Rapid photocatalytic dye degradation, enhanced antibacterial and antifungal activities of silver stacked zinc oxide garnished on carbon nanotubes.

A composite of Zinc oxide loaded with 5-weight % silver decorated on carbon nanotubes (Ag-loaded ZnO: CNT) was synthesized using a simple refluxed chemical method. The influence of deviation in the weight % of carbon nanotube loading on photocatalytic dye degradation (methylene blue and rose bengal) and antibiotic (antimicrobial and antifungal) performance was investigated in this study. The light capture ability of Ag-loaded ZnO:CNT in the visible region was higher in photocatalytic activity than that of Ag-loaded ZnO and ZnO:CNT. The bandgap of the Ag-loaded ZnO: CNT was tuned owing to the surface plasmon resonance effect. The photocatalytic degradation investigations were optimized by varying the wt% in CNTs, pH of dye solution, concentration of the dye solution, and amount of catalytic dose. Around 100% photocatalytic efficiency in 2 min against MB dye was observed for Ag doped ZnO with 10 wt% CNT composite at pH 9, at a rate constant 1.48 min-1. Bipolaris sorokiniana fungus was first time tested against a composite material, which demonstrated optimum fungal inhibition efficiency of 48%. They were also tested against the bacterial strains Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cerius, Proteus vulgaris, and Salmonella typhimurium, which showed promising antibacterial activity compared to commercially available drugs. The composite of Ag doped ZnO with 5 wt% CNT has shown competitive zone inhibition efficacy of 21.66 ± 0.57, 15.66 ± 0.57, 13.66 ± 0.57 against bacterial strains Bacillus cerius, Proteus vulgaris, and Salmonella typhimurium which were tested for the first time against Ag-loaded ZnO:CNT.

dTBI2: A Calibrated, Tunable Device for Administering Traumatic Brain Injury in Drosophila.

The second-generation Drosophila traumatic brain injury (TBI) device dTBI2 improves Drosophila TBI administration by providing a moderate-throughput, tunable, head-specific injury. Our updated device design improves user-friendliness, eliminates inconsistencies in injury timing, and has an updated circuit design to extend the longevity of delicate electronic components. dTBI2 improves reproducibility across users and runs, and results in more consistent post-injury phenotypes. This protocol describes the construction, calibration, and use of the dTBI2 device, which uses an Arduino-controlled piezoelectric actuator to deliver a force that compresses a fly head against a metal collar. The duration and depth of head compression is tunable, allowing calibration of injury severity. All device components are commercially available, and the entire device can be constructed in under a week for less than $1000. The dTBI2 design will enable any lab to build a highly reliable, low-cost device for Drosophila TBI, facilitating increased adoption and ease of exploration of closed-head TBI in Drosophila for forward genetic screens. We describe below the three protocols necessary for constructing a dTBI2 device. © 2024 The Authors. Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1: Construction of the dTBI2 control device Basic Protocol 2: Construction of the piezoelectric actuator housing Basic Protocol 3: Administration of dTBI2 injuries.

Prolonged hysteresis in the Kuramoto model with inertia and higher-order interactions.

The inclusion of inertia in the Kuramoto model has long been reported to change the nature of a phase transition, providing a fertile ground to model the dynamical behaviors of interacting units. More recently, higher-order interactions have been realized as essential for the functioning of real-world complex systems ranging from the brain to disease spreading. Yet analytical insights to decipher the role of inertia with higher-order interactions remain challenging. Here, we study the Kuramoto model with inertia on simplicial complexes, merging two research domains. We develop an analytical framework in a mean-field setting using self-consistent equations to describe the steady-state behavior, which reveals a prolonged hysteresis in the synchronization profile. Inertia and triadic interaction strength exhibit isolated influence on system dynamics by predominantly governing, respectively, the forward and backward transition points. This paper sets a paradigm to deepen our understanding of real-world complex systems such as power grids modeled as the Kuramoto model with inertia.

Insulo-opercular stereoelectroencephalography exploration in children and young adults: Indications, techniques, and safety.

OBJECTIVE: Sampling the insulo-opercular region with invasive recordings is crucial given the importance of this region in epileptic networks and a variety of electroclinical presentations. However, implantation of the insulo-opercular region via stereoelectroencephalography (sEEG) is considered technically challenging given complex vascular and gray matter relationships in this region. We investigated the safety of insulo-opercular sEEG exploration in children and young adults using standard sEEG approaches: (1) orthogonal insulo-opercular (including the pseudo-orthogonal insulo-opercular approach) and (2) medial-lateral insular oblique approach. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study of 30 consecutive patients who underwent 33 sEEG implantations. All patients had drug-resistant focal epilepsy, were between the ages of 4 and 21, and were operated at one institution between January 2019 and March 2021. Medical records and neuroimaging were reviewed. Hemorrhage, infection, and other complications were considered as outcome variables. RESULTS: A total of 519 electrodes were placed. Eighty-one were placed orthogonally into the temporal operculum, 53 orthogonally into the frontal operculum, and 19 obliquely into the insula. sEEG electrodes localized seizure onset to the insulo-opercular region in eight patients, leading to a resection three times, an ablation four times, and one peri-insular hemispherectomy. Of the 519 electrodes placed, none of them exhibited hemorrhage or serious complications. Of the 153 electrodes placed into the insula, none had any permanent deficits or complications and one had minor bleeding due to the electrode breaking. SIGNIFICANCE: These results demonstrate that the orthogonal (including pseudo-orthogonal) and medial approaches to sampling the insula are safe.

Spherical Nucleic Acids as Precision Therapeutics for the Treatment of Cancer-From Bench to Bedside.

Spherical Nucleic Acids (SNAs) emerged as a new class of nanotherapeutics consisting of a nanoparticle core densely functionalized with a shell of radially oriented synthetic oligonucleotides. The unique three-dimensional architecture of SNAs protects the oligonucleotides from nuclease-mediated degradation, increases oligonucleotide bioavailability, and in the absence of auxiliary transfection agents, enables robust uptake into tumor and immune cells through polyvalent association with cell surface pattern recognition receptors. When composed of gene-regulatory small interfering (si)RNA or immunostimulatory DNA or RNA oligonucleotides, SNAs silence gene expression and induce immune responses superior to those raised by the oligonucleotides in their "free" form. Early phase clinical trials of gene-regulatory siRNA-based SNAs in glioblastoma (NCT03020017) and immunostimulatory Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9)-agonistic SNAs carrying unmethylated CpG-rich oligonucleotides in solid tumors (NCT03086278) have shown that SNAs represent a safe, brain-penetrant therapy for inhibiting oncogene expression and stimulating immune responses against tumors. This review focuses on the application of SNAs as precision cancer therapeutics, summarizes the findings from first-in-human clinical trials of SNAs in solid tumors, describes the most recent preclinical efforts to rationally design next-generation multimodal SNA architectures, and provides an outlook on future efforts to maximize the anti-neoplastic activity of the SNA platform.

Label-free quantitative proteomics of Sorghum bicolor reveals the proteins strengthening plant defense against insect pest Chilo partellus.

BACKGROUND: Spotted stem borer- Chilo partellus - a Lepidopteran insect pest of Sorghum bicolor is responsible for major economic losses. It is an oligophagous pest, which bores through the plant stem, causing 'deadheart' and hampering the development of the main cob. We applied a label-free quantitative proteomics approach on three genotypes of S. bicolor with differential resistance/ susceptibility to insect pests, intending to identify the S. bicolor's systemic protein complement contributing to C. partellus tolerance. METHODS: The proteomes of S. bicolor with variable resistance to insect pests, ICSV700, IS2205 (resistant) and Swarna (susceptible) were investigated and compared using label-free quantitative proteomics to identify putative leaf proteins contributing to resistance to C. partellus. RESULTS: The multivariate analysis on a total of 967 proteins led to the identification of proteins correlating with insect resistance/susceptibility of S. bicolor. Upon C. partellus infestation S. bicolor responded by suppression of protein and amino acid biosynthesis, and induction of proteins involved in maintaining photosynthesis and responding to stresses. The gene ontology analysis revealed that C. partellus-responsive proteins in resistant S. bicolor genotypes were mainly involved in stress and defense, small molecule biosynthesis, amino acid metabolism, catalytic and translation regulation activities. At steady-state, the resistant S. bicolor genotypes displayed at least two-fold higher numbers of unique proteins than the susceptible genotype Swarna, mostly involved in catalytic activities. Gene expression analysis of selected candidates was performed on S. bicolor by artificial induction to mimic C. partellus infestation. CONCLUSION: The collection of identified proteins differentially expressed in resistant S. bicolor, are interesting candidates for further elucidation of their role in defense against insect pests.

Neurodevelopmental Outcomes of Prenatal Preeclampsia Exposure.

Preeclampsia is a dangerous hypertensive disorder of pregnancy with known links to negative child health outcomes. Here, we review epidemiological and basic neuroscience work from the past several decades linking prenatal preeclampsia to altered neurodevelopment. This work demonstrates increased rates of neuropsychiatric disorders [e.g., increased autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)] in children of preeclamptic pregnancies, as well as increased rates of cognitive impairments [e.g., decreased intelligence quotient (IQ), academic performance] and neurological disease (e.g., stroke and epilepsy). We also review findings from multiple animal models of preeclampsia. Manipulation of key clinical preeclampsia processes in these models (e.g., placental hypoxia, immune dysfunction, angiogenesis, oxidative stress) causes various disruptions in offspring, including ones in white matter/glia, glucocorticoid receptors, neuroimmune outcomes, cerebrovascular structure, and cognition/behavior. This animal work implicates potentially high-yield targets that may be leveraged in the future for clinical application.

A Review of Recently Developed LC-MS/MS Methods for the Analysis of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Water.

BACKGROUND: Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are present in the environment in trace concentrations. These compounds may cause health hazards to human beings and animals. The concerns related to their existence has led to development of a number of sensitive, accurate, and robust analytical methods. OBJECTIVE: This article aims to review the recently developed chromatography-MS-based methods for the analysis of PPCPs in varied aqueous matrices and also presents a brief overview of the current status of PPCPs in the Indian aquatic environment. METHODS: It demonstrates existing and recent trends in sampling, sample preparation techniques, and instrumentation methods for estimation of PPCPs in water. RESULTS: Solid-phase extraction is found to be the most commonly used sample preparation technique, and LC-tandem MS (MS/MS; with electrospray ionization) is the most extensively used instrumentation technique for the analysis of PPCPs. CONCLUSIONS: The analytical methods reviewed here provide a detailed overview of the procedures for detection and quantification of PPCPs in water. These methods are useful for monitoring these compounds in environmental matrices and facilitate risk assessment studies. HIGHLIGHTS: This paper reviews the analytical methods for estimation of PPCPs in aquatic environmental matrices and presents their comprehensive evaluation.

Genetics of novel brown planthopper Nilaparvata lugens (Stål) resistance genes in derived introgression lines from the interspecific cross O. sativa var. Swarna × O. nivara.

The brown planthopper (BPH) Nilaparvata lugens (Stål) (Homoptera: Delphacidae) is considered a threat to rice (Oryza sativa ssp.) crop in many parts of the world including India. Among the BPH-resistance (R) genes so far reported in rice, most of them are ineffective against BPH biotype 4 predominant in the Indian sub-continent. In this study, we show the introgression line RPBio4918-230S was identified as BPH resistant after five years of rigorous screening at seedling stage and two years at tillering and reproductive stages. The inheritance of resistance indicated that two recessive genes are involved at seedling and reproductive stages. The allelic relation with known genes using linked reported markers suggested that the genes present in RPBio4918-230S are different. We report here the genetics of the two newly introgressed BPH resistance genes from O. nivara in the background of Swarna which are effective at all the important growth stages. The genes have been tentatively named as bph39(t) and bph40(t). The honeydew area (feeding rate) and days to wilt parameters observed at 30 days after sowing in BC1F3 indicated that newly introgressed genes have both antibiosis and tolerance mechanisms for resistance. The BPH resistance genes identified in this study would facilitate the breeding of broad spectrum and durable resistance in rice against BPH biotype 4.

Cancer-associated mutation and beyond: The emerging biology of isocitrate dehydrogenases in human disease.

Isocitrate dehydrogenases (IDHs) are critical metabolic enzymes that catalyze the oxidative decarboxylation of isocitrate to α-ketoglutarate (αKG), NAD(P)H, and CO2. IDHs epigenetically control gene expression through effects on αKG-dependent dioxygenases, maintain redox balance and promote anaplerosis by providing cells with NADPH and precursor substrates for macromolecular synthesis, and regulate respiration and energy production through generation of NADH. Cancer-associated mutations in IDH1 and IDH2 represent one of the most comprehensively studied mechanisms of IDH pathogenic effect. Mutant enzymes produce (R)-2-hydroxyglutarate, which in turn inhibits αKG-dependent dioxygenase function, resulting in a global hypermethylation phenotype, increased tumor cell multipotency, and malignancy. Recent studies identified wild-type IDHs as critical regulators of normal organ physiology and, when transcriptionally induced or down-regulated, as contributing to cancer and neurodegeneration, respectively. We describe how mutant and wild-type enzymes contribute on molecular levels to disease pathogenesis, and discuss efforts to pharmacologically target IDH-controlled metabolic rewiring.

Black carbon: source apportionment and its implications on CCN activity over a rural region in Western Ghats, India.

This study presents the characteristics of black carbon aerosol (BC) over a high-altitude site, Mahabaleshwar during the monsoon season. The mass concentration of BC exhibits a morning peak and a daytime build-up with a mean mass concentration of 303 ± 142 ng m-3. The simultaneous measurements of aerosol particle number concentration (PNC), cloud condensation nuclei concentration (CCN), and non-refractory particulate matter less than 1 µm size (NR-PM1) were also made by using a Wide-Range Aerosol Spectrometer (WRAS), CCN counter and Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) respectively. The source apportionment using wavelength-dependent light absorption model reveals the dominance by wood burning sources during morning hours and traffic sources during remaining hours of the day. The diurnal variation of PNC follows the variability of BC mass concentration. However, CCN concentrations were high during the morning hours coinciding with the increased fractional contribution of organics. The k-means clustering coupled with fuzzy algorithm highlights the effect of different sources on aerosol size distribution. On the basis of size distribution curve, the 3 clusters were attributed to wood burning (mean diameter range: 50-100 nm), traffic (30-50 nm), and background aerosols (65-95 nm). The combined analysis of k-means clustering, fractional contribution of organics, and kappa variation suggests that higher CCN concentration during morning is mainly attributed to probable emission of the water-soluble organic/inorganic compounds from wood burning.

Genomic comparison of early-passage conditionally reprogrammed breast cancer cells to their corresponding primary tumors.

Conditionally reprogrammed cells (CRCs) are epithelial cells that are directly isolated from patients' specimens and propagated in vitro with feeder cells and a Rho kinase inhibitor. A number of these cells have been generated from biopsies of breast cancer patients, including ductal carcinoma in situ and invasive carcinomas. The characterization of their genomic signatures is essential to determine their ability to reflect the natural biology of their tumors of origin. In this study, we performed the genomic characterization of six newly established invasive breast cancer CRC cultures in comparison to the original patients' primary breast tumors (PBT) from which they derived. The CRCs and corresponding PBTs were simultaneously profiled by genome-wide array-CGH, targeted next generation sequencing and global miRNA expression to determine their molecular similarities in the patterns of copy number alterations (CNAs), gene mutations and miRNA expression levels, respectively. The CRCs' epithelial cells content and ploidy levels were also evaluated by flow cytometry. A similar level of CNAs was observed in the pairs of CRCs/PBTs analyzed by array-CGH, with >95% of overlap for the most frequently affected cytobands. Consistently, targeted next generation sequencing analysis showed the retention of specific somatic variants in the CRCs as present in their original PBTs. Global miRNA profiling closely clustered the CRCs with their PBTs (Pearson Correlation, ANOVA paired test, P<0.05), indicating also similarity at the miRNA expression level; the retention of tumor-specific alterations in a subset of miRNAs in the CRCs was further confirmed by qRT-PCR. These data demonstrated that the human breast cancer CRCs of this study maintained at early passages the overall copy number, gene mutations and miRNA expression patterns of their original tumors. The further characterization of these cells by other molecular and cellular phenotypes at late cell passages, are required to further expand their use as a unique and representative ex-vivo tumor model for basic science and translational breast cancer studies.

Parental Perception of Oral Health-related Quality of Life of Syrian Refugee Children.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The conflict in Syria has resulted in the displacement of over 5 million people, many of whom intend to return home at the cessation of hostilities. Oral health plays a critical role in early childhood and this study aimed to qualitatively and quantitatively assess the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of these children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The quantitative assessment of OHRQoL was done using a validated Arabic version of the short-form Parental-Caregiver Perceptions Questionnaire-8 (P-CPQ-8). The P-CPQ-8 was administered to 22 sets of parents of children in a community center catering to urban refugees. A focus group interview and thematic analysis of nine mothers were used to gain a qualitative insight into the problems that could affect the OHRQoL of their children. RESULTS: The P-CPQ-8 revealed that oral symptoms were the greatest concern of the parents with dental pain being the most commonly reported condition. Although mothers reported higher P-CPQ-8 scores among all domains than fathers, there were no significant differences in the concerns of the fathers and the mothers. The focus group interview raised three major themes - (1) access to dental care, (2) pain felt by the child, and (3) oral hygiene of the child. CONCLUSION: The parents interviewed in this study were aware of the importance of oral hygiene but reported being unable to look after their children's teeth. Children who are refugees from the Syrian conflict face significant OHRQoL challenges.

pH triggered controlled drug delivery from contact lenses: Addressing the challenges of drug leaching during sterilization and storage.

In the present work a novel cyclosporine-loaded Eudragit S100 (pH-sensitive) nanoparticles-laden contact lenses were designed to provide sustained release of cyclosporine at therapeutic rates, without leaching of drug during sterilization and storage period (shelf life). The nanoparticles were prepared by Quasi-emulsion solvent diffusion technique using different weight ratios of cyclosporine to Eudragit S100. The contact lenses with direct drug entrapment were also fabricated (DL-50) for comparison. The percentage swelling and optical transparency of nanoparticles-laden contact lenses were improved in comparison to DL-50 lenses. The nanoparticles-laden contact lenses showed sustained drug release profiles, with inverse relationship to the amount of nanoparticles loaded in the contact lenses. It was interesting to note that nanoparticles form nanochannels/cavities after dissolution of Eudragit S 100 in tear fluid pH=7.4 (in vitro release study). This followed the precipitation of drug in hydrogel matrix of contact lenses. As the amount of nanoparticles loading increased, more number of cavities were formed, which caused the formation of large cavities in contact lens matrix. This in turn precipitated the drug. The nanoparticles-laden contact lenses with 1:1 (drug: Eudragit) weight ratio showed the most promising results of sustaining the drug release up to 156h, without affecting optical and physical properties of contact lenses. Packaging study confirmed that the drug was not leached in packaging solution (buffer, pH=6.5) from nanoparticles-laden lenses during shelf life period. In-vivo study in rabbit tear fluid showed sustained release up to 14days. The study revealed the application of pH-sensitive nanoparticles-laden contact lenses for controlled release of cyclosporine without altering the optical and physical properties of lens material.

Optimization of a Modified QuEChERS Method for Multiresidue Analysis of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Sewage and Surface Water by LC-MS/MS.

A quick, sensitive multiresidue method was developed for the analysis of 19 multiclass pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in surface water and sewage water. The proposed modified QuEChERS method involved the extraction of water samples (10 mL) with acetonitrile (10 mL) after the addition of 1% acetic acid, 4 g magnesium sulfate, and 0.2 g ammonium acetate, and was validated in distilled water, surface water, and sewage water with respect to linearity, LOD and LOQ, precision, and accuracy. The LOD and LOQ varied within the ranges of 0.001-0.167 and 0.002-0.25 ng/mL, respectively. Recoveries of the target compounds ranged from 73 to 125%, with precision RSD values <27%. The method provided a precise estimation of PPCPs in field samples, and acetaminophen, atenolol, metformin, sulfamethoxazole, carbamazepine, methylparaben, and triclosan were detected in concentrations ranging from 0.10 to 1.40 and 0.10 to 3.4 ng/mL in surface water and sewage water, respectively. This is an innovative application of the QuEChERS approach for estimation of PPCPs from aqueous matrixes. The method provides significantly higher output (preparation of 25-30 samples a day) compared to conventional SPE-based methods (<10 samples a day).

Genome Sequences of Cluster G Mycobacteriophages Cambiare, FlagStaff, and MOOREtheMARYer.

Mycobacteriophages Cambiare, FlagStaff, and MOOREtheMARYer are newly isolated phages of Mycobacterium smegmatis mc(2) 155 recovered from soil samples in Pittsburgh, PA. All three genomes are closely related to cluster G mycobacteriophages but differ sufficiently in nucleotide sequence and gene content to warrant division of cluster G into several subclusters.