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Diabetic myonecrosis is a rare complication of poorly controlled diabetes mellitus which commonly affects the thigh and is managed conservatively. Spontaneous ischemic necrosis of muscle is noted without a reduction in vascular supply. Pyomyositis caused by Staphylococcus aureus infection is another rare complication. Atypical presentation of myonecrosis and pyomyositis can occur in the form of simultaneous or sequential involvement of multiple muscle groups. We present a rare case of myonecrosis with pyomyositis in a 39-year-old male patient with a background of type 2 diabetes mellitus who presented with a 5-day history of worsening pain of the right thigh radiating to the right ankle, associated with groin swelling and fever. It is important for clinicians to have a low threshold of suspicion of this rare condition due to the other diverse and similar diagnoses, as well as to prevent further complications and morbidity.

Bangladesh is currently experiencing significant infrastructural development in road networking system through the construction or reconstruction of multiple roads and highways. Consequently, there is a rise in traffic intensity on roads and highways, along with a significant contamination of adjacent agricultural soils with heavy metals. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ecological risk, health risk and the abundance of seven heavy metals (Cu, Mn, Pb, Cd, Cr, As, and Ni) in three distance gradients (0, 300, and 500 m) of agricultural soil along the Dhaka-Chattogram highway. The concentration of heavy metals was measured with an Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) on a total of 36 soil samples that were taken from 12 different sampling sites. Based on the findings, Cd had a high contamination factor for all distance gradients, whereas Cr had a moderate contamination factor in 67% of the study areas. According to the Pollution Load Index (PLI), Cd, Cr, and Pb were the predominant pollutants. Principal component analysis (PCA) result shows these metals mainly came from anthropogenic sources. The considerable positive correlations between Cu-Pb, Cu-Cd, Pb-Cd, and Cr-Ni all pointed to shared anthropogenic origins. As per Potential Ecological Risk Assessment (PERI) analysis, Pb, Cd, Cr, and Ni each contribute significantly and pose a moderate threat. The Target Hazard Quotient (THQ) values for all pathways of exposure to Pb and Cr in soils were more than 1, which would pose a significant risk to human health in the following order: THQ adult female  > THQ adult male  > THQ children . This study will help to evaluate the human health risk and develop a better understanding of the heavy metal abundance scenario in the agricultural fields adjacent to this highway., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Dengue is caused by the dengue virus (DENVs) infection and clinical manifestations include dengue fever (DF), dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), or dengue shock syndrome (DSS). Due to a lack of antiviral drugs and effective vaccines, several therapeutic and control strategies have been proposed. A systemic literature review was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines to select proper references to give an overview of DENV infection. Results indicate that understanding the virus characteristics and epidemiology are essential to gain the basic and clinical knowledge as well as dengue disseminated pattern and status. Different factors and mechanisms are thought to be involved in the presentation of DHF and DSS, including antibody-dependent enhancement, immune dysregulation, viral virulence, host genetic susceptibility, and preexisting dengue antibodies. This study suggests that dissecting pathogenesis and risk factors as well as developing different types of therapeutic and control strategies against DENV infection are urgently needed., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest We have no conflict of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Federated Learning (FL) is an emerging distributed learning paradigm which offers data privacy to contributing nodes in the collaborating environment. By exploiting the Individual datasets of different hospitals in FL setting could be used to develop reliable screening, diagnosis, and treatment predictive models to tackle major challenges such as pandemics. FL can enable the development of very diverse medical imaging datasets and thus provide more reliable models for all participating nodes, including those with low quality data. However, the issue with the traditional Federated Learning paradigm is the degradation of generalization power due to poorly trained local models at the client nodes. The generalization power of the FL paradigm can be improved by considering the relative learning contribution of client nodes. Simple aggregation of learning parameters in the standard FL model faces a diversity issue and results in more validation loss during the learning process. This issue can be resolved by considering the relative contribution of each client node participating in the learning process. The class imbalance at each site is another significant challenge that greatly impacts the performance of the aggregated learning model. This work considers Context Aggregator FL based on the context of loss-factor and class-imbalance issues by incorporating the relative contribution of the collaborating nodes in FL by proposing Validation-Loss based Context Aggregator (CAVL) and Class Imbalance based Context Aggregator (CACI). The proposed Context Aggregator is evaluated on several different Covid-19 imaging classification datasets present on participating nodes. The evaluation results show that Context Aggregator performs better than standard Federating average Learning algorithms and FedProx Algorithm for Covid-19 image classification problems., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Microplastics (MPs) are a growing concern due to its ubiquitous presence and exceptional stability. We examined the abundance, dispersion, and attributes of MPs in the sediment and fish species of the Turag River in Bangladesh, which separated the industrial city Gazipur from the Mega-city Dhaka. Collected samples were digested and the chemical structure was identified using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. The concentration of MPs in the sediment ranged from 10 to 35 particles kg -1 , with a mean abundance of 19.2 ± 2.44 particles kg -1 and MPs of the fragment type account for 34 % of all. The majority of MPs were discovered in the 3-5 mm size range. MPs concentrations in freshwater fish gut from the Turag River ranged from 0.63 ± 0.18 to 7.0 ± 1.1 microplastics individual -1 . Fiber was found to be the most commonly ingested MPs type (43 %), followed by fragments (41 %), film (12 %), and foam (4 %). The most common type of MPs was transparent (34 %) followed by red (28 %), white (20 %), green (9 %) and black (8 %). The results showed that demersal (1.87 ± 0.39 items individual -1 ) and benthopelagic (1.5 ± 0.26 items individual -1 ) fish species had more MPs than pelagic fish (0.63 ± 0.18 items individual -1 ) species. Polypropylene (PP) was found to be the most dominant polymer type in the sediment sample, and PS (39 %) in the fish sample. Polyethylene (PE) was discovered to be 30 % and PP 25 % in sediment and fish samples, respectively. Other commonly detected polymer types include polyamide (PA), polystyrene (PS), cellulose acetate (CA), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). In different sampling sites along the Turag River, the pollution load index (PLI) of MPs contamination was found to be in the risk level category I. The PLI values reflected the city's anthropogenic influence. The findings of the study could be used to establish a baseline for MPs pollution in Bangladesh's vast freshwater ecosystem., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Ferromanganese oxide biochar composite (FMBC) is an efficient remediation material for cadmium -contaminated soils. However, the effect of FMBC under varied water managements on the remediation of Cd-polluted soil is unclear. In this study, we conducted both incubation and field experiments to investigate the combined effects of corn-stover-derived biochar modified with ferromanganese on the immobilization and uptake of Cd by rice under continuous aerobic (A), aerobic-flooded (AF), and flooded-aerobic (FA) water management regimes. The results showed that loading iron-manganese significantly increased the maximum sorption capacity (Qm) of Cd on FMBC (50.46 mg g -1 ) due to increased surface area, as compared to the pristine biochar (BC, 31.36 mg g -1 ). The results revealed that soil Eh and pH were significantly affected by FMBC and it's synergistic application with different water regimes, thus causing significant differences in the concentrations of DTPA-extractable Cd under different treatments. The lowest DTPA-extractable Cd content (0.28-0.46 mg -1 ) was observed in the treatment with FMBC (2.5 %) combined FA water amendment, which reduced the content of available Cd in soil by 2.63-28.4 %. Moreover, the treatments with FMBC-FA resulted the proportion of residual Cd increased by 22.2 % compared to the control. Variations in the content and fraction of Cd had a significant influence on its accumulation in the rice grains. The FMBC-FA treatments reduced the Cd concentration in roots, shoots and grains by 37.97 %, 33.98 %, and 53.66 %, respectively, when compared with the control. Predominantly because of the reduction in Cd biological toxicity and the improved soil nutrient content, the combined application increased the biomass and yield of rice to some extent. Taken together, the combination of the Fe-Mn modified biochar and flooded-aerobic water management may potentially be applied in Cd-polluted soil to mitigate the impacts of Cd on rice production., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The recent developments in communication and information ease people's lives to sit in one place and access any information from anywhere. However, the longevity of sitting and sitting in different postures raises the issues of spinal curvature. It necessitates a physical examination to identify the spinal illness in its early stages. This article aims to develop an intelligent monitoring framework for detecting and monitoring spinal curvature syndrome problems based on Software Defined Radio Frequency (SDRF) sensing and verify its feasibility for diagnosing actual patients. The proposed SDRF-based system identifies irregular spinal curvature syndrome and offers feedback signals when an incorrect posture is identified. We design the system using wireless university software-defined radio peripheral (USRP) kits to transmit and receive RF signals and record the wireless channel state information (WCSI) for kyphosis, Lordosis, and scoliosis spinal disorders. The statistical measures are extracted from the WCSI and apply machine learning algorithms to identify and classify the type of disorders. We record and test the system using 11 subjects with the spinal disorders kyphosis, Lordosis, and scoliosis. We acquire the WCSI, extract various statistical measures in terms of time and frequency domain features, and evaluate machine learning classifiers to identify and classify the spinal disorder. The performance comparison of the machine learning algorithms showed overall and each spinal curvature disorder recognition accuracy of more than 99%., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Pyrolysis is a promising technique to achieve the sustainable utilization of heavy metal hyperaccumulator derived from phytoremediation of contaminated soils. To investigate the feasibility of synergistic treatment of hyperaccumulator and plastic waste (i.e. polyvinyl chloride, PVC), co-pyrolysis of Sedum alfredii and different mass percentages of PVC (5-25 wt%) was conducted at 300-900 °C in the present study. High pyrolysis temperature and low PVC addition amount (5 wt%) effectively promoted the volatilization of Cd and Zn from S. alfredii, while high PVC addition amount (15 wt% and 25 wt%) caused a significant suppression effect at insufficient pyrolysis temperatures. After PVC addition, the yields of biochar increased by 5.18-37.19% as compared with the theoretical values. However, the concentrations of Cd and Zn leached from biochar significantly elevated with increasing PVC addition amount, indicating that the addition of PVC improved the mobility of Cd and Zn in biochar. Moreover, S. alfredii derived biochars showed considerable sorption capacity for Cd (87.6-198.3 mg/g). These results imply that the addition of PVC has double-edged effects on heavy metal separation and biochar production during pyrolysis of Cd/Zn hyperaccumulator, and low PVC addition amount and sufficient pyrolysis temperature are beneficial for the further utilization of biochar., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The main protease (M pro , also known as 3CL protease) of SARS-CoV-2 is a high priority drug target in the development of antivirals to combat COVID-19 infections. A feline coronavirus antiviral drug, GC376, has been shown to be effective in inhibiting the SARS-CoV-2 main protease and live virus growth. As this drug moves into clinical trials, further characterization of GC376 with the main protease of coronaviruses is required to gain insight into the drug's properties, such as reversibility and broad specificity. Reversibility is an important factor for therapeutic proteolytic inhibitors to prevent toxicity due to off-target effects. Here we demonstrate that GC376 has nanomolar K i values with the M pro from both SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV strains. Restoring enzymatic activity after inhibition by GC376 demonstrates reversible binding with both proteases. In addition, the stability and thermodynamic parameters of both proteases were studied to shed light on physical chemical properties of these viral enzymes, revealing higher stability for SARS-CoV-2 M pro . The comparison of a new X-ray crystal structure of M pro from SARS-CoV complexed with GC376 reveals similar molecular mechanism of inhibition compared to SARS-CoV-2 M pro , and gives insight into the broad specificity properties of this drug. In both structures, we observe domain swapping of the N-termini in the dimer of the M pro , which facilitates coordination of the drug's P1 position. These results validate that GC376 is a drug with an off-rate suitable for clinical trials., Competing Interests: Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Zoonotic cases of Plasmodium knowlesi account for most malaria cases in Malaysia, and humans infected with P. cynomolgi, another parasite of macaques have recently been reported in Sarawak. To date the epidemiology of malaria in its natural Macaca reservoir hosts remains little investigated. In this study we surveyed the prevalence of simian malaria in wild macaques of three states in Peninsular Malaysia, namely Pahang, Perak and Johor using blood samples from 103 wild macaques (collected by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia) subjected to microscopic examination and nested PCR targeting the Plasmodium small subunit ribosomal RNA gene. As expected, PCR analysis yielded significantly higher prevalence (64/103) as compared to microscopic examination (27/103). No relationship between the age and/or sex of the macaques with the parasitaemia and the Plasmodium species infecting the macaques could be identified. Wild macaques in Pahang had the highest prevalence of Plasmodium parasites (89.7%), followed by those of Perak (69.2%) and Johor (28.9%). Plasmodium inui and P. cynomolgi were the two most prevalent species infecting the macaques from all three states. Half of the macaques (33/64) harboured two or more Plasmodium species. These data provide a baseline survey, which should be extended by further longitudinal investigations that should be associated with studies on the bionomics of the anopheline vectors. This information will allow an accurate evaluation of the risk of zoonotic transmission to humans, and to elaborate effective strategies to control simian malaria., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Soil pollution with heavy metals has become a common problem in agricultural ecosystems and poses a threat to food safety and human health. Intercropping is now considered a promising alternative to address this issue. However, our understandings about the influences of intercropping systems on rhizosphere microbiota composition and their association with plant performance are still limited. In this study, rhizobox microcosm experiments were conducted to investigate the influence of cropping regimes (i.e. monoculture and intercropping) on the rhizosphere bacterial microbiota and their linkages with the phytoextraction of cadmium (Cd) by Zhongyouza 19 (Brassica napus L.), Xikou Huazi (Brassica juncea L.) and Sedum alfredii using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Cadmium accumulation in shoots of B. napus and B. juncea grown under intercropping were enhanced by 370% and 27.8% respectively, as compared to monoculture. Soil compartmentation as a major determinant explained 57.6% of the rhizosphere bacterial microbiota variation, whereas plant species and cropping regime accounted for 26.4% of the variation. The overall abundance of the taxa was Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi, Verrucomicrobia, and Actinobacteria. Intercropping significantly enriched amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) abundance belonging to Actinobacteria, Bacilli, Deltaproteobacteria while depleting that of Acidobacteria in rhizosphere. Intercropping with S. alfredii influenced more on microbial composition of B. napus rhizosphere. The change in rhizosphere bacterial communities was related to metal availability, soil properties, and plant parameters. The enriched families of Pedosphaeraceae, Ruminococcaceae, Chitinophagaceae, Gemmatimonadaceae, Nitrosomonadaceae, and Parachlamydiaceae were positively correlated with metal concentration in plants. These results indicate that S. alfredii and oilseed rape intercropping could be a promising approach for enhancing the remediation of Cd contaminated soil. Understanding the complex plant-microbe-metal interactions of intercropping system could facilitate the development of remediation strategy for phytoremediation of contaminated soils and sustainable agricultural production., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Direct discharge of untreated industrial waste water in water bodies and then irrigation from these sources has increased trace metals contamination in paddy fields of southern China. Among trace metals, cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) are classified as most harmful contaminants in farmland to many organisms including plants, animals and humans. Rice is a staple food which is consumed by half population of the world; due to longer growth period it can easily absorb and accumulate the trace metals from soil. The objective of study was to check the efficacy of Se and Si NPs (nanoparticles) alone or in combination on metals accumulation and Se-fortified rice (Oryzasativa L.) production as their efficiency remained untested. Alone as well as combined application of Se- and Si-NPs (5, 10 and 20 mg L - 1 ) was achieved along with CK. All the treatments significantly reduced the Cd and Pb contents in brown rice, except CK, Se3, Si1 and Se1Si3. Combined application of Se and Si (Se3Si2) was more effective in reducing the Cd and Pb contents by 62 and 52%, respectively. In addition, foliar application of both NPs improved the rice growth and quality by increasing the grain yield, rice biomass, and Se contents in brown rice. Highest concentration of Se (1.35 mg kg - 1 ) in brown rice was observed with combined application of Se- and Si-Nps (Se3Si2). Selenium speciation revealed the presence of organic species (74%) in brown rice. The combinations of different doses of Se- and Si-Nps are the main determining factor for total concentration of metals in grains. These results demonstrate that foliage supplementation of Se and Si-Nps alleviate the Cd and Pb toxicity by reducing the metals' concentration in brown rice. Additionally foliage supplementation improved the nutritional quality by reducing the phytic acid contents in rice grains., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This study investigates the major chemical components, particle-bound water content, acidity (pH), and major potential sources of PM 2.5 in major cities (Belluno, Conegliano, Vicenza, Mestre, Padua, and Rovigo) in the eastern end of the Po Valley. The measured PM 2.5 mass was reconstructed using a multiple-site hybrid chemical mass closure approach that also accounts for aerosol inorganic water content (AWC) estimated by the ISORROPIA-II model. Annually, organic matter accounted for 31-45% of the PM 2.5 at all sites, followed by nitrate (10-19%), crustal material (10-14%), sulfate (8-10%), ammonium (5-9%), elemental carbon (4-7%), other inorganic ions (3-4%), and trace elements (0.2-0.3%). Water represented 7-10% of measured PM 2.5 . The ambient aerosol pH varied from 1.5 to 4.5 with lower values in summer (average in all sites 2.2 ± 0.3) and higher in winter (3.9 ± 0.3). Six major PM 2.5 sources were quantitatively identified with multiple-site positive matrix factorization: secondary sulfate (34% of PM 2.5 ), secondary nitrate (30%), biomass burning (17%), traffic (11%), re-suspended dust (5%), and fossil fuel combustion (3%). Biomass burning accounted for ~90% of total PAHs. Inorganic aerosol acidity was driven primarily by secondary sulfate, fossil fuel combustion (decreasing pH), secondary nitrate, and biomass burning (increasing pH). Secondary nitrate was the primary driver of the inorganic AWC variability. A concentration-weighted trajectory (multiple-site) analysis was used to identify potential source areas for the various factors and modeled aerosol acidity. Eastern and Central Europe were the main source areas of secondary species. Less acidic aerosol was associated with air masses originating from Northern Europe owing to the elevated presence of the nitrate factor. More acidic particles were observed for air masses traversing the Po Valley and the Mediterranean, possibly due to the higher contributions of fossil fuel combustion factor and the loss of nitric acid due to its interaction with coarse sea-salt particles., (Copyright © 2019 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Forty oilseed sunflower cultivars were screened in two soil types for phytoremediation of Cd coupled with maximum biomass yield and oil production. Several cultivars exhibited a significant difference in biomass and yield with enhanced uptake in shoots and low accumulation in roots from two Cd-contaminated soil types, an Oxisol and an Iceptisol. The Transfer Factor of Cd was >1 in several cultivars in both soil types, where as a significant difference in phytoextraction of Cd was observed in the Oxisol (acidic soil), greater than in the Inceptisol (alkaline soil). The results revealed that of the 40 cultivars, S9178, Huanong 667in the Oxisol and cvs. DW 667, HN 667, Huanong 667 and 668F1 in the Inceptisol showed a high biomass, better yield and enhanced accumulation of Cd in the shoots but a lesser accumulation in oil. The screened cultivar S 9178 produced the greatest amount of oil (55.6%) with 77% oleic acid, which makes it suitable for human consumption. Cultivar Huanong 667 was found to be the highest accumulating cultivar in both soil types. It is therefore suggested that some sunflower cultivars do exhibit phytoremediation potential together with agro-production potential., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Impact of different biochars supplemented (10% w/w) to promote vermicomposting of sewage sludge (SS) and kitchen waste (KW) mixture (SS + KW, 70:30) was studied on the growth, reproduction and survival of earthworms, and ultimately the quality of vermicompost. Four types of biochar used as secondary material for preincubation (16 days) and vermicomposting (30 days) were: pine tree biochar (PTB), poplar plant biochar (PPB), wetland plant biochar (WPB) and yard waste biochar (YWB). Preincubation and vermicomposting of biomass mixture were undertaken in 60 L and 2 L capacity round-shaped bioreactors, respectively. Samples of biomass undergoing degradation were drawn after every 2 days during preincubation and with 5 days interval during vermicomposting to analyze them for plant nutrients and heavy metals contents. Amendment of vermicompost substrate (SS + KW) with biochars; PTB, PPB, WPB and YWB increased the reproduction rate of earthworms (Eisenia fetida) by 44.6, 53.9, 29.3 and 38.8%, respectively as compared to control (no biochar, NB). There has been significant reduction in total content of Cd (0.2-5.1%), Cr (7.3-10.8%), Cu (3.1-7.4%), Mn (3.2-8.4%), Pb (9.0-45.9%) and Zn (1.1-5.7%) by the application of different biochars as compared to NB after vermicomposting. The SEM/EDS images also reflected reduced concentration of these heavy metals in the final vermicompost as compared to initial mixtures. Progressively, biochar amendments increased the concentration of all macronutrients, viz., TN (15.8-31.0%), TP (8.6-9.9%), TK (2.8-17.3%), Ca (4.1-9.9%) and Mg (0.8-12.2%); while, reduced the pH (1.9-2.3%), content of Na (6.6-22.3%), TOC (6.6-15.4%), OM (5.0-8.2%) and C:N ratio (2.6-18.9%). Earthworm body accumulation factor (BAF) of heavy metals was: Cd > Zn > Pb > Cu > Mn > Cr at the termination stage of experiment. In conclusion, amending the SS + KW mixture with 10% (w/w) PPB for vermicomposting rendered higher count of cocoons, growth rate and reproduction rate of earthworms, which ultimately produce nutrients-rich vermicompost lower in heavy metals., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Human activities have generated large quantities of microplastics that can be consumed by filter-feeding organisms as potential food sources. As a result, organisms may experience marked reductions in growth and/or health. To date there has been no investigations connecting microplastics (MPs) with the critically important ribbed mussel Geukensia demissa. Here we examined MP abundances within a bed of G. demissa in New Jersey. Results indicate that MP densities ranged between 11,000-50,000 pieces/m 2 . The abundance of larger MPs (5 mm ≥ 1 mm) did not vary among sampling sites while the smaller MPs (<1 mm) abundances did vary between sampling sites. These smaller MPs also accounted for 79% of MPs recovered from these sites. Based on the higher abundance of smaller MPs, we also investigated MP ingestion/rejection in a laboratory setting. These results confirmed that ribbed mussels can ingest MPs with negative consequences for the buoyancy of plastics rejected in feces and pseudofeces., (Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Inflammation is an important mediator of secondary neurological injury after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Endocannabinoids, endogenously produced arachidonate based lipids, have recently emerged as powerful anti-inflammatory compounds, yet the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying these effects are poorly defined. Endocannabinoids are physiological ligands for two known cannabinoid receptors, CB1R and CB2R. In the present study, we hypothesized that selective activation of CB2R attenuates neuroinflammation and reduces neurovascular injury after TBI. Using a murine controlled cortical impact (CCI) model of TBI, we observed a dramatic upregulation of CB2R within infiltrating myeloid cells beginning at 72 h. Administration of the selective CB2R agonist, GP1a (1-5 mg/kg), attenuated pro-inflammatory M1 macrophage polarization, increased anti-inflammatory M2 polarization, reduced edema development, enhanced cerebral blood flow, and improved neurobehavioral outcomes after TBI. In contrast, the CB2R antagonist, AM630, worsened outcomes. Taken together, our findings support the development of selective CB2R agonists as a therapeutic strategy to improve TBI outcomes while avoiding the psychoactive effects of CB1R activation., (Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Organic and elemental carbon (OC-EC) were measured in 360 PM2.5 samples collected from April 2012 to February 2013 at six provinces in the Veneto region, to determine the factors affecting the carbonaceous aerosol variations. The 60 daily samples have been collected simultaneously in all sites during 10 consecutive days for 6 months (April, June, August, October, December and February). OC ranged from 0.98 to 22.34 μg/m(3), while the mean value was 5.5 μg/m(3), contributing 79% of total carbon. EC concentrations fluctuated from 0.19 to 11.90 μg/m(3) with an annual mean value of 1.31 μg/m(3) (19% of the total carbon). The monthly OC concentration gradually increased from April to December. The EC did not vary in accordance with OC. However the highest values for both parameters were recorded in the cold period. The mean OC/EC ratio is 4.54, which is higher than the values observed in most of the other European cities. The secondary organic carbon (SOC) contributed for 69% of the total OC and this was confirmed by both the approaches OC/EC minimum ratio and regression. The results show that OC, EC and SOC exhibited higher concentration during winter months in all measurement sites, suggesting that the stable atmosphere and lower mixing play important role for the accumulation of air pollutant and hasten the condensation or adsorption of volatile organic compounds over the Veneto region. Significant meteorological factors controlling OC and EC were investigated by fitting linear models and using a robust procedure based on weighted likelihood, suggesting that low wind speed and temperature favour accumulation of emissions from local sources. Conditional probability function and conditional bivariate probability function plots indicate that both biomass burning and vehicular traffic are probably the main local sources for carbonaceous particulate matter emissions in two selected cities., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: During cranioplasty after decompressive craniectomy, the temporalis muscle is firmly attached to the dural patch and intermixed with fibrotic tissue leading to considerable difficulty in dissecting the plane between the dura, galea and the temporalis muscle. This leads to increased surgical time, intraoperative blood loss, risk of complications and also affects rehabilitation. We have developed the "dhaga technique," which aids in preserving the plane between the muscle and dura in order to improve outcomes. Here we describe our technique and also compare the "dhaga technique" with the generally accepted standard procedure., Methods: A retrospective review was carried out of all patients undergoing cranioplasty following decompressive craniectomy either through the "dhaga technique" or the institutional standard (control group). Both techniques were compared using intra operative blood loss, duration of surgery and any complications as study variables., Results: There were 133 patients were included in the study. The control group included 68 patients who underwent the procedure according to institutional standard, and 65 patients were included in the "dhaga technique group." Both groups were well matched for baseline characteristics. Patients in the "dhaga technique" group had statistically significant lower operating time (P value = 0.037) and intra operative blood loss (P value = 0.025). However, there was no significant difference in complications., Conclusion: The utilization of "dhaga technique" can potentially improve outcomes and reduce costs by decreasing operative time and blood loss. Moreover, the temporalis muscle preservation in the "dhaga technique" may also enhance aesthetic outcomes and chewing, which were not assessed in this study. There were no differences in complication between the two techniques., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Civilian craniocerebral gunshot injuries (CGIs) are rare but increasing in incidence in the developing world and there is scare literature on presentation, injury characteristics, prognostic indicators, and complications of brain trauma due to projectiles., Methods: A retrospective review of 51 civilian patients with CGI who presented to the Aga Khan University Hospital between 1998 and 2011 was carried out. Presentation, injury characteristics, and complications were analyzed with emphasis on outcomes and prognostic indicators., Results: There were 43 male and 8 female patients with an average age of 28.92 (±12.33) years. Twenty-three patients had a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of 13-15, 6 patients had a GCS score of 9-12, and 22 patients had a GCS score of 3-8 on admission. The overall mortality rate was 22% (n = 11). The most common postoperative neurologic deficits were motor deficits (19 patients) followed by aphasias (11 patients). On univariate analysis, admission GCS score and bi- or multilobar injuries were found to be highly predictive of neurologic outcome. There was no difference in outcomes between penetrating and perforating injuries. We also failed to find a statistically significant correlation between ventricular injury and outcomes in our patients., Conclusion: Admission GCS and number of lobes involved are highly prognostic of outcome. Patients with a GCS score ≥9 and unilobar injury on computed tomographic scans may benefit the most from surgical management., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Restoration of blood flow to an ischemic brain region is associated with generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) with consequent reperfusion injury. ROS cause lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation, and DNA damage, all of which are deleterious to cells. So diminishing the production of free radicals and scavenging them may be a successful therapeutic strategy for the protection of brain tissue in cerebral stroke. The present study investigated the neuroprotective effect of sesamin (Sn) to reduce brain injury after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). The middle cerebral artery (MCA) of adult male Wistar rat was occluded for 2h and reperfused for 22h. Sesamin is the most abundant lignan in sesame seed oil is a potent antioxidant. Sesamin (30 mg/kg) was given orally twice, 30 min before the onset of ischemia and 12h after reperfusion. The initial investigations revealed that sesamin reduced the neurological deficits in terms of behavior and reduced the level of thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS), and protein carbonyl (PC) in the different areas of the brain when compared with the MCAO group. A significantly depleted level of glutathione and its dependent enzymes (glutathione peroxidase [GPx] and glutathione reductase [GR]) in MCAO group were protected significantly in MCAO group treated with sesamin. The present study suggests that sesamin may be able to attenuate the ischemic cell death and plays a crucial role as a neuroprotectant in regulating levels of reactive oxygen species in the rat brain. Thus, sesamin may be a potential compound in stroke therapy.

Shape memory polyurethanes (SMPUs) were prepared from polycaprolactone diol 4000 (PCL 4000), 1,4-butanediol (BDO), chitin, dimethylol propionic acid (DMPA), triethylamine (TEA) and 4,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), and the structures of the synthesized materials were verified by infrared spectroscopy. The effects of chitin and DMPA contents in the polyurethane formulation on surface properties were investigated. DMPA provides function of making hydrophilic polyurethanes. The crystalline structure of chitin enhanced the hydrophobicity of the synthesized materials. Contact angle, water absorption, surface free energy, work of water adhesion and swelling behavior of the synthesized polyurethanes were affected by varying the DMPA and chitin contents. The interactions of the PU films with solvents on the surface were clearly related to the contents of DMPA and chitin in the final polyurethane formulation.

Recent evidence indicates that curcumin (CUR), the principal curcuminoid of turmeric, exhibits antioxidant potential and protects the brain against various oxidative stressors. The aim of the present study was to examine the modulating impacts of CUR against cognitive deficits and oxidative damage in intracerebroventricular-streptozotocin (ICV-STZ) infused rats. Rats were injected bilaterally with ICV-STZ (3 mg/kg), while sham rats received the same volume of vehicle and then supplemented with CUR (80 mg/kg) for three weeks. After two weeks of ICV-STZ infusion, rats were tested for cognitive performance using passive avoidance and water maze tasks and then sacrificed for biochemical and histopathological assays. ICV-STZ rats showed significant cognitive deficits, which were significantly improved by CUR supplementation. CUR supplementation significantly augmented increased 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) and malonaldehyde (MDA), thiobarbituric reactive substances (TBARS), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), protein carbonyl (PC) and oxidized glutathione (GSSG); decreased levels of reduced glutathione (GSH) and its dependent enzymes (Glutathione peroxidase [GPx] and glutathione reductase [GR]) in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex; and increased choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity in the hippocampus of ICV-STZ rats. The study suggests that CUR is effective in preventing cognitive deficits, and might be beneficial for the treatment of sporadic dementia of Alzheimer's type (SDAT).

Oxidative stress may be regarded as an imbalance between free radical production and opposing antioxidant defenses. Free radical oxidative stress is implicated in rat cerebral ischemia and naturaceutical antioxidants are dietary supplements that have been reported to have neuroprotective activity. Many studies have reported dietary sesame oil (SO) as an effective antioxidant. In the present study the neuroprotective effect of dietary SO was evaluated against middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO)-induced cerebral ischemia injury in rats. Rats were fed on diet (20% SO) for 15 days. The middle cerebral artery of adult male Wistar rat was occluded for 2 h and reperfused for 22 h. The antioxidant properties of brain were measured as levels of reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), glutathione peroxide (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS). A decrease in the activity of all the enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants was observed along with an increase in lipid peroxidation (LPO) in MCAO group. The neurobehavioral activity of rats was also observed by using videopath analyzer. Dietary SO improved the antioxidant status in MCAO+SO group when compared with MCAO group. The results of neurobehavioral activity also support our biochemical data. The results obtained suggest protective effect of SO against cerebral ischemia in rat brain through their antioxidant properties.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the commonest neurodegenerative diseases, and oxidative stress has been evidenced to play a vital role in its causation. In the present study, we evaluated whether ethanolic extract of Nardostachys jatamansi roots (ENj), an antioxidant and enhancer of biogenic amines, can slow the neuronal injury in a 6-OHDA-rat model of Parkinson's. Rats were treated with 200, 400, and 600 mg/kg body weight of ENj for 3 weeks. On day 21, 2 microl of 6-OHDA (12 microg in 0.01% in ascorbic acid-saline) was infused into the right striatum, while the sham-operated group received 2 microl of vehicle. Three weeks after the 6-OHDA injection, the rats were tested for neurobehavioural activity and were sacrificed after 6 weeks for the estimation of lipid peroxidation, reduced glutathione content, the activities of glutathione-S-transferase, glutathione reductase, glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase and catalase, quantification of catecholamines, dopaminergic D2 receptor binding and tyrosine hydroxylase expression. The increase in drug-induced rotations and deficits in locomotor activity and muscular coordination due to 6-OHDA injections were significantly and dose-dependently restored by ENj. Lesioning was followed by an increased lipid peroxidation and significant depletion of reduced glutathione content in the substantia nigra, which was prevented with ENj pretreatment. The activities of glutathione-dependent enzymes, catalase and superoxide dismutase in striatum, which were reduced significantly by lesioning, were dose-dependently restored by ENj. A significant decrease in the level of dopamine and its metabolites and an increase in the number of dopaminergic D2 receptors in striatum were observed after 6-OHDA injection, and both were significantly recovered following ENj treatment. All of these results were exhibited by an increased density of tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactive (TH-IR) fibers in the ipsilateral striatum of the lesioned rats following treatment with ENj; 6-OHDA injection had induced almost a complete loss of TH-IR fibers. This study indicates that the extract of Jatamansi might be helpful in attenuating Parkinsonism.