Improved long-term survival rate in the responders to bortezomib, cyclophosphamide, dexamethasone induction therapy in a transplant-eligible cohort of predominantly middle-age multiple myeloma patients.

BACKGROUND: Multiple myeloma (MM) represents the second most common hematologic malignancy (15%). Induction with bortezomib, cyclophosphamide, and dexamthasone VCd (d: low dose dexamthasone) regimen is widely used due to its high effectiveness, low toxicity and good tolerability, particularly with renal impairment. Real-world data on the use of VCD in clinical practice is lacking. OBJECTIVES: Evaluate the real-world experience of the VCD regimen. DESIGN: Retrospective. SETTING: Tumor registry database of tertiary cancer care center. PATIENTS AND METHODS: newly diagnosed MM patients who received VCD induction and underwent autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) from July 2007 to July 2020. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: response evaluation, progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). SAMPLE SIZE: 87 patients. RESULTS: Of 102 patients who started induction with VCd, 87 patients experienced a partial response or more overall response rate of 85%). The median age of these 87 patients at diagnosis was 52 years, of which 29.9% presented with renal impairment and 60.3% of patients had stage 2 by the Revised International Staging System (R-ISS). Patients with a standard cytogenetic risk achieved a better response compared to those with a poor cytogenetic risk (P=.044). The post-induction response rates were 6.9% stringent complete remission (sCR), 35% complete remission (CR); 41.4% very good partial response (VGPR), and 16.1% partial response (PR), respectively; the response rates became greater for sCR and CR post-transplantation at day 100 with 16.1% sCR, 35.6% CR, 32.2% VGPR and 16.1% PR, respectively. The median PFS was 49 months and 5 years OS was 84%. PFS was better in patients who achieved sCR vs PR (83 vs 35 months, P=.037). High LDH, high-risk cytogenetic and stage 3 R-ISS showed a worse median PFS and OS. CONCLUSIONS: VCD induction in newly diagnosed MM is highly effective, convenient, tolerable and affordable regimen, especially in low and middle-income countries with limited resources, also with favorable outcomes and survival. while those who did not respond successfully shifted to VRD or VTD. LIMITATIONS: The usual limitations of a retrospective analysis using registry-level data, no data on quality of life.

Unveiling the Therapeutic Potential of Vitamin-E in Preventing Inflammation and Stromal Congestion in Alcoholic Liver Injury.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of the research was to investigate and assess how effective Vitamin E is in preventing or reducing liver inflammation and stromal congestion associated with alcoholic liver injury. STUDY DESIGN: This is a laboratory-based experimental study. METHODOLOGY: A total of 18 domestic rabbits were divided into groups A, B, and C. Group A was the control group and treated with normal saline as a placebo. Groups B and C were given 30% ethanol in a daily dose of 30 ml/kg/day. Additionally, group C was treated with vitamin E at 50 mg/kg/day. All three groups were sub-divided into two sub-groups I and II on the basis of experimental duration of eight weeks and four weeks respectively. The subgroups with eight weeks of experimental time duration were categorized as "category E8" and subgroups with an experimental duration of four weeks were categorized as "category E4". Liver tissue samples from each animal were subjected to staining using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stain for histological staining in order to assess portal inflammation and to measure the sizes of hepatic sinusoids and central veins to evaluate hepatic congestion. RESULTS: A statistically significant variance was observed in the size of central veins, hepatic sinusoids, and invasion of inflammatory cells in portal areas across and between the groups within categories E4 and E8. Animals treated with vitamin E exhibited lower invasion of inflammatory cells and larger central veins and sinusoids compared to those not treated with vitamin E. CONCLUSION: Vitamin E may have a significant role in reducing or limiting the infiltration of inflammatory cells and could help prevent hepatic congestion in cases of alcoholic liver injury.

Association of a single-nucleotide polymorphism in C12orf43 region with the risk of coronary artery disease.

The genetics of organisms play a vital role in the development of coronary artery disease (CAD), with its heritability estimated at approximately 50-60%. For this purpose, we examined the relationship between CAD risk and C12orf43/rs2258287 polymorphisms in the Pakistani population. In this study based on the genetic approach to dyslipidemia, a total of 200 subjects were included from the southern Punjab. The biochemical analysis of parameters (total cholesterol, triglycerides, blood glucose, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein) was carried out along with molecular analysis using an ARMS-PCR-based assay for single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) C12orf43/rs2258287 to identify the genotype. Genotypes showed a substantial correlation with both family history and metabolic markers. The cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides and blood glucose levels were higher while the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level was lower significantly (p<0.05) in cases than in controls. Age, pulse rate, diabetes, physical activity, smoking, family history, and dietary habits were also significantly associated (p<0.05) with CAD individuals. The SNP C12orf43/rs2258287 also showed an association with CAD in the population of southern Punjab. Based upon this study, it could be concluded that CAD is characterized by an unfavorable lipid profile in association with SNP C12orf43/rs2258287.

Burden of dengue, leishmaniasis and lymphatic filariasis in India and its states from 1990-2019: Analysis from the Global Burden of Disease study (GBD 2019).

Vector-borne diseases such as dengue, leishmaniasis, and lymphatic filariasis, constitute significant sources of illness, disability, and mortality among the poor and vulnerable in many countries around the world, including India. Based on the global burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors study 2019, we analyse the burden of dengue, leishmaniasis, and lymphatic filariasis, in India from 1990 to 2019. Over this period, there was a reduction in the burden of lymphatic filariasis and leishmaniasis. Notably, dengue emerged as the most common vector-borne disease, exhibiting high fatality rate above 15 years of age and the highest DALY within 15-49 age group. Additionally, dengue cases surged substantially between 1990 and 2019. Leishmaniasis related mortality and DALY declined in the year 2019 compared to the year 1990, with high mortality and DALY in the 0-49-year-old age group. For lymphatic filariasis, DALY was more pronounce among those in the 15-49-year age group, which underwent reduction in 2019. Males had a higher burden in other vector-borne diseases than females, although females had a slightly elevated dengue burden. These findings highlight the evolving epidemiological trends related to vector-borne diseases in India, over the last three decades and underline the critical significance of sustained efforts for the elimination and control of vector-borne diseases.

Outbreak investigation of Dengue like fever in rural area of Rajasthan.

During October 2020, suddenly many cases were reported with Dengue like Illness in Sahawa village, Rajasthan. Blood samples collected from 68 patients were tested for Dengue NS1 antigen and IgM antibodies for Dengue, Chikungunya, Scrub typhus, Leptospira and Brucella by ELISA, Dengue, Chikungunya and Zika viral RNA by multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), 41.17% samples were positive for Dengue; 25% were positive by Dengue PCR, 17.64% for NS1 Ag,14.70% for IgM ELISA, 20.58% were positive for antibodies either for Scrub typhus (4.41%), Leptospira (7.35%) or Brucella (10.29%). Dengue was seen in 41.17% cases and other etiological agents in 20.58% cases.

Analysis of Dielectric Parameters of Fe2O3-Doped Polyvinylidene Fluoride/Poly(methyl methacrylate) Blend Composites.

In this paper, we report the effect of metal oxide (Fe2O3) loading in different weight ratios (0.5%, 1%, 2%, and 4%) on the structural and electrical parameters, viz., the complex dielectric constant, electric modulus spectra, and the AC conductivity, of polymeric composites of PVDF/PMMA (30/70 weight ratio) blend. The structural and geometric measurements have been analyzed with the help of peak location, peak intensity, and peak shape obtained from XRD as well as from FTIR spectra. The electrical properties have been investigated using an impedance analyzer in the frequency range 100 Hz to 1 MHz. The real parts of the complex permittivity and the dielectric loss tangent of these materials are found to be frequency independent in the range from 20 KHz to 1 MHz, but they increase with the increase in the concentration of nano-Fe2O3. The conductivity also increases with an increased loading of Fe2O3 in PVDF/PMMA polymer blends. The electric modulus spectra were used to analyze the relaxation processes associated with the Maxwell-Wagner-Sillars mechanism and chain segmental motion in the polymer mix.

Prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth infections in HIV patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Soil-transmitted Helminth (STH) infections have been found associated with people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) but little is known about the overall burden of STH coinfection in HIV patients. We aimed to assess the burden of STH infections among HIV patients. Relevant databases were systematically searched for studies reporting the prevalence of soil-transmitted helminthic pathogens in HIV patients. Pooled estimates of each helminthic infection were calculated. The odds ratio was also determined as a measure of the association between STH infection and the HIV status of the patients. Sixty-one studies were finally included in the meta-analysis, consisting of 16,203 human subjects from all over the world. The prevalence of Ascaris lumbricoides infection in HIV patients was found to be 8% (95% CI 0.06, 0.09), the prevalence of Trichuris trichiura infection in HIV patients was found to be 5% (95% CI 0.04, 0.06), the prevalence of hookworm infection in HIV patients was found to be 5% (95% CI 0.04, 0.06), and prevalence of Strongyloides stercoralis infection in HIV patients was found to be 5% (95% CI 0.04, 0.05). Countries from Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America & Caribbean and Asia were identified with the highest burden of STH-HIV coinfection. Our analysis indicated that people living with HIV have a higher chance of developing Strongyloides stercoralis infections and decreased odds of developing hookworm infections. Our findings suggest a moderate level of prevalence of STH infections among people living with HIV. The endemicity of STH infections and HIV status both are partially responsible for the burden of STH-HIV coinfections.

Co-infection of respiratory pathogens in SARS-CoV-2 positive patients at North West India, Rajasthan.

PURPOSE: Infection due to SARS-CoV-2 shows wide spectrum of disease from asymptomatic to severe disease and death. Coinfection of SARS-CoV-2 with other respiratory pathogens may affect the severity of disease and its outcome. Identification of other respiratory pathogens may help to initiate proper management and avoid unnecessary complications. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Total 250 SARS-COV-2 positive patients admitted in S.M.S hospitalwere included in study. Throat and nasopharyngeal swabs samples were collected in Viral Transport Medium (VTM) and nucleic acid extraction was done by automated EasyMag extractor and tested for 20 respiratory viruses and two bacteria by real time PCR. RESULTS: Out of 250 SARS CoV2 positive samples, 176 (70%) were positive for other respiratory pathogens also. The highest co-infection was due to HCoVOC43 (32.8%) virus followed by bacterial co-infection with S. pneumoniae (14.8%). Six (2.4%) patients with co-infection were on ventilator with age >65yr and three (1.2%) died during treatment. All three cases were found to have other co-morbid diseases like; asthma, Parkinson's and hypertension. CONCLUSION: High number of patients were found to have coinfection with other viruses and bacteria, timely identification and providing specific treatment to these patients can help improve outcome.

Global and local evolutionary dynamics of Dengue virus serotypes 1, 3, and 4.

Evolutionary studies on Dengue virus (DENV) in endemic regions are necessary since naturally occurring mutations may lead to genotypic variations or shifts in serotypes, which may lead to future outbreaks. Our study comprehends the evolutionary dynamics of DENV, using phylogenetic, molecular clock, skyline plots, network, selection pressure, and entropy analyses based on partial CprM gene sequences. We have collected 250 samples, 161 in 2017 and 89 in 2018. Details for the 2017 samples were published in our previous article and that of 2018 are presented in this study. Further evolutionary analysis was carried out using 800 sequences, which incorporate the study and global sequences from GenBank: DENV-1 (n = 240), DENV-3 (n = 374), and DENV-4 (n = 186), identified during 1944-2020, 1956-2020, and 1956-2021, respectively. Genotypes V, III, and I were identified as the predominant genotypes of the DENV-1, DENV-3, and DENV-4 serotypes, respectively. The rate of nucleotide substitution was found highest in DENV-3 (7.90 × 10-4 s/s/y), followed by DENV-4 (6.23 × 10-4 s/s/y) and DENV-1 (5.99 × 10-4 s/s/y). The Bayesian skyline plots of the Indian strains revealed dissimilar patterns amongst the population size of the three serotypes. Network analyses showed the presence of different clusters within the prevalent genotypes. The data presented in this study will assist in supplementing the measures for vaccine development against DENV.

Physiology and growth of newly bred Basmati rice lines in response to vegetative-stage drought stress.

Basmati rice is inherently sensitive to various environmental stresses. Abrupt changes in climatic patterns and freshwater scarcity are escalating the issues associated with premium-quality rice production. However, few screening studies have selected Basmati rice genotypes suitable for drought-prone areas. This study investigated 19 physio-morphological and growth responses of 15 Super Basmati (SB) introgressed recombinants (SBIRs) and their parents (SB and IR554190-04) under drought stress to elucidate drought-tolerance traits and identify promising lines. After two weeks of drought stress, several physiological and growth performance traits significantly varied between the SBIRs (p ≤ 0.05) and were less affected in the SBIRs and the donor (SB and IR554190-04) than SB. The total drought response indices (TDRI) identified three superior lines (SBIR-153-146-13, SBIR-127-105-12, SBIR-62-79-8) and three on par with the donor and drought-tolerant check (SBIR-17-21-3, SBIR-31-43-4, SBIR-103-98-10) in adapting to drought conditions. Another three lines (SBIR-48-56-5, SBIR-52-60-6, SBIR-58-60-7) had moderate drought tolerance, while six lines (SBIR-7-18-1, SBIR-16-21-2, SBIR-76-83-9, SBIR-118-104-11, SBIR-170-258-14, SBIR-175-369-15) had low drought tolerance. Furthermore, the tolerant lines exhibited mechanisms associated with improved shoot biomass maintenance under drought by adjusting resource allocation to roots and shoots. Hence, the identified tolerant lines could be used as potential donors in drought-tolerant rice breeding programs, administered for subsequent varietal development, and studied to identify the genes underlying drought tolerance. Moreover, this study improved our understanding of the physiological basis of drought tolerance in SBIRs.

A meta-analysis on the prevalence of Taenia solium and Taenia saginata infections in India.

Tapeworm infections in humans are considered to be a significant public health menace. Despite its public health importance, the data on tapeworm infection remains fragmented and underutilised. The present study reviews the overall burden and distribution of taeniasis and cysticercosis caused by Taenia solium and Taenia saginata in India by conducting a systematic review of the scientific literature based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Data from 19 eligible articles were analysed and the prevalence of T. solium-associated taeniasis/cysticercosis was found to be 11.06% (95% confidence interval [CI] 6.856 to 16.119) and the prevalence of T. saginata-associated taeniasis was found to be 4.7% (95% CI 3.301 to 6.301). This systematic review and meta-analysis provides a comprehensive analysis of the available literature on tapeworm infections and assesses the burden of Taenia infection from India, identifying areas of high prevalence requiring active surveillance and public health interventions.

Green Synthesis and Evaluation of Lepidium didymum-mediated Silver Nanoparticles for in vitro Antibacterial Activity and Wound Healing in the Animal Model.

Wounds serve as an appropriate medium for the growth of pathogenic bacteria, and bacterial resistance to already available antibiotics demands new and safe approaches in the field of medicine. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) exhibited a wide range of applications in biomedicine and emerged as promising nano-antibiotics. The biological preparation of AgNPs by utilizing aqueous plant extract has become an encouraging alternative to traditional chemical methodologies, owing to a viable eco-friendly approach. In the present study, Lepidium didymum leaves extract was used for the biosynthesis of AgNPs-LD. The nanoparticles were characterized through UV-Vis spectroscopy, Fourier transforms infrared spectrometry (FTIR), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The antibacterial activity of AgNPs-LD was evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Further, AgNPs-LD nanoparticles were incorporated into topical gels to evaluate their effectiveness for wound healing in the rat model. UV-visible spectra showed a surface resonance peak around 400 nm correlated with the synthesis of AgNPs; FTIR spectra verified the participation of phytochemicals present in L. didymum leaves extract in AgNPs-LD synthesis; and SEM revealed dispersed spherical nanoparticles as well as aggregated clusters. XRD analysis confirmed the crystalline nature, face-centered cubic lattice, and average crystallite size of 21.42 nm. The AgNPs-LD showed promising antibacterial activity against tested strains with a maximum zone of inhibition against P. aeruginosa and showed accelerated wound healing capacity comparable to control and standard treatments over the time course of wound healing. The current study concluded that biosynthesized AgNPs-LD nanoparticles are effective as antibacterial agents and are promising novel wound healing products for clinical applications.

Multimodal-Boost: Multimodal Medical Image Super-Resolution Using Multi-Attention Network With Wavelet Transform.

Multimodal medical images are widely used by clinicians and physicians to analyze and retrieve complementary information from high-resolution images in a non-invasive manner. Loss of corresponding image resolution adversely affects the overall performance of medical image interpretation. Deep learning-based single image super resolution (SISR) algorithms have revolutionized the overall diagnosis framework by continually improving the architectural components and training strategies associated with convolutional neural networks (CNN) on low-resolution images. However, existing work lacks in two ways: i) the SR output produced exhibits poor texture details, and often produce blurred edges, ii) most of the models have been developed for a single modality, hence, require modification to adapt to a new one. This work addresses (i) by proposing generative adversarial network (GAN) with deep multi-attention modules to learn high-frequency information from low-frequency data. Existing approaches based on the GAN have yielded good SR results; however, the texture details of their SR output have been experimentally confirmed to be deficient for medical images particularly. The integration of wavelet transform (WT) and GANs in our proposed SR model addresses the aforementioned limitation concerning textons. While the WT divides the LR image into multiple frequency bands, the transferred GAN uses multi-attention and upsample blocks to predict high-frequency components. Additionally, we present a learning method for training domain-specific classifiers as perceptual loss functions. Using a combination of multi-attention GAN loss and a perceptual loss function results in an efficient and reliable performance. Applying the same model for medical images from diverse modalities is challenging, our work addresses (ii) by training and performing on several modalities via transfer learning. Using two medical datasets, we validate our proposed SR network against existing state-of-the-art approaches and achieve promising results in terms of structural similarity index (SSIM) and peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR).

Wernicke's Encephalopathy: A Precipitation of Glycogen Storage Disease.

A 16-year-old Saudi female who is a known case of glycogen storage disease type 1A (GSD1A), presented to the emergency department at King Faisal Specialist Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 15th January 2021 due to a complaint of persistent vomiting. Two weeks after admission, she began developing double vision and progressive leg weakness with intact sensation. She received the primary management to maintain good hydration and was admitted to the ICU for further workup. Over her hospital course, multiple investigations were conducted, the most significant of which was the MRI after sudden ocular deterioration. The result depicted findings classic for Wernicke's encephalopathy (WE) on MRI. The patient was then started on Thiamine supplementation and MRI performed three weeks later showed significant interval improvement of the parenchymal signal abnormality with complete resolution features of Wernicke's encephalopathy. This complex case emphasizes the need for early recognition and immediate treatment with IV thiamine in such a potential condition that can lead to permanent neurological deficits that present in a non-typical fashion.

Genomic profile of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant and its correlation with disease severity in Rajasthan.

Background: Omicron, a new variant of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was first detected in November 2021. This was believed to be highly transmissible and was reported to evade immunity. As a result, an urgent need was felt to screen all positive samples so as to rapidly identify Omicron cases and isolate them to prevent the spread of infection. Genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 was planned to correlate disease severity with the genomic profile. Methods: All the SARS-CoV-2 positive cases detected in the state of Rajasthan were sent to our Lab. Samples received from 24 November 2021 to 4 January 2022 were selected for Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS). Processing was done as per protocol on the Ion Torrent S5 System for 1,210 samples and bioinformatics analysis was done. Results: Among the 1,210 samples tested, 762 (62.9%) were Delta/Delta-like and other lineages, 291 (24%) were Omicron, and 157 (12.9%) were invalid or repeat samples. Within a month, the proportion of Delta and other variants was reversed, 6% Omicron became 81%, and Delta and other variants became 19%, initially all Omicron cases were seen in international travelers and their contacts but soon community transmission was seen. The majority of patients with Omicron were asymptomatic (56.7%) or had mild disease (33%), 9.2% had moderate symptoms, and two (0.7%) had severe disease requiring hospitalization, of which one (0.3%) died and the rest were (99.7%) recovered. History of vaccination was seen in 81.1%, of the previous infection in 43.2% of cases. Among the Omicron cases, BA.1 (62.8%) was the predominant lineage followed by BA.2 (23.7%) and B.1.529 (13.4%), rising trends were seen initially for BA.1 and later for BA.2 also. Although 8.9% of patients with Delta lineage during that period were hospitalized, 7.2% required oxygen, and 0.9% died. To conclude, the community spread of Omicron occurred in a short time and became the predominant circulating variant; BA.1 was the predominant lineage detected. Most of the cases with Omicron were asymptomatic or had mild disease, and the mortality rate was very low as compared to Delta and other lineages.

Natural radioactivity and its radiological implications from soils and rocks in Jaintiapur area, North-east Bangladesh.

Natural radioactivity concentrations in recent alluvial soils from swampy areas and Tertiary rocks from Jaintiapur were measured using gamma-ray spectrometer equipped with HPGe detector. The average radioactivity concentration of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K were 47 ± 6, 64 ± 5 and 762 ± 40 Bqkg-1 in soils, whereas, 25 ± 2, 37 ± 4 and 884 ± 41 Bqkg-1 in rock samples, respectively. Average radioactivity concentrations of studied soil and rock samples exceeded the world average except 226Ra for rocks. Radio-elemental ratios suggest that an oxic depositional environment with low uranium and high thorium content. Regarding radiological hazard indices, radium equivalent activities (Raeq), external hazard index (H ex) and internal hazard index (H in) was found to be below the world permissible limits. Whereas, absorbed dose rate (D), and annual effective dose equivalent (AEDE) averages exceeded the world admissible values. Statistical studies show that radioactivity for 226Ra and 232Th linked to a source enriched in radioactive minerals and 40K related to a different sources high in K enriched minerals.

SWAVE 2.0 Imaging of Placental Elasticity and Viscosity: Potential Biomarkers for Placenta-Mediated Disease Detection.

Pregnancy complications such as pre-eclampsia (PE) and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) are associated with structural and functional changes in the placenta. Different elastography techniques with an ability to assess the mechanical properties of tissue can identify and monitor the pathological state of the placenta. Currently available elastography techniques have been used with promising results to detect placenta abnormalities; however, limitations include inadequate measurement depth and safety concerns from high negative pressure pulses. Previously, we described a shear wave absolute vibro-elastography (SWAVE) method by applying external low-frequency mechanical vibrations to generate shear waves and studied 61 post-delivery clinically normal placentas to explore the feasibility of SWAVE for placental assessment and establish a measurement baseline. This next phase of the study, namely, SWAVE 2.0, improves the previous system and elasticity reconstruction by incorporating a multi-frequency acquisition system and using a 3-D local frequency estimation (LFE) method. Compared with its 2-D counterpart, the proposed system using 3-D LFE was found to reduce the bias and variance in elasticity measurements in tissue-mimicking phantoms. In the aim of investigating the potential of improved SWAVE 2.0 measurements to identify placental abnormalities, we studied 46 post-delivery placentas, including 26 diseased (16 IUGR and 10 PE) and 20 normal control placentas. By use of a 3.33-MHz motorized curved-array transducer, multi-frequency (80,100 and 120 Hz) elasticity measures were obtained with 3-D LFE, and both IUGR (15.30 ± 2.96 kPa, p = 3.35e-5) and PE (12.33 ± 4.88 kPa, p = 0.017) placentas were found to be significantly stiffer compared with the control placentas (8.32 ± 3.67 kPa). A linear discriminant analysis (LDA) classifier was able to classify between healthy and diseased placentas with a sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of 87%, 78% and 83% and an area under the receiver operating curve of 0.90 (95% confidence interval: 0.8-0.99). Further, the pregnancy outcome in terms of neonatal intensive care unit admission was predicted with a sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of 70%, 71%, 71%, respectively, and area under the receiver operating curve of 0.78 (confidence interval: 0.62-0.93). A viscoelastic characterization of placentas using a fractional rheological model revealed that the viscosity measures in terms of viscosity parameter n were significantly higher in IUGR (2.3 ± 0.21) and PE (2.11 ± 0.52) placentas than in normal placentas (1.45 ± 0.65). This work illustrates the potential relevance of elasticity and viscosity imaging using SWAVE 2.0 as a non-invasive technology for detection of placental abnormalities and the prediction of pregnancy outcomes.

Synthesis, molecular docking, and pharmacological evaluation of 5-(4-(2-(5-ethyl pyridine-2-yl) ethoxy) benzyl)-3-(phenylsulfonyl) thiazolidine-2, 4-dione against HFD-induced diabesity via interaction with the CB1 receptor.

Objectives: CB1 antagonism arbitrates a dormant shape to the endocannabinoid system that alleviates diverse pathological incidents of diabesity. The present study pursued the synthesis and evaluation of thiazolidine derivative (BAC) having pleiotropic action on CB1R, with or without AM251 (selective antagonist of the CB1 receptor) against high-fat diet (HFD) induced diabesity in C57BL/6 mice. Materials and Methods: A molecular docking study for CB1 antagonistic potential was conducted by Maestro 11.4 program (Schrodinger Inc., USA), and the thiazolidine derivative BAC was synthesized. The assessment of varied parameters including anthropometric, neurobehavioral, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, oxidative stress, and inflammatory cytokines was evaluated in HFD-fed animals as compared with individual and combined treatments of BAC and AM251. Results: Incomparable to AM251, the treatment of BAC was reported for a significant reduction in food intake and obesity, diabetic biomarkers, lipid profile, oxidative stress, and proinflammatory cytokine release. Moreover, the BAC treatment showed no significant alteration in neurobehavioral activity, including anxiety and depression. Conclusion: The preliminary in silico study suggests that BAC has a close interaction with CB1 antagonism but has no sign of neurobehavioral alteration. Simultaneously, this compound showed significant ability to ameliorate diversity by the underlying mechanisms of minimizing oxidative stress, regularizing the lipid profile, and reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Isolation and characterization of peroxidase P7-like gene and Rab-GDI like gene from potential medicinal plants: A step toward understanding cell defense signaling.

Defensin genes form part of a plant's defense system and are activated when exposed to biotic or abiotic stress. They play a vital role in controlling many signaling pathways involved in various plant defense mechanisms. This research aimed to isolate and characterize novel defensin genes from selected medicinally important plants to explore their signaling mechanisms and defense associated roles for breeding. The DNA of Albizia lebbeck and Moringa oleifera was subjected to PCR amplification using gene-specific primers of defensin genes. Two novel defensin genes were isolated in each species, with sequence lengths of 300 bp in A. lebbeck and 150 bp in M. oleifera. In-silico analysis undertaken to retrieve and align their orthologous sequences revealed 100% similarity of the A. lebbeck gene with the Musa acuminate peroxidase P7-like gene and 85% similarity of the M. oleifera gene with the Manihot esculenta GDP dissociation inhibitor gene. The reliability, stability and physiochemical properties of homology models of these sequences was confirmed through online computational studies. This preliminary study confirmed the presence of novel genes with peroxidase P7 and Rab GDP dissociation inhibitor gene-like activity in A. lebbeck and M. oleifera, respectively, and their potential defense role in plants. Thus, the defensin genes of both species could be used in the synthesis of transgenic self-defensive plants with increased disease resistance and as potential candidates for improved crop production and thraputic formulation in the future.

Mental Health Status of Teachers During the Second Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Web-Based Study in Bangladesh.

Background: Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government of Bangladesh implemented strict non-therapeutic measures, i.e., "social distancing," "lockdown," "work from home," in the first quarter of 2020. Like other professionals, teachers at schools, colleges and universities were confined within households. However, the introduction of online education imposed an additional burden on teachers along with growing household responsibilities, thus, affecting their psychological state. Aims: This study was aimed to explore the prevalence of mental health problems among teachers in Bangladesh and to identify the associated risk factors. Methods: This web-based cross-sectional study was conducted during the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. Data were collected from 381 teachers working at schools, colleges, and universities between 01 August and 29 August 2021 by administering a self-reported e-questionnaire using Google Form, where the mental health of teachers was assessed by depression, anxiety, and stress scale. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics (Version 26) and STATA Version 16, and multiple linear regression was executed to predict mental health problems among teachers. Results: The findings indicate that the overall prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress among teachers was 35.4%, 43.7%, and 6.6%, respectively. The prevalence was higher among male and older teachers than among their female and younger colleagues. The findings further showed that place of residence, institution, self-reported health, usage of social and electronic media, and fear of COVID-19 significantly influenced the mental health status of teachers. Conclusion: It is strongly recommended that the government and policymakers provide proper mental health services to teachers in order to reduce mental health problems and thus sustain the quality of education during and after the pandemic.