lipoxygenase, ACC synthase, ACC oxidase, 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase, and ABA 8'-hydroxylase genes. These genes contribute to early plant development and ultimately to biomass accumulation and yield. The results suggested that P. oxalicum T4 has potential for growth promotion in wheat and perhaps also in other cereals.

Reuse-focused selection of appropriate technologies for municipal wastewater treatment: a multi-criteria approach.

Wastewater treatment technologies (WWTTs) are employed across the world, and the selection is mainly based on 'past experiences' aimed at 'pollution prevention' in the receiving water bodies. This paper aims to develop a methodology for the selection of an appropriate wastewater treatment chain that produces effluent suitable for the defined reuse. Adopting the least weighted cost approach, four decision criteria: Capital cost, Operation and Maintenance cost, Land requirement, and Energy requirement, have been used and the Full Consistency Method (FUCOM) has been employed for obtaining weights. Quality expectations for 14 reuses have been enlisted, and 25 WWTTs have been evaluated in a total of 360 combinations. In Kanpur city, for water reuse in industrial cooling under restricted land and challenging influent quality conditions, a combination of Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) with Wuhrmann process (WP) is obtained as the most preferred suggestion. For non-potable domestic reuse, Anaerobic Anoxic Oxic (A2O) with Ultrafiltration (UF) and Reverse Osmosis (RO) is the most preferred combination. In Varanasi city, for vehicular washing operations and for flow augmentation (inland surface water), under energy-constraint scenario, high-rate activated sludge-based biological filtration and oxygenated reactor (BIOFOR-F) is suggested. For technology supplementation to existing ASP-based STPs in the city to obtain effluent for inland surface water augmentation, WP in combination with microfiltration (MF) and reverse osmosis (RO) is suggested. Thus, the developed model may be used as a decision-making tool for planning a reuse-focused water reclamation program or for upgradation of existing STPs as per resource availability and target reuse objectives.

Synthesis, biological evaluation, and molecular docking study of some new rohitukine analogs as protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B inhibitors.

Rohitukine (RH) was extracted from the stem bark of Dysoxylum binectariferum Hook. It was derivatized to different arylsulphanmides by treating with the corresponding aryl sulphonyl chlorides. These derivatives were tested in-vitro on protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) inhibition. Among these the active compounds K2, K3, K5, and K8 significantly inhibited the PTP1B by 51.3%, 65.6%, 71.9%, and 55.9% respectively at 10 µg/ml, the results were also supported by in-silico docking experiments. The most potent compound K5 was analyzed for antidiabetic and antidyslipidemic activity in vivo. It showed a marked reduction in blood glucose level (random and fasting) and serum insulin level in db/db mice. It improved glucose intolerance as ascertained by the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). These NCEs (New Chemical Entities) also lowered cholesterol and triglyceride profiles while improved high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in db/db mice. The K5 was further evaluated for antiadipogenic activity on MDI (Methylisobutylxanthine, dexamethasone, and insulin)-induced adipogenesis. where it significantly inhibited MDI-induced adipogenesis in 3 T3-L1 preadipocytes, at 10 µM and 20 µM concentration. These results were compared with the parent compound RH which inhibited 35% and 45% lipid accumulation while the RH analog K5 inhibited the lipid accumulation by 41% and 51% at 10 and 20 µM concentration, respectively. These results well corroborated with in-silico studies.

The initial experience of COVID-19 vaccination from a tertiary care centre of India.

To the Editor Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved the Bharat biotech vaccine against COVID-19, which is a locally manufactured inactivated vaccine named ''COVAXIN'' in collaboration with the Indian council of medical research (ICMR) on 3rd  January 2021 for emergency use along with the "Covishield" Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured locally by the Serum Institute of India... *The Safdarjung COVID-19 Vaccination group: KR Meena (Professor, Paediatrics), U Venkatesh (Assistant Professor, Community Medicine), Pushpa Kumari (Associate Professor, Medicine), Sonal Burman (Specialist, Medicine), Neeraj Kumar Gupta (Professor and Head, Pulmonary Medicine), Nitesh Gupta (Assistant Professor, Pulmonary Medicine), Rohit Kumar (Assistant Professor, Pulmonary Medicine), Swetabh Purohit (Senior resident, Pulmonary Medicine), Arjun Ramaswamy (Senior resident, Pulmonary Medicine).

Severe Necrotizing Pneumonia in Children: A Challenge to Intensive Care Specialist.

OBJECTIVE: Necrotizing pneumonia (NP) is recently recognized as a complication of pneumonia. The data on NP are scant from developing world and we aimed to describe the characteristic features of NP in our children. STUDY DESIGN: Single center retrospective cohort analysis. PATIENT SELECTION: Institutional database of children treated for pneumonia between September 2014 and May 2018 was searched to identify children with NP. METHODS: The demographic characteristics, laboratory results, and clinical information were recorded for patients selected as NP and analyzed. RESULTS: In total, 10 patients (3.7%) of NP were identified out of 272 patients with pneumonia. Median age was 3 years (range: 3 months to 12years). All cases had severe respiratory distress and 70% required mechanical ventilation and inotropic support. The causative pathogens were identified in 6/10 children (60%) with Staphylococcus aureus being most common (4/10). Pleural effusion and pneumothorax were seen in six cases. Four cases had bilateral pleural effusion and three had bilateral pneumothorax. Intercostal drainage (ICD) was placed in 70% and bilateral ICD was placed in 40% cases. Bronchopleural fistula (BPF) developed in two cases and one had bilateral BPF. Median [inter quartile range] ICD days and hospital stay were 9 (6-14) and 13.5 (7.5-18.5) days, respectively. Mean (±SD) total antibiotic (in hospital plus outpatient) days were 28.8 ± 9.6 days. Four cases had airway hemorrhage and in three cases this was massive and fatal. CONCLUSION: NP is a relatively rare but severe complication of pneumonia distinct from pediatric acute respiratory distress, pleural effusion and empyema. Airway hemorrhage is the most fatal complication.

Adsorptive removal of lead (Pb), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni) and mercury (Hg) ions from water using chitosan silica gel composite.

Silica gel chitosan composite was prepared to perform adsorptive experiment of different heavy metal ion solutions. The characterization of chitosan + silica gel (Ch + Sg) composite was done by FTIR and SEM-EDS to understand the presence of active sites and to have an insight on the surface morphology. The adsorption study of heavy metal ions by Ch + Sg composite gives maximum removal percent for Cu, Pb and Ni which were obtained at pH 5 and for Hg at pH 6.The trend of removal by Ch + Sg signifies that maximum removal percent was attained at 120 min. The surface of Ch + Sg is heterogeneous for the adsorption of Hg, Ni and Cu and homogeneous for Pb adsorption. The values obtained for Pb signify that its adsorption best fitted to pseudo first order with the R2 value of 0.986, whereas pseudo second order best fitted to the experimental data of Cu, Ni and Hg as R2 values which are 0.983, 0.819 and 0.957 respectively. The values of change in entropy (⊿S) obtained for Pb, Cu, Ni and Hg are - 69.33, - 118, - 63.33 and - 98.52 J/mol K respectively. Negative values of change in enthalpy, ⊿H in (kJ/mol) are in the range of - 18.2 to - 37.66 which indicates both physical and chemical adsorption involves in the process of adsorption.

Severe Manifestations of Chikungunya Fever in Children, India, 2016.

Chikungunya is a relatively benign disease, and a paucity of literature on severe manifestations in children exits. We describe a cohort of pediatric chikungunya fever patients in New Delhi, India, who had severe sepsis and septic shock, which can develop during the acute phase of illness.

Airway epithelial cells enhance the immunogenicity of human myeloid dendritic cells under steady state.

Dendritic cells (DCs) and airway epithelial cells (AECs) are in close proximity, and AECs secrete factors such as retinoic acid which induce tolerance in DCs at homeostasis. However, the question remains as to how DCs in the lung are able to respond to pathogens in the immunosuppressive environment. Using an in vitro human myeloid DC (mDC)-AEC co-culture system, we demonstrate that AECs induced several gene changes in the mDCs cultured with AECs compared to the mDCs not cultured with AECs. Analysis revealed that several chemokine genes were altered. These chemokine genes could serve to attract neutrophils, natural killer (NK) T as well as T helper type 1 (Th1)/Th2 cells to the airways. Genes priming lipid and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II antigen presentation were also up-regulated, along with certain anti-microbial protein genes. In addition, the expression and function of pathogen-sensing Toll-like receptors (TLRs) as well as Nod-like receptors (NLRs) and their downstream signalling molecules were up-regulated in mDCs cultured with AECs. Moreover, murine mucosal DCs from the lung expressed significantly higher levels of TLRs and NLRs compared to peripheral DCs from the spleen. These results indicate that AECs prime mDCs to enhance their immunogenicity, which could be one of the mechanisms that compensates for the immunosuppressive mucosal environment.

Evaluation of the association between a single-nucleotide polymorphism of bone morphogenetic proteins 5 gene and risk of knee osteoarthritis.

BACKGROUND: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic degenerative disorder probably affected by both genetic and environmental causes. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are bone-derived factors that can induce new bone formation. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of BMP5 gene alters the transcriptional activity of the BMP5 promoter that has been involved in OA susceptibility. This case-control study investigated the association of rs1470527 and rs9382564 SNP of BMP5 gene with susceptibility to knee OA (KOA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 499 cases with radiographic KOA and 458 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were enrolled. Venous blood samples were obtained from all the cases as well as controls for polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. RESULTS: The genotype distribution for rs1470527 and rs9382564 SNP was significantly different in cases and controls (P < 0.0001). Within both the SNPs of BMP5 gene, genotype CT and TT were significantly (P < 0.0001) associated with KOA as compared to the CC genotype. T allele of both the studied SNP was significantly associated with KOA (P < 0.0001). The allele frequencies of rs1470527 were 0.56(T) and 0.44(C) in cases and 0.33(T) and 0.67(C) in controls and in rs9382564 were 0.57(C) and 0.43(T) in cases and 0.71(C) and 0.29(T) in controls. Further in relation with clinical severity of OA, we observed signification association of TT genotype with both visual analog scale (P < 0.0001) and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities score (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our results indicate significant association of rs1470527 and rs9382564 polymorphism of BMP5 gene with KOA.

Manipulation of BCG vaccine: a double-edged sword.

Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), an attenuated vaccine derived from M. bovis, is the only licensed vaccine against tuberculosis (TB). Despite its protection against TB in children, the protective efficacy in pulmonary TB is variable in adolescents and adults. In spite of the current knowledge of molecular biology, immunology and cell biology, infectious diseases such as TB and HIV/AIDS are still challenges for the scientific community. Genetic manipulation facilitates the construction of recombinant BCG (rBCG) vaccine that can be used as a highly immunogenic vaccine against TB with an improved safety profile, but, still, the manipulation of BCG vaccine to improve efficacy should be carefully considered, as it can bring in both favourable and unfavourable effects. The purpose of this review is not to comprehensively review the interaction between microorganisms and host cells in order to use rBCG expressing M. tuberculosis (Mtb) immunodominant antigens that are available in the public domain, but, rather, to also discuss the limitations of rBCG vaccine, expressing heterologous antigens, during manipulation that pave the way for a promising new vaccine approach.

Pressure ulcer management in paraplegic patients with a novel negative pressure device: a randomised controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: A randomised controlled trial to compare negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) using our innovative negative pressure device (NPD) and the standard pressure ulcer (PU) wound dressing of in traumatic paraplegia patients. METHOD: This study was conducted in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at King George's Medical University, Lucknow, India. Traumatic paraplegia patients with sacral pressure ulcers of stage 3 and 4 were randomised into two groups, receiving either standard wound dressings or NPWT with NPD. The outcomes monitored were length, width (surface area), depth of PU, exudates, discharge, tissue type (necrotic, slough and red granulating tissue), and cost-effectiveness during 0 to 9 weeks follow-up. RESULTS: Length and width were significantly (p<0.01) decreased in NPWT group as compared with standard care group at week 9. At weeks 1, 2 and 3, depth was significantly (p<0.05) higher in NPWT group, whereas at week 9 a significant reduction (p=0.01) was observed. Exudates were significantly (p=0.001) lower in NPWT group at weeks 4 and 9. Conversion of slough into red granulation tissue was significantly higher in NPWT group (p=0.001). Discharge became significantly (p=0.001) lower in NPWT at week 2 and no discharge was observed after week 6. In all parameters, decrease was larger in NPWT group compared with standard care, which was significant for exudates type (p=0.03) and tissue type (p=0.004). CONCLUSION: Our NPD is better than standard wound care procedures and cost-effective for management of PU.

Immune biomarkers of anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody therapy.

The tumor antigen (TA)-targeted monoclonal antibodies (mAb) cetuximab and panitumumab target the human epidermal growth factor receptor and have been integrated into treatment regimens for advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). The therapeutic efficacy of these mAbs has been found to be enhanced when combined with radiotherapy and chemotherapy. However, clinical trials indicate that these findings are limited to fewer than 20% of treated patients. Therefore, identifying patients who are likely to benefit from these agents is crucial to improving therapeutic strategies. Interestingly, it has been noted that TA-targeted mAbs mediate their effects by contributing to cell-mediated cytotoxicity in addition to inhibition of downstream signaling pathways. Here, we describe the potential immunogenic mechanisms underlying these clinical findings, their role in the varied clinical response and identify the putative biomarkers of antitumor activity. We review potential immunological biomarkers that affect mAb therapy in SCCHN patients, the implications of these findings and how they translate to the clinical scenario, which are critical to improving patient selection and ultimately outcomes for patients undergoing therapy.

HLA-B27 subtypes in enthesitis-related arthritis category of juvenile idiopathic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis in northern India.

OBJECTIVES: Enthesitis-related arthritis (ERA) is the most common form of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) in the Asian and Indian populations. The presence of HLA-B27 has a strong association with JIA-ERA similar to that with adult ankylosing spondylitis (AS). The HLA-B27gene is highly polymorphic. Susceptibility to AS varies between different HLA-B27 subtypes; data on the relationship of susceptibility to JIA-ERA with HLA-B27 types are scant. In this study, we determined HLA-B27 subtypes in patients with JIA-ERA and AS to find out whether there is any difference in the HLA-B27 subtypes prevalent in these two diseases. METHODS: Genomic DNA from 135 patients with JIA-ERA and 121 with AS was tested for the presence of HLA-B27. In patients testing positive, HLA-B27subtyping was done by sequencing a genomic region that contained second and third exons and the intervening intron of this gene; this method permitted identification of common HLA-B27 subtypes (HLA-B*27:01 to HLA-B*27:09). RESULTS: One hundred and seven (79%) patients with JIA-ERA and 102 (84%) patients with AS tested positive for HLA-B27. In both groups, HLA-B*27:05 and HLA-B*27:04 were the common subtypes; some patients had HLA-B*27:07(7.4%) and HLA-B*27:18. Patients with JIA-ERA had a higher frequency of HLA-B*27:05 than those with AS (70% vs. 57%, p=0.047), and a lower frequency of HLA-B*27:04 (21% vs. 36%, p=0.018). CONCLUSIONS: HLA-B*27:05 and HLA-B*27:04 were the most common HLA-27 subtypes in both JIA-ERA and AS. However, HLA-B*27:05 was more frequent and HLA-B*27:04 was less frequent in JIA-ERA. It is possible that HLA-B*27:05 being the ancestral HLA-27 subtype leads to expression of disease early in life.

Enhanced cell apoptosis triggered by a multi modal mesoporous amphiphilic drug delivery system.

Mesoporous magnetic nanoparticles (MMNPs) have been synthesized through a facile soft chemical route and are conjugated with multiple therapeutic agents. These MMNPs have the ability to contain and deliver both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs simultaneously with the mediation of an AC magnetic field (ACMF). Furthermore, the synthesis and characterization of doxorubicin hydrochloride:paclitaxel (DOX:TXL) and doxorubicin hydrochloride:cisplatin (DOX:Cis-Pt) conjugates are demonstrated. MMNPs show an excellent loading efficiency of ~96:83% (DOX:TXL) and ~93:83% (DOX:Cis-Pt) along with a loading capacity of ~0.002:0.002 mg mg(-1) (DOX:TXL) and ~0.002:0.002 mg mg(-1) (DOX:Cis-Pt), respectively. Over a period of 180 h, a sustained release of drugs is observed and shows a better efficiency at pH 4.3 (~85:63%-DOX:TXL and ~86:73%-DOX:Cis-Pt) compared to that under physiological pH conditions (~28:22%-DOX:TXL and ~26:22%-DOX:Cis-Pt). The MMNPs can release ~37:22% (DOX:TXL) and ~34:25% (DOX:Cis-Pt) within 30 min when triggered by an ACMF (at ~43 °C). The in vitro cytotoxic effect, the ROS generation level and cell cycle distribution analysis of DOX:TXL-MMNPs and DOX:Cis-Pt-MMNPs treated MDA-MB231, MCF-7 and PC3 cancer cells are demonstrated. Enhanced cell apoptosis is observed by thermo-chemotherapy which includes application of an ACMF for 15 min. Specifically, DOX:TXL-MMNPs are more effective than DOX:Cis-Pt-MMNPs towards the PC3 cell line. The internalization of multiple drug loaded MMNPs by cells and their morphological changes due to thermo-chemotherapy are confirmed through confocal microscopy. From the present results, it is observed that the DOX:TXL and DOX:Cis-Pt conjugated MMNPs, under an ACMF, can readily minimize drug resistance. This has significantly enhanced the cell apoptosis of target cancer cells.

Oral mucosal injury in oncology patients: perspectives on maturation of a field.

In the past decade, there have been important strategic advances relative to pathobiological modeling as well as clinical management for oral mucositis caused by cancer therapies. Prior to the 1990s, research in this field was conducted by a relatively small number of basic and clinical investigators. Increasing interest among researchers and clinicians over the past twenty years has produced a synergistic outcome characterized by a number of key dynamics, including novel discovery models for pathobiology, increased experience in designing and conducting clinical trials, and creation of international collaborations among cancer care professionals who in turn have modeled clinical care paradigms based on state-of-the-science evidence. This maturation of the science and its clinical translation has positioned investigators and oncology providers to further accelerate both the foundational research and the clinical modeling for patient management in the years ahead. The stage is now set to further capitalize upon optimizing the interactions across this interface, with the goal of strategically enhancing management of patients with cancer at risk for this toxicity while reducing the cost of cancer care.

Characterization and pollutant removal efficiency of biochar derived from baggase, bamboo and tyre.

Conversion of broad-spectrum organic waste into carbonaceous biochar has gained enormous interest in past few years. The present study aims to characterize feedstock (FS), i.e. bagasse (Bg), bamboo (Bm) and biochar (BC), i.e. baggase biochar (BBg), bamboo biochar (BBm) and tyre biochar (Ty). Significant changes in elemental composition, atomic ratio, proximate analyses, mineral content and heavy metal content were observed which was well supported by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Impregnation with ferric hydroxide was done, and resultant modified biochars (MBC), i.e. iron-impregnated baggase biochar (FeBBg), iron-impregnated bamboo biochar (FeBBm) and iron-impregnated tyre biochar (FeTy), along feedstock and biochar were used for PO4 (3-), Pb, Hg and Cu adsorption. In general, BBg, FeBBg, BBm, FeBBm, Ty and FeTy were found to adsorb PO4 (3-), Pb, Hg and Cu better than Bg and Bm, except in few cases. Results from adsorption experiments were fitted into Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin models of isotherms and pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order and Elovich models of kinetics. Result of batch study adsorption revealed that maximum adsorption of PO4 (3-), Pb, Hg and Cu was done by FeBBg (adsorption mechanism explained by Freundlich model), FeTy (Temkin model), Ty (Langmuir model) and BBm (Langmuir model) respectively. According to R (2) values, pseudo-first-order reaction was well suited to PO4 (3-), Pb, Hg and Cu adsorption. The optimum pH for maximum adsorption was observed to be 7.4 for PO4 (3-), 5 for Cu and 6 for Pb and Hg respectively.

Pediatrics, Pediatricians and Child Care : Based on 16th Dr. K. C. Chaudhuri and Dr. Amala Chaudhuri Oration, on 15th October 2023.

Medical problems of children and their differences from adults have been mentioned in the ancient texts. Important contributions to medicine, including treatment of diseases of children were made by Greek and many scholars from middle East countries in 10th century. Pediatrics became widely recognized in Europe and USA during early 19th century and a number of children's hospitals were established in major cities. With technological advances, pediatric subspecialties also developed. In India, pediatrics was recognized around 1950s and thereafter, gradually progressed. Pediatric specialties came up in 1970s and became well established during 2020s. Pediatricians are regarded as doctors treating sick children. Pediatric specialists have the responsibility of providing tertiary care to patients with complex systemic diseases and critical care. In our country having a huge underprivileged population, pediatricians need to play a wider role and aim to provide comprehensive care that would lead to optimum development for every child. They should be aware of child rights, widely prevalent child abuse and exploitation and legal protective mechanisms, and attempt to tackle these issues in association with other agencies and organizations working for child welfare.