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Background: Limited data exists regarding the clinical course and outcomes of children with primary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) from low- and middle- income countries., Methods: Children aged 1-18 years with biopsy-proven primary FSGS followed from January 2010-June 2023 in a tertiary-care center were enrolled and their clinical profile, histological characteristics, kidney outcomes, and predictors of adverse outcomes were determined., Results: Over 13 years, 73 (54.8% boys) children with median (IQR) age at FSGS diagnosis 6.7 (3,10) years were recruited and followed up for median 4 (2.5,8) years. FSGS-not otherwise specified (NOS) was the most common histological subtype, in 64 (87.6%) children, followed by collapsing variant in 5 (6.8%) children. At last follow-up, 43 (58.9%), 2 (2.7%) and 28 (38.3%) children were in complete remission (CR), partial remission (PR), and no remission (NR) respectively. Calcineurin inhibitors led to CR or PR in 39 (62%) children. Overall, 21 (28.7%) children progressed to chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 2-5 (19 from NR vs. 2 from PR group; p = 0.03); with 41% of those NR at 12 months progressing to CKD 4-5 by last follow-up. On multivariable analysis, collapsing variant [adjusted HR 2.5 (95%CI 1.5, 4.17), p = 0.001] and segmental sclerosis > 25% [aHR 9.9 (95%CI 2.2, 45.2), p = 0.003] predicted kidney disease progression., Conclusions: In children with FSGS, response to immunosuppression predicts kidney survival as evidenced by nil to lower progression to CKD 2-5 by median follow-up of 4 (2.5,8) years in children with CR and PR, compared to those with no remission at 12 months from diagnosis. Segmental sclerosis > 25% and collapsing variant predicted progression to advanced CKD., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to International Pediatric Nephrology Association.)

The current study describes the efficacy of B. acutangula fruit extract in wound healing via incorporation within topical gels. B. acutangula fruit extract was produced by solvent extraction method. The bioactive extract was incorporated within Carbopol 940-based topical gels, which were applied topically over the excision and incision wounds. The change in healing process was observed till 20 days. The percentages of closure of excision wound area were 92.89 % and 93.43 %, when treated with topical herbal gels containing B. acutangula fruit extract of 5 % and 10 %, respectively. The tensile strengths of incision area in rats treated with topical herbal gels containing 5 % and 10 % methanol extract of B. acutangula fruits were found to be 25±5.12 g and 30±4.10 g, respectively. The wound healing activity of topical herbal gels containing B. acutangula fruit extract in rats was found to be significant when compared with that of the reference standard and untreated groups. In addition, in silico studies suggested about good skin permeability and binding to the proteins responsible for delaying wound healing. It can be concluded that this topical herbal gels containing B. acutangula fruit extract could be used clinically for the treatment of wounds., (© 2024 Wiley-VHCA AG, Zurich, Switzerland.)

Neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinosis (NCLs) are a group of severe neurodegenerative conditions, most likely present in infantile, late infantile, juvenile, and adult-onset forms. Their phenotypic characteristics comprise eyesight damage, reduced motor activity and cognitive function, and sometimes tend to die in the initial stage. In recent studies, NCLs have been categorized into at least 14 genetic collections (CLN1-14). CLN2 gene encodes Tripeptidyl peptidase 1 (TPP1), which affects late infantile-onset form. In this study, we retrieved a mutational dataset screening for TPP1 protein from various databases (ClinVar, UniProt, HGMD). Fifty-six missense mutants were enumerated with computational methods to perceive the significant mutants (G475R and G501C) and correlated with clinical and literature data. A structure-based screening method was initiated to understand protein-ligand interaction and dynamic simulation. The docking procedure was performed for the native (3EDY) and mutant (G473R and G501C) structures with Gemfibrozil (gem), which lowers the lipid level, decreases the triglycerides amount in the blood circulation, and controls hyperlipidemia. The Native had an interaction score of -5.57 kcal/mol, and the mutants had respective average binding scores of -6.24 (G473R) and - 5.17 (G501C) kcal/mol. Finally, molecular dynamics simulation showed that G473R and G501C mutants had better flexible and stable orientation in all trajectory analyses. Therefore, this work gives an extended understanding of both functional and structural levels of influence for the mutant form that leads to NCL disorder., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

In this study, simultaneous nitrification and denitrification-sequencing batch reactor (SND-SBR) process was investigated to treat greywater. The effect of three process parameters, including hydraulic retention time (HRT), volumetric exchange ratio (VER) and sludge retention time (SRT), was optimised using a 2 3 full factorial design. The statistic model was developed for two response variables, i.e. chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonia (NH 3 -N) removal. The optimum conditions were 6.8 h HRT (anaerobic/aerobic/anoxic: 1.77 h/2.77 h/2.27 h), 0.7 VER and 7.94 d SRT, which resulted in 93.9% COD and 84.6% NH 3 -N removal efficiency. SRT was the most significant factor, followed by HRT and VER for COD and NH 3 -N removal. The interaction effect of VER and SRT was significant in COD removal. On the other hand, the interaction effects of HRT-VER and HRT-SRT were significant in NH 3 -N removal. The removal efficiencies of 89.6 ± 1.1% and 83.7 ± 2.3% were observed for TKN and TN, respectively, in the optimised SND-SBR system. NH 3 -N removal was obtained via nitrate pathway in the SND-SBR system. The PO 4 3- -P removal of 74.2 ± 3.4% was obtained via aerobic phosphorus uptake and post anoxic denitrification at the optimal condition. To enhance PO 4 3- -P removal, adsorption (using corn cob adsorbent) was integrated with SBR by adding the optimum adsorbent dose (0.5 g/L). The PO 4 3- -P removal efficiency in the SBR-adsorption system was found to be 80 ± 1.5%. The biodegradation of emerging contaminants (ECs) was also carried out in the SND-SBR system, and the results showed removal rate of 58.9 ± 2.3% benzophenone-3 (BP) and 80.1 ± 2.2% anionic surfactant (AS).

Massive accumulation of unprocessed banana peels enthralls sustainable issues as they are eventually dumped as landfills leading to emission of obnoxious gasses. To avoid these persisting challenges the present study shims lights on chitosan production from the characterised fungal strain using banana peel hydrolysate as an effective medium. Substantial amount of carbohydrate in banana peels serves as a potential solution for fungal chitosan production in a view to attain a circular bioeconomy and repurposed for synthesis of beneficial products in a cost effective manner. Presence of fermentable sugars in banana peels qualifies them as a feasible substrate which could be exploited for scaling up of fungal chitosan synthesis. Screened isolate was subjected to statistical optimisation using formulated medium to elucidate the influential factors that had significant effect on chitosan production. The harvested chitosan biomass was characterised through standardised techniques and evaluated for further studies. Statistical optimisation reveals that ammonium nitrate (5 g/L), pH (6) and incubation time (144 hrs) were the three PBD variables that had a greater influence on fungal chitosan yield. The validated developed model exhibited maximum yield of 200 mg/L, a 4.4 fold increase than unoptimised medium (45 mg/L). These findings emphasise the fermentative synthesis of chitosan through valorisation of banana peel prop up a complementary approach in concomitant with preserving renewable resources and bioproduct formation.

Background: Psoriasis is associated with significant morbidity and impaired quality of life. Identification of the host genes that influence disease susceptibility and can potentially guide future, targeted therapy is the need of the hour., Aims: The aim of the study was to investigate the associations of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) gene polymorphisms, that is, a 5-8-CATT tetra nucleotide repeats at -794 (-794*CATT5-8) and a single-nucleotide polymorphism at -173 (-173*G/C) with the risk of chronic plaque psoriasis and to observe the correlation, if any, of disease determinants with genetic functional variants and circulating MIF levels., Methods: Five hundred and seventeen individuals (265 psoriasis patients and 252 controls) were genotyped for MIF gene polymorphisms. Data were analyzed with respect to disease susceptibility, serum MIF levels, disease severity, age at onset, disease duration and presence of comorbidities., Results: The presence of co-morbidities was more frequently noted in patients with late onset disease (P = 0.01). No statistically significant differences were observed either in genotype (P = 0.680) or allele frequency (P = 0.69) with respect to distribution of MIF-173*G/C polymorphism between patients and controls. The frequencies of genotypes -794*CATT 5/7 and 7/7 were significantly lower in patients (P = 0.027* and 0.038*, respectively). CATT*5/MIF-173*C haplotype occurred at a higher frequency in patients (odds ratio 3.03, 95% confidence intervals 1.09-8.47, P = 0.02). The mean serum MIF levels were significantly higher in patients as compared to controls (P < 0.001). The presence of either extended MIF -794*CATT repeats or C allele did not reveal any significant association with serum MIF levels or age at onset. Analysis of effect of various disease determinants revealed no significant association with genetic variants and serum MIF levels., Limitations: The lesional expression of MIF could not be studied., Conclusion: Our results showed that CATT*5/MIF-173*C haplotype is associated with increased susceptibility to psoriasis vulgaris.

In this study, sequencing batch reactor (SBR) using anaerobic/aerobic/anoxic process was coupled to a solar photocatalytic reactor (SPCR) for greywater treatment. The greywater effluent from SBR (operated at the optimal condition: 6.8 h hydraulic retention time (HRT), 0.7 Volumetric exchange ratio (VER) and 7.94 d solids retention time (SRT) with optimal corn cob adsorbent dosage (0.5 g/L)) was fed to the SPCR (operated at optimal conditions: pH - 3, H 2 O 2 dosage - 1 g/L, catalyst dosage - 5 g/L). Chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal of 92.8±0.5% and ∼100% were achieved in SBR and SBR-SPCR, respectively. Similarly, total organic carbon (TOC) removal of 91±0.9% and ∼100% were observed in SBR and SBR-SPCR, respectively. After SBR treatment, average total nitrogen (TN) removal of 84% was found and this TN removal increased to 93% after combined SBR-SPCR treatment. The maximum PO 4 3-&#95; P reduction of 80±1.5% % was achieved with SBR-adsorption system. In addition, a maximum of 87±0.9% of net PO 4 3-&#95; P removal was reached after SBR-SPCR treatment. 58.9±2.3% BP (benzophenone-3) removal was obtained in the SBR while the integration of SBR and SPCR treatment was resulted in 100% BP removal. An effective anionic surfactant (AS) removal rate (80.1±2.2%) was observed in the SBR phase, which further improved to 94.9±1% at the end of 4 h SPCR treatment.

Lysosomal storage diseases comprise different forms of autosomal recessive disorders from which GM1 gangliosidosis has categorized by the accumulation of complex glycolipids associated with a range of progressive neurologic phenotypes. GM1 gangliosidosis is an inherited disorder that progressively destroys nerve cells (neurons) in the brain and spinal cord. GM1 has three main types of onsets, namely infantile (type I), juvenile (type II), and adult (type III) forms. This study provides a series of computational methods that examine the mutations that occurred in GLB1 protein. Initially, the mutational analysis started with 689 amino acid variants for a sequence-based screening and it was done with quite a few In-silico tools to narrow down the most significant variants by utilizing the standard tools; namely, Evolutionary analysis (77 variants), Pathogenicity prediction (44 variants), Stability predictions (30 variants), Biophysical functions (19 variants) and according to the binding site of protein structure with PDB ID 3THC, seven variants (Y83D, Y83H, Y270S, Y270D, W273R, W273D, and Y333H) were narrowed down. Structure based analysis was performed to understand the interacting profile of the native protein and variants with Miglustat; which is the currently used FDA drug as an alternative to enzyme replacement therapy. Molecular Docking study was done to analyze the protein interaction with Miglustat (ligand), as a result native (3THC) structure had a binding affinity of -8.18 kcal/mol and two variant structures had an average binding affinities of -2.61 kcal/mol (Y83D) and - 7.63 kcal/mol (Y270D). Finally, Molecular Dynamics Simulation was performed to know the mutational activity of the protein structures on Miglustat for 50,000 ps. The Y83D variant showed higher deviation than native protein and Y270D in all trajectory analysis. The analysis was done to the protein structures to check the structural variations happened through simulations. This study aids to understand the most deleterious mutants, the activity of the drug to the protein structure and also gives an insight on the stability of the drug with the native and selected variants.

A novel TiO 2 nanoparticle was prepared through green synthesis using Calotropis gigantea (CG) leaf extract. Morphological analysis showed dispersed spherical CG-TiO 2 nanoparticles with an average size of 42 nm. The prepared catalyst was used for the degradation of metformin (a widely used diabetic medicine) by solar photocatalysis. A three-factor central composite design (CCD) was used to explore the effect of independent variables, i.e., pH 3-7, metformin concentration 1-10 mg/L, and catalyst (CG-TiO 2 ) dosage 0.5-2.0 g/L. A maximum metformin degradation of 96.7% was observed under optimum conditions i.e., pH = 9.7, initial metformin concentration = 9.7 mg/L and catalyst dosage = 0.7 g/L, with ∼86% mineralization efficiency. A quadratic model with an error <±5% was developed to predict the metformin degradation and the rate of degradation under the optimum conditions followed pseudo-first-order kinetics (k = 0.014/min). CG-TiO 2 exhibited higher metformin degradation efficiency (96.7%) compared to P-25 (23.9%) at optimum conditions. The recyclability study indicated effective reuse of the catalyst for up to three cycles. The proposed metformin degradation route is hydroxyl radical ( • OH) generation on the CG-TiO 2 surface, transfer of • OH to the aqueous phase from CG-TiO 2 and subsequent oxidation of metformin in the aqueous phase.

Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest.

We report a case of testicular granulosa cell tumor of adult type in a 65-year-old male patient who has presented with hepatic metastasis. Although, this type of sex cord stromal tumor is relatively common in the ovaries, it is extremely unusual in the testis, and it probably represents the rarest type of testicular sex cord stromal tumor.

Breast cancer is the second most common cause of deaths reported in women worldwide, and therefore there is a need to identify breast cancer patients at an early stage as timely diagnosis would help in effective management and appropriate monitoring of patients. Nevertheless, it is challenging to achieve these goals due to the lack of a specific biomarker for early detection and monitoring in breast cancer. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as master regulators of the molecular pathways highlighted in different tumors leading to progression in malignancies. With the rapid advancements in molecular research, the potential to use miRNAs as prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers in breast cancer has been highlighted, as their dysregulation is directly associated with breast cancer progression and metastasis. The ease of detection and long-term stability of circulating miRNAs in blood makes them a promising candidate for non-invasive breast cancer biomarkers.

Spanning three decades in research, Paraoxonases (PON1) carried potential of dealing with neurotoxicity of organophosphates entering the circulation and preventing cholinergic crisis. In the past few years, the Paraoxonase multigene family ( PON1, PON2, PON3 ) has been shown to play an important role in pathogenesis of cardiovascular disorders including coronary artery disease (CAD). The PON genes are clustered in tandem on the long arm of human chromosome 7 (q21, 22). All of them have been shown to act as antioxidants. Of them, PON3 is the least studied member as its exact physiological substrate is still not clear. This has further led to limitation in our understanding of its role in pathogenesis of CAD and development of the potential therapeutic agents which might modulate its activity, expression in circulation and tissues. In the present review, we discuss the structure and activity of human PON3 enzyme and its Single nucleotide variants that could potentially lead to new clinical strategies in prevention and treatment of CAD.

The upsurge of drug resistant tuberculosis is major health threat globally. To counteract, antimicrobial peptides are being explored as possible alternatives. However, certain limitations of peptide-based drugs such as potential toxicity, high cost and relatively low stability need to be addressed to enhance their clinical applicability. Use of computer predicted short active motifs of AMPs along with nanotechnology could not only overcome the limitations of AMPs but also potentiate their antimicrobial activity. Therefore, present study was proposed to in silico identify short antimicrobial motif (Pep-H) of human neutrophil peptide-1 (HNP-1) and explore its antimycobacterial activity in free form and using nanoparticles-based delivery systems. Based on colony forming unit analysis, motif Pep-H led to killing of more than 90% M. tb in vitro at 10 μg/ml, whereas, similar activity against intracellularly growing M. tb was observed at 5 μg/ml only. Thereafter, chitosan (244 nm) and gold nanoparticles (20 nm) were prepared for Pep-H with both the formulations showing minimal effects on the viability of human monocyte derived macrophages (MDMs) and RBC integrity. The antimycobacterial activity of Pep-H against intracellular mycobacteria was enhanced in both the nanoformulations as evident by significant reduction in CFU (>90%) at 5-10 times lower concentrations than that observed for free Pep-H. Thus, Pep-H is an effective antimycobacterial motif of HNP-1 and its activity is further enhanced by chitosan and gold nanoformulations.

Integration of microbiological data and geographical locations is necessary to understand the spatiotemporal patterns of the microbial diversity of an ecosystem. The Geographic Information System (GIS) to map and catalogue the data on the actinobacterial diversity of the Southern Ocean waters was completed through sampling and analysis. Water samples collected at two sampling stations viz. Polar Front 1 (Station 1) and Polar Front 2 (Station 2) during 7 th Indian Scientific Expedition to the Indian Ocean Sector of the Southern Ocean (SOE-2012-13) were used for analysis. At the outset, two different genera of Actinobacteria were recorded at both sampling stations. Streptomyces was the dominanted with the high score (> 60%), followed by Nocardiopsis (< 30%) at both the sampling stations-Polar Front 1 and Polar Front 2-along with other invasive genera such as Agrococcus, Arthrobacter, Cryobacterium, Curtobacterium, Microbacterium, Marisediminicola, Rhodococcus and Kocuria. This data will help to discriminate the diversity and distribution pattern of the Actinobacteria in the Polar Frontal Region of the Southern Ocean waters. It is a novel approach useful for geospatial cataloguing of microbial diversity from extreme niches and in various environmental gradations. Furthermore, this research work will act as the milestone for bioprospecting of microbial communities and their products having potential applications in healthcare, agriculture and beneficial to mankind. Hence, this research work would have significance in creating a database on microbial communities of the Antarctic ecosystem.

The present study reports the transcriptome analysis of resistance (WR315) and susceptible (JG62) genotypes of chickpea in response to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris ( Foc ) race 4 using the method of suppression subtractive hybridization. Altogether, 162 chickpea-expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were identified from two libraries and analyzed to catalog eight functional categories. These ESTs could be assembled into 18 contigs and 144 singletons with 10 contigs and 68 singletons from compatible and 8 contigs and 70 singletons from incompatible interaction. The largest category consisted of ESTs which encode for proteins related to hypothetical proteins (22.8%), followed by energy and metabolism (20.3%)-related genes, defense and cell rescue-related genes (17.9%) and signal transduction-related genes (16%). Among them, 17.1 and 18.7% were defense-related genes in compatible and incompatible interaction, respectively. These ESTs mainly includes various putative genes related to oxidative burst, pathogenesis and secondary metabolism. Induction of putative superoxide dismutase, metallothionein, 4-coumarate-CoA ligase, heat shock proteins and cysteine proteases indicated oxidative burst after infection. The ESTs belonged to various functional categories which were directly and indirectly associated with defense signaling pathways. Quantitative and semi-quantitative polymerase chain reaction exhibited differential expression of candidate genes and detected higher levels in incompatible interaction compared to compatible interaction. The present study revealed partial molecular mechanism associated with the resistance in chickpea against Foc , which is the key to design a strategy for incorporation of resistance via either biotechnological means or introgression of resistance genes., Competing Interests: Compliance with ethical standardsNo conflict of interest was declared by the authors.

Chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni) and lead (Pb) contamination was investigated in wheat cultivated rain-fed and irrigated rural agricultural soils (n = 31) of Tonalite-Trondjhemite Series in Central India. The soil sampling was carried out by using stratified random sampling method. The mean concentrations of Cr, Ni and Pb were 54.8, 38.1 and 68.9 mg/kg, respectively. The average values of enrichment factor (EF), geoaccumulation index (I geo ) and contamination factor (CF) followed the order as: Pb > Ni > Cr. Distribution patterns of soil parent material and weathering processes govern mineral enrichments, irrespective of rainfed or irrigated agricultural practices. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed strong loading of Cr and Ni (PC1) and Pb and clay (PC3). The strong loading on Cr and Ni indicates soils are originating from basic and volcanic rocks in the study area. The strong loading of Pb and clay indicates Pb is strongly adsorbed on clay minerals and Fe-oxides. The cancer risk (CR) index showed negligible carcinogenic risk to the residing population. However, hazard index (HI) values for children exceed the safe limit (HI > 1) for Cr and Pb. Spatial distribution of pollution load index suggest highest pollution in the northeastern part of the district. The study revealed that geogenically enriched soils of the area are suitable for agricultural activities under present conditions.

Introduction: Alcoholism is a chronic and progressive psychiatric illness characterised by a loss of control over alcohol consumption. Consumption of alcohol inevitably affects the oral cavity, oral mucosa and teeth. Literature indicates that alcohol dependents may have increased risk of dental caries, probing pocket depth and mucosal lesions., Aim: To assess the impact of alcohol dependency on oral health status among alcoholics in comparison with non alcoholics., Materials and Methods: A total 76 alcoholic patients visiting Psychiatric Department were compared with matched non alcoholics. Subjects were categorised as alcohol dependents based on American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) diagnostic criteria. Non alcoholic subjects were selected by controlling for potentially confounding variables such as for cigarette, smoking and age. Data was collected by interview and clinical examination. Oral health status of subjects was assessed using a modified WHO proforma and salivary pH and plaque pH were assessed. Chi-square test was used for assessing socio demographic details and Mann-whitney U test was used for prevalence of dental caries and periodontal diseases, Unpaired t-test was used for plaque and salivary pH., Results: There was no statistically significant difference noted among alcoholic and nonalcoholic control group with respect to socio demographic details. Prevalence of dental caries was higher in alcohol dependent subjects with a mean DMFT of 5.92 compared to nonalcoholic subjects (4.51). Prevalence of periodontitis was higher (89.61%) in alcohol dependent subjects compared to controls (78.67%). Prevalence of mucosal lesions among alcohol dependent subjects was 31.5% which was higher than the controls (25%). Subjects who were categorised as alcoholics showed a lower plaque and salivary pH compared to non alcoholics., Conclusion: Subjects categorised as alcohol dependent subjects had slightly lower mean plaque and salivary pH and a higher prevalence of dental caries, periodontitis and mucosal lesions compared with non alcoholic subjects.

A metal-free nitration of the α-C-H to carbonyl in propiophenones was achieved with I2/NaNO2 in the presence of an oxidant in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as the medium. Conversely under similar conditions, reaction of acetophenones produced thiohydroximic acids via a radical-based cascade event which involves oxidative nitration of the α-carbon to a carbonyl followed by Michael addition of the thiomethyl group from DMSO and subsequent rearrangement. Besides DMSO, the scope of the reaction encompasses other symmetrical and unsymmetrical dialkylsulfoxides.

Assessment of the anthropogenic impacts on bioavailability, mobility, immobility and toxicity of four micronutrients (Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn) were carried out by Community Bureau of Reference (BCR) fractionation scheme in agricultural soils (n = 10) around Jharia coalfield, eastern India. The relative abundance of micronutrients was as follows: Fe > Mn > Zn > Cu. The enrichment factor was >1 for Zn (6.1) and Cu (1.8) near coal mining area indicated toward soil pollution due to coal mining activities and application of inorganic fertilizers. The I geo values of micronutrients were <0 suggest no pollution with respect to Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn. Correlation analysis showed geogenic origin of soil micronutrients and derived mainly from weathering of minerals present in the parent rock. The mean values of Cu, Mn and Zn were less than certified reference material indicating highly leached agricultural soils in the study region. BCR fractionation of micronutrients showed that a single element could not reveal all types of chemical reactions occurring in soil consortium.

The present investigation was carried out to elucidate a possible molecular mechanism related to the protective effect of quercetin administration against aluminium-induced oxidative stress on various mitochondrial respiratory complex subunits with special emphasis on the role of PGC-1α and its downstream targets, i.e. NRF-1, NRF-2 and Tfam in mitochondrial biogenesis. Aluminium lactate (10mg/kg b.wt./day) was administered intragastrically to rats, which were pre-treated with quercetin 6h before aluminium (10mg/kg b.wt./day, intragastrically) for 12 weeks. We found a decrease in ROS levels, mitochondrial DNA oxidation and citrate synthase activity in the hippocampus (HC) and corpus striatum (CS) regions of rat brain treated with quercetin. Besides this an increase in the mRNA levels of the mitochondrial encoded subunits - ND1, ND2, ND3, Cyt b, COX1, COX3 and ATPase6 along with increased expression of nuclear encoded subunits COX4, COX5A and COX5B of electron transport chain (ETC). In quercetin treated group an increase in the mitochondrial DNA copy number and mitochondrial content in both the regions of rat brain was observed. The PGC-1α was up regulated in quercetin treated rats along with NRF-1, NRF-2 and Tfam, which act downstream from PGC-1α. Electron microscopy results revealed a significant decrease in the mitochondrial cross-section area, mitochondrial perimeter length and increase in mitochondrial number in case of quercetin treated rats as compared to aluminium treated ones. Therefore it seems quercetin increases mitochondrial biogenesis and makes it an almost ideal flavanoid to control or limit the damage that has been associated with the defective mitochondrial function seen in many neurodegenerative diseases., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Genetic diversity of 70 isolates of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris originated from various states of India representing eight races causing wilt in chickpea (Cicer arietinum) was analyzed using translation elongation factor-1α (TEF-1α), β-tubulin, and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) gene regions. TEF-1α, β-tubulin, and ITS gene-specific markers produced ~720-, ~500-, and ~550-bp amplicons, respectively, in all the isolates of the pathogen. A phylogenetic tree constructed from the sequences generated in the present study along with the sequences of foreign isolates of Fusarium species available in NCBI database sharing more than 90 % nucleotide sequence similarity grouped the isolates into two major clusters. Most of the isolates of the present study showed more or less similar grouping pattern in case of the three gene sequences. Each group had the isolates representing different races as well as place of origin indicating low level of diversity among the isolates in respect of these gene sequences. Except TEF-1α, the groups generated by β-tubulin and ITS gene sequences did not correspond to the state of origin and races of the pathogen. However, the groups of TEF-1α partially corresponded to the place of origin as well as races of the pathogen. The isolates did not show any race-specific grouping patterns; however, most of the isolates representing race 1 clustered separately.

Administration of drugs through skin via transdermal route is a non-invasive approach and applicable for systemic delivery but it is not suitable for drugs having higher molecular weight. Various approaches have been used to improve the efficacy of transdermal route such as vesicular system, iontophoresis, microneedles, use of permeation enhancers, etc. Among the several approaches, vesicular delivery is gaining importance in transdermal drug delivery. Transfersomes are one of the vesicular systems and they are best suited for the transdermal delivery of higher molecular weight compounds. Due to the deformable nature of transfersomes, they penetrate into deeper layers of skin, retain their original structure after penetration and finally enter into the systemic circulation. This review focuses mainly on the applications of transfersomes in the field of drug delivery i.e. delivery of analgesics, anti-cancers, proteins and peptides, immunomodulators, steroidal hormones and herbal drugs with increased penetration through skin. In addition, this review also deals with preparation methods available for preparing transfersomes, characterization, mechanism of penetration upon topical application and its kinetic aspects.

Dietary and lifestyle factors have been shown to have a profound effect on paraoxonase-1 (PON1) activity. Cigarette smoke has been shown to inhibit its mass and activity where as resveratrol has been shown to enhance it. We exposed hepatoma derived cell line (HepG2) to resveratrol and nicotine in varying doses and measured PON1 enzymatic activity and PON1 gene expression. In addition, total protein content of HepG2 cells was also measured. Resveratrol in a dose of 15 μmol/l or above significantly increased the PON1 enzyme activity (p > 0.001) where as nicotine in a dose of 1 μmol/l or higher significantly reduced it (p < 0.05). The resveratrol in this dose also enhanced the PON1 gene expression whereas nicotine decreased it as compared to controls. However, the protein conent of cells was not changed suggesting that they were not cytotoxic in the doses used. Till date the antioxidant vitamins have shown disappointing results against LDL oxidation and cardiovascular protection. However, the effect of resveratrol on PON1 gene expression and activity was significant, suggesting increase in PON1 activity and enhanced gene expression may be its alternative mechanism for offering protection against cardiovascular disease and may be an potential pharmacological agent which can be used for this.

Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) are an alternative carrier system used to load the drug for targeting, to improve the bioavailability by increasing its solubility, and protecting the drug from presystemic metabolism. The avoidance of presystemic metabolism is due to the nano-metric size range, so that the liver cannot uptake the drug from the delivery system and is not metabolized by the liver. Montelukast sodium is an anti-asthmatic drug, because of its poor oral bioavailability, presystemic metabolism, and decreased half-life; it was chosen to formulate as the solid lipid nanoparticle (SLN) system by hot homogenization followed by an ultrasonication method, to overcome the above. Compritol ATO 888, stearic acid, and glyceryl monostearate were used as a lipid matrix and polyvinyl alcohol as a surfactant. The prepared formulations have been evaluated for entrapment efficiency, drug content, in vitro drug release, particle size analysis, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform-infrared studies (FT-IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and stability. Particle size analysis revealed that the SLN prepared from the higher melting point lipid showed a larger particle size and with increased carbon chain length of the fatty acids. Entrapment efficiency (EE) was ranging from 42% to 92%. In vitro release studies showed maximum cumulative drug release was obtained for F 1 (59.1%) containing stearic acid, and the lowest was observed for F 18 (28.1%) containing compritol ATO 888 after 12 h and all the formulations followed first-order release kinetics. FT-IR and DSC studies revealed no interaction between drug and lipids. Studies showed that increase in lipid concentration, increased particle size, EE, and maintained the sustained release of drug. Among all, compritol ATO 888 was chosen as the best lipid for formulating SLN because it had high EE and sustained the drug release.