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Byline: R. Ragupathy (1), L. Nemeth (1), V. Kumaran (1), G. Rajamani (1), P. Krishnamoothy (1) Keywords: Congenital teratoma; Intrapericardial; Prenatal diagnosis; Surgical treatment Abstract: Congenital intrapericardial teratoma is a rare, usually benign tumour frequently associated with massive pericardial effusion, cardiac compression, and severe cardiorespiratory distress shortly after birth. Surgical removal is not only curative but also potentially lifesaving because these lesions often become fatal if not promptly excised. We present a case of a newborn with a huge intrapericardial teratoma diagnosed in utero. After normal delivery the infant underwent surgical removal and has had clinical follow-up for more than 11 months. Author Affiliation: (1) Department of Pediatric Surgery, Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, 71, Valluvar Street, Sivananda Colony, 641012, Coimbatore , Tamil Nadu, India Article History: Registration Date: 27/03/2003 Accepted Date: 07/05/2002 Online Date: 24/12/2003

Nanostructured Zinc oxide (ZnO) materials have attained exciting research interests among various metal oxide nanoparticles due to their unique features. Thus, the scope of applications for ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) is vast and efficient. The current study demonstrates a simple and environmental-friendly approach for the synthesis of ZnO NPs using the extract of the Scoparia Dulcis . Scoparia Dulcis is a common medicinal plant in Kerala (India) that is traditionally used for its medicinal properties. Morphological characterizations of the as-synthesized ZnO NPs were evaluated using X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The results revealed that ZnO NPs showed pebble-like morphology and possessed an average particle size of ~ 20 nm. Further, antibacterial and antifungal activities of as-prepared ZnO NPs were investigated against E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus , as well as Candida albicans, and Aspergillus niger, respectively, using the agar-well diffusion method. The results revealed that the prepared ZnO NPs shows excellent antimicrobial activity against the examined microorganisms. Moreover, the antioxidant activity of the as-synthesized ZnO NPs was evaluated using the DPPH assay, which indicated an excellent IC 50 value of 1.78 μg/mL that shows high antioxidant activity. All these results proved that the S. dulcis plant extract-mediated synthesis method is a simple, low-cost, eco-friendly procedure for preparing efficient ZnO NPs for biomedical applications., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors report no declaration of interest., (© King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology 2022, Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Flax (Linum usitatissimum L.), the richest crop source of omega-3 fatty acids (FAs), is a diploid plant with an estimated genome size of ~370 Mb and is well suited for studying genomic organization of agronomically important traits. In this study, 12 bacterial artificial chromosome clones harbouring the six FA desaturase loci sad1, sad2, fad2a, fad2b, fad3a and fad3b from the conventional variety CDC Bethune and the high linolenic acid line M5791 were sequenced, analysed and compared to determine the structural organization of these loci and to gain insights into the genetic mechanisms underlying FA composition in flax. With one gene every 3.2-4.6 kb, the desaturase loci have a higher gene density than the genome's average of one gene per 7.8-8.2 kb. The gene order and orientation across the two genotypes were generally conserved with the exception of the sad1 locus that was predicted to have additional genes in CDC Bethune. High sequence conservation in both genic and intergenic regions of the sad and fad2b loci contrasted with the significant level of variation of the fad2a and fad3 loci, with SNPs being the most frequently observed mutation type. The fad2a locus had 297 SNPs and 36 indels over ~95 kb contrasting with the fad2b locus that had a mere seven SNPs and four indels in ~110 kb. Annotation of the gene-rich loci revealed other genes of known role in lipid or carbohydrate metabolic/catabolic pathways. The organization of the fad2b locus was particularly complex with seven copies of the fad2b gene in both genotypes. The presence of Gypsy, Copia, MITE, Mutator, hAT and other novel repeat elements at the desaturase loci was similar to that of the whole genome. This structural genomic analysis provided some insights into the genomic organization and composition of the main desaturase loci of linseed and of their complex evolution through both tandem and whole genome duplications.

Three linkage maps of flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) were constructed from populations CDC Bethune/Macbeth, E1747/Viking and SP2047/UGG5-5 containing between 385 and 469 mapped markers each. The first consensus map of flax was constructed incorporating 770 markers based on 371 shared markers including 114 that were shared by all three populations and 257 shared between any two populations. The 15 linkage group map corresponds to the haploid number of chromosomes of this species. The marker order of the consensus map was largely collinear in all three individual maps but a few local inversions and marker rearrangements spanning short intervals were observed. Segregation distortion was present in all linkage groups which contained 1-52 markers displaying non-Mendelian segregation. The total length of the consensus genetic map is 1,551 cM with a mean marker density of 2.0 cM. A total of 670 markers were anchored to 204 of the 416 fingerprinted contigs of the physical map corresponding to ~274 Mb or 74 % of the estimated flax genome size of 370 Mb. This high resolution consensus map will be a resource for comparative genomics, genome organization, evolution studies and anchoring of the whole genome shotgun sequence.

Flax is an important oilseed crop in North America and is mostly grown as a fibre crop in Europe. As a self-pollinated diploid with a small estimated genome size of ~370 Mb, flax is well suited for fast progress in genomics. In the last few years, important genetic resources have been developed for this crop. Here, we describe the assessment and comparative analyses of 1,506 putative simple sequence repeats (SSRs) of which, 1,164 were derived from BAC-end sequences (BESs) and 342 from expressed sequence tags (ESTs). The SSRs were assessed on a panel of 16 flax accessions with 673 (58 %) and 145 (42 %) primer pairs being polymorphic in the BESs and ESTs, respectively. With 818 novel polymorphic SSR primer pairs reported in this study, the repertoire of available SSRs in flax has more than doubled from the combined total of 508 of all previous reports. Among nucleotide motifs, trinucleotides were the most abundant irrespective of the class, but dinucleotides were the most polymorphic. SSR length was also positively correlated with polymorphism. Two dinucleotide (AT/TA and AG/GA) and two trinucleotide (AAT/ATA/TAA and GAA/AGA/AAG) motifs and their iterations, different from those reported in many other crops, accounted for more than half of all the SSRs and were also more polymorphic (63.4 %) than the rest of the markers (42.7 %). This improved resource promises to be useful in genetic, quantitative trait loci (QTL) and association mapping as well as for anchoring the physical/genetic map with the whole genome shotgun reference sequence of flax.

Objective: To describe the listing of prescription entities (unique active agents only available on prescription) in standard reference texts that were licensed for children (0-18 years), in dosage forms suitable for children, and subsidised (Government funded) for children. Setting The United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand in 1998, 2002 and 2007., Method: A review of data from 1998, 2002, and 2007 using standard prescribing and subsidy reference sources in each country. The study examined all prescription entities, orally available entities, and entities newly licensed for children 2002-2007., Main Outcome Measure: Changes in the number of prescription entities that were licensed, suitably formulated and subsidised for children over the period. Results The United Kingdom had the highest number of prescription entities (1149 in 1998; 1049 in 2007), entities licensed for children (677; 564), entities suitably formulated for children (791; 676), and entities licensed for children and subsidised (677; 562) over the period. However, the numbers and proportions of entities licensed for children and suitably formulated for children decreased over the period of the study. New Zealand and Australia had lower numbers throughout the period, but the number of entities licensed for children (New Zealand 319-450, Australia 288-466) and entities licensed for children and subsidised (New Zealand 245-288, Australia 155-254) increased over the period., Conclusion: Over the period of the study, there was a decrease in listed prescription entities that were licensed for children in the United Kingdom, but an increase in Australia and New Zealand. There were considerably fewer entities licensed, suitably formulated and subsidised for children than for adults at all three time points and in all three countries. This reinforces the need for the current initiatives to improve access to medicines for children.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection-induced apoptosis of infected CD4 T cells as well as uninfected (bystander) CD4 T cells and other types of cells is a major factor in the pathogenesis of AIDS. Clinically, HIV-2 patients have a higher CD4 cell count at the time of an AIDS diagnosis, and generally have longer survival after development of symptoms. The mortality after an AIDS diagnosis has been reported to be more influenced by CD4 cell count than HIV type. Previous studies have shown significant variations in cytopathic effects following in vitro infection with primary isolates of HIV-1 or HIV-2 subtypes; however, the relative contributions of HIV-1 and HIV-2 infection leading to cell death remain unclear. Using a human cell line, Jurkat, we examined differences in key molecules involved in apoptotic signaling pathways during infection with either HIV-1 or HIV-2. HIV-1 infection generated more reactive oxygen species (ROS), increased the expression of a larger number of molecules involved in cell signaling such as p47, p38alpha, JNK, c-Yes, total PKC, and decreased the expression of molecules such as p38beta, ERK1/2, and XIAP relative to HIV-2 infection. HIV-1 induced a higher degree of cell death through stronger activation of both apoptotic pathways. HIV-1 infection downregulated both Bcl-X(L) and FLIP expressions at later time points postinfection, while HIV-2 infection dramatically upregulated both Bcl-X(L) and FLIP expression. We also found that the expression of Bcl-X(L) or FLIP resulted in significant inhibition of HIV replication in Jurkat cells. These findings suggest that HIV-1 infection with high levels of cytotoxicity results in a higher level of cell death through apoptosis during a short time postinfection. The longer period of infection observed with HIV-2 with a lower degree of cytotoxicity was accompanied by increased Bcl-X(L) and FLIP expression. High protein levels of Bcl-X(L) or FLIP inhibit HIV replication and may be one explanation for the clinical observation that HIV-2 infected patients generally tend to be long-term nonprogressors with high CD4 lymphocyte counts compared with HIV-1 infected persons.

Sequencing of a BAC clone encompassing the Glu-B1 locus in Glenlea, revealed a 10.3 Kb segmental duplication including the Bx7 gene and flanking an LTR retroelement. To better understand the evolution of this locus, two collections of wheat were surveyed. The first consisted of 96 diploid and tetraploid species accessions while the second consisted of 316 Triticum aestivum cultivars and landraces from 41 countries. The genotypes were first characterized by SDS-PAGE and a total of 40 of the 316 T. aestivum accessions were found to display the overexpressed Bx7 phenotype (Bx7OE). Three lines from the 96 diploid/tetraploid collection also displayed the stronger intensity staining characteristic of the Bx7(OE) subunit. The relative amounts of the Bx7 subunit to total HMW-GS were quantified by RP-HPLC for all Bx7OE accessions and a number of checks. The entire collection was assessed for the presence of four DNA markers namely an 18 bp indel of the coding region of Bx7 variant alleles, a 43 bp indel of the 5'-region and the left and right junctions of the LTR retrotransposon borders and the duplicated segment. All 43 accessions found to have the Bx7OE subunit by SDS-PAGE and RP-HPLC produced the four diagnostic PCR amplicons. None of the lines without the Bx7OE had the LTR retroelement/duplication genomic structure. However, the 18 and 43 bp indel were found in accessions other than Bx7OE. These results indicate that the overexpression of the Bx7 HMW-GS is likely the result of a single event, i.e., a gene duplication at the Glu-B1 locus mediated by the insertion of a retroelement. Also, the 18 and 43 bp indels pre-date the duplication event. Allelic variants Bx7*, Bx7 with and without 43 bp insert and Bx7OE were found in both tetraploid and hexaploid collections and shared the same genomic organization. Though the possibility of introgression from T. aestivum to T. turgidum cannot be ruled out, the three structural genomic changes of the B-genome taken together support the hypothesis of multiple polyploidization events involving different tetraploid progenitors.