Pioneering the Photoactive Relevance of Quinazolinone-Fullereropyrrolidine Nanohybrids To Address Chemotherapeutic Resistance in Cancer.

This study investigates the impact of C70 and C60 fullerenes on quinazolinone, specifically in quinazolinone-fulleropyrrolidine nanohybrids. The nanohybrids Q 3 C 70 M and Q 3 C 60 M exhibit distinct spectral shifts and have significant photobiological antineoplastic properties. Q 3 C 60 M enhances apoptosis, while Q 3 C 70 M reduces Cyclin A levels and counteracts oncogenic effects by promoting cell differentiation. Q 3 C 70 M demonstrates heightened cytotoxicity by overcoming chemotherapy resistance by modulating BAX and BCL-2 levels. This innovative approach, distinguishing between C70 and C60, represents a novel contribution to the existing scientific literature.

Natural variation in root traits identifies significant SNPs and candidate genes for phosphate deficiency tolerance in Zea mays L.

Phosphorus (P) is a crucial macronutrient required for normal plant growth. Its effective uptake from the soil is a trait of agronomic importance. Natural variation in maize (339 accessions) root traits, namely root length and number of primary, seminal, and crown roots, root and shoot phosphate (Pi) contents, and root-to-shoot Pi translocation (root: shoot Pi) under normal (control, 40 ppm) and low phosphate (LP, 1 ppm) conditions, were used for genome-wide association studies (GWAS). The Bayesian-information and Linkage-disequilibrium Iteratively Nested Keyway (BLINK) model of GWAS provided 23 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 12 relevant candidate genes putatively linked with root Pi, root: shoot Pi, and crown root number (CRN) under LP. The DNA-protein interaction analysis of Zm00001d002842, Zm00001d002837, Zm00001d002843 for root Pi, and Zm00001d044312, Zm00001d045550, Zm00001d025915, Zm00001d044313, Zm00001d051842 for root: shoot Pi, and Zm00001d031561, Zm00001d001803, and Zm00001d001804 for CRN showed the presence of potential binding sites of key transcription factors like MYB62, bZIP11, ARF4, ARF7, ARF10 and ARF16 known for induction/suppression of phosphate starvation response (PHR). The in-silico RNA-seq analysis revealed up or down-regulation of candidate genes along with key transcription factors of PHR, while Uniprot analysis provided genetic relatedness. Candidate genes that may play a role in P uptake and root-to-shoot Pi translocation under LP are proposed using common PHR signaling components like MYB62, ARF4, ARF7, ARF10, ARF16, and bZIP11 to induce changes in root growth in maize. Candidate genes may be used to improve low P tolerance in maize using the CRISPR strategy.

Integrated segmented IQ-modulator for orthogonal sampling and multi-level high-bandwidth signal generation.

Photonic-assisted signal processing of high-bandwidth signals emerges as a solution for challenges encountered in electronic-based processing. Here we present a concept for a compact, photonic-assisted digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and optical IQ-modulator in one single integrated device based on two innovative concepts: a segmented Mach-Zehnder modulator and orthogonal sampling. For electrically driving the modulator, only a single radio frequency oscillator and no pulse source or electrical DAC are required. The presented and simulated proof-of-concept device with six segments can generate a multi-level and high-bandwidth signal from low-bandwidth electronic drivers; e.g., we show the generation of a 120 Gbps data rate, 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (16-QAM, 30 Gbaud) signal solely based on low-bandwidth (5 GHz) non-return-to-zero (NRZ) signals. Integrated on a silicon photonic platform, the device provides fixable speed and bandwidth operations, positioning it as a viable solution for diverse communication systems.

Reconfigurable integrated photonic filters for optical signal processing using a silicon photonic platform.

We present a systematic photonic filter design approach by deploying pole-zero optimization. The filter transfer function is derived from its specifications by formulating closed-form optimization objective functions and subsequently translating them into optical design parameters. Two distinct filter examples, namely Chebyshev and elliptic filters, are considered for the design and validation. A compact reconfigurable three-pole photonic filter is fabricated on a silicon photonic platform to illustrate the proposed design technique including transmission tunability. Integrated thermal phase shifters coupled with micro-ring resonators are used to reconfigure filter responses. A well-matched experimental demonstration is presented to validate the proposed tuning method. We achieved a sharp out-of-band edge rejection of at least 20 and 40 dB for the elliptic and Chebyshev filter, respectively.

Structurally Dynamic Monocyte-Liposome Hybrid Vesicles as an Anticancer Drug Delivery Vehicle: A Crucial Correlation of Microscopic Elasticity and Ultrafast Dynamics.

A biomimetic cell-based carrier system based on monocyte membranes and liposomes has been designed to create a hybrid "Monocyte-LP" which inherits the surface antigens of the monocytes along with the drug encapsulation property of the liposome. Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) and polarization gated anisotropy measurements show the stiffness of the vesicles obtained from monocyte membranes (Mons), phosphatidylcholine membranes (LP), and Monocyte-LP to follow an increasing order of Mons > Monocyte-LP > LP. The dynamics of interface bound water molecules plays a key role in the elasticity of the vesicles, which in turn imparts higher delivery efficacy to the hybrid Monocyte-LP for a model anticancer drug doxorubicin than the other two vesicles, indicating a critical balance between flexibility and rigidity for an efficient cellular uptake. The present work provides insight on the influence of elasticity of delivery vehicles for enhanced drug delivery.

Performance investigation of solar energy-aided compression-based building air conditioning strategies for variable climatic regions.

Decoupling cooling and ventilation tasks with an existing air conditioning methodology are a promising performance-enhancement technology. In this direction, different configurations of a desiccant-integrated independent ventilation element attached to a conventional cooling system are proposed in this study. This work establishes a quantitative comparative performance analysis among the different process air cooling (obtained through desiccant dehumidification) techniques for three different climates, namely, hot-dry, tropical, and Mediterranean. EnergyPlus simulations have been executed on a small-scale office building of 400-m2 area. The building constructional details and other required simulation input parameters follow benchmark standards. As the chemical dehumidification increases, the process air, i.e., supply air temperature that cannot be sent directly to the room, needs to be cooled. Three approaches for process air cooling have been considered: direct expansion (DX) cooling coil, indirect evaporative cooling (IEC), and sensible heat recovery wheel (SHRW). A solar collector assembly with a supporting heating arrangement is coupled with desiccant unit for regeneration. Outdoor air is used for regeneration in the case of the DX cooling coil and IEC, whereas return air is used in the heat recovery wheel case. Annual simulation results reveal that the SHRW-aided case performs superior than DX coil case for the pertinent climatic conditions, with 9.6 to 45.01% of annual energy savings. For the IEC, energy consumption was 1.8 to 18.38% less than that of DX coil. Also, using return air in this best-suited case reduces the net thermal energy requirement for regeneration by 14.63 to 71.65% with respect to DX coil.

Morpho-molecular and nutritional profiling for yield improvement and value addition of indigenous aromatic Joha rice of Assam.

Short-grain aromatic Joha rice of Assam is a unique class of specialty rice having tremendous potential in domestic and international markets. The poor yielding ability of Assam's Joha rice demands its systematic characterization for an effective breeding program. This study investigates the morphological, molecular and biochemical profiles of twenty popular Joha (aromatic) rice cultivars indigenous to Assam. Distinctiveness, Uniformity and Stability (DUS) characterization of the cultivars revealed polymorphism in thirty-seven traits, establishing distinctiveness for their utilization in breeding programs. Unweighted Neighbor Joining (UNJ) clustering based on usual Euclidean distances for the polymorphic morphological markers grouped the cultivars into three clusters with eight, eleven, and one genotypes. The Joha rice cultivars showed significant differences for all the quantitative traits except for panicle length. The genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variability (GCV & PCV) were high for grain yield ha-1 (24.62 & 24.85%) and filled grains panicle-1 (23.69 & 25.02%). Mahalanobis D2 analysis revealed three multi-genotypic and four mono-genotypic clusters of the cultivars. The first five principal components explain 85.87% of the variation among the cultivars for the traits under study; filled grain panicle-1 (0.91) and stem thickness (0.55) positively contributed to the first PC. The cultivars' average polyunsaturated fatty acids were 37.9% oleic acid, 39.22% linoleic acid, and 0.5% linolenic acid. Kon Joha 4 and Ronga Joha contained the highest iron (82.88 mg kg-1) and zinc (47.39 mg kg-1), respectively. Kalijeera, Kunkuni Joha, Kon Joha-5, Manimuni Joha and Kon Joha-2 accorded a strong aroma. PCR amplified 174 alleles with a mean value 2.64 across the 66 polymorphic SSR markers. PIC values ranged from 0.091 to 0.698, with an average of 0.326. The highly informative (PIC > 0.50) markers were RM316, RM283, RM585, RM1388, RM3562, RM171, R1M30, RM118, RM11and RM29 for identification of the twenty aromatic rice cultivars. PCR amplification of 27 SSR markers identified 28 unique alleles (97-362 bp) in 13 Joha rice cultivars, which can help their identification/DNA fingerprinting. The UNJ clustering based on Jaccard's coefficients classified the cultivars into three distinct clusters with eight, ten, and two genotypes. Our study revealed the nutritional richness of these specialty Joha rice cultivars and sufficient scope for yield enhancement through their interbreeding to keep quality intact.

Si/Ge phototransistor with responsivity >1000A/W on a silicon photonics platform.

In this article, we report a Si/Ge waveguide phototransistor with high responsivity and low dark current under low bias voltages, due to an engineered electric field distribution. The photodetector consists of n-i-p-i-n doping regions and shows a responsivity of 606 A/W at 1 V bias, and 1032 A/W at 2.8V bias with an input optical power of -50 dBm, and dark current of 4 µA and 42 µA respectively. This is achieved by placing two p+-doped regions in the silicon slab region beneath the Ge epitaxial layer. A measured small signal -3 dB bandwidth of 1.5 GHz with a -80 dBc/Hz phase noise response at 1 KHz frequency offset were demonstrated experimentally.

Excited-State Dynamics of a Photoacid: A Potential Probe for Recognizing Transition from Lamellar to Nonlamellar Inverted Structures of Liposome based Nanocarriers.

Liposomes of a cationic lipid dioctadecyldimethylammonium bromide (DODAB) are efficient nanocarriers of nucleic acids. Incorporation of a neutral lipid monoolein (MO) in excess (xMO >0.5) changes the lamellar organization of DODAB liposomes into non-lamellar inverted structures of DODAB/MO liposomes facilitating nucleic acid delivery to cells. Photoexcitation of 8-hydroxypyrene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid (HPTS), a photoacid, initiates an excited state proton transfer (ESPT) reaction in its protonated form (ROH*) generating the deprotonated anionic form (RO- *). The fluorescence intensity ratio (IROH* /IRO-* ) of these two forms is governed by the ESPT dynamics, and increases with increasing MO content (xMO ) in the cationic liposomes of DODAB. Transition from lamellar organization of DODAB liposomes into non-lamellar inverted structures of DODAB/MO liposomes, due to incorporation of MO (xMO ~0.7), is manifested by a significant increase of ESPT time (τPT ) and the time constant of wobbling motion (τW ) of HPTS. Thus, the lamellar organizations of DODAB or DODAB-rich (xMO 0.2) liposomes and the non-lamellar organizations of MO-rich (xMO ~0.7) liposomes are recognized by significantly different excited state dynamics of the photoacid.

Proportion, Pattern, and Predictors of Falls in Older Adults - A Community-based Observational Study in Rural West Bengal.

Introduction: In spite of falls being a major public health problem, where most of the falls are preventable, there is a lack of epidemiological investigation among those aged 50 and above, especially in developing countries. Hence, we investigate the proportion, pattern, and predictors of falls in this age group. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional community-based study was done in the Uluberia-II block of Howrah district, West Bengal, from February to July 2021. A multistage cluster sampling method was used to meet the sample size. Data were collected with the help of a structured interview schedule. Predictors were estimated by the SPSS version 16 and defined in adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval. Results: Among 170 study participants, 34.7% (59/170) experienced at least one episode of fall, while 20.6% (35/170) experienced recurrent falls in 12 months. Most (78%; 46/59) falls occurred in the home environment and due to slippage (67.8%; 40/59) on the floor. 84.7% (50/59) sustained any type of injuries, 47.5% (28/59) required either consultation of a physician or medication, and 6.8% (4/59) required hospitalization. Safety Checklist Score measured 75.3% (128/170) had a poor household environment, within that 30.6% (52/170) had a seriously poor household environment, which was an important predictor of falls ([AOR] = 3.59 [1.24-10.38]). Fear of fall (AOR = 6.18 [1.77-21.53]) measured by shortfall efficacy scale and nonformal education (AOR = 5.05 [1.33-19.07]) were also predictors of falls. Conclusion: Considerable proportion of falls occurred in the past year, which can be preventable by improving modifiable environmental factors and detection of fear of fall in persons at different levels of health-care facilities.

Evaluation of Morpho-Physiological and Yield-Associated Traits of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Landraces Combined with Marker-Assisted Selection under High-Temperature Stress and Elevated Atmospheric CO2 Levels.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is an important cereal crop worldwide due to its long domestication history. North-Eastern India (NEI) is one of the origins of indica rice and contains various native landraces that can withstand climatic changes. The present study compared NEI rice landraces to a check variety for phenological, morpho-physiological, and yield-associated traits under high temperatures (HTs) and elevated CO2 (eCO2) levels using molecular markers. The first experiment tested 75 rice landraces for HT tolerance. Seven better-performing landraces and the check variety (N22) were evaluated for the above traits in bioreactors for two years (2019 and 2020) under control (T1) and two stress treatments [mild stress or T2 (eCO2 550 ppm + 4 °C more than ambient temperature) and severe stress or T3 (eCO2 750 ppm + 6 °C more than ambient temperature)]. The findings showed that moderate stress (T2) improved plant height (PH), leaf number (LN), leaf area (LA), spikelets panicle-1 (S/P), thousand-grain weight (TGW), harvest index (HI), and grain production. HT and eCO2 in T3 significantly decreased all genotypes' metrics, including grain yield (GY). Pollen traits are strongly and positively associated with spikelet fertility at maturity and GY under stress conditions. Shoot biomass positively affected yield-associated traits including S/P, TGW, HI, and GY. This study recorded an average reduction of 8.09% GY across two seasons in response to the conditions simulated in T3. Overall, two landraces-Kohima special and Lisem-were found to be more responsive compared to other the landraces as well as N22 under stress conditions, with a higher yield and biomass increment. SCoT-marker-assisted genotyping amplified 77 alleles, 55 of which were polymorphic, with polymorphism information content (PIC) values from 0.22 to 0.67. The study reveals genetic variation among the rice lines and supports Kohima Special and Lisem's close relationship. These two better-performing rice landraces are useful pre-breeding resources for future rice-breeding programs to increase stress tolerance, especially to HT and high eCO2 levels under changing climatic situations.

Real-time reconfigurable on-chip photonic frequency decoder.

A group-delay-unit-based integrated silicon photonic integrated circuit (PIC) is employed as a reconfigurable analog radio frequency decoder, which provides a real-time temporal and spectral analysis of any arbitrary multi-tone signal in the micro- and mm-wave range. The circuit is based on cascaded Mach-Zehnder interferometer embedded silicon microring resonators as variable delay units. The temporal decoding of the multi-tone input signal is demonstrated by tuning the signal with respect to the ring resonator delay and resonance. A one-to-one conformal time-to-frequency mapping provides real-time spectral decoding of the signal under test without additional digital signal processing. The idea is validated by several experimental results with single-tone and two-tone input signals in a compact, low-power, silicon PIC. The proposed real-time temporal analog frequency decoder may be very intriguing for high-speed, low-latency wireless applications, such as autonomous driving and 6G.

Control of aflatoxin biosynthesis by sulfur containing benzimidazole derivatives: In-silico interaction, biological activity, and gene regulation of Aspergillus flavus.

Aspergillus flavus producing aflatoxins is one of the potent contaminants of raw food commodities during pre-and post-harvest crops. Aflatoxins are the group of secondary metabolites a subset of natural polyketides. Our major focus is on the inhibition of the biosynthesis pathway of aflatoxin by targeting the enzymes involved. Benzimidazoles are known antimicrobial compounds. In this study the sulfur containing benzimidazole derivatives were tested for their antifungal and antiaflatoxigenic activity. The fungal growth and aflatoxin production was analysed in culture medium as well as in the rice. Inhibition of specific genes was studied in terms of mRNA expression and the interaction of test compound with polyketide synthases by in-silico molecular docking. Substitution at the 6th position of 2-(2-thienyl) benzimidazole (2-TBD) reduced the antifungal property of benzimidazole but effectively inhibited the aflatoxin synthesis in the culture medium as well as in the rice from the toxigenic strain of A. flavus. Among the derivatives tested, the methyl group containing 2-(2-thienyl)- 6-methylbenzimidazole (6-MTBD) inhibited aflatoxin B1 most effectively followed by carboxylic group containing 2-(2-thienyl) benzimidazole-6-carboxylic acid (6-TBCA) with IC50 value of 12.36 and 18.25 µg/mL respectively. Molecular docking study shows that 2-(2-thienyl) benzimidazole-6-carbonitrile (6-CTBD) and 6-MTBD occupy same pocket on TE domain of PksA with similar range of binding energy, however the experimental data show a different effect on the biosynthesis of AFB1. 6-MTBD effectively inhibited the AFB1 synthesis (97%) while 6-CTBD could not (39.5%). Data obtained from the expression study also supports the experimental observations. These compounds are non-toxic to mammalian cells. These benzimidazole derivatives inhibit toxic secondary metabolites without affecting the growth of the fungi hence can be used during fermentation to avoid mycotoxin contamination.

Vegetal protein hydrolysates reduce the yield losses in off-season crops under combined heat and drought stress.

To deal with the vagaries of climate change, it is essential to develop climate-resilient agricultural practices, which improve crop productivity, and ensure food security. The impacts of high temperature and water deficit stress conditions pose serious challenges to a sustainable crop production. Several adaptation measures are practiced globally to address these challenges and among these altering the crop's typical growing season is one of the key management practices. Application of biostimulants and other growth hormones helps in compensating yield losses under abiotic stress significantly. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the influence of vegetal protein hydrolysate based biostimulant to reduce the yield losses of off-season crops (soybean and chilli in summer and chickpea in early Kharif) when the temperature was higher than the regular season under water deficit stress conditions. The experiments were carried out with the foliar application of different protein hydrolysates (PHs) concentrations. The study revealed that the application of PHs significantly improved the membrane stability index, relative water content, total chlorophyll and proline content of leaves. Consequently, it led to an increase in the number of pods in soybean and chickpea, and fruits in chilli, leading to improved yields when plants were treated with the appropriate amount of PHs. Compared to untreated plants, PHs helped improve the efficiency of PS-II with significantly high photochemical efficiency (QYmax) even at higher excised leaf water loss or reduction in loss of relative water content. This study concluded that foliar application of PHs at 4, 2, and 6 ml L-1 can be beneficial for soybean, chickpea and chilli, which exhibited 17, 30, and 25% yield improvement respectively, over the untreated plants under water deficit stress. It is suggested that the benefits of PHs can be realized in soybean, chickpea and chilli under high temperature and water deficit stress. Therefore, vegetal PHs may be able to assist farmers in arid regions for boosting their income by raising market value and decreasing production barriers during the off-season. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12298-023-01334-4.

Chronic musculoskeletal pain among elderly individuals in a rural area of West Bengal: A mixed-method study.

Introduction: The high prevalence among elderly individuals and potential adverse impact on their overall life quality make chronic musculoskeletal pain a significant public health concern. Chronic musculoskeletal pain is an important cause of self-medication, which must be addressed to avoid various side effects and improve elderly health. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of chronic musculoskeletal pain and its associated factors among individuals (age ≥60 years) in rural West Bengal and explore their perspectives and perceived barriers regarding pain and its management. Method: This mixed-method study was conducted in rural West Bengal from December 2021 to June 2022. The quantitative strand was conducted by interviewing 255 elderly participants (age ≥60 years) using a structured questionnaire. The qualitative strand was conducted via in-depth interviews of 10 patients with chronic pain. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS version 16, and chronic pain-related factors were analyzed using logistic regression models. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically. Results: Among the participants, 56.8% reported chronic musculoskeletal pain. The most frequently affected site was the knee joint. Comorbidity (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]=7.47, 95% confidence interval [CI]=3.2-17.5), age (aOR=5.16, 95% CI=2.2-13.5), depression (aOR=2.96, 95% CI=1.2-6.7) and over-the-counter drug usage (aOR=2.51, 95% CI=1.1-6.4) were significantly associated with chronic pain. Analgesic dependency, lack of motivation to adopt lifestyle modifications, lack of knowledge on analgesic side effects were considered pain management barriers. Conclusion: Managing comorbidities, providing mental support, generating awareness of analgesic side effects, strengthening healthcare facilities should be prioritized for holistic chronic musculoskeletal pain management.

Utilisation of adolescent reproductive and sexual health services in a rural area of West Bengal: A mixed-method study.

Introduction: Despite policy actions and strategic efforts for improving the reproductive and sexual health of adolescents by promoting the uptake of adolescent reproductive and sexual health (ARSH) services, the utilisation rate remains significantly low, especially in rural areas of India. This study aimed to assess the utilisation of these services by adolescents in rural West Bengal and its associated determinants. Method: This mixed-method study was conducted from May to September 2021 in the Gosaba rural block of South 24 Parganas, West Bengal. Quantitative data were collected from 326 adolescents using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. Qualitative data were collected via four focus group discussions among 30 adolescents and key-informant interviews among six healthcare workers. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS, while qualitative data were analysed thematically. Results: Ninety-six (29.4%) adolescents had utilised ARSH services at least once during adolescence. The factors associated with non-utilisation of ARSH services were younger age, female sex, increasing reproductive health stigma and decreasing parent-adolescent communication related to sexual health. Qualitative exploration revealed that unawareness regarding services, perceived lack of privacy and confidentiality at healthcare facilities and disruption of services post-emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic were some major barriers to ARSH service utilisation. Conclusion: A multi-component strategy, including promotion of adolescent-friendly health clinics, community support interventions associated with motivation and counselling of parents regarding the importance of adolescent reproductive health, is needed to improve the utilisation of ARSH services. Necessary steps to correct the deficiencies at the facility level should also be prioritised.

Unraveling an Ultrafast Electron Transport Mechanism in a Photocatalytic "Micromachine" for Their Potential Light Harvesting Applications.

Following the seminal discovery of Richard Feynman, several micromachines have been made that are capable of several applications, such as solar energy harvesting, remediation of environmental pollution, etc. Here we have synthesized a nanohybrid combining TiO2 nanoparticle and light harvesting robust organic molecule RK1 (2-cyano-3-(4-(7-(5-(4-(diphenylamino)phenyl)-4-octylthiophen-2-yl)benzo[c][1,2,5] thiadiazol-4-yl)phenyl) acrylic acid) as a model micromachine having solar light harvesting ability potential for application in photocatalysis, preparation of solar active devices, etc. Detailed structural characterization, including High Resolution Transmission Electronic Microscopy (HRTEM) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), has been performed on the nanohybrid. We have studied the excited-state ultrafast dynamics of the efficient push-pull dye RK1 in solution, on mesoporous semiconductor nanoparticles, and in insulator nanoparticles by streak camera (resolution of the order of 500 fs). The dynamics of such photosensitizers in polar solvents have been reported, and it has been observed that completely different dynamics occur when they are attached to the surface of the semiconductor/insulator nanosurface. A femtosecond-resolved fast electron transfer has been reported when photosensitizer RK1 has been attached to the surface of the semiconductor nanoparticle, which in turn plays a crucial role in the development of an efficient light harvesting material. The generation of reactive oxygen species as a result of femtosecond-resolved photoinduced electron injection in the aqueous medium is also investigated in order to explore the possibility of redox-active micromachines, which are found to be crucial for efficient and enhanced photocatalysis.

Spectroscopic studies on a natural biomarker for the identification of origin and quality of tea extracts for the development of a portable and field deployable prototype.

Even in the era of smart technologies and IoT enabled devices, tea testing technique continues to be a person specific subjective task. In this study, we have employed optical spectroscopy-based detection technique for the quantitative validation of tea quality. In this regard, we have employed the external quantum yield of quercetin at 450 nm (λex = 360 nm), which is an enzymatic product generated by the activity of ß-glucosidase on rutin, a naturally occurring metabolite responsible for tea-flavour (quality). We have found that a specific point in a graph representing Optical Density and external Quantum Yield as independent and dependent variables respectively of an aqueous tea extract objectively indicates a specific variety of the tea. A variety of tea samples from various geographical origin have been analysed with the developed technique and found to be useful for the tea quality assessment. The principal component analysis distinctly showed the tea samples originated from Nepal and Darjeeling having similar external quantum yield, while the tea samples from Assam region had a lower external quantum yield. Furthermore, we have employed experimental and computational biology techniques for the detection of adulteration and health benefit of the tea extracts. In order to assure the portability/field use, we have also developed a prototype which confirms the results obtained in the laboratory. We are of the opinion that the simple user interface and almost zero maintenance cost of the device will make it useful and attractive with minimally trained manpower at low resource setting.

Combinatorial impacts of elevated CO2 and temperature affect growth, development, and fruit yield in Capsicum chinense Jacq.

Hot chilli ('Bhut Jolokia') (Capsicum chinense Jacq.) is the hottest chilli widely grown in the North-Eastern region of India for its high pungency. However, little information is available on its physiology, growth and developmental parameters including yield. Therefore, the present research was undertaken to study the physiological responses of Bhut Jolokia under elevated CO2 (eCO2) and temperature. Two germplasms from two different agro-climatic zones (Assam and Manipur) within the North-East region of India were collected based on the pungency. The present study explored the interactive effect of eCO2 [at 380, 550, 750 ppm (parts per million)] and temperature (at ambient, > 2 °C above ambient, and > 4 °C above ambient) on various physiological processes, and expression of some photosynthesis and capsaicin related genes in both the germplasms. Results revealed an increase (> 1-2 fold) in the net photosynthetic rate (Pn), carbohydrate content, and C: N ratio in 'Bhut Jolokia' under eCO2 and elevated temperature regimes compared to ambient conditions within the germplasms. Gene expression studies revealed an up-regulation of photosynthesis-related genes such as Cs RuBPC2 (Ribulose biphosphate carboxylase 2) and Cs SPS (Sucrose phosphate synthase) which, explained the higher Pn under eCO2 and temperature conditions. Both the germplasm showed better performance under CTGT-II (Carbon dioxide Temperature Gradient Tunnel having 550 ppm CO2 and temperature of 2 °C above ambient) in terms of various physiological parameters and up-regulation of key photosynthesis-related genes. An up-regulation of the Cs  capsaicin synthase gene was also evident in the study, which could be due to the metabolite readjustment in 'Bhut Jolokia'. In addition, the cultivar from Manipur (cv. 1) had less fruit drop compared to the cultivar from Assam (cv. 2) in CTGT II. The data indicated that 550 ppm of eCO2 and temperature elevation of > 2 °C above the ambient with CTGT-II favored the growth and development of 'Bhut Jolokia'. Thus, results suggest that Bhut Jolokia grown under the elevation of CO2 up to 550 ppm and temperature above 2 °C than ambient may support the growth, development, and yield. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12298-023-01294-9.

Cytokine storm-based mechanisms for extrapulmonary manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Viral illnesses like SARS-CoV-2 have pathologic effects on nonrespiratory organs in the absence of direct viral infection. We injected mice with cocktails of rodent equivalents of human cytokine storms resulting from SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 or rhinovirus common cold infection. At low doses, COVID-19 cocktails induced glomerular injury and albuminuria in zinc fingers and homeoboxes 2 (Zhx2) hypomorph and Zhx2+/+ mice to mimic COVID-19-related proteinuria. Common Cold cocktail induced albuminuria selectively in Zhx2 hypomorph mice to model relapse of minimal change disease, which improved after depletion of TNF-α, soluble IL-4Rα, or IL-6. The Zhx2 hypomorph state increased cell membrane to nuclear migration of podocyte ZHX proteins in vivo (both cocktails) and lowered phosphorylated STAT6 activation (COVID-19 cocktail) in vitro. At higher doses, COVID-19 cocktails induced acute heart injury, myocarditis, pericarditis, acute liver injury, acute kidney injury, and high mortality in Zhx2+/+ mice, whereas Zhx2 hypomorph mice were relatively protected, due in part to early, asynchronous activation of STAT5 and STAT6 pathways in these organs. Dual depletion of cytokine combinations of TNF-α with IL-2, IL-13, or IL-4 in Zhx2+/+ mice reduced multiorgan injury and eliminated mortality. Using genome sequencing and CRISPR/Cas9, an insertion upstream of ZHX2 was identified as a cause of the human ZHX2 hypomorph state.