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Novice researchers are frequently inexperienced with basic concepts of research and successful scientific publishing. To strengthen their fundamental knowledge of scientific research, we recently conducted a brainstorming symposium at the 73rd Indian Pharmaceutical Congress held in Hyderabad, India in July 2024. This report highlights the symposium's key components as well as the benefits that attendees experienced. The symposium was intended to equip faculty and postgraduate and doctorate students with the skills they need to succeed in scientific research and publishing. It sought to dispel the mystery around the research process, from conception to publication, highlighting the significance of a well-conceived, reliable, reproducible, and ethically sound experimental design. Participants acquired knowledge about developing research questions and hypotheses, crafting thorough research protocols, and using statistical techniques to increase the acceptability of their findings. Our team clarified the subtleties of data interpretation, making sure that participants advanced their research aptitude. The symposium also emphasized the significance of good communication for scientists, providing delegates with guidance on how to craft papers that concisely and compellingly convey their findings, thereby increasing the likelihood of their submissions being accepted by high-impact indexed journals. The presentations also covered the ethical aspects of academic publication, emphasizing the perils of predatory journals that jeopardize the credibility of scientific communication. This symposium was not only an educational event but also a crucial step in nurturing a new generation of scientists equipped with advanced research skills and driving innovation ethically and responsibly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byline: Mainak. Banerjee, Ayan. Mukherjee, Avijit. Hazra, Satinath. Mukhopadhyay Dear Editor, Individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have a 3-5-fold increased risk of developing genital mycotic infections (GMI) following [...]

Byline: Suparna. Chatterjee, Manjari. Bhattacharjee, Avijit. Hazra, Pradip. Mukhopadhyay, Biman. Ray, Sayan. Chatterjee, Souvik. Dubey BACKGROUND: Mucormycosis is a rare but serious fungal infection which has dramatically increased in post-COVID [...]

The functional disability status of Indian children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis is unidentified. In this cross-sectional study functional capacity of 60 juvenile idiopathic arthritis patients was assessed by the Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire. A total of 60 juvenile idiopathic arthritis patients aged ranges from 1 to 12 years were recruited from a teaching hospital in eastern India. A childhood health assessment questionnaire was used to assess the functional health of children. Pain, patient's/parent's global assessment of general well-being, and physician's global assessment were assessed. Childhood health assessment questionnaire disability index for oligoarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis differed significantly from polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (P < 0.001), systemic-onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis (P = 0.018) and undifferentiated juvenile idiopathic arthritis (P < 0.001). There was a good to a strong positive correlation between the childhood health assessment questionnaire disability index with pain score, patient's/parent's global assessment score, and physician global assessment score for the total juvenile idiopathic arthritis cohort. regarding juvenile idiopathic arthritis subtypes, significant correlations were noted between the childhood health assessment questionnaire disability index with the patient's/parent's global assessment and physician's global assessment (except for enthesitis-related arthritis). Assessment and documentation of the functional health status of juvenile idiopathic arthritis patients will improve the management of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrochemical research often requires stringent combinations of experimental parameters that are demanding to manually locate. Recent advances in automated instrumentation and machine-learning algorithms unlock the possibility for accelerated studies of electrochemical fundamentals via high-throughput, online decision-making. Here we report an autonomous electrochemical platform that implements an adaptive, closed-loop workflow for mechanistic investigation of molecular electrochemistry. As a proof-of-concept, this platform autonomously identifies and investigates an EC mechanism, an interfacial electron transfer (E step) followed by a solution reaction (C step), for cobalt tetraphenylporphyrin exposed to a library of organohalide electrophiles. The generally applicable workflow accurately discerns the EC mechanism’s presence amid negative controls and outliers, adaptively designs desired experimental conditions, and quantitatively extracts kinetic information of the C step spanning over 7 orders of magnitude, from which mechanistic insights into oxidative addition pathways are gained. This work opens opportunities for autonomous mechanistic discoveries in self-driving electrochemistry laboratories without manual intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byline: Monalisa. Dhuya, Murari. Pal, Avijit. Hazra, Suparna. Chatterjee, Nithya. Gogtay OBJECTIVES: Cytochrome P[sub]4502D6 (CYP2D6) enzyme metabolizes a quarter of prescription drugs. Polymorphisms of CYP2D6 gene and resultant phenotypic variations [...]

Introduction: There is a lack of Indian data on short stature treatment using recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH). We explored the effects of such treatment in eastern Indian patients, with emphasis on biochemical parameters and bone biomarkers in addition to basic anthropometry. Methods: Our descriptive study covered 50 short stature patients of varied aetiology attending endocrine outpatient department (OPD) of a tertiary care teaching hospital. Patients were followed up for 1 year after the index visit, and prospective data were reconciled with past medical records. A dose of rhGH used was 0.18-0.375 mg/kg as standard, starting dose mostly being 0.2 mg/kg. Dosing was adjusted if the physician judged the clinical outcome to be less favourable than expected. Anthropometric parameters (height, weight, body mass index (BMI) and skeletal age) were recorded clinically, and various biochemical parameters and bone biomarkers were estimated from blood. Results: Among 50 subjects, 60% had idiopathic growth hormone (GH) deficiency and 26% had Turner's syndrome. The median age at treatment start was 10 years, and the median treatment duration was 25.5 months. The height increased more in the first year of therapy. In the last 6 months, the height velocity was approximately 0.5 cm/month. Although the weight increased significantly, the increment slowed down in the last 6 months. Both remained less than age- and gender-matched references throughout. The skeletal age was on average 2 years behind chronological age (CA)--being 8.7, 9.6 and 11.3 years, respectively, at therapy start, after one year and at study end. Fasting blood glucose (FBG), total cholesterol and calcium level changes were not statistically significant. Serum cortisol and phosphate showed a modest but statistically significant rise, while thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) level declined. Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) increase was relatively pronounced. Among bone biomarkers, a decrease in CTx and an increase in vitamin D were significant. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) data indicated that bone mineral density was less than that of age-matched controls despite treatment. The therapy was well tolerated. Conclusions: rhGH treatment leads to significant improvement in anthropometry in Indian children comparable with Western data. Bone biomarker changes indicate decreased bone resorption and increased bone formation although bone mineral density still lags behind age-matched controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Perineural dexamethasone gives promising results in prolonging duration of analgesia in brachial plexus block. Doses between 1 to 10 mg have been used but the optimum dose is not yet settled. Aim: To compare the analgesic efficacy of two low doses of dexamethasone in Ultrasonography (USG)-guided brachial plexus block for planned upper limb surgery. Materials and Methods: A double-blind randomised clinical trial was conducted with 126 adult patients of either sex, randomised in equal numbers to 2 mg and 4 mg dexamethasone groups, the steroid being administered in conjunction with 0.5% levobupivacaine. Time to onset of sensory and motor blocks, duration of analgesia, duration of motor block, total consumption of analgesics in the first 24 hours postoperative period, haemodynamic parameters and features of neurotoxicity were compared. Tramadol 50mg intravenous was permitted as rescue analgesic. Results: No significant differences in onset of sensory and motor blocks were encountered. Duration of sensory block with 4 mg {median (Interquartile range); 1080 (900-1140) min} clearly exceeded that with 2 mg {840 (720-960) min} (p-value<0.001) dexamethasone. Duration of motor block was also greater with 4 mg dexamethasone {1080 (1020-1170) versus 870 (810-990)min} (p-value<0.001). Total analgesic consumption in first 24 hours was 225 (175-250) mg versus 100 (75-200) mg in 2 mg and 4 mg groups respectively (p-value<0.001). No features of neurotoxicity were encountered in either group. Conclusion: Perineural dexamethasone 4 mg gives better results as analgesic adjuvant to bupivacaine compared to 2mg in brachial plexus block for upper limb surgery without increasing adverse effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byline: Kaushik. Mukhopadhyay, Parasar. Ghosh, Partha. Ghorai, Avijit. Hazra, Amal. DasOBJECTIVES: To assess efficacy and safety of oxaceprol, a hydroxyproline derivative with putative mechanism of action different from traditional nonsteroidal [...]