Assessment of health status and its correlation with lung function in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a study from a tertiary care center in north India.

The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) 2023 recommends a comprehensive multidimensional assessment for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and stresses the need for evaluation of their health status and quality of life (QOL). The COPD assessment test (CAT), clinical COPD questionnaire (CCQ), and St. George respiratory questionnaire (SGRQ) are recommended by GOLD for such assessments. However, their correlation with spirometry in the Indian population is not known. Other similar questionnaires like the COPD and sleep impact scale (CASIS), functional performance inventory-short form (FPI-SF), and COPD and asthma fatigue scale (CAFS), though used internationally as a research tool, are still in the offspring stage and have never been used in India. A cross-sectional study was hence conducted in the Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Government Medical College, Patiala, Punjab, India, on 100 COPD patients. Patients were assessed for health status and QOL by CAT, CCQ, SGRQ, CASIS, FPI-SF, and CAFS. The relationship between these questionnaires and airflow limitations was investigated. The majority of the patients were males (n=97), >50 years of age (n=83), illiterate (n=72), had moderate/severe COPD, and belonged to group B (n=66). The mean value of forced expiratory volume in one second (FeV1) decreased with a deterioration in CAT and CCQ score grouping (p<0.001). Patients with poorer CAT and CCQ scores belonged to higher GOLD grades (k=0.33, p<0.001). The correlation of health-related quality of life (HRQL) questionnaires among each other, with FEV1 predicted and with GOLD grade, was strong to very strong in most of the comparisons (p<0.01 in the majority). On comparison of GOLD grade with mean scores of HRQL questionnaires, it was seen that with the increase in GOLD grading from 1 to 4, the mean values of CAT, CCQ, SGRQ, CASIS, FPI-SF, and CAFS also deteriorated (p<0.001, p<0.001, p<0.001, p<0.005, p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). Various easy-to-use HRQL scores should be routinely used in outpatient departments for a comprehensive assessment of COPD patients. These questionnaires, in combination with clinical features, can help in providing a rough estimate of the severity of the disease in places where lung function assessments are not readily available.

Gene Expression Profiling of Human Adipose Tissue Stem Cells during 2D versus 3D Adipogenesis.

Much of the current understanding on molecular and cellular events of adipose developmental biology comes from monolayer cell culture models using preadipocyte cell lines, although in vivo adipose tissue consists of a much more complex three-dimensional microenvironment of diverse cell types, extracellular network, and tissue-specific morphological and functional features. Added to this fact, the preadipocytes, on which the adipogenesis mechanisms are mostly explored, possess some serious limitations (e.g., time of initial subculture and adipogenic differentiation time), which, perhaps, can efficiently be replaced with progenitor cells such as adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ASCs). With the objective of developing a better in vitro model for adipose developmental biology, this project involves gene expression profiling of human ASCs (hASCs) during their differentiation to adipocytes in a 2D versus 3D culture model. This transcriptional-level analysis revealed that gene expression patterns of adipogenesis-induced hASCs in a 3D self-assembled polypeptide hydrogel are relatively different from the 2D monolayered cells on plastic hard substrate. Moreover, analysis of adipogenic lineage progression 9 days after adipogenic induction shows earlier differentiation of hASCs in 2D over their 3D counterparts. However, differentiation in 2D shows some unexpected behavior in terms of gene expression, which does not seem to be related to adipogenic lineage specification. Since hASCs are already being used in clinical trials due to their therapeutic potential, it is important to have a clear understanding of the molecular mechanisms in an in vivo model microenvironment like the one presented here.

Flower Shaped Gold Nanoparticles: Biogenic Synthesis Strategies and Characterization.

Microbes can serve as mediators for the fabrication of complicated nano-structures, obviating the tedious and time-consuming methods of synthesis. The shape of a nanoparticle has a very prominent role in defining the functionality in prospective arenas. So, the flower shaped nanoparticles are in focus nowadays due to their enhanced electrocatalytic and optical properties as compared to the spherical ones. We present the biosynthesis of flower shaped gold nanoparticles by Bacillus subtilis RSB64 and process parameters optimization using central composite design. The two well-separated scattering spectra showing absorption peaks at 540 nm and 750 nm indicate the presence of anisotropic gold nanoparticles and the results were corroborated by transmission electron microscopy analysis. The presence of gold nanoparticles was further confirmed by energy dispersive X-ray studies. The functional groups responsible for the stability of gold nanoparticles were predicted by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The gold nanoparticles biosynthesis were collective effects of three experimental process parameters viz pH, temperature and precursor concentration. These three parameters were statistically optimized wherein pH 11.0, substrate concentration 1:1 (v/v) and temperature of 50 °C resulted in the synthesis of stable flower shaped gold nanoparticles of 50 nm size. The results indicated the tailored biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles with a flower like morphology by multi process parameter analysis to finalize robust conditions for the synthesis using B. subtilis RSB64. These gold nanoflowers demonstrate increased surface area efficiency/reactivity and could be employed for sustained and controlled delivery of drugs.

Breakthrough COVID-19 Infection Among the General Community, Frontline Workers, and Healthcare Workers During the Second and Third Wave in North India: A Longitudinal Study.

BACKGROUND: Vaccination is among the most important public health tools for preventing the harm caused by communicable diseases. This was particularly true in the case of COVID-19 vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, no vaccine is 100% effective, and all carry the risk of breakthrough infection in vaccinated individuals. METHODOLOGY: This longitudinal observational study was done on COVID-19-vaccinated individuals at a vaccination site in a tertiary care hospital. The study participants were categorized into the general community, frontline workers, and healthcare workers and were followed up during the study period from June 2021 to May 2022 post-vaccination. They were interviewed by telephone regarding adverse effects and breakthrough infections post-vaccination during the second and third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Incidence of breakthrough infection was calculated in all three categories after they received their first, second, and booster doses of vaccination. RESULTS: Fever was the most common adverse effect among all the categories of participants after the first and second doses. Incidence of breakthrough infection after the second dose of vaccination among frontline workers (RR: 5.7, 95% CI: 0.7-44.2) and healthcare workers (RR: 18.9, 95% CI: 2.6-138.6) was observed to be higher compared to the general community, but no such difference was observed among the three categories after the first dose of vaccination. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of breakthrough infection was found to be the highest in healthcare workers, followed by frontline workers compared to the general community, justifying their work profile and the risk associated with it.

Study to evaluate the relation between weight gain in infants and occurrence of retinopathy of prematurity.

Purpose: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a leading cause of childhood blindness. Capturing serial daily postnatal weight gain can act as an innovative, low-cost method of risk stratification. We aim to study the relation between weight gain in infants and occurrence of ROP. Methods: The prospective, observational study was conducted on 62 infants. ROP screening was done based on the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) criteria. Infants were classified into no ROP (n = 28), mild ROP (n = 8), and treatable ROP (n = 26) groups. Average daily postnatal weight gain was measured and its relation to development of ROP was studied. All statistical calculations were done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 21 version (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) statistical program for Microsoft Windows. Results: Mean rate of weight gain in no ROP group, mild ROP group, and treatable ROP group was 33.12, 27.19, and 15.31 g/day, respectively (P = 0.001). Mean gestational age and birth weight in treatable group (n = 26) were 31.38 weeks and 1572.31 g, respectively. Receiver operating curve analysis revealed a cutoff of 29.33 g/day for ROP and 21.91 g/day for severe ROP. Conclusion: We concluded that, babies with poor weight gain of below 29.33 g/day are at high risk for ROP and babies with wight gain of 21.91 g/day are at high risk for severe ROP. These babies should be followed meticulously. So, the rate of weight gain of a preterm can help us to prioritize babies.

Assessment of diabetes risk profile in a rural population of northern India using the Indian Diabetes Risk Score - A community-based study.

Background: Diabetes is one of the leading killers among noncommunicable diseases of the present time and poses a considerable burden to the society in terms of public health. The Indian Diabetes Risk Score (IDRS) can be used as a risk assessment tool to estimate the population at risk and plan appropriate interventions. The present study was conducted to assess the diabetes risk profile of a rural population of Punjab by using IDRS. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in two phases after obtaining approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee. Phase 1 was done in Rural Health Training Center (RHTC), Pohir, where every fifth patient attending the outpatient department was included in the study. Phase 2 was conducted in village Gopalpur, which is one of the villages in the field practice area of Department of Community Medicine, where participants were enrolled by conducting house to house survey after taking their informed consent. Sociodemographic characteristics, risk factor profile, and the IDRS of the participants were noted. The data was analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26.0 to calculate the percentages. Pearson's Chi-square test was used for qualitative variables, and mean, standard deviation and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used for quantitative variables. A P value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: A total of 252 subjects (99 male and 153 female) from RHTC and 213 subjects (71 male and 142 female) from village Gopalpur participated in the study, with their mean IDRS being 44.8 ± 15.7 and 46.6 ± 21.1, respectively. On calculating the IDRS of participants enrolled in RHTC, it was found that 15.5% had low, 56% had moderate, and 28.5% had high risk, whereas from village Gopalpur, 19.2% had low, 57.3% had moderate, and 23.5% had high risk for developing diabetes mellitus. The risk for developing diabetes was found to be higher among females, subjects living in joint families, and subjects with high body mass index (BMI). The mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure showed an increasing trend with increase in IDRS score of the participants. Conclusion: The present study showed that even in rural areas, nearly one-fourth of the adult population was at high risk, whereas more than half of the population was at moderate risk of developing diabetes mellitus. This corroborates the World Health Organization's (WHO's) stand to declare diabetes as a public health emergency and to devise ways to urgently mitigate this problem. Therefore, awareness and health education campaigns should be implemented in rural areas for early identification of risks, which will help in prevention and hence decreasing the burden of the disease.

Colorimetric detection of nucleic acid signature of shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli using gold nanoparticles.

Enterohemorrhagic E. coil (EHEC) serotype O157:H7 is one of the major pathogens, responsible for the severe disease outbreaks. EHEC causes diseases in humans through production of shiga-like toxin leading to bloody diarrhea. The toxin is encoded by stx2 gene in E. coli. The current methodology for detection of EHEC relies on fluorogenic-substrate based culture media or nucleic acid amplification based Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction assays that are either time consuming or need expensive instrumentation. In this study, the optical properties of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) have been exploited for detection of nucleic acid of Escherichia coli O157:H7. The stx2 gene representing EHEC signature has been targeted using the gold nanoparticle probes. Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) of 20 +/- 0.2 nm were synthesised by citrate reduction method and characterised by spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The GNPs were functionalised with 19 and 22 bp of thiolated single stranded DNA complementary to target highly conserved 149 bp region of stx2 gene. Transmission Electron Microscopy revealed the hybridization, aggregation and reduction in the interparticle distances of the GNP probes in the presence of target DNA. The aggregation and the spectral shift in the plasmon band observed with 10(6) copies of target DNA indicates feasibility of a simple and quick colorimetric 'spot and read' test in contrast to amplification based detection methods.

Au-Nanoplasmonics-Mediated Surface Plasmon-Enhanced GaN Nanostructured UV Photodetectors.

The nanoplasmonic impact of chemically synthesized Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) on the performance of GaN nanostructure-based ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors is analyzed. The devices with uniformly distributed Au NPs on GaN nanostructures (nanoislands and nanoflowers) prominently respond toward UV illumination (325 nm) in both self-powered as well as photoconductive modes of operation and have shown fast and stable time-correlated response with significant enhancement in the performance parameters. A comprehensive analysis of the device design, laser power, and bias-dependent responsivity and response time is presented. The fabricated Au NP/GaN nanoflower-based device yields the highest photoresponsivity of ∼ 380 mA/W, detectivity of ∼ 1010 jones, reduced noise equivalent power of ∼ 5.5 × 10-13 W Hz-1/2, quantum efficiency of ∼ 145%, and fast response/recovery time of ∼40 ms. The report illustrates the mechanism where light interacts with the chemically synthesized nanoparticles guided by the surface plasmon to effectively enhance the device performance. It is observed that the Au NP-stimulated local surface plasmon resonance effect and reduced channel resistance contribute to the augmented performance of the devices. Further, the decoration of low-dimensional Au NPs on GaN nanostructures acts as a detection enhancer with a fast recovery time and paves the way toward the realization of energy-efficient optoelectronic device applications.

Silver nanoparticles induced alterations in multiple cellular targets, which are critical for drug susceptibilities and pathogenicity in fungal pathogen (Candida albicans).

PURPOSE: A significant increase in the incidence of fungal infections and drug resistance has been observed in the past decades due to limited availability of broad-spectrum antifungal drugs. Nanomedicines have shown significant antimicrobial potential against various drug-resistant microbes. Silver nanoparticles (AgNps) are known for their antimicrobial properties and lower host toxicity; however, for clinical applications, evaluation of their impact at cellular and molecular levels is essential. The present study aims to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms of AgNp-induced toxicity in a common fungal pathogen, Candida albicans. METHODS: AgNps were synthesized by chemical reduction method and characterized using UV-visible spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence, and zeta potential. The anti-Candida activity of AgNps was assessed by broth microdilution and spot assays. Effects of AgNps on cellular and molecular targets were assessed by monitoring the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in the absence and presence of natural antioxidant, changes in surface morphology, cellular ultrastructure, membrane microenvironment, membrane fluidity, membrane ergosterol, and fatty acids. RESULTS: Spherical AgNps (10-30 nm) showed minimum inhibitory concentration (minimum concentration required to inhibit the growth of 90% of organisms) at 40 µg/mL. Our results demonstrated that AgNps induced dose-dependent intracellular ROS which exerted antifungal effects; however, even scavenging ROS by antioxidant could not offer protection from AgNp mediated killing. Treatment with AgNps altered surface morphology, cellular ultrastructure, membrane microenvironment, membrane fluidity, ergosterol content, and fatty acid composition, especially oleic acid. CONCLUSION: To summarize, AgNps affected multiple cellular targets crucial for drug resistance and pathogenicity in the fungal cells. The study revealed new cellular targets of AgNps which include fatty acids like oleic acid, vital for hyphal morphogenesis (a pathogenic trait of Candida). Yeast to hypha transition being pivotal for virulence and biofilm formation, targeting virulence might emerge as a new paradigm for developing nano silver-based therapy for clinical applications in fungal therapeutics.

Robust genetic transformation of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) using differentiating embryogenic callus induced from immature embryos.

BACKGROUND: Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) is one of the world's most important cereal crops grown for multiple applications and has been identified as a potential biofuel crop. Despite several decades of study, sorghum has been widely considered as a recalcitrant major crop for transformation due to accumulation of phenolic compounds, lack of model genotypes, low regeneration frequency and loss of regeneration potential through sub-cultures. Among different explants used for genetic transformation of sorghum, immature embryos are ideal over other explants. However, the continuous supply of quality immature embryos for transformation is labour intensive and expensive. In addition, transformation efficiencies are also influenced by environmental conditions (light and temperature). Despite these challenges, immature embryos remain the predominant choice because of their success rate and also due to non-availability of other dependable explants without compromising the transformation efficiency. RESULTS: We report here a robust genetic transformation method for sorghum (Tx430) using differentiating embryogenic calli (DEC) with nodular structures induced from immature embryos and maintained for more than a year without losing regeneration potential on modified MS media. The addition of lipoic acid (LA) to callus induction media along with optimized growth regulators increased callus induction frequency from 61.3 ± 3.2 to 79 ± 6.5% from immature embryos (1.5-2.0 mm in length) isolated 12-15 days after pollination. Similarly, the regeneration efficiency and the number of shoots from DEC tissue was enhanced by LA. The optimized regeneration system in combination with particle bombardment resulted in an average transformation efficiency (TE) of 27.2 or 46.6% based on the selection strategy, 25% to twofold higher TE than published reports in Tx430. Up to 100% putative transgenic shoots were positive for npt-II by PCR and 48% of events had < 3 copies of transgenes as determined by digital droplet PCR. Reproducibility of this method was demonstrated by generating ~ 800 transgenic plants using 10 different gene constructs. CONCLUSIONS: This protocol demonstrates significant improvements in both efficiency and ease of use over existing sorghum transformation methods using PDS, also enables quick hypothesis testing in the production of various high value products in sorghum.

Association of tuberculosis and diabetes Mellitus: an analysis of 1000 consecutively admitted cases in a tertiary care hospital of North India.

INTRODUCTION: The association of Tuberculosis and Diabetes Mellitus is a cause of concern for the health sector. The coexistence of these two highly prevalent diseases has made the already existing treatments very complex. This issue is of particular significance to developing countries like India that bear a significant burden of these two diseases. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of 1000 consecutively admitted patients in a tertiary care hospital were analyzed for the coexistence of Tuberculosis and Diabetes Mellitus. RESULTS: The study found that a significant proportion of diabetic patients had coexistent tuberculosis (65.5%). Rural population was predominantly affected in both the genders. The study observed that the coexistence of these two conditions increased with advanced age. CONCLUSION: The coexistence of Diabetes Mellitus with Tuberculosis needs to identified early and adequately addressed. The rural population needs to be educated about these two conditions and seek timely medical care.

Modification of Seed Oil Composition in Arabidopsis by Artificial microRNA-Mediated Gene Silencing.

Various post transcriptional gene silencing strategies have been developed and exploited to study gene function or engineer disease resistance. The recently developed artificial microRNA strategy is an alternative method of effectively silencing target genes. The Δ12-desaturase (FAD2), Fatty acid elongase (FAE1), and Fatty acyl-ACP thioesterase B (FATB) were targeted with amiR159b-based constructs in Arabidopsisthaliana to evaluate changes in oil composition when expressed with the seed-specific Brassica napus truncated napin (FP1) promoter. Fatty acid profiles from transgenic homozygous seeds reveal that the targeted genes were silenced. The down-regulation of the AtFAD-2 gene substantially increased oleic acid from the normal levels of ∼15% to as high as 63.3 and reduced total PUFA content (18:2(Δ9,12) + 18:3(Δ9,12,15) + 20:2(Δ11,14) + 20:3(Δ11,14,17)) from 46.8 to 4.8%. Δ12-desaturase activity was reduced to levels as low as those in the null fad-2-1 and fad-2-2 mutants. Silencing of the FAE1 gene resulted in the reduction of eicosenoic acid (20:1(Δ11)) to 1.9 from 15.4% and silencing of FATB resulted in the reduction of palmitic acid (16:0) to 4.4% from 8.0%. Reduction in FATB activity is comparable with a FATB knock-out mutant. These results demonstrate for the first time amiR159b constructs targeted against three endogenous seed-expressed genes are clearly able to down-regulate and generate genotypic changes that are inherited stably over three generations.