Late-Onset Bartter's Syndrome Type II with End-Stage Renal Disease Due to a Novel Mutation in KCNJ1 Gene in an Indian Adult Male - A Case Report.

Mutations in ROMK1 potassium channel gene (KCNJ1) causes antenatal/neonatal Bartter's syndrome type II, which presents with renal salt wasting, hypokalemic metabolic alkalosis, secondary hyperaldosteronism, hypercalciuria, and nephrocalcinosis. We herein describe a case of late-onset Bartter's syndrome type II with progressive renal failure requiring renal replacement therapy secondary to a novel homozygous missense mutation in Exon 2 of KCNJ1 gene (c.500G>A). With this case, we aim to highlight the need for a high index of suspicion and the role of genetic evaluation to diagnose clinically unclassified cases of nephrocalcinosis with renal electrolyte abnormalities more so in late and atypical presentations.

Occurrence of Banana bract mosaic virus on Musa ornata Roxb based hybrids in India.

Musa ornata, wild species of banana is being used as a cut flower, potted plants and for landscape gardening etc., They are also being utilized in banana hybridization programmes for introgressing pest and disease tolerant traits into banana cultivars in addition to the development of inter specific ornamental banana hybrids. Symptoms of banana bract mosaic virus (BBrMV) was observed in the bracts of interspecific M. ornata based hybrid developed using another wild species i.e., Musa rubra Kurz at ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana (NRCB), Tiruchirapalli. Presence of the virus in the bracts, leaves and roots of symptomatic plants was confirmed through triple antibody sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay with BBrMV monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies. BBrMV HC-Pro (1370 bp), CP (900 bp) and VPg (570 bp) genes were amplified from the infected bracts using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction with BBrMV respective gene primers. The amplicons of these three genes were cloned and sequenced. Blastn analysis revealed that HC-Pro, VPg and CP gene sequences has 97.67%, 97.72% and 99.67% similarity with the respective gene sequences of BBrMV infecting banana. Phylogenetic analysis clustered the test isolate with other BBrMV isolates of banana and other hosts based on CP and HC-Pro and VPg gene sequences. The virus is transmitted through Pentalonia nigronervosa and the transmitted plants expressed symptoms under glass house conditions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of BBrMV on ornamental M. ornata hybrid in India and its transmission occurs through Pentalonia nigronervosa. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13337-022-00788-6.

Characterization of Anthocyanins and Their Antioxidant Activities in Indian Rose Varieties (Rosa × hybrida) Using HPLC.

The present study was designed to explore the anthocyanin profile and antioxidant activities in Indian rose varieties (Rosa × hybrida). Among fifty varieties, Ashwini recorded the highest total phenolic content (427.59 ± 3.47 mg GAE/100 g) along with the highest FRAP (397.15 ± 0.82 µmol trolox/g) and DPPH free radical scavenging activity (93.47 ± 0.19%) on a fresh weight basis. A significant positive correlation was observed between total anthocyanin content, total phenolic content, and antioxidant activities. Four distinct clusters were formed according to total anthocyanins, total phenols, and antioxidant activities; white- and yellow-colored varieties were most distant from red ones. Principal component analysis revealed that variable total anthocyanin content contributed to the maximum variation among the fifty rose varieties studied. Highly anthocyanin-rich rose varieties were characterized by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a photodiode array detector (HPLC-PAD), which identified two major components of anthocyanins, i.e., cyanidin 3,5-di-O-glucoside and pelargonidin 3,5-di-O-glucoside. Cyanidin 3,5-di-O-glucoside was the predominant anthocyanin in red- and pink-colored varieties, whereas pelargonidin 3,5-di-O-glucoside was the major one in the orange variety. The maximum cyanidin 3,5-di-O-glucoside content was recorded in variety Ashwini (497.79 mg/100 g), whereas the maximum pelargonidin 3,5-di-O-glucoside content was recorded in Suryakiran (185.43 mg/100 g). It is suggested that the rose varieties with high anthocyanin content and antioxidant activity can be exploited as a potential source of nutraceuticals in the food industry.

Design, synthesis and docking study of Vortioxetine derivatives as a SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitor.

PURPOSE: Vortioxetine an anti-depressant FDA-drug recently reported showing better in vitro efficacy against SARS-CoV-2. METHODS: In this study, we have synthesized ten new derivatives having alkenes, alkynes, benzyl, aryl, and mixed carbamate at the N-terminal of vortioxetine. Then the binding energy and interactions with the crucial amino acid residues in the binding pocket of main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2, of reported and ten newly synthesized vortioxetine derivatives (total thirty-one) in comparison with remdesivir are analyzed and presented in this paper. RESULTS: Based on the docking scores predicted by ADV and AD, most vortioxetine derivatives showed better binding efficiency towards Mpro of SARS-CoV-2 in comparison with remdesivir (an EUA approved drug against SARS-CoV-2 Mpro) and vortioxetine. CONCLUSION: This study shows that some vortioxetine derivatives can be developed into promising drugs for COVID-19 treatment.

A Rare Case of Acute Kidney Injury with Central Nervous System Manifestations.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is usually a disease of the elderly and only less than 1% are young individuals below 35 years of age. Central nervous system (CNS) manifestations of MM are even rarer, the most common being leptomeningeal involvement. We report a case of a 35-year-old male who presented with a fever of 3 weeks duration associated with slurring of speech, nasal regurgitation, hearing loss, and decreased urine output. CNS examination showed IX, X, and XII cranial nerve palsies with right otitis media and bilateral mastoiditis with conductive hearing loss. Renal biopsy showed cast nephropathy. The kappa-lambda ratio was 18, with ß2 microglobulin measuring 12 mg/L. Bone marrow showed 90% plasma cells, and skeletal survey had bony lytic lesions. He responded well to dexamethasone, bortezomib, and thalidomide. His renal functions returned to normal, and palsies have improved completely. This report shows that MM should be suspected even in young patients with classical features of myeloma and CNS involvement is very rare in MM.

Advances in mercury(II)-salt-mediated cyclization reactions of unsaturated bonds.

The synthesis of complex cyclic compounds is extremely challenging for organic chemists. Many transition-metal-salt-mediated cyclizations are reported in literature. Hg(II) salts have been successfully employed in cyclizations to form complex heterocyclic and carbocyclic structures that are impossible to synthesize with other transition metal salts. In this review, we have summarized cyclization reactions that are performed with Hg(II) salts. These salts are also successfully applied in stoichiometric or catalytic amounts to form complex cyclic structures and natural products.

Fuzzy segmentation and black widow-based optimal SVM for skin disease classification.

The skin, which has seven layers, is the main human organ and external barrier. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), skin cancer is the fourth leading cause of non-fatal disease risk. In medicinal fields, skin disease classification is a major challenging issue due to inaccurate outputs, overfitting, larger computational cost, and so on. We presented a novel approach of support vector machine-based black widow optimization (SVM-BWO) for skin disease classification. Five different kinds of skin disease images are taken such as psoriasis, paederus, herpes, melanoma, and benign with healthy images which are chosen for this work. The pre-processing step is handled to remove the noises from the original input images. Thereafter, the novel fuzzy set segmentation algorithm subsequently segments the skin lesion region. From this, the color, gray-level co-occurrence matrix texture, and shape features are extracted for further process. Skin disease is classified with the usage of the SVM-BWO algorithm. The implementation works are handled in MATLAB-2018a, thereby the dataset images were collected from ISIC-2018 datasets. Experimentally, various kinds of performance analyses with state-of-the-art techniques are performed. Anyway, the proposed methodology outperforms better classification accuracy of 92% than other methods. Workflow diagram of the proposed methodology.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of vortioxetine derivatives as new COX-1/2 inhibitors in human monocytes.

In order to identify a suitable alternative to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) we aimed to develop derivatives of vortioxetine, a multimodal anti-depressive drug that has been shownpreviously to be endowed withanti-inflammatory activity in human monocytes/macrophages. Vortioxetine (1) was synthesized in good yield and different alkyl and aryl derivatives were prepared based on their structural diversity and easy availability. The compounds were tested on human monocytes isolated from healthy donors for theireffect on superoxide anion production and cytokine gene expression, and for COX-1/2 gene expression and activity modulation. Moreover, a docking study was performed to predict the interactions between the synthesized compounds and COX-1 and COX-2. Correlating experimental biological data to the molecular modelling studies, it emerged that among the novel compounds, 6 was endowed of antioxidant and anti-COX-1 activity, vortioxetine and 3 were good antioxidants and mild anti-COX-1/2 inhibitors, while 7 was a good anti-COX-1/2 inhibitor and 11 was more specific versus COX-2.

Genetic diversity of phytoplasma strains infecting chrysanthemum varieties in India and their possible natural reservoirs.

Symptoms typical of phytoplasma infection such as phyllody, virescence, witches' broom and yellowing were observed in 12 varieties of Chrysanthemum morifolium in floral nurseries and experimental fields at New Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, India, during surveys made from 2015 to 2017. Disease incidence ranged from 15 to 30%. Phytoplasma presence was confirmed in all symptomatic chrysanthemum varieties by molecular identification assays. Sequence comparison, phylogenetic and in silico RFLP analyses of 16S rDNA sequences allowed the identification of the chrysanthemum infecting phytoplasma strains into different ribosomal groups and subgroups, namely 16SrI, 16SrII-D, 16SrVI-D and 16SrXIV. Detection of phytoplasma strains of 16SrII-D subgroup were also confirmed in symptomatic Chenopodium album and Parthenium hysterophorus plants grown in and around the surveyed chrysanthemum fields at New Delhi, whereas 16SrVI-D phytoplasma strains were detected in symptomatic Cannabis sativa weed and leafhopper Hishimonus phycitis individuals collected from the symptomatic chrysanthemum fields at New Delhi. This is the first report on the presence of 16SrVI and 16SrXIV groups of phytoplasmas in chrysanthemum plants. Studies on genetic diversity of phytoplasmas infecting the major chrysanthemum varieties in India and their epidemiological aspects had previously not been reported. The detection and identification of phytoplasmas in different chrysanthemum varieties could contribute to increase the awareness among farmers in the management of these diseases.

Synthesis and characterization of cecropin peptide-based silver nanocomposites: Its antibacterial activity and mode of action.

Novel antimicrobial agents with a low propensity to develop resistance by microorganisms have contemporary relevance. In this perspective, the present study reports the green synthesis and characterization of cecropins peptides (D2A21, D2A10, and D4E1) based silver nanocomposites. The effect of pH and concentration of peptides on the formation of nanocomposite material was studied using UV-Vis spectroscopy. The particle size was determined by transmission electron microscopy, which indicated the size in the range of 3 ±â€¯0.4 to 20 ±â€¯5 nm. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy studies suggested the involvement of peptides as a capping and reducing agent. Zeta potential analysis suggested that nanocomposite material was more cationic in nature than its native peptides. Nanocomposite material exhibited significantly enhanced antibacterial activity as compared to native peptides and silver nanoparticles with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranging from 1 to 3 µg mL-1 against both gram-positive and negative test bacteria; whereas the MICs of native peptides were found to be in the range of 4-6 µg mL-1. The mode of action of P-AgNPs was evaluated using scanning electron microscopy, membrane potential, and membrane integrity studies; wherein the nanocomposite material was found to act at the cell membrane level, causing complete loss of membrane potential and resulting in compromised membrane integrity with irreversible damage to the cell as shown by the rapid loss of viability due to membrane disruption, resulting in lysis. Among the three peptides tested, D2A21-silver nanocomposite had maximal antibacterial activity. Taken together; our experimental findings suggested that the peptide-based-silver nanocomposites can be considered as potential antibacterial agents for various biomedical applications.

Surgeon's Neck Posture during Spine Surgeries: "The Unrecognised Potential Occupational Hazard".

STUDY DESIGN: Observational study. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to analyze the surgeon's neck postures while performing lumbar spinal surgeries. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: Lumbar spinal surgeries are on rising trend, and with increase in number of procedures, the average time spent by a spine surgeon performing surgical procedures is also increasing. The effect of operating posture on the surgeon's neck is largely unknown. From the studies conducted on usage of smartphones, abnormal neck postures, especially the forward head posture (FHP), were found to adversely affect the cervical spine of individuals. The present study analyzes the neck position of spine surgeons during lumbar spine surgeries. METHODOLOGY: Sixty video recordings (25 open transforaminal lumbar interbody fusions [TLIFs] and 35 lumbar decompression [LD] procedures - 15 with headlight and 20 with operating microscope) of surgeries performed by three spine surgeons of different heights were analyzed. Running videos of the surgeries were recorded concentrating on the surgeons with reflective markers taped to their surface landmarks corresponding to C7 spinous process, tragus of the ear, and outer canthus of the eye. Video recordings were standardized by a fixed video recorder in the same operating theater. Snapshots from the video were obtained whenever the surgeon changes the position. Head flexion angle (HFA), neck flexion angle (NFA), and cervical angle (CA) were measured and analyzed. RESULTS: During TLIF, HFA and NFA were significantly higher during the phases of decompression and fusion (P < 0.05). The average CA of all surgeons was lower, thereby adversely affecting the cervical spine (20.15° ± 5.05°). During LD, CA showed significant difference between usage of microscope and headlight (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Surgeon's FHP is frequently caused by a compromise between the need to perform surgery with hands, without elevating the arms, and simultaneous control of gaze at surgical field. The usage of microscope was found to reduce the stress on neck while performing surgery.

Warfarin-related Nephropathy.

Warfarin-related nephropathy also referred to as anticoagulant-related nephropathy (ACRN) is a type of acute kidney injury (AKI) that may be caused by excessive anticoagulation with warfarin and other anticoagulants. Despite the well-described histological entity, the clinical course and approach to ACRN in patients requiring life-long anticoagulation are however not well described in the literature. We report a 50-year-old Indian woman who was on prolonged anticoagulant therapy post-mitral valve replacement. She presented with AKI, and renal biopsy was suggestive of ACRN. Steroids were given and her creatinine levels reached within the normal range in 2 weeks. A presumptive diagnosis of ACRN should be made if a severe warfarin coagulopathy is present and if other causes of AKI have been excluded, in patients with chronic anticoagulant therapy. Renal function should be monitored regularly in patients who are on anticoagulant therapy.

Nano-Bio Interactions of Extracellular Vesicles with Gold Nanoislands for Early Cancer Diagnosis.

Extracellular vesicles or exosomes are membrane encapsulated biological nanometric particles secreted virtually by all types of cells throughout the animal kingdom. They carry a cargo of active molecules to proximal and distal cells of the body as mechanism of physiological communication, to maintain natural homeostasis as well as pathological responses. Exosomes carry a tremendous potential for liquid biopsy and therapeutic applications. Thus, there is a global demand for simple and robust exosome isolation methods amenable to point-of-care diagnosis and quality control of therapeutic exosome manufacturing. This can be achieved by molecular profiling of the exosomes for use with specific sets of molecular-markers for diagnosis and quality control. Liquid biopsy is undoubtedly the most promising diagnosis process to advance "personalized medicine." Currently, liquid biopsy is based on circulating cancer cells, cell free-DNA, or exosomes. Exosomes potentially provide promise for early-stage diagnostic possibility; in order to facilitate superior diagnosis and isolation of exosomes, a novel platform is developed to detect and capture them, based on localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of gold nanoislands, through strong affinity between exosomes and peptide called Venceremin or Vn96. Physical modeling, based on the characteristics of the gold nanoislands and the bioentities involved in the sensing, is also developed to determine the detection capability of the platform, which is optimized experimentally at each stage. Preliminary results and modeling present a relationship between the plasmonic shift and the concentration of exosomes and, essentially, indicate possibilities for label-free early diagnosis.

Psychiatric morbidity in the community: A population based-study from Kerala.

BACKGROUND: Estimates of psychiatric morbidity in the community will help service development. Participation of trained nonspecialist health-care providers will facilitate scaling up of services in resource-limited settings. AIMS: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of priority mental health problems in populations served by the District Mental Health Program (DMHP). SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This is a population-based cross-sectional survey. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We did stratified cluster sampling of households in five districts of Kerala. Trained Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) identified people who had symptoms suggestive of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Clinicians evaluated the information collected by the ASHAs and designated individuals as probable cases of psychosis or noncases. Screening instruments such as General Health Questionnaire-12, CAGE questionnaire, and Everyday Abilities Scale for India were used for identifying common mental disorders (CMDs), clinically significant alcohol-related problems, and functional impairment. RESULTS: We found 12.43% of the adult population affected by mental health conditions. We found CMD as most common with a prevalence of 9%. The prevalence of psychosis was 0.71%, clinically significant alcohol-related problems was 1.46%, and dementia and other cognitive impairments was 1.26%. We found informant-based case finding to be useful in the identification of psychosis. CONCLUSIONS: Mental health problems are common. Nonspecialist health-care providers can be trained to identify psychiatric morbidity in the community. Their participation will help in narrowing the treatment gap. Embedding operational research to DMHP will make scaling up more efficient.

Psychosocial factors associated with reverse smoking: A qualitative research.

OBJECTIVES: Reverse smoking is a peculiar form of smoking in which the smoker puts the lit end of the cigarette into the mouth and then inhales the smoke. There may be many predisposing factors that influence an individual to cultivate this habit, of which psychosocial habits could be the predominating factor. Hence, the present study was undertaken to evaluate the psychosocial factors that influence an individual to undertake this peculiar habit of reverse smoking. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 128 habitual reverse smokers were included in the study, out of which 121 were females and 7 were males. A pretested open-ended questionnaire was used for data collection. Data was collected by direct interview method. Snowball sampling technique was employed in collecting the information regarding regular reverse smokers. Interviews were continued until new information did not provide further insights into the categories. The people who could not understand verbal commands and questions and who did not give an informed consent were excluded from the study. Statistical analysis was done using MS Office Excel using Chi-square test of Goodness of fit. RESULTS: In contrast to the conventional smokers, various new reasons were identified for starting reverse smoking, of which the most important was that they had learned this habit from their mothers. This was followed by other reasons such as peer pressure, friendship, and cold climatic conditions. CONCLUSION: This study provided an insight into the various factors that could influence an individual to take up this peculiar habit of reverse smoking.

Fractional-order PI based STATCOM and UPFC controller to diminish subsynchronous resonance.

This research article proposes a powerful fractional-order PI controller to mitigate the subsynchronous oscillations in turbine-generator shaft due to subsynchronous resonance (SSR) with flexible AC transmission system devices such as static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) and unified power flow controller (UPFC). The diminution of SSR is achieved by the raising of network damping at those frequencies which are proximate to the torsional mode frequency of the turbine-generator shaft. The increase of network damping is obtained with the injection of subsynchronous frequency component of current and both current and voltage into the line. The subsynchronous component of current and voltage are derived from the measured signal of the system and further the same amount of shunt current is injected with STATCOM and simultaneous injection of current and voltage with UPFC into the transmission line to make the subsynchronous current to zero which is the prime source of turbine shaft oscillations. The insertion and proper tuning of Fractional-order PI controller in the control scheme, the subsynchronous oscillations are reduced to 92 % in case of STATCOM and 98 % in case of UPFC as compared to without controller and 14 % as compared with the results of conventional PI controller. The IEEE first benchmark model has adopted for analyze the effectiveness and speed of the proposed control scheme using MATLAB-Simulink and the corresponding results illustrates the precision and robustness of the proposed controller.

The importance of prediction model validation and assessment in obesity and nutrition research.

Deriving statistical models to predict one variable from one or more other variables, or predictive modeling, is an important activity in obesity and nutrition research. To determine the quality of the model, it is necessary to quantify and report the predictive validity of the derived models. Conducting validation of the predictive measures provides essential information to the research community about the model. Unfortunately, many articles fail to account for the nearly inevitable reduction in predictive ability that occurs when a model derived on one data set is applied to a new data set. Under some circumstances, the predictive validity can be reduced to nearly zero. In this overview, we explain why reductions in predictive validity occur, define the metrics commonly used to estimate the predictive validity of a model (for example, coefficient of determination (R(2)), mean squared error, sensitivity, specificity, receiver operating characteristic and concordance index) and describe methods to estimate the predictive validity (for example, cross-validation, bootstrap, and adjusted and shrunken R(2)). We emphasize that methods for estimating the expected reduction in predictive ability of a model in new samples are available and this expected reduction should always be reported when new predictive models are introduced.

Note: A novel and robust circuit for jitter reduction in copper vapor laser system.

A novel circuit scheme is presented to improve timing jitter performance of high voltage pulse power supply utilizing semiconductor switches and magnetic pulse compressors, for pumping pulsed copper vapor lasers. The circuit effectively handles reflected energy from the laser load and achieves better jitter performance. The proposed circuit scheme had typical jitter value of ±2 ns whereas the standard circuit used earlier had jitter of more than ±10 ns under similar conditions. Performance of the circuit scheme is studied on a copper vapor laser operating at average laser power of 40 W.

Biocompatible and Antibacterial SnO2 Nanowire Films Synthesized by E-Beam Evaporation Method.

In this work, the biocompatibility and antibacterial activities of novel SnO2 nanowire coatings prepared by electron-beam (E-Beam) evaporation process at low temperatures were studied. The nanowire coatings were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. The results of in vitro cytotoxicity and cell proliferation assays suggested that the SnO2 nanowire coatings were nontoxic and promoted the proliferation of C2C12 and L929 cells (> 90% viability). Cellular activities, cell adhesion, and lactate dehydrogenase activities were consistent with the superior biocompatibility of the nanowire materials. Notably, the nanowire coating showed potent antibacterial activity against six different bacterial strains. The antibacterial activity of the SnO2 material was attributed to the photocatalytic nature of SnO2. The antibacterial activity and biocompatibility of the newly developed SnO2 nanowire coatings may enable their use as coating materials for biomedical implants.