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ABSTRACT: Background: Breastfeeding is an important determinant of child survival. Breastfeeding practices vary throughout the nation. Objectives: To assess the breastfeeding practices and the knowledge of recently delivered mothers regarding breastfeeding practices. Materials and Methods: This community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among women who had delivered in the Moradabad region of Uttar Pradesh last year. A total of 423 households was divided between the six community health blocks according to probability sampling. A predesigned and pretested structured questionnaire was utilized to collect data. Knowledge scores were calculated. Results: The majority of respondents had the correct knowledge about breastfeeding immediately after birth (76.6%), prelacteal foods should not be provided (82.2%), colostrum feeding (89.0%), adequate frequency of breastfeeding (99.1%), and exclusively breastfeeding (78.7%). The knowledge scores about breastfeeding were good (64.9%) for mothers. A higher proportion of respondents practiced breastfeeding only, or cup fed with breast milk only their babies for the first 2 days of life (62.3%), and the majority fed their baby with adequate frequency. Only (55.7%) put their baby to breast within an hour after birth. Colostrum was not squeezed and thrown by nearly (59.7%) of mothers. The breastfeeding practices scores were good among one-third of mothers. Age of mother, type of family, mother's education, socioeconomic status, and type of delivery were significant determinants of good breastfeeding practices (<0.05). Conclusions: The knowledge and practices of infant feeding can be strengthened by further engaging and counseling of mothers, family, and community members by health workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glioblastoma (GBM) is hard to treat due to cellular invasion into functioning brain tissues, limited drug delivery, and evolved treatment resistance. Recurrence is nearly universal even after surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) involves photosensitizer administration followed by light activation to generate reactive oxygen species at tumor sites, thereby killing cells or inducing biological changes. PDT can ablate unresectable GBM and sensitize tumors to chemotherapy. Verteporfin (VP) is a promising photosensitizer that relies on liposomal carriers for clinical use. While lipids increase VP's solubility, they also reduce intracellular photosensitizer accumulation. Here, a pure‐drug nanoformulation of VP, termed "NanoVP", eliminating the need for lipids, excipients, or stabilizers is reported. NanoVP has a tunable size (65–150 nm) and 1500‐fold higher photosensitizer loading capacity than liposomal VP. NanoVP shows a 2‐fold increase in photosensitizer uptake and superior PDT efficacy in GBM cells compared to liposomal VP. In mouse models, NanoVP‐PDT improved tumor control and extended animal survival, outperforming liposomal VP and 5‐aminolevulinic acid (5‐ALA). Moreover, low‐dose NanoVP‐PDT can safely open the blood‐brain barrier, increasing drug accumulation in rat brains by 5.5‐fold compared to 5‐ALA. NanoVP is a new photosensitizer formulation that has the potential to facilitate PDT for the treatment of GBM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Triterpenes (30‐carbon isoprene compounds) represent a large and highly diverse class of natural products that play various physiological functions in plants. The triterpene biosynthetic enzymes, particularly those catalyzing the late‐stage regio‐selective modifications are not well characterized. The bark of select Boswellia trees, e.g., B. serrata exudes specialized oleo‐gum resin in response to wounding, which is enriched with boswellic acids (BAs), a unique class of C3α‐epimeric pentacyclic triterpenes with medicinal properties. The bark possesses a network of resin secretory structures comprised of vertical and horizontal resin canals, and amount of BAs in bark increases considerably in response to wounding. To investigate BA biosynthetic enzymes, we conducted tissue‐specific transcriptome profiling and identified a wound‐responsive BAHD acetyltransferase (BsAT1) of B. serrata catalyzing the late‐stage C3α‐O‐acetylation reactions in the BA biosynthetic pathway. BsAT1 catalyzed C3α‐O‐acetylation of αBA, βBA, and 11‐keto‐βBA in vitro and in planta assays to produce all the major C3α‐O‐acetyl‐BAs (3‐acetyl‐αBA, 3‐acetyl‐βBA, and 3‐acetyl‐11‐keto‐βBA) found in B. serrata bark and oleo‐gum resin. BsAT1 showed strict specificity for BA scaffold, whereas it did not acetylate the more common C3β‐epimeric pentacyclic triterpenes. The analysis of steady‐state kinetics using various BAs revealed distinct substrate affinity and catalytic efficiency. BsAT1 transcript expression coincides with increased levels of C3α‐O‐acetyl‐BAs in bark in response to wounding, suggesting a role of BsAT1 in wound‐induced biosynthesis of C3α‐O‐acetyl‐BAs. Overall, the results provide new insights into the biosynthesis of principal chemical constituents of Boswellia oleo‐gum resin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kalmegh [Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Wall. ex Nees] is one of the most studied medicinal plants for pharmaceutical properties and phytochemistry. However, functional genomics studies in kalmegh are so far limited due to the unavailability of a robust tool for gene silencing. Here, we tested the application of virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) in kalmegh using the well-known Tobacco rattle virus (TRV)-based vectors and achieved targeted silencing of phytoene desaturase (ApPDS) which is essential in plants for carotenoid biosynthesis that protects chlorophyll from photooxidation. ApPDS silencing in kalmegh leaves developed a typical photobleaching phenotype. The silencing of ApPDS was confirmed by analysing ApPDS transcript level and determining chlorophyll content in the leaves of VIGS seedlings. The analysis revealed ~30% reduction in chlorophyll content, and 40 to 60% reduction in ApPDS transcript level in the leaves of VIGS seedlings. These findings clearly demonstrated the applicability of VIGS in kalmegh using TRV-based vectors. The VIGS protocol presented in this study might be useful for studying gene function related to medicinal and agricultural traits in kalmegh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two water-soluble piano-stool shaped ruthenium(II)–arene complexes, [RuII(η6-p-cymene)(L)Cl2] [RuLCl] and [RuII(η6-p-cymene)(L)(PTA)Cl] [RuLPTA], were designed as emissive photocytotoxic agents tagged with morpholine as the lysosome targeting moiety. Here, L = N-(2-morpholinoethyl)-4-(2-aminoethyl)amino-naphthalimide, and PTA = 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphatricyclo-[3.3.1.1]decane. The crystal structure of [RuLCl] exhibits the pseudooctahedral 'three-legged piano-stool' geometry, wherein Ru(II) is bound to the η6-p-cymene moiety as a base and two chlorides and the amine-N of the ligand L occupies the three legs of the stool. The complexes exhibited both the possibility of covalent adduct formation via the hydrolyzed Ru–Cl bond and non-covalent intercalation binding through planar naphthalimide moieties. The complexes showed enhanced photo-cytotoxicity under low-power blue LED light irradiation (λmax = 448 nm) mediated by 1O2, thereby acting as potential PDT agents. Fluorescence microscopy studies revealed that luminescent complexes preferentially localized in both the lysosomes and nucleus for effectively targeting and damaging the nuclear DNA for PDT effects. Due to enhanced lipophilicity of [RuLCl], it showed higher internalization into MCF-7 cell, measured in terms of the ruthenium content using ICP-MS. The interaction of the complexes with human transferrin (hTf) proteins was studied through molecular docking calculations, suggesting favorable binding through histidine residues and possible internalization into cancer cells via TfR-mediated endocytosis. The luminescence properties of the complexes were well-utilized to study their cellular uptake mechanism via endocytosis using fluorescence microscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new curcumin containing octahedral ruthenium(ii) polypyridyl complexes, viz. [Ru(NN)2(cur)](PF6) [NN = bpy (1), phen (2)], were designed to explore the antimicrobial activity against ESKAPE pathogens, especially with the Gram-positive drug resistant S. aureus. Solid-state structural characterization by single-crystal X-ray crystallography shows the RuII-center in a distorted octahedral {RuN4O2} geometry. The tested compounds showed significant inhibitory activity and high selectivity (MIC = 1 μg mL−1, SI = 80) against a wide variety of methicillin and vancomycin-resistant S. aureus strains. Compound 1 exhibited strong anti-biofilm activity (48% reduction of biofilm) at 10× MIC compared to the other approved drugs. The murine model of Staphylococcus infection significantly reduced the mean bacterial counts when treated with complex 1 compared to vancomycin, demonstrating its antimicrobial potential in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work manifests the synthesis of an amine functionalized organic cage NCa, using dynamic covalent imine chemistry offering facile proton transfer from picric acid (PA) to NCa, provide a remarkable selectivity for PA and function as a chemosensor. Owing to presence of electron rich environment at its periphery, this cage was outstanding in selectivity for the explosive picric acid. Theoretical studies revealed an unusual electron transfer takes place in ground‐state from picrate anion to the chemosensor NCa and simultaneous occurrence of FRET from protonated NCa to picrate. In addition to this, direct contact mode analysis is carried out for rapid practical applications and results were satisfactory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring intracellular pH is a powerful tool towards understanding a variety of cellular functions and the prognosis of many diseases. In this study, an efficient multi-functionalized acidic pH sensitive probe 1, based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) was prepared via the coupling of rhodamine B as a FRET acceptor and a naphthalimide fluorophore as a FRET donor using 1,4-diaminobutane as a nonconjugated linker. Morpholine was appended as a potential lysosome targeting group to the naphthalimide moiety. The probe features selective green to red switching in emission within the neutral to acidic pH range (pH 7.0 to pH 4.0), whereas it remains apparently unaffected in a basic medium with an observed pKa of ∼4.80. Moreover, probe 1 could be used to construct an INHIBIT logic gate and the corresponding complementary logic circuit by applying H+ and OH− ions as inputs based on the absorption and emission spectral changes, respectively. The probe showed efficient binding propensity to CT-DNA (Kb = 1.34 × 105 M−1) suggesting partial intercalation through planar moieties between the DNA base pairs. It also showed strong binding affinity for bovine serum albumin (BSA) protein (KBSA = 1.74 × 106 M−1) with efficient quenching of tryptophan fluorescence (97%) at λem = 345 nm. Interestingly, the naphthalimide fluorophore being an efficient photosensitizer enables the probe to show efficient DNA photocleavage under UV-A light (λ = 312 nm) with 65% conversion of supercoiled (SC) DNA to its nicked circular (NC) DNA form via the photo-generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) at micromolar concentration under physiological conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two highly luminescent water-soluble heterometallic LnPt2 complexes, [{cis-PtCl(NH3)2}2Ln(L)(H2O)](NO3)2 (Ln = Eu (1), Tb (2)), have been designed for their selective nucleoli staining through formation of Pt–DNA crosslinks. The complexes showed significant cellular uptake and distinctive nucleoli localization through intrinsic emission from EuIII or TbIII observed through confocal fluorescence microscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To analyze whether outcome of neonates having esophageal atresia with or without tracheoesophageal fistula (EA±TEF) associated with anorectal malformation (ARM) can be improved by doing surgery in 2 stages. Materials and Methods: A prospective study of neonates having both EA±TEF and ARM from 2004 to 2011. The patients with favorable parameters were operated in a single stage, whereas others underwent first-stage decompression surgery for ARM. Thereafter, once septicemia was under control and ventilator care available, second-stage surgery for EA±TEF was performed. Results: Total 70 neonates (single stage = 20, 2 stages = 30, expired after colostomy = 9, only EA±TEF repair needed = 11) were enrolled. The admission rate for this association was 1 per 290. Forty-one percent (24/70) neonates had VACTERL association and 8.6% (6/70) neonates had multiple gastrointestinal atresias. Sepsis screen was positive in 71.4% (50/70). The survival was 45% (9/20) in neonates operated in a single stage and 53.3% (16/30) when operated in 2 stages (P = 0.04). Data analysis of 50 patients revealed that the survived neonates had significantly better birth weight, better gestational age, negative sepsis screen, no cardiac diseases, no pneumonia, and 2-stage surgery (P value 0.002, 0.003, 0.02, 0.02, 0.04, and 0.04, respectively). The day of presentation and abdominal distension had no significant effect (P value 0.06 and 0.06, respectively). This was further supported by stepwise logistic regression analysis. Conclusions: In a limited resources scenario, the survival rate of babies with this association can be improved by treating ARM first and then for EA±TEF in second stage, once mechanical ventilator care became available and sepsis was under control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on improving the management of peritoneal carcinomatosis through fluorescence-guided photoimmunotherapy using targeted nanotechnology and ML7710. Topics discussed include the integration of targeted photo-activable multi-agent liposomes (TPMAL), fluorescence-guided intervention, and laser endoscopy (ML7710) to enhance drug delivery to metastases, reduce treatment variability, and improve tumor control in peritoneal carcinomatosis mouse models.