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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has brought an unprecedented upheaval in our health-care systems. Amongst the many challenges posed by the disease, increased risk of thromboembolism has presented a distinct new front for increased mortality and morbidity. While there are multiple documented evidences for the same, the exact mechanism, knowledge of groups at-risk, and mitigation strategies are evolving. We present a case of a young individual who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), was started on appropriate chemotherapy, and subsequently developed severe COVID-19 pneumonia. He was treated for COVID-19 pneumonia and recovered from the illness. However, his recovery from COVID-19 was further complicated by cortical venous sinus thrombosis (CVT). Contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (CEMRI) brain and magnetic resonance venography (MRV) revealed the diagnosis of CVT with hemorrhagic parenchymal changes. He was managed with therapeutic anticoagulation and cerebral decongestants and was subsequently shifted to oral anticoagulant therapy. While the case was managed at a tertiary care setting, it opened up the question of identifying the high-risk groups and to formulate guidelines for extended thromboprophylaxis in these patients.

Elderly people and people with co-morbidities have emerged as the most vulnerable group at risk of developing complications and succumbing to novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection. We recorded the baseline demographic profile, baseline clinical and laboratory parameters, and prevalence of various co-morbidities and their effect on the prognosis of COVID-19 cases. We conducted a prospective observational study and analyzed baseline clinical and laboratory parameters and co-morbidities and their effect on severity and mortality in 710 COVID-19 cases. Seven hundred ten patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 were recruited from the 28th of March to the 31st of August 2020. The mean age was 48.4 ± 16.4years. A total of 530 (74.6%) patients were male. Overall, the mean length of hospital stay was 12.7 days. In total, 645 patients(90.8%) were mild to moderate cases and did not require initial ICU care. Sixty-five (9.2%) cases required initial intensive care unit care. Fifty (7%) admitted patients succumbed to the illness. Diabetes mellitus and hypertension increased the risk of death in COVID-19 patients irrespective of age. Increasing age and co-morbidities adversely affect the prognosis of patients of COVID-19. Diabetes mellitus and hypertension increase the risk of death in COVID-19 patients and negate the incremental effect of age on death in these patients.

In the contemporary research, biological computational tools have emerged to play a pivotal role in facilitating both cost and time efficient research in several domains of biology. One such domain is addressing the prevailing food allergy issues, where these computational tools have been proven of vital importance. Different tools use different mathematical modelling methods and computational algorithms to predict the result. Due to use of different methodologies in prediction of result the results received by various servers needs to be evaluated for similarity. In the present study, we discuss the identification of IgE binding allergy causing B-Cell epitopes of wheat (Triticum aestivum) allergens, namely ‘Tri a 14’, ‘Tri a 18’, ‘Tri a 19’, ‘Tri a 25’, ‘Tri a 26’, ‘Tri a 36’ and ‘Tri a 37’. Using total seven web servers (ABCPred, ElliPro, BepiPred 1.0b, BcePred, BCPred, CBTOPE and Disco Tope 2.0) 59 linear epitopes and 8 conformational epitopes were predicted in present study. Numbers of linear and conformational epitopes predicted by majority of employed web servers are shown in result. The predicted epitopes are analysed in terms of residues having hydrophilicity, polar nature and having exposed surface. In case of unavailability of suitable structure, in-silico homology modelling has been employed. Cross reactivity of T. aestivum with other food items has also been studied.

The importance of this study is the efficacy of “symptoms only” approach at a screening clinic for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) diagnosis in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) setting. The objective of this study was to assess how efficiently primary care physicians at the screening clinic were able to predict whether a patient had COVID-19 or not, based on their symptom-based assessment alone. The current study is a cross-sectional retrospective observational study. This study was conducted at a single-center, tertiary care setting with a dedicated COVID-19 facility in a metropolitan city in eastern India. Participants are all suspected COVID-19 patients who presented themselves to this center during the outbreak from 1 August 2020 to 30 August 2020. Patients were referred to the Cough Clinic from the various outpatient departments of the hospital or from smaller satellite centers located in different parts of the city and other dependent geographical areas. The main outcome(s) and measure(s) is to study whether outcome of confirmatory test results can be predicted accurately by history taking alone. From 01 August 2020 to 30 Aug 2020, 511 patients with at least one symptom suggestive of COVID-19 reported to screening clinic. Out of these, 65.4% were males and 34.6% were females. Median age was 45 years with range being 01 to 92 years. Fever was seen in 70.4% while cough was present in 22% of cases. Overall positivity for SARS-CoV-2 during this period in this group was 54.21%. At 50% pre-test probability, the sensitivity of trained doctors working at the clinic, in predicting positive cases based on symptoms alone, was approximately 74.7%, and specificity for the same was 58.12%. The positive predictive value of the doctors’ assessment was 67.87%, and the negative predictive value was 66.02%. Rapid triaging for confirmatory diagnosis of COVID-19 is feasible at screening clinic based on history taking alone by training of primary care physicians. This is particularly relevant in LMIC with scarce healthcare resources to overcome COVID-19 pandemic.

Cryptococcosis is a potentially fatal fungal disease which has aggrandized with the emergence of AIDS and antifungal resistance. The currently used antifungals lack the broad-spectrum activity and result in several toxicities during long treatment regimens. Thus, the present study aims to evaluate the antifungal activity of cinnamaldehyde against Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii, the etiological agent of the disease. Quantitative and qualitative in vitro fungal susceptibilities were carried out by minimum inhibitory concentration assay, flow cytometric analysis, and confocal microscopy. Micromorphological alterations were studied through scanning electron and light microscopies. "In vivo" antifungal efficacy of cinnamaldehyde was assessed. Cinnamaldehyde showed antifungal activity against C. neoformans in a dose-dependent manner. A concentration of 1.37 mg/mL of cinnamaldehyde was found to be inhibitory and fungicidal while the low concentration (0.68 mg/mL) was found to induce micromorphological changes and formation of giant/titan-like cells in this pathogen. The reparative activity of cinnamaldehyde and its ability to prolong the life even after the advent of cryptococcal meningitis in mice was also noticed. This study suggests potent anti-cryptococcal activity of cinnamaldehyde. Though, it has a couple of limitations like allergy and low bioavailability. However, these problems can be circumvented by developing suitable analogs of the compound. It, therefore, could be used as a therapeutic option against cryptococcosis and cryptococcal meningitis. Moreover, the evaluation of its pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties is desirable.

In the present work, NiO nanoparticles are synthesized using chemical co-precipitation method which is an easy and cost-effective approach. Aqueous solutions of the precursors containing Ni(NO3)2.6H2O and NaOH pellets are calcined at 300 °C for 2 h. The structural, morphological, compositional, optical study, and thermal analysis of the synthesized powdered product was investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), UV–vis absorption spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermo-gravimetric analysis. FTIR study shows the presence of functional groups in the synthesized NiO nanoparticles. The powder XRD pattern along with Rietveld refinement data reveals that the prepared sample is NiO with face-centered cubic (fcc) structure (Fm-3 m space group) having average crystallite size ranging from 4 to 6 nm. The optical band gap of the synthesized NiO nanoparticles (estimated from Tauc’s plot) is found to be ~ 3.20 eV which is less than the bulk NiO clearly showing red shift. This could be attributed due to the presence of chemical defects or vacancies resulting in the formation of some trap states.

Exchange coupled structures of half metallic ferromagnets, Heusler Alloy (FM), Co2FeAl (CFA) and antiferromagnet (AF), NiO were fabricated by electron beam evaporation technique on n- and p-type Si substrates. These fabricated bilayer structures were further characterized for structural, morphological and magnetic point of views using x-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic/magnetic force microscopy (AFM/MFM) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) techniques. Structural study shows the presence of CFA alloy and NiO phase. Surface morphology shows the granular feature of the top surface with grain size of 200–300 nm due to clustering of smaller grains. Smaller sized magnetic domains have been observed for the structures. Hysteresis behaviour of NiO/CFA/Si structures shows the ferromagnetic behaviour for in-plane orientation with negligible exchange bias whereas a significant exchange bias for out of plane orientation has been observed. The observed result could be understood due to surface roughness and arrangements of spins near the interface of ferromagnetic and anti-ferromagnetic layers.

PURPOSE: We investigated if substitutions in the ERCC1, ERCC2, and XRCC1 genes of the DNA repair pathway correlate with non-obstructive azoospermia and male infertility. METHODS: A total of 548 azoospermic infertile males and 410 fertile controls were genotyped for XRCC1 399A > G, 280G > A, and ERCC1 C > A 3′ UTR and 541 azoospermic infertile males and 416 fertile controls were genotyped for ERCC2 751A > C using iPLEX Gold Assay. Meta-analyses were performed on XRCC1 399A > G (1022 cases and 1004 controls), ERCC1 C > A 3′ UTR (879 cases and 1059 controls), and ERCC2 751A > C (914 cases and 850 controls) polymorphisms to quantitatively estimate the significance of the association between these polymorphisms and the risk of infertility. RESULTS: Statistically significant association between ERCC2 751A > C SNP and male infertility was found using the codominant model (p = 0.03). Results of meta-analysis suggested a lack of correlation with male infertility risk, which could be due to pooling of studies from different ethnic populations. Due to limited the number of studies, a stratified analysis for different ethnic groups could not be performed. CONCLUSION (S): In conclusion, AA genotype of 751A > C SNP in ERCC2 correlated with a higher risk of male infertility and may contribute to an increased risk of azoospermia and male infertility in Indian men. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s10815-018-1339-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

NiO thin film on p- and n-type Si (100) substrates were fabricated by electron beam evaporation technique and studied by structural, morphological, magnetic and magneto-electronic transport characterization techniques. The room temperature interfacial chemistry across the interfaces is found to affect the morphology, transport and magnetic behaviour of the structures. Structural study has shown the presence of magnetic nickel silicide phases along with some metallic phases as a result of interfacial intermixing. Isolated nano-granular features of magnetic grains along with the presence of clustered grains are observed. Strong magnetic signal strength is observed for NiO/nSi structure as compared to the interface on pSi substrate which suggests the formation of more magnetic silicide phases resulting in a higher magnetization value with increased coercivity. Magnetization characteristics of the NiO thin films on Si substrates have shown a nearly superparamagnetic behaviour with weak ferromagnetic contribution as compared to bulk antiferromagnetic nature of NiO. Electronic transport study measured across NiO/nSi interface have shown the enhancement in conductivity up to 2–3 orders of magnitude than for NiO film on pSi substrate with significant magnetic field sensitivity. Magnetic field induced enhanced current has been observed for NiO/nSi structure which is related to the magnetic field response of magnetic grains (of nickel silicide phases) or isolated magnetic clusters favouring the paths for spin alignment or spin-dependent scattering resulting in a negative magnetoresistance of ~50 %.

Emerging drug resistance varieties and hyper-virulent strains of microorganisms have compelled the scientific fraternity to develop more potent and less harmful therapeutics. Antimicrobial peptides could be one of such therapeutics. This review is an attempt to explore antifungal peptides naturally produced by prokaryotes as well as eukaryotes. They are components of innate immune system providing first line of defence against microbial attacks, especially in eukaryotes. The present article concentrates on types, structures, sources and mode of action of gene-encoded antifungal peptides such as mammalian defensins, protegrins, tritrpticins, histatins, lactoferricins, antifungal peptides derived from birds, amphibians, insects, fungi, bacteria and their synthetic analogues such as pexiganan, omiganan, echinocandins and Novexatin. In silico drug designing, a major revolution in the area of therapeutics, facilitates drug development by exploiting different bioinformatics tools. With this view, bioinformatics tools were used to visualize the structural details of antifungal peptides and to predict their level of similarity. Current practices and recent developments in this area have also been discussed briefly.

Exchange-coupled interfacial structures of Fe/NiO and NiO/Fe with pSi substrate have been studied and also the effect of swift heavy ion irradiation on the morphological, structural, transport and magnetic behaviour is reported. The interfacial structures have been characterised from X-ray diffraction (XRD), magnetic force microscopy/atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and magnetisation characteristics. XRD and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies have shown the formation of various silicide and oxide phases due to the interfacial intermixing across the interfaces which is found to affect the transport and magnetic behaviour. A significant enhancement in exchange bias field and coercivity has been observed for Fe/NiO/pSi interfacial structure on the irradiation (as compared to unirradiated ones). The observed enhanced exchange bias and coercivity on the irradiation has been understood due to creation of uncompensated surface/pinned interfacial spins. Magnetic field-induced enhanced current has been observed at low temperatures (50–250 K) for the irradiated structure suggesting the spin-mixing effect. Low temperature magneto-transport study across the irradiated interface has shown negative magnetoresistance (MR) as compared to unirradiated ones for which positive MR is observed. The observed change in MR at low temperatures has been understood in terms of diffuse scattering at grain boundaries/spin-disorder scattering and/or magnetic polarons. Role of interfacial modification/changes in chemical environment across the interfaces is invoked for the observed changes in magnetic and transport behaviour of the structures. A possible explanation for the observed changes is given.

Nanocrystallites of wurtzite hexagonal ZnS have been successfully synthesized without using any capping agent by simple chemical precipitation method at a low calcination temperature of 150 °C. It has been found that the size of the synthesized ZnS nanocrystallites decreases as Zn2+:S2− ratio is decreased. The synthesized nanoparticles have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV–vis absorption spectroscopy and M–H characteristics. The XRD patterns have confirmed that the prepared ZnS nanoparticles are of wurtzite hexagonal phase. XRD, SEM and TEM studies have shown the decrease in the particle size with the increase in S2− source. TEM images have clearly shown that size distribution of the particles lie in the range of 5–30 nm. The optical absorption bandgap of the synthesized nanocrystals has been found to be in the range of 3.69–3.74 eV. Magnetization study has shown the ‘diamagnetic’ behavior of synthesized ZnS nanocrystallites with a weak ferromagnetic behavior in the low field regime. The observed weak ferromagnetism has been understood due to the presence of defects in the synthesized ZnS nanoparticles.

Nanocrystalline NiO has been prepared successfully by a simple chemical route using NiCl2·6H2O and NaOH aqueous solution at a temperature of 70°C. The prepared material has been characterized from XRD, SEM, and M–H characteristics. It has been found that NiO nanocrystals have been formed which shows a superparamagnetic/superantiferromagnetic behaviour.